Here's the first look at Mage: The Hero Denied
http://www.newsarama.com/34629-kevin-matchstick-s-back-in-mage-the-hero-denied-1-preview.html
Song Of Ice And Fire fans talk about the long waits they endured between books. But those waits are laughable compared to the waits Mage fans have endured between series. The first series, created by comics legend Matt Wagner back when he was a newcomer to the industry, ran from '84 to '86, and somewhere near the end, Wagner revealed that "Mage: The Hero Discovered" was the first in a planned trilogy. That trilogy being:
1. The Hero Discovered
2. The Hero Defined
3. The Hero Denied
At the end of the last issue of the first series, we were told that Mage 2 would be out in 1989. I remember lamenting the fact that we had to wait three years. Turns out that would've been awesome because we waited almost ten years for "The Hero Defined". Things were looking up and we thought "The Hero Denied" would be on it's way sometime after that. Now almost TWENTY years after "The Hero Defined" (fuck, has it really been THAT long?!?!) we are finally, getting the final installment "The Hero Denied". It's one of those stories that I'd given up on ever getting to read.
How to describe the Mage series? Well, it's not quite a super hero story, though the main character does have super powers to some extent. In one sense, Kevin is like a reincarnated Arthur Pendragon, and in the first series he battles a creature called the Umbra Sprite and his five sons, who're called Grackleflints. The second series details how Kevin discovers that he is not the only one with powers or a destiny. That there are others who are incarnations of other heroes or archetypes from other cultures, like Kirby Hero (Hercules) and Joe Phat (Coyote) among others.
In each series Kevin encounters a mage, (well actually the same basic mage) who at times offers him advice and guidance. In "The Hero Discovered" the mage is a somewhat jovial fellow named, appropriately enough, Mirth. In "The Hero Defined", he is a seemingly crazy homeless guy named Wally Ut. It'll be interesting to see what form the third and final mage takes in this final series. It'll also be really good to travel with Kevin Matchstick again. I started my journey with him when I was 17 years old, and I'll finish it with him in my 50's.
The art seems better than the art in "Hero Defined" looked, or at least the way I remember it. More in the coloring department as the general style is the same. It's certainly not the memorable airbrush style from the first series.
They'll be bringing the previous two series back in print in collected editions, and while I still have the awesome "Starblaze" editions for the first series, I need a collected edition of the second series. Sadly, it looks like they've kept the shitty "Mage" logo from the second series. I really wish this series had had it's own logo, but hey, I'm just happy to get this series.
And I'm also happy that we may get new Kevin Matchstick t-shirts. I had one in the 80's that lasted me well into the 90's, and picked up another one when the second series came out. Kevin's lighting bolt t-shirt was "my" t-shirt, I wore the shit out of that shirt.
Anyone else here fans of Mage and looking forward to this?
http://www.newsarama.com/34629-kevin-matchstick-s-back-in-mage-the-hero-denied-1-preview.html
Song Of Ice And Fire fans talk about the long waits they endured between books. But those waits are laughable compared to the waits Mage fans have endured between series. The first series, created by comics legend Matt Wagner back when he was a newcomer to the industry, ran from '84 to '86, and somewhere near the end, Wagner revealed that "Mage: The Hero Discovered" was the first in a planned trilogy. That trilogy being:
1. The Hero Discovered
2. The Hero Defined
3. The Hero Denied
At the end of the last issue of the first series, we were told that Mage 2 would be out in 1989. I remember lamenting the fact that we had to wait three years. Turns out that would've been awesome because we waited almost ten years for "The Hero Defined". Things were looking up and we thought "The Hero Denied" would be on it's way sometime after that. Now almost TWENTY years after "The Hero Defined" (fuck, has it really been THAT long?!?!) we are finally, getting the final installment "The Hero Denied". It's one of those stories that I'd given up on ever getting to read.
How to describe the Mage series? Well, it's not quite a super hero story, though the main character does have super powers to some extent. In one sense, Kevin is like a reincarnated Arthur Pendragon, and in the first series he battles a creature called the Umbra Sprite and his five sons, who're called Grackleflints. The second series details how Kevin discovers that he is not the only one with powers or a destiny. That there are others who are incarnations of other heroes or archetypes from other cultures, like Kirby Hero (Hercules) and Joe Phat (Coyote) among others.
In each series Kevin encounters a mage, (well actually the same basic mage) who at times offers him advice and guidance. In "The Hero Discovered" the mage is a somewhat jovial fellow named, appropriately enough, Mirth. In "The Hero Defined", he is a seemingly crazy homeless guy named Wally Ut. It'll be interesting to see what form the third and final mage takes in this final series. It'll also be really good to travel with Kevin Matchstick again. I started my journey with him when I was 17 years old, and I'll finish it with him in my 50's.
The art seems better than the art in "Hero Defined" looked, or at least the way I remember it. More in the coloring department as the general style is the same. It's certainly not the memorable airbrush style from the first series.
They'll be bringing the previous two series back in print in collected editions, and while I still have the awesome "Starblaze" editions for the first series, I need a collected edition of the second series. Sadly, it looks like they've kept the shitty "Mage" logo from the second series. I really wish this series had had it's own logo, but hey, I'm just happy to get this series.
And I'm also happy that we may get new Kevin Matchstick t-shirts. I had one in the 80's that lasted me well into the 90's, and picked up another one when the second series came out. Kevin's lighting bolt t-shirt was "my" t-shirt, I wore the shit out of that shirt.
Anyone else here fans of Mage and looking forward to this?
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