Comic Review: Books Of Magic (2018-) #3

Books of Magic (2018-) #3

Vertigo

Writer: Kat Howard

Artist: Tom Fowler

Books of Magic #3 is a comic that after two days of rereading it, I still cannot make a solid opinion out of it. There are problems throughout, some of which have persisted from the past two issues, while some have not. However, before this review will examine the problems, I will go through the positives.

The characters are good but not great, and I’m interested in learning more about them. Tyler showing up is still interesting, and while he has not seen growth yet, it seems to be setting him up to do so. As we learn more about Dr. Rose, we see that maybe she regrets her actions, or at the very least feels some remorse (she is turning into possibly the most interesting character of this series). And finally, Tim having the deal with the fact that he is now a murderer. Mad Hettie is a pleasure to read as always, and nothing will ever change that. Tim is also far closer to how he is in the miniseries than in the John Ney Rieber run, which I don’t mind, as both are extremely good, and it doesn’t seem to be like reading two different characters. There’s also the return of Yoyo, however, this brings us to one of the issues.

Continuity. Even though this is comics, I was hoping that this series wouldn’t mess about with it, yet it does. It seems that the John Ney Rieber run, along with any subsequent runs, do not exist, partly due to his age and also due to the lack of characters such as Leah, Molly, and any other characters that fans of the series have learned to love. Yoyo is introduced as if she (he?) is a new character while having been introduced in the Gaiman miniseries. It would be extremely good if one could know what counted as canon anymore in Books of Magic, which was quite clear with what was canon. However, this is only issue #3, so it may explain the canonicity of events.

The pacing is the main problem, which ties into the story. It does not advance much, which is odd for a complaint when it comes to Books of Magic, as it was often a story which did move very slowly, sometimes having arcs spanning even a dozen issues, yet it managed to make it feel smooth and natural, which this does not. However, I am hoping that it will work better when read arc per arc. Hence I think it may have been better if it had been sold as a trade from the first printing.

The art is generally quite good, yet I saw two panels be exactly the same, and that cannot be forgiven if it’s not used well, which it’s not. The art has this very interesting elasticity, which in many comics I dislike, yet when it works, it works very well, and I am happy to say that it works in this. This is simply due to the fact that it’s not meant to be too grounded, and it helps elevate that idea. The faces can be a bit odd, but again it works quite well, for much the same reason as the elasticity. However, the best part of the art has to be the difference between the magical and the non-magical. Fowler focuses on this difference by making the mundane seem mundane more mundane at times in order to elevate the magic to an even higher status, all the while making it feel grungy when it comes from the Cold Hand. This difference is accentuated when we see Yoyo, or when we see him counting magical sheep. Mad Hettie is extremely well drawn and colored, and it is worth a few mentions.

In conclusion, it suffers, a lot. It suffers from the pacing, from the continuity, but most of all, it suffers from not being able to live up to its name, to the massive boots it has to fill. I will continue to read it because it has so much potential, but even with my undying love of Books Of Magic, I cannot give it more than a 6, and that pains me so much to say. However, I would still recommend getting this, if only to read it as an arc when the first arc comes to a close.

Oh, did I mention Mad Hettie is there?