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HUNTER: THE AGE OF MAGIC #7
"Going Home"
Recommended (8/10)
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DC Comics/Vertigo imprint
Writer: Dylan Horrocks
Artist: Chris McLoughlin
Colors: Sherilyn van Valkenburgh & Jamison
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Heidi MacDonald
Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN |
In the hands of Dylan Horrocks, Hunter has become a fantasy
title, set in modern times but with a lot of the trappings of epic fantasy. Tim
Hunter has also become a considerably more confident and likable character, and
with this second arc, we're going to get to see the contrast of this very
changed Tim against the old world that he left behind as a very different
person. I confess that as the book begins its second arc, I find myself missing
the artwork of Richard Case, but McLoughlin's work is not bad, something of a
cross between the ornate fantasy work of Charles Vess and the solid anatomy and
imagination that characterized Peter Gross's work on the title.
Timothy Hunter is a complex character, and I am actually a little stunned at how much continuity has built up behind the character. While new readers will certainly be able to catch the gist of this title, I can only wonder at how much they'll be missing if they aren't familiar with the previous story arc, or Lily from the Names of Magic mini-series, or even the events that occurred in the tale end of the original Books of Magic mini-series. Horrocks does a good job of giving the basic details in
Tim's dialogue, but I suspect that to really get the true impact, you need to
have read a lot of those stories.
However, even if you don't get all the impact, there's a lot going on in this story. I loved the opening sequence, with its journey across worlds, giving a sense of the scope of Hunter. There's also a terrific sequence that shows the
power of magic, with Tim deactivating various traps, including sending a spirit
to deal with satellite surveillance. Previously, the magic in this title has
been a little too quiet, a little too based in angels, devils and Faerie, but
Horrocks has opened it up to being just raw power as well.
I loved the look that Richard
Case gave Tim Hunter, reminiscent of his early Harry Potter-esque appearance but
with a definite age to his features. McLoughlin can't quite match that,
delivering a version of the character who looks, for lack of a better word, too
American, and also not very much like the character we've come to know. However,
while I'm not crazy about his interpretation of the main character, I've got no
problem with the rest of McLoughlin's work, which is a tapestry of beautiful
settings and creepy villains.
By the time Books of Magic was winding down, I was starting to
think that all the good Tim Hunter stories might have been told. Horrocks has
proven me wrong, transforming Tim Hunter's title into a vehicle for fantasy
stories as well as the exploration of youth and growing up.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board. |
