Spellbinders compares well to Arana, but when it comes to the rest of Marvel Next, this is definitely the red-headed stepchild of the bunch. The concept is interesting, a high school where witches are as common a clique as stoners, jocks and dweebs, but Carey can't quite decide between having magic out in the open and having it as a subculture, and the resulting confusion takes a lot away from the book. It doesn't help that too many characters are introduced right off the bat, and they're not terribly memorable so far. There's potential to be found in the pages of Spellbinders, but the first issue doesn't really get off on the best foot, and for a brand new concept, it's surprisingly inaccessible.
In general, the events of Spellbinders #1 are actually pretty familiar stuff. Mysterious magic doings in the prologue resulting in a death, new girl moving into town and finding herself torn between the cliques, it's a pretty solid mix of teen drama (think The O.C. and Veronica Mars) and the genre show (think Charmed or X-Files). Unfortunately, while the structure is familiar, Carey adds a fair amount of mystery about what's going on, and while that can be a good thing, in this case it just muddies the premise. Our lead character is attacked by an air elemental and given a tongue lashing by two cliques related to magic, but we're supposed to believe that the existence of magic isn't really certain amongst the school? It's a confusing double standard, and it strains the credibility of the story and has some of the characters' actions looking forced.
The best example of this is the rapid-fire "out-sidering" of lead character Kim Vesco. Good teen interaction is very hard to write, and even the best of it often bears no resemblance to reality. However, Carey's work on the clash of teen subcultures in Spellbinders feels both unreal and kind of weak. I get the general vibe he's going for, a sort of updated take on the high school angst that dogged Peter Parker and other heroes from their first day, but there's really no reason for Kim to be shunned as quickly as she is, and the way the kids latch onto her, blast her for something and then wander off is bizarre, not just for Kim but for the reader. Basically, I don't buy it, and since the high school interaction is half of the formula, this is a pretty crucial problem.
The other half of the Spellbinders formula is the magic, and Carey hasn't quite delivered on this aspect yet either. It's clear that the kids who know of magic have different specialties, but the rules are kept kind of vague in this first issue, and I can't help thinking that introducing all of the characters instead of focusing on a couple of them helped to foment this uncertain set of magical rules. I have no doubt that Carey has something in mind for these rules, and given time, it might all become clear and make sense, but from the start, it mostly just sounds like babble and nonsense, which is an all-too-common failing of magic in fiction.
While I have my issues with the writing, I'm quite pleased with the art on Spellbinders. Mike Perkins, fresh off a stint on Crossgen's late, lamented Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, proves adept at the high school magic genre of the book. One might argue that his teenagers look a little older than they should, more like mid-twenties, but I love the reality he brings to their expressions and their normal, everyday wardrobes. Perkins and Hennessy also get a chance to show off a couple of more unusual magical phenomena in this issue, and that's where the work really shines, with a monstrous, scary looking air elemental and an effective transformation spell in the very beginning. 5/10
