Charmed: Season 9, Volume 3

Charmed Comic Series #3

by Paul Ruditis, Constance M. Burge (Based on TV show)

The years have passed quickly for The Charmed Ones since they learned of their magical heritage. In only one decade they have experienced so much love and loss, joy and sorrow, failure and success. But time marches on and new challenges will be met as Phoebe is haunted by her past, Piper must deal with the present, and Paige is forced to cope with the future. But none of those events will prepare them to face the truth behind a family secret that could change everything for the Warren line

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Witches, Fiction, Supernatural, Graphic Novels Comics

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 10, 2012

About the author

Paul Ruditis also writes under the name P.J. Ruditis.

I was born and raised in Philadelphia where I lived a typical childhood with a far more interesting fantasy life. I mean, how many other eight year olds were sticking their Star Wars action figures in Ziploc bags filled with water and putting them in the freezer to recreate the ice planet of Hoth? (Really? That many? Never mind.)

After college, I moved to Los Angeles and was very lucky to get a job as a page at Paramount Pictures only months after I got into town. I worked as a tour guide and usher, and I performed temp office work around the lot.
Eventually, I took a position working in the studio's licensing department where I quickly worked my way up to middle management.

After a while, one of my friends in the publishing industry offered me the opportunity to write a Buffy, The Vampire Slayer short story for a collection she was editing. Well, when I heard how little money I could make as a writer, I immediately quit my job to try it full time. (Stupid, I know, but it kind of worked for me.)

I started out by writing books based on such wonderful TV shows as Star Trek, Roswell, and Sabrina, The Teenage Witch. I have since written over 30 books based some of the best shows on TV, adding The West Wing, Alias, and Prison Break to that ever growing list.

While I continue to work on these media tie-ins, I have also been focused more on my own original fiction, including my teen series DRAMA! and the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedy Love, Hollywood Style.

- Abridged Bio - Official Website.

Reviews

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is Charmed : Of course it is going to be amazing.

(Reread in 2015: July 2-12th)

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent volume. With the return of a character, we knew was coming. Great to have them back.

Rennek is making out to be a really good villain. That is all on that. No clue what he is doing but I'm scared.

The kid's powers caused more issues here and I love it. I want more of the charmed kids and their abilities honestly. Wyatt is already casting spells from the book of shadows. It was a big problem for the family but great. Same for Paige and her kids. Paige husband being mortal has been brought up a lot over these volumes. You never get to see how it would affect a mortal to be in a magical family that is always in danger before this and I really enjoy seeing it. Especially adding in raising kids that can start fires.

Loved the issue with Coop. Learning more about cupids and how they are made was interesting. ALso about their power in general.

The last issue was kind of a fun humorous bit but felt like the weakest of the volume for me. Until that last panel. They always get me at the end.

[Raquel (Rocki) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now they all know Cole is back and Henry jr. looks like he is going to be staying in this family. So much happening in this graphic novel. I hope the next one doesn't leave off on a cliff hanger or anything. Prue is back in action. Can't believe that, I am so glade yet sad at the same time.

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this

[Victoria Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published on My Books Are Me

I can't get enough of these graphic novels! I love being back with the sisters and continuing their story. I love the return of some amazing characters, and I hope we get to see more of them in the future volumes!

Volume 3 follows Cole trying to move on by helping Patty and Grams with an important task, which eventually leads to mayhem for the Power of Three. However, the balance is soon set right and sisters are reunited. Meanwhile, Piper opens her new restaurant, Halliwells, despite the setback of Wyatt's 'help'. Phoebe helps Coop find his family, which turns out to be not only a lot more easier than she thought, but also has repercussions for the family. Paige has to stop the court from taking Henry Jnr away from her after his real father is tracked down. Leo discovers what his new powers mean and has to learn how to live with them. And we finally learn about what the afterlife held for Prue.

I feel like I'm just getting repetitive with these reviews because I just don't know what else to say that expressed how much I enjoy these books and that you seriously need to read them!

Words cannot describe how in love I am with this series! I'm enjoying the storylines and where the plot is going, and I especially love the glimpses we are given of the Charmed Ones back in the day. The more I read, the more I really want to go and marathon the show!

The artwork continues to be amazing and everything that happens still lives up to the series we all know and love. I really enjoy having Cole back - it's was always get to have him pop back on the show, so I do hope he sticks around.

Seriously, Charmed fans need to go out and pick up these graphic novels because they are amazing! This was such a brilliant way to continue the series and let the characters live on.

[Charlot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ik heb alle seizoenen van Charmed verslonden op tv. Ook de pocketboekjes heb ik zoveel mogelijk gelezen. Toen ik deze in de kringloop zag liggen, moest ik m hebben. Het zijn gewoon losse verhalen, die samen wel een rode draad hebben. Het gaat natuurlijk over de Charmed zussen en ze maken van alles mee. De tekenstijl twijfel ik nog een beetje aan. Ik had de stille hoop dat de tekeningen wel zouden lijken op de dames uit de tv serie, maar ik kon bijvoorbeeld Paige amper herkennen. Heerlijk nostalgisch om even tussendoor te lezen.

[harlequin {Stephanie} · Rating 3 out of 5]

This did not blow me away. It was entertaining sure, but seemed to lack a solid direction. I do recommend for die hard fans of the show.

The individual plot for each issue dominated the scene shoving the plot for this volume into the background. For the first few issues I was tapping my fingers waiting for a plot.

Also, the resurrection of previous characters is becoming cliche.



Preview courtesy of Netgalley & Zenescope.

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a weird story arc with Prue, something they didn't really take the time to explain enough and it didn't give us enough time with her to be sad when she left. I didn't think I would but I did enjoy the side stories like Piper opening the restaurant and Paige using magic to help get her sons back. Overall it was fine, but I wasn't impressed with the Pru story line which was the most important one.

[Anniken Haga · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

So I've been dreading the Prue—arc since way before I bought this comic. It was as bad as I feared, but got a little better toward the end.

Other than that, this volume didn't have a lot main story like the other volumes have been having, and there were some parts I found rather boring.

Even if I do appreciate the constant nods to the show

[Jheneille · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 They got the characters down so well, the drawings in this volume were very good and the likeness of the sisters for the most part was done well. I enjoyed it and how there is continuity within the comics and even references from the show. It makes me want to rewatch the series all over again. Can't wait to continue.

[Eadrinor · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third installment of Season 9 sees a few “episodes” dedicated to family life for the sisters, but the main arc moves to Prue’s return as Patience.

I liked seeing Cole come back for redemption. I didn’t really care for Prue-not Prue. It feels cheap. Artwork was completely non-discernible again. No one really looked right.

[Michael Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

see volume one note

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as thrilling as the first two volumes but I still very much enjoyed it.

[Cori Dantio · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE this series. I'm getting ready to start season 10, and am a little apprehensive that I've seen nothing for a season 11...

[Thomas Wenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, nice read.

[aikaterine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, many revelations happened in this one. Quite an exciting graphic novel. However, that ending! Total cliffhanger.

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are very few comic series that remain consistently excellent. This is one of them.

[Dario Pacheco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly wish this would have continued in television form. Cause seeing Prue reunited with her sisters would have brought tears to my eyes. Highly recommend to OG Charmed fans

[Victor Agudo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Im so happy that this comics are cannon i feel like im watching a tv episode

[Shayde Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was awesome to see Prue back! I loved getting to see Paige have the spotlight!

[Dina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings about this volume. Fun mini plot lines but too separated from each other and felt like filler tv episodes. Also an underwhelming way to return p…SPOILER.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Piper is about to open her new restaurant, she’s working hard and long hours to get it done. She’s barely at home and her children miss her. Wyatt performs a multiplicity spell to create more Pipers so that she can get many tasks done… such as chores, working, spending time with family and special time with Leo.

Coop is getting tired of his work when his duties as a father and husband often take over. He’s also beginning to question his past, who his family was and where he came from. Phoebe has a premonition while searching for answers for her husband. She finds out that his family is the Coopersmiths and that a couple is about to get married. She gets Piper to host the rehearsal dinner for them. It’s a chance for Coop to meet his relatives, but there’s something or someone stopping them from achieving that…

Paige’s home is on fire and they are wondering where it came from… is it magical or normal? Her twins Kat and Tam are coming into their powers to freeze and explode things… a gift they share. Cole goes to a Seer for help to find Prue… We see a blonde woman talking about magical powers with a lady at Salem’s Witch House.

Cole finds Prue who’s been reincarnated or return as another human being. She’s a blonde woman living in Salem in the modern world. She had to keep her distance from her sisters since the Charmed Ones are only supposed to be 3 and not 4. If she were to meet her sisters again the balance would shift out of proportion. Leo gets help from a teacher to find out more about what he’s become. They find the fortress where the maker of his magical sword and wings come from. He was never meant to carry the burden of that power since he’s just a mortal.

Paige has a new charge, her name is Sarah and she works at Salem’s Witch House. She finds Cole standing in front as a ghost. He tries to stop her from going in… since she will find Prue in there. Just meeting Prue causes a shock for all of the sisters magically. Their powers go out of wack and become too strong which could cause them to display their magical powers to others. Cole comes to the sisters to explain the situation… or try to at least. Piper freezes the whole mortal world, but that gets the demons free to roam it and kill as they please. Leo gets captured by Rennek… Once Paige and Prue stop fighting and she starts believing that it’s really her, she orbs her to the manor. The Halliwell sisters recognized her soul instantly.

The sisters catch up and hug. Leo tries to fight off Rennek. The Charmed Ones has to create potions to kill off the demons before they kill innocents. Coles has a heart-to-heart talk with Phoebe. Paige realizes that there’s one sister too many and creates a power stripping potion for herself. She wants to be normal again for her family. Prue realizes that she hasn’t moved on because she couldn’t let go of her Charmed destiny and decides to use the power-stripping potion for herself. The girls go find Leo and save him. Cole announces to Phoebe that she’s pregnant with her second child.

Paige and Henry are asked to give back little Henry to his former parents. They found the father, but he isn’t very responsible and his family are ciminals. She must do what it takes to keep her son. She finds her book “The Double McGruffin” and creates a spell to get a character from the book to help her out. He’s created to be a detective and to help her get the bad guys to justice. When he comes out, he’s in black and white and slowly the manor turns black and white and so does Paige. He sets up a date with Paige and the boy’s father to “talk” while they try to find evidence against them to claim her son back. Quinn, the detective is willing to trade the laptop in exchange for making him stay in this reality. Paige tricks him and gets Henry in a glamour to trick him. The spell backfires and Quinn gets sent back into his book. At the very end… we find that little Henry… a mortal boy… might actually have a magical power to freeze things…

[elizabeth • paper ghosts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review to come...eventually!

{Notes}

*This volume was so much better! Way better than the first, and either right on par or just slightly better than the second. The story felt smooth and cohesive, and pace was just right. Enough speed to keep me interested, but not so much that I have whiplash by the end.

*I appreciated having the same artist for chapters 1 - 6. It made the whole story arc feel cohesive, though that particular artist is not one of my favorites. The girls are inconsistently drawn, and Piper is really the only one that bears any resemblance to her actress counterpart. Paige and Phoebe? It would always take me a second to remember and figure out who they were. This is especially frustrated when they hardly ever use names to address one another. Not to mention the poor husbands can never get drawn right. Poor, poor Leo...

*But! Chapter 7, one of my favorite illustrators! Tess Fowler has consistently been a favorite of mine ever since volume 2. She has the right balance of comic book mixed with the likenesses of the actresses from the show. Her style is clean and bold, and slightly quirky. I definitely would like to see her do more issue in the future.

*And, like I said, I loved the story arc this time around. It felt nice to see the girls dealing with their kids and family lives for a while - kind of slow it down from the onslaught of evil they faced throughout volume 1 and 2. And yay Prue! She was never a favorite of mine, but I'm really interested to see where they'll take this development.

*All in all, Season 9 just keeps getting better and better. I just wish the compendiums wouldn't take so long to get out...

[Jo Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very excited to get my hands on a copy of this Comic Book, courtesy of NetGalley, and it was enjoyable. If anyone knows me, they know that I have a slight obsession with Charmed, seeing as to how I've been watching reruns of it for at least the past 3 years. I've tried to stop watching it, but like I said it's been quite an obsession; I know almost all the episodes word for word. I had mixed emotions when reading this comic book; I loved the fact that some old characters were brought back like Elise and Tyler, but it was odd to me that Elise knows about magic now, because of the fact that the sisters were so big on hiding their secret on the actual show. The graphics didn't really live up to what I thought they'd be, they were okay, but they weren't great. I did like a few of the stories; I loved the first one with Piper and the opening of her restaurant. I even enjoyed Phoebe and Coop's story. Paige's stories were very confusing to me; they were hard to understand and it just wasn't real clear. Overall, this comic book was okay, if you're a die-hard Charmed fan, I'd suggest getting it.

[Saria · Rating 2 out of 5]

SO...
Finished the 3rd volume today.
Right after the 2nd. And man oh man I still like it.
Mind you, some people who weren't as obsessed with Charmed might find it... lame? I dunno.
I'm usually very picky when it comes to plotlines, but you know what they say - something about one being biased towards things they're obsessed with? LOL

So my suspicions from my previous review of volume 2 were right.
Prue is back and so is Cole. Now I feel a little bit nostalgic that Prue isn't back in... well Prue-form, but oh well, I like how this answers the prayers of all Prue-lovers out there. I mean, she was taken away from them too soon, and Charmed is like home to many of us, so I don't mind it bending the story in a way to bring all of us home. Also, I've heard that if there was gonna be a new Charmed with the old cast they would've brought Prue back, for the sake of those who love her.

So there you go. Pick these up if you're as in love with Charmed as I am. You won't regret it.

[Traci · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really happy to get my hands on this volume. I'm not reading the comics as standalone novels, but rather collecting the graphic novel version. It saves me the clutter so I'm a bit behind everyone else.

I think this collection was better than the first two only because we get to see more of the Charmed Ones living their normal lives, rather than fighting an epic battle in the first two books. And, after the bombshell in the last novel from Grams and Penny about Prue, we get to see what happened that caused such a stir in the first place.

We see an old character return, even if for a few panels and we see Phoebe and Cole back in action. Actually, we get to see a different side of Cole and Phoebe, well she's just Phoebe.

For everyone out there interested in the kids, Piper's kids take on a pretty important role in the first chapter which I loved. I wondered how the kids turned out after the show ended, especially since they sort of took a backseat during the final episodes.

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love these graphic novel that show what is happening after the final season of the TV show.

Things that I do like: I love that the Charmed Ones are still going through life with using magic and that their children are developing magical powers as well. I love that they set up these graphic novels as the ninth season. I really enjoy reading about the girls and the things that they are going through even if it isn't about demonic entities trying to take over again. The Charmed Ones seem to know how to take care of things. I love that.

Things that I don't like: Nothing against the book, but I really wish they would do these graphic novels as a TV show. I would love to watch it and collect the DVDs when they come out.

Overall: I really enjoyed reading this graphic novel and I look forward to reading the fourth installment of Season 9. I would recommend this to anyone who loved the show Charmed. I would rate this 4 out of 5 stars.

[Cyndy Otty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I continue to have mixed feelings about these comics. I'm mostly put off by how overpowered the sisters (and their significant others in some cases) have become, but this volume seems to be dialing that back a bit which is enough for me to uprate it a star. Unfortunately, the writing and artwork is still struggling and this far into the "season" I am left feeling it will never get beyond mediocre at best.

I'll finish out the next volume, but I don't know if I'll bother with the next "season."

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the return of two former characters--it's great how the writer is able to bring back whoever he wants for the storylines. I also liked how this story arc ended. There was more plot development in this volume than in previous ones. This volume included issues 13-18.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few originals, but a change of plot.
The drawings were a bit better than the fourth one since I read that before this one.
The storyline with Prue did make sense in a way.
But it seemed kinda wasted and with Cole also.