Mystic Arcana

Mystic Arcana #1-4+

by C.B. Cebulski, Roy Thomas, Jeff Parker

A magic event that spans across the ages, featuring the craftiest characters and most spellbinding stories in the Marvel Universe! In the vein of the wild and woolly genre revitalization Annihilation, Marvel's looking into its crystal ball to bring you mystical mages, scandalous sorcerers and fantastic flights of high-flying fantasy in Mystic Arcana. Each of the primary stories revolves around the introduction of one of a select group of mystical implements, quite literally the four pillars of the universe, and the involvement of a character from Marvel's rich, magical past - including Magik, the Black Knight, Sister Grimm and the Scarlet Witch. Plus: Witness the efforts of Dr. Strange adversary, sorcerer Ian McNee, to collect arcane implements in a series of shorter companion tales that make up the spine of Mystic Arcana. Collects Mystic Arcana: Magik, Black Knight, Scarlet Witch, Sister Grimm, Handbook; Official Tarot of the Marvel Universe.

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, X Men, Graphic Novels Comics

264 pages, Hardcover

First published January 9, 2007

Reviews

[Lady Entropy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I could have loved this book. I really do.

Instead I just got a ... "meh". Marvel's achilles heel has always been the mystical and the supernatural, the urban fantasy mythos. Unlike DC who pulls it off perfectly (well, I mean, VERTIGO pulled it off perfectly. DC doesn't. CoughJusticeLeageDarkcough) Marvel just tries and fails short.

It had some good ideas, a mildly interesting narrator, but they tried so hard to cram Marvel main universe there that things wound up not making sense or being boring. I think it's because of how they handle mysticism -- it's either "Plot Altering Tools" or "Zap Kaboom" and only of the four, one was a main Marvel character. The rest was underused and underdeveloped.

Also, I HATE the whole "I was born with magic in my blood" thing. As if magic was a genetic trait.

It's almost as bad as the damn midiclorians.

[Silas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe I read one of these stories in another collection, but it made a lot more sense and was more enjoyable in collection. It is a collection of stories focusing on four unrelated, magical or magic-adjacent characters brought together by a fifth character who is gathering magical artifacts. I liked this character (who I had never seen before), and his odd, emoji eyes. It felt suitably magical for my tastes (which are discerning), though I wasn't that fond of the story featuring Niko Minoru. It was capped off by an extensive reference book on a variety of magical characters from the Marvel universe, many of which I had never seen before, in a sort of Handbook of the Marvel Universe style. It was dense, and a bit hard to get through, but rewarding, just the same. I enjoyed the four stories more, I would say, but this was a good place to put that in collection. I wonder if this ever came to anything, but even on its own, it was a fun, magical read.

[Connor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Four one-shots about magic-adjacent characters that are loosely connected by an overarching story about a magician I wasn't familiar with, Ian McNee. I originally picked this up because I was interested in Magik and Nico Minore. Magik's story was alright, she travels back in time and helps an Egyptian sorceress. Black Knight's story was about the first Black Knight, not the modern one. Scarlet Witch's story was about her meeting some other witches as a kid. I had already read Nico's story somewhere else and it doesn't really stand out. The Ian McNee story was a bit confusing. I feel like I was missing some background or something. I didn't care for Ian's journal with all the magic mumbo jumbo at the end.

[Matt Sautman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Experimental in nature, Mystic Arcana follows relatively minor Marvel wizard Ian McNee on a quest to acquire four artifacts that directly connect with small stories related to Black Knight, Magik, Sister Grimm, and Scarlet Witch. Expecting anything major out of the individual smaller stories will likely result in disappointment, but readers familiar with Alan Moore’s Promethea will likely find McNee’s journey visually similar with a plot that operates more so through associative events rather than a standard Aristotelian plot structure. I found McNee an interesting character, but I wouldn’t recommend this for someone who is not well invested in the larger Marvel universe.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I surely don't understand this book. The connective tissue was very really uninteresting. Who cares about that main character?

And actually most of the sub-issues. I only really remember the Magik one where once again everyone is related to Storm.

[Oscar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some great artwork but a pseudo-anthology series that never really comes together makes for a missed opportunity.

[Grumpy Grump Grump · Rating 2 out of 5]

What the hell was going on in this book? I honestly tried to make sense of it all, but I couldn't. None of the pieces really connected well, and that bit about the narrator tying it all together was a mess. I was confused the whole time and still am.

[Max Z · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many authors and artists involved in a pretty simple story.

There are four short stories and another one with a tying narrative plus a small encyclopedia and a tarot notebook. Loads of mediocre content that does not justify it being collected. The story is about Ian Mcnee, an arrogant mage, collecting four artifacts which all are referenced in four short stories that don't add much to it. At least a dozen people were involved in producing that and I fail to see the reasoning.

[Jean-Pierre Vidrine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magic has been a part of superhero comic books as long as aliens and orphans have been. Of course, the magic in comic books, with people flying and shooting fire from their hands, bears little resemblance to the Craft practiced by real world magicians. This sort of magic owes a lot more to fairy tales and the need to give characters “super powers” without treading the tricky world of believable pseudo-science. The medium of comic books, however, is often far more aware of the world around it than people realize. While so many people in the world are trying to ignore the ever-growing voices of modern day Pagans, comic books have been listening and taking notes.
Mystic Arcana is a great example of comic book writers incorporating real magic practices into a comic book adventure. The flying and fireballs and whatnot haven’t been entirely thrown out. But, here they are dressed up with adherence to elemental rules and archetypes of deity.
Each chapter elementally corresponds with a Tarot suit, and digs deep into Marvel's magical history. My favorite story here was definitely the Black Knight's tale. Roy Thomas writing a character from any comic book company's Golden Age is bound to thrill me. Add some Pagan lore into the mix, and I'm really sold.
The Marvel Tarot section is a terrific eye-opener. David Sexton gives us a mixed media piece that weaves real world history and folklore into Marvel's continuity. The Tarot card designs are so amazing that I am still holding out hope for the deck to actually be produced.
The only slight complaint is that the Book of Marvel Magic at the end that catalogs Marvel's magical characters is a little incomplete. If features mainly less than prominent characters, and can easily be supplemented with The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Horror and Thor and Hercules: Encyclopedia Mythologica. Plus, I supposed I didn't really need an entry on Doctor Strange, a prominent Marvel magical character that I am all too familiar with.

[André · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to say this was somewhat disappointing. You can divide it in two parts, the first one about Ian Mcnee's quest and the second part consisting in Ian's notes while investigating the first tarot.
The story was too straightforward, each task quickly done and over. The end, though not predictable, wasn't well written enough to be exciting.
The second part is the book's salvation. The notes are very well written, funny and intriguing, and anyone who knows a bit about the marvel universe and recognizes the characters will feel like investigating it or looking for hints elsewhere themselves. If this is the beginning of something, it might be good.
The best thing here are the illustrations. Both the drawings and the colouring are very well done, sometimes quite different from usual marvel stuff, but always adequate to the story.

If you aren't already a marvel comics fan, don't start here. If you are and you have been wishing for marvel to get in touch with its mystic side again, give it a try, but without high expectations.

[J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure what the purpose of this book was. It's a series of mediocre one-shots held together loosely by a solid connecting story, but the whole thing just doesn't seem very significant. I suspect this was mostly a chance to pump some fresh blood into a bunch of underused Marvel properties, but it doesn't really do much to make me interested in the characters. There is some good art in a few of the parts, but the writing and plotting is all so-so.

[Brandon Hughes]

A very nice set up to a storyline Marvel never followed through on. It is too bad that instead of reinvigorating their "magicverse" Marvel instead chose to depower Doctor Strange and pass the Sorcerer Supreme title on to the decidedly C-List Doctor Voodoo (who couldn't sustain a series longer than 5 issues).

[Clayton Surratt · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. It follows Ian McNee a minor sorcerer in the Marvel U looking for some magic objects. The back half of the volume has tons of reference material about Marvels Magic Characters and is therefore very useful as a reference book. Beautiful Art.

[Patrick]

Only read the X-Men parts