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Mage #1.1
Mage, Vol. 1: The Hero Discovered, Book One Part 1
The first of two volumes reprinting the classic early issues of creator MATT WAGNER's epic fantasy trilogy. THE HERO DISCOVERED reveals the fledgling adventures of the reluctant everyman hero, Kevin Matchstick. After encountering a shaggy and beguiling wizard, Kevin soon discovers is that he is more than he ever imagined.
This seminal work has found an enduring popularity with readers for decades and marks creator MATT WAGNER's emergence as a powerful story-teller. With the release of the final part of the MAGE trilogy, this series will spark interest with new readers and older fans alike.
This seminal work has found an enduring popularity with readers for decades and marks creator MATT WAGNER's emergence as a powerful story-teller. With the release of the final part of the MAGE trilogy, this series will spark interest with new readers and older fans alike.
216 pages, Paperback
Published July 18, 2017
3 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
Matt Wagner
967 books231 followersMatt Wagner is an American comic book writer and artist. In addition to his creator-owned series' Mage and Grendel, he has also worked on comics featuring The Demon and Batman as well as such titles as Sandman Mystery Theatre and Trinity, a DC Comics limited series featuring Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 20, 2019
I first came across this comic in the early 90's after I was introduced to Grendel. I quickly gobbled up every Comico back issue of Grendel I could find of that title (Luckily, I had a great comic book shop that actually had most of these back issues. Trade paperbacks were incredibly rare back then, especially of indie 80's comics.) When I discovered Wagner also wrote Mage in 1984, I knew I must read it. Mage was a revelation to me at the time. Maybe it was just my first exposure to urban fantasy, but I tore through this title. I absolutely adored it. Re-reading it now, I can say it completely holds up. Fans of The Dresden Files will see a lot of similarities even though this was written at least 15 years earlier.
Wagner has clearly recolored the artwork and it's never looked better. I love the archetypes he sets up here. The pull of obscure characters from fairy. The battle with the Redcaps and the ogre. The Grackleflints are still very cool and Mirth remains one of my favorite characters. This volume is mainly world building and build up for the revelations found in the second half. Kevin Matchstick refuses to believe anything he's told even though he's just gained super-strength and is constantly set upon by the Grackleflints. I also like how Wagner used himself as the model for Kevin Matchstick. I can't wait to read the entire series as a whole now that Wagner has finished the trilogy.
Wagner has clearly recolored the artwork and it's never looked better. I love the archetypes he sets up here. The pull of obscure characters from fairy. The battle with the Redcaps and the ogre. The Grackleflints are still very cool and Mirth remains one of my favorite characters. This volume is mainly world building and build up for the revelations found in the second half. Kevin Matchstick refuses to believe anything he's told even though he's just gained super-strength and is constantly set upon by the Grackleflints. I also like how Wagner used himself as the model for Kevin Matchstick. I can't wait to read the entire series as a whole now that Wagner has finished the trilogy.
November 19, 2018
Matt Wagner is perhaps better known for his comics centred around the character Grendel (a masked assassin that ends up spawning something of a cult, not the monster from Beowulf) and his work at DC, but for me _Mage_ is his defining moment and it's a comic I remember from way back. I think I had just missed out on its initial print run and for one reason or another I had never been able to find a full set to pick up, though I had leafed through several issues and knew the basic story. The 'urban fantasy' vibe of magic intruding upon the modern world, tied with the Arthurian theme that lay beneath the story was right up my alley, though, and the whole conept of 'heroes reborn' that gets played out even more in the second series (sub-titled 'The Hero Defined' that I *did* manage to pick up in full during its initial run) had a big influence on me.
I finally managed to track down a TPB set of the 'Hero Discovered' arc and sat down to traipse down memory lane. I gotta admit that in this day and age the book seems a little less ground-breaking than I remember it being. The art is a little shaky (at least here in vol. 1) and while the story is still good it does often come across as the work of a fledgling writer (which, to be fair, Wagner was at the time). That being said I'm definitely glad to finally have this one in my collection and I reserve final judgement on the story as a whole until I've read the next volume which completes this arc. The story, for those who don't know, is about Kevin Matchstick, a young disaffected man who stumbles into a war between the forces of darkness and light (a war whose existence he staunchly professes to disbelieve in even as strange people and events keep dogging him) and who comes to discover that he is to play a central role in its outcome.
Matchstick ends up becoming the centre of a small band of heroes that include the snarky world-mage Mirth, the devoted tough-girl with a magic baseball bat Edsel (named after her beloved car), and the non-plussed Sean Knight. They are set against the mysterious Umbra Sprite and his spawn of 'Grakleflint' sons who also call upon the eldritch forces to aid them in their battle against our heroes. This volume is largely concerned with setting up the background of the eternal war (though few real questions about it are answered...certainly not to Kevin's satisfaction) and getting all of the main players on the board. There are some nice moments in here, particularly Kevin's run-in with the Redcaps and the Leanan Sidhe, but most of it is build-up that I think will have a greater pay-off in the next volume.
So...is this a lesson in not re-visiting favourites from the past? I wouldn't go that far even if this doesn't quite break the 4-star barrier. I'd say it's still worth a read and I gotta say that I still desperately want my Mage T-bolt t-shirt...damned if I can find one though!
I finally managed to track down a TPB set of the 'Hero Discovered' arc and sat down to traipse down memory lane. I gotta admit that in this day and age the book seems a little less ground-breaking than I remember it being. The art is a little shaky (at least here in vol. 1) and while the story is still good it does often come across as the work of a fledgling writer (which, to be fair, Wagner was at the time). That being said I'm definitely glad to finally have this one in my collection and I reserve final judgement on the story as a whole until I've read the next volume which completes this arc. The story, for those who don't know, is about Kevin Matchstick, a young disaffected man who stumbles into a war between the forces of darkness and light (a war whose existence he staunchly professes to disbelieve in even as strange people and events keep dogging him) and who comes to discover that he is to play a central role in its outcome.
Matchstick ends up becoming the centre of a small band of heroes that include the snarky world-mage Mirth, the devoted tough-girl with a magic baseball bat Edsel (named after her beloved car), and the non-plussed Sean Knight. They are set against the mysterious Umbra Sprite and his spawn of 'Grakleflint' sons who also call upon the eldritch forces to aid them in their battle against our heroes. This volume is largely concerned with setting up the background of the eternal war (though few real questions about it are answered...certainly not to Kevin's satisfaction) and getting all of the main players on the board. There are some nice moments in here, particularly Kevin's run-in with the Redcaps and the Leanan Sidhe, but most of it is build-up that I think will have a greater pay-off in the next volume.
So...is this a lesson in not re-visiting favourites from the past? I wouldn't go that far even if this doesn't quite break the 4-star barrier. I'd say it's still worth a read and I gotta say that I still desperately want my Mage T-bolt t-shirt...damned if I can find one though!
April 14, 2022
I great journey through the 1980's superhero world. I have always meant to read this series but never took the time to find all the issues needed to get the complete story. Awesome collected TPB. Interesting read. Very recommended
August 19, 2020
This is one I happened across by accident in the 90's. Oh shit, here comes Old Man Pete.
In the day, comics were kinda hard to find out about and follow. Because you basically had to show up to the comics shop and look around. Maybe you'd get something you liked already, and once in awhile you took a chance on something that looked cool, or maybe you'd heard a little something about it in Wizard or whatever.
I ended up with a hodgepodge of Mage comics over the years. The publication on this one is more than a little confusing, going like Volume 1 Part 1, Volume 1 Part 2, Volume 2, and so on. Just give us the damn numbers! And back then it's not like I could jump online and find out which books I was looking for. Confusing as all get-out.
So there are pluses and minuses to the modern era of comics, on the consumer side. It's not all "It was better back in the day!"
The Things That Were Better Back In The Day:
+Discovery was exciting. I was the first of my comics nerds friends to discover Scott Pilgrim and Walking Dead. That was some exciting shit. It also made it seem likely that there were hidden gems out there just waiting to be uncovered. So even a bad comics was not so bad because you could check that off the list and say, "No thanks!"
+Just being in the presence of something was exiciting. I remember distinctly seeing my first Giant Size X-Men #1. Going to that shitty basement con was worth it because I SAW that book in real life. This isn't a super rare book. Jump on eBay and you can get one with a high grade for $1-2k, which isn't a small amount of money, but consider that an Amazing Fantasy 15 (first appearance of Spider-Man, true believers) is easily $12,000 for a very low grade, and that gives you an idea. So there was that aspect as well.
+Collecting was more fun back then. Now it's really just a matter of money. If you can build up enough funds, you can get anything. Before eBay, you had to go out and find the shit.
+The cons were more fun. For me. Now that they're more mainstream, that's great, but for me personally, they just don't hold the same appeal. More on this some other time.
+I think knowing artists and writers through their art and writing was a better experience than knowing them through their work AND through social media. When it turns out someone is also awesome online, that's usually a non-factor, and when it turns out they're a jerk, it ruins stuff. So the online portion of all this isn't really additive to enjoyment of comics.
The Things That Are Better Today
+Almost everything is collected in trade paperback or available digitally. Lots of current readers don't realize it, but back in the day only a few very key storylines were ever published in a format other than the original floppy books. That has done a complete 180, maybe to the point of ridiculousness. It's like some companies that release old horror movies on Blu-Ray. Do I really need some of this shit in hi def? But anyway, it's nice that you can get your hands on this stuff and read it.
+Being able to figure out which books you're looking for is nice. I mean, even DC doesn't know the goddamn reading order for Batman, its own book, but at least you can read some different thoughts on the matter and maybe approximate a reasonable order. Figuring out which Mage book to read today is WAY easier.
+Digital reading...is good in some scenarios. It's nice to be able to read things that'd be hard to get ahold of otherwise, and for a reasonable price, but it's a mixed bag as far as an experience. More on that some other time.
I miss the old era of comics, not so much because of the comics themselves, but because I miss the way that we used to interact with comics, which isn't really an option anymore. It'd be like trying to interact with music the way we did in the 90's, by going to a record store, reading reviews in Rolling Stone, and so on. But I don't even know if bands put out records the same way they did in the 90's, like do they cram 15 songs onto an album, and then you sorta have to figure out what's filler? I don't even know. What I DO know is that my phone doesn't even have a headphone jack, most new computers don't even accept CD's, and it's getting pretty difficult to experience music the same way. So if you wanted to, it would amount to a holy quest of sorts, and you'd be an intentional luddite in a weird way.
Comics would be kind of the same deal. So maybe how I feel about the differences is irrelevant because they are what they are, and my feeling about them doesn't change them one bit.
In the day, comics were kinda hard to find out about and follow. Because you basically had to show up to the comics shop and look around. Maybe you'd get something you liked already, and once in awhile you took a chance on something that looked cool, or maybe you'd heard a little something about it in Wizard or whatever.
I ended up with a hodgepodge of Mage comics over the years. The publication on this one is more than a little confusing, going like Volume 1 Part 1, Volume 1 Part 2, Volume 2, and so on. Just give us the damn numbers! And back then it's not like I could jump online and find out which books I was looking for. Confusing as all get-out.
So there are pluses and minuses to the modern era of comics, on the consumer side. It's not all "It was better back in the day!"
The Things That Were Better Back In The Day:
+Discovery was exciting. I was the first of my comics nerds friends to discover Scott Pilgrim and Walking Dead. That was some exciting shit. It also made it seem likely that there were hidden gems out there just waiting to be uncovered. So even a bad comics was not so bad because you could check that off the list and say, "No thanks!"
+Just being in the presence of something was exiciting. I remember distinctly seeing my first Giant Size X-Men #1. Going to that shitty basement con was worth it because I SAW that book in real life. This isn't a super rare book. Jump on eBay and you can get one with a high grade for $1-2k, which isn't a small amount of money, but consider that an Amazing Fantasy 15 (first appearance of Spider-Man, true believers) is easily $12,000 for a very low grade, and that gives you an idea. So there was that aspect as well.
+Collecting was more fun back then. Now it's really just a matter of money. If you can build up enough funds, you can get anything. Before eBay, you had to go out and find the shit.
+The cons were more fun. For me. Now that they're more mainstream, that's great, but for me personally, they just don't hold the same appeal. More on this some other time.
+I think knowing artists and writers through their art and writing was a better experience than knowing them through their work AND through social media. When it turns out someone is also awesome online, that's usually a non-factor, and when it turns out they're a jerk, it ruins stuff. So the online portion of all this isn't really additive to enjoyment of comics.
The Things That Are Better Today
+Almost everything is collected in trade paperback or available digitally. Lots of current readers don't realize it, but back in the day only a few very key storylines were ever published in a format other than the original floppy books. That has done a complete 180, maybe to the point of ridiculousness. It's like some companies that release old horror movies on Blu-Ray. Do I really need some of this shit in hi def? But anyway, it's nice that you can get your hands on this stuff and read it.
+Being able to figure out which books you're looking for is nice. I mean, even DC doesn't know the goddamn reading order for Batman, its own book, but at least you can read some different thoughts on the matter and maybe approximate a reasonable order. Figuring out which Mage book to read today is WAY easier.
+Digital reading...is good in some scenarios. It's nice to be able to read things that'd be hard to get ahold of otherwise, and for a reasonable price, but it's a mixed bag as far as an experience. More on that some other time.
I miss the old era of comics, not so much because of the comics themselves, but because I miss the way that we used to interact with comics, which isn't really an option anymore. It'd be like trying to interact with music the way we did in the 90's, by going to a record store, reading reviews in Rolling Stone, and so on. But I don't even know if bands put out records the same way they did in the 90's, like do they cram 15 songs onto an album, and then you sorta have to figure out what's filler? I don't even know. What I DO know is that my phone doesn't even have a headphone jack, most new computers don't even accept CD's, and it's getting pretty difficult to experience music the same way. So if you wanted to, it would amount to a holy quest of sorts, and you'd be an intentional luddite in a weird way.
Comics would be kind of the same deal. So maybe how I feel about the differences is irrelevant because they are what they are, and my feeling about them doesn't change them one bit.
February 14, 2018
A unique mix of fantasy with an early 80's independent comic book publisher feel that told the entertaining story of Kevin Matchstick who after encountering the mysterious wizard Mirth discovers that he has super powers. As the story progresses characters that can sense Kevin's power and mission join the fight against the mysterious Umbra Sprite and his minions the Grackleflint as well as other magical beings. The art and style of the pages improves as the story progresses as well, with some interesting use of the comic panels in the storytelling. While I hadn't read this story before the green magic bat, black and white lightning bolt, red Edsel, and magic bubble imagery was familiar to me as an early 80's comic book store kid and it was fun finally reading the story. Collecting Mage the Hero Discovered #1-8.
February 21, 2020
I give it a 7/10.
It's probably unfair to review a story that came out so long ago, I believe this one started back in 1984. And some stories change their industries, start new trends. And probably when this one first came out started a something different, something new.
But I've read for the first time now, year 2020. I can see good ideas, a good structure, good decisions story wise. But sometimes it lost me too. The dialogues can be a little exhausting.
Choosing a regular guy for its main character was a good idea, but then again he isn't very interesting, probably by design. I've read many stories with this style, so it was hard to set apart from the rest. When I saw the lightsaber-bat I came to the conclusion that this was going to shamelessly be another Star Wars like hero journey but for a city guy.
It's probably unfair to review a story that came out so long ago, I believe this one started back in 1984. And some stories change their industries, start new trends. And probably when this one first came out started a something different, something new.
But I've read for the first time now, year 2020. I can see good ideas, a good structure, good decisions story wise. But sometimes it lost me too. The dialogues can be a little exhausting.
Choosing a regular guy for its main character was a good idea, but then again he isn't very interesting, probably by design. I've read many stories with this style, so it was hard to set apart from the rest. When I saw the lightsaber-bat I came to the conclusion that this was going to shamelessly be another Star Wars like hero journey but for a city guy.
March 27, 2020
Finally sat down to read through the whole series from beginning to end. Some of this feels familiar because I got bits and pieces of it back in high school when The Hero Defined was coming out. Mirth is such a cool character; Edsel too. Kevin makes an interesting reluctant and flawed hero and it's cool to watch the slow burn of the development with all the mythological trivia thrown in as foreshadowing to who this superhero is turning out to be, which in itself is a cool comment on the mythological and folkloric nature of comics in today's culture.
November 27, 2018
Re-reading since I just discovered the third series is almost done. I loved this back in the 80s when I first read it. The art is a lot rougher than I remembered, and Wagner has also come a long way with his storytelling skills since these early days. Even so, it’s a pretty good start, and every issue improves in art and writing.
August 17, 2017
Was great then, is still great today.
January 21, 2019
A solid introduction.
April 28, 2020
For such a pillar of independent comic storytelling, this did not age well. Well intentioned, but it’s execution feels a little clumsy.
March 25, 2022
It has some very good bones.
Some of the dialogue is a but drab and the foreshadowing is this as rice paper.
I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops.
Some of the dialogue is a but drab and the foreshadowing is this as rice paper.
I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops.
May 10, 2023
Magic is green, and what a hero's journey starts here. Still seems fresh even decades after bursting on the scene.
November 11, 2024
It has been quite awhile since I read the original comic books. The story has really stood the test of time. Excellent
Read
September 18, 2019The first half of Mage: The Hero Discovered establishes an intriguing hero’s quest with fun characters and a strong mythological foundation. This was released in 1984, and feels ahead of its time both in writing and art (though it doesn’t hold up as well today). I’ve been a Matt Wager fan for a few years now; Mage, along with Grendel, was the book that put him on the map, and it’s easy to see why. I’ll wait until I’ve finished volume two to write a comprehensive review of the series, because the 15 issues make up a complete story.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews