Books of Magic, Vol. 1: Moveable Type

Books of Magic (2018)

by Kat Howard, Simon Spurrier, Nalo Hopkinson

Collecting issues #1-6 of the new DC Vertigo series! While Tim Hunter is trying to study and attract the cutest girl in his class, there are cultists who want to kill him, believing his magical powers will eventually corrupt him, turning him into a merciless mage who will bring upon the end of magic forever! Luckily, the new substitute teacher at his school wants to mentor him and educate him in the magical arts so that he can discover the secrets behind the Books of Magic...This collection also includes THE SANDMAN UNIVERSE SPECIAL #1!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Fiction, Dc Comics, Magic

200 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 16, 2019

About the author

Kat Howard is a writer of fantasy, science fiction, and horror who lives and writes in Minnesota.

Her novella, The End of the Sentence, co-written with Maria Dahvana Headley, was one of NPR's best books of 2014, and her debut novel, Roses and Rot was a finalist for the Locus Award for Best First Novel. An Unkindness of Magicians was named a best book of 2017 by NPR, and won a 2018 Alex Award. Her short fiction collection, A Cathedral of Myth and Bone, collects work that has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award, performed as part of Selected Shorts, and anthologized in year’s best and best of volumes, as well as new pieces original to the collection. She was the writer for the first 18 issues of The Books of Magic, part of DC Comics' Sandman Universe. Her next novel, A Sleight of Shadows, the sequel to An Unkindness of Magicians, is coming April 25, 2023. In the past, she’s been a competitive fencer and a college professor.

You can find her @KatwithSword on Twitter and on Instagram. She talks about books at Epigraph to Epilogue.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kat Howard's writing isn't necessarily bad, but it is severely decompressed. These 6 issues should have taken 2. It takes forever for the series to progress. It also seems like the 90's and 00's Books of Magic series were both ignored, leaving Neil Gaiman's and John Bolton's mini-series as the only canon left. I really missed Molly from the 90's series. Tom Fowler draws weird faces that leave characters looking like they have slits across their cheeks. Jordan Boyd's colors are really good though and hide some of Fowler's short-comings.

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 1 out of 5]

Right before reading this book, I read the original Books of Magic, by Neil Gaiman, and boy, are these two oceans apart!

My main problem with this series is how it perceives magic. Gaiman was careful to imbue magic with mystery and danger, as if surrounded with a hushed silence. There are consequences to wielding magic, and those consequences might not be directly noticeable. You have to tread very carefully.

This book basically sees magic as mechanical, as machinery - it's a weapon that goes ZAP!, it's a key that opens doors, it's a grabber arm to get a book on a high-up shelf, and so on. No mystery. Our protagonist, Tim Hunter, quickly learns how to do great and thunderous magicks, after only having had the lesson that he'd better use something as a focus (the choice of a screwdriver is pretty funny, I'll admit).

If the book had followed Gaiman's prompts, Tim would've taken small steps, doing small, intricate spells, and then he'd try to do too much too soon (the folly of youth!), and get smacked down.

The story is slow and dull, with strange logic jumps ("someone was murdered right outside my door, the police interviewed me, oh well- on with the plot"), and this volume's arc doesn't have an ending.

The main character is written like how an adult thinks young people talk, and isn't very believable or likeable. Other characters are basically cardboard, including the kind of school bully you only ever encounter in comics.

I can't help but feel that the whole book feels American, while it takes place in the UK. Something about the art style, I think, I can't put my finger on it. The art generally is pretty poor, and looks like a comic book from the 90s, especially disappointing after seeing John Bolton's beautiful art in the original run.

(Read as six single issues.)

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tim Hunter could be the most powerful magician of his age...if he could work out how magic works, of course. With some help (?) from Doctor Occult, Tim takes his first steps into the world of magic, but the consequences of his foray will haunt him and those he cares about forever.

Books Of Magic is a great concept. It's Harry Potter, but dingier, and a little less well-formed. These first six issues set up the basics, drawing on the older Books Of Magic concepts from back in the day and giving them a little twist here and there to update them.

Kat Howard's interpretation of the original material keeps this feeling fresh and not just a boring rehash of what came before. It's just a little...slow. All of the Sandman Universe books seem to be telling longer form stories that can't really be contained in six issue arcs, but it really takes a long time for things to kick into high gear, and then the book is over, which stalls the momentum.

One thing Howard does do however is make Tim a lot more likeable. His original incarnation in the previous Books Of Magic series was, to put it lightly, a little shit, and extremely hard to root for. Howard's Tim is a lot more sympathetic, and although he's a bit of a drip, it's understandable given everything that's thrust upon him.

On art we have industry vet Tom Fowler, who gives pretty much everything a very spindly look to it. Tim looks like the gangly teenager he is, and the very mundane colours give the proceedings a real authentic flair - magic isn't flashy, it's just part of the world that Tim hadn't noticed before.

Books Of Magic is a good foundation to build on, but it's missing a few bricks just now.

[ScottIsANerd (GrilledCheeseSamurai) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this well enough but it shouldn't have been 6 whole issues. I'm going to see what the 2nd trade is like and decide fully from there on whether or not I continue on. A solid three stars. It was fun but it didn't blow my mind.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is no depth to the character beyond his singular need to find his mother; his character lacks the depth and complexity of other Sandman universe characters.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another underwhelming DC/Vertigo-reboot.

I mean, why reboot the Books of Magic in the first place? I guess it had gone far past its comfortable niche with the later series. So, we could accept a reboot if this new series were great.

But this new series is just OK. We have a young Tim Hunter. We have the traditional prophecies. We have a really quick ramp-up on him doing magic. We have an alternate love interest. We have Rose hanging around, totally stealing his agency. We have a gratuitous crossover with The Dreaming. And we have lots of issues that feel pretty unconnected.

It all could become something good again, but this isn't the great Books of Magic from years past under Rieber than Gross.

[Sirene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sehr spannender Einstieg ins Neil Gaiman's Sandman Universum und auch ein sehr düsterer Einstieg. Zunächst war ich etwas verwirrt, da bereits irgendwas vorher passiert ist in der Geschichte, aber trotzdem kam ich gut voran und war wirklich gefesselt von der düsteren Story, die auch sehr magisch, bzw. etwas märchenhaft rüberkam.
Werde die Reihe weiter lesen!

[Sem · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is probably the most ambivalent I've been on a comic in a while. On the one hand, I like the art and Kat Howard pleasantly surprised me with her first novel (Roses & Rot) and does relatively well writing this one. However, the main character is just that perfect mixture of annoying brat and blah teenager that makes me yawn and the plot is slow on its feet with very basic teases of evil to come. There's the mysterious mentor, the evil elite society, the mundanely magical occurrences around our hero... It's all very regular and that's not a good description for a book about magic. I expect Howard to do some excellent subversions later on or, otherwise, this is going to be as middling as they come.

[Alex_Neige · Rating 1 out of 5]

1/5~

This is a no for me. Didn't enjoy and will not be continuing with this series.

[Lucille · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5
Come on, it has a magical boy and it's set in the sandman universe, I had to read this! The cover art are the most gorgeous ever, but the way the interior art draws faces is weird/ugly. Otherwise everything from the dream lands, to library settings and etc are gorgeous. I love the owl !

[Layla Crowie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark, magical and full of mystery.

This beautifully illustrated story drew me in and kept me on my toes from start to finish. Dark fantasy mixed with murder and mystery. It was so good, I can't wait to read more!

[Victoria Hawco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eat your heart out JKR.

[Eric Morneau · Rating 4 out of 5]

bien aimé, le rythme aurait pu être plus rapide mais bien agréable quand meme

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://youtu.be/fWANTBGIK_4

[Gala · Rating 3 out of 5]

мені сподобалося, хоча я не читала оригіналу, але це такі історії, як я люблю. я візуально вони мені також симпатичні
головна проблема - головний герой. у нього повно причин бути таки як є - імпульсивним та нестерпним. але завдяки його поведінці сюжет регулярно блукає по колу

[Justin Labelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Playful, at times dark take on Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey.
To be honest, It's hard not to fall in love with anything that's connected with the Sandman universe.
If you like magic, the dark arts, Fate vs. Free will as a theme and dark alleyways filled with threatening-cult like members, this is for you.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uma das grandes lástimas do mercado editorial de quadrinhos brasileiro do início do século XXI foi a diáspora da Vertigo por diversas editoras pequenas. Isso evitou que diversos materiais do selo de quadrinhos adultos fossem publicados regularmente por aqui. Os quadrinhos que hoje compõem o Universo de Sandman, como O Sonhar, Lúcifer e Os Livros da Magia nunca foram publicados na íntegra aqui no Brasil. Então, nesta nova leva destas revistas, sob a chancela de Neil Gaiman, nós, brasileiros, não sabíamos o que esperar destes títulos. Podemos dizer que, com a leitora deste último dos primeiros encadernados, o de Livros da Magia, entendemos que o Universo de Sandman enquanto inciativa, se saiu bem 75%: ou seja Sonhar, Lúcifer e Livros da Magia conseguiram acompanhar o compasso dos títulos anteriores e tiveram êxito em trazer histórias revigorantes. Já A Casa dos Sussurros não foi tão interessante assim. Os Livros da Magia possui outra peculiaridade: é o único arco dos quatro títulos que não se encerra, mas promete continuar na próxima edição. Assim fica aquele sentimento de desolação e abandono. Opção editorial ou da roteirista, acreditamos que o selo Universo de Sandman ainda tem uma longa e próspera estrada pela frente.

[Lukáš Pokorný · Rating 2 out of 5]

Terribly paced - some parts are draggy and some are rush. It's shallow (emotionally and philosophically) and full of cliché and overused tropes. In compare to The Wayward series this book is much worse.

[Deb Omnivorous Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice collection of early Books Of Magic / Tim Hunter stories, numbers one through to six (I think). The artwork was a particular draw for me in these ones, nice, atmospheric often great colouring and creative framing. The stories were... ok.

I have to confess, I never loved the Books of Magic as much as I wanted to. I Adored the original The Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman and very much enjoyed The Books of Magic, Volume 1: Bindings by John Ney Rieber but the rest of the series never really grabbed me. Part of that is that I don't think I every really 'got' Tim Hunter. As a character he is too random and irascible in all the other volumes, he can also be quite irritating and many of the stories are not cohesive enough in themselves to hold my interested without the main character being one I enjoy.

Also, while this book has Neil Gaiman on the cover it was not written by him as far as I know. He has a deft writing style for the mythic which seems lost in the later Tim Hunter books.

This one was ok, in some ways. Those ways being that this is early stages of the story of Tim's journey, so there is a kind of 'historic interest element'. Tim gets some books that are to lead him into being a magician. Except there is not a lot of magic, no teaching at all and it is mostly Tim charging around like a bull in a china shop all over the place for no real reason as far as I could see. Ok, I get it, he is a child/teenager, not an adult. But it is all too random, almost EVERY other character is more interesting than Tim himself, even his crippled father who never moves from in front of the TV.

So an ok volume, but nothing that makes me burn to go out and find the next installment of Tim being random.

[Anja von "books and phobia" · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mein erster Ausflug in das Sandman Universe ist geschafft und war überraschend vielschichtig. Zusammen mit Tim Hunter vollbrachte ich nicht nur den Sprung in diese Welt, sondern durfte auch ein magisches Abenteuer erleben, das mich sehr beeindruckte.



Schon die Vorstellung von Tim Hunter fand ich sehr gelungen, da sie wie in einem Märchen mit „Es war einmal …“ begann. Dabei zeigte sich das Tim eigentlich ein ganz normaler Junge ist, welcher im Unterricht immer wieder mal einschläft und dann von Magiern träumt. Warum nicht! Trotzdem fiel es mir von Anfang an schwer, ihn als gewöhnlich zu betrachten. Sein Wesen und sein eher trauriges Leben gaben ihm einfach etwas Besonderes. Dass er dann auch noch tatsächlich zum Magier werden durfte, bestätigte mich da nur.



Mit der Handlung hatte ich trotzdem etwas zu kämpfen, da sie sehr sprunghaft und unglaublich schnell ablief. Als Nicht-Kennerin des Universe hätte ich mir einen langsameren Einstieg gewünscht, wobei ich im Laufe der Zeit doch mit den Geschehnissen mithalten konnte. Besonders gelungen empfand ich dabei den Umstand, dass man wirklich niemanden trauen konnte und nicht wusste, wer nun wirklich nur das Beste für Tim will. Ich mag sowas total, da es hier stets zu überraschenden Wendungen kommt. Auch hier war dies der Fall.



Was ich auch sehr mochte, war das Cover. Ich mochte die vielen Details, welche sich im Laufe des Bandes erklärten. Mit was ich aber ein paar Probleme hatte, war der Zeichenstil im Inneren. Natürlich nicht komplett, aber gerade bei den Gesichtern hatte ich oftmals das Gefühl, das es sich um Karikaturen handeln sollte. Sie wirkten sehr verzerrt und bekamen dadurch manchmal auch etwas Gruseliges. Was mir aber dafür gefiel, war die Umgebungsgestaltung. Diese war stimmig und schaffte es einfach mich zu begeistern.



Mein erster Ausflug in das Sandman Universe war eine abenteuerliche und magische Reise, welche aber auch ein paar Hindernisse hatte. Gerade mit den Gesichtern hatte ich so meine Probleme, da sie einfach zu verzerrt aussahen und daher manchmal nicht so ganz in das atmosphärische Setting passten. Da ich aber unbedingt wissen will, wie es mit Tim weiter geht, freue ich mich bereits darauf den 2. Band zu lesen.

[Alex Sarll]

The other Sandman Universe books have their flaws, but they do at least feel like prestige projects. This is just miserable and dull. As a character, Tim Hunter has always struggled since another fated boy wizard with glasses and an owl turned up, but creators have found interesting ways to work around that, not least in the much underappreciated Books of Magick: Life During Wartime. All of which this reboot wipes out, instead picking up right after the original miniseries, except that it's now happening in the present day, probably - if I were feeling charitable I'd say the generic teen visuals are to help brush over that. Tim always had his frustrating side; he was a kid from nowhere much suddenly shown what the world could offer, and given a troubling prophecy of his role in it, so what do you expect? But this edges the dial up, meaning we now have a whiny, entitled little prick wanting more magic, now, while getting into generic teenage scrapes at a generic miserable school and being stalked by generic evil cultists. The mentor, the bully, the mystery are all exactly as you've seen them a hundred times before; even the trip to the Dreaming feels flat. Pretty much the only novel touch is that Tim has a screwdriver for a wand, but even that serves less to make him feel like a young Doctor than to make him look like he's about to stab someone up.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never read Neil Gaiman's original 4-issue run of Books of Magic, nor did I read any of the subsequent runs, so, naturally, of the four titles initially announced for the first wave of Sandman Universe series, this one was the one I was least interested in. It's not that I wasn't interested in the premise - I love a good story about people learning how to do magic - but it was more the idea that, due to my lack of knowledge of any of the previous stories, I'd be totally lost going into this comic and find myself unable to enjoy it for what it is. Thankfully, that's not what happened. Unfortunately, it is still my least favorite 'volume 1' of the three in the Sandman Universe that I've read so far. 

Books of Magic: Moveable Type isn't a bad graphic novel; it's just very average. The biggest issue is that it moves at such a break-neck pace that it's very hard to really immerse yourself into the story or to connect with the main character - especially when compared to titles like The Dreaming or Lucifer. But, some positives first. This book is surprisingly accessible to those who have never read a single comic in any of the previous iterations of the series. The first issue opens with a very quick recap of Gaiman's original miniseries (told in a very clever dream sequence that doesn't feel particularly expository) that gives you just enough of the vital backstory in order to understand and enjoy this new story being told. Also, based on a bit of research, it appears that this title is disregarding every previous Books of Magic series, aside from Gaiman's original. So, there's that. After that, we're fairly quickly thrown into the action as Tim Hunter is given a Book of Magic by his new substitute teacher and the action pretty immediately explodes.

Don't be fooled: while this comic centers around a teenage protagonist, it's very much a comic for more mature readers. There's a lot of gore and violence and language in this comic, making it clear that the target audience is definitely the same as the rest of The Sandman Universe's. But, interestingly, the writing itself doesn't feel very mature. Very little time is spent getting to know any character besides Tim and, even then, we don't really get to know him outside of his - pretty typical - teenage impulses and his drive to figure out what happened to his mother prior to the beginning of the series. Other than that, he feels a bit like every other teenager protagonist in stories like this. He's inexperienced and rash and impatient. Perhaps that's the point; perhaps he's supposed to feel very "everyman", but the comic doesn't really make it clear that's what it's going for, so it does come across as feeling a bit underdeveloped. Especially when you couple it with just how quickly the whole volume is paced. Everything happens so fast and very little time is spent with any individual event before we're rushed into the next one. Again, it's a choice, but I tend to prefer comics that take a bit more time to explore their plots. I wouldn't go so far as to say the pacing is a problem but it's something that didn't really work for me.

The artwork, penciled by Tom Fowley and colored by Jordan Boyd, falls into a similar camp. It's very stylized - intentionally so, I'd suspect - and does mostly work for the kind of story that's being told. It does take a bit of time to really get used to the style of artwork, though, especially when it comes to the facial expressions of the characters. This period of adjustment is most applicable when it comes to Tim Hunter's character design; he's full of sharp angles and exaggerated expressions and it can often seem out of place in the visual context of the rest of the scene. There were numerous times where the artwork seemed to be showing Tim in a more sinister light while the text itself - and the rest of the visual clues - didn't seem to support that. But, aside from that, the artwork is very good. I particularly dug Fowley's background artwork and creature design. He does a superb job in issue 5 with depicting The Dreaming; it looks similar enough to the artwork in The Dreaming to be identifiably The Dreaming while still maintaining Fowley's established style within the work of Books of Magic. Boyd's colors, however, are superb. They go a long way toward bringing Fowley's linework to life and the combination of Fowley and Boyd's styles makes for a very visually interesting experience.

All in all, Books of Magic: Moveable Type is not a bad graphic novel, but it's not quite as good as The Dreaming and Lucifer are. Perhaps it's merely down to the fact that this comic seems to be targeted at different audiences than those two are; perhaps it's more of a personal taste issue, it's really hard to say. What I can say is that I just don't have any strong feelings about this book positive or negative. Everything moved so quickly that I don't feel like I really got a chance to connect with the main character of the series, so it's hard for me to be emotionally invested in his personal journey. The world of the comic is cool, but I don't really feel inspired to continue reading the title past this volume. I'll probably pick up subsequent volumes at some point and see if the story develops into something that piques my interest a bit more, but I won't exactly be rushing out to do so. But that's not to say this is a bad comic; I definitely don't think that. There's a lot of good stuff here: some really great visuals, some interesting characters (that just really need some more development), and a plot that has the potential to go somewhere really interesting in the future. If you dug Gaiman's original mini-series, I suspect you'll dig this. If you didn't, it still might be worth a try. You never know, what didn't work for me might work a lot better for you.

[Camilo Guerra · Rating 3 out of 5]

¿Como no amar este libro?, Un concepto de Gaiman donde Tim Hunter es contactado por grandes de la magia del universo DC, incluido el mismisimo Constantine, y le dicen que puede ser el mago mas grande de la historia pero sin saber si eso sea bueno o malo, y le dana elegir, ¿quiere seguir ese camino o ser normal?, de ahi en adelante, nos encontramos con un libro que recomendaria a cualqueir persona que le gusten los comcis, o als buenas historias, que queira entrar a este mundo de las viñetas, si le gusta Harry Potter, si extraña Vertigo Comics ..si, la historia es a veces previsible pero no por eso menos disfrutable, desde lo que sentimos por Tim , que a ratos lo compadecemos, a ratos lo odiamos pero lo acompañamos y es un gusto ver a viejos extraños como el mundo de The Dreaming y a Lettie, que bueno verla.

[Mayu Vargas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este cómic pertenece el universo "The Sandman", la versión 2018 de Kat Howard de una historia de Gaiman....Tim Hunter un adolescente(con una pinta muy Potter) descubre que es mago y tiene el potencial de ser el más poderoso, malo o bueno?, esa es la duda. El cómic no es muy bueno🤔, ni el dibujo, ni la trama, me terminan de convencer.

[Jelka · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5*
Supposedly this is a good starting point into the Sandman Universe...
I completely disagee. Nothing was explained, a lot of characters are name-dropped and the reader is thrown right into the middle of a seemingly long ongoing plot.
The pacing is way too fast.
On top of that the main character is completely flat and uninteresting.

Overall very unsatisfying.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Harry Potter? Nahh Tim Hunter.

[Alfit0 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Todo ocurre casualmente dentro dela misma escuela, algunos guiños a la historia anterior, pero falta mucho desarrollo de personaje

Aparte de que ignora toda la serie de los 90s y 2000s, dejando solo como canon la miniserie de Gaiman

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

When you reboot a series, you will inevitably invite comparisons between the reboot and the original. And I am sad to say that the first volume of this series pales in comparison to John Ney Rieber's ongoing Books of Magic series from the 1990s. This one does have potential for future greatness, but the first arc is so slow to drag along and get moving, it's really kind of a snore. The adventure hook that comes in at the end of the volume really should have happened about four issues prior.

What I loved so much about Ney Rieber's series is that it balanced the magical and the mundane so well--one minute Tim would be dealing with the sorts of things any teenage boy might struggle with, and the next he's chatting with Death, or running from the Manticore that wants to kill him. You really felt reading it that anything at all could happen. The 1990s series really delved into the fantastic right out the gate, and here it really feels like author Kat Howard is dragging her feet to slowly introduce us to the magical world, which seems wholly unnecessary given that Neil Gaiman's miniseries already introduced us to some wildly fascinating magical stuff. The whole time I was reading this I couldn't wait for the story to stop spinning its wheels and actually get started. Fortunately, I seem to have been rewarded that at the very end of this volume, so with the promise of what I desire seemingly right around the corner, I eagerly await the next chapter.

Very little of actual interest occurs in this volume--Tim is trying to learn magic, a teacher at his school offers to mentor him and her true motivations remain mysterious (though she very much seems to be Doctor Occult), some cultists are trying to kill him because he may become evil (or not evil enough depending on who you ask), but it all just feels a bit bland. Also, is it just me or are there enough teachers at Tim's school who are revealed to actually be mages that he may as well be attending Hogwarts? Mostly Tim just kind of putters around trying to figure things out, which isn't terribly exciting to read.

I just hope that this decompression that is drawing out the story to a tedious pace tightens up soon, because right now, much like I experienced with the newly rebooted Dreaming series, this only made me more interested in rereading the original ongoing series than continuing to follow this incarnation. Kat Howard, please take me somewhere magical, surprising, and cool--and do it soon.

Also, I quite enjoyed Tom Fowler's art.

[Fernando Medeiros santos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seria coincidência mesmo?

Não sou a pessoa mais mística que eu conheço, mas depois de ter lido uma resenha muito boa sobre essa série e ter sonhado com ela, senti que era o momento de dar uma chance, ainda mais porque essa história se passa no universo de Sandman.

Como eu só li esse primeiro volume, é meio complicado falar sobre o enredo, mas vamos lá: o personagem principal é Timothy Hunter, um garoto que está destinado a ser o maior mago de sua era. Obviamente isso desperta a atenção de alguns grupos que por algum motivo querem matá-lo. Ao mesmo tempo, alguma coisa está fazendo com que o Sonhar entre em ruínas.

Sabendo dessa sinopse, vamos endereçar esse pequeno desconforto que estamos sentido: sim é tudo MUITO parecido com Harry Potter. Começando pela aparência física e jeito dos personagens (Harry e Tim usam óculos, têm um jeitinho nerd de ser, estão completamente deslocados no "mundo sem magia"); passando pela história que contém uma predestinação forte (Harry está destinado a derrotar Voldemort enquanto Tim será o mago mais f*da de todos); ambos possuem corujas brancas como mascotes (e isso, particularmente, me chocou muito. É coincidência demais).

Longe de mim querer apontar quem copiou quem, até porque eu acredito que as pessoas, algumas vezes, merecem o benefício da dúvida mesmo que elas sejam transfóbicas convictas, MAS "Os livros da magia" foram inicialmente lançados em 1990, enquanto que a primeira publicação de Harry Potter foi em 1997. Fica aí a reflexão para todos.

Independente das polêmicas que estou tentando criar foi um ótimo quadrinho de abertura para uma série. Os personagens são interessantes, o desenho é lindíssimo e o número de pontas soltas que foram criadas chega a ser um abuso por tanta curiosidade que geraram em mim. Posso ser até um pouco suspeito para falar porque eu amo o esquema da magia dentro do Universo DC: a combinação de rituais bizarros, viagens interdimensionais, entidades misteriosas e personagens com poderes semicriativos, todos habitando um ambiente punk gótico é a mistura para uma história que eu irei pagar pau.

Ansioso pelos próximos números.

Leia se você curtir:
- Personagens principais que sejam magos usando óculos "de nerd"
- Sandman!
- Aquela violência explícita que só quadrinhos da DC conseguem proporcionar.

[C. John Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timothy Hunter has a problem. According to some prophecy he will become the greatest mage of all time. He will also choose to use his powers for evil. As a result some of the good guys want to kill him. There is also a group dedicated to evil who want to kill him in case he decides not to become evil. And we thought Harry Potter had it bad. All Timothy wants to do is find his mother who disappeared some time ago. Fortunately he does have an ally, a young lady named Dr. Rose, who seems to have magic abilities of her own.
I have the original Books of Magic mini-series and this book seems to carry on from there. This book is part of the Sandman Universe but can be read on its own. As well it can be read without having read the earlier comics, as there is material near the beginning that will bring you up to speed. I will admit to some confusion but that is due to my unfamiliarity with the Sandman Universe. There are characters from that universe, Cain and Abel, who I am familiar with and others, such as Eve, who are unknowns to me. I suspect many of them were hosts of some of DC’s horror titles at one time. I know that is the case with Cain and Abel. There is also a brief cameo by four of DC’s occult heroes, namely The Phantom Stranger, Constantine, Mr. E and Dr. Occult. This would seem to tie these books to the regular DC Universe.
There are a couple of very interesting characters, at least to me. One is Dr. Rose. I am sure this is someone I have encountered before but I just can’t figure out where. Clearly though she will be a major part of the story. The other is Hettie, who appears to be a homeless older lady. I have a feeling there is more to her than meets the eye. There are also two schoolmates of Timothy’s, Ellie who is his friend and Tyler who most assuredly is not. There are also characters who I have no idea of how they are going to fit in, like an alligator who can walk on two legs and wear a suit, including a top hat.
All in all this was a very enjoyable romp. I am definitely looking forward to the next volume in the series. Hopefully some of my questions will be answered.