Mark Millar's Magic Order

[seismic-2]

I just tonight read issue #5. (OK, I'm weeks behind in my comics reading. So sue me.) Like others who posted above, I did not see this coming. In addition to the plot twist, it was fun to see a bit of the concept of The Unwritten thrown into the mix, too. I am now eager to see how our master "escapologist" gets out of this one!

[ed2962]

The climax was pretty good. Not perfect, but decent.

[your_name_here]

Yeah, I agree. The whole series has been okay but unfortunately never reached groundbreaking. It might have benefitted being a longer series - a magic version of Millars Ultimates, almost.
Looking forward to the second book, though.

[AmiMizuno]

I'm still wondering how she brought back her friends and family.

[your_name_here]

I'm still wondering how she brought back her friends and family.

Magic
10char

[LooneyKoala]

This issue just felt a bit underwhelming, especially after how great the series started. It all feels a like it was a bit neat and predictable. Not saying that it was bad or anything, just not great.

[DoodleMaster]

"I'm still wondering how she brought back her friends and family."

She used the same spell that Albany and Gabriel wanted to use. She had read the entire book and in theory has many of those spells in her head.

So Albany was simply holding a grudge about the book? An interesting follow-up might have been what she really would have done without (of course she would be corrupted).

So the Dad wouldn't use the spell to save the kid but his daughter uses it to bring everyone back? Seems like a genie out of the bottle thing.

I was surprised how Millar never softened or humanized Gabriel's obsession with his plan. Or used another character to confront Gabriel about how he could really think he'd walk into the sunset with his family after murdering/sacrificing his family.

I was glad for the "happy" ending, though. All in all I like the story and loved the art - I followed Coipel to the book.

[Arfguy]

Just finished reading the last issue. Great, great stuff. I love what Mark Millar brings to comics. Not everything he does works for me (Chrononauts was kinda meh), but he is trying to do what I think all comics should try to do, these days: tell a story that can be marketed easily. I think he writes comics to make into movies. I, for one, think that's great. There are some excellent comics I would love to get my non-comic book reading friends to watch as a movie. I have a friend that loves all comic book stuff I talk about, but he says he cannot get into the rhythm of reading comics.

The Magic Order was tightly written and illustrated with great style and structure. I loved it. I will be reading it again soon.

[matt levin]

Sorry to disagree with so many, but for me, this ultimately was boring-- didn't care for any of the characters, the turns of plot seemed kind of arbitrary to me, and the resolution... just...o.k. Not a set I'm keeping, but I'm glad it found a happy audience.

[Paradox_Nihil]

Sorry to disagree with so many, but for me, this ultimately was boring-- didn't care for any of the characters, the turns of plot seemed kind of arbitrary to me, and the resolution... just...o.k. Not a set I'm keeping, but I'm glad it found a happy audience.

You are not disagreeing with me, or, rather, since you've said it first, I'm not disagreeing with you. Millar is a wonderful generator of ideas. Unfortunately, that's all he is, in terms of skill (or maybe even interests).

On the other hand, this is an impressive book visually.

[Lee Stone]

Just read the first two issues (and only the first page and half of this thread to avoid spoilers)...

And I didn't come for Millar (he's okay, just not a favorite) or Coipel (liked him on Legion, didn't like him on Thor or Avengers... but he looks much improved here... probably because Netflix money is involved)...
I actually came for the characters and concept (not a lot of traditional magic comics out there that try to stay grounded in the real world) and Dave Stewart (undoubtedly the best colorist in comics today)...

I'm liking it so far, although the mages are being plowed through pretty fast.

And I think magic is handled really well in the book. The Changing spell, in particular, was done in great fashion from the subtle build up through the visuals and up to the completion of the spell.

[cc008]

Just finished all 6 issues, first time reading through all of them. I loved it. I don't know why I didn't pick this up when they were all released initially, but I'm glad I was able to get my hands on it now.

[seismic-2]

The unexpected plot twist here was Uncle Edgar. His backstory would have been worth a seventh book in the series. Now that we know that Cordelia has read the forbidden book from cover to cover, is she the only mage who knows its contents? Is she now the world's most powerful practitioner of black magic? Can she possibly retain that forbidden knowledge without putting it to use, especially in a crisis?

[maninthemacintosh1606]

Someone tell Mark Miller that Dostoevsky wrote Crime and Punishment, not Tolstoy.

[Mr. White]

The unexpected plot twist here was Uncle Edgar. His backstory would have been worth a seventh book in the series. Now that we know that Cordelia has read the forbidden book from cover to cover, is she the only mage who knows its contents? Is she now the world's most powerful practitioner of black magic? Can she possibly retain that forbidden knowledge without putting it to use, especially in a crisis?

Those are the questions that keep them up at night.