Bones of the Magus – A Review

Bones of the Magus

Disclaimer: I know the author.

Not personally. I discovered (yes, so it seemed) her on SFFWorld.com where the author sometimes dabbles in the flash fiction and short stories contests. Her stories were always well written and provocative. She visited the forums infrequently, but because I love her writing (both style and content) we developed a friendship over these here intertubes.

Nothing deep, and pretty infrequent, so I was completely surprised when she asked that I read the first issue of her soon-to-be published comic book.

I was, like, what? A comic book? Honey, I like you and all, but a comic book? I think I read, maybe, a panel or two in my life, but anything beyond the Sunday funnies just wasn’t for me.

No, no, she said. Not exactly a comic book…

I agreed with only a bit of trepidation. Comic books are not my thing, but anything Tristis writes is amazing, so this couldn’t be all that bad, right?

OMGonads, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Bones of the Magus is COMPLETELY AWESOME!

First, the story.

Bones of the Magus is about a mage lost on an unfamiliar world – ours. Inadvertently, he’s brought back to life by a priest down at the local Catholic church, and havoc ensues as the skeletal mage maneuvers through our world trying to figure out who and what he is as well as get back to his army.

You see, our mage is also a prince. A once-powerful prince with an amazing sorceress for a mom. In his quest to dominate the universe, he runs afoul with his family, and himself.

But that’s not the story. There’s so much more. You’ll just have to read it and get all the bony details yourself.

Second, the book.

Bones of the Magus is a compilation of four comic book issues: All that Remains; Where There’s a Will; Culture Clash; and Blood, Fire & Brimstone.

But here’s the thing – there’s no pictures.

No, that’s not right. There are pictures. Word pictures.  Like this:

Panel from Bones of the Magus

You see?  It’s a (un)comic book of words!

I thought it would be hard to read with all those panels and words jumping out at the reader, but Ms. Ward is a true master of the form.  The text arrangement and flow furthered the reader’s immersion in the story, and I soon found myself worrying and caring about a collection of bones.

Third…hmm, don’t really have a third point except…

I highly recommend this book.  The price may be a little steep, but it is a wonderful piece of unique literature that will leave you wanting more and going over the pages two, three, or more times.  It’s available from the small, but wonderful press: Broken Jaw Press (also, here).

I delve more into the religious aspects of Bones of the Magus on my other blog The Atheist’s Quill.

Happy Reading!

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• Tristis Ward (nilaewhite.wordpress.com)

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