Jul. 1st, 2018

bedsitter23: (Default)
The Magic Order #1The Magic Order #1 by Mark Millar

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I consider myself as big as a Mark Millar fan as anyone, but I am a bit perplexed by the news of more Kick-A** and Kingsman movies being ordered. Surely, we are running out of steam on these franchises. This is on top of Millar partnering with Netflix for what is called the First Netflix Graphic Novel- the Magic Order.

I don't really know what that means, my comic shop owner friend said he got traffic for The Magic Order that he never seen before. So, it apparently worked.

I just think we have reached peak Millar for awhile, and getting excited over Millar seems so early-201xs like oh say, getting excited by a new something from Dane Cook or Blackeyed Peas or Glenn Beck.

In any case, I still consider myself a big fan, so here we are.

This comic had a few things besides the Netflix tie-in to get it some (**no such thing as bad**) publicity like full frontal male nudity and no reorders (only one printing).

All that said, as much as I like Millar and the hype, The Magic Order falls a bit flat.

There's plenty of the Millar sex and ultraviolence. I also don't blame Oliver Copiel who gives good illustrations as is often expected in Millarworld. It's not the pacing (at $4, the book moves quickly and isn't bogged with exposition, but still has plenty of content for money).

Maybe it's not even the idea- which has been explained a few ways, but is hard to beat as a "Harry Potter meet The Sopranos". Millar doesn't seem to do a lot that grabs in the first issue. Surely, it suffers in comparison to the works of Warren Ellis who would have likely knocked this one out of the park. Though Millar surely has the ability, no one seems to be able to compete with warrior mages on the level of Ellis these days.

Which is where this book ends for me. It's not bad, but nothing stands out. Perhaps I have read too many Vertigo titles over the years, but no character really stood out for me as well. Even at some of Millar's weakest points (MPH, Huck, Empress), I always took a heavy impression away from the story.

I didn't really do that with The Magic Order, which surely could have been done by others (Ellis, Morrison) with more pizzazz, more humor (Ennis) or at least equally competently by the likes of Peter Milligan.

I will stick with the series since there are elements there, but I am a bit underwhelmed walking out of issue one.



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