Books of Magic #2 Hunter Becomes The Hunted

Art: Once again a truly stunning cover by Kai Carpenter which informs the narrative, without giving too much away as it shows the primness of Rose as she hovers above Tim with blood on her hands, conjuring a stark image of the boy himself. This could indicate the blood may be his or perhaps another. It is only when we read the story inside we discover the victim and also the true nature of Rose and her intentions. The inspired use of Illuminated Manuscript within the narrative underpins the impact the book is having on Tim and the use of this devise is an enlightening one, as it serves a dual purpose as both narrator and portent of things to come. The very statement ‘magic has consequences’ overshadows the scene where Tim uses the power to defend himself from his attackers, only to end up surrounded by bodies and also as Tim creates the focus of his power.
This is a dire indication of the very thing Rose saw after practising Extispicy, especially in the imagery we can clearly see, which shows Tim as having a clear choice between good and evil, with the path of evil giving dire predictions of “the end” spelled out clearly in the assassins entrails, a warning that his future is beset with danger.
Similarly the lettering and coloring are themselves telling a great story with full on sound effects and lighting giving several scenes added flavor with either stark lighting or a foreboding air of darkness. The image of Tim attempting to use his newly acquired magic wand as a divining rod to find his mother gave me a feel of the raw power at his disposal and Todd and Jordan both show their skill here in feeding their own voice into the story as it unfolds.
Also the scene where Tim goes running into the unknown to save his mother has a simplistic poetry about it, indicating his foray into the darkness is going to be fraught with danger and mystery. A simple device that tells so much in one picture. This gives me hope that even in the art there is so much of the story being told and gives the feel of the narrative which shows Kat has a great accomplice in Tom.
Writing: Kat herself has a great knack for retaining both the humor and tragedy of the original miniseries created by Gaiman. First in the sheer lack of interest shown by his father and Tim’s despondency at his so called protectors response and then later in the sarcastic exchange between Rose and Tim, all have the flavor of the familiar here. She really has a feel for the origins of the book and holds true to the characters.

Characters: Rose is as mysterious as always here. Though I’m not sure how I feel about seeing her murder an admittedly sinister person in the alley, I do feel she is clearly acting in Tim’s best interests. I also worry that, when she decides he is heading too much toward the darkness, she will switch her identity to Doctor Occult and then Tim better look out as he isn’t as forgiving as his alter ego.
Tim himself is becoming so much more engaging as he finds his way in the world of magic, full of wide eyed wonder of what he is discovering. And his ignorance of Rose’s warnings in favor of plunging headlong into things in attempt to learn all he can is typical of his history and we can see he will do as he always has and rush impatiently into any situation believing he knows best.
Finally the support characters and Ellie is seen again and so far hasn’t risen to the same heights as Molly, though given what is going on I’m assuming she hasn’t much of a part to play yet. But as consequences begin to unravel in Tim’s life for his actions we can assume she will be drawn into things much as Molly was. Also Tim’s father is being shown as detached from events, though less so than in the original series in the 90’s. He is again more aware of Tim and does at least interact with him, albeit with less parental concern than Tim obviously needs.