THE MAGIC ORDER 3 #4: The Problem With Uncles and Zealots

Millar splits the narrative track between events unfolding in Moonstone Castle and Rosie Moonstone as she follows Sacha Sanchez, lured by promises of being able to cut loose with her magic. Things go sour as Uncle Edgar’s enchantment seems to be slipping with devastating results for the first Moonstone, who has been recuperating in the castle for the last 500 years. Meanwhile, Rosie and Sanchez pass through the multiverse of books until they stand face to face with a creature believed to have dreamed our world into existence. It’s here that Sanchez’s real intentions are revealed.

What stands out in this issue is how Millar ties what’s happening at the moment back to moments of from both the original and the second series, giving them context even as he steams ahead with the current story in an impressive display of planning and execution. Along with these callbacks, Millar plays with the idea of the multiverse using books, comics, and literature as the central conceit. It’s an issue filled with shocking moments and smartly executed ideas from Millar that ends with everything hanging in the balance, including Rosie’s life. In between, we get very cool tales of the crypt-style story from Millar marvelously brought to life in the style of Alex Toth by Gigi Cavengago. Millar’s character voice is solid, although Sanchez seems to be a bit of a weird contrast: a zealot who is quite happy to kill children based on a personal hunch yet feels bad about it.

Again Cavenago and colorist Valentina Napolitana bring Millar’s wild, magical concepts and monsters to life with a mix of contrasting colors and expressive and detailed line art. Not only do we get the Toth classic horror comic tribute, but the Dracula moment feels like it’s tipping its hat to Mignola, although that could be the use of red more than the line art itself. It’s an issue that has everything from violent bedroom horror moments to meta worlds within worlds to bold double splash pages filled with strange magical creatures the likes of which you’ve never seen (or in this instance, have, IF you have followed the series since the first volume)and then right back to more studied and intimate character moments and realizations. All of this is handled adeptly by the art team that turns Millar’s script into an intriguing world filled with magic, horror, death, and wonder.