The Magic Order 5 #1: A Marked Woman

It’s a graphic and violent start to the last chapter in the story of Cordelia and the Magic Order. Millar has never shied away from graphic violence and this opener is no exception as a mother has her children abducted from her by a strange close eyed individual with a demonic symbol on his forehead. The imagery is disturbing and while Buffagni doesn’t go too over the top in his depiction of the violence visited on the woman in both incidents, I think it’s fair to give a content warning here for anyone reading this review before they read the issue.

Enter Cordelia, Miller doesn’t really give any major clues to how much time has passed since the events of the previous volume, but clearly some time has, as Cordelia now has an apprentice name Gator. Cordelia and Gator head to meet Carly Summers in hospital after the second abduction and with a little magic they locate the child and head off to find it, only to find themselves walking into a trap!

It’s pure setup from Millar but he keeps it engaging by mixing in some new unknown characters, even as he pushes the narrative along. We meet a character named Jake who’s possessed by three of the worst demons ever to exist and while he refuses an offer to collect the bounty on Cordelia, there’s no doubt he’ll be playing a part in the upcoming drama to unfold. The issue ends with Cordelia waking up and finding herself in strange unexplained circumstances. Millar concentrates more on the what and leaves out all of the how and most of the why which adds to the mystery of the issue. Over all it’s a strong engaging setup chapter that promises lots of drama to come.

One of the reasons I have followed the Magic Order series from day one is the artists Millar has gotten to work on the book. Olivier Coipel, Stuart Immonen, Gigi Cavenago, Dike Ruan and now Matteo Buffagni. An absolute murderers row of artist talent. Buffagni is accompanied by Giovanna Niro on colors with Clem Robbins on letters and just like all the artistic teams before they do not disappoint. Buffagni has a marvelous classic and clean style that focuses the eye on wonderful fully rendered realistic looking characters in the foreground of every panel. He’s no slouch on backgrounds either and every panel, even seemingly insignificant, ones feels like it’s gotten 100 percent attention from him. I’ve sung Giovanna Niro’s praises many times in other reviews of previous volumes of the series. One of her talents is that she adapts her style of coloring to the artist she’s coloring which means every chapter feels individual and unique. Niro saves the bolder colors for the dramatic and supernatural moments like the soundtrack of a movie where the bold and bombastic music lifts the dramatic scene. Niro does this with color on the page. The effect combined with Buffagni’s art is cinematic in nature and I could easily see it translate to screen (where is that Magic Order Tv Series anyways??)