“…if it’s one thing junkies are really, really good at it’s negotiating with total psychopaths.”
Keep reading for a review of The Magic Order 4, issue #4.
Warning, some spoilers below.
I had to doublecheck to make sure this issue is the same number of pages as usual, because it sure felt short. You can divide it into four quick sections:
1) Members of the new Magic Order smugly use their powers any way they want.
2) A powerful wizard does something really stupid.
3) Another powerful wizard does something really stupid.
4) A third wizard steps up to the plate but we’ll have to wait till next issue to see if she does something really stupid.
Regarding the first point, no matter what happens in this arc I’m thinking the old rule of “wizards may never use their powers for their own benefit” has got to change. It’s the reason the Dark Order in the second arc tried to overthrow the Magic Order, it’s the reason Regan and Sammy Liu got in trouble, it’s the reason why Madame Albany took over, and since nobody seems to be able to do anything about it anyway, how about we let the wizards who are defending humanity do something nice for themselves? Because everybody in this series seems resentful as hell.
Regarding points two and three, I am so unimpressed by the wizards in this arc I don’t even know where to begin. Two people get taken out when someone basically says “ha ha, fooled you, neener neener!” The deaths themselves are splashy but the method itself is ridiculously simple, and both wizards go out like complete chumps. I hope we find out later that the evil wizard king had cast a spell of gullibility because it’d go a long way towards explaining why some of the most powerful magicians in the world are behaving like braindead doofuses.
I did like the reason why the evil wizard king is so mad at Cordelia, it makes a ton of sense and I’m surprised I didn’t think of it sooner.
As for the art, Dike Ruan and Giovanna Niro are knocking it out of the park as always. I usually say “it’s hard to pick a favorite panel” but this time it was an easy choice: the issue opens with a stunning page inside a church, and the layout, lighting, colors, and details are absolutely gorgeous. The story may annoy me at times but I’ll always come back for the art.