Writer: Mark Millar / Artist: Olivier Coipel / Image Comics
The Magic Order returns with it’s 5th installment, and boiiiii is it the deception of the century! Mark Millar ushered in this brave new magical world with grace, and issue by issue dropped glorious moments of dope storytelling, innovative ideas, all while remaining true to the strained family dynamic this story is based on. The Magic Order #5 goes hard in the jaw dropping paint and leaves you devastated when the gut-wrenching twist goes down.
Slight Spoilers be Flippin Taxis Like a Coin Toss
This is most definitely Gabriel’s coming out episode. Well, technically it’s Regan’s, as we find out he’s got a boyfriend, but back to Gabriel, the keeper of the magical sauce. He got bae to safety and finally decided to dust off his old Desert Eagle wand and bring the static to Madame Albany’s front door with his siblings by his side. To get the jump on her, Albany’s poor ol’ gatekeeper becomes the subject of ruin. My favorite aspect of this scene is that Cordelia and Regal are utterly in awe when Gabriel flips the switch from grieving father to wand wielding monster!
We’ve been waiting so long for Gabriel to find his inner beast and come to his family’s aid, so when it goes down you get this overwhelming feeling of hype for the fam and hope for the future. With the help of Coipel’s astounding backdrops, Millar sprinkles in another amazing spell that these Moonstone’s have up their sleeve, and this one’s a literary doozy! Regan and Gabriel finesse the tag team of the gatekeeper by hitting him “with the book.” In the brief 2 seconds after reading that line, my mind ran through countless possibilities of what they were going to do to this Angus guy, and of course, the result was one I never suspected. Robinson Crusoe turned his mind into Angus beef.
As the siblings enter the devil’s lair, you wish for the best while keeping in mind that Mark Millar will hurt you if you give him the chance. Maaaannnnnn, I was invested and got hurt! But I’d be lying if I said I was completely surprised by the way things turned out. Not the villainous traitor, but the would-be-hero. While reading Millar’s other works, you’ll notice an endearing pattern that does not go unappreciated to those who understand the nuances of inclusion in a male dominated society. Millar gives women such a consistent platform to become the heroine and savior, and that’s more than I can say for most male writers.
He isn’t scared to let a girl defy the odds and combat evil, but after this issue my G?! She’s going to have to show a hell of a lot more tenacity if she wants to defeat Albany and the man behind The Venetian mask. Olivier Coipel’s art continues to burst from the page. Bright panels are vibrant, dark panels are harrowing, and it all flows so beautifully. The Magic Order is hitting all the right notes at the perfect time, and the final issue can’t come soon enough!
9.5 Heel Turns out of 10
Reading The Magic Order? Check out BNP’s other reviews here.
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