Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: UNDO
Written by: Dylan Horrocks
Penciled by: Richard Case
Inked by: Chris Bachalo
Colored by: John Costanza
Lettered by: Sherilyn Van Valkenburgh
Editor: Steve Bunche
Publisher: DC – Vertigo
I picked up Hunter with issue one, not because I was a big fan of Neil Gaiman’s BOOKS OF MAGIC mini, which introduced the character of Tim Hunter, or the lengthy BOOKS OF MAGIC series that followed. In fact I never read either. The only reason I picked the book up in the first place, was a small mention of Skartaris in the solicitation copy for issue one. Being a big fan of the WARLORD, the thought that this series would see some action in the world of Travis Morgan, made it a must read. Since only one page of the first 21 issues has taken place in Skartaris, I consider the fact that I’m still reading it a fine endorsement to the team of this book and the wonderfully crafted stories they’ve woven to date.
HUNTER: THE AGE OF MAGIC follows the adventures of Timothy Hunter, a teenaged student of magic. He is destined to become the most powerful sorcerer alive, but struggles with many common problems that a young man would face as well. While the inevitable comparisons to Harry Potter will be made, Tim Hunter predates Harry by several years, and isn’t all that similar to the J.K. Rowling character. Harry’s adventures mostly occur in and around a school setting, Tim’s adventures occur in varying locales and his classroom time was dealt with in the previously mentioned Books of Magic series.
The latest issue is the final chapter in a long arc, which saw Tim trying to prevent the villainous and magically endowed Mr. Lily from gaining possession of the “Sefer Raziel,†a book that contains the power to restart the universe. Lily and Tim both hope to eradicate evil in the world, but Lily’s belief that this can only be done by restarting the world puts him at odds with Tim.
The story moves from the interior of the White School, which consists of many magical realms linked together with the purpose of teaching students the magical arts, to modern day England. The issue begins with Tim meeting his former teacher Val Asham-Jera, a wizened old woman that is actually a dragon. Dylan Horrocks dialogue is sharp, the climactic confrontation between Tim and Lily is satisfying and concludes this lengthy arc in fine fashion.
Richard Case’s cartoony artwork is an odd fit for this title, and has been from day one. It does seem to work each month, largely because so much of the stories take place in magical realms, the odd look serves to exemplify the weirdness of the locales. On the other hand the more Earthly settings suffer from Case’s style, which often appears unfinished.
