Hunter: The Age Of Magic # 25 Review

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Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: All Is Full Of Love

Written by: Dylan Horrocks
Penciled by: Richard Case
Inked by: Chris Bachalo
Colored by: Sherilyn Van Valkenburgh
Lettered by: John Costanza
Editor: Steve Bunche & Zachary Rav
Publisher: DC Comics – Vertigo

How many last issues can you say are your favorite from a particular series? For me I can’t think of many. Garth Ennis’ conclusion to PREACHER and James Robinson’s final STARMAN tale are the only ones that immediately come to mind. While some final issues are worthy of the ones that preceded it, far to many are nothing more than a thrown together mess to tie up some loose ends. Thankfully, this the last go round for Tim Hunter is easily the best of the series, and one of my favorite comics this year.

Dylan Horrocks is a man to watch in the comic industry! He put me on notice just over two years ago with regard to his tremendous writing talents. While HUNTER: THE AGE OF MAGIC is ending this month; Dylan’s career is only beginning. Already his next writing project, BATGIRL, is in full swing. While this title is over, Dylan Horrocks is just getting started, so check out his work.

With the exception of books like the previously mentioned STARMAN, and PREACHER, or TRANSMETROPOLITAN, that had a planned ending, this is one of the tidiest unrushed conclusions for a title cancelled by the publisher. By taking the previous issue to close out Tim’s conflicts with the villainous Triskelle and Lotus, Dylan Horrocks left himself some tremendous leeway with his final issue. Instead a of a large scale battle or some other major conflict, this excellent planning has given us a moving character driven story that settles most of the relationships in Tim Hunter’s complex life.

Tim Hunter has been around a pretty long time; especially considering the amount of new characters that have come and gone during the time his exploits have seen very regular publication. Created by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton for the 1990/91 mini-series BOOKS OF MAGIC, Tim has appeared in more than 100 comics in that time. It would be a disservice to fans of a character created by a master storyteller, with such a breadth of stories in print, to have anything less than this character centered conclusion. If no further stories with Timothy Hunter were ever to appear, I would be happy with this ending as written. That’s something a great many characters cast into the purgatory between series cannot boast.

It’s sad to see Tim Hunter’s final comic adventure for the time being, but I really don’t think this is the end of the line for him. Like James Bond, Tim Hunter will return. In fact, a series of young adult novels that follow Tim’s early adventures in magic school are on the way. Though with regards to the “funny-books”, how soon and where is yet to be written.