There’s magic in art, but there’s something more. The magic of art takes on a whole new dimension in the first issue of the new mini-series Marked. Writer David Hine and writer/artist Brian Haberlin conjure-up an urban fantasy world of dangerous magic where tattoos are much more than decorations etched into flesh. The promising new mini-series has a vibrant atmosphere about it that delivers a very organic feel to a story brought to the page by the same team responsible for the recently-launched series Sonata. Grounded as it is in an urban fantasy setting, Marked shows a sly depth that fuses art, magic, fantasy, and reality.

A young woman named Saskia is shown a decades-old ad for an art school featuring a drawing of a woman on it. Prompted by the ad, she draws an image inspired by the drawing and promptly gets invited to a very exclusive school that teaches students the use of magic through the use of tattooed glyphs meant to defend humanity in a battle with the evil that has been going on forever. Saskia’s studies get a bit out of control as another student introduces her to the concept of a magic/science hybrid that the school has forbidden.  

Hine’s writing work on Sonata felt a bit clunky in places as it was set in a completely open fantasy world. With the totally open canvas of an alien world, Hine’s writing felt stiff and pulpy-sci-fi awkward. With a story firmly rooted in contemporary culture, Hine’s writing is allowed to really flow in a totally believable world in which art students have access to vast magic power drawn from some very, very intricately-drawn tattoos. The pacing feels a bit strange as Saskia is rushed from her first entrance into the school to the introduction of the first major conflict. Still, the exposition and world-building feel brisk enough to have firmly established all of the basics in the course of the first issue. 

Haberlin’s work also benefits from a more contemporary urban setting. The digital architectural renderings of the school in the background feel remarkably vivid, while emotion and passion in the foreground are given a considerable amount of space to play out in facial expressions and movements across the page. The intricate patterns of the tattoos themselves strike a really powerful visual on the page. The interplay between the design of the tattoos and Haberlin’s radiant colorwork gives the magic of each individual tattoo spell its own visually unique sense of power and form. 

There’s a genuine charm in the gimmick of tattoo-based magic in an art school environment. The Art Institute-Meets-Hogwarts feeling of the series is cute enough. Still, the sense of danger and menace circulating around the edges of the first issue is really going to have to build into something more prominent if the series as a whole is going to be satisfying. It’s a very appealing first issue in any case.

Grade: A