Magik #2// Review
Cal and Illyana are going over arcane texts. In a cat cafe. In Tokyo. What’s the worst that could happen? He wants to throw himself into adulthood and try to help straighten things out. Mutants are being killed by demons and there’s only a limited amount of time before things get really ugly in Magik #2. Writer Ashley Allen continues an all-new look at Illyana Rasputin in an issue drawn to the page by Germán Peralta. Color illuminates the work courtesy of Arthur Hesli. Allen moves the action along quite well in a supernatural action thriller that continues to entertain well into its second issue.
There’s a girl working the cat cafe who invites Illyana and Cal to a concert. She tells the girl that they’re both quite busy. (Which is an understatement.) But then the girl also mentions disappearances. And as it is the case that Cal and Illyana have come to Tokyo certain that the demons might be looking to strike there next, they’re going to have to go and do a little investigating...at a rock concert. There’s something at the. concert that’s blocking Illyana’s ability to find the demonic seal that they’re looking for. Maybe it has something to do with th lead guitarist of the band...
Allen takes her heroes and her readers to Tokyo for a little bit of study at a cat cafe and a demonic rock concert. It’s actually not a bad date. It could have come across as being profoundly silly, but Allen gives the action and drama a depth that make it all seem quite real while also exploring some of the emotional depth of the occult horror darkness. A demon playing lead guitar and fighting the hero? Sounds like something out of a particularly silly issue of Dazzler from like...1982 or something, but it actually works with Allen’s distinctive personality guiding the drama.
Peralta takes the magic, drama and action seriously enough to make it all look stylishly engaging from cover to cover. The coziness of the cat cafe allows for some cuteness around the margins of the drama. The radiance of dark magics feels particularly impressive under the power of Hesli’s colors. The radiance of the venue feels suitably amplified in the shadowy atmosphere of a small rock concert. Through it all, Illyana continues to be beautiful and menacing in equal measure as she tangles with darkness both without and within her very soul. Fun stuff.
Illyana continues to serve as a really compelling character. Claremont and Buscema had clearly intended on Magik being something of a headlining character in her own right back in the earl 1980s...and certainly she had her chance with a prominent mini-series back in 1983 and ’84. It might have been a bit too soon for her, though. It’s nice to see her finally getting some of the recognition she deserves in a single week that sees her making appearances across at least three different titles: this one, The X-Men #11 and The Amazing Spider-Man #67 all in the same week.
