Mage: The Hero Defined, Vol. 2
Product ID: 24676139
In the eagerly awaited sequel to the sold out Mage, Vol. 1: The Hero Discovered HC, Kevin Matchstick's path brings him into the company of other legendary heroes, reborn in the modern world under everyday guises. Trouble arises when their purpose and challenges seem to be drying up and the number of supernatural "nasties," rapidly diminishing. Have the forces of darkness been defeated, or is there a more sinister manipulation at work? Review: Now One Knows, and So It Goes… - The group discovers where Umber Singe resides. They tried to infiltrate and Matchstick got caught. (Sorta.) Getting stung can seriously put a cramp on things. After a strong recovery, he gets a devastating revelation. Initially, he didn’t want to believe, but was forced to come to a truthful conclusion. Whatever that is. So, Matchstick took up the bat, and played ball straight up to the top of the building. He worked his way straight down, dealing with every creature thrown at him. After that, Matchstick went on his journey to the next phase. Recommended. Review: Good denouement for the first of the trilogy - Loved the characters, both the good guys and the bad. Great touch in having a different power for each of the five and not revealing the power of the fifth until near the very end. Lots of unusual and interesting concepts and visuals on display throughout this book. The artwork seems to have gotten better; not sure is a separate inker for this second half of issues was the reason or Wagner was just getting more confident in his artwork. I knew the basis of the mythos that was going on behind the scenes before I read this and I was expecting a certain assignment of roles, but was totally wrong with that, and quite pleased that an "underused" character was woven into this story and the visuals Wagner wove after the reveal. A good second half to the first of the overarching trilogy. Not sure if Wagner will do a reinterpretation of the legends within this setting, but I appreciated that I didn't recognize anything that had a direct parallel between them (or I'm not familiar enough with the early legends to see them). One annoying bit was Kevin's refusal to acknowledge his role in all this, yet he still takes a deliberate and active role of bringing the fight to the enemies.
| Best Sellers Rank | #3,201,239 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1,627 in Image Comics & Graphic Novels #7,708 in Fantasy Graphic Novels (Books) #9,897 in Superhero Comics & Graphic Novels |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 63 Reviews |
D**N
Now One Knows, and So It Goes…
The group discovers where Umber Singe resides. They tried to infiltrate and Matchstick got caught. (Sorta.) Getting stung can seriously put a cramp on things. After a strong recovery, he gets a devastating revelation. Initially, he didn’t want to believe, but was forced to come to a truthful conclusion. Whatever that is. So, Matchstick took up the bat, and played ball straight up to the top of the building. He worked his way straight down, dealing with every creature thrown at him. After that, Matchstick went on his journey to the next phase. Recommended.
C**S
Good denouement for the first of the trilogy
Loved the characters, both the good guys and the bad. Great touch in having a different power for each of the five and not revealing the power of the fifth until near the very end. Lots of unusual and interesting concepts and visuals on display throughout this book. The artwork seems to have gotten better; not sure is a separate inker for this second half of issues was the reason or Wagner was just getting more confident in his artwork. I knew the basis of the mythos that was going on behind the scenes before I read this and I was expecting a certain assignment of roles, but was totally wrong with that, and quite pleased that an "underused" character was woven into this story and the visuals Wagner wove after the reveal. A good second half to the first of the overarching trilogy. Not sure if Wagner will do a reinterpretation of the legends within this setting, but I appreciated that I didn't recognize anything that had a direct parallel between them (or I'm not familiar enough with the early legends to see them). One annoying bit was Kevin's refusal to acknowledge his role in all this, yet he still takes a deliberate and active role of bringing the fight to the enemies.
K**R
Fun continuation of Kevin's story
Good book. I've read the first volume, and oddly this one is very similar. I really liked the story, but felt the art wasn't as good as volume 1. It's good just not as good.
A**R
The story continues ...
Great trip down independent comic lane!
L**C
Five Stars
great trade and great service
A**N
Completing the First Third of the Mage Trilogy
This book contains the second half of the first "book" of Matt Wagner's Mage trilogy. In it, Kevin Matchstick is forced to finally accept the truth of his place in the struggle against the evil Umbra Sprite, and of his place in the world. While still relatively early in his career, Wagner displays tremendous strengths and skills in terms of visual storytelling. His actual writing is very economical, but he conveys a great deal of information on each page. This has long been one of my favorite comics series, and it totally holds up to rereading today.
S**E
Four Stars
Good story
H**R
Only original issues 5-8, NOT the whole Hero Defined story.
I am aggravated with the description of this item. It is NOT the entire second story, The Hero Discovered. It is the second volume of the collected individual comics, published originally as "Mage: The Hero Defined, issues #5-8". Now I have to go find issues #0-4, and #9-15.
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