Patrick Scalisi's Blog, page 3
August 12, 2017
MTG Comics Reread: The Urza-Mishra War
In terms of publication history, The Urza-Mishra War was the final comic produced by Armada as part of its Magic: The Gathering line. While other titles were planned — notably one covering the Alliances expansion and the completion of the Planeswalker War storyline — this was the last that readers saw of Armada’s contribution to MTG lore.
As with Antiquities War, this series was retconned with the release of the book The Brothers’ War by Jeff Grubb in 1998. Unlike Antiquities War, however, Urza-Mishra War veers wildly from the story that has since become the “official” version of this period in Dominaria’s history.
Once again, we can chalk up some of these differences to an unreliable narrator, especially when it comes to the issue of Harbin’s parentage (more on this in the LORE section). But by the second issue, it’s clear that the wheels were coming off at Armada, and no amount of fancy historical arguments can justify some of the errors that were made (see MISCELLANEOUS).
Also of note is that the cancelation of the series after Urza-Mishra War leaves a chronological gap in the lore that was never covered by the comics in any fashion. The third Urza-Mishra comic series, which would have seen the climax of the brothers’ conflict, was one casualty of the cancelation, and there were no titles planned (to my knowledge) that would have covered the period known as The Dark.
Thus, we miss the sylex blast that eventually causes Dominaria’s climate to change and instead skip right ahead to Fallen Empires.
The Urza-Mishra War was published in September and October 1996. The first issue included a copy of Phyrexian War Beast or Soldevi Steam Beast from Alliances, while the second issue included a copy of each.
STORY SYNOPSIS
With clear battle lines drawn, the conflict between brothers Urza and Mishra grows into a kind of world war, while influences from the plane of Phyrexia advance their machinations to infiltrate the conflict and exert their own supremacy on Dominaria.
CREATIVES
Jerry Prosser (Dakkon Blackblade) wrote the entire series.
Tom Mandrake and Bill Sienkiewicz split the artistic duties on both issues.
Mandrake is a career comic artist who has worked for almost every company out there. He counts Batman and New Mutants among some of his biggest credits. With writer John Ostrander, Mandrake helped launched The Spectre series at DC. He also founded the creator-owned Image title Creeps.
Sienkiewicz is a giant in the comics field, having worked on countless titles since the early 1980s. He won the Eagle Award for best new artist in 1981 and an Eisner Award in 2004 for his work on Sandman. Sienkiewicz is perhaps best known for his multiyear run on New Mutants, to which he brought his singular style.
Sienkiewicz did both covers. (And I love how Ashnod is channeling Marvel’s Illyana Rasputin, or Magik, on the cover of issue 2!)
LORE
The most important item of lore to explore in The Urza-Mishra War is the mystery of Harbin’s parentage. Harbin was the son of Kayla Bin-Kroog and was raised as Urza’s child, but the identity of Harbin’s father is contested.
In The Urza-Mishra War, Kayla is having an affair with Urza’s apprentice, Tawnos. But in The Brothers’ War by Jeff Grubb, Kayla has a one-night stand with Mishra that could have resulted in Harbin’s conception.
Once again, the idea of an unreliable narrator (which I discussed in the Antiquities War entry) comes to the fore. Remember that we’re getting this story at least third-hand: the events are related by Kayla, translated with new commentary several centuries later by the Planeswalker Taysir. Though Taysir frequently praises Kayla’s honesty, isn’t it conceivable that she would want to spare Urza’s feelings by claiming that Tawnos — and not Mishra — could be Harbin’s father?
In his interview at the end of issue 2, writer Jerry Prosser makes an interesting note in this regard. “Sometimes Taysir gets things wrong,” Prosser writes, “so there’s this tension between the text and what the plot is doing on the pages as it unfolds in front of you.”
I am personally of the mind that Habrin is actually Urza’s son, and the artists Mandrake and Sienkiewicz seem to agree. In the comic, Harbin shares Urza’s blond hair.
(From left, Tawnos, Harbin, and Urza.)
What else do we learn about Harbin from these two comics?
During Mishra’s assault on Kroog, which takes place shortly after Harbin’s birth, Mishra permanently disfigures Harbin by cutting off his left ear.
Finally, in the second issue of Urza-Mishra War, we witness Harbin’s initiation as a warrior-priest of Argive. How this might play out later in the story, however, is never explored.
Unfortunately, we don’t know much about Harbin to this day, except that he fathered the line that eventually included Jarsyl (Harbin’s son) and Jodah.
In his commentary, Taysir mentions that Jarsyl authored a book titled Codex Phyrexia and that Jarsyl made many trips to the mechanical plane.
And in addition to Harbin’s disfigurement during the assault on Kroog, we know that the King of Kroog — Kayla’s father and Harbin’s grandfather — was killed by a Dragon Engine.
Moving on from Harbin, there’s lots of other lore to explore.
Clues in Taysir’s commentary seem to indicate that he is writing well after the Ice Age.
The design for the Yotian Soldiers came directly from the Jalum Tome.
Urza drinks from his chalice to combat fatigue and to rejuvenate himself.
Mishra’s main stronghold is built on the former site of Tocasia’s archeological school.
During the first meeting of the council at the Ivory Tower in issue 2, we meet Hurkyl — who is depicted as bald for some reason. This strikes me as an odd creative choice given that she’s shown with long, dark hair on the card that bears her namesake. Still, creative license I suppose.
(Hurkyl as she appears in the comic (left) and in the card Hurkyl’s Recall.)
Finally, let’s look at what clues we can glean about the conclusion of the conflict between Urza and Mishra that would have occurred in the canceled comic series. Interestingly, it’s significantly different from what would become the “official” story.
In an interview at the end of issue 1, Pete Venters says, “At the climactic battle at Argoth, the war between Urza and Mishra comes to an end with the input of the Phyrexian demon [Gix]. The demon activated a dimensional portal that was so dangerous that when it closed, it actually atomized Argoth.”
This, Venters says, caused the Ice Age. There is no mention of the Golgothian Sylex.
Likewise, at the end of issue 2, Shawn Carnes writes, “As for our brothers, legend has it that neither were ever seen again. Some say that Mishra perished and Urza survived. Some say that both perished. Still others say that both were spirited off to another distant plane to continue their fighting for eternity.”
This once again makes one wonder how much of Urza’s fate was planned out by the story team at this point.
MISCELLANEOUS
Korlis is once again misspelled as “Korliss” throughout.
Taysir mentions that a specimen of Ashnod’s Transmogrants exists in the museum beneath the College of Lat-Nam. However, this doesn’t make chronological sense since the college was destroyed during the war, and Taysir is writing much later.
Urza refers to himself at one point when he really means Mishra.
(“I’ve gone crazy and I’m talking about myself now.”)
There’s a very confusing segment in issue 2 in which delegates from the council at the Ivory Tower are sent to Urza and Mishra. The delegate from the College of Lat-Nam looks exactly like Hurkyl, as depicted in the comic. When she’s interrogated and killed by Mishra, it seems that Hurkyl herself is killed when this isn’t the case — she shows up later in the comic.
(Hurkyl is pictured on the left. On the right is the emissary who is killed by Mishra.)
In issue 2, the whole section regarding Gix and the Ivory Tower council at the Caves of Koilos is … confusing to the point of being almost nonsensical. On this and the point about Hurkyl’s doppelganger I’d love to hear what went into the creative process. Were pages left on the cutting room floor? Was the shakeup with the cancelation of the comic line to blame? Anyone with info, feel free to write in the comments.
In an interview at the end of issue 1, Skaff Elias mentions that he and his team used their experience as war gamers to design the Antiquities expansion. They went so far as to chart out battles and designed cards based on the balance of power in those conflicts. Neat!
In an interview at the end of issue 1, Pete Venters mentions Sorine Relicbane, but misidentifies his gender. (Venters calls Relicbane “she.”)
In his interview at the end of issue 1, it is mentioned that Tom Mandrake’s wife, Jan Duursema, was meant to do the pencils for Prelude to War, one of the canceled MTG comics. Ironically, much of the interview’s focus is on the comic industry downsizing and canceling titles.
The interview with Bill Sienkiewicz at the end of issue 1 fails to mention one of his most famous titles to that point: Marvel’s New Mutants!
In the same interview, Sienkiewicz expresses his admiration for Rebecca Guay. Guay would go on to become not only one of the most popular MTG artists ever, but also an accomplished gallery artist.
Issue 1 carries an ad for the canceled Alliances comic, complete with a plot synopsis and art, meaning that at least some of the issue had been completed when the Magic comic line was canceled. What I wouldn’t give to see those pages!
[EDIT 10/5/2017: I had a brief chat with Doug Wheatley, who was kind enough to give me some information about the Alliances comic. He explained that "the book was canceled soon after we began. I remember doing one cover and eight interior pages." He also said that the art was unfortunately not returned to him after the project was canceled, so it is likely lost to the ages.]
Issue 1 carries a full-page piece of art depicting Ashnod’s Transmogrant that is uncredited except for the initials “KM” and “AR" in the bottom right corner.
The interview with Dennis Calero of Atomic Paintbrush at the end of issue 2 mentions that they use Photoshop 3.0 to digitally color comics.
Jeff Gomez and Geof Vita used their editorials at the end of issue 2 to disclose the bad news that the comics had been canceled. Along with information about the upcoming titles that had been planned, they also showed off some of the cover art that had already been finished. Let’s close this entry with what might have been.
(Prelude to War by Greg Hildebrandt.)
(Planeswalker War 1 by Rags Morales.)
(Planeswalker War 2 by Rags Morales.)
As with Antiquities War, this series was retconned with the release of the book The Brothers’ War by Jeff Grubb in 1998. Unlike Antiquities War, however, Urza-Mishra War veers wildly from the story that has since become the “official” version of this period in Dominaria’s history.
Once again, we can chalk up some of these differences to an unreliable narrator, especially when it comes to the issue of Harbin’s parentage (more on this in the LORE section). But by the second issue, it’s clear that the wheels were coming off at Armada, and no amount of fancy historical arguments can justify some of the errors that were made (see MISCELLANEOUS).
Also of note is that the cancelation of the series after Urza-Mishra War leaves a chronological gap in the lore that was never covered by the comics in any fashion. The third Urza-Mishra comic series, which would have seen the climax of the brothers’ conflict, was one casualty of the cancelation, and there were no titles planned (to my knowledge) that would have covered the period known as The Dark.
Thus, we miss the sylex blast that eventually causes Dominaria’s climate to change and instead skip right ahead to Fallen Empires.
The Urza-Mishra War was published in September and October 1996. The first issue included a copy of Phyrexian War Beast or Soldevi Steam Beast from Alliances, while the second issue included a copy of each.
STORY SYNOPSIS
With clear battle lines drawn, the conflict between brothers Urza and Mishra grows into a kind of world war, while influences from the plane of Phyrexia advance their machinations to infiltrate the conflict and exert their own supremacy on Dominaria.
CREATIVES
Jerry Prosser (Dakkon Blackblade) wrote the entire series.
Tom Mandrake and Bill Sienkiewicz split the artistic duties on both issues.
Mandrake is a career comic artist who has worked for almost every company out there. He counts Batman and New Mutants among some of his biggest credits. With writer John Ostrander, Mandrake helped launched The Spectre series at DC. He also founded the creator-owned Image title Creeps.
Sienkiewicz is a giant in the comics field, having worked on countless titles since the early 1980s. He won the Eagle Award for best new artist in 1981 and an Eisner Award in 2004 for his work on Sandman. Sienkiewicz is perhaps best known for his multiyear run on New Mutants, to which he brought his singular style.
Sienkiewicz did both covers. (And I love how Ashnod is channeling Marvel’s Illyana Rasputin, or Magik, on the cover of issue 2!)
LORE
The most important item of lore to explore in The Urza-Mishra War is the mystery of Harbin’s parentage. Harbin was the son of Kayla Bin-Kroog and was raised as Urza’s child, but the identity of Harbin’s father is contested.
In The Urza-Mishra War, Kayla is having an affair with Urza’s apprentice, Tawnos. But in The Brothers’ War by Jeff Grubb, Kayla has a one-night stand with Mishra that could have resulted in Harbin’s conception.
Once again, the idea of an unreliable narrator (which I discussed in the Antiquities War entry) comes to the fore. Remember that we’re getting this story at least third-hand: the events are related by Kayla, translated with new commentary several centuries later by the Planeswalker Taysir. Though Taysir frequently praises Kayla’s honesty, isn’t it conceivable that she would want to spare Urza’s feelings by claiming that Tawnos — and not Mishra — could be Harbin’s father?
In his interview at the end of issue 2, writer Jerry Prosser makes an interesting note in this regard. “Sometimes Taysir gets things wrong,” Prosser writes, “so there’s this tension between the text and what the plot is doing on the pages as it unfolds in front of you.”
I am personally of the mind that Habrin is actually Urza’s son, and the artists Mandrake and Sienkiewicz seem to agree. In the comic, Harbin shares Urza’s blond hair.
(From left, Tawnos, Harbin, and Urza.)
What else do we learn about Harbin from these two comics?
During Mishra’s assault on Kroog, which takes place shortly after Harbin’s birth, Mishra permanently disfigures Harbin by cutting off his left ear.
Finally, in the second issue of Urza-Mishra War, we witness Harbin’s initiation as a warrior-priest of Argive. How this might play out later in the story, however, is never explored.
Unfortunately, we don’t know much about Harbin to this day, except that he fathered the line that eventually included Jarsyl (Harbin’s son) and Jodah.
In his commentary, Taysir mentions that Jarsyl authored a book titled Codex Phyrexia and that Jarsyl made many trips to the mechanical plane.
And in addition to Harbin’s disfigurement during the assault on Kroog, we know that the King of Kroog — Kayla’s father and Harbin’s grandfather — was killed by a Dragon Engine.
Moving on from Harbin, there’s lots of other lore to explore.
Clues in Taysir’s commentary seem to indicate that he is writing well after the Ice Age.
The design for the Yotian Soldiers came directly from the Jalum Tome.
Urza drinks from his chalice to combat fatigue and to rejuvenate himself.
Mishra’s main stronghold is built on the former site of Tocasia’s archeological school.
During the first meeting of the council at the Ivory Tower in issue 2, we meet Hurkyl — who is depicted as bald for some reason. This strikes me as an odd creative choice given that she’s shown with long, dark hair on the card that bears her namesake. Still, creative license I suppose.
(Hurkyl as she appears in the comic (left) and in the card Hurkyl’s Recall.)
Finally, let’s look at what clues we can glean about the conclusion of the conflict between Urza and Mishra that would have occurred in the canceled comic series. Interestingly, it’s significantly different from what would become the “official” story.
In an interview at the end of issue 1, Pete Venters says, “At the climactic battle at Argoth, the war between Urza and Mishra comes to an end with the input of the Phyrexian demon [Gix]. The demon activated a dimensional portal that was so dangerous that when it closed, it actually atomized Argoth.”
This, Venters says, caused the Ice Age. There is no mention of the Golgothian Sylex.
Likewise, at the end of issue 2, Shawn Carnes writes, “As for our brothers, legend has it that neither were ever seen again. Some say that Mishra perished and Urza survived. Some say that both perished. Still others say that both were spirited off to another distant plane to continue their fighting for eternity.”
This once again makes one wonder how much of Urza’s fate was planned out by the story team at this point.
MISCELLANEOUS
Korlis is once again misspelled as “Korliss” throughout.
Taysir mentions that a specimen of Ashnod’s Transmogrants exists in the museum beneath the College of Lat-Nam. However, this doesn’t make chronological sense since the college was destroyed during the war, and Taysir is writing much later.
Urza refers to himself at one point when he really means Mishra.
(“I’ve gone crazy and I’m talking about myself now.”)
There’s a very confusing segment in issue 2 in which delegates from the council at the Ivory Tower are sent to Urza and Mishra. The delegate from the College of Lat-Nam looks exactly like Hurkyl, as depicted in the comic. When she’s interrogated and killed by Mishra, it seems that Hurkyl herself is killed when this isn’t the case — she shows up later in the comic.
(Hurkyl is pictured on the left. On the right is the emissary who is killed by Mishra.)
In issue 2, the whole section regarding Gix and the Ivory Tower council at the Caves of Koilos is … confusing to the point of being almost nonsensical. On this and the point about Hurkyl’s doppelganger I’d love to hear what went into the creative process. Were pages left on the cutting room floor? Was the shakeup with the cancelation of the comic line to blame? Anyone with info, feel free to write in the comments.
In an interview at the end of issue 1, Skaff Elias mentions that he and his team used their experience as war gamers to design the Antiquities expansion. They went so far as to chart out battles and designed cards based on the balance of power in those conflicts. Neat!
In an interview at the end of issue 1, Pete Venters mentions Sorine Relicbane, but misidentifies his gender. (Venters calls Relicbane “she.”)
In his interview at the end of issue 1, it is mentioned that Tom Mandrake’s wife, Jan Duursema, was meant to do the pencils for Prelude to War, one of the canceled MTG comics. Ironically, much of the interview’s focus is on the comic industry downsizing and canceling titles.
The interview with Bill Sienkiewicz at the end of issue 1 fails to mention one of his most famous titles to that point: Marvel’s New Mutants!
In the same interview, Sienkiewicz expresses his admiration for Rebecca Guay. Guay would go on to become not only one of the most popular MTG artists ever, but also an accomplished gallery artist.
Issue 1 carries an ad for the canceled Alliances comic, complete with a plot synopsis and art, meaning that at least some of the issue had been completed when the Magic comic line was canceled. What I wouldn’t give to see those pages!
[EDIT 10/5/2017: I had a brief chat with Doug Wheatley, who was kind enough to give me some information about the Alliances comic. He explained that "the book was canceled soon after we began. I remember doing one cover and eight interior pages." He also said that the art was unfortunately not returned to him after the project was canceled, so it is likely lost to the ages.]
Issue 1 carries a full-page piece of art depicting Ashnod’s Transmogrant that is uncredited except for the initials “KM” and “AR" in the bottom right corner.
The interview with Dennis Calero of Atomic Paintbrush at the end of issue 2 mentions that they use Photoshop 3.0 to digitally color comics.
Jeff Gomez and Geof Vita used their editorials at the end of issue 2 to disclose the bad news that the comics had been canceled. Along with information about the upcoming titles that had been planned, they also showed off some of the cover art that had already been finished. Let’s close this entry with what might have been.
(Prelude to War by Greg Hildebrandt.)
(Planeswalker War 1 by Rags Morales.)
(Planeswalker War 2 by Rags Morales.)
July 30, 2017
MTG Comics Reread: Antiquities War
The Antiquities War comic series has a fascinating and troubled history. Multiple artists were needed to finish the four-part series (more in the “CREATIVES” section), and the third act that would have completed the overall story arc of Urza and Mishra’s conflict was never published because the Armada comic line was cancelled. Then in 1998, two years after the comics were published, the entire story was essentially retconned with the release of the book The Brothers’ War by Jeff Grubb.
This, however, does not mean that Antiquities War is not worth reading or even that it can no longer be considered “canon.” In fact, the Armada editors displayed an uncanny sense of prescience at the end of issue 3 when they wrote, “The Brothers’ War is a long and complex one. According to Wizards of the Coast, there have been several interpretations of exactly what happened between Urza and Mishra, and [comic writer] Jerry Prosser’s take on this history, while probably quite close, is sometimes purposefully ambiguous.”
So let’s put on our researcher caps for a moment. In terms of Magic’s timeline, the Antiquities War is considered ancient myth. Depending on which calendar you’re using, Urza and Mishra were born approximately 4,500 years prior to MTG’s current storyline.
Compare this with, say, the Norse mythology of our own world. According to Kevin Crossley-Holland in The Norse Myths , the greater part of Norse mythology took shape between 1000 B.C. and 1 A.D., with some elements dating back as far as the late Bronze Age (xxxii).
Additionally, the Norse myths spring from six primary sources, some of which differ, overlap, or even contradict each other.
May we not look at the stories from Dominaria’s deep history the same way?
The Antiquities War comic series is presented as “a new translation and commentary” of a work by Kayla Bin-Kroog, Urza’s wife. We’re already starting with a version of the story composed by a potentially unreliable narrator. Now couple that with the fact that this translation and commentary is being done by Taysir of Rabiah, who is offering his own interpretation of the tale. (By contrast, The Brothers’ War by Jeff Grubb is told by simply an omniscient narrator.)
Taken together, the story of the Antiquities War as told in the books, comics, and trading cards that comprise the Antiquities line probably tell the whole story of this epic conflict. And just like the myths of legends of our own world, these stories have become, shall we say, a bit complicated with the passing of ages.
Antiquities War was published between November 1995 and February 1996.
STORY SYNOPSIS
As young men under the care of the archeologist Tocasia, the brothers Urza and Mishra discover the Mightstone and the Weakstone in the Caves of Koilos, setting them on a destructive path that will ultimately change the fate of Dominaria.
CREATIVES
As I mentioned earlier, Antiquities War had a difficult birth. No less than three pencilers worked across four issues.
Issue 1 was done by Paul Smith, an iconic comic artist known particularly for his work on X-Men and X-Factor. In particular, Smith is famous for debuting Storm’s 1980s punk rock mohawk look and for the cover of Uncanny X-Men 173, featuring Wolverine and Rogue.
Smith’s run on the series was, unfortunately, cut short. The editors note at the end of issue 4 that scheduling conflicts prevented Smith from finishing the series.
(Smith’s work, above, had a great sense of motion in his panels.)
Phil Hester took over penciling duties for the entirety of issues 2 and 3. Hester is another career comic artist who has worked on Swamp Thing and Alien. During his run on Green Arrow, Hester co-created the characters of Speedy and Onomatopoeia with filmmaker Kevin Smith.
(Hester’s panels, above, opted for a more illustrative look.)
As with Paul Smith, Hester was unable to complete the series. He did the opening and closing spreads for issue 4, but the heavy lifting was done by “J. Dekker.” Unfortunately, I can find no information on this artist, and Comic Book DB lists this issue as his only credit -- ever.
(J. Dekker, above, finished the series. I thought maybe this was a pseudonym for Smith, since their styles are similar, but the art is different enough to give me pause.)
Tom Ryder did the inks for every issue. Ryder was a career comic artist with Valiant, Acclaim, and DC in the 1980s and 90s. He later became a storyboard artist, working on animated shows like Ultimate Spiderman, Ben 10, and Batman. He currently works for the animation studio Titmouse.
Jerry Prosser* (Dakkon Blackblade) wrote the entire series.
Michael Tuccinard* (Arabian Nights) did the colors. He was aided in an uncredited capacity by Chrysoula Artemis-Gomez, the wife of Armada Editor Jeff Gomez. Chrysoula currently serves as the creative director of Starlight Runner Entertainment, a transmedia company co-founded by Jeff.
Finally, artist and illustrator George Pratt did all of the covers for the series. Pratt is an Eisner Award-winning artist who has worked on numerous titles and whose fine art has been displayed at galleries around the world. He also illustrated 14 MTG cards.
*NOTE: To avoid redundancy, I won’t repeat bios of artists or writers who worked on previous titles that I’ve already reviewed. Please see the blog post for the title noted to read the artist or writer’s full biography.
LORE
While Antiquities War was later retconned by The Brothers’ War by Jeff Grubb, the broad strokes of the story are essentially the same.
Issue 1 introduces Urza, Mishra, and Tocasia. Urza and Mishra are, of course, brothers. We are also introduced to the Weakstone and the Mightstone.
Issue 2 introduces Kayla Bin-Kroog, Urza’s eventual wife.
Issue 2 also introduces the Yawgmoth Demon. Though it is never explicitly stated in either Antiquities War or The Urza-Mishra War, this particular demon is meant to be Gix. (This is fleshed out more in The Brothers’ War by Jeff Grubb.)
Issue 3 introduces Tawnos and Ashnod, Urza and Mishra’s respective apprentices. It is insinuated that Ashnod and Mishra are lovers, at least at the start of their acquaintance. We’ll see how this plays out as we move toward The Urza-Mishra War.
MISCELLANEOUS
“Koilos” (as in the Caves of Koilos) is said to mean “secret” in High Argivian.
The king of Kroog is in possession of the Jalum Tome, which he gifts to Urza.
In his commentary, Taysir mentions Jarsyl. Jarsyl was (possibly) Urza’s grandson and is mentioned on Gate to Phyrexia.
In Issue 3’s edition of “Seer Analysis,” Shawn Carnes states that Urza and Mishra are not planeswalkers, which makes one wonder how much of Urza’s fate was planned out by the story team at this point.
Korlis is misspelled as “Korliss” throughout the series.
The star doorway that Mishra and Ashnod use to transport to Phyrexia in issue 4 shows five points of mana that correspond to the colors and their placement on the back of a standard MTG card.
This, however, does not mean that Antiquities War is not worth reading or even that it can no longer be considered “canon.” In fact, the Armada editors displayed an uncanny sense of prescience at the end of issue 3 when they wrote, “The Brothers’ War is a long and complex one. According to Wizards of the Coast, there have been several interpretations of exactly what happened between Urza and Mishra, and [comic writer] Jerry Prosser’s take on this history, while probably quite close, is sometimes purposefully ambiguous.”
So let’s put on our researcher caps for a moment. In terms of Magic’s timeline, the Antiquities War is considered ancient myth. Depending on which calendar you’re using, Urza and Mishra were born approximately 4,500 years prior to MTG’s current storyline.
Compare this with, say, the Norse mythology of our own world. According to Kevin Crossley-Holland in The Norse Myths , the greater part of Norse mythology took shape between 1000 B.C. and 1 A.D., with some elements dating back as far as the late Bronze Age (xxxii).
Additionally, the Norse myths spring from six primary sources, some of which differ, overlap, or even contradict each other.
May we not look at the stories from Dominaria’s deep history the same way?
The Antiquities War comic series is presented as “a new translation and commentary” of a work by Kayla Bin-Kroog, Urza’s wife. We’re already starting with a version of the story composed by a potentially unreliable narrator. Now couple that with the fact that this translation and commentary is being done by Taysir of Rabiah, who is offering his own interpretation of the tale. (By contrast, The Brothers’ War by Jeff Grubb is told by simply an omniscient narrator.)
Taken together, the story of the Antiquities War as told in the books, comics, and trading cards that comprise the Antiquities line probably tell the whole story of this epic conflict. And just like the myths of legends of our own world, these stories have become, shall we say, a bit complicated with the passing of ages.
Antiquities War was published between November 1995 and February 1996.
STORY SYNOPSIS
As young men under the care of the archeologist Tocasia, the brothers Urza and Mishra discover the Mightstone and the Weakstone in the Caves of Koilos, setting them on a destructive path that will ultimately change the fate of Dominaria.
CREATIVES
As I mentioned earlier, Antiquities War had a difficult birth. No less than three pencilers worked across four issues.
Issue 1 was done by Paul Smith, an iconic comic artist known particularly for his work on X-Men and X-Factor. In particular, Smith is famous for debuting Storm’s 1980s punk rock mohawk look and for the cover of Uncanny X-Men 173, featuring Wolverine and Rogue.
Smith’s run on the series was, unfortunately, cut short. The editors note at the end of issue 4 that scheduling conflicts prevented Smith from finishing the series.
(Smith’s work, above, had a great sense of motion in his panels.)
Phil Hester took over penciling duties for the entirety of issues 2 and 3. Hester is another career comic artist who has worked on Swamp Thing and Alien. During his run on Green Arrow, Hester co-created the characters of Speedy and Onomatopoeia with filmmaker Kevin Smith.
(Hester’s panels, above, opted for a more illustrative look.)
As with Paul Smith, Hester was unable to complete the series. He did the opening and closing spreads for issue 4, but the heavy lifting was done by “J. Dekker.” Unfortunately, I can find no information on this artist, and Comic Book DB lists this issue as his only credit -- ever.
(J. Dekker, above, finished the series. I thought maybe this was a pseudonym for Smith, since their styles are similar, but the art is different enough to give me pause.)
Tom Ryder did the inks for every issue. Ryder was a career comic artist with Valiant, Acclaim, and DC in the 1980s and 90s. He later became a storyboard artist, working on animated shows like Ultimate Spiderman, Ben 10, and Batman. He currently works for the animation studio Titmouse.
Jerry Prosser* (Dakkon Blackblade) wrote the entire series.
Michael Tuccinard* (Arabian Nights) did the colors. He was aided in an uncredited capacity by Chrysoula Artemis-Gomez, the wife of Armada Editor Jeff Gomez. Chrysoula currently serves as the creative director of Starlight Runner Entertainment, a transmedia company co-founded by Jeff.
Finally, artist and illustrator George Pratt did all of the covers for the series. Pratt is an Eisner Award-winning artist who has worked on numerous titles and whose fine art has been displayed at galleries around the world. He also illustrated 14 MTG cards.
*NOTE: To avoid redundancy, I won’t repeat bios of artists or writers who worked on previous titles that I’ve already reviewed. Please see the blog post for the title noted to read the artist or writer’s full biography.
LORE
While Antiquities War was later retconned by The Brothers’ War by Jeff Grubb, the broad strokes of the story are essentially the same.
Issue 1 introduces Urza, Mishra, and Tocasia. Urza and Mishra are, of course, brothers. We are also introduced to the Weakstone and the Mightstone.
Issue 2 introduces Kayla Bin-Kroog, Urza’s eventual wife.
Issue 2 also introduces the Yawgmoth Demon. Though it is never explicitly stated in either Antiquities War or The Urza-Mishra War, this particular demon is meant to be Gix. (This is fleshed out more in The Brothers’ War by Jeff Grubb.)
Issue 3 introduces Tawnos and Ashnod, Urza and Mishra’s respective apprentices. It is insinuated that Ashnod and Mishra are lovers, at least at the start of their acquaintance. We’ll see how this plays out as we move toward The Urza-Mishra War.
MISCELLANEOUS
“Koilos” (as in the Caves of Koilos) is said to mean “secret” in High Argivian.
The king of Kroog is in possession of the Jalum Tome, which he gifts to Urza.
In his commentary, Taysir mentions Jarsyl. Jarsyl was (possibly) Urza’s grandson and is mentioned on Gate to Phyrexia.
In Issue 3’s edition of “Seer Analysis,” Shawn Carnes states that Urza and Mishra are not planeswalkers, which makes one wonder how much of Urza’s fate was planned out by the story team at this point.
Korlis is misspelled as “Korliss” throughout the series.
The star doorway that Mishra and Ashnod use to transport to Phyrexia in issue 4 shows five points of mana that correspond to the colors and their placement on the back of a standard MTG card.
July 19, 2017
MTG Comics Reread: Arabian Nights
Arabian Nights is an important keystone in the overall story arc of the MTG comics since it tells the origin of Taysir, one of the most important pre-Mending Planeswalkers. We don’t know when it takes place chronologically, except that it occurred in the deep history of the Multiverse. According to the official chronology offered by the Armada editors, it comes after the three Legends comics already covered. However, since that list ordered the Legends titles incorrectly, this opinion may be suspect. This isn’t a huge sticking point because we know that this story must occur prior to Antiquities, but since it doesn’t take place on Dominaria it can simply be read before we get to the story of Urza and Mishra.
Arabian Nights was published in December 1995 and January 1996.
STORY SYNOPSIS
In her own quest for power, Nailah the Sorceress Queen travels across the infinite planes of Rabiah in an attempt to manipulate and unite five parallel aspects of a man named Taysir.
CREATIVES
Writers Susan Wright and Jeofrey Vita co-authored this series. Wright is a USA Today bestselling author of more than 30 novels and non-fiction books. She is also the spokesperson for the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom.
Vita was the assistant editor at Armada Comics and wrote or co-wrote several of the MTG comics. Unfortunately, I can’t find much information about what he’s been up to since. If you’re familiar with his work, please let me know in the comments.
Penciler Alexander Maleev is a Bulgarian-born artist who has worked in comics and advertising since the 1990s. He has provided art for Daredevil, Batman, and Spiderwoman. When Marvel Comics reacquired the rights to Star Wars, Maleev was one of the creative forces behind the well-received Lando miniseries. His corporate clients include Scion, Nike, National Geographic, and Target.
Inker Rodney Ramos is a career artist who has produced a prodigious amount of work for Marvel and DC.
Colorist Michael Tuccinard began his professional life as a career artist for DC and Marvel. He later went on to become a creative consultant in the corporate world, helping companies like Fidelity, Coka-Cola, and Staples discover how visualization and storytelling could be used to help solve real-world problems.
Michael “Mike” Dringenberg did the covers of both issues. This is kind of a big deal because Dringenberg is no less than the co-creator of Sandman with Neil Gaiman. He also, I learned, illustrated 41 MTG cards! Do a search on MagicCards.info to see the imagination he brought to his assignments.
LORE
As I mentioned, this is a keystone story, not only in the annals of old MTG lore, but also for many of the story cycles that came later. Unlike many of the early comics, Taysir’s origin story has never been retconned. (Thanks for the help with this Cary Thomas!) That means that this is still his official origin.
The plane Rabiah, on which most of this story takes place, would later lend its namesake to the Rabiah Scale. In short, the Rabiah Scale ranks the likelihood that the game will return to a specific in-game locale, with 1 being very likely and 10 being very unlikely. Rabiah ranks 10, mostly because it is based on intellectual property that WOTC does not own and/or is in the public domain. In the story, Nailah closes off Rabiah so that Taysir can never return. Thus, we have an in-canon explanation for why MTG will never return to Rabiah.
El-Hajjâj is identified as Nailah's father.
MISCELLANEOUS
Taysir uses the Ring of Ma'rûf to travel between destinations. In game, this card allows you to grab a card from outside the game and put it into your hand.
According to Wizards of the Coast's Gatherer card database, "Ma'rûf" is the correct spelling for Ring of Ma'rûf. In the comic, it is incorrectly spelled "Maruf." On the card it appears as "Ma ruf."
Nailah is quoted on the Fifth Edition printing of Sorceress Queen.
The comic includes several references to Muslin culture, including "Allah" (often used as an oath, as in "By Allah!") and "dervish." This is a big no-no for today's Magic design team, so much so that they almost couldn't include the card Wrath of God in From the Vault: Annihilation. As Gavin Verhey explains in THIS article, "Magic creative has been trying very carefully to not put a spotlight on cards that reference the real world, and this religious connotation is firmly within what creative normally (and completely understandably) tries to eschew."
In the notes at the end of the issue 2, it is stated that Earth is part of the Multiverse!
Arabian Nights was published in December 1995 and January 1996.
STORY SYNOPSIS
In her own quest for power, Nailah the Sorceress Queen travels across the infinite planes of Rabiah in an attempt to manipulate and unite five parallel aspects of a man named Taysir.
CREATIVES
Writers Susan Wright and Jeofrey Vita co-authored this series. Wright is a USA Today bestselling author of more than 30 novels and non-fiction books. She is also the spokesperson for the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom.
Vita was the assistant editor at Armada Comics and wrote or co-wrote several of the MTG comics. Unfortunately, I can’t find much information about what he’s been up to since. If you’re familiar with his work, please let me know in the comments.
Penciler Alexander Maleev is a Bulgarian-born artist who has worked in comics and advertising since the 1990s. He has provided art for Daredevil, Batman, and Spiderwoman. When Marvel Comics reacquired the rights to Star Wars, Maleev was one of the creative forces behind the well-received Lando miniseries. His corporate clients include Scion, Nike, National Geographic, and Target.
Inker Rodney Ramos is a career artist who has produced a prodigious amount of work for Marvel and DC.
Colorist Michael Tuccinard began his professional life as a career artist for DC and Marvel. He later went on to become a creative consultant in the corporate world, helping companies like Fidelity, Coka-Cola, and Staples discover how visualization and storytelling could be used to help solve real-world problems.
Michael “Mike” Dringenberg did the covers of both issues. This is kind of a big deal because Dringenberg is no less than the co-creator of Sandman with Neil Gaiman. He also, I learned, illustrated 41 MTG cards! Do a search on MagicCards.info to see the imagination he brought to his assignments.
LORE
As I mentioned, this is a keystone story, not only in the annals of old MTG lore, but also for many of the story cycles that came later. Unlike many of the early comics, Taysir’s origin story has never been retconned. (Thanks for the help with this Cary Thomas!) That means that this is still his official origin.
The plane Rabiah, on which most of this story takes place, would later lend its namesake to the Rabiah Scale. In short, the Rabiah Scale ranks the likelihood that the game will return to a specific in-game locale, with 1 being very likely and 10 being very unlikely. Rabiah ranks 10, mostly because it is based on intellectual property that WOTC does not own and/or is in the public domain. In the story, Nailah closes off Rabiah so that Taysir can never return. Thus, we have an in-canon explanation for why MTG will never return to Rabiah.
El-Hajjâj is identified as Nailah's father.
MISCELLANEOUS
Taysir uses the Ring of Ma'rûf to travel between destinations. In game, this card allows you to grab a card from outside the game and put it into your hand.
According to Wizards of the Coast's Gatherer card database, "Ma'rûf" is the correct spelling for Ring of Ma'rûf. In the comic, it is incorrectly spelled "Maruf." On the card it appears as "Ma ruf."
Nailah is quoted on the Fifth Edition printing of Sorceress Queen.
The comic includes several references to Muslin culture, including "Allah" (often used as an oath, as in "By Allah!") and "dervish." This is a big no-no for today's Magic design team, so much so that they almost couldn't include the card Wrath of God in From the Vault: Annihilation. As Gavin Verhey explains in THIS article, "Magic creative has been trying very carefully to not put a spotlight on cards that reference the real world, and this religious connotation is firmly within what creative normally (and completely understandably) tries to eschew."
In the notes at the end of the issue 2, it is stated that Earth is part of the Multiverse!
July 12, 2017
MTG Comics Reread: Fallen Angel
Fallen Angel, another Magic: The Gathering Legend, also takes place in the deep history of Dominaria before the Brothers’ War. Chronologically, the story occurs before Dakkon Blackblade. We know this because one of the first text panels in the story describes how Geyadrone Dihada was working to conquer part of Corondor. Fallen Angel was published in May 1996 and was packaged with a Chronicles printing of the titular card.
STORY SYNOPSIS
Under the direction of the warlord Mandek Ironfirst, the wizard Xarl summons a Serra Angel named Trine, whom he corrupts and uses as a living weapon for the next three centuries.
CREATIVES
Writer Nancy A. Collins is a best-selling author of vampire novels starring her character Sonja Blue. She has also written for comics, notably Swamp Thing, and tie-in properties, including novelizations of the Final Destination film series. She received the Bram Stoker Award, one of the highest honors in the horror genre, for her 1990 novel Sunglasses After Dark.
Richard Kane Ferguson and Dennis Calero traded off artistic duties for this one-off (more on this in a moment). Ferguson is well known among Magic: The Gathering fans. In addition to being one of the game’s original artists, he also contributed art for more than 60 unique cards over his career with Wizards of the Coast.
Calero is a Harvey Award-nominated comic artist who has worked on a variety of titles, including X-Factor and X-Men Noir. He’s also done tie-in work and work for publishing and game companies. While Calero never produced any card art for Magic: The Gathering, he did work on MTG’s sister property, Dungeons & Dragons.
Don Perlin, who assisted with pencil layouts, started working in comics in the 1940s and began a long association with Marvel in 1974. He worked extensively on the titles Werewolf by Night and Ghost Rider, in additional to many others. THIS is an amusing anecdote about how Perlin accidentally snuck a bit of profanity into an issue of The Defenders.
Yes, that art is all from the same issue. Ferguson, Calero, and Perlin all have wildly different styles. And with the advent of digital art manipulation, Calero used the opportunity to mix traditional mediums with digital pencil work, altered photographs, and more for his pages. The result is, unfortunately, a bit of a mess. While I appreciate the risks that were taken in producing this issue -- something Wizards of the Coast does far too little these day -- the finished product is quite avant-garde and never quite gels.
Finally, Clyde Caldwell produced the cover art. In addition to painting six cards for MTG, Caldwell is famous for his fantasy art for such properties as Dungeons & Dragons and Heavy Metal, among many others.
LORE
This one-off is surprisingly light on lore. The narrative is fairly straight forward, though we do get a few interesting tidbits.
Due to his magically extended lifespan, Xarl sires multiple generations of his family. Among his progeny is Eskil, who becomes the Planeswalker Eskil the White. Among Eskil’s students was Mangara of Corondor.
This issue introduces the Serra Angel Rahel, who is the narrator of “The Story of the Battlemage Ravidel.” This story, which recapped most of the Armada comic series, served as the introduction to the PlayStation game Magic: The Gathering Battlemage.
On his death bed, Xarl yells, "Phyrexia's Gates!!" for apparently no reason.
MISCELLANEOUS
While Fallen Angel is light on lore, there’s tons of miscellany packed into this issue. Let’s dive right in!
The “Horned Halo” that Xarl uses to control Trine has never been printed as a stand-alone Magic card, but it may reference the head piece that the angel is wearing in the Legends printing of Fallen Angel. The card Fallen Ideal is the closest we get. In game, this card enchants another creature to have mostly the same attributes as Fallen Angel.
Scott Hungerford, who worked for the Magic continuity team, provides another great tidbit about the Horned Halo in his interview in the back of the comic. If you look closely at the card Grandmother Sengir, she appears to have a basket of these artifacts next to her desk. Additionally, she is writing with a white feather, possibly one taken from a Serra Angel (and she's left-handed!).
In the game, Fallen Angel has flying even though her wings have been cut off in the original card art. Rules guru Shawn F. Carnes addresses this in his “Seer Analysis” essay. Later versions of the card depicted the creature with wings.
Sci-fi and fantasy author Madeline Robins offers a one-page essay on the use of the “fallen angel” archetype in religion, mythology, and literature.
In addition to the essays, the comic carries interviews with almost everyone involved in the making of the comic -- and then some! There are profiles of all the artists, plus Hungerford, Anson Maddocks, and Skaff Elias.
Dennis Calero and his wife founded the company Atomic Paintbrush, which was one of the first companies to help comics digitally color, finish, or enhance their panels. Atomic Paintbrush provided services to every major comic house at the time.
This comic carried a full-page ad for Spiderweb Art Gallery, which is co-owned by famed artist Greg Hildebrandt and his wife, Jean Scrocco. The Brothers Hildebrandt -- and later Greg by himself -- contributed multiple pieces of art for MTG. Spiderweb still sells art today.
STORY SYNOPSIS
Under the direction of the warlord Mandek Ironfirst, the wizard Xarl summons a Serra Angel named Trine, whom he corrupts and uses as a living weapon for the next three centuries.
CREATIVES
Writer Nancy A. Collins is a best-selling author of vampire novels starring her character Sonja Blue. She has also written for comics, notably Swamp Thing, and tie-in properties, including novelizations of the Final Destination film series. She received the Bram Stoker Award, one of the highest honors in the horror genre, for her 1990 novel Sunglasses After Dark.
Richard Kane Ferguson and Dennis Calero traded off artistic duties for this one-off (more on this in a moment). Ferguson is well known among Magic: The Gathering fans. In addition to being one of the game’s original artists, he also contributed art for more than 60 unique cards over his career with Wizards of the Coast.
Calero is a Harvey Award-nominated comic artist who has worked on a variety of titles, including X-Factor and X-Men Noir. He’s also done tie-in work and work for publishing and game companies. While Calero never produced any card art for Magic: The Gathering, he did work on MTG’s sister property, Dungeons & Dragons.
Don Perlin, who assisted with pencil layouts, started working in comics in the 1940s and began a long association with Marvel in 1974. He worked extensively on the titles Werewolf by Night and Ghost Rider, in additional to many others. THIS is an amusing anecdote about how Perlin accidentally snuck a bit of profanity into an issue of The Defenders.
Yes, that art is all from the same issue. Ferguson, Calero, and Perlin all have wildly different styles. And with the advent of digital art manipulation, Calero used the opportunity to mix traditional mediums with digital pencil work, altered photographs, and more for his pages. The result is, unfortunately, a bit of a mess. While I appreciate the risks that were taken in producing this issue -- something Wizards of the Coast does far too little these day -- the finished product is quite avant-garde and never quite gels.
Finally, Clyde Caldwell produced the cover art. In addition to painting six cards for MTG, Caldwell is famous for his fantasy art for such properties as Dungeons & Dragons and Heavy Metal, among many others.
LORE
This one-off is surprisingly light on lore. The narrative is fairly straight forward, though we do get a few interesting tidbits.
Due to his magically extended lifespan, Xarl sires multiple generations of his family. Among his progeny is Eskil, who becomes the Planeswalker Eskil the White. Among Eskil’s students was Mangara of Corondor.
This issue introduces the Serra Angel Rahel, who is the narrator of “The Story of the Battlemage Ravidel.” This story, which recapped most of the Armada comic series, served as the introduction to the PlayStation game Magic: The Gathering Battlemage.
On his death bed, Xarl yells, "Phyrexia's Gates!!" for apparently no reason.
MISCELLANEOUS
While Fallen Angel is light on lore, there’s tons of miscellany packed into this issue. Let’s dive right in!
The “Horned Halo” that Xarl uses to control Trine has never been printed as a stand-alone Magic card, but it may reference the head piece that the angel is wearing in the Legends printing of Fallen Angel. The card Fallen Ideal is the closest we get. In game, this card enchants another creature to have mostly the same attributes as Fallen Angel.
Scott Hungerford, who worked for the Magic continuity team, provides another great tidbit about the Horned Halo in his interview in the back of the comic. If you look closely at the card Grandmother Sengir, she appears to have a basket of these artifacts next to her desk. Additionally, she is writing with a white feather, possibly one taken from a Serra Angel (and she's left-handed!).
In the game, Fallen Angel has flying even though her wings have been cut off in the original card art. Rules guru Shawn F. Carnes addresses this in his “Seer Analysis” essay. Later versions of the card depicted the creature with wings.
Sci-fi and fantasy author Madeline Robins offers a one-page essay on the use of the “fallen angel” archetype in religion, mythology, and literature.
In addition to the essays, the comic carries interviews with almost everyone involved in the making of the comic -- and then some! There are profiles of all the artists, plus Hungerford, Anson Maddocks, and Skaff Elias.
Dennis Calero and his wife founded the company Atomic Paintbrush, which was one of the first companies to help comics digitally color, finish, or enhance their panels. Atomic Paintbrush provided services to every major comic house at the time.
This comic carried a full-page ad for Spiderweb Art Gallery, which is co-owned by famed artist Greg Hildebrandt and his wife, Jean Scrocco. The Brothers Hildebrandt -- and later Greg by himself -- contributed multiple pieces of art for MTG. Spiderweb still sells art today.
July 9, 2017
MTG Comics Reread: Dakkon Blackblade
Dakkon Blackblade, another Magic: The Gathering Legend, also takes place in the deep history of Dominaria before the Brothers' War. Chronologically, the story occurs before Elder Dragons but after the fall of the Thran. It was published in June 1996 and packaged with a Chronicles printing of the card Dakkon Blackblade.
STORY SYNOPSIS
A slave boy named Carth is manipulated into summoning the Planeswalker warrior Dakkon Blackblade, which puts him at the center of a conflict between some of Dominaria's most powerful mages and creatures.
CREATIVES
Writer Jerry Prosser is a prolific comic writer and editor, having worked extensively for Dark Horse since the publishing house's earliest days. Some of his biggest credits include Sin City and Alien titles.
Penciler Rags Morales is an award-winning comic artist who has worked on some of the biggest titles for DC and Valiant. He's had a long history with TSR (owned by Magic's publisher Wizards of the Coast) and has occasionally worked in publishing. His distinct style is definitely on display in this comic.
Inker Barbara Kaalberg is a freelancer based out of Madison, Wis. Over a career that has spanned nearly three decades, she has worked on some of the biggest superhero characters in the world. She is also an advocate for women's representation in the comic and entertainment industries.
LORE
Carth is, of course, short for "Carthalion." He is the ancestor of the other Carthalions in the comics and most likely the founder of the Carthalion line.
Carth carries the crescent mark on his cheek, much like Jared Carthalion. Interestingly, both received some kind of "soul damage." Carth gave up his shadow -- his soul -- to summon Dakkon. Jared received his crescent mark when Ravidel cast Soul Siphon on Jared's father's army. The crescent is also the mark of elder druids.
A dragon named Piru appears in this story and is identified as the sixth Elder Dragon. Her status as such is in some dispute. What is clear is that she is Chromium (Rhuell)'s mate and that she dies at the hands of Dakkon. Piru does not appear on any MTG card ever printed.
Chromium losing his mate Piru explains why he told Red Donald's daughter in the Elder Dragons series that he will never love again.
This graphic novel includes a text story titled "The Dragon War" about what happened to Sol'kanar the Swamp King after the events in the comic. The Salt Marsh setting is the same as that in the Nightmare one-off.
It's possible that one of the sorceresses in the story, Gydolien Mor, is the progenitor of the Mor family and that Jared Carthalion is her descendant on his mother's side.
Minorad is also mentioned in "The Dragon War." In the comics, Minorad is known as a center of learning, and the calendar created by its sages determines the dates used in many of the comics.
MISCELLANEOUS
Geyadrone Dihada is quoted on the Fifth Edition printing of the card Lure.
The amulet that Carth wears is referred to both as the Amulet of Tifu and the Amulet of Ti-Fu in the same issue. This is likely a copy editing error.
The Thran artifact used to identify Chondaeh in "The Dragon War" is possibly Thran Lens, though it's in-game mechanic doesn't quite match its purpose in the story.
Chondaeh is identified as a powerful mage at age 11. "The Dragon War" takes place over 15 years, but Chondaeh is mistakenly identified as being only 16 at the time of the final conflict when she should be 26.
In a world building essay also included in the comic titled "Classical Allusions and Intergenerational Dynamics in Magic: The Gathering," writer Sharon Claire Mitchell talks about the drive to create strong female characters in the comics, a nice change from what she calls "Superhero Bimbettes."
This comic carries a full-page memorial to Seaborn Adamson, a Valiant and Acclaim comic writer who passed away Jan. 29, 1996.
STORY SYNOPSIS
A slave boy named Carth is manipulated into summoning the Planeswalker warrior Dakkon Blackblade, which puts him at the center of a conflict between some of Dominaria's most powerful mages and creatures.
CREATIVES
Writer Jerry Prosser is a prolific comic writer and editor, having worked extensively for Dark Horse since the publishing house's earliest days. Some of his biggest credits include Sin City and Alien titles.
Penciler Rags Morales is an award-winning comic artist who has worked on some of the biggest titles for DC and Valiant. He's had a long history with TSR (owned by Magic's publisher Wizards of the Coast) and has occasionally worked in publishing. His distinct style is definitely on display in this comic.
Inker Barbara Kaalberg is a freelancer based out of Madison, Wis. Over a career that has spanned nearly three decades, she has worked on some of the biggest superhero characters in the world. She is also an advocate for women's representation in the comic and entertainment industries.
LORE
Carth is, of course, short for "Carthalion." He is the ancestor of the other Carthalions in the comics and most likely the founder of the Carthalion line.
Carth carries the crescent mark on his cheek, much like Jared Carthalion. Interestingly, both received some kind of "soul damage." Carth gave up his shadow -- his soul -- to summon Dakkon. Jared received his crescent mark when Ravidel cast Soul Siphon on Jared's father's army. The crescent is also the mark of elder druids.
A dragon named Piru appears in this story and is identified as the sixth Elder Dragon. Her status as such is in some dispute. What is clear is that she is Chromium (Rhuell)'s mate and that she dies at the hands of Dakkon. Piru does not appear on any MTG card ever printed.
Chromium losing his mate Piru explains why he told Red Donald's daughter in the Elder Dragons series that he will never love again.
This graphic novel includes a text story titled "The Dragon War" about what happened to Sol'kanar the Swamp King after the events in the comic. The Salt Marsh setting is the same as that in the Nightmare one-off.
It's possible that one of the sorceresses in the story, Gydolien Mor, is the progenitor of the Mor family and that Jared Carthalion is her descendant on his mother's side.
Minorad is also mentioned in "The Dragon War." In the comics, Minorad is known as a center of learning, and the calendar created by its sages determines the dates used in many of the comics.
MISCELLANEOUS
Geyadrone Dihada is quoted on the Fifth Edition printing of the card Lure.
The amulet that Carth wears is referred to both as the Amulet of Tifu and the Amulet of Ti-Fu in the same issue. This is likely a copy editing error.
The Thran artifact used to identify Chondaeh in "The Dragon War" is possibly Thran Lens, though it's in-game mechanic doesn't quite match its purpose in the story.
Chondaeh is identified as a powerful mage at age 11. "The Dragon War" takes place over 15 years, but Chondaeh is mistakenly identified as being only 16 at the time of the final conflict when she should be 26.
In a world building essay also included in the comic titled "Classical Allusions and Intergenerational Dynamics in Magic: The Gathering," writer Sharon Claire Mitchell talks about the drive to create strong female characters in the comics, a nice change from what she calls "Superhero Bimbettes."
This comic carries a full-page memorial to Seaborn Adamson, a Valiant and Acclaim comic writer who passed away Jan. 29, 1996.
July 8, 2017
MTG Comics Reread: Elder Dragons
Elder Dragons, a self-styled Magic: The Gathering Legend, was published in April and May 1996. Drawing from Dominaria’s deep history before the Brothers’ War, the story focuses on three of the five Elder Dragons from the Legends expansion: Palladia-Mors, Chromium (Rhuell), and Vaevictis Asmadi. Not present in this story are Nicol Bolas, the greatest antagonist of the MTG multiverse, and Arcades Sabboth.
STORY SYNOPSIS
A warlord named Red Donald sets off a chain of events that awakens the long-dormant Elder Dragon Palladia-Mors, inciting a conflict that pits a human village against orcs, zombies, and dragons.
CREATIVES
Writer Art Holcomb is widely known today in screenwriting circles. In addition to writing for comics, Holcomb has produced content for other licensed properties, like Star Trek. He teaches and mentors fellow writers, and has spoken at many conferences, including San Diego Comic Con.
Artist Doug Tropea-Wheatley (nowadays credited solely as Doug Wheatley) is a career comic artist known for his fine pencil work. In Star Wars circles, he is famous for drawing the comic adaptation of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and the Biggs Darklighter story arc of Star Wars: Empire. Wheatley’s pencils for Elder Dragons (which were scanned using “high-tech digital techniques” at the time) were a preview of how he would develop as an artist.
Colorists Carla Feeny (issue 1) and Jessica Kindzierski (issue 2) became career artists for DC and Marvel.
Ed Beard, who did four out of five of the Elder Dragon cards for the Legends expansion, painted the covers of both issues.
LORE
Palladia-Mors is identified as female. This could be thought of as the start of Magic’s trend of having outsize female antagonists, such as the Eldrazi titan Emrakul.
Chromium is identified as male. He and Palladia-Mors are siblings.
Vaevictis is not identified by gender. While it is generally accepted that Vaevictis is male, Palladia refers to him at one point as “dragonette.” This could be seen as a comment on his size or it could indicate that Vaevictis is actually female.
Palladia acknowledges that she and Vaevictis are “cousins,” though it’s not clear if this is intended to mean a family bond or a bond as a fellow Elder Dragon.
Palladia states that there are five Elder Dragons. In the editor’s note at the back of issue 2, however, it is stated that a “sixth Elder Dragon” will appear in the Dakkon Blackblade one-off.
Vaevictis mentions that he was imprisoned in the form of a dragon whelp by Faralyn, a Planeswalker who has been around for a long time. Faralyn as a character plays heavily into other comic story arcs. And since Faralyn is a pre-Mending Planeswalker, he is both incredibly old and incredibly powerful (able to tangle with an Elder Dragon and triumph).
Post-Mending, we know that Nicol Bolas is probably the only Elder Dragon still alive, which means the others died at some point. In issue 2 of Elder Dragons, Palladia is seen stripping Vaevictis of his power and roasting him. It’s possible that this is how Vaevictus met his end.
MISCELLANEOUS
There is an ad in the back of the issue for Ed Beard signed lithographs in series of either 250 or 500. The reader had to call a toll-free number for the artist’s catalog. The number now directs to a scam survey.
Vaevictus Asmadi is misspelled in the comic as “Asmodi.”
Issue 2 had a serious misprint in which pages 24 and 26 were transposed. This completely interrupts the flow of the story and makes it almost nonsensical until the reader realizes the error.
STORY SYNOPSIS
A warlord named Red Donald sets off a chain of events that awakens the long-dormant Elder Dragon Palladia-Mors, inciting a conflict that pits a human village against orcs, zombies, and dragons.
CREATIVES
Writer Art Holcomb is widely known today in screenwriting circles. In addition to writing for comics, Holcomb has produced content for other licensed properties, like Star Trek. He teaches and mentors fellow writers, and has spoken at many conferences, including San Diego Comic Con.
Artist Doug Tropea-Wheatley (nowadays credited solely as Doug Wheatley) is a career comic artist known for his fine pencil work. In Star Wars circles, he is famous for drawing the comic adaptation of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and the Biggs Darklighter story arc of Star Wars: Empire. Wheatley’s pencils for Elder Dragons (which were scanned using “high-tech digital techniques” at the time) were a preview of how he would develop as an artist.
Colorists Carla Feeny (issue 1) and Jessica Kindzierski (issue 2) became career artists for DC and Marvel.
Ed Beard, who did four out of five of the Elder Dragon cards for the Legends expansion, painted the covers of both issues.
LORE
Palladia-Mors is identified as female. This could be thought of as the start of Magic’s trend of having outsize female antagonists, such as the Eldrazi titan Emrakul.
Chromium is identified as male. He and Palladia-Mors are siblings.
Vaevictis is not identified by gender. While it is generally accepted that Vaevictis is male, Palladia refers to him at one point as “dragonette.” This could be seen as a comment on his size or it could indicate that Vaevictis is actually female.
Palladia acknowledges that she and Vaevictis are “cousins,” though it’s not clear if this is intended to mean a family bond or a bond as a fellow Elder Dragon.
Palladia states that there are five Elder Dragons. In the editor’s note at the back of issue 2, however, it is stated that a “sixth Elder Dragon” will appear in the Dakkon Blackblade one-off.
Vaevictis mentions that he was imprisoned in the form of a dragon whelp by Faralyn, a Planeswalker who has been around for a long time. Faralyn as a character plays heavily into other comic story arcs. And since Faralyn is a pre-Mending Planeswalker, he is both incredibly old and incredibly powerful (able to tangle with an Elder Dragon and triumph).
Post-Mending, we know that Nicol Bolas is probably the only Elder Dragon still alive, which means the others died at some point. In issue 2 of Elder Dragons, Palladia is seen stripping Vaevictis of his power and roasting him. It’s possible that this is how Vaevictus met his end.
MISCELLANEOUS
There is an ad in the back of the issue for Ed Beard signed lithographs in series of either 250 or 500. The reader had to call a toll-free number for the artist’s catalog. The number now directs to a scam survey.
Vaevictus Asmadi is misspelled in the comic as “Asmodi.”
Issue 2 had a serious misprint in which pages 24 and 26 were transposed. This completely interrupts the flow of the story and makes it almost nonsensical until the reader realizes the error.
July 7, 2017
The Great Magic: The Gathering Comics Reread!
BACKGROUND
(Note: If you’d like to skip the self-serving part of this entry, kindly scroll down to “PURPOSE.”)
I’ve always been interested in the origin of things, which is probably why I like the act of creating. As a writer, doing the world building for a story is sometimes more fun than writing the actual story itself.
In addition to creating worlds for my own work, I also like challenging myself to remember the origins of my chosen fandoms. When did I first hear a song that started my love affair with a certain band? Who recommended a certain author to me?
I can remember, vaguely, that it was my parents who introduced me to Star Wars (they had gone to the original film’s opening weekend in 1977, after all). And I can recall when we got the Nintendo Entertainment System that opened me to the worlds of Super Mario, Link, Mega Man, Samus Aran, and all the others.
But my introduction to the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering (MTG) is … fuzzy. I remember playing with my sister when we were young (which consisted of us mashing all the cards we had together into two crazy decks that had zero synergy) and I can even pinpoint Ed Grabianowski’s wonderful article on io9 that rekindled my love of the game after a 17-year hiatus.
How I learned about Magic in the first place, though, is a mystery.
I suspect (and this could be a fanciful recreation of my imagination) that the MTG comics had a hand in it.
At about the time that Magic’s Revised Edition came out in 1994, I was 11 years old and very into collecting comic books. This was a hobby my mother encouraged and even helped with. She got me a copy of the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, and together we made my first comic inventory on loose leaf paper. (When other parents pearl-clutchingly asked if my mother was concerned that I was reading comics, she would say, “I don’t care what he’s reading as long as he’s reading” — my mom is pretty cool like that.)
My guess is that, at some point between 1994 and 1995, I saw some cool-looking fantasy comics, asked to buy them, saw that they came with a cool-looking fantasy card, and realized there was a whole game built around this lore. I asked for a Fourth Edition starter deck, and the rest is history.
I’m not sure if this is how the scenario actually played out. The time frame is right since my earliest cards were from the Revised set, the majority were from Fourth Edition, and the newest (at the time) were from the Ice Age expansion, which was released in June 1995.
What I can be sure of is that my love for the comics lasted longer than my initial flirtations with the game. I would return to them often for great fantasy stories about mages, elves, and Planeswalkers — the most powerful beings in the MTG universe. Looking back now, I can appreciate how formative those comics were for me and how they impacted some of my earliest writing endeavors.
PURPOSE
As Magic: The Gathering celebrates its 25th anniversary, it’s amazing to see how the game has grown from a niche pastime to a competitive e-sport enjoyed by millions of people the world over. This infographic, prepared by Magic’s publisher Wizards of the Coast, gives you a scope of how far the game has come in two-and-a-half decades.
But it’s not just the game that’s evolved; it’s the in-game lore as well. Now owned by Hasbro, MTG has built a small media empire that includes dozens of novels, comics, art books, and short stories. Most weeks, a new chapter in this ongoing saga is posted on MTG’s website, and whole online communities have grown up on forum boards and social media sites to analyze the smallest minutiae of every tale.
As a result, that original run of MTG comics that I so loved has unfortunately become a bit forgotten over the years.
Between 1995 and 1996, Armada Comics (a division of Acclaim Entertainment) published 35 comics that told the story of the game’s earliest expansion sets. Those books are chock full of lore, though some of the details have been retconned over the years as Wizards of the Coast has exerted closer control over Magic’s storyline. Additionally, the overall Armada series was canceled before the ending could be told, which is particularly unlucky because it robbed readers of the climax.
Nonetheless, there are 35 volumes from which to draw from. My goal with this project is to attempt to reread the series in rough chronological order (story order, not publication order) and offer reflections on each series or one-off.
Many creative people were involved in the creation of the original Magic: The Gathering comic books. As the gaming community celebrates the anniversary of a trailblazing game that has meant so much to so many people, this is my love letter (so to speak) to the talented men and women who may have introduced me to this world.
(Note: If you’d like to skip the self-serving part of this entry, kindly scroll down to “PURPOSE.”)
I’ve always been interested in the origin of things, which is probably why I like the act of creating. As a writer, doing the world building for a story is sometimes more fun than writing the actual story itself.
In addition to creating worlds for my own work, I also like challenging myself to remember the origins of my chosen fandoms. When did I first hear a song that started my love affair with a certain band? Who recommended a certain author to me?
I can remember, vaguely, that it was my parents who introduced me to Star Wars (they had gone to the original film’s opening weekend in 1977, after all). And I can recall when we got the Nintendo Entertainment System that opened me to the worlds of Super Mario, Link, Mega Man, Samus Aran, and all the others.
But my introduction to the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering (MTG) is … fuzzy. I remember playing with my sister when we were young (which consisted of us mashing all the cards we had together into two crazy decks that had zero synergy) and I can even pinpoint Ed Grabianowski’s wonderful article on io9 that rekindled my love of the game after a 17-year hiatus.
How I learned about Magic in the first place, though, is a mystery.
I suspect (and this could be a fanciful recreation of my imagination) that the MTG comics had a hand in it.
At about the time that Magic’s Revised Edition came out in 1994, I was 11 years old and very into collecting comic books. This was a hobby my mother encouraged and even helped with. She got me a copy of the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, and together we made my first comic inventory on loose leaf paper. (When other parents pearl-clutchingly asked if my mother was concerned that I was reading comics, she would say, “I don’t care what he’s reading as long as he’s reading” — my mom is pretty cool like that.)
My guess is that, at some point between 1994 and 1995, I saw some cool-looking fantasy comics, asked to buy them, saw that they came with a cool-looking fantasy card, and realized there was a whole game built around this lore. I asked for a Fourth Edition starter deck, and the rest is history.
I’m not sure if this is how the scenario actually played out. The time frame is right since my earliest cards were from the Revised set, the majority were from Fourth Edition, and the newest (at the time) were from the Ice Age expansion, which was released in June 1995.
What I can be sure of is that my love for the comics lasted longer than my initial flirtations with the game. I would return to them often for great fantasy stories about mages, elves, and Planeswalkers — the most powerful beings in the MTG universe. Looking back now, I can appreciate how formative those comics were for me and how they impacted some of my earliest writing endeavors.
PURPOSE
As Magic: The Gathering celebrates its 25th anniversary, it’s amazing to see how the game has grown from a niche pastime to a competitive e-sport enjoyed by millions of people the world over. This infographic, prepared by Magic’s publisher Wizards of the Coast, gives you a scope of how far the game has come in two-and-a-half decades.
But it’s not just the game that’s evolved; it’s the in-game lore as well. Now owned by Hasbro, MTG has built a small media empire that includes dozens of novels, comics, art books, and short stories. Most weeks, a new chapter in this ongoing saga is posted on MTG’s website, and whole online communities have grown up on forum boards and social media sites to analyze the smallest minutiae of every tale.
As a result, that original run of MTG comics that I so loved has unfortunately become a bit forgotten over the years.
Between 1995 and 1996, Armada Comics (a division of Acclaim Entertainment) published 35 comics that told the story of the game’s earliest expansion sets. Those books are chock full of lore, though some of the details have been retconned over the years as Wizards of the Coast has exerted closer control over Magic’s storyline. Additionally, the overall Armada series was canceled before the ending could be told, which is particularly unlucky because it robbed readers of the climax.
Nonetheless, there are 35 volumes from which to draw from. My goal with this project is to attempt to reread the series in rough chronological order (story order, not publication order) and offer reflections on each series or one-off.
Many creative people were involved in the creation of the original Magic: The Gathering comic books. As the gaming community celebrates the anniversary of a trailblazing game that has meant so much to so many people, this is my love letter (so to speak) to the talented men and women who may have introduced me to this world.
March 23, 2017
Hello from the Close of a Long Absence (or: Shouting into the Void)
Where have I been? What have I been doing? Why haven’t I been writing the next Great American Novel?
All important questions, some of which I hope to address here. And in order to do that, we have to go back to the more innocent era of A.D. 2015.
Back then I was pretty dissatisfied with my professional life. Without going into too much detail, I’ll say that I was extremely unhappy with my day job and had been four years (!) looking for a new position with no results.
About that time, I started doing freelance work for a website called Art of MTG. I had played the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering when I was young, and it’s impossible to understate the influence that this game had on me — especially its fantasy artwork. After I started playing again in 2012, I got it in my head to marry two of my passions: writing and MTG’s still-amazing artwork.
At a gallery opening in New York City in the fall of 2015, I had the good fortune of meeting the proprietor of Vintage Magic, whom I knew about from his YouTube channel. Together we embarked on an extensive freelance project in which I served as the company’s “art correspondent” for a whole year. It took me about 15 months to finish the assignment, during which I produced 24 articles for the site (which are still being published as of this writing).
I’m extremely proud of the work I did for Vintage Magic. I got to interview some of my biggest art heroes and even met ones whom I didn’t even know would become my heroes. I also thought I would be able to work on this project and my fiction at the same time, but this was not to be. The assignment required more involvement than I anticipated in order to produce the quality of work that I expected of myself. As a result, anything related to my fiction had to be put on hold from approximately November 2015 onward.
With the completion of my contract in January 2017, I’ve been eager to throw myself back into all things fiction. Does anyone care? Is anyone reading this? Am I merely shouting into the void?
Who can say? Regardless -- and in an effort to organize my own thoughts -- here is where things currently stand:
-- I updated my website so that it remains “evergreen” and doesn’t need to be updated with news every month. Not that this was particularly time consuming, but it was annoying. Instead, I will be blogging exclusively here on Goodreads.
-- My debut book, The Horse Thieves and Other Tales of the New West is currently out of print. Hazardous Press shut its doors last year, and Horse Thieves is now an orphaned work. Since so few publishers will consider unsolicited reprints, I will probably proceed with self-publishing in order to keep the book in print. More on this in coming months.
-- I have an unpublished short story titled “The Tales We Tell” that is currently seeking a home. It had been accepted for an anthology last year that never materialized. All rights have reverted back to me, and the story is out in the world again. As a side note, I have made more story submissions in the first three months of 2017 than I did in all of 2016. So, there’s that.
-- Prior to my freelance gig, I had finished my final draft of what I hope to be my next published novel. Titled Abe Titterman and the Key to the Universe, it is currently out for consideration at several publishers.
-- Finally, I have begun work on what I hope to be my next novel. It’s obviously too early to say much about this, except that it’s fantasy and that I’ve spent the past month or so doing some great world building and outlining.
Whew! Well, I think that’s everything -- if you were even listening in the first place. If you stumbled here by accident and are concerned that you’ve happened upon the ramblings of an unhinged ink slinger, please continue about your business.
Thanks for reading!
All important questions, some of which I hope to address here. And in order to do that, we have to go back to the more innocent era of A.D. 2015.
Back then I was pretty dissatisfied with my professional life. Without going into too much detail, I’ll say that I was extremely unhappy with my day job and had been four years (!) looking for a new position with no results.
About that time, I started doing freelance work for a website called Art of MTG. I had played the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering when I was young, and it’s impossible to understate the influence that this game had on me — especially its fantasy artwork. After I started playing again in 2012, I got it in my head to marry two of my passions: writing and MTG’s still-amazing artwork.
At a gallery opening in New York City in the fall of 2015, I had the good fortune of meeting the proprietor of Vintage Magic, whom I knew about from his YouTube channel. Together we embarked on an extensive freelance project in which I served as the company’s “art correspondent” for a whole year. It took me about 15 months to finish the assignment, during which I produced 24 articles for the site (which are still being published as of this writing).
I’m extremely proud of the work I did for Vintage Magic. I got to interview some of my biggest art heroes and even met ones whom I didn’t even know would become my heroes. I also thought I would be able to work on this project and my fiction at the same time, but this was not to be. The assignment required more involvement than I anticipated in order to produce the quality of work that I expected of myself. As a result, anything related to my fiction had to be put on hold from approximately November 2015 onward.
With the completion of my contract in January 2017, I’ve been eager to throw myself back into all things fiction. Does anyone care? Is anyone reading this? Am I merely shouting into the void?
Who can say? Regardless -- and in an effort to organize my own thoughts -- here is where things currently stand:
-- I updated my website so that it remains “evergreen” and doesn’t need to be updated with news every month. Not that this was particularly time consuming, but it was annoying. Instead, I will be blogging exclusively here on Goodreads.
-- My debut book, The Horse Thieves and Other Tales of the New West is currently out of print. Hazardous Press shut its doors last year, and Horse Thieves is now an orphaned work. Since so few publishers will consider unsolicited reprints, I will probably proceed with self-publishing in order to keep the book in print. More on this in coming months.
-- I have an unpublished short story titled “The Tales We Tell” that is currently seeking a home. It had been accepted for an anthology last year that never materialized. All rights have reverted back to me, and the story is out in the world again. As a side note, I have made more story submissions in the first three months of 2017 than I did in all of 2016. So, there’s that.
-- Prior to my freelance gig, I had finished my final draft of what I hope to be my next published novel. Titled Abe Titterman and the Key to the Universe, it is currently out for consideration at several publishers.
-- Finally, I have begun work on what I hope to be my next novel. It’s obviously too early to say much about this, except that it’s fantasy and that I’ve spent the past month or so doing some great world building and outlining.
Whew! Well, I think that’s everything -- if you were even listening in the first place. If you stumbled here by accident and are concerned that you’ve happened upon the ramblings of an unhinged ink slinger, please continue about your business.
Thanks for reading!
April 10, 2016
Some Fun Post-Mortem Press News!
Post Mortem Press, one of the publishers that I've collaborated with since nearly the beginning, has released 44 Lies by 22 Authors, a collection of flash fiction from many of the publisher's stable of authors. The book features two of my stories -- "Missing Bicycles," about bikes that are running away from their owners, and "Residual," about an unusual quality of prosthetic hands. The book is available now from Amazon!
Also, The Ghost Is the Machine has a fancy new cover! See it HERE
Also, The Ghost Is the Machine has a fancy new cover! See it HERE
July 22, 2015
Avon Library and Wally Wood
This past week, I was fortunate enough to participate in the Avon Free Public Library's summer author series. I joined fellow Connecticut writer Wally Wood for Authors in the Tents, in which we had a book at the Avon Farmer's Market and were able to meet with readers from the area.
Wally was even kind enough to write a blog post about the event.
Wally, by the way, writes commercial fiction, mainly mysteries and literary works. Be sure to check out the killer description of The Girl in the Photo
Wally was even kind enough to write a blog post about the event.
Wally, by the way, writes commercial fiction, mainly mysteries and literary works. Be sure to check out the killer description of The Girl in the Photo
