Mage, Book One: The Hero Discovered

Mage

by Matt Wagner

Kevin Matchstick was a lonely, disaffected everyman until events beyond his control conspired to prod him into becoming the hero he never wanted to be. Accompanied by a mysterious wizard and a crew of loyal friends, the reluctant hero must discover the courage to accept his true power and defeat the dark powers that threaten reality itself.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Fiction, Comic Book, Superheroes, Urban Fantasy

464 pages, Paperback

First published December 14, 2004

About the author

Matt Wagner is an American comic book writer and artist. In addition to his creator-owned series' Mage and Grendel, he has also worked on comics featuring The Demon and Batman as well as such titles as Sandman Mystery Theatre and Trinity, a DC Comics limited series featuring Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wound up liking this quite a bit by the end but it took awhile to get good. I'll read The Hero Defined at some point but it's not a high priority.

[Rod Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

#ThrowbackThursday - Back in the '90s, I used to write comic book reviews for the website of a now-defunct comic book retailer called Rockem Sockem Comics. (Collect them all!)

From the August 1998 edition with a theme of "Reprinted and Repackaged":

INTRODUCTION

I'm feeling nostalgic, folks. Howzabout a few trips down memory lane this month?

When I was a young kid buying comics off the spinner rack at the my small town drug store or the magazine rack at the county seat's big grocery store, missing an issue of ARCHIE, RICHIE RICH or SUPERMAN was a tragedy. There were no comic stores with back issue bins in Shullsburg, Wisconsin. And heck, the only other comic book collector in town bought only those trashy Marvel titles, such as X-MEN and FANTASTIC FOUR, which I snubbed. (Hey, I was ignorant of the concepts of appreciation in value and comic book price guides. Give me a break!) If Jackson's Drug Store or Dick's Supermarket didn't get a particular comic, this little farm boy was plain outta luck.

Nowadays, the comics collector has a multitude of solutions available to him. Somewhere in the midst of all the back issue bins, comic conventions, classified ads, mail order companies, fan clubs, and distributor restocking systems, a missing comic book is sure to turn up with a little effort . . . even for little snot-nosed nerds living on isolated Wisconsin dairy farms. As a grown-up, snot-nosed nerd living in isolation in Colorado, I still agonize over a missing issue of a beloved comic book series, but now I'm flexible enough to consider the one solution that is becoming more and more common and, therefore, much easier to obtain. For those willing to bypass first-edition, serialized comics, the Golden Age of publisher reprinting and repackaging is upon us.

PURE MAGIC

MAGE: THE HERO DISCOVERED #1-15 (Comico)
MAGE: THE HERO DEFINED #0-8 (Image Comics)

I only wrote one comic book fan letter in my entire life, and it was published in the final issue of MAGE: THE HERO DISCOVERED. Writer/artist Matt Wagner (GRENDEL, BATMAN/GRENDEL, SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE), with the assistance of inker Sam Kieth (THE MAXX), moved me deeply with a wonderfully funny, superbly action-packed drama about finding the superhero within.

Lead character and regular guy Kevin Matchstick awakens one day to find he has supernatural powers and is caught up in a war with creatures from mythology. Assisting Matchstick in his fight are a legless mentor mage named Mirth, a tough teenage girl named Edsel, and an uptight lawyer named Sean. Opposing Matchstick is the deliciously evil Umbra Sprite, his sympathetically frustrated henchman --the intelligent and curious Lazlo -- and a host of demons, dragons and other beasties.

It's cheesy, but I'm gonna share my fan letter with you today. For the sake of not spoiling the ending, I'm replacing the names of the characters whose fate I disclose with "Character A" and "Character B."

"Dear Matt,
Round about nine months ago, I saw you on your Mage Tour at Superhero Universe in Cambridge, MA. I bought and won (Hooray for door prizes!) sketches of Character A and Character B. I'd chosen those two characters because they were my favorite characters in MAGE. Heck, they were two of my all-time favorite characters in comics.
And in the span of two issues you fried one and shot the other. Killed 'em. Dead. Kaput.
You made me love these characters. You brought them to life through your beautiful art and great writing. Then you killed 'em.
But you wanna know something? I'm not complaining about what you've done. I'm not demanding you bring 'em back. I'm not cast into emotional turmoil. As a matter of fact, I'm proud. Proud that their deaths were meaningful and in character. Proud that you "executed" the scenes so well.
Character A and Character B died. But they died -- if there is such a thing -- the good death.
Thank you for the excellence which is MAGE. Thank you for the time you've given us with two great characters. May they rest in peace. And may magic always be green.
'Bye,
Rod Brown
Shullsburg, WI"

After an agonizingly long ten-and-a-half years, the sequel to MAGE: THE HERO DISCOVERED finally began to appear in 1997. Kevin Matchstick is in full control of his powers and has begun a systematic quest to rid the world of all evil presences. Joining him this time are a homeless man claiming to be a second mage and a large array of super-powered folks who are reincarnations of mythic heroes from a variety of cultures, e.g., Hercules of the Greeks, Coyote of the Native Americans, and St. George of the British. Trying to organize the opposition is the enigmatic Pale Incanter.

MAGE: THE HERO DEFINED has gotten off to a rocky start, as far as I'm concerned. With only Kevin Matchstick carrying over from the first series, I find that I miss all the old characters tremendously. Nostalgia over those characters and the absence of the sheer joy of discovery which permeated the first series may be making it hard for me to give the successor series a fair break. I'm irritated that the action and humor has been pumped up at the expense of the drama which was the core of the first MAGE. MAGE: THE HERO DEFINED is slowly starting to gel into an interesting story on its own right, however, especially since the introduction of a possible romance for Matchstick. Also helping is the fact that Wagner's artwork (he's doing pencils and inks this time) has made stellar jumps in quality since the first MAGE series.

I loved MAGE: THE HERO DISCOVERED back in 1986, and I still love it today. It's one of the few comics that I reread every couple of years. If you've worn your copies out doing the same, or if you've never had the pleasure of reading MAGE before, I recommend you pick up the newest editions a.s.a.p. Then watch for next issue of the sequel, MAGE: THE HERO DEFINED, a series which is quietly growing on me. Once you've let Kevin Matchstick and his friends into your life, you too will be enchanted.

MAGE: THE HERO DISCOVERED Grade: A+
MAGE: THE HERO DEFINED Grade: B

[Tom Ewing · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasure to revisit this cult 80s indie comic, not so much for the story - Arthurian urban fantasy folderol, albeit done well - as for Matt Wagner’s delightfully clean art and storytelling, with very sympathetic inking by Sam Keith making things even smoother. There’s a lovely cartoonish energy to the action scenes which more than makes up for Wagner’s early shortcomings as an artist, like a horror of drawing backgrounds which means everything seems to be set in the same featureless room or alley.

[John Ferrigno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Legendary comic creator Matt Wagner found his first success with his second attempt at a series, Mage. This first volume in the Mage Trilogy, the Hero Discovered, introduces Wagner's alter-ego, Kevin Matchstick, as he embarks on the classic hero's journey.

Wagner was a young artist when this series began, but he was already among the best in the business. He has a distinctive, instantly recognizable style that is perfectly suited for this story.

Wagner would have many more successes over the years (Grendel, as well as his work on Batman being the most famous) but this early series holds up over the years. It is a great tale, with solid writing, interesting characters, and wonderful art.

Anybody who likes good comics or just a classic adventure tale should definitely check out Mage.

[David Levine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the hero's fairly complex relationship with the fact of his heroism (similar to Lord Foul's Bane, though not nearly so angsty) this one had a lot more smash and thud than I really like in a graphic novel. I prefer heroes who think more than they smash, and Kevin largely allows his companions to do his thinking for him. I was impressed with the book's willingness to make major changes midstream, and the key revelation was satisfying though not completely unexpected. The art was fine, though I did occasionally have trouble following the action across the page -- the panel order wasn't always clear. And the choice to have most of the villains look exactly alike, even though they had distinct powers and personalities, made it hard to tell who was whom.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was doubtless totally innovative when it was originally published. After a few decades of Vertigo, it doesn’t stand out quite so well (and similarly if you know the secrets of the book going it, it’s not quite as amazing). With that said, this is an enjoyable urban fantasy with a strong basis and great characters. The art is also stunningly good, especially after the first several issues.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the fourth or fifth time I've read this book, and it never stops being one of the best comics of all time. It was initially published before my times as a comics reader, but when Wagner authored the sequel The Hero Defined, Image republished Discovered in as 8 double-sized issues (the first seven collecting two issues of the original run, and the last being the double-sized finale) and I read it in that form. Then Dynamic Forces and Image co-published a hardcover, and totally screwed it up. The cover was cut wrong, word balloons were left empty. A total disaster, but I'd preordered it and never saw anything about them sending out replacement copies. But I had it, and I read it a few times. Now Image has a new edition, and I checked it out before buying. Much better job this time around* - so, yes, I bought it a third time.

And it's worth it. Mage is a top-ten all-time comic. It's one part modern-day reworking of Arthurian myth, and one part allegorical autobiography. Wagner manages to spend literally an entire issue, right before the finale, with his hero Kevin Matchstick and his magician/guide Mirth discussing fate and our responsibility for the direction of our own lives. And it works. Lots of philosophy, but also plenty of great action and twists on classic myths. Excalibur's a baseball bat, and the lady who holds it for him has a thing for cars instead of lakes.

A truly great series, as is its sequel. I'm looking forward to the third leg of the trilogy, The Hero Denied, whenever Wagner gets around to it.

*There is some shoddy balloon placement in the lettering - you have read a few pages a couple times to figure out which direction the balloons should go, but that's not a problem in the reproduction.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una narrativa bastante sencilla. No tiene nada que no haya visto antes. Tiene peso humano y personajes interesantes, pero no tengo ese incontrolable ímpetu de continuar como me sucedió con East of West. El libro es difícil de calificar. Por un lado, tiene diálogos pesados y con un personaje que sabe todo, la oportunidad de aprender algo orgánicamente se pierde.

Pero las escenas de acción son muy buenas. Las batallas generalmente son mudas y el héroe, Kevin, como no es artista marcial, pelea dé la forma que le salga utilizando sus alrededores como arma. Además de los combates, Wagner utiliza mucho el recurso gráfico que tiene a su disposición, haciendo escenas mudas muy emocionantes aunque sea algo sencillo como esperar que suceda algo.

Es algo que compraría para un niño o un adolescente que no ha leído muchos cómics y quiere introducirse al mundo del cómic independiente.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kevin Matchstick discovers his true self when he meets up with Mirth, the World Mage.

I've been meaning to read this for years and am glad I finally got around to it. The art is a little rough at the beginning but I enjoyed the sharpness/bleakness and the use of color and dark. It's impossible to say anything about the plot without giving away a major spoiler so I'll just say that I'm enjoying the journey. I appreciate the fact that the author isn't afraid to kill off major characters so the stakes are higher. I'll definitely be reading the next 'book'.

[Rex Hurst · Rating 2 out of 5]

An everyman character discovers that he is in fact the Hero of legend- specifically the Pendragon. He is joined by various allies and the titular Mage to fight a powerful enemy, a personification of the forces of darkness. A cutting edge comic from the 80s, Mage seems to be heavily influenced by The Hero With a Thousand Faces and stands out as an exceptional independent comic. This collects the fifteen issues that makes up the series, plus a short piece that connects to the companion series, The Hero Defined.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a nostalgic journey for me - hence the 5-star review.
I remember picking up the second issue of the series and becoming, along with my friends, quite obsessed with the comic.

We even travelled to see Matt during the “Mage Tour” of 1985 and I’ve kept the poster from that event for all these years.

From a story perspective, it’s a fun read with wonderful art from an artist that would continue to grow into one of the best.
From a memory perspective- it brings back recollections of friends now gone. So I’m happy to have read it on both counts.

[Paul Allard · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Faerie kingdom and our reality collide and a mage is born. Quite good

Kevin Matchstick develops magical powers as a conflict between supernatural powers spills out into our world. He gains various allies of a different nature along the way. The volume explains the various characters and situation and presents them in a light manner. The artwork is fairly basic, colourful and clear but overall the series doesn’t thrill me. Many more volumes to come.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mage was first published in in 1987, but I first discovered it, and comics in general, in 2001 while hunting for art to use in a computer game for a programming class. It was out of print, expensive on Ebay, and not carried by my library until recently. On a whim I searched my library for it last month and found it! It was worth the wait.

Now I need to find the third arc that Wagner began publishing in 2018.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up the original compendium and then the individual comics way back on the day.
Wagner's art and story telling start strong and improve as the series continues.
By the end he is atbthebpeaknof his powers as a master of the comic book, blending myth with modernity and heroism with the mundane.
Well worth reading, but take your time and enjoy the art even if you want to race through the story.

[Kyle Pinion · Rating 2 out of 5]

A not particularly auspicious start for one of Wagner's key creations. Taking it as an early step in his creative evolution, there's a good deal of value there, but I can only hope this improves in terms of his actual writing ability at some point...otherwise, it's just kind of your bog-standard "schlub learns he's got a greater destiny" story with loads of really dull exposition and a threat that's more silly than ominous.

[Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoy it every time!

I enjoy watching a creator do their craft. I cut my comic book teeth on Marvel superheroes, but once I branched out and explored independent titles, this is one I found. It was easy to tell early on that Matt Wagner was someone who was talented with both words and pictures. So I followed this series, and his work on Grendel with much joy. Watching him master the craft of storytelling over the years. It's great fun reading this tale again.

[Tyler Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun romp of a read, following reluctant hero Kevin as he discovers his role in an ancient conflict and teams up with a wizard, a ghost, and a badass lady companion, to take on evil. Imaginative yet familiar, this humorous modern fantasy comic embraces some tropes while turning others on their heads to create an immensely entertaining story.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Classic Discovery…

So, the story starts with two being met in the back alleyway. Mirth demonstrated being the world-mage. And Kevin Matchstick is ignited in the awakening, and he doesn’t believe everything he sees, and is stubborn about it, despite his superhuman abilities. So, we sauntered off to the next issue.

[***Dave Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm surprised I've never reviewed this before, as I've read it several times. This was one of my favorite comics from its 80s Indy Revolution era, and while the art and storytelling creak a bit today (and don't we all), its timeless, mythic framework keep it in my Must Read category.

[Nora Herzog · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m allowed to count this again because I read it in Spanish!

One of my all-time favorite graphic novels. I love Matt Wagner’s art & the story is so excellent. I’m a sucker for retold mythology and also for reluctant heroes, so this is always a 10/10 read.

[Elton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rereading this to refresh my memory for the new series.

[Ty G. Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic and engaging introduction to the world of Kevin Matchstick!

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mage: The Hero Discovered originally appeared as a fifteen-issue maxiseries from 1982 to 1984 as one of the first two full-color series published by Comico Comics in the early days of the independent comics boom.

From the beginning, it was planned as a finite graphic novel with a definitive beginning, middle, and end. Unsold copies of the first four issues were bound together, ads and all, and sold as Magebook, Volume 1, in 1985. A second Magebook of the next four issues also appeared that year. The entire series was later released by the imprint Starblaze Graphics in three oversized, trade paperback editions from 1986 to 1988.

Matt Wagner co-owned the copyright to Mage with Comico. When Comico went bankrupt in 1990 and sold its assets to another publisher, Wagner’s ownership
of his properties came under dispute. This prevented the work from being published for several years. In 1997, the author obtained full rights to Mage. In 2004, a hardcover edition of the entire series was published by Image Comics. This version includes an extra short story that had previously appeared in the pages of Wagner’s Grendel series. A softcover edition followed that same year. A new printing of the Image hardcover was
released in 2010.

Mage: The Hero Discovered is the tale of Kevin Matchstick, a cynical, disaffected youth. In a deserted city alley, he encounters a man named Mirth, who, unbeknownst to Kevin, is the World Mage, a being of great magical power. Shortly thereafter Kevin uncharacteristically helps a homeless man being attacked by a monster called a Grackleflint and later confronts more of these creatures. In each instance, Kevin exhibits previously unknown superstrength and invulnerability.

These events pull Kevin into the eternal struggle of good versus evil and set him on a journey of selfdiscovery. Mirth says that an evil being, the Umbra Sprite, plans to usher in an age of darkness by finding and sacrificing the Fisher King, an agent of the Light. The Umbra Sprite attempts to destroy Kevin and Mirth, working through the Grackleflints, an escaped convict named Rashem whom he has given deadly powers, and a series of summoned supernatural agents.

In the course of these encounters Kevin meets two companions who join him in his mission: Edsel, a young woman who carries an enchanted green-glowing
baseball bat, and Sean Knight, a public defender who is actually a ghost.
After learning his presence is a magical beacon that allows the enemy to find them, Mirth goes into hiding to protect his companions. During his absence, the others discover the enemy’s location. They enter the Styx Casino, unprepared for the resistance they encounter. When Kevin is seriously wounded by the Grackleflint Emil, Edsel summons Mirth for help. Sean sacrifices his ghostly life, giving Mirth time to spirit the others to safety.

Kevin spends a year healing in the Green, the home of pure magic. He returns, only to be found by Rashem. Edsel is fatally wounded in the attack. Kevin grabs Edsel’s baseball bat, which instantly glows bright white in his hands, and kills Rashem. Shocked by these events, he throws the bat away. Edsel whispers Kevin’s destiny in his ear and then dies in his arms.

Mirth reveals that Kevin embodies the power of the Pendragon, the same force that King Arthur possessed. The bat is Excalibur, and Kevin’s touch has ignited its full potential. Kevin reclaims the bat and finally embraces his role as a hero.

Kevin fights many supernatural foes on his way through the Styx. Emil finds the Fisher King, but his attempt to sacrifice him fails, unleashing a burst of light that disfigures the Grackleflint. Emil returns to find the Umbra Sprite drained of power from his struggle against Mirth and Kevin. Enraged by his father’s failure, Emil bludgeons the Umbra Sprite to death. With the Styx collapsing around them, Kevin and Mirth escape.

[Millguy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series starts out very strong, promising a more modern/ adult update of the 1940s classic comic, Captain Marvel, which is explicitly referenced. An ordinary man is given powers from a mysterious, benevolent wizard, and told to use these powers to save the world. But unlike that golden age classic character, the hero is an adult. It would be interesting to see how the superhero story can play out from a more adult point of view, with a character who has matured and grown up without superpowers, then suddenly finds himself in the middle of a more childlike battle between good and evil.

Unfortunately, after a very strong start, the book does little to nothing with this premise and despite all the Arthurian influence Matt Wagner delivers a fairly standard superhero wrestling match.

The art and character designs are terrific, unfortunately the writing is not doing them any great favors.

I would compare this book to Scott Mccloud's "Zot!" Both books star a hero with a lightning bolt on his shirt, both look back to the more innocent golden age of comics, both are by a creator who does both the writing and art. Zot in my mind is the better book, because as the series progresses, Mccloud starts experimenting with the writing and stretching the superhero story to its limits.

Mage: The Hero Discovered never really does that. There are good guys and there are bad guys, and they wrestle in repeated battle until you hit the end of volume four and the villains suddenly lose for little reason other than the writer wants to move onto other projects so with a "BAM!!! POW!!!" it's over.

Even as a standard, low expectations superhero book there are problems. The hero is invulnerable, and it rarely ever seems like he's in any real danger. He also has no personal life or personal problems, so the story ends up feeling kind of repetitive and meandering after it's strong initial start.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actuallly read the individual issues sold together in a bundle, so there's probably some extras here I missed out on. On the other hand it was fun to read the letters column in the back of each issue showing how underground it really was and how dedicated the fans were that read it.

My first impression is how raw it began, both story and art and how it evolved over such a short time. I guess that's what happens when you put your money where your mouth is (probably literally in this case).

I had read some of the later Mage stories first, so I wasn't coming into this blind, but I was along for the journey. I'm not sure if any of these characters were in the later books. It's interesting to see Matt Wagner's plan of having each series involve a different "Mage" character that Kevin Matchstick meets.

*********SPOILERS**********
There was some pretty great art, especially during Kevin's near death scene in the green. That had to be my favorite part. And its good to have a series where characters who die stay that way (as far as I know).

All in all it was a great way to end the year and escape into fantasy and dream a bit of how it could be to put yourself out there and create something new.

[Adam Stone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of our older customers were super excited about this series finally concluding lasdt year, and ordered the earlier books. As a fan of Wagner's work on Batman, I was curious enough to finally start reading it.

It's not that great. It's a typical "superhero doesn't know he has powers until his life is interrupted" narrative with a bunch of flat 80s references that I don't get, even though I was fully cognizant for most of the 80s. All of the characters have silly names. The villains, and one of the magic characters are somehow involved with Faerie (y'know the magical fairlyand...not the mystical one from Christmas Carols). There are some characters of color who speak in dated speech, but the main female character of color speaks the same as the other major characters. The plot constantly advances, but I don't feel like the reader ever learns enough about any of the characters to be hooked into why they're being drawn together.

I might read the second volume to see if it improves, but I found this to be a pretty bottom of the barrel indie superhero comic. The most interesting thing for me was seeing how much Wagner has grown as an artist and writer since this came out.

I recommend it to people super into 1980s superheroes, and fans of The Maxx.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

boy, the reproduction in this edition is absolutely atrocious. lots of pixelated pages, plus they added digital blurring effects all over the place. it's awful. i've only ever owned the original comico issues, and this is one of my favorite comic books of all time. but my comics are in another state and i figured i should invest in the collection but...gah, seriously, avoid this and hunt down the original issues. what's even more appalling is that this edition was originally from 2004? they couldn't fix the reproduction problems with subsequent printings?

a million stars for the series, a major kick in the butt to image for dropping the ball on this collection.

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is like someone opened up my head and looked in and said, what could I write that would connect with Jesse on every level. This is still to this date my all time favorite and probably the best manipulation and use of Arthurian archetypes. This story has it all. Humor, magic, magic baseball bats, red caps, dragons, evil albino's with spiked elbows, action, tragedy, and even a ghost. Matt Wagner can write and he can draw, he is a double threat in the comic world. I recommend that any fan of mythology and comics go out and read this write now.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really is one of my favorite things. I'm a big fan of Matt Wagner's art and storytelling, of which this book stands to me as the first defining moment. It's a huge romantic (in the literary sense) epic tale of good vs. evil and the hero's journey (waiting to be finished) that wraps itself around an intimate tale of one man's struggle to know himself as his childhood illusions fall away to reveal adulthood reality and responsibility.

Going back to this and Starman in one summer has made me so very happy and excited and re-energized.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Matt Wagner's greatest works (though I didn't care as much for the second series, HERO DEFINED). The tale is a modern retelling, or perhaps sequel, to the Arthurian legends. The artwork is stark, and vibrant, but not overly busy as in most superhero comics. The strength of the series is in its writing. Its sparse and tight, but conveys a lot with very little. It also works in conjunction with teh art work beautifully. A real long term favorite.