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The Marked (single issues) #1-5
The Marked, Vol. 1: Fresh Ink
Their magic is channeled through their tats!
The Marked may look like cool young influencers, but beneath the designer clothes their bodies are tattooed with the magical glyphs of an ancient order that secretly protects the world against evil forces. With no new occult threats, The Marked use their tattooed powers solely for the pursuit of pleasure until a young woman called Liza creates a dangerous new form of Hybrid Sorcery. The party is over for The Marked.
You'll believe in magic - terrifying, soul-destroying magic.
The Marked may look like cool young influencers, but beneath the designer clothes their bodies are tattooed with the magical glyphs of an ancient order that secretly protects the world against evil forces. With no new occult threats, The Marked use their tattooed powers solely for the pursuit of pleasure until a young woman called Liza creates a dangerous new form of Hybrid Sorcery. The party is over for The Marked.
You'll believe in magic - terrifying, soul-destroying magic.
160 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
July 22, 2020
This series is kind of meh. Too many characters that I cared nothing about. I read this as it came out and honestly I couldn't even tell you any of their names.
His other series that's also currently being published, Sonata, is way better - though completely unrelated.
Individual issue reviews: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5
Total review score: 2.4
His other series that's also currently being published, Sonata, is way better - though completely unrelated.
Individual issue reviews: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5
Total review score: 2.4
July 29, 2020
Aah, that was bad.
It just... I thought it was going to end a certain way before I started this but it didn't. The art style is a bit too cartoonish for my liking and the plot is strange and impossible to follow. Interesting concept at the beginning, but nothing came of it. 1/5 stars.
It just... I thought it was going to end a certain way before I started this but it didn't. The art style is a bit too cartoonish for my liking and the plot is strange and impossible to follow. Interesting concept at the beginning, but nothing came of it. 1/5 stars.
June 30, 2020
If you are an avid reader of comic books for as long as I’ve been, you tend to develop an appreciation for art from all corners of the world, whether it’s paintings, or this case, tattoos on a human body. I myself would never get a tattoo, but I certainly can be impressed with the artistry. We have seen comic book creations that evoke tattooing, such as the Tattooed Man and even Shade, the Changing Man, so what does this new Image title, The Marked, bring to the table?
Please click here for my full review.
Please click here for my full review.
July 15, 2020
Art was interesting, and the premise sounded cool...but the story was a hot mess. It did not flow well at all, and I didn't care about any of the characters. Definitely not for me!
March 6, 2020
Well, this was a very pleasant surprise. Hine crafts a nice, and slightly different, urban fantasy here.
Hines does re-use some old urban fantasy tropes. Such as, an ancient order of magic users hiding in plain sight. Said order also has an agreement to protect the world from threats from beyond Earth (The Laundry could likely use their help there-except already too late).
But, what would these people do if one of their own, in a fit of anger and pique, decides to turn themselves into the U.S. military, and the Army wants to weaponize magic? And, they do this because they feel wronged by the order.
With the large cast only Benis and Liza get any fleshing out beyond being two-dimensional characters. In addition, the concepts of magic being used in conjunction with tattoos is not necessarily new, now is the near Hellboyish use of dead Nazis as villains.
Hines does re-use some old urban fantasy tropes. Such as, an ancient order of magic users hiding in plain sight. Said order also has an agreement to protect the world from threats from beyond Earth (The Laundry could likely use their help there-except already too late).
But, what would these people do if one of their own, in a fit of anger and pique, decides to turn themselves into the U.S. military, and the Army wants to weaponize magic? And, they do this because they feel wronged by the order.
With the large cast only Benis and Liza get any fleshing out beyond being two-dimensional characters. In addition, the concepts of magic being used in conjunction with tattoos is not necessarily new, now is the near Hellboyish use of dead Nazis as villains.
July 30, 2020
DNF at 80pages.
The story is such a mess, there is no solid flow, characters aren’t interesting and the art is kind of weird. The idea could have been cool but it was poorly executed.
The story is such a mess, there is no solid flow, characters aren’t interesting and the art is kind of weird. The idea could have been cool but it was poorly executed.
May 30, 2020
1.5*
June 13, 2023
"The Marked: Fresh Ink" follows a group known as "The Marked" who works for an ancient order that uses magic to protect the world through the use of their tattooed magical glyphs. Their peace gets interrupted when one of their very own delves a bit too deep into forbidden magic and turns to the government to experiment with it. There were things that I really liked about this volume, but there was a lot that I had issues with.
***Spoilers***
I really loved the art in the comic. The overall aesthetics, characters designs, and tattoos were absolutely stunning and right up my alley. Seeing some of the unpublished art and issues covers was really neat, too. Some of art was computerized, so it took a little bit for me to get used to it. I also fell in love with the magic system. Magical tattoos are one of my favorite tropes and the way it was executed here was great. People being tatted with magical glyphs that they can use to summon constructs, fly, have super strength, etc. I could feel that danger of the magic and what exactly was at stake. The way that magic and history was melded together to create the world was really cool to read as well.
I really liked the concepts of the comic, however, it was the way that the story was executed that bothered me. The story/plot for this first volume was very rushed. Not a lot of time is spent with the characters in order to get to know them or their motivations better. We spend majority of the time with the "antagonist" Liza rather than the supposed main character, Saskia. We don't see Saskia struggle with her blindness before being treated. We don't see the supposed friendship between her and Liza before crap went down. I liked reading Liza's POV, but because we were with her for majority of the story, other things got neglected. We didn't see the proper connections or buildup for the things that added to the plot such the big reveal between Benis and Liza being mom and daughter, Liza's backstory on being essentially abandoned, and Saskia's feelings towards her friend being manipulated. I feel like if the story was in equal parts of both girls' POVs or even just making Liza the MC for the first volume, the story would be a lot better. Or have this plot in particular be covered in 2 volumes rather than crammed into 1. But I digress.
If you like comics, pretty women, and magical tattoos, you may like The Marked. I liked it, but I just wanted a better treatment of it.
***Spoilers***
I really loved the art in the comic. The overall aesthetics, characters designs, and tattoos were absolutely stunning and right up my alley. Seeing some of the unpublished art and issues covers was really neat, too. Some of art was computerized, so it took a little bit for me to get used to it. I also fell in love with the magic system. Magical tattoos are one of my favorite tropes and the way it was executed here was great. People being tatted with magical glyphs that they can use to summon constructs, fly, have super strength, etc. I could feel that danger of the magic and what exactly was at stake. The way that magic and history was melded together to create the world was really cool to read as well.
I really liked the concepts of the comic, however, it was the way that the story was executed that bothered me. The story/plot for this first volume was very rushed. Not a lot of time is spent with the characters in order to get to know them or their motivations better. We spend majority of the time with the "antagonist" Liza rather than the supposed main character, Saskia. We don't see Saskia struggle with her blindness before being treated. We don't see the supposed friendship between her and Liza before crap went down. I liked reading Liza's POV, but because we were with her for majority of the story, other things got neglected. We didn't see the proper connections or buildup for the things that added to the plot such the big reveal between Benis and Liza being mom and daughter, Liza's backstory on being essentially abandoned, and Saskia's feelings towards her friend being manipulated. I feel like if the story was in equal parts of both girls' POVs or even just making Liza the MC for the first volume, the story would be a lot better. Or have this plot in particular be covered in 2 volumes rather than crammed into 1. But I digress.
If you like comics, pretty women, and magical tattoos, you may like The Marked. I liked it, but I just wanted a better treatment of it.
May 28, 2023
The individual issues are longer, but the story still feels rushed somehow. Barely anybody takes the dangers of magic seriously, so their experimentation proceeds too quickly and the battles are difficult to follow. I get that most of the characters young, but surely they respect the magic they possess. Maybe it's exactly the magic that ruined it for me - the rules of reality are too easily bent by magic and nothing makes sense any more. Betrayal also comes way too easily in the story.
The Marked protect humanity against the Lords of Chaos. Saskia is their newest recruit. She gets thrown into a world where her inner artistic talent is brought to light with some impressive magic. There are forbidden arts as well. Liza shows Saskia how to use hybrid magic with tech added, but the latter loses control of her power in a destructive way. Liza is kicked out and soon approched by Stargate, a governmental organization looking for people with special abilities.
The Marked protect humanity against the Lords of Chaos. Saskia is their newest recruit. She gets thrown into a world where her inner artistic talent is brought to light with some impressive magic. There are forbidden arts as well. Liza shows Saskia how to use hybrid magic with tech added, but the latter loses control of her power in a destructive way. Liza is kicked out and soon approched by Stargate, a governmental organization looking for people with special abilities.
February 18, 2021
The Marked takes an idea you might have heard of before (magic tattoos) and expands it into a chaotic world of intensity and color.
Starting out as the story of someone new to the world of magic, it quickly escalates and moves into new territory. Saskia, having correctly interpreted a art picture, gets an invitation to join The Marked, a coven of magic users who get glyphs inscribed onto their body via tattoos, enabling them to use magic. Saskia meets their leader Maven, as well as Liza, a young girl who has discovered a way to use Hybrid Magic, a combination of traditional organic magic and science. Liza tries to give Saskia a hybrid glyph and it backfires, stealing Saskia's sight. Maven expels her from the group, citing hybrid magic as dangerous.
This is where the story primarily becomes about Liza. She teams up with the government, who have been investigating the existence of magic for a long time. Even though it then devolves into a "I have all the power from my new abilities, but I'm secretly being manipulated and will turn back to the good side after a battle" trope, the art and depth of story are what makes this good and well worth your time.
Excited to read the new Volume soon.
Recommend.
Starting out as the story of someone new to the world of magic, it quickly escalates and moves into new territory. Saskia, having correctly interpreted a art picture, gets an invitation to join The Marked, a coven of magic users who get glyphs inscribed onto their body via tattoos, enabling them to use magic. Saskia meets their leader Maven, as well as Liza, a young girl who has discovered a way to use Hybrid Magic, a combination of traditional organic magic and science. Liza tries to give Saskia a hybrid glyph and it backfires, stealing Saskia's sight. Maven expels her from the group, citing hybrid magic as dangerous.
This is where the story primarily becomes about Liza. She teams up with the government, who have been investigating the existence of magic for a long time. Even though it then devolves into a "I have all the power from my new abilities, but I'm secretly being manipulated and will turn back to the good side after a battle" trope, the art and depth of story are what makes this good and well worth your time.
Excited to read the new Volume soon.
Recommend.
November 26, 2020
I feel like this story was rushed. There is not enough backstory about the main characters. The societies of "The Marked" or "The Stargate." aren't even given a history either. I couldn't even understand why other characters were introduced towards the end, when all they were going to do was die. The characters could have united as one to defeat the dark forces. It would have been a better strategy instead. The magic is used by creating art that has the power to take action. It is called "Hybrid Magic." Also how can a weapon develop into an unrecognizable, more powerful one so quickly? No one even seems to notice how possesive that weapon was on Liza's mind. How do the people around her not notice that Liza's personality changes after being given that weapon. Only one character noticed and mentioned it, but received no reply. There is just so much information, and detail that is missing from this graphic novel.
October 7, 2020
This book was recommended by a friend. It sounded up my street, witches whose tattoos are their spells.
Unfortunately, this didn't land. I get that there's only so much world building/character development that can be done in 5 issues. This, however, was crazy rushed. I wonder if they thought the book was going to be cancelled and didn't want to leave readers hanging. It suffers from too many characters and not enough time spent to build attachment to them. The big bad felt like one you would have in like Volume 3, not 1.
The art I liked. The tattoos are very well detailed with each panel. The animation style and colouring really works for this alt girls who save the world.
Won't be picking up the second volume.
Unfortunately, this didn't land. I get that there's only so much world building/character development that can be done in 5 issues. This, however, was crazy rushed. I wonder if they thought the book was going to be cancelled and didn't want to leave readers hanging. It suffers from too many characters and not enough time spent to build attachment to them. The big bad felt like one you would have in like Volume 3, not 1.
The art I liked. The tattoos are very well detailed with each panel. The animation style and colouring really works for this alt girls who save the world.
Won't be picking up the second volume.
January 16, 2021
The magic tattoo trope has been around forever, but given the proclivity for tattoos in modern society, I'm surprised I don't see it more often nowadays. Here, we're introduced to a whole coven of tattooed magic folk. One girl gets pushed out after experimenting with mixing technology into her magic. She continues on a downward path of getting corrupted by the mix of science and magic.
The story doesn't feel sure of it's direction. The villain is the closest thing to a protagonist. The moral characters are pretty flat. And having the new wave thinker be the villain and the traditionalists be the good guys seems like the creators are missing their target audience.
The story doesn't feel sure of it's direction. The villain is the closest thing to a protagonist. The moral characters are pretty flat. And having the new wave thinker be the villain and the traditionalists be the good guys seems like the creators are missing their target audience.
January 17, 2025
This graphic novel had an interesting premise, what if there were special people who could carry markings that would help them fight evil and make the world a better place? The Marked suffers from too much and too little at the same time. There are a glut of characters with very little character development. When one character breaks bad, I fond myself absolutely not caring. There are almost no characters developed enough that I actually was cheering for by the end. Just avoid this one.
July 21, 2020
Selected this from Hoopla! app provided by my public library. I found the cover art intriguing.
Great story with kind of a H. P. Lovecraft-Cthulu mythos. Art is decent. "The Marked" create strange magics through the body art they scribe on themselves, heroically defending the world from the "Dark Ones."
Not really "M" more "T"-rated.
Great story with kind of a H. P. Lovecraft-Cthulu mythos. Art is decent. "The Marked" create strange magics through the body art they scribe on themselves, heroically defending the world from the "Dark Ones."
Not really "M" more "T"-rated.
October 2, 2020
3.5/5. I really like the basic concept and the artwork is great, but the twists in the story are predictable enough to see them coming. Also I did not really buy how easily one of the main protagonists turns to the bad side. Obviously, it has to happen for the story line to work, but it seemed forced and not really that well developed. Still a fun read and am looking forward to any follow ups!
February 6, 2021
This was way better than what the ratings of others reflect. It has some definite cliches and isn’t perfect by all means. However I had to keep reading, I was sucked into what all these different glyphs could do and really at the end of the day I’m always down to see a classic “good vs. evil” showdown
Read
July 16, 2022Great idea, terrible execution
Just nasty. Characters are shallow, they don't develop at all. Story is cliched , Nazis and the dark forces scream ' we had no other ideas'
Story tears along at a pace that makes no sense and plays to all the terrible stero types. Give it a miss, read anything else but this
Just nasty. Characters are shallow, they don't develop at all. Story is cliched , Nazis and the dark forces scream ' we had no other ideas'
Story tears along at a pace that makes no sense and plays to all the terrible stero types. Give it a miss, read anything else but this
October 27, 2020
So...I really loved the concept and the art... but the actual plot was a bit meh. I felt like at the end we got thrown a bunch of random characters all at once and had a hard time keeping up with who was who there.
May 19, 2021
1.5
It was confusing most of the way through, but I didn't exactly hate it I guess. The ending was terrible though. So many cliches and they were trying to make us care about stuff that hadn't been developed at all in the story
It was confusing most of the way through, but I didn't exactly hate it I guess. The ending was terrible though. So many cliches and they were trying to make us care about stuff that hadn't been developed at all in the story
May 7, 2024
The story here was pretty decent, and mostly I liked the art, but something about the younger characters just throws me off. The art style presents them somewhere between Bratz dolls and pinups, and it just weirds me out.
August 19, 2020
A really cool concept backed up with interesting characters and art. I am really looking forward to the continuation of the story.
November 17, 2020
DPL hoopla. It is OK. I didn't think the story was as big a mess as many other reviewers thought. But it's not amazing either.
December 31, 2020
gorgeous artwork, compelling story
December 1, 2021
The art was great, but the story was just... not.
March 11, 2022
If they wanted me to give a shit about Liza they missed by a huge margin. That said this is an amazing story!!
June 18, 2022
I enjoyed this novel. Artwork is done very well. Should be a cult favourite.👍
October 28, 2022
Now I really want to get a tattoo.
July 23, 2023
Haven't decided if I'll check out volume 2
April 21, 2021
review to follow
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews