Hunter : Age of Magic
Issue 1
Story: Dylan Horrocks
Art: Richard Case
Color: Sherilyn von Valkenburgh
Letters: Comicraft
Cover: John Bolton
Published by Vertigo Comics an Imprint of DC comics.
Open With:
A woman in the woods, kneeling over a recently killed man near some type of purple Crystal. She is saying some sort of prayer or incantation over the body. She is teary eyed as we get the sense that the dead person is someone very close to her.
The woman then pickups up a dagger that is beside the body and places it close to her wrist as though she contemplates killing herself. She suddenly has second thoughts and mutter not you too. She then uses the dagger to slice the shirt of the dead man to reveal a tattoo around his navel.
The woman summons up some type of energy into her hand and uses it to set fire to the body. Whe then walks off to get some distance from the pyre. Then we see the Title page:
Cut To:
The Young woman is running through the forest, and she continuously looks back to see if she is being follow. From her viewpoint it’s hard to tell, but she pushes on leaps over a border wall and lands near a road. The road has several travelers on it and we soon see that it’s part of a long line leading into and enormous castle.
As our young woman makes her way down the long road we see a set of legs running through a stream that she ran through. Then our young Heroine looks back to see a bearded sword wielding man following her with a few other men in tow.
The young woman slips into the Castle gates and attempts to lose her stalkers in the busy Castle alleyways and Streets. In the attempt she manages to trip over a baker’s cart and right in front of Tim Hunter.
Tim helps her up and the woman tells him that she is in a hurry to get to the House of Leaves. Tim then uses his magic to see into her future and agrees to help her. He makes her a spell ball, a small glowing ball and tells her to take it, He then tells her to follow his bird and at the door to the House of Leaves to speak her true name.
The woman turns to leave and disappears under the magical sphere. Thus leaving Tim Hunter to face or distract the oncoming swordsman and his buddies. As the group of men approach Tim, he takes off his glasses and then begins to use his magic
First he hits them with a concussive blast to send them onto their backs. Tim then levitates himself up the side of the castle wall and lands on the castle parapet. The leader of the men does a huge jump/flip and lands next to our wizardly hero. The two exchange some words and we learn the man wants just the girls skin.
A little shocked, Tim uses his magic to throw the man off balance and send him over the Castle Wall and into the water below.
Cut To:
Another part of the Castle, Tim Hunter’s pet Bird is flying towards The House of Leaves with the Invisible girl behind knocking people and stuff over. We she approaches the Door she speaks her true name, which is unintelligible, and falls into an entry room and causes her to drop the spell ball and reveal herself to the people inside.
Later:
A quick look in on the woman, asleep on a bed in one of the rooms. Then we see Tim Hunter in his room discussing the situation with one of the keepers of the house. The woman’s name is Maryinda, and I assume she is a confidant of Tim’s as well as a caretaker in the house of leaves.
The two discuss Tim’s situation, his study of magic over the last three years . Maryinda also wants to know what he plans on doing. Tim goes on to explain that he wants to find out more about the girl and what strange things are happening in this world. Why that group of men want her skin?
We also learn that Maryinda recognizes that the girl is a Lakelander and we learn some of the background to this world. The Gemworld.
After the discussion, Maryinda tells Tim that her received a letter from Cornwall and she passes over an envelope. She then walks out of Tim’s room.
That Evening:
Tim is on top of a high castle spire conversing with his pet bird. The bird appears to be communicating with Tim, but actually that bird is merely a conduit for the great wizard Merlin. Which Merlin asks our young mage if he has opened the letter yet? Tim tells him that he doesn’t know who it is from or that he cares to open it or not. Merlin then rides Young Tim about not working on his studies as well as give us exposition.
Then after some further discuss / arguing, Tim looks into his own future and sees his own funeral pyre. He then puts on some headphones and walks out into thin air away from his bird.
To be continued in issue 2
THOUGHTS ON THE STORY:
Ok so I was a little lost as I am not familiar with the previous storyline of tim Hunter. Some character introductions don’t happen until much later in the story. What i did like about this story is that is the mystery set around this girl and her back story. It makes me want to know more and read the next installment.
ART:
The Art is very much in line with Vertigo’s Style during the late Nineties and early two thousands. Line work for the figures are Simplistic, allowing the shadows and shading to show the emotions of the characters. This style has a feeling of somewhere between Saturday Morning Cartoons and the Classic Superman style by Jerry Siegel. The use of colors and shading looks similar to present days Matt Wilson colors for the Series Paper Girls.
All in all I give this book a:
Score 6.0 out of 10
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