BLACK MAGICK
You’ll be spellbound
released OUT NOW! Publisher Image Comics
Writer Greg Rucka
Artist Nicola Scott
It might be a bit too late to convince Greg Rucka to write True Detective season three, but rifling through the evidence in Black Magick, we can’t think of anyone better. Like True Detective, it’s a crime procedural with a supernatural twist – except here, magic isn’t a thematic trope, it’s a reality, and it’s special.
Opening on an ancient group ritual which our witch- skilled police detective lead has to abandon when she’s called to a hostage situation, Magick immediately sets a tone of modern- day cynicism filtered through the wide- eyed wonder of a world in which magic exists.
This tone’s reflected in the art; black and grey for the most part, only exploding into ( vivid, beautiful) colour when a spell is cast. This is not just a showy technique; it occasionally puts the reader ahead of the characters, showing us that magic is involved even if our hero hasn’t noticed. It creates an experience unmatched in the current comics scene.
Be warned though, Magick does require patience. Gradual mystery is a key element.
Of course, Rucka might not want to join True Detective – he’s too good at writing women to slum it on that series. His latest female lead, Rowan Black, deserves a show of her own. Sam Ashurst
Rowan’s badge number, emblazoned on issue one’s cover, is 0333 – a number of occult significance.