Being the nice folks that they are, Aspen Comics gave Comic Vine the opportunity to be one of the first people to read the first issue of their all new ongoing series 'Charismagic.' After many months of being in production, Aspen's Charismagic, is finally gearing up for it's release and the issue is set to hit shelves Wednesday, February 9th, 2011. Zero issues generally serve as a prelude to an upcoming series and as an introduction to a new character, story and the universe in which they exist; but are not essential to the reading of the series as a whole. Charismagic is all of these things plus a little bit more.
Written by writer Vince Hernandez with art by Khary Randolph and Emilio Lopez, Charismagic deals with a mystical and magical universe that appears to exist parallel to our own. This issue serves not only as a brief introduction into this magical world, but as an introduction to both the story's main protagonists and antagonists as well.
When I first heard about Charismagic, I admit it reminded me a lot of another female magician comic character that I am a fan of. However, upon reading this first issue, I can happily say they are nothing alike! The issue opens with Sudana, a mystical young woman who delivers a warning to two mystical beings disguised as humans. She tells them to be cautious, that an evil being named Samsun had been planning his return. Samsun, considered too deadly to coexist with their kind, had been banished to a dimension called 'The Void.' The writer lays out the story and the characters very eloquently in this first issue, setting up both the main protagonist as the narrator and introducing the villain character and his motive. It is a very well organized book that distinguishes the plot clearly for the reader. Readers will also be introduced to Hank, a self proclaimed charming and seemingly clumsy Las Vegas magician. The story transitions from one scene to the next rather effortlessly, and you get a good grasp of who the characters are for being a first issue.
My only real problem with issue zero of Charismagic is how short it is. Essentially, you are paying a lot of money for an entire comic that is only thirteen pages of story. The rest of the book acts somewhat as an encyclopedia of terms and characters that will appear throughout the series. So, while the introductory issue is good because it is well written and the art is very pretty, these thirteen pages of story could have been the beginning of issue one. I will say this, however, the premise of the story is interesting enough that I will pick up the first issue.
Check out the preview of the zero issue of Charismagic below, and let us know if you'll be checking out the issue! What do you think?
