What is Black Magick?
What is it?
Black Magick is a comic book series from Image Comics written by Greg Rucka and illustrated by Nicola Scott with color assists by Chiara Arena. The series details the trials and tribulations of witches living in the modern era. The struggles of these witches are fraught with tension, danger, and plenty of magic.
What is it about?
The majority of Black Magick is centered around Rowen Black, a police officer who is secretly the latest generation in a long line of witches. She and the other members of her coven are not the archaic witches of old, with crooked noses and a vendetta against townspeople, they are simply people living out generally mundane lives. They work in normal jobs, go about a normal routine, and just happen to practice black magick when they are at home. Specifically, Rowen spends most of her days as a normal police officer dedicated to protecting and serving her community.
Despite the calm setting, conflict arises when some mysterious events begin occurring in Rowen’s life. Someone knows that she and her sisters are witches and they don’t seem to thrilled about it. This leads to a number of tense encounters and a few well-executed displays of magic. The situation escalates as the comic progresses and ends up involving a group of witch hunters and a variety of other magical entities.
Who is it for?
Black Magick features a wonderful blend between the mundane world of reality and the exciting world of magic. This allows it to capture the police procedural aspects of a show like Law and Order, while somehow also capturing the adventurous wonder of a story like Harry Potter. The way these two narratives interact with each other creates a new environment that emphasizes the best of both worlds. Readers who enjoy this blend between magic and reality will find a lot to love in Black Magick.
This comic is also simply well-written in general and contains a diverse array of charming characters and interesting story elements. Though the series is primarily centered around a struggle between witches and some unknown entity, the subplots outside of this struggle are just as interesting. Watching the members of the police force interact or learning the history of the witch hunters are both tremendously compelling aspects of this comic.
This comic is rated Mature and is intended for mature readers. It contains some nudity, disturbing imagery, and coarse language, so those uncomfortable with this should not pick up this series.
Want more?
Those interested in reading Black Magick should check out ComicBookWire’s reviews of the series to find out if this comic is for them.