Black Magick #10
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: Nicola Scott
Letterer: Jody Wynne
Colour Assists: Chiara Arena
Publisher: Image Comics
Review by Stephanie Pouliotte
With the solstice not yet far behind us, Black Magick’s first issue of the New Year arrives this week. It pulls us back into the long nights we’ve so recently escaped, two days before All Hallows Eve. Amidst restless dreams, secret rendezvous with witch hunters, and unsettling arrivals, unfolds the longest night of Detective Morgan’s life, the birth of his first child. Things are moving quickly now, as fate races towards Rowan and whomever is unfortunate enough to get caught in the cross-hairs.
Black Magick #10 is a good example of Rucka’s strong handle on building tension while moving through scenes. Each beat is carried through to the top of the next scene, weaving the various plotlines together to converge on a single point, making this issue a perfect overture to the conclusion of Awakenings II in Black Magick #11. And none of it would have worked without Scott’s use of visual transitions in her layouts to connect the looser ends, and Arena makes a brilliantly paralyzing mark on the final page.
Verdict:
Check it out. The noose tightens in Black Magick #10, but around whose neck? I’m going to keep in line with my previous recommendation for casual readers to hold off until the final issue of this arc (and the end of the two-month release schedule) to pick up this title. Unless you’re fine with the extra breathing room between issues, of course, because if you’re as bewitched by this comic as I am, you won’t be able to stay away.
