Number 43 - The Books of Magic-Bindings - Jon Ney Reiber

 

Collecting issues 1-4 of John Ney Reiber's run on The Books of Magic, this is a reread for me after nearly 30 years (back when I used to buy this particular comic. I wish I knew where the original comics were now)

For a series I  liked as much as this, I remembered absolutely nothing of this storyline.

Tim Hunter is a 13 year old boy who recently was visited by most of DC Vertigo's range of magic users in a mini series by Neil Gaiman.  This was the start of a new continuing series created for Vertigo under the talented hands of John Ney Reiber.

In this volume we discover hidden truths about young Tim's past and, most importantly, his parentage. At the same time he finds himself caught up involuntarily in the affairs of a decaying and withering Land of Faerie, facing a foe who strikes fear into the hearts of the bravest warriors.

The story was as intriguing and magical as I remember (I remember how much I enjoyed it but no details), but the artwork was not as good. In places, the best that can be said is that it's functional.

I stopped buying the comics for financial reasons back in the 90s. I will be trawling the comics fairs for the omnibus editions to try to complete the series.  Then I'll start on the new series that came out more recently which has been confusing my efforts to track down these volumes 

Meanwhile, this is a nice wander down a forgotten alley of memory lane.