BOOM! Studios and Wizards of the Coast, under license by Hasbro, have developed a new partnership for Magic: The Gathering comic books. Things begins with Magic, a new original comic by writer Jed MacKay, artist Ig Guara, and colorist Arianna Consonni. It will be in stores in April 2021.
BOOM!’s synopsis reads, “Across the vast Multiverse, those gifted with a ‘spark’ can tap into the raw power of Magic and travel across realms – they are Planeswalkers. When coordinated assassination attempts on Guildmasters Ral Zarek, Vraska, and Kaya rock the city of Ravnica and leave Jace Beleren’s life hanging in the balance, a fuse is lit that threatens not just these three Guilds, but the entire plane of Ravnica. Now these three must covertly infiltrate the wild plane of Zendikar and form a tenuous alliance to uncover why the targets of the assassins have all been Planeswalkers. . . which will lead them straight to one of the most enigmatic characters in Magic history!”
“Twenty-five years ago when I was digging through the commons and uncommons bin to build my first deck, I would never have thought that one day I would be handed the reins to the Magic: The Gathering comic, but here we are,” MacKay said. “I’m extremely psyched to be digging into the world of Magic and all that entails, and can’t wait for all of you to see what we’ve been cooking up for you!”
“It is amazing to be able to tell a story in the universe of a game I have been playing for over 20 years! I battled the Affinity deck and watched the Phyrexian take over Mirrodin,” Guara said. “I was actually finishing a new Commander deck when the proposal came so you can imagine just how excited I am to be working on this series, and bringing this world alive for fans everywhere!”
Magic #1 features a main cover by Matteo Scalera (Batman: White Knight Presents Harley Quinn), with variants by Guara, InHyuk Lee (Miles Morales: Spider-Man), and Junggeun Yoon (Seven Secrets). There’s also a set of Hidden Planeswalker variant covers by Miguel Mercado (Mighty Morphin), Taj Tenfold (Abbott), and Magdalena Pagowska (The Library of Esoterica) featuring popular characters Liliana Vess, Kaya the Ghost Assassin, and Sorin Markov.
BOOM! is also offering a Magic Pack, limited edition Collector’s Set of Magic #1 covers, for preorder. This includes an exclusive variant by Mirka Andolfo, the main cover by Scalera, a random Hidden Planeswalker variant, and a black blank sketch cover.
“Magic: The Gathering is more than a game – it’s a rich, expansive multiverse and mythology you can really live in and spend an infinite amount of time traversing. This all-new and unique story we’re launching into is full of beloved characters and shocking reveals from the world of Magic that are going to entertain readers new to the brand and surprise lifelong fans in the best possible ways,” Bryce Carlson, BOOM! Vice President, Editorial & Creative Strategy, said. “Jed, Ig, Arianna, Ed, all of our incredible cover artists, and the entire team at BOOM! Studios are firing on all cylinders so I can confidently say that this is far and away the best Magic: The Gathering has ever been executed in the comics medium. Period.”
