Review - Charismagic Vol. 2 #1

Magic is a finnicky thing. If you can control it, you can control anything. If you can't control it, things could get out of hand very quickly. It's also got a habit of attracting all manner of being, including those of the mammoth, invading monster variety, like in Charismagic Vol. 2 #1.

The issue is written by Vince Hernandez, penciled by Vincenzo Cucca, inked by Mark Roslan, colored by Emilio Lopez and lettered by Josh Reed.

Portals are opening up all over the world and magical creatures are making their way through. That doesn't bode well for humanity, but at least there's Hank, Sudana and Sparkles on the case. The monsters are being shepherded through by a possessed Hector and Alle and Kon is behind the scenes, joined by a new character named Esheera. Everything's shaping up to be a lot crazier than the first volume.

Hernandez picks up right where the first volume left off, thrusting readers smackdab in the middle of everything. There's really no need for introductions, as all the players are fairly familiar at this point. The magical monster invasion feels a little flimsy though, as they're invading Earth for reasons unknown in a fairly formulaic manner. It's not a bad story, just doesn't really feel very original. It's likely that their motives will be explained in future issues, but right now all the reader knows is that Sudana feels a great disturbance in the force so to speak.

Cucca's pencils are very sharp. The invading monsters are indeed monstrous, with their size adding to the story. The book's illustrations have an almost cartoonish feel to them, blending some elements of anime and comic book illustration to present powerful art. The art really helps the story flow very well and might be the strongest part of the first issues.

Things are only going to get more, ahem, magical in the second volume. Hank has a better grasp on his abilities, which should make the fighting a tad easier for them. Sudana and Kon appear just as powerful and this time Hector and Alle are sort of wildcards in the whole thing, with their motives unclear and an army of monsters behind them. The second volume is shaping up to be something solid though, assuming the monsters want to invade Earth for reasons other than simply wanting to invade another planet.

Charismagic Vol. 2 #1 is available now with interiors below.