Malcolm Magic #7

Malcolm is a stranger in a strange land in the newest issue of Malcolm Magic. Will he make it out alive?

Malcolm Magic isn’t quite like your other independent comics. Perhaps it’s because I’m not familiar with the British indie scene that I feel this way. But when I read this book, it almost feels like they have jammed too much talent into it for it to not be mainstream. Or maybe I just have a thing for British words like "cheeky".

Malcolm Magic, created by brothers Robin and Lawrence Etherington, follows the drunken adventures of a plucky hare named, well, Malcolm. Malcolm’s from a little town called Fuzzton where he’s a bit of an outcast. So yes, it’s a comic about a drinking, talking rabbit and his misadventures, do you really need me to go on? Malcolm is just one of a slew of character’s that appear in the book. There’s a lot of story going on in each issue and a lot of characters to keep track of, but the writers were smart enough to put a couple ‘previous pages’ at the beginning of issue 7. So even if this is your first Malcolm Magic adventure, you will know everything you need to know within the first two pages.

Issue number seven of Malcolm Magic just hit shelves and this one’s a bit different than the previous six issues. Like most indie books, Malcolm Magic is in black and white. But this marks the first issue featuring full color! Okay, so the whole book isn’t in color, it goes back and forth. But that way in which the Etherington Bros. put it together is brilliantly done. Malcolm finds himself in Nod-Suf, which happens to be in color. While Malcolm walks about in full color, his comrades are chased by an entire city, and in black and white. Lawrence’s art on the book is fantastic as well. It is so intricate and precise. I can only imagine it must take him forever to finish each page.

I recommend Malcolm Magic to anyone who likes indie comics, and even those who usually do not. Now is your chance to pick up a book from two brothers who are sure to make it big one day. This book reminds us that even if you are not from a huge company you can still pull off an amazing little book. While this is Blink Twice’s biggest title, they also offer several other books such as Tusk, which is also quite humorous.

- J.P. Dorigo