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By Jason Bourgeois
I swear, if I even think about writing anything DC related for the next few months, I am going to go insane. Or insaner, as the case may be. And there's no way I can write about Marvel exclusively. Well, I could, but I'd rather not. And with a bunch of Big Things Coming from Marvel, and heck even DC with Before Watchmen, I am going off the reservation and digging into one of the smaller publishers to take a break and recharge.
I'm not reading a whole lot of books from the independent publishers these days, having to cut back, and most of my heart is invested in the X-Men, the Legion, Spidey, and people with movies...er, I mean, history. I haven't cut the little guys entirely out of my life, but their presence is reduced, to say the least.
But there is one book that has been a standout for me since I got the first issue, and that is Top Cow's Magdalena. Yeah, that's right. I bet you didn't see that coming.
I am...not the most religious person on the planet, so loving a book so steeped in Christian trappings might seem a little strange, but I enjoy the use of any old stories. When done right, they add weight and history to a story that might not otherwise be there.
But I so don't want to get bogged down in all that. The book is about Patience, the latest in a long line of women, the descendants of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, hence the name of the book, and the chosen child being given the Spear of Destiny, and protects the church's interests, as well as the world in general from demonic incursions, and other threats. Top Cow has gone through a few Magdalenas, with the Spear being passed down repeatedly, and currently residing in Patience's capable hands.
Patience does not have much of her namesake for the current direction of the church, and not for any of the reasons you might expect, but more for just general corruption she sees in the men claiming to do God's work, whom she still has faith in.
Most of the previous Magdalenas have been protrayed as towing the party line, and doing what they're told, but they've taken the opportunity to make Patience her own character, and her own person, by putting those doubts and conflicts in her life. She is a reluctant worker for the church, since for now, they are both getting things they want from the other. It's a good setup for conflict.
The book has mostly dealt with, so far, Patience's growing split with the church, and their trying to find ways to work together. Only recently have they come to an accord that suits them both. We are just now starting to deal with other missions with the conflict slipping to the background after the church tried to replace Patience with one of her sisters, someone much more obedient. That didn't go well, fortunately.
The writing is handled by comic veteran Ron Marz, from Green Lantern, Witchblade, and...so so many other comic books. He came over to Top Cow awhile ago, and they asked him what he wanted to do. His answer was Magdalena, so they naturally gave him Witchblade to write. He inserted the Magdalena, not yet Patience, into his early issues, and frequently during his run, building the concept as he went along, and laying the groundwork for the solo title.
It is easy to tell by reading Magdalena that this was the book he always wanted to write. Which is not to say he phoned in Witchblade until he got the comic he wanted, not at all. That book was still pretty amazing, but there's just an added layer of something unnamable to his work on this comic.
The art has been handled by a couple of different people, but a majority of the issues have actually been managed to be drawn by series regular, Nelson Blake II, and his art is amazing. The linework is very clean and clear, with smooth lines. The backgrounds sometimes fade away to nothingness, but the characters are all very well rendered, and there's something a little bit Frank Cho about his art, although less cheesecake than Cho can get at times. In fact, when the concept of the Magdalena first appeared, she was in a typical skimpy outfit of the Top Cow variety. In her own book, and sticking with recent redesigns from her appearances in Witchblade and such, she's been given, gasp, an outfit that covers her entire body, and seems more functional than flashy.
All in all, this makes for a little hidden gem of a comic that many might be overlooking. For solid writing by a well known and generally respected name in the industry, with rock solid artwork, covering topics of demonic invasions and religious intrigue, you really ought to check out Magdalena.
And I may or may not be biased by the fact the book stars a redhead in skintight leathers.
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