Magic: The Gathering has the distinction of not only being the world’s first trading card game but also the most successful. Despite the card game’s immense popularity though, adaptations have continually failed to spark much interest. Nowhere has this been more evident than comic books. But the world of Magic is far too vast to lay dormant for long. This April, BOOM! Studios is bringing Magic: The Gathering back to the pages of comic books with Magic #1.
Unlike previous attempts at adapting the card game, Magic #1 promises an ensemble cast. The new comic returns to the fan-favorite plane of Ravnica, a planet-sized city dominated by ten guilds. When the three guild masters Vraska, Kaya, and Ral Zarek are threatened with assassination, they will have to travel to the game’s most recent plane, Zendikar, to track down their would-be assassin. But the three planeswalkers will have to contend with the dangers of Zendikar and their own in-fighting if they want to uncover the identity of their assassin and make it out of the plane alive.
While that is the extent of the information provided, fans of the card game can interpret quite a bit from the official announcement. The most notable thing not mentioned in the provided plot summary is the presence of Magic’s mascot, Jace Beleren, who is present on the first issue’s cover right alongside the trio of guild masters. His romantic history with Vraska and its poor resolution will hopefully receive some kind of follow up here. In addition to this are the variant covers depicting the Planeswalkers Liliana Vess and Sorin Markov. These are variant covers however and seem to depict the two Planeswalkers in settings unrelated to Ravnica or Zendikar, so it’s possible that they have little to do with the story.
Another unknown with the new comic is how exactly it will fit into the broader narrative of Magic. Kaya is set to be the main character of Magic’s next set, the Norse infused Kaldheim, so it’s unclear if this new comic will take place before or after that set’s story. The game’s story, in general, has been all over the place after its last pair of novels were met with outcry from fans. Things appear to be on track again though after the game returned to telling its story for free on the game’s official website.
As previously mentioned, this won’t be the first time Magic: The Gathering has been adapted into a comic book. More recently, IDW published a Magic comic focussing on the exploits of an original character, Dack Fayden. That ran from 2012 to 2014 and was met with a lukewarm reception and low sales. In 2018 IDW made a comic about the planeswalker Chandra, but that was canceled after barely running for a year. One thing the new series from BOOM! promises is that its creators are passionate about the game. Writer Jed MacKay and artist Ig Guara have both expressed excitement at having the opportunity to work on adapting a game they love.
Magic: The Gathering has such a rich setting, that the game’s storytelling potential is endless. Comic readers and fans of the card game can only hope that BOOM! Studios taps into that potential when Magic #1 releases in April 2021.
