A Mischief of Magpies #1
Writer: Simon Spurrier
Artist: Matias Bergara
Colorist: Matias Bergara and Kike J. Diaz
Letterer: Hassan Otamane-Elhaou
Wow.
I’m not sure I understand everything I just read, but I certainly felt it.
I’ll try to unpack everything as best I can.
Between Two Worlds
A Mischief of Magpies #1 is the story of Marinus Picknett—Mar for short. Told through a mixture of journal entries and traditional comic pages, the story follows Mar through the first sixteen years of his life.
When Mar’s mother was giving birth to him, there was a moment where the baby’s life signs just… vanished. At that same moment, she had a dream of a shoreline of metal, plastic, and cables. There, surrounded by birds where the sea touched the beach, was her child. That vision must have done the trick, as the baby’s life signs returned and he was suddenly in a hurry to greet the world. And so Mar was born.
Over the years, Mar would have dreams—visions? Memories?—of another place. A place by the sea. A place with monsters. As he got older, at times it would seem as though he actually travelled there. The birds were always there, and it always felt as though something dark was watching him. But the people he encountered… they were happy to see him. They were proud of him. These were new feelings for Mar, and he liked them—so much so that when they asked him to do something foolish and dangerous, he said “yes” without hesitation…
Through a Child’s Eyes
There’s so much more to the story I haven’t talked about. What an outcast Mar seems to be among the other kids. The concern his teachers show for him each time he writes or draws from his dreams. What he and his parents are going through with his younger sister’s illness. The sheer terror that is the Moray King. Just like Mar spends his time almost trapped between two worlds, this issue has multiple levels of things happening at once.
By using journal entries from different stages of Mar’s childhood, the creative team is able to get us right inside his head. We’re able to see what he saw, feel what he felt. When we see the notes from his teachers, expressing concern for the boy and his mental state, we understand why. Even if we know the truth, and therefore disagree with their assessment.
Once Mar travels to the sea place, the issue becomes a more "traditional" comic book—at least in the sense that it’s more art-driven. Even here, everything is still viewed through Mar’s eyes, and so we discover the breadth and depth of this new world along with him. What’s happening on the page becomes less important than what it makes us feel. When he’s being pursued by the Moray King, we can feel the adrenaline and the terror that Mar is surely feeling. When he returns home to find that both of his parents have been crying, our hearts sink because we know he’s going to get bad news about his sister.
Even that stands out as different from most comics. Instead of a cliffhanger with the Moray King swearing revenge, or a tease of some monster that must be faced, we’re left with the very real image of hearing the worst about a family member’s health—something we’ve all experienced at one time or another, and so becomes very relatable. This gives the story a completely different level of stakes than if it were a villain promising vengeance.
A Sea of Change
Writer Simon Spurrier is no stranger to high-concept comic books. Having written for Hellblazer and the Legion-starring run of X-Men Legacy, he knows how to tell a story that pulls you in and makes you feel. Here, he’s able to place us inside Mar’s head, so that we are able to feel and experience everything that the boy does. The world that Mar visits is so weird and fantastic, so full of colorful characters, that we can’t help but marvel at it.
Of course, the writing is only part of the equation in comics. Here, artist and colorist Matias Bergara works with additional colorist Kike J. Diaz to bring this book its unique visual style. The journal pages each have their own layout and look, as befits the age Mar is for each of them. When he travels to the other world—the sea place—the art takes on an almost dreamlike quality, especially in the underwater portions. While he’s there, his skin has a blue tone and he’s clad in a yellow cloak, both of which immediately stand out from the world around him. Underwater is dark and eerie, with mainly shades of black and brown used. The surface world is much brighter, but never so much that Mar doesn’t stand out.
I don’t often talk about the lettering in comics, but I have to give special mention to it here. Hassan Otamane-Elhaou uses so many different styles here—Mar’s journals at different points in his life are done in the kind of handwriting a child of that age would likely use, until eventually he starts typing his entries instead. The different styles of writing are unique and realistic, but still legible with a bit of effort. It doesn’t stop there, though. In the sea place where Mar sometimes goes, there are multiple other styles of speech—including the titular magpies, who have their own unique way of speaking, and the Processor, a giant robotic head that communicates through a ticker-tape printout. The lettering is as much a factor in this book as any of the other elements.
I also need to give special mention to the book’s presentation. Published by DSTLRY, it is printed in a magazine-sized Prestige Format. This gives the artwork and typography more room to shine, but does come with a higher price tag. And for those who prefer your comics digitally, it’s only available through the fledgling platform Neon Ichiban. So much like the content within, actually acquiring this title requires a bit more from you than a standard comic book.
An Unexplainable Truth
A Mischief of Magpies #1 is a comic that in many ways defies explanation—I don’t think I can tell you what happens in the story in any kind of way that would do it justice—but I can tell you how it made me feel. It’s a book that is full of colorful and creative art, innovative storytelling, and above all else, heart. It’s a book that’s not going to be for everyone, but it was certainly for me—and you never know, it just might be for you, too.
