Smoke And Mirrors #1
Script by Mike Costa
Art by Ryan Browne
Illusions by Jon Armstrong
Letters by Robbie Robbins
Color Assists by Aaron Daly
Covers by Ryan Browne, Fiona Staples
IDW Publishing
Release Date: March 21, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Who needs electricity when you can have magic?! The first few pages of Smoke And Mirrors #1 takes everyday knowledge and turns it upside down. Suddenly, science is pointless and magical charms are all the rage! But is something more sinister going on here? The game is afoot!

We open to see the spokesman for The Trade Circle giving a speech to a visiting class of children. It enables the reader to become quickly oriented into this altered world that exists with magic as its primary power source. The brief explanation jump starts the story and we watch as one of the students, Ethan, rocks the boat, so to speak. Prying too deeply into the business of The Trade Circle, he quickly finds himself in trouble. But it also ignites the spark that all children have, the spark of curiosity.

We are introduced to a mysterious character near the end of this premiere issue, one who seems to have a finer grasp of magic than most others. We are left wondering what will happen next with this stranger and how it all ties together. Between this man and the spokesman (very Steve Jobs like) we see opposite ends of the magic using spectrum, and it definitely makes the reader curious.

I was definitely taken with the writing style of Mike Costa, he really draws the reader into the comic… teasing the entire way. Add to that the clean and simple art from Ryan Browne and you have a great base for this miniseries. What takes this truly over the top, however, are the talents of Jon Armstrong. His wealth of knowledge gives this comic a heavy dose of authenticity where acts of prestidigitation is concerned.

All in all, I was pleased with the read. I had no idea what it was going to be when I agreed to review it, so I was definitely happy to find that I liked it. It’s a fresh new idea brought to life for our reading pleasure. Embrace it, you’ll enjoy it. Heck, it’s less expensive than a slice of pie at your local pizza parlor!