Friday, September 3, 2010

Comics Review: WIZARDS OF MICKEY #8 (August 2010, Boom! Kids)

The plot didn't tie up all of the loose ends -- and the grand and glorious opportunity for all the members of Wizards of Mickey to show their mettle in a "climactic battle" against The Phantom Blot pretty much devolved into the "Mickey Mouse Magic Show" before all spells were said and cast -- but the last issue of WOM amounted to a fairly decent payoff. Nereus does, in fact, turn up to lend Mickey et al. a hand; in fact, we find that he had actually magically come back with The Blot from that distant dimension, which makes all those communications with Mickey a little more logical, if only slightly. Goofy gets to use his "Iron Dragon" to dispatch The Blot's fire-breathing ally, but Donald's contribution to the festivities is limited to casting a delayed-reaction spell on Mickey's staff that Mickey cleverly employs against The Blot at just the right time, and "Pluto the Were-dog" has no role at all. Pete and The Beagle Brothers, meanwhile, are apparently still caught up in the twister whipped up by the peeved Turbo at the end of issue #7, the misleading cover displayed above notwithstanding. (To slightly paraphrase Greg Weagle, the last thing this story needed was more windbags!) Mickey winds up the Supreme Sorcerer and possessor of the Great Crown, which, considering that many more WOM stories exist, seems almost too good to be true; when you're on top, isn't the only place you can go straight down -- and wouldn't Mickey have to lose the Crown at some point in order for future stories to have any meaning or tension? The phrase "So ends the first chapter in the saga [of WOM]" strongly suggests that we may find out at some future time. I'll certainly more than welcome additional WOM stories as part of the regular "budget" of tales in the newly revived MICKEY MOUSE AND FRIENDS. A revival of the WOM title itself, however, seems unlikely.

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