‘DV8′ Artist Rebekah Issacs Brings Magic Back in ‘Magus’ [Preview]

Earning major points for her superlative work on WildStorm's in-progress DV8: Gods and Monsters miniseries with Brian Wood, Rebekeh Isaacs has already begun drawing her followup project that's similarly close to the artist's heart. Magus is a new five-issue series from 12-Gauge that deals with the return of full-on magic to our modern world, where everyone suddenly finds themselves a powerful sorcerer. Written by Jon Price & David Norton and featuring an inaugural cover by DVD's Fiona Staples, Magus is listed in this month's Diamond Previews catalogue for a December 12 release.

ComicsAlliance spoke briefly with the Magus creative team about the contemporary fantasy book, described as a grown-up cross between Harry Potter and Heroes (Season One!), and checked out some of Isaacs' great artwork from the miniseries.

Where were you when magic came back? After being sealed away for thousands of years by a group of powerful men and women, humankind's innate ability to use magic is accidentally released- leaving everyone on the planet able to perform magic! In suburban Massachusetts, Ben and Darius find themselves thrust into the middle of a changing, turbulent new world, and intricately linked to what's happening. Joined by a small group of new friends, these powerful young men must unravel the secret history of magic, while governments across the globe desperately fight to return things to the way they were before. Don't miss the first exciting installment of this epic adventure, featuring the stunning art of Rebekah Isaacs (Brian Wood's DV8)!

ComicsAlliance: Rebekah, you've earned loads of praise for your work on DV8. What informed your decision to make Magus the followup? What's your connection to the material?

REBEKAH ISAACS: Well, I was actually working on Magus little-by-little the whole time I was drawing DV8. I think we'd been working on the pitch before I got that gig and [Ms. Marvel: Dark Reign], but back then we were three people with very few comics credits between us, and me getting that first mainstream work definitely gave us the impetus to push it out there and get it seen. My connection to the project is about as personal as you can get -- Jon is my boyfriend, and, essentially, our creative collaborations from the moment we became friends are what brought us together. That being said, I don't go around committing myself to year-long side-projects just because someone makes me laugh and bakes amazing desserts. I loved this story and the characters since the moment I read the initial treatment and I knew we had to do whatever it took to get it made.

JON PRICE: I thought the idea up when I was living in the "magical" Orlando, Florida (please note the sarcasm). I actually mostly liked Orlando, but there's a strange mix of synthetic fantasy and stark reality because of the several theme parks and endless stream of tourists. So I started playing with the idea of fantasy-based magic existing in our world as it exists now and how that would work. Once I had a framework for the story I enlisted Dave to help flesh it out and create some killer villains - which he's done quite nicely, as you'll see throughout the series.

CA: Keven, you're putting this book out, please share some impressions about the work and tell us how it fits into the 12-Gauge legacy.

KEVEN GARDNER: 12-Gauge has always been known for crime and action, so when I heard they wanted to pitch me a book about magic I wasn't sure if it would fit. I had been talking with Rebekah about doing something together anyway (she's such a talented artist), so I was hoping it might work. Once I read the pitch I was hooked. It reminded me of all the things I loved about the first season of Heroes, but with a splash of Harry Potter, and all set in the real-world (no costumes, alternate realities, etc.). Had it been a typical magic/fantasy thing, I would probably have passed, but this felt fresh and grounded, and it was something 12-Gauge had to put its stamp on.

CA: Who does everyone see as the ideal audience for Magus?

DAVID NORTON: We're aiming at a PG-13 audience with this series. I think people who are interested in things like Buffy, Angel, R.A. Salvatore, and Harry Potter would find something of interest in Magus.

JON PRICE: I like to think even people that scoff at the idea of reading anything related to the fantasy genre would enjoy it, too. We tried to fit magic into the world as realistically as we could, so hopefully people will dig that idea and want to give Magus a shot.