Mage, Book Three: The Hero Denied #1

Matt Wagner returns to his long-running mythic fantasy series with Mage: The Hero Denied, and this opening issue sets a quietly charged tone from its very first image. The cover presents an older, battle-worn Kevin Matchstick — shaved head, scarred arms, clenched fist — split dramatically down the middle between a warm orange-lit world and a crackling, lightning-laced darkness, suggesting a man caught between an ordinary life and the elemental forces that won't leave him alone. Wagner's clean, confident linework makes this a compelling reintroduction to one of independent comics' most personal and enduring hero sagas.