Mage -- The Hero Discovered

Matt Wagner’s Mage: The Hero Discovered is a self-contained, three-issue miniseries from 1987–1988, published by the Donning Company. It introduces Kevin Matchstick, a modern-day everyman who discovers he is the reincarnation of an ancient hero, destined to battle supernatural threats with a magical baseball bat. Wagner’s clean, expressive art and mythic storytelling blend Arthurian legend with urban fantasy, establishing the tone for his later, more expansive Mage saga. This compact opening chapter matters as a heartfelt, creator-owned take on the superhero origin story, rooted in personal mythology rather than corporate continuity.