The Books of Magic Reopen in the Sandman Universe

An integral part of the Sandman Universe line-up and the revitalization of DC's Vertigo imprint, boy magician Timothy Hunter returns to comics this week in Books of Magic #1 by novelist Kat Howard, artist Tom Fowler, colorist Jordan Boyd and letterer Todd Klein. Created by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton in 1990, the young magician learned from a conclave of DC's most powerful magic-wielders that he was destined to become either the greatest or most lethal magician the world has ever known -- that is, unless he chose to leave the mystical world behind in favor of an everyday life in the "mundane" world.

By the end of that initial series, which featured a different artist painting each issue, Tim couldn't have chosen the ordinary world if he tried. While later series saw Tim's life take a number of divergent paths as he grew to adulthood -- the most recent series being 2004's Books of Magick: Life During Wartime -- this new series turns back the clock to an early point in Tim's magical training, during his school days.

Ahead of the series' debut, CBR spoke with Kat Howard and Tom Fowler about where the new series picks up, reinventing familiar characters, and the significance of the mundane to the magical universe.

CBR: Kat, there have been a few different takes on Books of Magic and Tim Hunter since the original series by Neil Gaiman in 1990. Where do we meet up with Tim in the new series? Is this a fresh start, or does it build from some of the earlier stories?

Kat Howard: It's not a completely fresh start -- fans of the original series will definitely recognize some characters and plot elements. That said, this is also meant to be a place where new readers can come in and pick things up without knowing anything about the previous series. It was a bit of a balancing act, but I hope the story will be entertaining for both groups of people.

Tom, the opening pages recount the events of the original Books of Magic miniseries, or at least a version of that story, using a number of visual styles -- I see tarot, illuminated manuscript designs, Greek vases and tiles, hieroglyphs, Silver Age comics, and more. How does this serve to establish Tim Hunter's world of magic?

Tom Fowler: The script originally called for the opening dream sequence to look like a medieval illuminated manuscript, but I thought it would be fun in a comic with "books" in the title to trace through the history of visual storytelling around the world instead. So along with the heraldry of medieval Europe, I attempted (hopefully more successfully than not) to show Assyrian clay tablets, Indian, Middle Eastern, and Chinese illuminated manuscripts, the Bayeaux Tapestry, woodcuts, Gustave Dore, Arthur Rackham, and up through Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby. I wanted to show the importance of written language in relation to Tim’s new world and, since this is comics, I wanted to do that with visual language.

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Your characters are very expressive. How important is it for you as an artist to "ground" their humanity in this way before the story dives into the magical deep end?

Fowler: I think by now we’ve all heard the hoary old chestnut: "comics are like a movie, but…”, but it tends to be the best analogy we’ve got. Your characters are your actors on the page. They should inhabit the space and feel as though they live and breathe in it. Unfortunately that means you’ve got to actually build the space for them to inhabit, but once you do you have room for them to move around and interact. They can pick things up, move across the room. You can stage manage the scenes so that you get the most of what you need out of them. So I guess that's more of a: “comics are like theatre, but…” answer.

You're working with colorist Jordan Boyd on this series. What does his style bring to your art?

Fowler: Everything! As I mentioned we’re playing around with a lot different storytelling techniques in this book to inform the changes in Tim’s world. Color is an enormous part of comics storytelling at any time, but doubly so now in what we’re trying to achieve in our Books of Magic. Jordan is bringing so much to the table and I’m over the moon with what he’s doing.

Kat, you lay a lot of groundwork in the first issue -- the choice Tim faces between magic and the mundane, his uncertain progress, and a few characters of uncertain motive hoping to shape his destiny. How is building the lore of a magical universe in comics different from what you've done in your novels?

Howard: Well, here I had the gift of that foundation of the previous runs on Books of Magic and on Sandman. So I wasn't building things from zero. And it's been really fun looking at those established pieces and seeing them in new ways and finding the most interesting bits to bring to Tim's story. I also have the benefit of the rest of the creative team -- Tom's art, Jordan's colors, Todd's lettering all go into building this story, and allow me to think about things in new and different ways. It's a lot of fun.

You're also building a supporting cast at Tim's school, notably Ellie, Tyler and his teacher Dr. Rose. At least one of these is connected to the magical realm. How does Tim's school life, his friends and rivals, influence his journey to become the greatest/most dangerous magician?

Howard: I'm so glad you brought this up -- one of the things that is really important to me in telling this story is to show that Tim's mundane life, such as what happens at school, is just as important a component of what he is and what he's becoming as the magical elements are. Everything that Tim is, everything that he encounters, is going to be part of that journey toward his destiny, and will influence the choices that he makes along the way.

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For fans of earlier Books of Magic series, there will be a few familiar faces -- not just in the powerful magicians who guide Tim, but also folks like Mad Hettie, who gives Tim an object of some significance. As you're creating your own take on Tim Hunter's universe, how do you think about re-introducing characters and concepts in a way that feels fresh?

Howard: I've always been interested in retellings and re-envisionings of stories. The idea of seeing what people love, and what resonates as a part of a story, and how to make that familiar thing new is one of my favorite things to think about as a write -- it's a particular sort of puzzle that I really like solving. So I'm very much starting with what's there, and then thinking about how I can bring out a different angle of it, or a new way of seeing. And when I can do that, I feel comfortable bringing it into this story.

Tom, many of the characters you're working with here have been established in earlier comics, but you're re-introducing them for a new era and new readers. What sort of design work goes into creating your own take on Tim Hunter, Rose, and the others?

Fowler: This isn’t first time I’ve been asked to step in and help reimagine existing characters. I did it with the Hulk (Season One), Quantum and Woody, and to a lesser extent when I was doing design work for Hasbro on older, defunct IPs. I usually just start with the script and work out from there. What does the character need to be now in this telling and what elements are needed to keep so that older readers can still recognize them?

I decided this time around that Tim’s world should be common as muck; old concrete under grey skies. He makes model spaceships from garbage with simple tools, and likewise, the tools he makes magic with are just as simple. Rose is a spark of exotic color that cuts through his world. I had my friend Erica Henderson point me in the direction of some eclectic fashion bloggers to inform Rose’s look and make her stand out.

The original BoM series had a different artist paint each issue, beginning with John Bolton. Obviously, you're not painting this series, but are there ways you take visual cues from that series' aesthetic and bring them into your own style?

Fowler: We’re trying to show, sometimes subtly sometimes not, a division between Tim’s "mundane" life and his magical life. A lot of that we’re doing through layout techniques and color. Once Tim ventures into more magical realms I’m hoping to play around even more.

Kat, we learn in the first issue that books are literally the key to unlocking Tim's power, but it's not as simple as simply visiting the magical library. What made you want to establish both Tim's power and his quest in this way?

Howard: So, back in January, Neil hosted a story meeting for the Sandman Universe writers in New Orleans where we could all talk about how we were thinking of our worlds and characters and stories. And one of the things that he mentioned was that there really weren't any books in the original Books of Magic run. That was one of those moments that made me sort of do a mental supervillain laugh, and decide that there were for sure going to be books this time. Thinking about books made me think about how we tell stories, how we share information, and the way magic might complicate that, and so here we are.

This is, I believe, your first comic project. What made you want to write in this medium? What has been your biggest surprise or your greatest challenge?

Howard: It is! But I've loved reading comics for a while -- I love the visual component of the medium, and that's been one of the things that's intrigued me from the beginning: How to make my writing style work with and in support of the art. I think my biggest surprise has just been learning the process of it all -- from thumbnail sketches to finished pages. My greatest challenge has also been something that's been a really fun part about working in this medium, and that's been learning to think about the new and different possibilities there are for sharing the story with readers on a comic page, compared to a strictly prose one. I love it, and I hope Books of Magic readers will be pleased.