Review: Gutter Magic #1

In an alternate timeline where wizards were instrumental in the battles of World War 2, and responsible for the near destruction of mankind, an oligarchy of magic users has set themselves so far above the rest of the world that any scrap of mystic power the lower classes manage to grab hold of is sneered upon as “Gutter Magic.”

This is all we know as we open on our protagonist, Cinder Byrnes, and his associate Blacktooth the goblin, robbing a wizard’s keep. Cinder was apparently born without magic in a family of very famous sorcerers, and is desperate for an ancient spell that will bring his magic back.

What’s complicated about this lack of background is that it is difficult to understand the exact social standing of any particular character. Wizards are the upper echelons for certain, but Cinder seems to have pissed off magic users of every standing- potentially including some shady, underworld matriarch and her diminutive daughter.

Writer Rich Douek and illustrator Brett Barkley do a good job of implying a lot about the classist society without excessive exposition. This is especially clear when dealing with Blacktooth and his kind- there are clearly non-human forms of magic that are equally as devalued as the “gutter magic” available to non-wizard humans. Barkley especially shows clear distinction in settings- apart from the brief scene at the beginning in the wizard’s tower, most settings are dark, cramped, overcrowded, and clearly unclean.

Considering that the spell Cinder is trying to cast (and has double-crossed so many to obtain) will bring magic to non-magic users, Douek could be setting up a world-changing event that levels the playing field and allows the majority of humanity to rise above their set station, echoing our own Occupy movements of 2011. However, despite the wide range of characters we are introduced to in the first issue, we seem mostly to be a part of a heist/chase story centering around a single individual and his companion.

It will definitely be interesting to learn more about this timeline’s specific history and where the creators decide to take the story. Most fantasy fans will find it, at the very least, entertaining and a chance to contemplate the complexities of world building.