Image Comics reviews 6/7/23 – The Ambassadors #6, The Magic Order Vol. 4 #5

The Magic Order Vol. 4 #5

It’s the penultimate issue of Magic Order’s fourth volume. This has been a rough one for fans of Cordelia Moonstone and her allies as Madame Albany and her allies quickly seized control of the Order and killed off many fan favorites. Cordelia was able to escape the culling only by being transported to the kingdom ruled by her estranged brother, Perditus, who’s become a vicious and cruel warlord.

Still, Cordelia has been in worse situations so when it’s time for a fight to the death battle, it doesn’t quite go as smoothly as one of the Moonstone siblings expects. This is Mark Millar’s Magic Order scripting at its best where the Moonstones start to rally against seemingly insurmountable odds in a way that doesn’t feel contrived or silly.

Artist Dike Ruan gets to have some creative fun with the battle between Perditus and Cordelia with the guises they assume in the midst of their battle. It’s a mesmerizing clash further aided by Giovanna Niro’s intense color choices.

Albany still has one big trick up her sleeve and it’s a doozy paying off one of the major subplots of the series. As always, the big finale should be epic as Millar starts to set in motion the roads converging toward Big Game.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10