“Mage: The Hero Discovered: Collected Ed. 1 (Cover)” (1998)
by Matt Wagner (1961-)
11 x 17 in., acrylic on board
Coppola Collection

Matt Wagner is one of comics’ most beloved creators.

He is well-know for many contributions, but he’s a star in the heavens for his creation, Mage. Mage is the story of Kevin Matchstick, an apparently ordinary man who learns that he is a reincarnation of King Arthur, complete with a magic baseball bat that serves as a modern Excalibur. Mage began as a Comico series in 1984 (The Hero Discovered), then re-appeared as an Image Comics series for Volume 2 in 1997 (The Hero Defined). Now, at last, Wagner is returning to his beloved creation for the long-promised third volume.

Now, nearly 20 years after the last volume ended and more than 30 years after the beginning of the series, Wagner is finally giving us the third and final volume of Mage: The Hero Denied.

Like the other two volumes, The Hero Denied will be a 15-issue series, this time picking up the story of Kevin Matchstick several years after Volume 2, The Hero Defined. As always, Wagner will both write and draw the issues, with colors this time around by his son Brennan.

“The storyline follows my life, everything in it is a metaphor for my life,” Wagner said, in a recent interview. “I’m telling the story of my life through a fantasy allegory. This one is a few years down the line. Our hero, Kevin Matchstick, is living a different kind of life. It feels great being back on this series. It feels very natural.”