Hey everyone!
Got some exciting news to announce today - I’m returning to Boom! Studios Magic comics this August with the release of PLANESWALKERS: NOTORIOUS! (you can check out the official announcement on The Beat, right here)
When I was writing the main series, one of the big challenges was having to decide which planeswalkers would get the spotlight. After the defeat of Tezzeret in issue 20, we needed a new threat for our core group of planeswalkers to face, and Nicol Bolas, the biggest bad in the big bad multiverse seemed like a natural choice to give the series the sendoff it deserved.
But I did my due diligence, diving into the history and lore behind the other nefarious planeswalkers out there - briefly considering the likes of Ashiok, Ob Nixlis, and even Emrakul (New Phryexia was off limits, for anyone who was wondering.
In the end, Nicky B was the right choice, but I did find a couple of planeswalkers I really loved story-wise, but just didn’t fit into the narrative - Calix and Oko.
Calix is a Nyx - an artificial being created by the gods of the plane of Theros. He was created to hunt down planeswalker Elspeth Tiriel, who escaped Theros’ underworld, angering Klothys, the goddess of fate. Like a wizardly version of the Terminator, he pursued Elspeth across the entire world, and when she planeswalked away, he did something even Klothys didn’t expect - he planeswalked after her through sheer force of will! Determined, relentless, and deadly, he was a great character to build the story around.
With a character as obsessed with holding up his goddess’s orders as Calix, what better counterpoint is there than a dedicated servant of chaos like Oko? This fey planeswalker rebelled against the strictly ordered society of his home plane, and is now dedicated to sowing strife and discord wherever he goes - both to thumb his nose at authority, and because honestly, it’s a lot of fun! Oko is a trickster to the core, and embodies one of my favorite types of characters to write. And believe me, when these two meet, the sparks fly!
You can check out the story this August in Planeswalkers: Notorious, where it’s illustrated by the talented Carlos Pedro. And, you’ll also get to read an awesome Liliana and Soren tale by Cullen Bunn and French Carlomagno!
Thanks for reading, and please tell your shop you’d like to pre-order it!
Thanks,
Rich