The collected addition of our little book is out and you should be picking it up.

Don’t take our work for it, here is a review from the nice people at Geeks Of Doom

Smoke and Mirrors (IDW Publishing – $19.99) If you were expecting me to talk about the first volume of Brian K. Vaughn’s Saga, you’re in for some disappointment. You can buy that if you’d like, but your money is better spent buying Smoke and Mirrors from IDW. Smoke and Mirrors is the story of Terry Ward, a simple stage magician from our world who finds himself in a different dimension where real magic is the norm and is even used to power all modern technology. Terry finds his form of sleight of hand and parlor tricks to be scary to the powers that be, thinking that his skills are a threat to their traditions. Writer Mike Costa has created a very unique premise, weaving modern sci-fi with classic fantasy. Smoke and Mirrors is a totally unique mini-series and if I can get one more person to read it, I will be a very happy person. Make sure you check this one out.

Click to listen to our head magician on the podcast!

“IDW’s Smoke and Mirrors concluded this week with its fifth issue.  Since it started, this has been my go-to book for fun.  It’s a reasonably simple story, but it’s well told and is full of wildly creative ideas.  It doesn’t make you think too hard, but it sets your imagination racing.  It’s comic book comfort food.”

- The Capeless Crusader 

“There’s a few mini-series ending this week, but one that I will definitely miss each month is Smoke and Mirrors. The story of a magician lost in a world where magic really exists has not only been an entertaining story, but a heartfelt one at that.”

- Comics Bastards 

“If you haven’t been reading this fantastic story issue-to-issue, then you’ve been missing out on the best show in town.”

- Fanboy Comics

“IDW has been doing a lot right lately with its new books. Night of 1000 Wolves, The Hypernaturals, Extermination… they’re quietly putting out some of the best comics in the business right now. But even by that standard, Smoke and Mirrors is something genuinely special: a new twist on an old idea.”

- Gamma Squad

“Although this isn’t a perfect comic, it’s got a unique premise that has been executed with style and conviction. There’s a lot of room for this story to grow – not least because Terry still has to figure out a way back to our world – so you can expect all kinds of surprises from “Smoke and Mirrors” in the future. And I think we can all be glad that creators Costa, Armstrong and Browne have got a couple more rabbits to pull out of this hat.

Magician Jon Armstrong & Writer Mike Costa Create

Comic Book Magic in ‘Smoke and Mirrors’

 

Smoke and Mirrors Issue #1

Watching people flip through an issue of Smoke and Mirrors is almost as entertaining as reading the comic book itself. It’s not uncommon for a reader to gasp or exclaim, “How’d he do that?” Both the physical comics and the digital versions offer a fresh take on comic book magic and actively engage the reader in the tricks themselves.The creation of the comic—the origin story behind the origin story—started at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, where comic book writer Mike Costa (G.I. Joe: Cobra, Blackhawks) met magician Jon Armstrong (an award-winning close-up magician and chairman of the board of trustees for the Magic Castle) after one of Armstrong’s shows in the Close-Up Room.

Upon discovering their mutual love for comic books and magic, the two kept in touch and talked about creating a comic book that would combine both arts. Along with artist Ryan Browne, Costa and Armstrong launched Smoke and Mirrors, a five-part series that follows a sleight-of-hand magician named Terry Ward, who finds himself in a world where magic is real, tries to fit in as best he can, and ends up mentoring Ethan, a young boy who discovers his secret.

LAist recently sat down with Armstrong and Costa to learn about the history of Smoke and Mirrors, the relationship between comic books and magic, and some little-known facts about the Magic Castle.

Read the full interview here…

“Another book that’s playing with the idea of what a comic can be is IDW’sSmoke and Mirrors, a tale of a street magician trying to survive in a fantasy world where everything is powered by “real” magic he can’t use. It’s written by Mike Costa, who’s producing comics most underrated military fiction in his Cobra books (well, next to my work with Paul Azaceta on Graveyard of Empires). The art by Ryan Brown, the creator of God Hates Astronauts, my favorite webcomic. Jon Armstrong is also credited as a consulting illusionist.

Despite the high concept, the very idea of an “illusionist” had me skeptical at first. When I think of magicians, I think of kids’ birthday parties or tricks to pick up girls using “The Game” after you’ve successfully mastered “peacocking.” But here’s the thing–the tricks the fictional magician performs in the book really work on the reader, breaking the fourth wall in a way I’ve never seen before. Each issue contains an essay about the connection between the mutually misunderstood arts of magic and comics, reinforcing the feeling that creators are really onto something, well…magical.”

Read the full article here.

By Henry Barajas

IDW was kind enough to invite me to a see a magic show at their booth at the San Diego Comic Convention as if there wasn’t enough magic in comic con. I have to admit I was a bit leary about attending a magic show. I’m very ignorant of the whole thing. I was afraid they were going to saw me in half and separate me from my nicely shaved legs. I got to the booth and I was greeted by the creators of Smoke and Mirrors, Mike Costa and Jon Armstrong. Jon is an award winning magician that has been performing internationally for over twenty years. Before we started the interview Jon was kind enough to do some card tricks.

Mike and Jon had a lot to say about the last issue of their series coming out in August, the history of magic in comics and what to expect in the trade paper back set to be released in September.

Henry Barajas: What is the process like for translating magic to the comic book medium?

Mike Costa: I leave it to Jon Armstrong to develop and figure all that stuff out from a life time of experience and expertise. That’s what Jon does for the comic. We are co-creators of the comic, we developed the book together. I write the script and he develops the magic.

Jon Armstrong: The magic itself, what we are doing with the book, it’s all interactive. Mike is able to take a lot of these ideas I have about how to an actually do a trick that affects the reader as they read. What he is able to do very seamlessly is not take them out of the story while that’s happening, in fact, but the tricks enhance the story as they read and makes them feel they are a part of this world. The hardest thing is coming up with new and creative ideas every single time because we have done a new trick in every issue. We have made it a big point to do something different every single issue.

Read the rest here