History
Prior to the release of the series, Marvel.com reporter Jim Beard reported that "Mystic Arcana" would be in the same vein as "the wild and woolly genre revitalization, Annihilation." As part of his report Beard interviewed Mystic Arcana's editor Mark Paniccia who explained:
| “ | What makes unique is the fact that we're not only focusing on Marvel's magical characters, but also the realm in which they operate, much like Annihilation did with the cosmic characters. We're exploring and revealing things about magical objects and heroes that expand and enhance Marvel's already extant magic community. | ” |
When the "Mystic Arcana" series was introduced at the 2007 New York Comic Convention in New York City at the Marvel Comics "Cup 'O Joe" panel, Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada announced that the series would be published under the creative control of Tarot deck artist David Sexton.
In an interview at Comic Book Resources, creative director David Sexton gave an in-depth view of his goals for the Mystic Arcana series:
| “ | Not so long ago, there was a magic based mini-series (which I won't name) that climaxed in a battle between a good wizard and an evil wizard. After the evil wizard head-butted the good wizard, it cast a spell on some innocent bystanders by pointing its evil wizard finger at them and uttering that most famous of magical phrases, 'Bang!' Sexton explained. "Reading that sequence kind of crystallized some of the things I had been thinking about regarding magic in comics. Magic is not a gun. It should look and feel different from technology or from a mutant power. Magic should be depicted in an imaginative manner. Magic only exists in our shared imaginations, so a writer needs to provide that kind of convincing detail in order for the reader to 'believe' in what they're reading...The rules have gotten rather mushy, but 'The Magic Gun Syndrome' can be stopped. If a character or a creature manipulates magic in a new and different way, fantastic, but the reader needs to understand how. The magic has to make sense. Not rational sense, but it should have what Jung referred to as 'Mythopoeic' meaning. | ” |
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