The Books of Magic #1 is an issue of the series The Books of Magic (Volume 1) with a cover date of December, 1990.
Synopsis for "The Invisible Labyrinth"
The Phantom Stranger, John Constantine, Doctor Occult, and Mister E convene to discuss Timothy Hunter, a British youth with unprecedented potential in magic. While E favors preemptive killing, and Constantine total inaction, they are outvoted by Occult and the Stranger, who insist that Timothy be offered a proper education. The quartet make such an offer to Timothy, who instantly dismisses them - until his yo-yo is transformed into a live owl by Occult. Impressed, Timothy agrees to be shown the mystics' world.
With the Stranger his first instructor, Timothy witnesses the Creation; the War in Heaven; the fall of Atlantis; magic as understood by cavemen, then by ancient Egyptians, Chinese, Greeks. A brief encounter with the legendary Merlin and medieval witch-hunts additionally teach Timothy some of magic's worst drawbacks: it often forces acolytes to know futures they cannot change, and it cannot always coexist with man's suspicious, capricious nature.
Finally, the Stranger introduces Timothy to Doctor Fate, Zatara, and Sargon the Sorcerer - three mystics who had successfully adapted to the modern, science-centered world, but nevertheless met less-than-pleasant ends, as is often the price of magic. Timothy emerges from this first leg of his education disturbed, but still eager to learn more - an eagerness Constantine is more than willing to indulge.
Appearing in "The Invisible Labyrinth"
Featured Characters:
- The Phantom Stranger
- Timothy "Tim" Hunter (First appearance) (Also as a spirit)
Supporting Characters:
- Atlantean Homo Magus (Single appearance) (Unnamed)
- Merlin/Myrddin (Also in a vision)
- The Trenchcoat Brigade (First appearance; unnamed)
- Yo-Yo the Owl (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Brotherhood of the Cold Flame (Behind the scenes)
Other Characters:
- The Archangels (First full appearance) (Flashback and main story)
- Calculha (Cameo)
- Demons (Cameo)
- Giovanni Zatara
- God (Behind the scenes)
- Gods of Egypt
- Isis (In picture only) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Iason (Cameo)
- Inza Cramer-Nelson (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- The Lords of the Nine Heavens (First appearance)
- Jiutian Xuannü (First appearance; unnamed) (In picture only) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- King Arthur (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Kent Nelson (In a vision)
- Nabu (In a vision) (Behind the scenes)
- Lucifer Morningstar (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Nimue (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Nymphs (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Sargon the Sorcerer (John Sargent) (Dies in a vision)
- Satyrs (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Anubis (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
- Belial (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
- Master Blaise (Mentioned only)
- Dragons (Mentioned only)
- Gods of Olympus (Mentioned only)
- Hecate (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
- The Great Darkness (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
- Griffins (Mentioned only)
- Lizard-Kings (Mentioned only)
- Metropolitan Police (Mentioned only)
- Santa Claus (Mentioned only)
- Spirits (Mentioned only)
- Tooth Fairy (Mentioned only)
- Zatanna Zatara (Mentioned only)
- Jonathan Ross (Mentioned only)
- Saints (Mentioned only)
- The Great Pumpkin (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Hypertime (Behind the scenes)
- Multiverse (Behind the scenes)
- Vertigo Universe (Unnamed) (Flashback and main story) (Origin)
- 4.5 billion years ago
- Solar System (Origin)
- Earth (Origin)
- Solar System (Origin)
- 50 thousand years ago
- Atlantic Ocean
- Hy-Brasil (Destroyed) (Mentioned only)
- Ancient Atlantis (Destroyed)
- Lyonesse (Destroyed) (Mentioned only)
- Atlantic Ocean
- 10th Century BCE
- Greece (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- China (Mentioned only)
- Yellow River (Mentioned only)
- Egypt (Mentioned only)
- Nile River (Mentioned only)
- 6th Century
- Britain (Also in a vision)
- Camelot (Also in a vision)
- Moldavia
- Castle Branek (Unnamed)
- Merlin's Tomb (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Castle Branek (Unnamed)
- Britain (Also in a vision)
- "Between the Dark Ages and Middle Ages"
- Britain
- Stonehenge (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Britain
- 17th Century
- United States of America
- Massachusetts
- Salem (Flashback only)
- Massachusetts
- United States of America
- 20th Century
- United States of America
- Salem
- Tower of Fate (In a vision)
- Salem
- Mesopotamia
- Valley of Ur
- Underground Pyramid (Mentioned only)
- Valley of Ur
- United States of America
- 1990
- England
- London
- Winchester (Mentioned only)
- England
- 4.5 billion years ago
- The Dream-Time (Mentioned only)
- The Far Realms (Mentioned only)
- Faerie (Mentioned only)
- Avalon (Mentioned only)
- Hades (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
- Hell (Mentioned only)
- Mount Olympus (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
- Nine Heavens (Mentioned only)
- Faerie (Mentioned only)
- Vertigo Universe (Unnamed) (Flashback and main story) (Origin)
- The Void before Existence (Flashback only)
- The Silver City (Flashback only) (Cameo)
Items:
- Excalibur (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Helmet of Fate (Flashback only)
- Ruby of Life (Flashback only)
- Silk Cut
Concepts:
- Big Bang
- Magic
- Time Travel
- War in Heaven (Flashback only)
Notes
- The events of this story takes place in 1992.[1]
See Also