Story and art © DC Comics.

Conjurors 1 - 3
April, May, June 1999

Elseworlds
"The Birth of Magic"
"The Death of Magic"
"Magic and Machine"

Covers: Eduardo Barreto + wine
Writer: Chuck Dixon
Artist: Eduardo Barreto
Letterer: Chris Elipoulos
Colors/Seps: Lee Loughridge
Editor: Alisande Morales
38 pages each
$2.95

Characters: Most of the DCU's magic-makers or magic-stoppers, in Elseworlds versions, including Challengers of the Unknown

Synopsis: Deadman, Phantom Stranger, and other sorcerors fight eldritch forces from the dawn of the Stone Age that try to expunge magic from the world.

Conjurors was an Elseworlds title.  It featured every magical character in the DC Universe, mostly as their usual selves, and other characters who'd tangled with magic, sometimes with odd quirks.  For the Challs, the approach was schitzophrenic, to misuse a term.  It featured the then-current B Team (Brenda, Clay, Marlon, Kenn), but gave them old-new nicknames.  Thus Brenda was Red, Clay was Rocky, Kenn was Prof, and Marlon (a pilot) was Ace.  These new-old Challs did their bit to save magic from disappearing totally from the world, though it does blink out once or twice.

They descend to an ancient cavern beneath Antarctica. Kenn reads a book and the inscriptions on the walls, which are actually incantations. He coordinates this with other magical events, and it damned near kills him. He writhes and froths at the mouth as the other Challengers try to keep him alive. And that's about all the Challs do. They're barely seen again.

Comment

An interesting bit part for the Challs - nice to see them included in the arcane magical arm of this Elseworlds DC Universe. But while the art is nice, it's buried as usual under the dark-dark-dark colors that leave you hunting for the light switch.