{"product_id":"mister-magic-the-graphic-novel-isbn-9781984863355","title":"Mister Magic: The Graphic Novel","description":"\u003cb\u003eWho is Mister Magic? Former child stars reunite to uncover the tragedy that ended their show—and discover the secret of its enigmatic host—in this stunningly illustrated graphic novel adaptation of the thrilling national bestseller \u003ci\u003eMister Magic\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThirty years after a tragic accident shut down production of the classic children’s program \u003ci\u003eMister Magic\u003c\/i\u003e, the five surviving cast members have done their best to move on. But just as generations of cultishly devoted fans still cling to the lessons they learned from the show, the cast have spent their lives searching for the happiness they felt while they were on it. The friendship. The feeling of belonging. And the protection of Mister Magic. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut with no surviving videos or scripts, no evidence of who directed or produced the show, and no records of who—or what—the beloved host actually was, memories are all the former circle of friends has. In Val’s case, kidnapped by her father and in hiding ever since, she doesn’t even have those.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA surprise encounter with Val's old castmates brings them all together for a reunion. Back to the remote desert filming compound that feels like it’s been waiting for them all this time. Back among friends they haven’t seen for years, but who somehow understand one another better than anyone has since. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter all, they’re the only ones who hold the secret of that circle, the mystery of the magic man in his infinitely black cape, and, maybe, the answers to what really happened on that deadly last day. But as Val reclaims parts of her past, she wonders: Are they there by choice, or have they been lured into a trap? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBecause magic never forgets the taste of friendship. . . .\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRendered in striking full-color art by beloved comic artists Veronica Fish and Andy Fish, this gripping graphic adaptation of \u003ci\u003eMister Magic\u003c\/i\u003e fully immerses you in the psychological thriller that \u003ci\u003ePopSugar\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCrimeReads,\u003c\/i\u003e and the Chicago Public Library named a best book of the year.“\u003ci\u003eMister Magic \u003c\/i\u003eis a propulsive, exciting, often genuinely scary, endlessly compelling mystery. Imagine a trip through \u003ci\u003eTwin Peaks \u003c\/i\u003eby way of \u003ci\u003eStranger Things\u003c\/i\u003e and Stephen King’s \u003ci\u003eIt\u003c\/i\u003e.”\u003cb\u003e—Terry Miles, author of \u003ci\u003eRabbits\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Kiersten White’s horror epic of cursed childhood media and stolen adolescence cuts to the poisoned quick of our nostalgia-obsessed modern age, and is expertly adapted for the graphic medium by Scott Peterson and the incredible team of Veronica and Andy Fish.”\u003cb\u003e—James Tynion IV\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eMister Magic\u003c\/i\u003e walks the twilit line between wonder and terror where all the best childhood games are played.”\u003cb\u003e—Melissa Albert, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Hazel Wood\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Clever, compelling, and utterly chilling, \u003ci\u003eMister Magic: The Graphic Novel\u003c\/i\u003eis equal parts childhood nostalgia and creeping nightmare!”\u003cb\u003e—Cavan Scott, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eIt\u003c\/i\u003e meets \u003ci\u003eThe Stepford Wives\u003c\/i\u003e in this wildly compelling story that explores whether it’s possible to recapture the magic of childhood friendship and what happens when you discover the darkness hiding underneath your memories.”\u003cb\u003e—Mallory O’Meara, \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Lady from the Black Lagoon\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I found myself thoroughly drawn in by \u003ci\u003eMister Magic,\u003c\/i\u003e a unique thriller with a compelling cast of characters whose past hides long-buried secrets.”\u003cb\u003e—Karen Cleveland, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eNeed to Know\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Few books I’ve read capture the wonder and terror of childhood as brilliantly as \u003ci\u003eMister Magic\u003c\/i\u003e. Both creepy and profoundly nostalgic, it’s guaranteed to unsettle anyone who grew up with \u003ci\u003eBarney \u0026amp; Friends, Sesame Street,\u003c\/i\u003e or other children’s shows—or anyone who’s ever been a child. This book gave me nightmares in the best possible way.”\u003cb\u003e—Ana Reyes, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe House in the Pines\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Kiersten White gave me a serious case of the heebie-jeebies that I couldn’t shake, even long after I’d put this book down! The sense of dread starts off as a whisper and builds into a full-blown scream as pieces of the mystery surrounding \u003ci\u003eMister Magic\u003c\/i\u003e fall into place in this terrifying novel.”\u003cb\u003e—Amanda Jayatissa, author of \u003ci\u003eYou’re Invited\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The allure and untrustworthiness of memory and childhood experiences are deftly explored in this compelling and eerie slow burn. . . . This deeply personal and mesmerizing work from White is sure to please, especially readers with ’90s nostalgia.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“In this frightening, nostalgic, and original plot, White explores themes of racism, homophobia, and sexism. Savvy readers will devour the subtext and ponder philosophical questions about reality.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Both eerie and surprisingly heartwarming, White’s examination of the perils of nostalgia is sure to win fans.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eKiersten White \u003c\/b\u003eis a number one \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling, Bram Stoker Award–winning, critically acclaimed author of many books, including \u003ci\u003eThe Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein\u003c\/i\u003e, the And I Darken trilogy, the Slayer series, the Camelot Rising trilogy, \u003ci\u003eStar Wars: Padawan\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHide \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eHide: The Graphic Novel\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMister Magic\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLucy Undying: A Dracula Novel\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Fox and the Devil. \u003c\/i\u003eKiersten lives with her family in San Diego, California, where they obsessively care for their deeply ambivalent tortoise, Kimberly. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eVeronica Fish\u003c\/b\u003e is a comic book artist and painter best known for her work with Marvel Comics and Archie Comics. She received a BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston. She currently lives with her husband and collaborator, Andy Fish in Worcester, Massachusetts. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAndy T. Fish\u003c\/b\u003e is a graphic novelist, comic book artist, and educator. He is best known for his graphic novels with Archie Comics and Dark Horse Comics, as well as and his How to Draw series. He is currently an adjunct professor of art at Emerson College and lives in Worcester, Massachusetts with his wife and fellow artist, Veronica Fish.\u003cb\u003eOne\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe thing is, the doors were open that morning.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVal knows—­she knows, she knows—­that waking up to find both doors of their sagging cabin opened wide to the world is probably only because Dad wasn’t sleeping well, and that she should tie a bell to his foot before bed tonight. Just in case.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn open door is an invitation, she whispers to herself. And she keeps the doors to their cabin firmly closed all the time. She’ll have one of the ranch hands rig up some sort of lock system, up high, where Dad won’t be able to reach it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThat’ll fix it. She can stop worrying.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe doesn’t, though. She worries through the morning riding lessons, worries through lunch with the camp full of awkwardly pubescing little delights, worries through the early-­afternoon group activities, more riding, cleanup. All her favorite things—­especially the cleanup, knowing parents are paying a small fortune so their daughters can spend the week doing the chores Val hates most—­are eaten up by the worry.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBy late afternoon she’s mostly shaken it off, though. Sometimes an open door is just an open door. It doesn’t have to mean anything.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne of the girls, Lola, freckled and sunburned and wonderful, raises her hand. “Miss Val?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“You know where the bathroom is,” Val answers. “You don’t have to ask when you need to go.” It’s almost time for pickup, which means she needs to get Poppy from the goat pen. The other five dusty and happy and tired campers are here with Val, finishing up in the stables.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“No!” Lola giggles shyly. “It’s not that. Do you have any kids?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn image flashes in Val’s mind. A girl, even younger than these, her brown hair forever fighting to escape messy pigtails, with eyes so blue they break her heart. Val smiles. “Not yet, but I know there’s one in my future.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“How?” another camper, Hannah, asks, wrinkling her nose beneath smudged glasses. Val resists the impulse to clean them for her. Independence is part of what her camps promise, even if it means dirty glasses. Val’s been running the summer programs for Gloria’s Ranch since she was twenty, and they’re the absolute highlight of her whole year.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVal shrugs. “I’ve always known.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“But aren’t you getting too old?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVal lifts an eyebrow. Lola scowls and elbows Hannah, but Val shakes her head. “No, it’s okay to ask questions. Questions are how we get to know the world. And the answer is, I’m not too old. Not yet.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHer heart ticks like a clock, but she still has time. Val’s belief in her blue-­eyed girl is as solid as her belief in gravity. The when and the how are questions she doesn’t let herself ask. It’s easy not to ask questions. Take the question, put it behind a door. Close the door. Leave nothing open. She is aware of the hypocrisy of always encouraging her students to ask questions when she denies herself the same freedom, but there’s a whole door in her head just for the cognitive dissonance of Do what I say, not what I do.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Do you have a boyfriend?” Lola blurts out, and suddenly this interrogation makes sense. Lola’s father finds excuses to linger at every drop-­off and pickup.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Only when I want to,” Val answers. “Sometimes I have a girlfriend.” Though boyfriend and girlfriend are generous terms for the relationships she allows herself to have.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eStill, her answer has the desired effect of rapidly changing the subject as all the girls’ eyes go wide. Val can see the follow-­up questions bubbling, but they don’t have time. She has to get to Poppy before—­\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Damn it,” Val whispers under her breath. Poppy’s mother has already pulled up in a Mercedes SUV that has about as much functionality as the designer boots she sent Poppy in for the first day. And Poppy’s still in the goat pen instead of the stables.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVal claps her hands. “Okay! Last one out of their barn clothes has to muck out Stormy’s stall tomorrow!”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe girls shriek and dart away to remove the coveralls and boots Val gives them to protect the too-­cute clothes their parents always have them wear. Val cuts across the dusty path to intercept Poppy’s mom before Poppy hears what’s about to happen.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Hi,” Val says. She can’t recall the woman’s name. She never can with other adults. It’s hard to care.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe sunglasses come up, pushed onto carefully styled hair. “What’s Poppy doing in the goat pen?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“She’s working with our baby goats, Luke and Leia, training them to—­”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I’m paying you for riding lessons!”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eParents always trot that out as leverage, but technically she isn’t paying Val at all. Val doesn’t get paid. She smiles politely. “You’re paying for a week of day camp at Gloria’s Ranch, which includes experiences with a variety of animals. And can include riding lessons, if the girls want that, which Poppy does not.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“It’s not up to her! I want her to learn how to ride!”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVal resists the urge to smack the sunglasses off the woman’s head. “Poppy is spending a week outside building confidence with friends and animals. Do you want me to force her into a saddle and watch her have a panic attack? Because that’s not safe for Poppy or the horse.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“But I’m paying—­”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“No.” Val cuts her off. “Look at your daughter. Right now.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePoppy’s perched on top of a bale of hay, expression intense with concentration as she balances next to a tiny baby goat. She gives a command, then jumps off and turns around expectantly. The goat follows. Poppy whoops in delighted triumph.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“But—­” the mom says, her anger deflated in the face of Poppy’s elation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“She’s afraid of horses. It’s a perfectly rational fear. Horses are terrifying creatures. Barrel chests and pin legs and have you seen their teeth?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe woman raises a perfect eyebrow. “It sounds like you’re scared of them.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Oh, absolutely I am. I ignore it because I have to. But there’s no reason for Poppy to overcome this particular fear. No one needs to ride horses. She’s a remarkable little girl, and when she grows into a remarkable adult, she’ll remember how her mother listened to her and helped her find other things she was good at.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe woman sighs out the last of her anger. “She does look happy.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“And filthy.” Val wrinkles her nose. She’s not even pleased that she convinced this woman she was right. It was always going to go this way. When Val sets her mind to something, it happens.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe woman laughs, fully won over. “And filthy.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Poppy! Into the barn!” Val points and Poppy hops across the pen like a little goat herself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I really wanted to buy her cute riding clothes,” her mother says, wistful.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSometimes Val forgets that adults are just children with both more and less autonomy. She smiles slyly and nudges the woman with her shoulder. “You know, we have riding classes for adults, too, and you’d look fabulous in a new riding outfit.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVal’s rewarded with another laugh and a thoughtful glance ­toward the stables. The woman’s already picking out which horse is prettiest, probably imagining owning one herself. Good for business if she stables it here.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhat would we do without you, Val? Gloria asks in her mind, and Val thinks back what she always does: You’ll never have to find out.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt tastes bitter today.","brand":"Ten Speed Graphic","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48233396109541,"sku":"NP9781984863355","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781984863355.jpg?v=1767732824","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/mister-magic-the-graphic-novel-isbn-9781984863355","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}