Black Magick 1: Awakening. Greg Rucka (Writer), Nicola Scott (Art), Chiara Arena (Colour Assists), Jodi Wynne (Letters). Image Comics (2016)

Very enjoyable and engaging set up with a very strong idea and a smart execution. Rowan Black is a police officer in Portsmouth and when she is called to a crime where a hostage taker demand to meet her she finds that he knows far more about her than he should. This is the start of the unravelling of her balance between her two lives, one aspect is brutally intruding into the the other. Rowan Black is a witch, the type that deals with actual magick. Her current situation is just the latest in a long line of public lives that have hidden the real, enduring, private one. She is the object of dangerous interest to serious forces and the events taking place at Portsmouth have attracted their attention. The balance that Rowan Black is under attack from mortal and supernatural forces who wish her harm.
Greg Rucka solves the problems of a set up with graceful confidence and a sharp eye for telling detail, the opening sequence introduces the central idea with wit and the transitions are seamless and effective. The hostage taker kicks off the story with force and very neatly and naturally ties the twin aspects of Rowan Black's life together. The ripples from that event, the obvious and the hidden aspects are carefully revealed and create a gripping and increasingly tense narrative that pulls the reader deeper and deeper into the story.
Greg Rucka proves the essential context details about Rowan Black's real life in a natural way as the need for them emerges from the unfolding events. There is never an abrupt info dump for the reader, the information surfaces through credible action and reaction. The cast are equally credible and natural, they are establish with wonderful economy and then allowed the space to develop and emerge in their own right. Rowan Black is a first among equals, the supporting cast are all strong and vital, this makes the action forceful and consequential. It also gives the supernatural aspects a solid and convincing context, they have an equal footing with the ordinary and they cross each other without breaking the story.
Nicola Scot's art is a pleasure to read, its confidence matches the writing and it captures and brings out every nuance and detail. The cast are memorable for being utterly natural looking, including the deeply unnatural cast members. Rowan Black looks, moves and dresses like a human female adult who has a dangerous job to do. Even standing in her underwear she manages to look composed rather than exposed, she is never undermined by the art.This is critical to the success of the story, Rowan Black has to be a credibly tough opponent for the forces ranging against her to capture and exploit the tension of the coming conflict. Nicola Scott creates a nicely detailed and weighty physical context for the action, this anchors the action when it arrives and when it does it is delivered with tremendous force and impact.
The colour scheme is great, the black, white and gray tones have small explosions of colour at critical moments, they serve nicely to show the layers of the story as they break through to each other under stress and pressure. Jodi Wynne's letters are quiet and natural, they are unobtrusive, changing as the need arises to emphasize a different detail of the story, the transitions are so much part of the context they are not noticeable while being very effective.
Black Magick: Awakening has set up an intriguing story, a serious conflict with a deeply engaging lead charachter and worthy opponents, the possibilities are enticing.