[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/250px-Mage_9590.jpg]]

->''"Until the next issue, always remember that magic is green."''
-->-- '''Foreword''', ''The Hero Discovered #2''

An UrbanFantasy comic-book by Matt Wagner, taking influence from Myth/ArthurianLegend and [[TheHerosJourney The Monomyth]].

[[DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife Disaffected everyman]] Kevin Matchstick is thrust into a world of superhuman abilities, mythological creatures and magic baseball-bats after being discovered by [[Myth/{{Merlin}} Mirth]], ''The World Mage''. The comic book follows his character arc as he grows to accept and understand his powers and role as a hero.

The first volume, ''The Hero Discovered'', was released by Comico from 1984-1986. ''The Hero Defined'' was released almost a decade later by Creator/ImageComics, as Wagner needed to reclaim the rights after Comico went bankrupt. The final volume, ''The Hero Denied'', was published in 2017-9.

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!!Tropes:
* LifeEmbellished: ''Mage'' is Matt Wagner's "allegorical autobiography", with Kevin as Wagner's AuthorAvatar.

!!The Hero Discovered
* AuthorAvatar: Wagner openly acknowledges that both Kevin Matchstick's character and appearance are modelled on himself.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil.
* BatterUp: Kevin spends the first two volumes using an enchanted baseball bat as Excalibur before discovering after its destruction that it was a MagicFeather.
* BigBad: the Umbra Sprite.
* DepravedDwarf: The Redcaps are an entire race of them - evil, tusked, naked dwarfs with pierced nipples.
* DespairEventHorizon: [[spoiler: Edsel's]] death.
* EmeraldPower: Used for manifestations of the World-Mage's power.
* FisherKing: The Umbra Sprite's objective throughout the series is to find and kill the current incarnation of the Fisher King, which will bring in an age of darkness. Supposedly, previous times they succeeded brought on, respectively, World War I and the fall of Rome.
* IJustWantToBeNormal: Kevin Matchstick is a pretty atypical reluctant hero. Subverted in ''The Hero Defined'', as he's grown to accept his responsibility, and seems to enjoy kicking supernatural ass.
* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Each chapter in each of the three volumes is titled with a phrase from a specific Shakespeare play: ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' in ''The Hero Discovered''.
* InsideAComputerSystem: Mirth hides in an ATM machine at one point, when his physical form becomes unstable.
* ScaryShinyGlasses: Sean. But then again, [[spoiler:he's a ghost.]]
* TwiceToldTale: Mage is a (loose) retelling of Myth/ArthurianLegend, though it includes other mythological inspiration too.
* UrbanFantasy.

!!The Hero Defined
* AllMythsAreTrue: The second volume introduces modern reincarnations of culture-heroes from many other mythologies.
* ArrogantKungFuGuy: The Dragonslayer is a complete self-satisfied asshole.
* AuthorAvatar: Wagner openly acknowledges that both Kevin Matchstick's character and appearance are modelled on himself.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil.
* BatterUp: Kevin spends the first two volumes using an enchanted baseball bat as Excalibur before discovering after its destruction that it was a MagicFeather.
* BigBad: Emil Grackleflint [[spoiler: and the Umbra Sprite.]]
* BlackAndNerdy: Joe Phat.
* BodyHorror: The Hound of Ulster has his mythological original's tendency to undergo horrific body distortions when he hulks out.
* ComicBookTime: Averted, as the settings and fashions of the second and third volumes retain their respective eighties and nineties nature despite being published in later decades.
* DivineRaceLift: Discussed when Kirby is bemused by Coyote, a Native American culture-hero, being African-American in this incarnation. Kevin says that it seems to be pretty random and points out that he isn't British and Kirby isn't Greek.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: A throwaway line early in ''The Hero Defined'' implies that Joe Phat's status as Coyote is one of many classical heroes he's claimed. [[spoiler: For instance, his speed, fear of giants, and ability to fix anything quickly suggests he might be Jack.]] Though laughed off at the time, this foreshadows that Kevin and Kirby are not only the Pendragon and the Olympian, but also [[Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh Gilgamesh and Enkidu]].
* HeadbuttingHeroes: Happens an awful lot in ''The Hero Defined'', as many of the culture-heroes, accurate to their mythological personalities, are driven by ego or other personal drives rather than any idealistic concept of "good".
* HerosClassicCar: Kevin drives a succession of classic Edsels in tribute to his former ally.
* HigherUnderstandingThroughDrugs: Isis sends Kevin, Joe and Kirby to the fairy realm with a magic joint.
* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Each chapter in each of the three volumes is titled with a phrase from a specific Shakespeare play: ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'' in ''The Hero Defined''.
* IneptMage: Wally Ut.
* LeeroyJenkins: Kirby has a tendency to throw himself into battle without concern for himself, his allies, or innocent bystanders.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Kevin suffers extreme guilt when [[spoiler:he sends the Hornblower to stake out a cemetery just to get rid of him, only for him to be attacked and killed by Redcaps]].
* PunnyName: Coyote's mundane name in this era is Joe Phat, which leads him to nickname himself "Jumpin' Joe Phat", a pun on the minced oath "Jumpin' Jehosephat".
* ShoutOut:
** The beginning of the first chapter proper of ''The Hero Defined'' has Kevin and Joe driving into Montreal and singing along to Music/TheJam's "A Town Called Malice" on the car cassette player.
** A self-Shout Out combined with a VisualPun when the Bear-Wulf is seen wearing a ''ComicBook/{{Grendel}}'' T-shirt.
** Kirby Hero is named in a very obvious tribute to Creator/JackKirby, who co-created the Marvel version of him.
** Although she's much nicer and less morally ambiguous, Isis's hippie-esque character design with long straight hair, a long dress, and huge round glasses shows obvious similarities to Thessaly from ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989''.[[note]]Alternatively, this could be ComicBookFantasyCasting to fantasy comics writer/artist Colleen Doran, who based her character-defining version of Thessaly [[AuthorAvatar on herself]][[/note]]
* SuperSpeed: Coyote's most visible power in this story.
* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: Kevin tends to do this with Excalibur. Backfires dramatically in Volume 2 when [[spoiler: this causes Excalibur to break, and Kirby is then almost killed]].

* WritingAroundTrademarks: For artistic rather than legal reasons, but most of the culture-heroes are named by allusions or lesser known names for them rather than their best-known names. For example, Kirby Hero is known as "the Olympian" instead of [[spoiler:Heracles]], the Dragonslayer could be any random dragon-killing hero until a throwaway line of dialogue reveals to people who know his story that he's [[spoiler:Siegfried]], and Kevin himself is only known as "the Pendragon" rather than Myth/KingArthur. Averted with Coyote and the Monkey King, who don't seem worried about having their best-known names used.

!!The Hero Denied
* ComicBookTime: Averted, as the settings and fashions of the second and third volumes retain their respective eighties and nineties nature despite being published in later decades.
* FisherKing: The Umbra Sprite's objective throughout the series is to find and kill the current incarnation of the Fisher King, which will bring in an age of darkness. Supposedly, previous times they succeeded brought on, respectively, World War I and the fall of Rome.
* GenderBender: In ''The Hero Denied'', the male Umbra Sprite and Grackleflints are reborn as the female Umbra Sprite and the Gracklethorns.
* IHaveYourWife: The Umbra Sprite kidnaps Magda and Hugo in ''The Hero Denied''.
* IJustWantToBeNormal: Kevin Matchstick is a pretty atypical reluctant hero. Double-subverted in ''The Hero Denied'', in which he's attempting to retire and raise a family (but TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive).
* ShoutOut:
** The beginning of ''The Hero Denied'' has Kevin singing Music/NickLowe's (although CoveredUp by Music/ElvisCostello) "What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding".

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