Necromancer, healer, planeswalker, teacher, villain, hero: Liliana Vess is all of these things and much more, including the star of a brand-new comic book series. The Magic: The Gathering fan-favorite will be the main character in Magic: The Hidden Planeswalker, the second Magic comic series published by BOOM! Studios, under license by Hasbro, Inc., and in partnership with Wizards of the Coast LLC, starting in April 2022.
Liliana made her debut in 2007 as part of Lorwyn, the first Magic: The Gathering set to feature the Planeswalker card type. Since then, she has been a constant presence in the game, appearing on dozens of cards and becoming the poster child for mages using black mana. Her popularity with the fandom is also due to the deep character development she has been granted in Magic: The Gatheirng storylines. Liliana has a tragic past: the awakening of her spark (the unique ability that allows individuals known as planeswalkers to travel the multiverse) coincided with the death of her brother and the destruction of her estate in the world of Dominaria. Driven by her desire for power, Liliana ended up making dangerous bargains with four different demons, and even becoming the servant of Magic's biggest villain: the dragon-god Nicol Bolas. She also made powerful and trustworthy friends, however, including the Gatewatch and her sometimes lover Jace Beleren.
In recent storylines, Liliana finally regained the freedom she had been looking for for so long. She killed all four of her demonic masters, got rid of the Chain Veil, a powerful artifact that was trying to possess her soul, and even helped the Gatewatch defeat Nicol Bolas on Ravnica during the War of the Spark. This victory however came at the cost of Gideon Jura sacrificing his life for Liliana, an act of selflessness that completed the necromancer's path to redemption. Having severed all ties with her past, Liliana moved to the plane of Arcavios, where she became a teacher at the Strixhaven magic academy, under the alias of Professor Serafina Onyx. That's where the story in Magic: The Hidden Planeswalker kicks off, following BOOM! Studios' successful Magic series that started in 2021. Sensing the call of a distant and incredibly powerful planeswalker, Liliana starts on a journey of discovery that will put her on a collision course with another of Bolas' former servants, Tezzeret, the Master of Metal.
The announcement by BOOM! Studios states that Magic: The Hidden Planeswalker will be a four-issue series, written by Mairghread Scott (Transformers, Guardians of the Galaxy), with art by Fabiana Mascolo (Firefly: Brand New ‘Verse). Magic is the latest in a list of licensed properties that BOOM! Studios is featuring in its comic imprint, including Dune: House Atreides by Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, and Dev Pramanik; and Mighty Morphin and Power Rangers series from Ryan Parrott, Marco Renna, and Francesco Mortarino. The first issue of Magic: The Hidden Planeswalker features a main cover art by Karen S. Darboe (Noir is the New Black), variant covers by Awanqi (Good Asian), Yanick Paquette (Wonder Woman), and Junggeun Yoon (Spider-Woman), and even a set of stunning connecting variant covert art by Miguel Mercado (Mighty Morphin, Power Rangers), the first of which features Sorin Markov, who competes with Liliana for the spot of most popular (and most stylish) black mana Planeswalker.
Over the years, Liliana has conquered the hearts of Magic fans with her sardonic and insolent attitude, her penchant for remaining elegant even in the direst situations (for example, while raising an entire army of undead), and all the classic traits of an anti-heroine and femme fatale. The BOOM! Studios series Magic: The Hidden Planeswalker will explore the future of the character, showing what is in store for Liliana Vess now that she has finally found redemption...for how long, it remains to be seen.
Next: Yes, There’s a Magic: The Gathering Manga (And It’s A RomCom)
Source: BOOM! Studios