This volume collects six story segments from the monthly magazine Mystic. In earlier installments, Genevieve Villard had prepared herself to become a master of mystic arts, so it was a shock when her immature sister, Giselle, received superior magical power from an unexplained sigil. Past stories from Mystic
transposed elements from our society into a magical realm, and some of that playful extrapolation occurs here, too (the illegal drug of choice, for example, is pixie dust). Past installments of the story dealt with the sisters adjusting to their altered roles as Giselle reluctantly began using her abilities, not certain whether she wanted to be responsible for anything more than having fun. Early in this volume, she appears to have decided to become a full-time party girl. That behavior, however, turns out to be due to the subconscious, destructive influence of an old adversary, the Demon Queen Animora, who is ripped out of her soul when Giselle is kidnapped briefly into the realm of another CrossGen series, The First. This successful exorcism raises the question of what Giselle is to do with her free, unencumbered life now. She makes at least a tentative decision to master her powers. Enjoyable as the earlier stories were, watching Giselle refuse to leave her old role as an aimless airhead was getting a bit tiresome. Although there are still many detours on her new path, it's intriguing to watch her moving in a different direction as Bedard and his talented art team take on some weightier challenges. (July)
