Soulfire, released by Aspen Studios back in 2004, was one of a slew of titles to be published by the company and one of the last that creator Michael Turner would ever have a hand in before his untimely passing.  It was one of his pet projects he wanted to get off the ground and even though it took a few years to do so, we should be thankful he did as it turned out to be one of the best things he ever accomplished.

Taking place in the year 2211, Soulfire chronicles the exploits of a boy named Malakai and his fate as the harbinger of magic in this modern era.  To help him on his way, he is accompanied by his friends and a woman named Grace who just happens to be a member of a magical race called the Rahtumi.  Together they go on a journey to complete the stages of Malakai’s training to become the chosen one.

Written by Jeph Loeb, he does a great job at bringing the world of the future to life with great characterization and dialog.  All of the characters ring true to what they should be which is great and the situations are fun and exciting.  Over the years, Loeb’s writing has been hit or miss but on Soulfire he hits all the right targets.  There is one negative which he does when chronicling the book and that was his use of references to current pop culture and terminology.  As the book was written in 2004, using phrases in the current clime would not make sense in 2211 as they seem dated even today in 2013.  It is the only thing about the book which does not make sense, and seems grossly out of place.  A small thing to be sure, but Loeb should have realized this for by doing do he has dated the book instead of making it timeless.

The art in the book is nothing short of spectacular.  Michael Turner seems to have poured everything he had into every scene and it lifts the story up from being just your average quest-for-the-magical-object/objective to something far greater.  Turner did great work on a lot of books, some for DC and some for Top Cow.  He created Fathom and did fantastic work on that book but it is here on Soulfire that he truly excels at what he does.  He breaks through as never before making Grace more beautiful than any woman he had drawn previously and his creature design is impressive.  It is especially nice to see that he had gotten better at facial expressions as previously they seemed a little static and here they were more dynamic.

If one has not read this tome before, you owe it to yourself to check it out should you like either science fiction or magic.  This book should have been a foretelling of great things to come from its’ creator, and it was in a way, but for Michael Turner the journey ended too soon.  It is a wonderful thing to see his creations live on in his absence and that people have a fond recollection of the man.  Pick it up for a great story and some of the best art ever produced by Michael Turner.

4.5 out of 5