What do you think?
Rate this book
Madame Xanadu #1
Madame Xanadu, Volume 1: Disenchanted
Legendary creator Matt Wagner (Mage, Grendel, Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman: Trinity) and rising star artist Amy Reeder, present Vertigo's newest ongoing fantasy epic Madame Xanadu.
Centuries long and around the far reaches of the globe, her tale winds before the ageless fortuneteller, whose powers of sight can change the course of human events.
As the mysterious past of Madam Xanadu is slowly unraveled, Wagner takes us on a journey throughout her history, from a medieval kingdom beset by foul sorcery to the court of Kublai Khan. Eventually Madam Xanadu returns to Europe as mystic advisor to Marie Antoinette, and as political tensions begin to boil, the Phantom Stranger makes his return. This time he seeks to kick-start the revolution and ensures that Paris's streets run red - a blood sacrifice that will keep certain demonic forces at bay.
Readers will also be happy to discover that the fan-favorite character Death from THE SANDMAN makes a special appearances Madam Xanadu wagers her immortality in a game of chance against.
Collecting: Madame Xanadu 1-10
Centuries long and around the far reaches of the globe, her tale winds before the ageless fortuneteller, whose powers of sight can change the course of human events.
As the mysterious past of Madam Xanadu is slowly unraveled, Wagner takes us on a journey throughout her history, from a medieval kingdom beset by foul sorcery to the court of Kublai Khan. Eventually Madam Xanadu returns to Europe as mystic advisor to Marie Antoinette, and as political tensions begin to boil, the Phantom Stranger makes his return. This time he seeks to kick-start the revolution and ensures that Paris's streets run red - a blood sacrifice that will keep certain demonic forces at bay.
Readers will also be happy to discover that the fan-favorite character Death from THE SANDMAN makes a special appearances Madam Xanadu wagers her immortality in a game of chance against.
Collecting: Madame Xanadu 1-10
240 pages, Paperback
First published July 7, 2009
9 people are currently reading
1317 people want to read
About the author
Matt Wagner
958Ìýbooks230ÌýfollowersMatt Wagner is an American comic book writer and artist. In addition to his creator-owned series' Mage and Grendel, he has also worked on comics featuring The Demon and Batman as well as such titles as Sandman Mystery Theatre and Trinity, a DC Comics limited series featuring Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews
June 7, 2021
I dunno, maybe some guys shouldn't write female leads when the female in question is supposed to be heroic? I'm not sure what else to think. I've enjoyed Wagner previously, and the women in his books when either sympathetic supporting characters or antiheroic leads never stood out to me as being an issue. But man he has issues here! This so-called superhero Madame Xanadu spends all of her time doing nothing right, righting no wrongs, never getting the message across successfully or in time, seeing all the people in her charge executed, etc., and then railing at her misfortune. One poor lady under Madame Xanadu's watch still gets raped and exiled, but I guess this is a win because at least she's not dead? Anyway, ugh. Also an ugh for all of the cringey cameos from supernatural guest heroes.
Whoever thought to have Madame Xanadu be an ineffective bystander to various historical events was engaging in some sloppy planning, and whoever thought to include dumbed-down versions of Merlin and the French Revolution was engaging in some sloppy thinking. This is the kind of book in which its immortal, supposedly wise protagonist spends much of her time mooning after and then desiring inexplicable revenge against some boy because he refused to give it up. (In this case, a very Ed Cullen version of Phantom Stranger.) Rather than, you know, being super-heroic.
This would be a 1 star book except for the outstanding art by Amy Reeder Hadley, done in the traditional vein. Her imagery is richly detailed, shaded, and atmospheric, and at times so beautiful I just had to sit with it for a couple minutes. Enchanting art, disenchanting everything else.
Whoever thought to have Madame Xanadu be an ineffective bystander to various historical events was engaging in some sloppy planning, and whoever thought to include dumbed-down versions of Merlin and the French Revolution was engaging in some sloppy thinking. This is the kind of book in which its immortal, supposedly wise protagonist spends much of her time mooning after and then desiring inexplicable revenge against some boy because he refused to give it up. (In this case, a very Ed Cullen version of Phantom Stranger.) Rather than, you know, being super-heroic.
This would be a 1 star book except for the outstanding art by Amy Reeder Hadley, done in the traditional vein. Her imagery is richly detailed, shaded, and atmospheric, and at times so beautiful I just had to sit with it for a couple minutes. Enchanting art, disenchanting everything else.
March 2, 2021
Well, that was far more impressive than I thought it would be. I bought this at my local comic store on a lark. I am glad I did. I had known of Matt Wagner from his Grendel series and I liked his work. That quality in terms of story and of the writing behind it is still manifest in this wonderful volume. I also really enjoyed Amy Reeder Hadley as the artist. It was truly art worthy of the prose and that makes for a fine addition to my Comic collection.
Matt Wagner's writing and the prose of the dialogue often reads like a novel. It is quality work and a pleasure to read. The beautiful art complements this fascinating story. It is the story of Nimue, whom we know as Madame Xanadu. This wonderful biography of Nimue's life spans the long arc of history, stretching from the start in Arthurian England all the way to the 1940s. Along the way, she keeps the company of truly amazing personages from Merlin and Kublai Khan to Marie Antoinette and Detective Abberline of Whitechapel. She goes through many trials, always keeping to her skills as a foremost seer and mystic. Wagner weaves her journey through history, whispering visions in the ears of the mighty, masterfully. I enjoyed the way Nimue plays her role through the various periods of history and major events both real and of import in the DC universe.
But, the "meta" plot behind this history, the crux of the story, is the seemingly eternal conflict between Nimue and the Phantom Stranger. Wagner handles this piece of powerful magic quite well and the writing of the lore is top-notch. The Stranger's enigmatic appearances and his loyalty are always a pleasure to read. While some may view Nimue's eventual reaction to be misguided, and I do believe it was, I can see why the Stranger's ambiguity could have pushed her to her actions. The way in which these major DC events, happening in the background, are dealt with was excellent. They are part of the story without ever overwhelming the real story- Stranger versus Xanadu and the outcomes of their conflict. All of it beautifully illustrated.
If there must be a definitive history of Madame Xanadu, then let this version be it. From great writing to beautiful artwork, it has it all in abundance. It finds like these that always make me wander the comic book stores looking for interesting additions to my personal collection. Matt Wagner and Amy Hadley have crafted a fine comic. Highly recommended even if you don't care about the DC magic universe. Even more, recommended if you do.
Matt Wagner's writing and the prose of the dialogue often reads like a novel. It is quality work and a pleasure to read. The beautiful art complements this fascinating story. It is the story of Nimue, whom we know as Madame Xanadu. This wonderful biography of Nimue's life spans the long arc of history, stretching from the start in Arthurian England all the way to the 1940s. Along the way, she keeps the company of truly amazing personages from Merlin and Kublai Khan to Marie Antoinette and Detective Abberline of Whitechapel. She goes through many trials, always keeping to her skills as a foremost seer and mystic. Wagner weaves her journey through history, whispering visions in the ears of the mighty, masterfully. I enjoyed the way Nimue plays her role through the various periods of history and major events both real and of import in the DC universe.
But, the "meta" plot behind this history, the crux of the story, is the seemingly eternal conflict between Nimue and the Phantom Stranger. Wagner handles this piece of powerful magic quite well and the writing of the lore is top-notch. The Stranger's enigmatic appearances and his loyalty are always a pleasure to read. While some may view Nimue's eventual reaction to be misguided, and I do believe it was, I can see why the Stranger's ambiguity could have pushed her to her actions. The way in which these major DC events, happening in the background, are dealt with was excellent. They are part of the story without ever overwhelming the real story- Stranger versus Xanadu and the outcomes of their conflict. All of it beautifully illustrated.
If there must be a definitive history of Madame Xanadu, then let this version be it. From great writing to beautiful artwork, it has it all in abundance. It finds like these that always make me wander the comic book stores looking for interesting additions to my personal collection. Matt Wagner and Amy Hadley have crafted a fine comic. Highly recommended even if you don't care about the DC magic universe. Even more, recommended if you do.
March 25, 2016
A refreshing change from the typical DC Comics superheroes' tales.
Meet Madame Xanadu. An Elder Folk who loses her powers to Merlin and tries to change historical catastrophes throughout History yet keeps getting shafted.
She uses subtle magic and force of personality to get the job done.
This is graded on a curve since this comic took a risky gamble.
OVERALL GRADE: B plus to A minus.
Meet Madame Xanadu. An Elder Folk who loses her powers to Merlin and tries to change historical catastrophes throughout History yet keeps getting shafted.
She uses subtle magic and force of personality to get the job done.
This is graded on a curve since this comic took a risky gamble.
OVERALL GRADE: B plus to A minus.
August 16, 2020
A beautifully drawn comic book dumbed down by a boring and unimaginative plot, ludicrous writing and superficial characters.
April 9, 2013
Madame Xanadu is a bit of a niche character, and I doubt I would have heard much of her if she hadn't been included in the new . I was surprised to discover that she's been knocking around the DCU for more than 30 years. But none of that background is required for this, the first trade in her own (now canceled) series, because this is her centuries-spanning origin story.
Originally known as Nimue, Xanadu started as a fairly powerful wood nymph-like creature, until she finds herself caught up in the fall of Camelot. This starts her long wandering through history, which will take her from the court of Kublai Khan to Jack the Ripper's Whitechapel. And her path continually crosses that of the Phantom Stranger.
Xanadu and the Phantom Stranger are set up as foils of each other, but it comes across strangely. The Phantom Stranger keeps telling her that neither of them should interfere in soon-to-be-bloody events, while constantly interfering to make sure they get bloodier. She, for her part, keeps trying to convince him that they should interfere, while not really doing much of anything on her own. (The one time she gets truly proactive doesn't go well, so maybe it's just as well.)
Unfortunately, the character of Xanadu fell a little flat for me. For somebody whose life story spans centuries, she matures remarkably little. The Madame Xanadu at the end is little different from the Nimue we meet at the beginning, and I would expect to see more growth (and, indeed, foresight) from an ageless seer.
Oh, but the art! Amy Reeder's art is lovely, intricate and detailed, and hands down the best thing about this comic. If for no other reason, fans of fantasy comics should pick up Madame Xanadu just to enjoy Reeder's art.
Originally known as Nimue, Xanadu started as a fairly powerful wood nymph-like creature, until she finds herself caught up in the fall of Camelot. This starts her long wandering through history, which will take her from the court of Kublai Khan to Jack the Ripper's Whitechapel. And her path continually crosses that of the Phantom Stranger.
Xanadu and the Phantom Stranger are set up as foils of each other, but it comes across strangely. The Phantom Stranger keeps telling her that neither of them should interfere in soon-to-be-bloody events, while constantly interfering to make sure they get bloodier. She, for her part, keeps trying to convince him that they should interfere, while not really doing much of anything on her own. (The one time she gets truly proactive doesn't go well, so maybe it's just as well.)
Unfortunately, the character of Xanadu fell a little flat for me. For somebody whose life story spans centuries, she matures remarkably little. The Madame Xanadu at the end is little different from the Nimue we meet at the beginning, and I would expect to see more growth (and, indeed, foresight) from an ageless seer.
Oh, but the art! Amy Reeder's art is lovely, intricate and detailed, and hands down the best thing about this comic. If for no other reason, fans of fantasy comics should pick up Madame Xanadu just to enjoy Reeder's art.
March 6, 2011
Nimue tries in vain to prevent her sister from using Mordred to destroy Camelot. Then she tries in vain to help her friend in Kublai Khan's court (though she succeeds in making Marco Polo look like a hero). Then she tries in vain to help her friend Marie Antoinette. And then, she tries in vain to help her friends the whores stay safe from Jack the Ripper. Nimue, aka Madame Xanadu, just happens to be bff with every easily-recognizable historical figure ever. She is unfailingly morally perfect. She is an incredibly annoying character.
The dialog is stilted and artificial, the plots ludicrous and over-used. The only thing this book has going for it is its art, which is very pretty.
The dialog is stilted and artificial, the plots ludicrous and over-used. The only thing this book has going for it is its art, which is very pretty.
July 16, 2022
Matt Wagner has written some of my favorite Slightly Under The Radar DC classics: and being the first that come to mind.
Here, he takes DC C-lister, Madame Xanadu, and follows her history from the time of Camelot to mid-20th century DC superhero times. While the main DC character who serves as her foil in this volume is The Phantom Stranger, we do also get a hint of one of Sandman's Endless, and a full on appearance of another.
This is a fun fantasy series. It breaks no new ground in storytelling, as Camelot, the French Revolution, the court of Kublai Khan, and Jack-The-Ripper era Europe have been repeatedly explored in DC comics. Mainly by and . But just because the settings and plots are familiar doesn't give this the air of being derivative. It's more the case of a character's story being shaped by the famous events around her rather than a series of stories about famous events through the eyes of a single protagonist.
If you love Sandman and Lucifer, and wish there were more books set in that world but weren't satisfied by the likes of House Of Mystery or The Dreaming, this may be the series for you. 's art in this volume is gorgeous, and was justifiably nominated for several Eisner Awards.
Here, he takes DC C-lister, Madame Xanadu, and follows her history from the time of Camelot to mid-20th century DC superhero times. While the main DC character who serves as her foil in this volume is The Phantom Stranger, we do also get a hint of one of Sandman's Endless, and a full on appearance of another.
This is a fun fantasy series. It breaks no new ground in storytelling, as Camelot, the French Revolution, the court of Kublai Khan, and Jack-The-Ripper era Europe have been repeatedly explored in DC comics. Mainly by and . But just because the settings and plots are familiar doesn't give this the air of being derivative. It's more the case of a character's story being shaped by the famous events around her rather than a series of stories about famous events through the eyes of a single protagonist.
If you love Sandman and Lucifer, and wish there were more books set in that world but weren't satisfied by the likes of House Of Mystery or The Dreaming, this may be the series for you. 's art in this volume is gorgeous, and was justifiably nominated for several Eisner Awards.
January 31, 2009
Madame Xanadu follows Nimue, a sorceress of the woods outside Camelot, as she outlives Arthur and watches human history develop. The chapters check in at various periods in our history, threaded together by the Phantom Stranger, a man not merely immortal, but so detached from time that he no longer even has emotion regarding the course of human events. We read and wonder if the fall of enough civilizations will do the same to her, or if her character can persist like her body.
Penciler Amy Hadley mixes traditional superhero comics physiology and manga for something that doesn't look like either and doesn't look exceptional. It could blend right in with everything else on a rack of an American comic books because its strength is subtlety. Her faces in particular have an astounding range of emotion, from serenity to surprise, to embarrassment to fury. Her best work actually mixes emotions for human expressions that very few contemporary sequential artists even attempt. Colorist Richard Friend is excellent support, particularly in lending color to the eyes and faint shadowing across faces.
Wagner's story gives Hadley a lot to work with, taking us from the pagan wilderness outside Camelot to Kublai Khan's China to Marie Antoinette's France. A long-lived Fantasy character living out the greatest hits of human culture is a little played out, but Nimue is a more sympathetic and complex character than normal, making her pitstops throughout history more pallatable.
Hardcore comics fans will recognize appearances by Etrigan and Neil Gaiman's Death, fitting Nimue both into earthly history and the cosmos of Vertigo Fantasy. Newcomers need not be intimidated, though, as only the Phantom Stranger plays a significant role, and Wagner makes his persona (as well as his role in the cosmos) immediately evident. All of the elements, from a narrator that knows some magic but is skeptical of other forms, to medieval monsters to modern sensibilities, come together in a world cohesive enough for a story that skips across centuries.
Penciler Amy Hadley mixes traditional superhero comics physiology and manga for something that doesn't look like either and doesn't look exceptional. It could blend right in with everything else on a rack of an American comic books because its strength is subtlety. Her faces in particular have an astounding range of emotion, from serenity to surprise, to embarrassment to fury. Her best work actually mixes emotions for human expressions that very few contemporary sequential artists even attempt. Colorist Richard Friend is excellent support, particularly in lending color to the eyes and faint shadowing across faces.
Wagner's story gives Hadley a lot to work with, taking us from the pagan wilderness outside Camelot to Kublai Khan's China to Marie Antoinette's France. A long-lived Fantasy character living out the greatest hits of human culture is a little played out, but Nimue is a more sympathetic and complex character than normal, making her pitstops throughout history more pallatable.
Hardcore comics fans will recognize appearances by Etrigan and Neil Gaiman's Death, fitting Nimue both into earthly history and the cosmos of Vertigo Fantasy. Newcomers need not be intimidated, though, as only the Phantom Stranger plays a significant role, and Wagner makes his persona (as well as his role in the cosmos) immediately evident. All of the elements, from a narrator that knows some magic but is skeptical of other forms, to medieval monsters to modern sensibilities, come together in a world cohesive enough for a story that skips across centuries.
January 18, 2015
The more I think about this book, the less I like it. It has gorgeous art, an interesting premise, and that can't put it down quality. It's problems only surface once you have put it down.
It 's billed as the story of an empowered woman. Madame Xanadu may be incredibly powerful, but in this story she is belittled not empowered. It is shown time and time again, that despite all of her powers and efforts she is helpless against destiny. That she is little more than a puppet, or an amusement, to the Phantom Stranger. The Phantom Stranger causes her to feel shame and guilt for actions that were not truly hers, all while further manipulating her actions.
Trigger Warning:
Multiple characters are raped in this story. While the others are mostly implied, the first rape is shown over several pages. The women who are raped are removed from the story immediately afterwards by banishment or death. Rape in this story is just something that happens. It attempts to shrug it off, and in one instance make you laugh at it. You can't have an empowering story about a woman, when a good portion of the book is disempowering to all women.
It isn't just the women who are raped who are disempowered by sex though. Madame Xanadu is usually shown as having a lover. In the few segments where she is single, she make some rather embarrassing and pathetic attempts to seduce the Phantom Stranger. In the end she is badly manipulated by almost all of her love interests.
So here is the story of an amazingly powerful woman. Who ends up in abusive relationships, because there's no way a woman could be happy by herself. Who can never change anything in a way that truly matters. It might be her story, but she has no control over the narrative. She has no power.
It 's billed as the story of an empowered woman. Madame Xanadu may be incredibly powerful, but in this story she is belittled not empowered. It is shown time and time again, that despite all of her powers and efforts she is helpless against destiny. That she is little more than a puppet, or an amusement, to the Phantom Stranger. The Phantom Stranger causes her to feel shame and guilt for actions that were not truly hers, all while further manipulating her actions.
Trigger Warning:
Multiple characters are raped in this story. While the others are mostly implied, the first rape is shown over several pages. The women who are raped are removed from the story immediately afterwards by banishment or death. Rape in this story is just something that happens. It attempts to shrug it off, and in one instance make you laugh at it. You can't have an empowering story about a woman, when a good portion of the book is disempowering to all women.
It isn't just the women who are raped who are disempowered by sex though. Madame Xanadu is usually shown as having a lover. In the few segments where she is single, she make some rather embarrassing and pathetic attempts to seduce the Phantom Stranger. In the end she is badly manipulated by almost all of her love interests.
So here is the story of an amazingly powerful woman. Who ends up in abusive relationships, because there's no way a woman could be happy by herself. Who can never change anything in a way that truly matters. It might be her story, but she has no control over the narrative. She has no power.
December 9, 2016
An interesting and layered origin for an obscure character.
World: The art is fine, it's strong and conveys strong emotions and the colors are muted and earthy a good choice for the book considering the origin of Madam Xanadu. The world building here is strong, meticulous and methodical. It's not fast it's not rushed it's a slow 10 issue build that at its core is based on character development and history. Strong stuff.
Story: A grand tale that spans eras and given the 10 issue arc it was strong. It's not perfect but it had a point and was focused on the talent was telling. Even at 10 issues I think that more time could have been spent at each era to build the character. If we are going slow and raking our time I think a little more would have made it even better. However what we get is a strong story which for some reason still feels a bit hollow in terms of emotions. The story is strong but could be better and it's a wonderful take on an obscure DC character and the creative team did a good job.
Characters: It is at once the best part and also the weakest part of the book. Having a lot of time to develop Nimue to Xanadu was good but I think even more time could have been given to developing the core of the character. With so much time taking place and the world building the emotions and drive of Xanadu is a bit thin. I wanted more depth. The relationship between her and the Phantom Stranger could also have more depth. It's good but I feel could have been better.
A very solid origin that drives this character forward a little more and we would have a classic.
Onward to the next book!
World: The art is fine, it's strong and conveys strong emotions and the colors are muted and earthy a good choice for the book considering the origin of Madam Xanadu. The world building here is strong, meticulous and methodical. It's not fast it's not rushed it's a slow 10 issue build that at its core is based on character development and history. Strong stuff.
Story: A grand tale that spans eras and given the 10 issue arc it was strong. It's not perfect but it had a point and was focused on the talent was telling. Even at 10 issues I think that more time could have been spent at each era to build the character. If we are going slow and raking our time I think a little more would have made it even better. However what we get is a strong story which for some reason still feels a bit hollow in terms of emotions. The story is strong but could be better and it's a wonderful take on an obscure DC character and the creative team did a good job.
Characters: It is at once the best part and also the weakest part of the book. Having a lot of time to develop Nimue to Xanadu was good but I think even more time could have been given to developing the core of the character. With so much time taking place and the world building the emotions and drive of Xanadu is a bit thin. I wanted more depth. The relationship between her and the Phantom Stranger could also have more depth. It's good but I feel could have been better.
A very solid origin that drives this character forward a little more and we would have a classic.
Onward to the next book!
July 7, 2012
The start of Madame Xanadu is a convoluted one, filled with the same premise we've seen in plenty of other stories of immortals. The first ten issues are collected here and have Madame at Camelot, the palace of the Khan, and in the midst of the French Revolution. Wagner seems like he's getting to know the character with each issue, which is a bad thing. There's far too much exposition and very little story. Instead of showing, Wagner tells us far too much. If I wasn't in love with the character, I may have given up after this volume.
As for the art, Amy Reeder is my art crush. Although I'm not the biggest fan of the way she renders Nimue's face, her art is terribly gorgeous. Slender lines, simple inks, a perfect balance of both positive and negative spaces. Her flourishes are eye candy and fortunately don't muddy the waters, but instead act as the perfect adornment. Just fabulous.
Writing: C-
Art: A
As for the art, Amy Reeder is my art crush. Although I'm not the biggest fan of the way she renders Nimue's face, her art is terribly gorgeous. Slender lines, simple inks, a perfect balance of both positive and negative spaces. Her flourishes are eye candy and fortunately don't muddy the waters, but instead act as the perfect adornment. Just fabulous.
Writing: C-
Art: A
December 24, 2009
Good Vertigo fantasy. The troubled love life of an ancient fortune telling enchantress. It's interesting to see how blinded the character becomes to her own moral weakness, that this Seer who can predict the fortunes of others cannot see her own predicament. Amy Reeder Hadley's artwork is gorgeous throughout, despite Matt Wagner's writing seeming lazy or rushed at times. The Camelot and Marco Polo chapters got me curious enough to look up specific details. I did have some problems with certain anachronisms and the Whitechapel chapter didn't really do it for me, as it seemed like a hollow echo of From Hell. Otherwise very enjoyable and I'm curious to see what the future holds for this series.
Read
May 11, 2015DNF after Chapter One. I'm just having a hard time convincing myself to read any more of this. It's just not grabbing me, despite the truly gorgeous artwork.
February 26, 2014
This review gets personal.
I knew Madam Xanadu intimately, back in the days when she first appeared. Now that she’s made the big time, I feel like a suitor discarded after a brief fling, peddling what I know to the tabloids.
I co-scripted, with Catherine Barrett Andrews, three Madam Xanadu stories for the original Doorway to Nightmare title back in 1978 and 1979.
The series was conceived after D.C.’s last romance title, Young Love was cancelled. Each story was to contain a mix of 75% horror and 25% romance. “Just like real life,� I quipped to Editor Jack C. Harris when I was first offered the assignment. Writers and interior artists would change issue to issue, or rotate until someone clicked with the readership.
Michael W. Kaluta devised the visuals for Madam Xanadu, and Joe Orlando, who edited the first two issues, contributed much as well. There may have been others involved.
Madam Xanadu is a beautiful Gypsy tarot reader who comes to the aid of young lovers threatened by a variety of monsters, mostly of the B-movie ilk. The sign on her shop invites the passer-by to “enter freely, unafraid,� though the shop is closed most of the time, and is, in fact, only open to people who have a great deal to fear.
The required story structure for Doorway to Nightmare brought to mind another character associated with Michael W. Kaluta, namely the Shadow, who strode through the periphery of his own magazine, making brief but startling appearances. Likewise, Madam Xanadu would participate in the plot on an intermittent basis, but more often, the love interests (unique to each issue) would dominate the spotlight while she skulked about her shop, speaking cryptically in fortune-cookie style aphorisms. She dispensed advice that she, being a fortune teller, should have had the foresight to know would be generally ignored, because young people in love usually only heed the counsel of their hearts, or whatever other organs they might be thinking with at the time. Additionally, heeding Madam Xanadu’s advice would derail the coming plot complications.
Nothing was known about Madam Xanadu’s past. This was by design, and part of the guidance given to series writers. Madam Xanadu belonged to the category of characters that shouldn’t have origin stories. The Shadow himself is prime example. Although Walter Gibson eventually told the Shadow’s origin, the character survived the telling much in the same way Sherlock Holmes survived his famous fall from the cliff. And Walter Gibson’s origin for the Shadow was greatly superior to the alternate origin that all but ruined the visually stunning Shadow movie. It brings to mind the statement that Christopher Nolan made when he explained that his Joker in Dark Knight would not have an origin, just as Jaws did not have an “origin.� (No doubt Nolan also wanted to avoid the sins of the film Batman, which proffered ridiculous notion that the Joker had murdered Bruce Wayne’s parents—fundamentally botching two origin stories in one fell swoop.)
Though created without origin, Madam Xanadu arrived with a long list of required elements and series conventions given that seemed to invest her with a corporate genealogy, a child begotten by a committee. She was known to be a collector, driven by a compulsion well understood by comic book readers. Mostly what she collected was damned souls, which she kept imprisoned in mason jars. Talismanic images shimmered through the mists within these jars: the blood red tear of a vampire, the six fingered mummified hand of a Chinese princess, the intertwined pentagrams of werewolf lovers, and the profane brand of the Ouroborus, twisted into the symbol for infinity, and used to burn out the eyes of a saintly physician who replaced them with zombie eyes. Only Madam Xanadu and I know about the latter jar, and maybe my co-author if she remembers, for it is from a story sold to D.C. but never published. There are other mysterious items within the shop in Greenwich Village, tokens and trophies of countless stories. No doubt within the backrooms and basements, there is a wondrous stash of comic books and pulp magazines.
She seemed cursed and doomed from the start. Her preposterous name seemed more suited to an aging stripper than a woman of mystery. Perhaps her name was selected because the letter X has been known to enhance comic sales. At least it wasn’t as hopelessly awful as Mr. E., a similar D.C. character from that period. Doorway to Nightmare quickly began to falter, and was swept up in the series of massive cancellations now generally known as the D.C. Implosion.
After issue #5, Madam Xanadu was exiled to the back of Tales of the Unexpected, and only every other issue, at that.
Madam Xanadu briefly enjoyed the spotlight again, when she premiered in one of the earliest direct sale titles under a masthead bearing her own name. But again, her resurgent career was cut short. There wasn’t a second issue, for the legendary creative team of Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers absconded with her and fled to a rival publisher, where they changed her name to Scorpio Rose.
So I was surprised and delighted to see Madam Xanadu featured in a premium quality trade paperback from D.C.’s Vertigo line under the sure authorial hand of Matt Wagner, with interior art by no less a talent than Michael W. Kaluta himself.
If anything remains classic about the early issues of Doorway to Nightmare, it is the Kaluta covers, each one a masterpiece of illustration. The first time we see Madam Xanadu’s lovely face, it is framed by lustrous black hair with bangs that curl upward like horns over her forehead. Her silver chandelier earrings seem too ancient and valuable for anything but a display case, and yet they suit her as if she were the original owner, heirlooms handed down over centuries to herself. Her blue eyed gaze regards with reader with confidence and warning as she leans back against a cushioned chair carved with intricate gargoyles, flashing the Tarot card of Death. Another cover shows her cradling a horned crystal jar like a baby in her lap. Smoldering candles and jars full of damned souls surround her. For all of her sensuality, she is alone, dangerous and unapproachable.
A Madam Xanadu story with interior Kaluta art was a kind of dream fantasy for me. Here was all the meticulous craftsmanship, the moody line work suggestive of classically trained pulp magazine illustrators.
The story, titled Exodus Noir, told of doomed love. It was a familiar theme for the character, but this time it was Madam Xanadu herself who was a youthful-- though not young-- lover threatened by a monster, in this instance, the Spanish Inquisition.
In New York City, 1940, a woman seeks out the services of Madam Xanadu because none of the detectives she hired had been willing to effectively deal with the supernatural aspects of her problem-- as if occult cases constituted a disreputable end of the Private Investigator business, lower than divorce work. Madam Xanadu finds clues that point toward a family curse dating back to the Spain in the 1400’s. Over the course of her investigation, she recalls a gay affair she had with a woman in that place, at that time. Madam Xanadu’s female lover winds up on the auto da fe, the victim of an Inquisitor who persecutes Jews, though he had, himself, been descended from Jews.
The curse began with a different sort of hidden Jewish identity. There were three men who had outwardly converted to Christianity, but continued to worship as Jews in secret. As part of their disguise, they betrayed others to the Inquisition. They made the unfortunate mistake of betraying someone who had a vengeful wizard for an uncle.
There is a startling scene in which Madam Xanadu steals into a private room where pornography and sex toys are on open display, but sacred items associated with Jewish observance are concealed in a hidden compartment. The gentleman in question is a closet Jew.
Matt Wagner draws implicit connections between the Spanish Inquisition and the modern persecution of same sex couples, suggesting that the drive to persecute often stems from self hatred of the persecutor’s own repressed or hidden traits.
Though I read Exodus Noir first, it turned out to be the second trade paperback in the series.
I immediately sought out the first volume, titled Disenchanted, also written by Matt Wagner, but this one featured art by Amy Reeder Hadley and Richard Friend. The art, nominated for an Eisner Award, was superb, looking something like a cross between Manga and tapestries. In my estimation, it wasn’t on the same stratospheric level as the Kaluta art, but then, it didn’t have the advantage of gestating as a wish for 30 some odd years.
I plunged into Disenchanted, and found to my immediate dismay that it was an origin story. Wagner was violating the taboo about speculating on Madam Xanadu’s past that had been drummed into me 33 years before.
To make matters worse, a quick thumb through the pages revealed that Madam Xanadu was tripping over various minor D.C. characters who, I guess, had been dusted off and given guest spots to keep the trademarks from lapsing into public domain-- like Madam Xanadu herself.
But once I got over my initial reaction, I found the story in Disenchanted to be even better than the one in Exodus Noir. What emerges is a compelling character study of the woman who graced the original Doorway to Nightmare covers. It is all here, the sensuality, the timelessness, the restrained impulsiveness, the magic and the melancholy. There is even a mildly palatable explanation for that ridiculous name, though I would have imagined she acquired her trademark sharing opium dreams with Samuel Taylor Coleridge rather than actually consorting with Kubla Khan himself.
The story involves a series of encounters between Madam Xanadu and the Phantom Stranger.� Their complex relationship starts with fascination and yearning on the part of the immortal woman who would later become Madam Xanadu. We find her as the nymph Nimue, the enchantress of Merlin. She is beset with a loneliness born out of longing not simply for the company of others, but for the company of her own kind. She fixates on the Phantom Stranger, even though he had been known to wear a fedora with a sports jacket and a business tie, while decked in gold chains and an opera cape; the most fashion challenged of all the immortals. Her unrequited longing, frustrated over various encounters, evolves into hatred, but eventually, she settles into an acceptance of their mutual places within the cosmic order. It is a common story, part of the ordinary life cycle of failed romances, but here it is given mythic weight by spreading it over centuries. Their exchanges touch upon grand philosophical problems. They each see the future, but from different perspectives. Madam Xanadu uses emotional rhetoric; couched in moral terminology, but essentially anchored to the values of whatever civilization she has allied herself in the present. The Phantom Stranger does not argue, he states his propositions as if they were objective, eternal truths. She represents energy, youth, and idealism. He, the cruel nature of the way things are. At times it seems as if he functions to keep the course of human development free of occult interference, and at other times it seems as if he functions according to compulsions that have no meaning, but must be followed simply because they are part of the immutable laws of the natural order. She debates, rages, seeks revenge, but eventually comes to cosmic terms with the Phantom Stranger—all this against a backdrop of interwoven historical and mythical monumental events, such as the fall of ancient Camelot, the meeting of Kubla Khan and Marco Polo by the glow of a Green Lantern, the French Revolution, the bloody reign of Jack the Ripper, and the origin of the ghostly superhero known as the Specter.
The final sequence finds Madam Xanadu in yet another doomed love affair, this time with Zatara the Magician, a Mandrake knock-off who casts spells by talking backwards (yet another minor D.C. trademarked character). Their romance is doomed because the Tarot reveals that Zatara will find true love, though not with Madam Xanadu, and their respective best destinies do not include one another. Zatara is destined to fall in love with someone else and bear a child. Madam Xanadu is destined to open a fortune teller’s shop in New York City.
If Madam Xanadu had read my cards back in the days we knew each other, she would have seen a familiar story, the coming test of whether fledgling artistic ambition can outlive the learning curve it takes to achieve its object, whether enthusiasm can survive the battles that arise from placing dreams into commerce. She would have seen the way I strived for a niche in the comic book industry, and ended up� well, disenchanted. The icon of Madam Xanadu brought me face to face with my younger self, and brought back in a rush all the hopes and dreams, all the wild aspirations I poured into three issues of Doorway to Nightmare. After I read Disenchanted, the exchange that followed between my past and present selves was not unlike the exchanges Madam Xanadu had with the Phantom Stranger over the course of centuries. That is what great art does; it takes grand ideas and personalizes them for an individual. But in this instance, it was really personal.
Originally published Rain Taxi review of Books
I knew Madam Xanadu intimately, back in the days when she first appeared. Now that she’s made the big time, I feel like a suitor discarded after a brief fling, peddling what I know to the tabloids.
I co-scripted, with Catherine Barrett Andrews, three Madam Xanadu stories for the original Doorway to Nightmare title back in 1978 and 1979.
The series was conceived after D.C.’s last romance title, Young Love was cancelled. Each story was to contain a mix of 75% horror and 25% romance. “Just like real life,� I quipped to Editor Jack C. Harris when I was first offered the assignment. Writers and interior artists would change issue to issue, or rotate until someone clicked with the readership.
Michael W. Kaluta devised the visuals for Madam Xanadu, and Joe Orlando, who edited the first two issues, contributed much as well. There may have been others involved.
Madam Xanadu is a beautiful Gypsy tarot reader who comes to the aid of young lovers threatened by a variety of monsters, mostly of the B-movie ilk. The sign on her shop invites the passer-by to “enter freely, unafraid,� though the shop is closed most of the time, and is, in fact, only open to people who have a great deal to fear.
The required story structure for Doorway to Nightmare brought to mind another character associated with Michael W. Kaluta, namely the Shadow, who strode through the periphery of his own magazine, making brief but startling appearances. Likewise, Madam Xanadu would participate in the plot on an intermittent basis, but more often, the love interests (unique to each issue) would dominate the spotlight while she skulked about her shop, speaking cryptically in fortune-cookie style aphorisms. She dispensed advice that she, being a fortune teller, should have had the foresight to know would be generally ignored, because young people in love usually only heed the counsel of their hearts, or whatever other organs they might be thinking with at the time. Additionally, heeding Madam Xanadu’s advice would derail the coming plot complications.
Nothing was known about Madam Xanadu’s past. This was by design, and part of the guidance given to series writers. Madam Xanadu belonged to the category of characters that shouldn’t have origin stories. The Shadow himself is prime example. Although Walter Gibson eventually told the Shadow’s origin, the character survived the telling much in the same way Sherlock Holmes survived his famous fall from the cliff. And Walter Gibson’s origin for the Shadow was greatly superior to the alternate origin that all but ruined the visually stunning Shadow movie. It brings to mind the statement that Christopher Nolan made when he explained that his Joker in Dark Knight would not have an origin, just as Jaws did not have an “origin.� (No doubt Nolan also wanted to avoid the sins of the film Batman, which proffered ridiculous notion that the Joker had murdered Bruce Wayne’s parents—fundamentally botching two origin stories in one fell swoop.)
Though created without origin, Madam Xanadu arrived with a long list of required elements and series conventions given that seemed to invest her with a corporate genealogy, a child begotten by a committee. She was known to be a collector, driven by a compulsion well understood by comic book readers. Mostly what she collected was damned souls, which she kept imprisoned in mason jars. Talismanic images shimmered through the mists within these jars: the blood red tear of a vampire, the six fingered mummified hand of a Chinese princess, the intertwined pentagrams of werewolf lovers, and the profane brand of the Ouroborus, twisted into the symbol for infinity, and used to burn out the eyes of a saintly physician who replaced them with zombie eyes. Only Madam Xanadu and I know about the latter jar, and maybe my co-author if she remembers, for it is from a story sold to D.C. but never published. There are other mysterious items within the shop in Greenwich Village, tokens and trophies of countless stories. No doubt within the backrooms and basements, there is a wondrous stash of comic books and pulp magazines.
She seemed cursed and doomed from the start. Her preposterous name seemed more suited to an aging stripper than a woman of mystery. Perhaps her name was selected because the letter X has been known to enhance comic sales. At least it wasn’t as hopelessly awful as Mr. E., a similar D.C. character from that period. Doorway to Nightmare quickly began to falter, and was swept up in the series of massive cancellations now generally known as the D.C. Implosion.
After issue #5, Madam Xanadu was exiled to the back of Tales of the Unexpected, and only every other issue, at that.
Madam Xanadu briefly enjoyed the spotlight again, when she premiered in one of the earliest direct sale titles under a masthead bearing her own name. But again, her resurgent career was cut short. There wasn’t a second issue, for the legendary creative team of Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers absconded with her and fled to a rival publisher, where they changed her name to Scorpio Rose.
So I was surprised and delighted to see Madam Xanadu featured in a premium quality trade paperback from D.C.’s Vertigo line under the sure authorial hand of Matt Wagner, with interior art by no less a talent than Michael W. Kaluta himself.
If anything remains classic about the early issues of Doorway to Nightmare, it is the Kaluta covers, each one a masterpiece of illustration. The first time we see Madam Xanadu’s lovely face, it is framed by lustrous black hair with bangs that curl upward like horns over her forehead. Her silver chandelier earrings seem too ancient and valuable for anything but a display case, and yet they suit her as if she were the original owner, heirlooms handed down over centuries to herself. Her blue eyed gaze regards with reader with confidence and warning as she leans back against a cushioned chair carved with intricate gargoyles, flashing the Tarot card of Death. Another cover shows her cradling a horned crystal jar like a baby in her lap. Smoldering candles and jars full of damned souls surround her. For all of her sensuality, she is alone, dangerous and unapproachable.
A Madam Xanadu story with interior Kaluta art was a kind of dream fantasy for me. Here was all the meticulous craftsmanship, the moody line work suggestive of classically trained pulp magazine illustrators.
The story, titled Exodus Noir, told of doomed love. It was a familiar theme for the character, but this time it was Madam Xanadu herself who was a youthful-- though not young-- lover threatened by a monster, in this instance, the Spanish Inquisition.
In New York City, 1940, a woman seeks out the services of Madam Xanadu because none of the detectives she hired had been willing to effectively deal with the supernatural aspects of her problem-- as if occult cases constituted a disreputable end of the Private Investigator business, lower than divorce work. Madam Xanadu finds clues that point toward a family curse dating back to the Spain in the 1400’s. Over the course of her investigation, she recalls a gay affair she had with a woman in that place, at that time. Madam Xanadu’s female lover winds up on the auto da fe, the victim of an Inquisitor who persecutes Jews, though he had, himself, been descended from Jews.
The curse began with a different sort of hidden Jewish identity. There were three men who had outwardly converted to Christianity, but continued to worship as Jews in secret. As part of their disguise, they betrayed others to the Inquisition. They made the unfortunate mistake of betraying someone who had a vengeful wizard for an uncle.
There is a startling scene in which Madam Xanadu steals into a private room where pornography and sex toys are on open display, but sacred items associated with Jewish observance are concealed in a hidden compartment. The gentleman in question is a closet Jew.
Matt Wagner draws implicit connections between the Spanish Inquisition and the modern persecution of same sex couples, suggesting that the drive to persecute often stems from self hatred of the persecutor’s own repressed or hidden traits.
Though I read Exodus Noir first, it turned out to be the second trade paperback in the series.
I immediately sought out the first volume, titled Disenchanted, also written by Matt Wagner, but this one featured art by Amy Reeder Hadley and Richard Friend. The art, nominated for an Eisner Award, was superb, looking something like a cross between Manga and tapestries. In my estimation, it wasn’t on the same stratospheric level as the Kaluta art, but then, it didn’t have the advantage of gestating as a wish for 30 some odd years.
I plunged into Disenchanted, and found to my immediate dismay that it was an origin story. Wagner was violating the taboo about speculating on Madam Xanadu’s past that had been drummed into me 33 years before.
To make matters worse, a quick thumb through the pages revealed that Madam Xanadu was tripping over various minor D.C. characters who, I guess, had been dusted off and given guest spots to keep the trademarks from lapsing into public domain-- like Madam Xanadu herself.
But once I got over my initial reaction, I found the story in Disenchanted to be even better than the one in Exodus Noir. What emerges is a compelling character study of the woman who graced the original Doorway to Nightmare covers. It is all here, the sensuality, the timelessness, the restrained impulsiveness, the magic and the melancholy. There is even a mildly palatable explanation for that ridiculous name, though I would have imagined she acquired her trademark sharing opium dreams with Samuel Taylor Coleridge rather than actually consorting with Kubla Khan himself.
The story involves a series of encounters between Madam Xanadu and the Phantom Stranger.� Their complex relationship starts with fascination and yearning on the part of the immortal woman who would later become Madam Xanadu. We find her as the nymph Nimue, the enchantress of Merlin. She is beset with a loneliness born out of longing not simply for the company of others, but for the company of her own kind. She fixates on the Phantom Stranger, even though he had been known to wear a fedora with a sports jacket and a business tie, while decked in gold chains and an opera cape; the most fashion challenged of all the immortals. Her unrequited longing, frustrated over various encounters, evolves into hatred, but eventually, she settles into an acceptance of their mutual places within the cosmic order. It is a common story, part of the ordinary life cycle of failed romances, but here it is given mythic weight by spreading it over centuries. Their exchanges touch upon grand philosophical problems. They each see the future, but from different perspectives. Madam Xanadu uses emotional rhetoric; couched in moral terminology, but essentially anchored to the values of whatever civilization she has allied herself in the present. The Phantom Stranger does not argue, he states his propositions as if they were objective, eternal truths. She represents energy, youth, and idealism. He, the cruel nature of the way things are. At times it seems as if he functions to keep the course of human development free of occult interference, and at other times it seems as if he functions according to compulsions that have no meaning, but must be followed simply because they are part of the immutable laws of the natural order. She debates, rages, seeks revenge, but eventually comes to cosmic terms with the Phantom Stranger—all this against a backdrop of interwoven historical and mythical monumental events, such as the fall of ancient Camelot, the meeting of Kubla Khan and Marco Polo by the glow of a Green Lantern, the French Revolution, the bloody reign of Jack the Ripper, and the origin of the ghostly superhero known as the Specter.
The final sequence finds Madam Xanadu in yet another doomed love affair, this time with Zatara the Magician, a Mandrake knock-off who casts spells by talking backwards (yet another minor D.C. trademarked character). Their romance is doomed because the Tarot reveals that Zatara will find true love, though not with Madam Xanadu, and their respective best destinies do not include one another. Zatara is destined to fall in love with someone else and bear a child. Madam Xanadu is destined to open a fortune teller’s shop in New York City.
If Madam Xanadu had read my cards back in the days we knew each other, she would have seen a familiar story, the coming test of whether fledgling artistic ambition can outlive the learning curve it takes to achieve its object, whether enthusiasm can survive the battles that arise from placing dreams into commerce. She would have seen the way I strived for a niche in the comic book industry, and ended up� well, disenchanted. The icon of Madam Xanadu brought me face to face with my younger self, and brought back in a rush all the hopes and dreams, all the wild aspirations I poured into three issues of Doorway to Nightmare. After I read Disenchanted, the exchange that followed between my past and present selves was not unlike the exchanges Madam Xanadu had with the Phantom Stranger over the course of centuries. That is what great art does; it takes grand ideas and personalizes them for an individual. But in this instance, it was really personal.
Originally published Rain Taxi review of Books
February 5, 2022
From capsule reviews I posted in a now-defunct e-mail account that I pasted into an e-mail to a friend dated February 1, 2010. (I referred to the series as "vol. 2" because of the July 1981 one-shot.
I refer to Amy Reeder as "Reeder-Hadley" because it's how she was credited at the time.)
Madame Xanadu vol. 2 #1
I finally started reading this series after reading all of her appearance prior to becoming supporting cast for the Spectre. It's not only men who draw impossible costumes for women. Her shoes look like the most painful things ever invented--like the hind legs of a horse. This is for "mature readers" in a different sense--even the raciest and most violent material in this issue could pass the Comics Code by the early 1990s.
Madame Xanadu vol. 2 #2
Possibly the earliest chronological appearance of Etrigan the Demon, a character Jack Kirby created in the 1970s. I'd like to know what was so horrifying about what Nimue spread on her face. [This hardly even constitutes a review--that's what a lot of the earlier ones are like.]
Madame Xanadu vol. 2 #3
400 years later, Nimue resorts to harlotry to book passage to China, serving as a seer for Kublai Khan. Phantom Stranger addresses her as "Madam of Xanadu," but claims not to have ever met her, in spite of their encounters in the previous issues. The Phantom Stranger has never had his origin explained. Even the Secret Origins issue had four possibilities by four creative teams.
Madame Xanadu vol. 2 #4
Seer (Nimue) and Marco Polo rescue the Fourth Consort, but can't prevent her from being raped. After Kublai Khan exiles her, Nimue rethinks her lie about the Phantom Stranger and gets exiled herself for helping him to escape. She thinks she has fallen in love with him until he abandons her in the Gobi Desert. This is one of several fascinating pivots in Madame Xanadu's previously untold history.
At NY ComicCon 2008, someone asked Karen Berger about Matt Wagner's comment that the series was published as Vertigo for commercial reasons because nothing was rough enough to keep it from being a mainstream DC title. (Vertigo series have historically have had roughly equal appeal to men and women, whereas mainstream DC has mainly a male appeal). The rape isn't presented anywhere nearly as explicitly is it might in a typical Vertigo title, but it's still more explicit than Marvel got with the Norman Osborn-Gwen Stacy sex scene, which seemed a little too frank for a book that presumably kids will be reading.
Madame Xanadu vol. 2 #5
Now in the court of Marie Antoinette, "Madame de Xanadu" attempts to follow the Phantom Stranger's non-interventionist policies, which costs her her friendship with Marie Antoinette and gets her thrown in a prison cell with no food and no shoes when the Stranger appears and disappears to her right in front of the imprisoned ex-queen.
Madame Xanadu vol. 2 #6
Trying to track down this issue severely delayed my reading of this series--the appearance of Death made it sell out everywhere. I found both covers on sale at Comic Book Jones, the best comic shop on Staten Island that wasn't finished until I moved out of the area (so I get there only when I see my doctor). Amy Reeder-Hadley gives Madame Xanadu a youthful cuteness even in old age--something that she lacked in the old Doorway to Nightmare, in which she was beautiful, but certainly did not have such a girlish face. Xanadu's interpetation of her own cards amuses the light-hearted Death so much that she gives her a kiss that grants her immunity from death due to natural causes.
Madame Xanadu has to steal materials from her favorite apothecary to make herself young again, but she uses a harmless binding spell to stop him preventing her.The Phantom Stranger reveals that the French Revolution and Napoleon's reign are all necessary for the discovery of the Doctor Fate helmet, which really sets Xanadu off. And some fans think Vertigo has nothing to do with the DC Universe...
Madame Xanadu vol. 2 #7
Madame Xanadu is now a practicing psychic in the Whitehall district of London, where she does as much as she can to protect the prostitutes. Phantom Stranger's "apathy" is all the more appalling to her as Jack the Ripper begins to strike, to the point that she suspects him. He does however, create the anti-Semitic graffiti found near Eddowes's remains, not because he is an anti-Semite, but because he hears it on the street and thinks it is necessary to bring attention to growing anti-Semitism in London.
Madame Xanadu vol. 2 #8
This issue's cover made me think Madame Xanadu was pregnant. She isn't (I guess it's just her bustle), but a pregnancy is very important to this issue. The father, whom we don't see, is a character with whom longtime readers of supernatural DC comics will be familiar, as he was created by Jack Kirby. The dream sequence this issue is amazing, and Xanadu's red bows remind me of John R. Neill's poppies in Ozma's hair. Once the murder of Mary Kelly is complete, Phantom Stranger lets someone who may be the real ripper fall into a sewer full of rats. Even so, because he allowed her friend Mary to die, the issue ends with her creating an effigy of him.
Madame Xanadu vol. 2 #9
Wagner and Reeder-Hadley were being really sneaky. Tell people this comic is Vertigo instead of DC Universe for commercial reasons, then when you put recognizable DCU characters on the cover, include a nudity panel. Now in the 1940s, Xanadu's Phantom Stranger poppet emerges on its own, and she works out a spell to destroy him that is actually sowing another famous supernatural DC character. The contrast between Zatara and Corrigan's courtships is an interesting minor facet of the issue.
Of course, Death was on the cover of issue #6, but you'd be surprised at how many reviews of The Sandman say it's totally unrelated to the DC Universe, which isn't true.
Madame Xanadu vol. 2 #10
Given its setting and author, I was expecting Wesley Dodds to pop up in this issue, but that didn't happen. Madame Xanadu and the Phantom Stranger reconcile, but it seems she sees more than the reader does in making her decision. What she did before could not be undone, and by the end of the issue, she is at least situationally (if not temporally) where she was when _Doorway To Nightmare_ started, at her shop on Chrystie Street, and has also brought forth one of DC's most powerful characters, the Spectre. I recently bought the first two issues of _The Spectre_ vol. 2, the first time, publication-wise, that they were shown together.
I refer to Amy Reeder as "Reeder-Hadley" because it's how she was credited at the time.)
Madame Xanadu vol. 2 #1
I finally started reading this series after reading all of her appearance prior to becoming supporting cast for the Spectre. It's not only men who draw impossible costumes for women. Her shoes look like the most painful things ever invented--like the hind legs of a horse. This is for "mature readers" in a different sense--even the raciest and most violent material in this issue could pass the Comics Code by the early 1990s.
Madame Xanadu vol. 2 #2
Possibly the earliest chronological appearance of Etrigan the Demon, a character Jack Kirby created in the 1970s. I'd like to know what was so horrifying about what Nimue spread on her face. [This hardly even constitutes a review--that's what a lot of the earlier ones are like.]
Madame Xanadu vol. 2 #3
400 years later, Nimue resorts to harlotry to book passage to China, serving as a seer for Kublai Khan. Phantom Stranger addresses her as "Madam of Xanadu," but claims not to have ever met her, in spite of their encounters in the previous issues. The Phantom Stranger has never had his origin explained. Even the Secret Origins issue had four possibilities by four creative teams.
Madame Xanadu vol. 2 #4
Seer (Nimue) and Marco Polo rescue the Fourth Consort, but can't prevent her from being raped. After Kublai Khan exiles her, Nimue rethinks her lie about the Phantom Stranger and gets exiled herself for helping him to escape. She thinks she has fallen in love with him until he abandons her in the Gobi Desert. This is one of several fascinating pivots in Madame Xanadu's previously untold history.
At NY ComicCon 2008, someone asked Karen Berger about Matt Wagner's comment that the series was published as Vertigo for commercial reasons because nothing was rough enough to keep it from being a mainstream DC title. (Vertigo series have historically have had roughly equal appeal to men and women, whereas mainstream DC has mainly a male appeal). The rape isn't presented anywhere nearly as explicitly is it might in a typical Vertigo title, but it's still more explicit than Marvel got with the Norman Osborn-Gwen Stacy sex scene, which seemed a little too frank for a book that presumably kids will be reading.
Madame Xanadu vol. 2 #5
Now in the court of Marie Antoinette, "Madame de Xanadu" attempts to follow the Phantom Stranger's non-interventionist policies, which costs her her friendship with Marie Antoinette and gets her thrown in a prison cell with no food and no shoes when the Stranger appears and disappears to her right in front of the imprisoned ex-queen.
Madame Xanadu vol. 2 #6
Trying to track down this issue severely delayed my reading of this series--the appearance of Death made it sell out everywhere. I found both covers on sale at Comic Book Jones, the best comic shop on Staten Island that wasn't finished until I moved out of the area (so I get there only when I see my doctor). Amy Reeder-Hadley gives Madame Xanadu a youthful cuteness even in old age--something that she lacked in the old Doorway to Nightmare, in which she was beautiful, but certainly did not have such a girlish face. Xanadu's interpetation of her own cards amuses the light-hearted Death so much that she gives her a kiss that grants her immunity from death due to natural causes.
Madame Xanadu has to steal materials from her favorite apothecary to make herself young again, but she uses a harmless binding spell to stop him preventing her.The Phantom Stranger reveals that the French Revolution and Napoleon's reign are all necessary for the discovery of the Doctor Fate helmet, which really sets Xanadu off. And some fans think Vertigo has nothing to do with the DC Universe...
Madame Xanadu vol. 2 #7
Madame Xanadu is now a practicing psychic in the Whitehall district of London, where she does as much as she can to protect the prostitutes. Phantom Stranger's "apathy" is all the more appalling to her as Jack the Ripper begins to strike, to the point that she suspects him. He does however, create the anti-Semitic graffiti found near Eddowes's remains, not because he is an anti-Semite, but because he hears it on the street and thinks it is necessary to bring attention to growing anti-Semitism in London.
Madame Xanadu vol. 2 #8
This issue's cover made me think Madame Xanadu was pregnant. She isn't (I guess it's just her bustle), but a pregnancy is very important to this issue. The father, whom we don't see, is a character with whom longtime readers of supernatural DC comics will be familiar, as he was created by Jack Kirby. The dream sequence this issue is amazing, and Xanadu's red bows remind me of John R. Neill's poppies in Ozma's hair. Once the murder of Mary Kelly is complete, Phantom Stranger lets someone who may be the real ripper fall into a sewer full of rats. Even so, because he allowed her friend Mary to die, the issue ends with her creating an effigy of him.
Madame Xanadu vol. 2 #9
Wagner and Reeder-Hadley were being really sneaky. Tell people this comic is Vertigo instead of DC Universe for commercial reasons, then when you put recognizable DCU characters on the cover, include a nudity panel. Now in the 1940s, Xanadu's Phantom Stranger poppet emerges on its own, and she works out a spell to destroy him that is actually sowing another famous supernatural DC character. The contrast between Zatara and Corrigan's courtships is an interesting minor facet of the issue.
Of course, Death was on the cover of issue #6, but you'd be surprised at how many reviews of The Sandman say it's totally unrelated to the DC Universe, which isn't true.
Madame Xanadu vol. 2 #10
Given its setting and author, I was expecting Wesley Dodds to pop up in this issue, but that didn't happen. Madame Xanadu and the Phantom Stranger reconcile, but it seems she sees more than the reader does in making her decision. What she did before could not be undone, and by the end of the issue, she is at least situationally (if not temporally) where she was when _Doorway To Nightmare_ started, at her shop on Chrystie Street, and has also brought forth one of DC's most powerful characters, the Spectre. I recently bought the first two issues of _The Spectre_ vol. 2, the first time, publication-wise, that they were shown together.
Read
December 4, 2019Madame Xanadu is one of DC’s more mysterious supernatural characters. I’ve seen her around, but not nearly as much as, say, The Spectre or Phantom Stranger (the latter plays a large role in this book). I barely knew anything about her before picking up her solo series, which marks the first time we see her origin. First impressions: Amy Reeder's art. The cover accurately promises what’s inside, i.e. elegant and expressive drawings that burst with color. I adore it. The five chapters (two issues each) take place in different eras, and seeing Hadley depict the locales with luscious detail is a treat. As for the story, it’s basically Madame Xanadu at the center of various historical happenings: the fall of Camelot, Marco Polo visiting Kublai Khan, the French Revolution, Whitechapel murders, and coming of heroes in 1930’s America. What it’s really about, thought, is her trying to get information from the Phantom Stranger, who shows up at these events and warns her not to intervene. The first four chapters follow this formula and become predictable. I don’t mind the characters, per se, but there’s not much growth from Madame Xanadu. I was a little frustrated by this. Maybe she'll be developed more in future volumes as she comes into contact with DC regulars.
June 18, 2021
The art was good but it's basically the story of a woman whose obsessed with a Man whose too mysterious
August 19, 2018
Astonishing artwork. Incredible writing. Mystical. Moving. Transporting.
June 5, 2010
From the review blog.
Madame Xanadu is a character with a long history in the DC Universe who has been given a fresh start with this new series from the Vertigo imprint (home of Sandman and Fables). This first volume takes you on a wild journey throughout history, from her origin in Camelot when she was Nimue, sister of Morgan le Fay, to the palace of Kublai Khan from whence she took her name--Xanadu, to the French Revolution, the streets of Whitechapel during the terror of Jack the Ripper, and finally New York City on the eve of World War II as she bears witness to the rise of a new form of powerful beings--the superhero.
On each leg of her journey, Madame Xanadu is faced with dilemma after dilemma, forced to weigh the consequences of her actions. Whether to meddle in the affairs of state at Xanadu or the court of Louis XVI, despite the lessons she learned at the fall of Camelot, whether to save her friend Marie Antoinette or save herself, whether to protect the women of Whitechapel or to heed the cryptic warnings of the Phantom Stranger, who tells her there is a higher purpose at work-- each choice she makes has a dramatic effect on both her own life and the course of human history.
Wagner's writing is captivating and Hadley's art is breathtaking. Every moment of Madame Xanadu's life, from her final showdown with Merlin to her bargain with Death Herself, comes alive and urges you onwards.
There are not enough good things to say about this series. If you have never picked up a graphic novel in your life, this is the one to start with. If you have, you'll love this one (especially if you're familiar with the DC Universe, you'll relish the new, unique encounters with such characters as Giovanni Zatara and the Spectre). Go read it now.
You can read a PDF of of this volume on the Vertigo comics website.
Madame Xanadu is a character with a long history in the DC Universe who has been given a fresh start with this new series from the Vertigo imprint (home of Sandman and Fables). This first volume takes you on a wild journey throughout history, from her origin in Camelot when she was Nimue, sister of Morgan le Fay, to the palace of Kublai Khan from whence she took her name--Xanadu, to the French Revolution, the streets of Whitechapel during the terror of Jack the Ripper, and finally New York City on the eve of World War II as she bears witness to the rise of a new form of powerful beings--the superhero.
On each leg of her journey, Madame Xanadu is faced with dilemma after dilemma, forced to weigh the consequences of her actions. Whether to meddle in the affairs of state at Xanadu or the court of Louis XVI, despite the lessons she learned at the fall of Camelot, whether to save her friend Marie Antoinette or save herself, whether to protect the women of Whitechapel or to heed the cryptic warnings of the Phantom Stranger, who tells her there is a higher purpose at work-- each choice she makes has a dramatic effect on both her own life and the course of human history.
Wagner's writing is captivating and Hadley's art is breathtaking. Every moment of Madame Xanadu's life, from her final showdown with Merlin to her bargain with Death Herself, comes alive and urges you onwards.
There are not enough good things to say about this series. If you have never picked up a graphic novel in your life, this is the one to start with. If you have, you'll love this one (especially if you're familiar with the DC Universe, you'll relish the new, unique encounters with such characters as Giovanni Zatara and the Spectre). Go read it now.
You can read a PDF of of this volume on the Vertigo comics website.
June 7, 2012
I had high hopes with the description of this series; however, I found that by the end of volume 1 I intensely disliked the protagonist.
Nimue/Xanadu supposedly wants to save those around her, but in doing so, she would doom humanity as a whole. I can understand some sense of hubris from a supposed immortal, but for one who can see/read the future and do magic, her inability to understand the "big picture" that the Phantom Stranger represents seems contrived, especially by the time of the New York episode. And Nimue/Xanadu's need to "do penance" seems a bit much, although I suppose it was a way for the writers to make her appear as human as the reader.
Nimue/Xanadu supposedly wants to save those around her, but in doing so, she would doom humanity as a whole. I can understand some sense of hubris from a supposed immortal, but for one who can see/read the future and do magic, her inability to understand the "big picture" that the Phantom Stranger represents seems contrived, especially by the time of the New York episode. And Nimue/Xanadu's need to "do penance" seems a bit much, although I suppose it was a way for the writers to make her appear as human as the reader.
February 14, 2010
I wanted to like this. I really did. I just couldn't. There was no overall arc to the book. It was just a collection of five team-ups, really. Those were okay, but Vertigo is known for having a cohesive story throughout their series. The lead characters are on a journey that has a beginning, middle and end. This was just a series of snippets in Madame Xanadu's life.
I'll try volume 2, but if that doesn't do anything for me, I think I'm done with this series.
I'll try volume 2, but if that doesn't do anything for me, I think I'm done with this series.
January 16, 2017
Honestly the first half to three quarters was a five star with the last bits being more in the three range for me. Overall an enjoyable read for me, I'm really looking forward to reading the next volume.
July 2, 2013
A nice start to the new series, with a great romp through DC history. Also, beautiful art.
April 3, 2018
Great art by Hadley. Very good script by Wagner. My only complaint is that I thought he, for a fanboy-averse reader such as myself anyway ;) , relied too much on nods to DCU characters. The Blood/Jack the Ripper was okay (mostly I liked the way Wagner used it as a wedge between the Stranger and Xanadu), and the Corrigan chapter fell a little flat because you have to know The Spectre in order to make Stranger and Xanadu's inaction seem palatable.
Despite some concerns about the Arthurian elements, I enjoyed the first two chapters, and thought them fairly well done. I'm have no pro or con feelings about Arthurian lore (ironic, considering how much I love Wagner's Mage series!), but juxtaposing it against real history didn't quite work. Fortunately, Wagner played up Xanadu's magical origins effectively to make her history in a fictional (or magical) time and place a little more reasonable to me. The Marco Polo two-parter was the highlight of the first book, I thought. Hadley really shined there. The Corrigan-based finale was probably the weakest, relying a little too strongly on the DCU connection, despite its big character moment for our lead. I have a new appreciation for what a total bastard the Phantom Stranger (I never could he could be more than a cryptic plot device, honestly) is after this book.
Despite some concerns about the Arthurian elements, I enjoyed the first two chapters, and thought them fairly well done. I'm have no pro or con feelings about Arthurian lore (ironic, considering how much I love Wagner's Mage series!), but juxtaposing it against real history didn't quite work. Fortunately, Wagner played up Xanadu's magical origins effectively to make her history in a fictional (or magical) time and place a little more reasonable to me. The Marco Polo two-parter was the highlight of the first book, I thought. Hadley really shined there. The Corrigan-based finale was probably the weakest, relying a little too strongly on the DCU connection, despite its big character moment for our lead. I have a new appreciation for what a total bastard the Phantom Stranger (I never could he could be more than a cryptic plot device, honestly) is after this book.
July 27, 2021
I am approaching this as a tarot reader and spiritualist myself.
I was expecting this to mimic more contemporary witchcraft. But it v much does not. That doesn’t affect the score at all but I was a little disappointed with that.
With that said, the aesthetics are gorgeous. Especially with the tarot. It was fun reading it and seeing the cards and interpreting them yourself.
The actual story is v interesting and it leaves you wanting more. The ending is fantastic and I look forward to the next iteration
The only thing is Madame Xanadu herself can be annoying. But hopefully that changes in the next one. I think it will given the ending
I was expecting this to mimic more contemporary witchcraft. But it v much does not. That doesn’t affect the score at all but I was a little disappointed with that.
With that said, the aesthetics are gorgeous. Especially with the tarot. It was fun reading it and seeing the cards and interpreting them yourself.
The actual story is v interesting and it leaves you wanting more. The ending is fantastic and I look forward to the next iteration
The only thing is Madame Xanadu herself can be annoying. But hopefully that changes in the next one. I think it will given the ending
December 6, 2024
A very introductory first volume.
The art is stunning (I loved the dresses!), and I don't mind the plot at all. Even the main character isn't as bad as some reviews made her seem. I must admit though that this is my very first entry into the DC Universe, so take my opinion with a pinch of salt if you are a veteran!
Please note that a lot of languages are HEAVILY butchered in this volume, mostly in the first chapters/issues. It makes for some good laughs if you are an international reader and you pick this up in English!
The art is stunning (I loved the dresses!), and I don't mind the plot at all. Even the main character isn't as bad as some reviews made her seem. I must admit though that this is my very first entry into the DC Universe, so take my opinion with a pinch of salt if you are a veteran!
Please note that a lot of languages are HEAVILY butchered in this volume, mostly in the first chapters/issues. It makes for some good laughs if you are an international reader and you pick this up in English!
February 6, 2017
The art in this series is some of my favorite outside of Saga, and I actually really really like the character of Madame Xanadu.
For most of this volume I was really enjoying the story but in the last 25 pages or so it just got really weird.
The writing is rather odd, and some of the language used is pretty ridiculous making the story convoluted just for the sake of being convoluted.
Overall though, if good art is important to you (especially by a female artist) give this one a chance.
For most of this volume I was really enjoying the story but in the last 25 pages or so it just got really weird.
The writing is rather odd, and some of the language used is pretty ridiculous making the story convoluted just for the sake of being convoluted.
Overall though, if good art is important to you (especially by a female artist) give this one a chance.
December 8, 2018
I love this comic so much. I love all of the references, the art, the main character, the time skipping, all of it. Madame Xanadu is an awesome character in my opinion. I wish that there was a bit more fleshing out of things, a lot of times events were really rushed. But that might just be a comic book thing. I am excited to continue with the series.
January 5, 2024
Bel volume devo dire. All'epoca dell'uscita italiana lo snobbai, ma in realtà sono storie che reggono bene il trascorrere del tempo e ci danno un quadro più preciso di chi sia Madame Xanadu e della sua storia, anche se per me la parte più interessante è la versione dello Straniero Fantasma.
4 stelle, perché anche i disegni sono ottimi.
4 stelle, perché anche i disegni sono ottimi.
Read
November 23, 2019Artwork: Beautiful Story: Pretty good. The story was ok and needed depth But The artwork was beautiful. The thing I did not like was the Phantom Stranger. How she fell in love with his dry ass is beyond me. I hated that part of the story
Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.