Faerie Market

"Faerie Market" from The Books of Magic vol.1 #3 (DC/Vertigo, 1991) by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess

Before the Books of Magic was a MacGuffin in Justice League Dark, they were a Prestige format mini-series that had the Trenchcoat Brigade act as guides to magician-in-becoming Tim Hunter*, featuring gorgeous art by four painterly artists. Vess' issue, focusing on Faerieland, is perhaps the most like what the monthly series would be like. The Royal Court of Faerie in fact became regular supporting stars in the book, and even got mini-series of their own under The Books of Faerie heading. By then, I'd stopped reading, so I more or less missed out on developments in sequels like The Names of Magic, Age of Magic and The Books of Magick: Life During Wartime. Tim Hunter's made an appearance in the new DC, so his book might be tapped for a DC Dark title. I'd welcome it, because I think he would benefit from a more mainstream tone and format. The Vertigo series really struggled to find its legs, I seem to remember.

*And yes, The Books of Magic is why I never responded positively to Tim's clone Harry Potter. To me, the only thing that kept DC Comics from suing J.K.Rowling was that Warner Bros. was involved in both projects. Yes, I know Neil Gaiman later gave Harry his blessing - I'm not at all rational about this. Nor do I actually care. It's just that when people ask if I've read Harry Potter, I usually say something smart-alecky like "I liked it when it was called The Books of Magic".