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Setting Up For a Spooky Night

Almost any illusionist worth their salt has some form of affection for the spooky season, and Enigma is no different. There’s no better test of one’s magical prowess than conjuring specters, phantoms, and mirages that can frighten and fool even the most discerning eye.

Though a magician is loathe to reveal their secrets, one of Enigma’s is that he combines illusion with practical effect to further bolster the immersion in those who witness his handiwork. It promises to be another exciting year, and he’s hard at work so that he’s ready when people come to his door looking for a treat.

It would not do for an illusionist to be upstaged on this, of all nights.

Another Halloween-inspired YCH, this time from Marsel-Defender in October of 2020.

You might notice that I keep referring to it as “The Spooky Season”. That’s because I didn’t want to refer to Halloween directly, yet didn’t have a good name thought out for what I might want to celebrate in the plane of Crossroads. (Advice to novice writers: It’s okay not to have everything thought out from the start. Leave yourself room to improvise details later.)

As for the image itself, I enjoyed the idea of Enigma taking pains to make his illusions that much more believable by introducing a layer of practical effects on top of them. It’s an open secret in Hollywood that some of the best effects combine old school special effects work with CGI, and that’s where I got the inspiration for this idea.

Illusions are kind of like CGI, if you squint real hard.