What follows is a page-turning romp which includes zombies, subtle magics, assassins, and an ever-shifting backdrop running from San Francisco to Barbados and the jungles of Suriname. As a complete newcomer to the world of magic, Pam Blackwell has to learn fast in order to help preserve her own life, and Max August, while effectively immortal, is not invulnerable. His status as a timeless man, perpetually thirty-five-years-old and in the prime of life, has given him time to learn his magic, and gain the wisdom of age. But he's still capable of making mistakes, and is nothing at all like Doctor Strange or any of the author's other comics characters. This is both a blessing and a curse. On many occasions, using the format of a novel allows Englehart the space to expand and explain in ways that comics never could, but just occasionally I felt that he was trying to paint pictures with words, and missed the skills of an artist. That said, he does a good job of visualising Max August's world, and his laid back literary style is both easy to read and engaging.

The basic idea of a man who has stepped out of time and dropped out of society in order to keep the required low profile is intriguing, and used to good effect. Running parallel with the current episode of August's life, is a bitter past which saw Aleksandra, a demonic entity, kill both his mentor, the legendary alchemist Cornelius Agrippa, and Val, his wife. As the story opens, August has spent many years searching for the spirit of his murdered love, primarily at each Halloween. Sometimes he's seen her and the two have briefly communicated, but never has the contact been strong or long enough for him to bring her back. As a result, August has not allowed himself any serious romantic involvement, until circumstances place him alongside Pamela Blackwell. It is in this area that The Long Man sometimes feels a little clunky, as Englehart is not a romance writer, but it just about hangs together, and there's a nice twist concerning the ultimate fate of Val, which ironically made her into one of the more interesting characters. Not bad for someone who makes barely more than cameo appearances.

The Long Man is a prime example of how some comic book writers can make the transition to novelist, and use that medium well, without ever astonishing. Max August and his supporting characters are well drawn -- no pun intended -- and there's potential for much more. What is missing here, is the spark of greatness. Straightforward and workman-like, much of the story is by-the-numbers, and Max August himself does not thrill like Englehart's comic book classics. Simply put, the character is not iconic. Not that he's a duffer, either. Older readers will understand if I say he's a Kuryakin not a Solo; interesting in his own right, but less charismatic than the leading man. The feeling I had as this book ended was that I'd been entertained, but the best was yet to come. I just hope it doesn't take another twenty-five years!