Martyn

Creation

Martyn was created by writer John Ney Rieber and artist Peter Gross in The Books of Magic 6 in 1994.

Major Story Arcs

Martyn is a sorcerer and a member of the Cult of the Cold Flame. Eager to gain control over Tim Hunter and his magic, he moves in next door to the boy. He has a clay golem, which Tim later names Happy, and a succubus named Leah who serve him.

Leah enters Tim’s school as a new student and tries to start enticing him.

Martyn meets Tim’s dad, Bill, and retells the story of how Bill killed his wife Mary in an accident, making him cry. Martyn takes his tears and turns them into a charm.

A sorceress contacts him through a mirror. They used to be lovers. She compliments him on his persuasive abilities, and warns him to stay away from Tim; his power is too dangerous.

She says that the rest of the Cold Flame were killed by Tim’s Trenchcoat Brigade of The Phantom Stranger, John Constantine, Mr. E and Doctor Occult. Martyn later mentions that the masters of the Flame, such as himself, were not there.

He stabs her hands, sticking her in place in the mirror image. He uses her soul and Bill’s tears to burn Bill in a magical conflagration.

Tim manages to get him out of the house, barely alive, and an ambulance takes him to the hospital.

Martyn introduces himself to Tim as someone sent by Constantine to help mentor Tim in magic, but Tim rejects him. Martyn’s goal is to help Tim heal his dad, using black magic that will bind Tim to him.

However, while magically watching over Tim’s life, Martyn is scalded by the magical version of Tim’s shame over what happened. Then Martyn is warned away by Sir Timothy Hunter, who also wants Tim.

Sir Timothy and his manipulative demon Barbatos shrink Martyn down to a few inches tall, then kill him.

Unaware of this, Leah asks Tim to stay at her and Martyn’s house. When they find out Martyn is dead, they leave.