One of the biggest surprises from the post-Hickman X-line has been the near constant inclusion of fantasy and wizardry, thanks in large part to Tini Howard’s runs on Excalibur and Knights of X. While these books felt like they existed in a distinct corner, they did play a central role in the various line-wide crossovers, and there is a portion of the fanbase that clearly loves these titles. Which is probably why Marvel greenlit Realm of X, a series that does its best to capture some of the same energy and tone of those previous Howard texts. While not required reading, it does provide some enjoyable moments for readers eager to have a bit of magic injected into their mutant soap operas.
After the chaos of this year’s Hellfire Gala, Magik, Mirage, Marrow, Dust, and Typhoid Mary end up in Vanaheim, where the inhabitants think they are crucial to a prophecy that could either save or destroy the realm. With Magik’s powers failing and a mysterious enemy rising, the team must work together to survive and return home. As Saturnyne emerges to crush our heroes, Magik must work with Cruse to find a way to return her powers and stop the impending invasion of Vanaheim.
Marvel Comics
Torunn Grønbekk has a strong sense of these characters and provides worthy personal interactions between the female cast. Their script succeeds in narrowing in on the isolation some of these characters experience, while finding purpose for each of the cast to be present in this fantastical land. He clearly has a love for Magik, Dani Moonstar, and Marrow, and fans of those characters will find a handful of character moments to enjoy in this trade.
Diogenes Neves does a bulk of the line work, but there are two additional fill-in artists in this four-issue miniseries. For such a short run, it’s hard to see why this is the case, other than Marvel rushing to get this book on the shelf. There are some real tonal changes when we shift from one artist to the next, and it hurts the books readability. Even when Neves is at his best, his style seems out of step with the story Grønbekk penned, making the narrative feel off-step.
Marvel Comics
The book feels like a way to capture some of the fans of Excalibur/Knight of X/Captain Britain who liked their X-book to feature lots of mythology and supernatural elements. But as a Fall of X title, it doesn’t seem to fit comfortably into the narrative winding down the Krakoan age. While the final issue does provide a nice battle-focused conclusion, with lots of engaging line work, it’s unclear how these events will position these characters in this new X-era, and whether this venture was necessary to achieve that placement.
Like other Marvel TPBs, this one includes the variant covers at the end, and thankfully the beautiful Stephanie Hans images are given full page reproductions. Realm of X, while having some great character moments and ample action, just doesn’t feel like a tale that needed to happen within the Fall of X, and is a bit out of place when stacked next to other concurrent titles. Nonetheless, fans of Tini Howard’s contributions to the Krakoan era might find things to enjoy in this short miniseries.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login