X-Men Legends. At first glance, the title is a little confusing. Are the stories legendary, or the creators involved? The answer is a little bit of both. The stated mandate of X-Men Legends as a series is to tell X-Men stories set in various classic eras of the characters’ long history, designed to stoke nostalgia for and featuring creators with a previous connection to the era in question. Furthermore, the tales are set between specific issues, and though they are “legendary,” Marvel assured fans that these stories “count” from a continuity perspective: they are not Elseworlds or What Ifs? or Imaginary Tales. Instead, these are stories meant to reveal new information about the past.
X-Men Legends Vol. 1: The Missing Links collects the first six issues of the twelve-issue miniseries, but as of this writing, the series’ eighth issue has been published, with the general plots and creative teams involved for the remaining four issues all announced. So let’s dig into the series thus far and see how well it meets its mandate as a vehicle for nostalgia, a celebration of beloved creators, and a reinterpretation of past continuity. [Read more…] about X-Men Legends Vol. 1 Review!
is the latest such creative effort. Collecting the first six issues of a new ongoing Eternals series from writer Kieron Gillen and artist Esad Ribic, the book is clearly being positioned to capitalize on and contribute to the Eternals’ upcoming moment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe zeitgeist, with their feature film (after a lengthy pandemic-induced delay) scheduled to premiere just a scant few months after the publication of this volume. In Gillen & Ribic, Marvel has again entrusted top-tier talent to this effort, and Gillen and Ribic, to their credit, reward that trust. Every iteration of the Eternals attempts to put a new spin on the concept in some way, and the inaugural launch of this series is no different.