ADVANCED REVIEW! Knights of X #1: Grace Kelly, Harlow, Jean, on the Cover of a Magazine

And a day came in foggy Darkmore that was unlike any other. Merlyn of myth, and his faithful daughter, Roma, appeared before a young Brian Braddock, giving him the choice between the Sword of Might, and the Amulet of Right. Upon choosing the amulet, Brian was transformed into Captain Britain, the protector of the people that comprised the British empire, as well as the protector of the 616 realm…

Okay, so that’s the gist of the Captains Britain, and the mythology would continue to grow, and flourish with some of the greatest scribes in the comic industry, of which Tini Howard has been given the unenviable task of advancing that mythology, first with her recently completed Excalibur run, but also with this new title Knights of X. So let’s get down to it, shall ?

Tini’s trying to make this book a story of epic proportions, to what I would call it a loving homage to The Lord of the Rings. It’s full of flourishes of magic, while also keeping up with the core concept of prejudice towards mutantkind. The mutants here are also dealing with a war on both sides of the gates, not only with Merlyn & Arthur, but also their proxies in the real world, who destroyed all of the gates to Otherworld (as seen in Excalibur #26). Revealing Mordred to be a mutant in the pages of Excalibur put a whole new spin on things, so what Tini has in store with him can have some really interesting ramifications here and in the greater MU. 

I’ve had issues with Tini’s pacing and character work since the Krakoan era began, but slowly she’s been getting a better feel for this world and allowing her self-confidence to shine through. Sure, the team is not to my liking, as the cast has felt the least Excalibur-like, and more of a smorgasbord of random mutants thrown together, but it’s getting better. Especially with the Excalibur vol. 1 throwback cast members that have been teased for future issues. It’s got me rather excited to see what we get. Tini also likes to play around with the X symbolically as its ties to the X-Men, but also the number ten, which revolves around the ten knights who will be part of this crusade to save Otherworld, Avalon, and the 616, so this cast has the potential to be very interesting. 

Tini’s joined by Way of X artist Bob Quinn, who puts up a stellar job here. I’m not overly familiar with Quinn’s work outside of his work on the X-Men titles, and wasn’t really a fan of his work on that title, but he’s completely changed my mind from this issue. He conveys the more fantastic elements that come with having a series set in a universe that includes killer robots, vampires, King Arthur, and Merlin, and so on, and he’s really stretching his legs. Mixed with Erick Arciniega’s colors, it’ll be hard-pressed to say this won’t be a beauty to read. 

The book sounds like it’s going to knock your socks off, and it just might. Unfortunately there were elements that just left me wanting more. First thing: the cast. I understand that ensemble titles’ rosters are usually dictated by the higher powers, but other than Betsy, Rachel, Meggan, the rest I could do without. I can’t help but to eye-roll every time I see Gambit on a roster. I’m still not a fan of Rictor’s ascension to a druid, and the others don’t register on my interest radar. I still don’t like Betsy’s Captain Britain attire either. She’s had two costumes since the beginning of the Krakoan era, and they’re both lacking. They should let Russell Dauterman tweak her Hellfire Gala look, like they did with Jean’s. Another thing I’ve had with the run is just how un-British the run has been. Claremont, Davis, and Ellis all incorporated something that made it feel just a tad different than the other mainstream titles, but it’s been lacking that je ne sais quoi here. There’s also some pacing issues, and the dialogue feels indefinably off in places. And with that, I shall wait until next month to see how Tini and Quinn handle the upcoming war between mutants and magic.