Magik Reigns: ‘New Mutants’ #28 Reviewed
by Tony Thornley
Illyana Rasputina has become one of the most recognizable and prominent mutants in Marvel’s stable. In New Mutants #28, she gets a new status quo that will have repercussions for the entire Marvel Universe.
In their last issue before taking a short break, Vita Ayala, Rod Reis, and Travis Lanham wrap up this adventure in Limbo, while the back-up with art by Jan Duursema and Ruth Redmond concludes.
Magik and her friends have been through hell trying to install Madelyn Pryor as the new Queen of Limbo. Now it comes down to a final confrontation with Sym, and the biggest decision Illyana has made in her lifetime. It’s all about to change forever.
New Mutants has been one of my favorite titles of the Krakoa era, and the majority of that has been because of the story Ayala has told since taking over the title with issue #13. I’ll admit that I’ve fallen behind recently- I’ve been struggling with personal issues that seem to get worse every week this series comes out. So yes, I’m behind on this series, but this arc has been something special.
By taking what Chris Claremont did decades ago with Magik’s origin and expanding on its time-bending concept, Ayala is able to give Illyana closure while literally confronting her past and future. They’ve written a character defining arc about Magik and her relationship with Limbo, and allowed their lead character to confront their trauma- sometimes literally- and grow past it. They’ve written the story that’s defined Magik for the modern age, and it’s a template for what she needs to be in the future.
Reis continues to be one of the best artists in the business, and he really showed what he was capable of this issue. His abstract lines and colors makes Limbo completely alien, and he leans into the abstract to make the action feel disorienting. After that’s all over though, he shifts just a little bit in the closing pages (before Duursema’s great flashback), to something much more realistic, as Colossus and Magik have a much-needed heart to heart. He gives Ayala’s script an even stronger emotional impact for it, and it’s the perfect coda for the story.
This is the sort of story that the Krakoa era was built to deliver, and it made for one of the best character studies we’ve been able to get in years. I hope after this much-deserved break the creative team gets a chance to carry on for years to come.
New Mutants #28 is available now from Marvel Comics.
Overview
Magik gets the character redefining story she’s needed for a long time. It’s a deep story with fantastic art that puts Illyana in the place she needs to be for the future.
