The Dream Never Dies In July’s ‘X-Men: Hellfire Vigil’
by Tony Thornley
Since 2021, the Hellfire Gala has become synonymous with the end of one storytelling phase and the beginning of the next for Marvel’s X-Men. In July, that tradition continues with X-Men: Hellfire Vigil, an oversized one-shot featuring an all-star line-up of creators.
Hellfire Vigil celebrates the past year of X-Men stories while mourning the dream of Krakoa. Like previous Hellfire Galas, this exciting event will be filled with long awaited reunions, stunning returns, and surprising revelations, all setting the stage for the next year of X-Men storytelling. The creator line-up includes Jed MacKay, Gail Simone, Eve Ewing, Lucciano Vecchio, Javier Garron and many more!
From Marvel’s press release: One year ago, at the final Hellfire Gala, the dream of a unified mutant nation was forever shattered by a cowardly sneak attack by anti-mutant forces. To mark the moment and to proclaim loudly and strongly to all concerned that mutantkind still stands, the time has come for X-Men of all stripes to come together in solidarity and celebration. Featuring the meetings and moments that fans have been asking for since From The Ashes began, be there for a keystone moment marking the movement of one era into the next and setting up story threads that will play out across the X-line in the near future!
“We’ve been working towards the Hellfire Vigil for a year now, and all of the assorted X-creators came together to make this a moment of significance for the X-Men and their world as a whole,” Executive Editor Tom Brevoort explained. “If you’ve been wondering when somebody was going to encounter somebody else, the answer is right here in this book! It’s a capstone to events that began in From The Ashes and sets up major movements that will be playing out across the coming months. Plus it’s full-packed with great art and great character moments.”
This is definitely an interesting pivot, after a year so far where the line appeared to be doing its best to distance itself from the Krakoan-set past. This may also be the pivot point that some writers in the line have hinted at when they’ve stated that the current status quo is not the “permanent” status of the line.
Check out covers by Luciano Vecchio, AKA, and Mateus Manhanini and stay tuned for more X-Men: Hellfire Vigil announcements, including design reveals and more!
