Welcome, X-fans, to another incredible edition of X-Men on Monday at AIPT!
Honestly, if you’re a member of Cyclops’ X-Men team and wield a cool sword, there’s a good chance you’ll get an ongoing series. I mean, just ask Psylocke and Magic!
All kidding aside, there are plenty of other reasons why Illyana Rasputina finally ended up continuing the From the Ashes era of X-Men. In fact, Magic series writer Ashley Allen returned to X-Men on Monday to share some of the reasons why and answer some burning questions from X-fans. Let’s see what she has to say.
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AIPT: Ashley, welcome to X-Men Monday! Many Illyana fans loved X-Men: Blood Hunt – Magik. So the ongoing Magik series you wrote is a dream come true for them. How did this opportunity come about?
Ashley Allen: That’s great for you (and them)! As storytellers, we have a responsibility to stay true to the heart of the characters we write, so it’s great to see that come through to our fans! Everyone has been so welcoming and I really appreciate your support!
Shoot – I have already read the three exclamation marks assigned to this question.
With the “From the Ashes” reboot, the shakeup of the status quo created a great opportunity to dive into new perspectives and focus on specific mutants. Early on, when I first met my editor Darren Shan, I told him that the dream story I wanted to write was a supernatural story with a lot of heart. After I wrote “X-Men: Blood Hunt – Magic,” Darren asked me if I would be interested in taking Illyana on another supernatural journey. I said “yes” without hesitation. At the end of the day, I think the fan support of Illyana and One Shot is what gave birth to this series.
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AIPT: I think it’s safe to assume that every X fan thinks their favorite mutant deserves a solo series. But why do you think Illyana Rasputina is perfect for solo treatments?
Ashley: Illyana is a very interesting protagonist. She is a woman who has gone through a dark past but doesn’t let that stop her from doing good in the world. I think the desire to make the world a better place than it was before resonates with many fans (myself included). Although he is sarcastic and has some obstacles, in the end he has a kind personality and loves his friends and family deeply.
Since we’re talking about comics, it would be disrespectful not to also discuss the visual elements of storytelling. Illyana’s power set has a lot of great opportunities to create some cool visual moments, so she can really shine in her solo series. Her spells, her mutant ability to teleport through time and space, and of course, her soul sword. Who doesn’t love a woman with a sword?
All these aspects are represented in the books she has published so far. But a solo series allows you to explore this rich inner landscape in ways that may not be fully explored without a solo book.
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AIPT: This week’s first X-Fan question comes from James. He was wondering which past stories had a big impact on your understanding of Magick as a character.
Ashley: That’s a great question! There are so many great options, but my top four are: New Mutants #25-28 by Vitaayala, New Mutants #1-2 by Jonathan Hickman, and New Mutants # by Louise Simonson. 55-70, and of course Magic: Illyana by Storm & Chris Claremont.
AIPT: X-Fan Jessi was wondering about the tone of your Magik series. Do you aim for horror, action, or other when writing?
Ashley: I would say our tone is more supernatural, with horror elements sprinkled throughout. In my writing, I always aim to have a sense of hope in every scene without shying away from the dark elements of a supernatural story. To that end, my goal for this series was to have a lot of action combined with softer moments to make Illyana’s heart of gold shine.
I grew up with manga, so I wanted to channel my favorite series like Soul Eater, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Demon Slayer.
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AIPT: X-fans Annalize, Marceline, and Royal Blue asked if we’d see a more magical side of Illyana in your series.
Ashley: Yes! This is one of my favorite pieces in this series. I’ve been playing Dungeons & Dragons for years, so it’s always a fun time coming up with new ways to use spells in both combat and non-combat scenarios. Especially when you have a rich tapestry of magic from the Marvel Universe and its various branches.
Choreography for fight scenes is one of my favorite parts of writing comic scripts, so being able to imagine fights that utilize both physical and magical combat is really fun!
AIPT: X-Fan Lewis was wondering how the new version of Darkchylde would work. Is it more like the Hulk suddenly appearing during a stressful moment? Is it like a symbiote has taken over her mind? Or is it something else?
Ashley: Just reading this series is enough… Just kidding, I won’t do that to you guys! I know some of you are comparing it to Hulk/Symbiote. You could say it’s a combination of these two. Ultimately, Darkchild is part of Illyana. This is a reaction triggered when she feels stressed or feels that she is in danger (such as the appearance of the Hulk). But at the moment, it’s also all-consuming and something that causes her to lose control (like the symbiote has taken over her mind).
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Therefore, like most things in Illyana, Darkchild operates on muddy ground. Previously, Darkchild was Illyana’s dark self. But ultimately, it’s up to Illyana to decide and define what the Dark Child is to her. Previously, that decision-making power was taken away from her, but she changes that in the first few issues.
AIPT: Let’s talk about Limbo. X-fans Aryll and Stantz asked if there were any plans to explore Limbo in the series. And X-fan Brett Smith and Starr asked if Limbo’s current ruler, Madeline Pryor, might show up along the way.
Ashley: The first arc of the series further explores Limbo as a concept, specifically the relationship between Illyana and Limbo. For now, Magic has divorced Limbo and handed the reins to Madeline Pryor. But sometimes it’s not so easy to leave the past, even if you no longer have a connection to a physical place. Limbo is like a character in the story and still influences Illyana’s reactions to this day.
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However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t plans for future adventures featuring Limbo and its inhabitants.
AIPT: X-fans Duskwright, Jake, and Kit said that most of the new mutants Magic came up with in the comics don’t exist in the current X-series. Is it possible that any of them will appear in your series?
Ashley: Oh, no spoilers from here. My lips are sealed, but just for the record, the New Mutants were my favorite X-Team when I was a kid, so I think that possibility is high. 🙂
In AIPT: Magik #1, Illyana confronts the Crow Demon. What can you share about this threat? How did it feel to have Momoko Peach design the series’ first villain?
Ashley: First of all, I’m a huge fan of Peach’s work, so having her design the series’ first villain was a dream come true. Her cover for X-Men: Blood Hunt – Magick was amazing, so it was an honor to have her work with Illyana further.
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During the creative process of developing the series, I provided Peach with mood boards and character descriptions for the villains. Honestly, this was one of my favorite parts of pre-production. She is very talented and brought the characters to life with her mastery of movement in her artwork. It’s always so fun to see what she comes up with. And we’re so grateful that she designed our first villain, the crow demon.
To start the series, I wanted a threat that could go toe-to-toe with Illyana…but this is a no-brainer! She has amazing close combat abilities, but can also manage long range attacks using both portals and magic. The Crow Demon is a long-range fighter with a demonic gun that limits some of Magik’s agility. However, as you can see in the first issue, there are some big surprises in his fighting style, which I won’t spoil here. Good thing Illyana has plenty of experience dealing with demonic threats and forces that may or may not control them!
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AIPT: X-fans Penny, Katiana, and Sanof Darkchild asked if we’d ever get an in-universe explanation for why Magic changed from his gold costume to his black suit.
Ashley: Illyana has had a lot of great costumes over the years! And this year I got to go to different conventions and see people cosplaying her as Magic from different eras. I was so happy! I can’t say for certain whether an in-universe explanation will occur in the first arc, but I think it needs to be considered as a reflection of Illyana’s mental state after Krakoa.
For lack of the right words, Krakoa allowed Illyana to loosen her defenses and lower her defenses. But I think the experience of losing her home changed her. The external costume changes may reflect that (at least that’s my interpretation).
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AIPT: Finally, can you share something about your collaboration with Germán Peralta on the visuals of the series?
Ashley: Germán Peralta continues to amaze me with every page (and sketch!) he sends. He’s so talented and has a real talent for balancing the soft moments of his characters with the big action sequences. This is a really great gift and allows us to do amazing things with storytelling in our series. It’s a dream to work with him because his art takes our stories to a whole new level. It’s rare for an artist to be able to accurately represent the image of a script, but Gellman is able to do so with ease while adding his own unique twist to it. Honestly, the hardest part about waiting for the series to end in January is waiting to share German’s artwork with fans.
AIPT: Well, fortunately for you (and X-fans) you don’t have to. But we’ll get to that in a moment. That’s all I can do for you for now, Ashley. Thanks for stopping by X-Men Monday!
Remember, X-fans. Magik #1 will be released on January 8, 2024. Here, as an exclusive to this week’s X-Men Monday, we have some preview pages of the characterless Germán Peralta.
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Provided by Marvel Comics
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Next time on X-Men Monday, screenwriter Gerry Duggan will be back to talk about the upcoming West Coast Avengers series featuring former X-Man Firestar.
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Finally, and most importantly, if you live in the United States and haven’t voted yet, be sure to do so tomorrow. I voted early for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. I hope you will vote the same way. As X-fans, we have a duty to remove from power those who would happily greenlight the Sentinel program or turn a blind eye to Orchis. If you don’t want to listen to me, do like Cyke…
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Until next time, have a special time, X-fans!
