X-MEN ANNUAL #1 (MARVEL COMICS)
What if your wildest thoughts became real nightmares?
A mutant known as The Creationist has a unique gift. He is the embodiment of an imagination gone wild. He’s kidnapped artists to make his visions come to horrifying real life. It’s up to the X-Men to stop him before the idea of surviving is nothing more than a dream.
X-MEN ANNUAL #1 (2026) by Ryan Stegman, Steve Skroce, Sanford Greene, Arthur Hesli & Clayton Cowles (Marvel Comics) construct one of the more interesting stories in recent memory.
Let’s take a look at what is unfolding here.
X-MEN ANNUAL #1 (2026) by Ryan Stegman, Steve Skroce, Sanford Greene, Arthur Hesli & Clayton Cowles (Marvel Comics)
*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***
Stegman is known for his art but now steps into the writing seat for this special. A simple night at the Haven House sees a familiar face fly through. Adding Phoenix into the lineup results in some fun banter before the danger reveals itself. A monster comes through a peculiar portal with bad intentions. Readers watch as its’ business as usual for the X-Men here. The change comes from Jean Grey. Trying to mind probe the beast unveils the culprit behind this situation.
The Creationist’s backstory is one of a mutant struggling to find himself. This anger leads to pushing his captive (and familiar) artists into drawing his visions faster. The dialogue works to steady the fighting with trying to stop the mad Mutant. It leads to a risky call by Grey to try a new method of combat. The results dabbles in a fun aspect of storytelling. While not a true 4th wall break, the confrontation is a nice twist into settling the issues. This dominos into the final act. The writing gives it a true superhero spin for the finish. Once the smoke clears, the issue caps off a moment perfectly defining who the X-Men are.
This issue has a star-studded lineup of artist contributing with Skroce, Greene and Stegman. Visuals lead off with Jean Grey’s arrival. A solid mid panel shows the group ready for attack. The full page image unveils the monster breaking through. Watching the transition form pencils to finish product is a nice touch in creating the wonder behind this attack. Some action sequence unfold until it’s reveal time. The Creationist gets a full page image showing his captives and him hard at work.
Readers watch as the Creationist’s origin shows sad moments which forged his revenge mission. This just makes the villain more mad. In response, another full image for the monster re-envisioned. Grey’s gamble to win leads to some creative images contrasting pencils to fully colored panels. It ultimately moves into a fantastic full page of Grey and Wolverine ready for action. This raises the drama moving to the final act. The captives’ lie of “pizza” is a superb farewell to their portion of the book. Readers see the resolution come with some fun superhero imagery which leads to a strong finish. The final page is a perfect X-Men moment to leave readers with.
FINAL GRADE: 8.6
One mutant’s becomes the X-Men’s curse in a very imaginative tale. Stegman’s writing throws a few new looks into the typical X-Men story. The art shines with every new display hitting the page. It’s not your average X-tale but one readers should check out.
Let me know your thoughts on X-MEN ANNUAL #1 in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
