Illyana Rasputin, a.k.a the mutant known as Magik, is getting a long-overdue ongoing series next year. Marvel has announced that Ashley Allen, who wrote the character earlier this year in her Blood Hunt one-shot, will work with Loki artist Germán Peralta.
The popular mutant has technically been around since the 1970s, as she debuted as a child in the pages of Giant-Size X-Men #1 by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum. In the 1980s, due to magical shenanigans and a weird time lapse in Limbo, she was aged up to be a teenager and starred in the Magik: Storm and Illyana miniseries, which is also where we saw her mutant powers blossom and the debut of her soulsword. She’s been a member of both the New Mutants and the X-Men, but this is her first solo ongoing series.
“I’m beyond excited to be returning to write Illyana!” Allen said. “Supernatural stories featuring characters with hearts of gold are my favorite, so this series has been a dream to write! I can’t wait for readers to experience the adventure we take Magik on to slay some demons … and maybe accept some of her own.”
As Magik is currently a cast member of X-Men and living in Alaska, it looks like the new title will start there:
The mystic mutant goes demon hunting in her own series! The X-Man Illyanna Rasputina strikes out on her own with new allies and dark powers arrayed against her. Something ancient has awakened beneath the Alaskan ice. Unfortunately for it, that’s Magik’s territory now!
Throughout the series, Magik will also be forced to come to terms with her tragic history and learn to control her demonic Darkchylde persona. After years of suppression, Illyana’s Darkchylde form returns from the depths of her tormented soul to offer her more strength and power, but at what cost?
“I am very excited about this project,” Peralta said. “Magik is a character with an incredible background, surrounded by darkness and mystery. Additionally, she is visually spectacular in all her versions, and I personally love Chris Bachalo’s design. I really enjoy drawing action scenes, as well as emotionally-driven scenes, and Ashley Allen writes a super intriguing script, where she balances both of these types of situations, making my job even more fun than it already is. I mean, what artist wouldn’t love to draw Magik with her great sword facing all kinds of demons?”
Here’s a look at some of Peralta’s character designs:
And here’s the first issue’s variant cover by Dike Ruan:
The series kicks off on Jan. 8.