As previously mentioned in my review of Kaspall, I love comics…but I’ve never really managed to get into the traditional model. That means when it comes to superhero comics (as opposed to movies or TV) my knowledge is woefully lacking. So this fun comic is something new for me, especially since – based on my cultural touchstones – it’s not just a superhero comic but a sentai comic.
Legendary X-Knights is a project by Jamsheed Studios, an international indie comics collective based in Uruguay, written by Bijhan Agha and illustrated by Swaptrap. Based equally on classic Jack Kirby and Power Rangers/TMNT, the story features three teenagers with attitude — sorry, they’re actually very much not teenagers. Three queers receiving messages from the future as they’re brought together to fight vampire assassins! I feel like I need some funky WordArt for that or something. Something suitably dramatic.
All of this is said with a bit of teasing, but genuinely: the sincere pulpiness of X-Knights and the (so far) lack of snarky self-awareness is actually really refreshing. Even as someone who enjoys the odd episode of Venture Bros and Q-Force, it gets old after a while to have every trope lampshaded and everything followed up by a quip. I’m not sure if this is for me, but I’m glad it exists, and I’m very curious to see where it goes.
Favourite moment in issue one: Part of me initially cringed when they traded pronouns right on meeting. And I’ve actually been sitting with that, because… I do that in real life. That’s a genuine, every day exchange for me with fellow queers. So it’s now a top moment for me, not just cause I’m glad it’s in there, but because it’s forcing me to re-examine some of my internalized biases that I clearly still have!
To learn more about Jamsheed Studios, check them out here.
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Elliott Dunstan 