I remember when most of the issues collected here first came out, back in 2021. Like most people, I imagine, I had already seen Momoko's beautiful and wonderful cover art around, but was curious what her interior artwork is like, and what this series of one-shots would entail story-wise.
I was going to pick up this gorgeous treasury edition in any case eventually, but when I walked into my shop the week it came out and saw it on display, I just had to buy it there and then. For those that don't know, Marvel's treasury edition paperbacks are absolutely massive, and I truly mean massive. They're even greater in size than any oversized hardcovers from Marvel/DC or anyone else, which are bigger than standard size single issue comics and collected trades anyway.
So due to the size of this edition it was such a cool reading experience. That does also mean it was something very suited to my book stand I have, or for reading flat on a surface at a desk or anything like that. The actual book itself is somewhat unwieldly in that sense, but I thought being able to soak in the art in such a large format was more than worth it.
Now onto the actual story itself. All the issues collected here were one-shots, each with their own subtitle and released individually, and I don't think I ever read the solicits for them, so because of all that I just assumed this was an anthology situation. I imagined each issue focused on Momoko reimagining different characters in her style, and while that is definitely an element here, there's a much grander overarching narrative and story, which was so awesome to see.
That made it feel so, so fresh, unique and exciting to me. The way Japanese mythology is merged and weaved with Marvel characters and universe elements felt absolutely fascinating to me. The first issue, Demon Days: X-Men, was beautifully drawn but somewhat underwhelming, but without spoiling anything once I realised the greater narrative context of that I was absolutely enamoured from then on right until it ended. I'll be honest I don't have any experience with Japanese mythology, but I thought it was a really fun balance here between the ideas, set pieces, and a very compelling and interesting story involving what seems like some characters Momoko created especially for this book.
Before I wrap up this review, what more is there to say about the art? I mean the cover for this collection is breathtaking, not even mentioning the individual issue covers, I feel like I could spend so long just staring, soaking in and appreciating Momoko's incredible artwork.
Overall such a fun read! Definitely one of my most unique reads not only of 2022, but ever honestly. Even if you can't get this specific edition anymore, they just recently released a standard trade paperback with the same contents of this, so I would recommend getting that if you're interested!
If you want more of Joe's comic thoughts and reviews, you can find him on Twitter @JoeLovesComics and on the League of Comic Geeks also @JoeLovesComics.
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