The Krakoan Age may be over, but the X-Men's Hellfire Gala, mutantkind’s biggest—and sometimes deadliest—celebration, is back for another drama-filled night of mystery, betrayal, and Omega-level fashion in X-Men: The Hellfire Murder #1, hitting stands in July.
As is tradition, X-Men: The Hellfire Murder #1 will be written and illustrated by a spectacular lineup of current X-Men creators including Jed MacKay (X-Men), Gail Simone (Uncanny X-Men), Eve L. Ewing (X-Men United), Saladin Ahmed (Wolverine), Erica Schultz (Rogue), Tony Daniel (X-Men), Luciano Vecchio (Uncanny X-Men), Federica Mancin (Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant), and more.
Once again, the giant-sized one-shot serves as a capstone to the last year of X-Men storytelling with reunions and romance abound, and simultaneously sets the stage for what's on the horizon with startling developments like the formation of an all-new Hellfire Club and the murder of a key mutant figure.
Here's the official description for X-Men: The Hellfire Murder #1:
HOMICIDE AT THE HELLFIRE GALA!
When an iconic mutant power player is murdered at an exclusive masquerade hosted by Sebastian Shaw, it falls to Wolverine and Jubilee to solve a locked-room mystery that has dire consequences for all mutantkind. Everyone is a suspect. And the party isn’t over yet...
The secrets won’t be the only thing stunning readers. As always, your favorite mutants will be decked out in unforgettable attire! Leading the design efforts will be Marvel’s Stormbreaker artist Luciano Vecchio, following his acclaimed work on last year’s Hellfire Gala issue, X-Men: Hellfire Vigil. A certified expert in mutant fashion, Vecchio outdid himself this year with dramatic and unique masquerade looks. Can you guess who’s behind each mask?
Discussing his approach to dreaming up those masquerade looks for the Marvel Universe's mutants, Vecchio said, "Doing Hellfire Gala designs is always a pleasure. This time around, it’s a masquerade, so the challenge was to come up with looks that diverge from each character’s classic iconography to reflect their mask’s theme."
"The dress code is a callback to classic Hellfire Club attire, so there’s 18th-century fashion mixed with corsets and leather gear, but mixing up the gendering of those elements, resulting in something elegant and sexy."
Check out Vecchio's cover and costume designs for X-Men: The Hellfire Murder #1 below, along with a variant cover by R.B. Silva.
X-MEN: THE HELLFIRE MURDER #1
Written by SALADIN AHMED, JED MACKAY, GAIL SIMONE, EVE L. EWING & ERICA SCHULTZ
Art by TONY DANIEL, LUCIANO VECCHIO, FEDERICA MANCIN & MORE
Cover by LUCIANO VECCHIO
Variant Cover by R.B. SILVA
Variant Cover by ROGÊ ANTÔNIO
Variant Cover by SKOTTIE YOUNG
On Sale 7/22