Review by Ian Keogh

When Dazzler breaks up with her boyfriend the immediate solution is to drown her sorrows in alcohol, and she’s accompanied by Boom Boom and Jubilee for an adventure targetted squarely at Harley Quinn fans by Leah Williams.

It transpires there’s more to Dazzler’s former boyfriend than she ever knew, and he’s not the type to drift quietly into the shadows, which is his natural home seeing as he’s a vampire. Furthermore Alex, for such is his name, runs a supernatural form of games arena powered by faerie magic, which pretty well provides infinite possibilities. If that seems rather the cheat, you won’t be worrying too much once Williams lets her imagination fly and Carlos Gómez supplies his own version of magic.

When more violent solutions are required, the Laura Kinney version of Wolverine turns up, so Gómez starts splashing the blood about a little more, and that’s before the ill-intentioned doppelgangers manifest. There’s a constantly escalating threat with Williams placing limitations on the women, all of whom apart from X-23 are costumed in their civvies, with Boom Boom given a Barbie makeover. By the end we’ve seen the Collector and Dracula as well.

X-Men fans should enjoy the opportunity to see a selection of characters who don’t often take centre stage, and Williams pitches the mood just right. The X-Men line has come to incorporate so many different moods, and this is the fun end. X-Terminators live up to their name in what isn’t meant to be taken seriously, and the characters themselves have problems doing so in the wacky situations, while Williams positively overdoses on smutty comments and friendly bonding for a story that doesn’t overstay its welcome.