Inconsistent artwork was a major issue with the first arc of Royals, but that’s been remedied with this current arc, featuring artwork by Kevin Libranda with colors by José Villarrubia. They’re filling in before the new ongoing art team of Javier Rodriguez, Álvaro López, and Jordie Bellaire takes over next month, but Libranda and Villarrubia function as an excellent bridge between the old and new art teams. Libranda’s characterizations are less exaggerated than what Jonboy Meyers and Thony Silas presented in the opening arc, and there’s a softness to his line work that is much closer to what Rodriguez and López do together. Villarrubia’s delicate rendering and expressive palettes are also far more similar to Bellaire than Jim Charalampidis’ work on the first arc, and the transition between art teams comes to an end with next week’s Royals #8.
This exclusive preview of Royals #8 features the debut of Rodriguez and López on the series with an explosive image of the Progenitors, the celestial beings responsible for creating both the Inhumans and their alien ancestors. This introduction of the Progenitors is adding a big Jack Kirby influence to Ewing’s story, and both art teams are responding by incorporating Kirby-style layouts and panel compositions. From the opening shot of Maximus and Noh-Varr the Accuser rafting through the flooded ruins of Manhattan, there’s a sense of grandiosity to this issue, and it only gets bigger when the story hops back to the present and reveals the hallucinatory revelation Marvel Boy experiences when pushed into the Progenitors’ Skyspear. That image is a taste of what’s to come when the new art team joins this series, and given how imaginative these creators are when working together, Royals is slated to become one of the best-looking titles in superhero comics.
