Global InformationExlibrium information
| Exlibrium | |
|---|---|
 Cover of the second issue (November 2014) | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Bubble Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ended |
| Publication date | 20 October 2014 — 29 December 2018 |
| No. of issues | 50 |
| Main character(s) | Lilia Romanova Alexander Alinovsky Arthur / Nightingale Angelina Evgenievna Inga Shelkovits Matvey Koretsky Kira |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | Natalia Devova |
| Written by | Natalia Devova Anna Bulatova |
| Artist(s) | Andrey Rodin Alina Erofeeva Konstantin Tarasov Yulia Zhuravlyova Marina Privalova |
Exlibrium (Russian: Экслибриум) is an urban fantasy comic book series about the adventures of a young girl named Lilia Romanova, published by the Russian publishing house Bubble Comics.[1][2] It ran from October 2014 to December 2018. The author of the comic, as well as the writer of most of the issues, was Natalia Devova.[3] The art for the early issues was drawn by Andrey Rodin and Alina Erofeeva, and since November 2016, other artists began to work on the series: Konstantin Tarasov, Yulia Zhuravlyova and Marina Privalova.
The comics series is set in Moscow. The protagonist of the series, Lilia Romanova, a teenage girl fascinated by popular culture, accidentally enters the Order of Bookwizards. The main task of the Order is to protect the boundaries between the real world and the world of fiction. Lilia is trained in the Order, and eventually becomes a Bookwizard herself, mastering to the full her supernatural abilities: the ability to emit destructive rays from her eyes and mouth. In the Order, the girl meets other students; together they confront villains and deal with problems, mostly involving the escape of literary characters from books.
Critics received Exlibrium very favorably, welcomed the concept of the comic, including its elaborate world, the plot and the very idea of the "book magic", as well as the art of Andrei Rodin and Alina Erofeeva. However, they lamented the protractedness of the first issue's storyline and the overabundance of references to popular culture. The character of Lilia seemed ambiguous to reviewers, as some commentators noted that it would be easy for readers to associate themselves with the character, while others saw the heroine as a typical example of a "socio-phobic geek".[4]
- ^ Стрептилов, Александр (7 March 2017). "Экслибриум. Том 1. Книжная магия для гиков" (in Russian). «Мир фантастики». Archived from the original on 9 March 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- ^ Борченко, Павел (5 December 2015). "Хогвартс: Новое поколение" (in Russian). Geekster. Archived from the original on 27 June 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
- ^ Кислицын, Игорь (28 November 2018). "Беседа со сценаристкой "Экслибриума" и "Союзников" Наталией Девовой" (in Russian). Канобу. Archived from the original on 8 February 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
- ^ Талашин, Александр (20 October 2014). "Пилот нового комикса Bubble "Экслибриум"". «Котонавты». Archived from the original on 19 March 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2021.