What Would Batman Do?

I’ve been meaning to write a short review for a while now about Joss Whedon and John Cassaday’s Astonishing X-Men.  We do do reviews here , you know.

Volumes 1-4 of Astonishing X-Men include Gifted , Dangerous , Torn , and Unstoppable .  Although the series ran across a span of fourish years, the writing and — more impressively — the art remain consistent throughout each page.  I haven’t had any experience with Cassaday’s work before, but I can tell you now I’m hooked.  The art is crisp and detailed, delving into realistic protrayals of every character while still maintaining a balance with classic comic book presentation.  I love the cat-like appearance of Beast, and the mutated curves of Emma Frost will remain in my dreams for years to come (insert orgasming emoticon).  I’ll definitely be checking out the Planetary series after witnessing his work on this project.

Joss Whedon — as you may know from his work on Firefly and Buffy the Vampire Slayer — is a master of intriguing characterization and unique plots.  Astonishing X-Men only adds to his reputation as a gifted 21st century scribe of many media.  We begin with a new school year for the teachers of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters (Cyclops, Emma Frost, Wolverine, Beast, and Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat/Ariel/Sprite/That Chick Who Can Walk Through Walls).  The massacre of mutants on Genosha is still a fresh image in everyone’s minds, Scott Summers is dealing with the loss of his dear Jean in an unusual way (i.e., porking Emma Frost), and a new “cure” for mutation has the entire mutant community divided.  These issues are all at the forefront of Whedon’s story, but his real skill is seen in how each X-Man has their own relatable issue that affect their many interactions with one another.

In addition to our regular mutants, Astonishing X-Men also introduces a number of characters that will undoubtedly grace the pages of future chronicles in the Marvel universe.  Expect to see the names of Danger, Blindfold, Hisako Ichiki, and Special Agent Brand in upcoming X-stories.

Of course, Whedon is not faultless in this endeavor.  Just as in Firefly, events jump too rapidly from being laugh-out-loud funny to I-just-want-to-sit-in-a-corner-and-cry sad.  Some plot points remain unresolved by the fourth volume’s end, and that particular issue also suffers from pacing itself far too fast.

But even with these X-anomalies, Astonishing X-Men remains a solid piece of work and definitely deserves to be remembered for the X-future.  Whedon and Cassaday prove that stories revolving around superpowered people provide just as much commentary on the human condition as Kafka’s Metamorphosis or that episode of the Twilight Zone where everyone who was ugly was considered beautiful and everyone who was beautiful was considered ugly.  Remember that one?  I forgot where I’m going with this.  Review over.

Four adamantium claws out of five.

Stumble It!

Trackback URI | Comments RSS