ASTONISHING X-MEN #25
Rating:
Written by Warren Ellis (Planetary, Transmetropolitan, Thunderbolts, ect ect), pencilled by Simone Bianchi (Wolverine).
We rated this issue a four out of five eyeballs, and it's well-deserved. After 24 issues of a run that single-handedly made the X-Men cool again, we came to the finale a month or two ago with the Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men special. A lot of people were a little worried about what direction the book would take, and exactly who could fill the monster shoes left behind by Whedon and Cassaday. Well, I'm happy to say that with the first issue of their run, Bianchi and Ellis look like they're definitely sliding comfortably into those shoes. While the tone of the book is a bit different from what Whedon and Cassaday had been doing, it still maintains the same dynamic, high adventure storytelling their run had.
First off, Ellis's characterization of the team is dead on, and picks up on a lot of cues that had been left from Whedon's run. Whedon had established Cyclops as a master tactician in his run, and gave him almost a "Marvel's Batman" kind of vibe, at least in regards to leadership and planning. Ellis definitely picks up on that, and portrays Cyclops very much the same way, with an obvious boost in confidence since the adventures on Breakworld. The characterization of Beast is great, playing up the fact that he's a complete genius but also laid back and fun-loving. The introduction of Storm to the team was very cool, and should provide an interesting dynamic (a former X-leader lady sparring with Emma Frost, who is now in a very similar role). I think my favorite character in this issue though was the character Armor, that Whedon had developed in his run. Very rarely do you see new characters, especially in team books actually look like they're going to be useful to the story, and actually stick around for years to come, she definitely looks like one to watch.
As far as the plot goes, being the first issue, it is definitely a set up issue. Don't expect huge fights, and crazy action yet. The ideas laid out do show a lot of promise though. A country where rotting, unidentified space craft make a steel graveyard that the locals use to survive in their extremely poor country. A new mutant gene being forced into being, and so much more definitely play up the mad science level that you'd expect from a good Ellis book.
And the artwork is incredible. Bianchi's painted art does something that most painted artists cannot accomplish, it makes the story flow smoothly. While a lot of painted artists' work tends to be more stiff, his pulls you into the story, and sets the atmosphere of things very well. The coloring and tones are a little dark, which takes a little getting used to, but it seems to work well with the story that Ellis is setting up.
All in all, the new Astonishing team looks to be doing things the right way. This first issue promises a lot of good reading, and if you didn't pick it up, then I'd highly recommend it. Even if you're not an X-Fan, give it a look. I think fans of Ellis's creator-owned series like Planetary would really enjoy this as well, because the mad science feel of the book is very heavy (in a good way).
In other words, GET THIS BOOK!
We rated this issue a four out of five eyeballs, and it's well-deserved. After 24 issues of a run that single-handedly made the X-Men cool again, we came to the finale a month or two ago with the Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men special. A lot of people were a little worried about what direction the book would take, and exactly who could fill the monster shoes left behind by Whedon and Cassaday. Well, I'm happy to say that with the first issue of their run, Bianchi and Ellis look like they're definitely sliding comfortably into those shoes. While the tone of the book is a bit different from what Whedon and Cassaday had been doing, it still maintains the same dynamic, high adventure storytelling their run had.
First off, Ellis's characterization of the team is dead on, and picks up on a lot of cues that had been left from Whedon's run. Whedon had established Cyclops as a master tactician in his run, and gave him almost a "Marvel's Batman" kind of vibe, at least in regards to leadership and planning. Ellis definitely picks up on that, and portrays Cyclops very much the same way, with an obvious boost in confidence since the adventures on Breakworld. The characterization of Beast is great, playing up the fact that he's a complete genius but also laid back and fun-loving. The introduction of Storm to the team was very cool, and should provide an interesting dynamic (a former X-leader lady sparring with Emma Frost, who is now in a very similar role). I think my favorite character in this issue though was the character Armor, that Whedon had developed in his run. Very rarely do you see new characters, especially in team books actually look like they're going to be useful to the story, and actually stick around for years to come, she definitely looks like one to watch.
As far as the plot goes, being the first issue, it is definitely a set up issue. Don't expect huge fights, and crazy action yet. The ideas laid out do show a lot of promise though. A country where rotting, unidentified space craft make a steel graveyard that the locals use to survive in their extremely poor country. A new mutant gene being forced into being, and so much more definitely play up the mad science level that you'd expect from a good Ellis book.
And the artwork is incredible. Bianchi's painted art does something that most painted artists cannot accomplish, it makes the story flow smoothly. While a lot of painted artists' work tends to be more stiff, his pulls you into the story, and sets the atmosphere of things very well. The coloring and tones are a little dark, which takes a little getting used to, but it seems to work well with the story that Ellis is setting up.
All in all, the new Astonishing team looks to be doing things the right way. This first issue promises a lot of good reading, and if you didn't pick it up, then I'd highly recommend it. Even if you're not an X-Fan, give it a look. I think fans of Ellis's creator-owned series like Planetary would really enjoy this as well, because the mad science feel of the book is very heavy (in a good way).
In other words, GET THIS BOOK!
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