Astonishing X-Men #34 - Marvel

This was a great issue. I think Warren Ellis is doing a fantastic job here. Last issue we found out that someone had hacked into Hank's computer, specifically to steal all of his theoretical ideas on how to jump-start the mutant race. Now . . now they're using those ideas to genetically manipulate the X-Men's dead foes by not only bringing them back to life, but also genetically splicing some serious hardware into them. They were attacked by one of Emma's former students, who turned out to be a Sentinel. And then this issue, while riding this spaceship back to it's base, are attacked by a very large version of Sauron. Luckily Emma figures out how to turn it off. Anyways, the ride the ship back to it's base . . somewhere in Northern Japan, and they think that they're stealthily entering. First of all . . obviously the antagonist knows that they're there. Secondly . . with all the genetic mutations hanging about, they figure 'This stuff wasn't built yesterday. We're looking at an armory that's taken decades to fill. This ain't just hate. This is an assassin's toolbox. This is someone who's been waiting for the right time, for a long time . . .' We see the person watching them, in the dark. It kind of looks like Charles. But I'm guessing that it's probably that chick that was Charles' genetic twin . . Cassandra Nova. But my real question is . . how has she, or whomever, been working on this stuff for so long when Hank has only started gathering this information in the last year or two? Is there time-travel involved here, or something? I guess we'll have to wait until next issue to find out . . when this story is also to be wrapped up. To me the best part of this issue is the philosophical debate between Hank and Scott. Well . . it's actually more like a lecture. Hank is telling Scott what he thinks of his recent actions and how he's leading the X-Men. He's been keeping it in for a while, so . . there's an awful lot that comes out. And . . it's deserved. As usual Phil Jimenez does a fantastic job with the art. I was worried about this book after Joss Whedon's run, but . . it's stayed just as strong and exciting as always. It's been a great book, in the hands of some fantastic creators. This title has continued to be everything you ever wanted in and X-men title . . and more.

Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis #2 - Marvel

I really enjoy the approach that this book takes towards the X-Men. Even right from the cover . . the picture of the mutant-baby puke on Emma's tits is hilarious. But when it comes down to it . . Warren Ellis is a genius. I love the way he writes Scott's character. And Henry has this take charge type attitude when he gets a view of all these babies. His concern is that because of the language barrier, even though this problem has been going on for months, there's not concise documentation and discovery. But Emma fixes that, and Henry's goal is to do everything he can to help these babies. The problem they're having is . . the mutant gene is identifiable from birth. But it doesn't activate until puberty. It doesn't seem feasible to Henry that all of the sudden all the rules would change. There's nothing to support the evidence of spontaneous mutant births. Plus . . they don't have the x-gene. 'Just a mess of chromosomal damage.' We find out this issue that there's some residual radiation going on around this village . . where all the mutant-babies have been popping up . . er, I mean . . popping out. The problem is . . it's Ghost Box radiation. You remember, from the Ghost Box mini-series where a mutant race was trying to cross-over into our dimension from another. Well . . it appears that they may be trying it again. Just from a different . . um, perspective. But before they can dig to much into that, they're confronted by one of the local warlords . . Joshua N'Dingi. 'You will now be so kind as to return to your vehicle and leave my country. It is your choice as to whether you'll be carrying corpses or not.' There's a few things going on here. First of all he's holding all of the civilians hostage, threatening to kill them should the X-Men not cooperate. Secondly, he has his own opinion of what's going on here. When Hank asks him about the babies, Joshua replies . . 'They're not children. They're warpies. Escort these people back to their vehicle. Then execute all the babies.' You just know that the X-Men aren't going to stand for that. But it'll be interesting to see what, if anything, they can do. Joshua seems to be a kind of cyborg . . I think. So I don't know if Emma can even affect him. Kaare Andrews does a fantastic job with the art. I've been a fan ever since the Spider-man mini series, Reign. I thought he did a fantastic job there, but . . I think his work on this series is even better. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this one turns out.

Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis #1 - Marvel

This was another fantastic issue in the Astonishing X-Men franchise. My only question is . . and it's one I've been asking ever since issue #1 of the Astonishing X-Men . . is this, or is this not part of the regular Marvel Universe? Throughout this whole series, while reading the various chapters, at the time it feels like were dealing with an alternate Universe. But then . . later on, there's some X-Men story that ties it all into the regular continuity. So, my guess is . . they're stories about the X-Men, but don't necessarily fall into any established time-line. Everything else catches up . . when it does. At least that's the only explanation I have. Anyways, Scott is putting the team together again to head off to Africa. It appears that there's some small African nation that seems to be overrun with mutant births right now. The problem is 2-fold. First of all, this is an entirely unnatural occurrence of events. Secondly . . mutants aren't born with their powers . . they manifest at puberty. So this has to be something entirely different. But . . they won't know until they get there. And, if history is any lesson to them, they very rarely have easy, or even tolerable experiences whenever they head into the mother-continent. And this one doesn't look to be any exception . . according to the guns they're met with when they land. As with the current Astonishing series, this one is written by Warren Ellis. He does a phenomenal job with the story, and as always presents us with a plethora of ideas. But what I think really sets this one apart is Kaare Andrews art. It's simply amazing. Plus, I've never seen Ororo and Emma look sexier. I mean, seriously . . disturbingly so. I can't wait to read the rest of this series. It looks to be . . amazing. Um, er . . sorry . . Astonishing.

Astonishing X-Men #33 - Marvel

I've been a fan of this book ever since it's inception, but . . I really can't tell you how thrilled I am that Phil Jimenez is doing the art here now. I'm a huge fan. When he first came on the scene I thought he was just a George Perez imitation, but . . he's turned out to be so much more. Such as this amazing cover, and . . he's got some equally impressive pages on the inside. Anyways, enough fan gushing . . between Phil and Warren Ellis' story . . this is an amazing book. And it seems to get better and better every issue. Last issue, while trying to help out Abigail Brand, the X-Men were attacked. During the 'save' Emma saw one of her dead students on the pier. When she tried to make contact with her she attacked. Actually, her whole body turned into some kind of living Sentinel. They beat her, but they were left with more questions. That's when Abigail told the X-Men that someone had hacked into Henry's files and were using his theoretical work. It had to do with when he was trying to solve the M-Day dilemma. He had postulated that the whole 'No more mutants' thing might not apply to those already dead. He thought he might be able to harvest live x-genes from dead mutants. All Abigail knows it that the guys name is Kaga and apparently he's been able to take Henry's work from the theoretical to the practical. The Hellion/Sentinel was one example, as well as the Brood on the asteroid base that Abigail was trying to take out. Next they're attacked by what looks like a cross between a Brood and Krakoa. Remember? The living island. They thought it was attacking them, but actually it was trying to destroy the evidence that was left behind by the Sentinel. Again, the X-Men beat it, but this time before they can do anything, they track a rather large ship swooping down from the ionosphere to scoop up the defeated hybrid. Scott immediately puts a plan into action and they use their new rescue vehicle to chase after, and land on the ship. But again they're left with more questions than answers. The ship itself seems to be some kind of living entity. The only thing they can find even remotely alive is the head of Paradigm. 'I knew him. Part of a rogue group modelled on my own student teams. I never got to teach him. His mind could interface with information technology. They exposed him to the Phalanx, the cybernetic aliens . . and that'll be how they got into your computer systems.' But now Scott's mad. This Kaga has been planning, and waiting for the mutant's number to become dismal enough to attack. He obviously wants to eliminate them and he was just waiting for the most opportune time. Apparently . . that is now. So Scott wants to take the fight to him. 'I want direct control of this vessel. I would like to visit this person. And know his name. And kill him.' Admittedly, Warren isn't the best writer as far as character development goes, but . . he does bring some fantastic ideas to the table. That's not to say he doesn't do a good job with the characters, but . . his focus seems to be more on the situation they're involved in rather than necessarily on any individual team-member. He does give them some good 'attitude' though. Phil's art is amazing. On the pages where Scott is frustrated about the monster attacking and he decides to let loose . . the scene was great, but you could just see the frustration and anger on his face. And I love the way he draws Hank. Right now, the current story-line is scheduled to run through issue #35. I'm not sure how long Warren and Phil are scheduled to be on this book, but . . I say, the longer the better. These 2 make a great team.

Astonishing X-Men #32 - Marvel

I love this book, and the creative team has been exemplary since it's inception. But . . I do have a few issues. But first . . let me fill you in on this issue. Last issue, when the X-Men were trying to save Abigail, Emma thought she saw Laurie, one of her old Hellions, on the pier. But then this giant organic Sentinel seemed to expand from her diminutive frame. And that's not the worst of it. As they're fighting it this issue, it shoots some missiles out of it's fingers that turn out to be Brood. Long story short, the X-Men give it a smack down, kill the Brood and end up taking the body back to their San-Francisco compound to examine. That's when Abigail reveals to them that she's been trying to keep a lid on things, but . . there's several factions out in the real world that are preying upon the weakened state of the mutant population. And, the part she's really been trying not to admit is that they've been using her lover, Henry's own theoretical work to accomplish their tasks. It seems that they've hacked into his computer and are using his own designs to dig up dead mutants and turn them into weapons to use against their own kind. I think that's a very original concept and a great idea to wrap this story around. Warren Ellis is brilliant, and Phil Jimenez' artwork really gives this book a fantastic look and feel. All of that is wonderful. I've said it before . . I love the X-Men. No . . my problem comes with the placement of the book. Or rather the placement of the stories. It's never really been defined as to how this book fits into the regular Marvel Universe. I mean . . at times it seems like the stories are pretty congruous with Uncanny or Legacy. But then, as in this story-arc, things just don't line up right. If this is in the regular Marvel Universe, it obviously happens before the current state of events in Nation-X. Actually, this would had to have taken place before the whole Utopia story-line. But none of that is ever explained. It's like we're following the same time-line, but . . it's just slightly skewed. But, again . . that's never been explained, or even put out there. So between X-Men Forever and GeNext that puts us up to 4 or 5 alternative X-Men universes here? Or are they all connected in some way that we just don't know yet? Maybe I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, but . . these are the questions that are running through my head as I'm reading this book. So I have to put them out there. Now . . the other thing that's bothering me . . all these variant covers. Or actually I guess the best term is . . Retailer Incentive Covers. 1:10, 1:15, 1:25, 1:50, 1:100 . . . is it ever going to stop? If you are a regular comic-shop customer you've probably seen the 1:10 or 1:25 covers, but . . you're rarely going to even see the others. Unless . . you look on E-Bay. If you're familiar with E-Bay you know that everything is out there. So I'm perusing the other day and I come across the 1:100 sketch variant for Astonishing #31. It had a couple of days left and I wanted to see what it went for, so I put in a bid for $20. I forgot, and a couple of days later when I went to check I found out I had won the book. So then I did some more tooling around and I ended up getting the 1:25 cover of the same book for $4. Don't get me wrong . . I'm thrilled to death to get the book. Especially for the price. But, at the same time it makes me realize how over-inflated this whole market really is. And if that's the case then the people really getting screwed are the consumers . . you and me. Right now #32 has a 1:15 variant that has the Super-Hero Squad on the cover. You can easily find a dozen of them on E-Bay for $3 to $6. And, I'm not ragging on E-Bay. I love E-Bay. It's easily helped me double the size of my collection in the last 10 years. But . . as I said, the consumers are getting screwed by being tantalized by the over-priced books at the shops. And the shop owners are just doing their jobs . . trying to make money like the rest of us. So then, I guess, it comes back to the comic-book companies. Like I've said before, it's great that these variant covers are out there . . that there's something that's actually collectible available. But . . most of us have to give up something else in order to get them. That's not helping any of the other books, or the genre in general. I know . . it's all part of the capitalist system, and it's inevitable. But . . that doesn't mean I have to like it. And I don't.

Astonishing X-Men #31 - Marvel

Well . . we're on chapter 3 of this book now. Well . . maybe it's chapter 2 1/2. Warren Ellis has stayed on as the scripter, but now Phil Jimenez is the artist in residence. And I couldn't be happier. I absolutely love Phil's work. However, I think this story takes place before the whole Dark Avengers/Dark X-Men thing. The X-Men aren't on the island yet. They're still located in Marin County. But it's a cool story, nonetheless. Abigail Brand is still around. Which I guess makes sense since she and Hank are an item now. But she's up in outer space. She and her team go to this asteroid based station, but it's been overrun by the Brood. She torches the place and blows it up, but barely makes it out as she wants to make sure the rest of her team are clear first. Her ship sustains some damage and she can't control it as it starts to head towards Earth's atmosphere. That's where the X-Men come it. SWORD gives them a call. They don't really want to, but . . they don't really know any other way to save Abigail either. The X-Men end up saving her, but the ship still crashes. Ororo minimizes it, but it's still witnessed by everyone at Fisherman's Wharf. Including . . Laurie Collins, Wallflower. Somehow . . someone coordinated all of this because it's just to coincidental that the ship lands here and Emma spots Laurie in the crowd. She's supposed to be dead, afterall. Apparently she was waiting for Emma, because when Emma tries to talk to her telepathically . . Laurie says 'Contact'. As soon as she does, it looks like all the organs in her body come exploding out of her chest and she becomes this giant sized techno-organic Sentinel. I'm wondering if this whole thing is connected to Bastion and everything that he been throwing at the X-Men. I don't know. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I thought this was a terrific opening chapter. Like I said, I absolutely love Phil's work and as I was reading I had to study every panel of every page. Personally I think this book has been fantastic ever since issue #1. I don't think there's been a dry spell yet. But I'm really excited about this new story-arc. I can't wait to see what Warren and Phil have in store for us.

Astonishing X-Men #30 - Marvel

I can't believe I got 17 Marvel comics this week. That's quite a lot for me. But, since they had, I believe, 34 or 35 titles out . . I guess my list would be rather extensive. I just wasn't expecting this many. I have to say . . I'm a little worried about the future of this comic. I don't know anything, but . . in the previews there's nothing listed past this issue. And they have books listed up till October now. However, in the description this is listed as the conclusion to the first saga by Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi. So . . that would lead us to believe that there's a second saga . . right? I don't know . . like I said, I'm just worried when there's nothing listed for 4 months out. Anyways, as the description says, this issue does indeed wrap up the 'ghost-box' saga. And it appears that Forge has gone quite literally mad. These 'mutants' that he's created were to fight the influx of these teams from this other dimension. That's where the 'ghost-boxes' come in. They were their source of travel. Apparently their world, as Forge surmises, is so barren and desolate that they've been forced to search out other places for their home. Having detected this, and having no mutants to draw upon as a team, he created his own. Now, with the arrival of the X-Men at Wundagore mountain, his base of operations, he's prepared to open the 'ghost-box' and take the fight to their would be invaders. But that's not a fight the X-Men are prepared to fight . . and they're not even sure that the story that Forge is weaving is correct. But he does open the box, and Agent Brand, from her SWORD ship 200 miles up, has a "two-zettawatt quantum laser pointed at your location". When the box opens, Hank tells her to aim at the last location of the phone, and he throws it into the box. How much power is two-zettawatts? "Around ten thousand times the total power received by the Earth from the sun. It would be like landing a piece of star in the room. Even ten miles out, the polariton storm at the edge of the beam's field of effect would have torn buildings and people into foam." Even Logan has to admit, "You know I don't like the woman, but I gotta say, her problem-solvin' skills amuse the crap outta me." The only thing we don't know is if Forge, or any of his mutants survived. And, for all we know, this may have just pissed off the people in the 'other' universe even more. This may not be the last we've heard of them. I thought this was a great book and a fantastic story-line. But, really . . I expected nothing less from Warren. And, as many beautiful covers as we've seen from Simone . . the art in this book, and throughout this arc, is just phenomenal. That may be why there's no book listed also . . they probably both need a rest after this run. I'm holding out hope for a quick return because this book is fantastic. I can't wait to see more. If you aren't reading it, you definitely need to look up the back issues, or the TPB's. You won't be disappointed.

Astonishing X-Men #29 - Marvel

First of all . . I just want to say what a beautiful job I think Simone Bianchi is doing on the art of this book. It's really incredible. As amazing as the covers are . . the inside is equally impressive. This is a book where after you read it, you then have to go back and study the previous pages to appreciate all the subtle nuances the Simone puts into each panel. It's stunning, really! Anyways, Warren Ellis does the story, so of course it's intricate, involved and detailed. It appears that when Forge was trying to figure out the extent of M-Day . . basically wondering whether it's affects could be felt throughout the various dimensions, he discovered that while the majority of the world's were similarly affected, there were also world's out there that had mutants in bounty. So during this process, it's my guess that he alerted one of these world's to our own mutant crisis, and they saw it as a place they could plant stakes and claim as their own. Which then, of course, to fight the threat Forge did the obvious thing and created his own new species of mutants. The members of Scott's team are fighting various members of one of these groups in the lost city of Tian in a cloaked stretch of forest in China. We also find out that somehow Forge is also in league with the High-Evolutionary. We're not sure yet if they're working together, or if he's just operating out of one of his sights, but . . somehow the High-Evolutionary is involved. The problem is, it's his sight at Wundagore Mountain. The X-Men go in to confront Forge, but . . I think they're a bit more optimistic as to Forge's intentions than Forge himself. I get the feeling that Forge knows that he's crossed a line somewhere. This is probably my favorite X-title . . for the obvious reasons . . Warren and Simone. Also, during the complete run of this series I've just really enjoyed the way these characters have been handled. It's really been unique and original. I'm not sure how long they plan on staying on this book, but my hope is it's for the foreseeable future. This book is awesome.

Astonishing X-Men #28 - Marvel

This is a little bit complicated, and . . the Ghost Box mini-series really didn't help me at all. Well . . let me take that back. The first issue gave us a lot of information. I thought we were making some progress, but . . the second issue totally lost me. It was an ok book, for what it was . . a couple of future, or alternate universe, stories . . but, to me, it didn't really help to progress the story and or to give us any additional information. So this issue, after going to see the alien space-craft, finding the box, and discovering that there's 2 different types of mutants fighting here . . one's a triploid with 3 strands in their DNA chain and the other seems to be a more 'normal' mutant, but their X gene is on the wrong chromosome . . . the team heads to China to investigate the last location that this mutant left in his notebook. It a 5 mile stretch in the Chinese forest know as Tian and it's completely cloaked from outside eyes. Once there, the X-Men find what used to be a floating city, crashed to the ground. It's on top of another city that's on the ground. From what they can gather, the Chinese mutants used to live here. Apparently they used their mutant powers to completely self-sustain these 2 cities . . including floating the one. Anyways, long story short, they split up and they find 3 separate mutants there. We don't know for sure yet, but I assume that the either the triploids of the mutants from the other universe. The X-Men engage them and they take them down, but in the process they find out that they know who the X-Men are and . . I don't think they mean them any real harm. They're just looking for someone specific that's associated with them. As they take them down, all 3 of them say the same name . . . Forge. I'm just guessing here, but I think either Forge created this little conundrum that the X-Men are being faced with here, or . . at the very least, he did something to aggravate or speed the process along. I think it's great that Warren Ellis is writing this series now. He does a fantastic job of presenting new and original ideas. And with the X-Men . . the sheer number of books multiplied by the overwhelming number of various titles . . sometimes it's hard to find a completely original idea here. Not that I don't enjoy these books and love these characters, but . . sometimes it does seem like some story-lines are recycled. As I'm sure they are in a lot of books. Anyways, my point is that with Warren on board . . we're definitely not going to have that problem. And Simone Bianchi's pencils are absolutely fabulous. Right now, this book looks and feels incredible. Since it's inception this is my favorite X-Men book. I don't see it losing momentum anytime soon.

Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Boxes #2 - Marvel

Actually . . this comic had me kind of confused. I enjoyed the stories in it, but . . they were entirely different from what I expected. The nearest I can figure is, when this Ghost Box was opened, somehow we slipped into some different dimensions and we're seeing what these worlds look like. And if that's not the case . . . then I am completely lost. Creatively, both stories were fantastic. Of course Warren Ellis wrote them, but Clayton Crain did the art for the first, and Kaare Andrews did the art for the second. The only thing, really, that they both had in common is that they were both kind of apocalyptic type stories. That is to say that they were both stories of the X-Men . . . when they were on their last legs, and there really is no hope for the ones that we see. The first story is about Scott. He's standing in front of this ruby quartz that's about as tall as he is. He's contemplating his inclement action and the strength that it'll take to do so. He thinks about his powers a little bit and his own resistance to them . . a bit. So what he's about to do will take a very concentrated effort and a very focused and precise blast. He's actually patting himself on the back for having the strength to do it. He then focus' on the quartz . . . and takes his own head off. His memories go back to when they arrived at Chaparanga Beach. But then the order of events seems to differ from what we read in the first issue of this mini. Which is part of what lead to my confusion. In the second story, all that's left of the X-Men is Hisako, Logan and Henry. It appears to be about 5 years in the future. Logan is confined to a wheelchair. I guess some fight he got into, he got his skeleton bent. And Henry seems to be digressing rather than evolving as he usually does. Anyways, they're on their way to Kalispell Montana. Supposedly there's a stronghold there, Kitty Pryde is back, and she's helping to get mutants off-world. The problem is, of these 3 . . none can fly. So Hisako decided that she was going to walk them there. It's taken a year. She knows it's probably a trap, but . . they won't know for sure until they get there. And, of course . . it is. But since it took them so long to get there . . everyone else is already dead. There's nobody left. So, out of sympathy, and with a lot of remorse, Hisako uses her armor powers and puts Henry and Logan out of their misery. The story ends with a funeral pyre in the background and Armor slowly walking into the sunset . . . head hung low. "The night is peaceful. There are no ghosts here. Only me. And I won't be here long." They were both good stories. The second was especially powerful. But . . completely not what I expected when I opened this book. So . . I'm still a little confused. I enjoyed the book. But, I have no idea how this story is going to impact the main title. If it will.

Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Boxes #1 - Marvel

This mini-series is basically an extension of the story that is currently running through the Astonishing X-Men book. It's written by Warren Ellis, so it fit's perfectly in with that title. We know what the X-Men know, currently, but this title provides some insight into the man who brought the Ghost Box to our world in the first place. And he's a mean, ruthless son of a bitch. We get a little background into his missions. It seems that our world is the third recent attempt by him to annex, or destroy, alternate Earths. In the other 2 instances he ends up annexing the Earths although with great personal loss to the inhabitants of each. We find out some more about his nature, and that of the boxes. But we don't really see who's pulling his strings, and what their ultimate objective is. That, I think, is going to be the big revelation next issue. I thought this was a terrific book. Alan Davis and Mark Farmer do the art in the beginning chapter, but then Adi Granov does the art in the second part. You know . . two different worlds, so two different artists. Anyways, I have to say . . I enjoyed Adi's work much more than Alan's. Alan's stuff seemed kind of hurried and sloppy. While Adi's work was very crisp and clean. Both parts of the story worked to connect the overall theme . . I just preferred the second part to the beginning chapter. And I loved Simone Bianchi's cover. There's a page in the back where it show how she worked the page, from beginning sketches to end. I thought it was pretty neat. I'd like to see more of these extensions to the Astonishing X-Men stories. I think it's an incredible book, and there's a lot more story that could be told. Hopefully, this is just the beginning of a new trend.

Astonishing X-Men #27 - Marvel

It's amazing how much stuff Warren Ellis can put into one book. Astonishing is the right name for this book . . honestly. Here's what we got . . last issue the X-Men went to Chaparanga Beach. It's a place where dead space-ships are taken. There, they found a mutant . . . actually a triploid. He was trying to activate a box with the power from the ship. When the X-Men showed up, he killed himself rather than give up any information. I guess they found another mutant there also. Now a triploid can't exist naturally, and the other mutant had the x-gene on the wrong chromosome. Anyways they take the box back to San Francisco but Hank is just as stymied. So, Agent Brand from SWORD is called in. She immediately identifies the box as a Shadow Box. Apparently it some sort of technology that used to travel between dimensions . . parallel Earths. They also find a journal. It appears that the triploid and the unknown mutant were on opposite sides of some conflict . . a secret war. They also find reference to a place in China . . Tian. It's a five mile stretch in the Chinese forests that's completely unidentifiable. It's blocked from all forms of scanning equipment and has been for years. So, of course, the X-Men need to go and check it out. So, all of the stuff that's happened in the book so far . . is nothing compared to what they find in the forest. Tian mean 'heaven'. And the area they find . . a floating city . . looks just like it. First they find out that the whole city has spintronic activity. "These floors, these walls, they're slabs of spintronic computing material. Spintronics use the spin of electrons to store information. They open the way for quantum-based calculation. This entire building is a spintronic supercomputer. All of it." They find some dead mutants, but because of the energy in the room . . something generates preservative properties. So they determine that this location is the home of the Chinese X-Men. That is . . . until M-Day. Hank surmises that when Wanda whispered "No more mutants." that she turned them all off. I don't know how Warren can think up all of this stuff. The guys amazing. Plus, he does a fantastic job with the story . . as far as character development, interaction and dialogue. The guys a genius. Add to that the amazing pencils of Simone Bianchi . . and I think, we have one of the best X-Men story-arcs ever. Simone has drawn some amazing pages here. And I love the ways the panels flow. I didn't think anything was going to beat the first 24 issues of this book. But . . this chapter just may do it. There is some amazing work here. Props to all involved.

Astonishing X-Men #26 - Marvel

I absolutely loved the first chapter of this title. I thought that Joss Whedon and John Cassady were at the top of their crafts. My only complaint, and really it's a minor one, is that near the end they were having a problem keeping things on schedule. And, between #24 and #25, there was almost a 6 month gap. We did get the Super-spectacular, and the Sketchbook for the new creative team, but . . we had to go without one of the best books out there for a couple of months. Also, when the book first started, it was a little hard to tell just where the stories fit in with the regular X-Men continuity . . or if they did at all. That changed later on, but at first I almost thought the stories were taking place in another reality or something. They were fantastic, but they just didn't quite fit. Now were on to 'Chapter 2'. First of all the creative team is amazing. Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi couldn't be a better match if they were soul mates. And were still getting Simone's incredible covers. Warren's writing is phenomenal. The intricacies he puts into his characters is absolutely amazing. I think he's the perfect follow-up for Joss. They're both heavy on the personalities and characterizations, which will make the flow between chapters seamless. Also they're both incredibly talented in creating the ideas and details that make their stories amazing. Secondly it seems that this title is now much more entrenched in the X-Men continuity. This title and Uncanny, in particular, really seem to be on the same track. My only comment is that I'd like to get to know Armor better. I think we need an issue dedicated to just telling her story . . although, I'm sure it's planned somewhere. Finally . . we seem to be on a more consistent schedule here . . so far. We're really only on the second issue, but . . they came out almost a month apart. That's a good start. I'm sure there will be some hiccups along the way though. I don't know how they'll be able to keep up these incredible incredible issues, and stay on schedule. I mean everybody needs down-time . . right? Anyways, this issue we learn more about the Space-craft graveyard, Chaparanga. They've gone there to find a mutant that seems to be a new form of mutant . . the next generation, if you will. They find him and can barely contain him. He ends up 'self-destructing', I think, but offers a warning before he does. "Bastards. If you think I'm going to let you make me tell you things, you're insane. One of us will get through. You can't stop the annex. You're all dead already." It sounds like it's another antagonist from the future, or a different reality or something. I guess that's why he needed to spaceships. Something to power up the portal. But right now, really, all we have are pieces of the puzzle. We don't know what the picture looks like yet. I have every confidence that this 'chapter' will live up to everything that we've come to expect from this book. They're already off to a brilliant start.

Astonishing X-Men #25 - Marvel

What an amazing issue. First of all Simone Bianchi's artwork is simply incredible. As fabulous as the cover looks . . the inside is even better. Then . . Warren Ellis takes over as the writer with this issue . . and in usual fashion, he's brought a boat-load of ideas on board already. I know some people won't agree with me, but . . as much as I loved the first 24 issues . . I'm afraid this run, with Warren and Simone, for as long as it may last . . may be even better. I think the things they have in store for this team . . and with it's new, current, direction . . we may just surpass what this book has already achieved. And the best part of the whole thing? This is just the beginning. I like that I picked up the sketchbook because it prepared me more for the changes that take place here. You wouldn't necessarily need it, to enjoy the story, but . . I think it helped with the set-up, so then . . I could just enjoy the new direction . . soak it all in. This issue also introduced us to a new threat. Well . . actually two of them. The first is Chaparanga Beach. It's kind of like our airplane graveyard in Arizona, except it's a graveyard for spaceships. The problem is . . at any one time, people figure there's probably 3 to 5 of them that are actually functional. But that pales compared to the evidence that the X-Men have found that there may be a new form of mutant out there . . . triploids. Or, a mutant with 3 sets of chromosomes. However, the third is artificial, so that means . . they're man-made mutants . . as being a triploid doesn't occur naturally in human nature. For the first issue of this new direction, they really gave us a lot to thing about and swallow. I frikkin' love it! If you had any reservations about the continuation of this series, you can toss them to the wind. Buckle in and get ready for a hell of a ride!

Astonishing X-Men - Sketchbook - Marvel

The bad news is the Astonishing X-Men, as published under the creative guidance of Joss Whedon and John Cassaday . . is no more. The good news is, the series will continue, and . . it'll continue under the auspicious creative guidance of Warren Ellis, Simone Bianchi and Salvador Larroca. Is it physically, or humanly, possible for Salvador to be associated with one more project at Marvel right now? The guy seems to have his hands into everything right now. Which, ultimately, is just a huge nod to his talent, but . . he's only human. He is human, right? Anyways this issue focus' mainly on Simone's redesign of the X-Men's costumes. Some of them aren't really changed that much, such as Wolverine, Nightcrawler and even Scott's. While others have gone through a major redesign, such as Colossus, Storm and Dazzler. Also Hanks outfit looks pretty neat. It seems like every time there's a creative change in the X-Men, poor Hank gets more and more bestial looking. Also the other big change is that the X-Men will be leaving Westchester. Finally! They're going to be setting up shop on the West Coast. They'll be taking over a top secret bunker not to far from San Francisco. Hey, maybe we'll see them in San Diego next year. Anyways, they plans for this new home are designed, and explained, by Salvador. As much as I've thoroughly enjoyed this series to date, I have to say that my anticipation for this new direction is much more peaked than I expected. I really can't wait to see where we go from here.

Giant Sized Astonishing X-Men #1 - Marvel

Of course this book was fantastic. I'm sorry that I couldn't find a larger picture of the cover. Rather than do an issue #25, by Whedon and Cassaday, they decided to put out a giant-sized issue, and wrap up the story that way. I'm not complaining. I'm just glad that we got another issue out of the guys, and we get 1 final chapter in their version of the Astonishing X-Men. Fan-frikkin-tastic! There was so much going on in this issue that I read it twice. I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything. It turns out that the prophecy on Breakworld . . about Colossus being the orchestrator of it's destruction . . was a self-fulfilling prophecy. It turns out that they knew about Peter's powers, and his unique metal frame. Basically, there's has been a warring world for so long that they knew the only way they were ever going to have any peace would he with their destruction. So basically they created their own prophecy. Then all they had to do was manipulate the events and get Colossus to come to their homeworld. Heck, they probably would've just abducted him . . if they had to. The problem is, before they figure all of this out . . they still end up getting the missle launched towards Earth. Kitty ended up stowing away on board . . she thought she could disrupt it's electrical systems, but . . it's actually just a 10 mile long bullet. Aimed straight at Earth. And there's something strange about the metal that it's made of, because it seems to be disrupting Kitty's powers and making her weaker. But you just knew that it was never going to be that easy. Overall I thought it was an incredible issue. The resolution for Kitty's dilemma was . . well . . unexpected. I don't want to give away everything. And there's something brewing between Agent Brand and . . . well you should pick it up and read it for yourself. You really won't be disappointed. It really is that good. Now all we have to do is sit back and wait for issue #25. That's when the new creative team of Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi will be coming on board. I don't think the quality of this title will be diminishing anytime soon.

Astonishing X-Men #24 - Marvel

This issue is the wrap up to the 24 issue run of Joss Whedon and John Cassaday. It's finally over! I don't mean that negatively. I mean that . . finally . . we get to see how they're going to wrap this whole thing up, and set up the ending for the next creative team, so they'll be able to hop right in. Right? Wrong! They're going to drag 1 more book out of this. We're going to get a Giant Sized Astonishing X-Men #1. Of course. Why would I think anything else? It becomes fairly obvious, about half way through this book, that there's no way for them to wrap this story-line this issue. I'm actually kind of wondering how they're even going to wrap it up with 1 more issue. There's going to be a lot of stuff packed in to that one issue. But . . since it's Joss and John . . we'll deal with it . . and smile. And bend over and say . . "Thank You! May I have another?". I'm just playin'! I love this book as much as the rest of you. It's easily the best X-Men book on the shelves. Joss is incredible with his scripts. And John . . . what can I say? John is a treasure. The only bad thing about him being on this book is that he hasn't put out as many Planetary issues. But again . . since it's John . . we can wait. I still say, if they don't use these guys for another X-Men movie . . . they're crazy. They have the perfect feel for it. In case you haven't noticed . . I'm trying to stay away from any details about the story. The book is so good, that you should have to go out a pick up a copy. Or two! You want to get both covers . . right? The book . . and the entire run, for that matter . . . really is that good. I'm sure it'll be out in TPB soon enough. So then you really have no excuse.

Astonishing X-Men #23 - Marvel

First of all I just want to say that I hate the fact, as I'm sure do a lot of readers, that next issue will be the last for Joss Whedon and John Cassaday. They created this book, and brought it to life. By doing so they've invigorated our senses over the last 4 years. They've also spoiled us. They've shown us what a brilliant book can be attained when the perfect union or writer and artist is created. I know that they'll both go on to other projects. They're both fantastically talented. But . . . this chemistry will probably never happen again. And that's sad. We're almost at the end of our current storyline. And even though Colossus is responsible, according to legend, for the destruction of this planet, we've been eluded to the fact that it may not be as cut and dry as we were lead to believe. Yes Colossus is an integral part, but he may not be the primary catalyst that we thought he was going to be. And Scott, by the end of this issue, is proving why he's the obvious leader of this group. And yes, that means he didn't die at the end of last issue. Did you really think he would? So next issue, everything comes to a head. The thing that makes this book so magical, is Joss' handling of the characters. The interaction and dialogue between them is fantastic. Sometimes in comics, the dialogue especially seems "canned" or forced. But Joss has a way of making it feel natural and real. Then, you add to this the beautiful pencils of John Cassaday, and you truly have a work of art. John, with this book, has taken a kind of cinematic style to his framing sequences. While reading this series, you can really see the story unfolding on the big screen. He already was incredibly talented with his frame flow. But then to add this cinematic element to it, plus his "tell-all" expressions that he displays on all of his characters faces, and we truly have a masterpiece here. I really can't applaud it enough. And, we still have next issue to look forward to. It's going to be sad to see them go. But, I truly think that, this will be one of those stories and series that will stand the test of time. There's going to be numerous presentations of these pieces coming out. And I still think, if there's another X-men movie, that they'd be silly not to have Joss write it.

Astonishing X-men #22 - Marvel

What a fantastic book. I can't believe that Joss Whedon and John Cassaday's run is almost over. But unfortunately, there's only 2 issues left. The book won't end. Just their part in it. The story that Joss weaves through this, and previous issues, is amazing. Then add to that John's cinematic style panels, and we have a classic in the making. This book, basically, is just bringing all the various aspects of the story together. The team, which got split up when they crash landed on Breakworld, is all brought back together. Including Danger, the sentient embodiment of the Danger Room. Emma kind of psychoanalyzes her, or it. She's come to the conclusion that as much as it hates the X-men and wants to kill them, it still can't. "The rogue sentinel, the alliance with that non-wit, Ord . . . desperate attempts to get someone to do what you can't. You never got over your parent programming. If it's any consolation, nobody ever does." So now she . . it . . is helping them and providing transport. And now that they're all together, they're going to the moon base so they can try to stop the Retaliator . . . the rocket that's pointed at earth. But they find out it's not a moon at all. Actually is a small planet sized base that's been built for no other purpose than to fire said rocket at said Earth. At the end of this issue, Scott, apparently, gives up his life to help save his team-mates. As they approach the moon, a squadron of fighters come after them. So Scott goes out on his own, in a fighter, to distract them, while the rest of his team attempt to land on the moon. He's only a single fighter, so it's only a matter of time before he's shot out of the sky. The issue ends with his body floating away in space. Fantastic! Just make sure you cherish the next 2 issues, because that's all we have left of this story-line. Enjoy it while you can.

Astonishing X-men #21 - Marvel

I really can't say enough about the creative talent on this book. Even though I've attempted to . . the last few . . . actually all the posts . . . for this book. Everything about it, creatively, is amazing. So . . . I won't go in to all of that again. They've introduced a new character, last issue I think, Ms. Ichiki. Codenamed Armor. Anyways, our team is on Breakworld, trying to figure out just what this prophecy about Colossus is all about. On their way here, they were attacked by the planets military force, so they were forced to crash land. This split up the team. Which is fine, because they really have 2 missions. Of course the first is to find out what is going on with Peter. But secondly, they've come to find out that somewhere on this planet is a missile pointed at the Earth. A missile capable of destroying the whole planet. So obviously they also have to find and defuse that. At the end of last issue, our one team, Emma, Scott and Beast found the mural that shows Colossus crushing the planet in one hand, and their sun in his other. Wolverine and Armor join them straight off this issue. Meanwhile, Kitty and Peter are trying to make their way across the city. This isn't an easy thing to do, especially trying to stay inconspicuous, because pretty much everyone on the planets knows and hates Peter's face. Even the kids. Also Cerebro is still up to something. Don't know everything yet, but you know it's not good. And it seems in the midst of all this, we're getting a few romantic interludes. Beast has has to make a shelter under the snow with Polaris. It's a long story, but suffice it to say that although they have shelter, they have to find a way to stay warm. Meooww! Peter and Kitty have been brought to one of their towers, to rest and reflect before the dawn, when Peter will be expected to make a choice that could change their planet. So, on what could be their final night, Kitty decides to make a move on Peter. "Now I am more confused . . . but . . . somehow . . not as tired." Meowww! Again! And Emma and Scott are in a fighter plane when they're shot down by Cerebro. In the process Scott tells Emma that he's come to love her. After they crash, Scott appears dead, and when confronted by Cerebro Emma says, "Do me one favor dear? Kill me. . . . . please do try to make it quick." And that . . . is the end of this issue. Wow!! Like I've said over and over . . . fantastic story, fantastic art, and fantastic characters. What more could you ask for? Well . . . another issue fairly quickly would be nice.