Customer Reviews

Astonishing X-Men, Vol. 3: Torn

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This review is directed primarily at those who no longer read comics or graphic novels as much as they used to. There are no spoilers in this review. Read without fear!

First, like other reviewers, I would strongly recommend that you buy vols 1 and 2 before reading this book. This volume collects issues 13-18 of Astonishing X-men, but if you haven't read 1-12 most of what happens in these pages simply won't make sense.

That said, I'm not going to cover the content of this book so much as Whedon's general approach to writing the X-Men. Like many others, I enjoyed the Claremont works in the late 1970s but found that by the 1990s the X-Men story line was so convoluted it was difficult to really follow, especially as graduate school was taking more and more of my time. Whedon has limited the number of main characters in Astonishing X-Men to 6 and this allows him to focus on the unique personalities and interactions among the group. As a result, the characters have more depth than ever before. The issue in which the new team faces (individually) their worst fears (found in this volume) is a real triumph in comic writing. Interestingly enough, this approach also removes Wolverine from center stage. By far the two most interesting characters in Astonishing X-Men are Kitty Pryde and Emma Frost, each of whom acts as a perfect foil for the other throughout the series. Indeed, the survival guilt of both Emma and Kitty feel in the wake of the mass destruction at Genosha frames this entire story arc.

Cassady's artwork meshes perfectly with Whedon's writing. Beast has a more cat-like appearance here than anywhere else and the transitions between his intellectual and feral self are simply stunning. Even the supporting cast is drawn with sensitivity and truly come alive. Agent Brand of SWORD, Blindfold, and even Lockheed all receive better portraits here than anywhere else.

So why should you read this series, especially if you, like me, thought your comic reading days were past? Simple. Whedon and Cassady remain true to the characters we grew up loving, but this is clearly the adult version of X-Men. The old X-Men were extraordinary, and very near unbeatable. They explored a variety of social issues, but always within the constraints of the "comic book format." These new X-Men, despite, or perhaps even because of, their return to traditional comic costumes, are far more human in their hopes, fears, guilt, and love than many of their predecessors. And they are far more interesting. If you want to reaquaint yourself with some long lost friends, this series is definitely for you.

As Torn, the third collected storyarc in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Serenity creator Joss Whedon's run on Astonishing X-Men begins, our favorite merry mutants are in some deep trouble. Emma Frost is back with the Hellfire Club, and their conspiracy against the X-Men begins to come full circle, as Emma helps the Club take down the X-Men one by one by having them succumb to their worst fears. Cyclops is rendered powerless, Beast is reduced to his feral nature, Wolverine is turned into a prissy boy (you have to see this to believe it), and Colossus is left a victim of his own rage. Kitty Pryde is the only one left, and it's up to her to stop Emma, Cassandra Nova, and the rest of the Hellfire Club dead in their tracks. This becomes even harder when Ord breaks out of prison with help from Danger, and it is revealed just who the X-Man is that is destined to destroy the Breakworld, and who the mole is that's been spying on the X-Men. Whedon's breakneck pacing and quick witted dialogue is about what we've come to expect from the gifted writer, as he throws twist after twist at the reader so quick you won't believe your eyes. Without revealing too many surprises, it becomes safe to say that things will never be the same again for the team, and Whedon's transformation of Cyclops is by far the most interesting twist ever put on the character. With nods to the classic X-stories of Chris Claremont and Grant Morrison, combined with the still spectacular art by John Cassaday (not to mention that we have another mouth watering cliffhanger to boot), Torn ends up being quite a treat.

When I heard that Joss Whedon, god of all that is right with American entertainment, was going to write stories for my favorite superhero team I was already sold. "Gifted" did not disappoint and introduced a new line-up of old X-men standards including ex-villain Emma Frost, Cyclops, Wolverine (naturally), Beast, Colossus (who was believed deceased), and lastly, Joss' personal favorite, the always-underrated Kitty Pryde. The writing was brilliant and filled with laugh-out-loud moments that show that Mr. Whedon's talent for comic timing extends to the printed page as well as his legendary television work on shows including "Buffy", "Angel", and little-known science fiction gem "Firefly". On top of the often spectacularly entertaining writing, the art in this series is simply the best I've ever seen in a comic. If you haven't read "Gifted" and "Dangerous" I strongly suggest you do yourself a favor and get them now, even if you're a relative newcomer to the X-men or comics in general....especially if you're new to comics since this is likely the series that will hook you on the art form. That said, "Torn" is the third arc in the series, and is easily the most hectic yet. At the end of "Dangerous" we learned that the grand ol' Hellfire Club has been manipulating Emma Frost from behind the scenes. In this story, they launch an all-out psychic assault on the X-mansion leaving Wolverine as a blubbering english wuss and Beast as a ravenous animal, among other things. With Cyclops and Colossus also out of commission and Emma and her pals slowly unfurling their mysterious plot, it falls on Kitty and a pair of young mutant students to save the X-men from their own worst fears. These occasionally humorous and sometimes terrifying personalized psychic attacks speak volumes about the insecurities of each of our heroes; this is insightful character development at it's finest. While all this is going down, the last two villains the X-men fought team up to finish them once and for all. Ord of Break-World, sent from his planet to kill the X-man destined to be the destroyer of his planet (and, yes, we finally do learn which one it will be) escapes from his confinement with the help of Danger, the self-aware core of the legendary "Danger Room" given a tangible, mechanical body and armed with knowledge of every X-man's strengths and weaknesses. Can things get more crazy? Yes. Yes they can. Just wait until you learn the real truth about the reappearance of the Hellfire Club. Let's just say your head will probably be hurting after you finish reading this volume for the first time. While the more light-hearted humor of the first two installments makes some notable appearances (what if Kitty phased through her upstairs bed at a very awkward moment? Hmmm....), this arc is largely a dark journey into our heroes' psyches. It's nice that there's still some room for the characters' individual charms to show, but "Astonishing X-men" keeps picking up the pace with every installment and it is blazing full-speed-ahead now. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. While I do miss the multitude of humorous conversations and amusing pop-culture references of the previous volumes, I was absolutely rivetted to each page as the situation got more dire and each page crammed with more and more insanity. And let's just say the last page leaves you hanging in a big way. Damn, do I hate me some cliffhangers. Bottom line, if you've read the first two arcs and wanted more, you've got to get this one. If your interest in the story is waning or you don't know what happened in past volumes (go buy 'em already!), then you'd best pass on this one because it is non-stop and packed to the gills with the kind of insane plot twists accompanied by minimal exposition that will send casual fans running to their mamas.

While not quite as good as the first two volumes, "Astonishing X-men: Torn" continues the excellent Breakworld story line. I checked the first volume out from the local library after a good 15-20 year hiatus from reading x-men comics, and after reading it, I quickly purchased volumes two and three from Amazon, and at a price about $5 cheaper than list, it was a bargain. Good story and dialogue overall, coupled with beautiful artwork. The artwork is not like the hyper-muscular figures characteristic of comics, but it works well nonetheless. The pace, in my opinion, is a bit more sketchy/disjointed than the previous two collections, but still better than many other comic story arcs that I've read recently. I think this writing/art team is only together for one more graphic novel (6 comic issues), and I will be sorry to see them go. I could probably hang on reading if the either artwork or story was engaging, but with the Astonishing X-men, you get both. Highly recommended for X-men fans, just make sure you read the first two volumes, "Gifted" and "Dangerous" prior to this book to bring yourself up to speed on the story thus far.

I was all on aboard for the first two trades from Whedon & Cassaday. Here however, I was taken aback by inclusion of confusion, runarounds, and conflicting ideas. It was all over the place. The only thing keeping the from being rated lower was Cassaday's art. A step back.

Let me preface this by letting everyone know what kind of review this is going to be. Joss Whedon is my favorite writer. His television series (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly) are what I consider to be some of the best stories ever told. He's captivated me in ways that no other storyteller has. Before Joss started on this series, I've never read any X-Men, so the only back story I had while reading this was the first two volumes of "Astonishing" which were, as this one is, written by Joss.

Now about this book. There are really great things going on here. The comedy is great (Wolverine is hilarious when he... 'reverts'), and there were a few very powerful emotional scenes. Joss is at his best when he's handling Kitty Pryde, who was not only the focal point of this arc... she was also the driving force. If I took anything away from reading this trade paperback, it's that I would do anything to have a Joss scripted "Kitty Pryde" ongoing series.

Now... the not-so-good things: The plot, especially to someone unfamiliar with the complicated X-Men back story and mythology, has a lot of very confusing elements. While it's certainly an improvement over Astonishing X-Men Vol. 2: Dangerous, which had me confused nearly 100% of the time, there were some plot lines that really bugged me out, and the reveal at the end... exposition heavy and ultimately unsatisfying. It added some new depth, but it also sacrificed a bit of the coherency of the story. Joss Whedon's fan base is large enough that I feel 50% of the readers will be Joss-fans unfamiliar with Marvel back story and the other will be X-Men fans. Sometimes, I felt like this was trying to please those who intimately know the Marvel mythology, because a newcomer just wouldn't get some of this stuff. Joss should have made it a bit easier to grasp.

7/10

Author Joss Whedon brings his best game with this fine six-issue run (#13-18) of "The Astonishing X-Men." It looks like the Hellfire Club are back, with Emma Frost leading the way to the utter defeat and debasement of her erstwhile teammates... With consummate grace, Whedon crafts one of the finest scripted mindwarp sagas in comicbook history, and manages to pop off some classic, "Buffy"-esque one-liners that show the old magic is still there. Best of all, he doesn't get lost in all the cluttered, techno-fetishistic bullpucky that's been weighing the X-books down for the last couple of decades -- this is just good, old, character-driven superhero stuff... Nice to see Kitty Pryde kicking some serious butt, too... Yay. Can't wait for the next collection to come out.

I bought this for my husband while we were dating and I still have yet to read it, but Joss Whedon is an amazing writer and I loved the first 2 of this series. I can't wait to finish the rest.

LOVE IT! There so addictive, and well worth the price. Great characters, storylines, dialogue, illustrations...everything!

Whedon and Cassaday return for the third installment of The Astonishing X Men, this one focusing on more psychological threats rather than the very tangible threats of the first two installments. Nonetheless, this is a very interesting and fun trip, with lots of good action, good humor and certain members of the x team like no one's ever seen them before. This is the most trippy of the four Whedon/Cassaday X Books, but it is still well worth a look. Die hard fans, pick this bad boy up whenever. Newbies, maybe you should start with the first two.