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37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Why Whedon and Cassady's X-Men are Simply the Best, February 17, 2007
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.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Joss and the X-Men: still a match made in Heaven, February 16, 2007
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.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Head-spinning twists and turns., February 16, 2007
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.
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