World Famous Comics: Astonishing X-Men Vol. 1: Gifted
Astonishing X-Men Vol. 1: Gifted
By: Joss Whedon, John Cassaday Publisher: Marvel Comics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 152 Publication Date: December 29, 2004 Reading Level: Young Adult Studio: Marvel Comics
Product Description: Dream-team creators Joss Whedon (TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and John Cassaday (Planetary, Captain America) present the explosive, all-new flagship X-Men series - marking a return to classic greatness and the beginning of a brand-new era for the X-Men! Cyclops and Emma Frost re-form the X-Men with the express purpose of "astonishing" the world. But when breaking news regarding the mutant gene unexpectedly hits the airwaves, will it derail their new plans before they even get started? As demand for the "mutant cure" reaches near-riot levels, the X-Men go head-to-head with the enigmatic Ord, with an unexpected ally - and some unexpected adversaries - tipping the scales! Collects Astonishing X-Men #1-6.
Whedon & Cassaday astonish ^ Joss Whedon does what Grant Morrison never did, and that is understand the X-Men. Beautiful art by Joohn Cassaday makes this book almost excellent. New villians are shown here and are interesting and uncomplicated without being simple. Really fantastic stuff that whets your appetite for the rest of their run.
Entertaining read ^ There are just too many X-men titles out there. Not being an X-men fan, this comic book was a revelation on how a new writer could continue to inject interest into a tired genre.
Prof Xavier's sabbatical provides a convenient starting point for a new team of X-men to be formed under the shaky leadership of Cyclops. Perhaps mindful of the recent demise of Marvel Girl (aka The Phoenix), Whedon has given Cyclops guilt feelings in his new love relationship with Emma Frost. The Beast and Wolverine continue to lend their heavyweight presence to this team but most attention is paid on developing the character of Kitty Pryde.
There are two great hooks in the storyline - (i) the return of Colossus (not from the dead as mistakenly reviewed by others). Colossus "death" was stage-managed and he was held to provide experimental material (2) for the development of a mutant cure.
There is one bad hook - the character Ord from the Breakworld. Quite forgettable (an amalgam of Dr Doom, Burrough's Martians and John Saxon the actor), his "alien" background means more intergalactic space nonsense. Oh brother.
However, the witty dialogue and excellent artwork propels this story along very well. There are a couple of quite great and memorable images from this comic - the "We have to astonish them" panel, "I can smell you" panel, This is worth buying.
A solid X title ^ As a long time X fan, I am always excited to check out a new series based on this mutant team. Prior to this I read Whedon's Fray, an excellent sci-fi vampire slayer book. So when it came down to choosing between this and Morrison's New X-Men, I went with this (I'm a little burned out on Morrison after Batman R.I.P.). This first collection did not disappoint. This go round, the team consists of Cyclops and Emma Frost leading the team, with Beast, Wolverine, and Shadow Cat. It's not my favorite line up for the team, but it was still a good mix. Colossus and Nick Fury both pop up as well.
I'm enjoying the interaction between the group. Whedon's sense of humor is all over the place, usually with great effect, but the characters are all true to their nature. While I enjoy the style, the cure storyline has been done, so it would have been nice to see something original, but I'll be curious to see where they go with it. The villain, alien Ord from the Breakworld, wasn't the most interesting villain but does the job.
John Cassaday's artwork is fantastic. His action scenes are very cinematic and he's able to compliment the comedic moments too with very realistic facial expressions. Will definitely continue this series in the future, with hopefully some more appearances from the extended X family.
An Entertaining and Dark Refreshment ^ I picked this up with little previous X-men history. I managed to pick up this volume and hit it off fairly well. The story is great, because I had no ability to predict what was going to happen next. Joss Whedon is really "Gifted" and the title speaks more to himself, than to the mutants.
I was really shocked because the X-men are not happy in the least. They constantly fight with eachother about how they are going to go about gaining acceptance. It was truly an experience to see these characters differ so much. I'm use to the difference in mutant abilities, but this book was about the mere clashing of simple human opinion. I found this very fascinating, although I'm hoping that they can all get along. We can only take this element so far.
I was suggested to read this as sort of a refreshment for a second entry into X-men. I really wasn't let down. This series is very well written and it's very original aside from its characters. Cyclops, Emma Frost, Wolvie, and Kitty Pride were great choices for an X-men team. They feed off eachother like parasites.
Great start to a great run ^ I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's a great introduction to a fantastic run by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday. Throughout the series, Whedon crafts an exciting story with many twists and turns. He makes a very complex and rich storyline that avoids being contrived or difficult to follow. Cassaday's art complements the style perfectly, and does a great deal to help with the story.
I can't recommend this storyline enough. Whedon and Cassaday completed 24 total issues during their run with Astonishing X-Men, which are compiled in Astonishing X-Men volumes 1-4. Each book is very enjoyable and well worth the purchase.
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