- ISBN13: 9780785122531
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
This deluxe hardcover collects Astonishing X-Men Volume 3: Torn and Astonishing X-Men Volume 4: Unstoppable by the chart-topping super-team of Joss Whedon and John Cassaday, plus extras. In Torn, things go from peculiar to just plain bizarre! Emma Frost’s erratic behavior has the X-Men spinning in a non-stop downward spiral. Will an unlikely union be the final straw? After secretly lying in wait for months, the new Hellfire Club makes its move! Plus: The X-Man destined to destroy the Breakworld stands revealed! Who is it, and what will be their fate? And in Unstoppable, the X-Men are off to protect the Earth from its destruction at the hands of the Breakworld. And when it’s all over, nothing will ever be the s… More >>
Astonishing X-Men, Vol. 2
I took a break from reading comic books for awhile… I started again, and this is the first X-Men book I picked up, because I’d heard good things about the title. Big mistake! The storyline is so ridiculous it’s laughable. While Joss Whedan may be skilled at dialogue and conversation in TV shows, I found his efforts at it here to be weak ones… the book does not flow properly. On the plus side, the art here is pretty good… but with bad scripting and even worse story, it’s just not worth it. I haven’t read the first arc of the series, so I don’t really want to pass judgement on it… but because of this mess it’ll take a lot to convince me to pick up past books or future ones. Rating: 2 / 5
I am X-men fan, but this series isn’t the one for me. Rating: 2 / 5
From the beginning, to the end of his run, Whedon treats all the characters, with the exceptions of Cyclops and Colossus, exactly as they were in the 70s. It’s as if he wants to write about the heroes he grew up with, and wants to ignore all the character growth that occurred in the last few decades. Wolverine is nothing more than a smartass who drinks beer. Emma Frost is a royal witch, Kitty Pride is still unsure and scared and amatuerish, despite her having been a SHIELD agent, hopped around the world with Wolverine, and kicked butt with the best of’em. Beast is more or less his at first bouncy beastly self, and then switches to his morose, self loathing, insecure self. Colossus is brought back from the dead (guess no x-men can stay dead), and Cyclops is treated like a leader with ability, not just a 2 dimensional jackass.
I hate the way Whedon cops out on all the villians he creates, and how their abilities exist. “It’s alien! It’s super science!”. “Died? Oh we can bring you back. Shot into space without a suit? We can bring you back. Living computers? Shiar did it!”
I was particularly disappointed with his lack of ignoring not just X-men Continuity/Growth, but also ignores what SHIELD is for. Fury’s response to the Genosha incident with the super sentinels with “It wasn’t US territory”. So I guess being UN Sanctioned in the first place sorta doesn’t matter anymore.
Hack writing, lackluster fights, and occasional witty dialog (though out of character in many cases). It’s mostly the same campy humor of Buffy the vampire slayer. Hit or miss, sight gags, ‘omg that’s embarrassing’ moments.
It did have some outstanding visuals though. And the binding wasn’t horrible. Whedon..please stick to ripping off Sci-Fi Anime and writing teen dramas. Rating: 2 / 5
This collection of the second arc of the Astonishing X-Men series begins with the apparent suicide of a minor cast member. Later, a formidable villian attacks the X-Men and students within the mansion. While I was unfamiliar with this story, other reviews have noted it is a retelling of the Cerebro plot. The artwork is again excellent in this volume, featuring several intricate double page panels and buoying the sometimes confusing story. Rating: 4 / 5
This collection is fantastic. The art is beautiful. Cassady’s layouts and details are attractive and as realistic as anyone in the business. The coloring by Laura Martin only hieghtens the reality created by Cassady’s art, and the combination is visually stunning.
And then there’s Whedon’s story. Whedon is a master. He’s proven it over and over. He does characters and dialogue better than just about anyone, and he knows how to build intensity. This volume gets going quickly, and is almost all action — beautifull, intense, building action — but he still finds time for characterizations, humor, and emotion. The scene between Kitty and Peter is very emotionally powerfull, the glimpse of Hank near the end after his battle with Danger is very revealing and tragic (Cassady’s depiction of Hank could not have been better,) and so many lines of dialogue not only advance the plot but reveal depth of character, personal histories, and the intracacie of relationships as well. With Whedon writing them, the Xmen seem like real people with real feelings, and with Cassady drawing them, they look like they could step off the page.
As far as this volume goes, the action is well thought out and entertaining. The choreography of the battles is top notch, and you can see how one action leads into another. The methods Danger uses to overcome the Xmen are brilliant, intense, entertaining, and very personal. The same can be said of Xavier’s fight with Danger. I’ve honestly never found Xavier more interesting or impressive. Danger herself proves a threatening and intrigueing villain, and the scale of the Xmen’s fight with her is truly worthy of collecting in a trade. In fact, I’d love to see volume one and two of this series collected into a hardcover, and don’t really understand why that hasn’t happened yet.
In short, this volume is more action oriented than the first, but it is just as good. Astonishing Xmen volume one and two are easily and by far the best Xmen comics I have read in years (if not ever,) as well as just plain some of the best comics ever produced, and I really look forward to the continuation of this series in early 2006. Rating: 5 / 5