I think, other than my general cynicism at the time, this is the reason I was concerned about Whedon writing Astonishing X-Men. There are comic book writers who give comic relief far too much prominence - sometimes even letting it steer the plot - and often I've suspected that Joss Whedon is precisely who these writers are trying to ape. The humor serves the story and not the other way around. It is recognizable and uniquely Whedon, but he doesn't get in his own way. The rest of the series sees an old X-Men "character" rendered the perfect adversary, an assault by a newly formed Hellfire Club, the return of Cassandra Nova, and an intergalactic war over the survival of Earth. His first storyline is a clever variation on the usual mutant persecution story: a so-called cure for the Mutant gene is developed.
Whedon creates a single story of many parts, hitting all the notes for a great X-Men yarn. It is easily one of the most satisfying mainstream superhero titles I've read, and certainly the best X-book I've cracked open. My expectations were guided by my own version of Murphy's Law stating not only that if it can go wrong it will, but that the better it sounded the worse it would be.Īs it turned out, while my pessimism about presidents, corporations, and George Lucas sequels may never err Joss Whedon and John Cassaday's Astonishing X-Men proved me wrong. I didn't worry in spite of the potential of Joss Whedon steering the course of an X-book, but because of it. However, at the time I was very pessimistic about comics. Any list of my favorite TV programs will inevitably include Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly. The announcement that Joss Whedon was writing Astonishing X-Men didn't appeal to me at first. days right before "Mutant Massacre." But between the movies, the abundant monthlies and minis, and the cartoons for me the X-men in general - and Wolverine in particular - were by that time the comic book version of that pop song you love the first time you hear it, and the second, and the third, and the five hundredth, but eventually it gets played every hour and you think next time you pass by someone who's humming it you're going to punch him in the throat. Some of my most potent comic book memories involve the Chris Claremont/John Romita, Jr.
I felt like all my doorways back into the X-mythology were shut, and honestly I didn't care all that much.
Dozens of spin-off solo and team X-titles lived and died in the time it took me to leave comics and return. Since then I stopped reading comics, eventually revived my interest in them, and in the interim there was too much X-stuff to wrap my head around. I tuned out of the X-people a long time ago.
By Joss Whedon, John Cassaday, and Laura Martin, et al.Ĭollects Astonishing X-Men #s 1-24 and Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1
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