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melhara's review against another edition
5.0
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Average rating for the entire series (minus Volume 12): 3.1/5
Check out my reviews for the rest of the series:
Volume 1: Gifted | Volume 2: Dangerous | Volume 3: Torn (no review) | Volume 4: Unstoppable (no review) | Volume 5: Ghost Box (no review) | Volume 6: Exogenic (no review) | Volume 7: Monstrous (no review) | Volume 8: Children of the Brood (no review) | Volume 9: Exalted (no review) | Volume 10: Northstar | Volume 11: Weaponized (no review) | Volume 12: Unmasked (TBR)
Average rating for the entire series (minus Volume 12): 3.1/5
Check out my reviews for the rest of the series:
Volume 1: Gifted | Volume 2: Dangerous | Volume 3: Torn (no review) | Volume 4: Unstoppable (no review) | Volume 5: Ghost Box (no review) | Volume 6: Exogenic (no review) | Volume 7: Monstrous (no review) | Volume 8: Children of the Brood (no review) | Volume 9: Exalted (no review) | Volume 10: Northstar | Volume 11: Weaponized (no review) | Volume 12: Unmasked (TBR)
carroq's review against another edition
2.0
Expectations may have been a bit high coming off the fantastic Joss Whedon run on Astonishing X-Men. There is definitely a shift in gears after the M-day event, which removed a huge number of mutants from the Marvel universe. I feel like there were too many changes made at once though, and this book suffered for it.
The core group is basically the same from the previous volumes, expect Colossus and Kittie Pryde have been replaced by Storm. She is a strong addition to the team, so there are no problems with that.
They have moved from New York to San Francisco and are working as a task force for the police. During this work, they come across someone who appears to be a mutant, but not one that is known to be alive. This leads into an investigation that involves parallel worlds.
Part of what I didn't like here is the attitude of the characters themselves. Scott in particular is much more pessimistic. They are a lot more mercenary than the X-Men I am used to reading. This matches the darker tone of the book, but it seems out of place.
And that darkness is reflected in the art, which can be cool at times. Something that bothered me about the art, and it may be nitpicking, is that the artist seems to struggle drawing eyes. Unless there is an up-close shot of one of the characters faces, their eyes look like they are closed or just not filled in. This made it hard to keep focused on the story.
The two issues at the end explore what would have happened if the X-Men had acted differently. I liked these quite a bit because they are set in alternate dimensions that have their own little quirks. There is some rehashing of the plot from the rest of the book, which felt unnecessary.
The core group is basically the same from the previous volumes, expect Colossus and Kittie Pryde have been replaced by Storm. She is a strong addition to the team, so there are no problems with that.
They have moved from New York to San Francisco and are working as a task force for the police. During this work, they come across someone who appears to be a mutant, but not one that is known to be alive. This leads into an investigation that involves parallel worlds.
Part of what I didn't like here is the attitude of the characters themselves. Scott in particular is much more pessimistic. They are a lot more mercenary than the X-Men I am used to reading. This matches the darker tone of the book, but it seems out of place.
And that darkness is reflected in the art, which can be cool at times. Something that bothered me about the art, and it may be nitpicking, is that the artist seems to struggle drawing eyes. Unless there is an up-close shot of one of the characters faces, their eyes look like they are closed or just not filled in. This made it hard to keep focused on the story.
The two issues at the end explore what would have happened if the X-Men had acted differently. I liked these quite a bit because they are set in alternate dimensions that have their own little quirks. There is some rehashing of the plot from the rest of the book, which felt unnecessary.
margaretann84's review against another edition
4.0
The main story isn't terrible, nor is it as good as the Whedon issues. However, Ilove the stories at the end, with all the alternate universes. It would be awesome to read more of those!
rimahsum's review against another edition
1.0
Completely incoherent, depressing, with short comic stories.
It completely deviates from any and all major story lines (as it is discussed in the introductions of each comic book) and drags itself to show a very alternate reality of the X Men which I just do not comprehend. Armor killing The Beast and Wolverine? What?
Amongst other things, this might have passed as a short story compilation, as it has some meaningful stories of the end of the world, or the suicide of Scott Summers (Cyclops).
But no, it is not. I am utterly confused about its way of arranging the stories which does not follow any story or guideline.
Very terrible.
It completely deviates from any and all major story lines (as it is discussed in the introductions of each comic book) and drags itself to show a very alternate reality of the X Men which I just do not comprehend. Armor killing The Beast and Wolverine? What?
Amongst other things, this might have passed as a short story compilation, as it has some meaningful stories of the end of the world, or the suicide of Scott Summers (Cyclops).
But no, it is not. I am utterly confused about its way of arranging the stories which does not follow any story or guideline.
Very terrible.
caoimhin42's review against another edition
4.0
Adding new X-men like Armor into the storylines is nice.
nancyotoole's review against another edition
2.0
I tried to go into Ghost Box with low expectations. I knew that it just couldn't live up to Joss Whedon's consistently entertaining run, and the artwork wasn't going to be like John Cassaday's. Still, Ghost Box left me feeling disappointed, not just because it's not as good as the first four volumes in the series, but because there are some moments that really show potential. It just never really lives up to that potential.
Simone Bianchi's highly detailed art style seems to have left readers divided, and I'm no exception. There are moments when it's really beautiful, especially on some of the double page spreads. At the same time, it doesn't always work. Some of the outfits and hairstyles adorned by the X-men look ridiculously dated. This is especially true when the characters are dressed in civilian clothes. I was also not a fan of Storm's battle lingerie outfit (which, you can tell from the character designs in the back, comes complete with a thong!). On a less superficial level, Bianchi's artwork doesn't seem suited to fight scenes at all. The angles he chooses can often be hard to follow.
Warren Ellis's writing is also pretty uneven. There are some fascinating moments, like when Cyclopes and Storm lament over how complicated things have become since the early days. At the two issues which explore parallel universes are pretty cool. Unfortunately, the main storyline fluctuates between confusing and just plain dull. Also, there are some moments with the dialogue is just plain weird, such as the several panels when the X-men discuss the fact that Cyclops is okay with swearing now.
Astonishing X-men: Ghost Box may have it's moments, but the uneven story, dialogue, and artwork ultimately misses the mark. I'll probably grab the next collection or two from my library, but if it doesn't shape up, I'll be moving on to better things.
Simone Bianchi's highly detailed art style seems to have left readers divided, and I'm no exception. There are moments when it's really beautiful, especially on some of the double page spreads. At the same time, it doesn't always work. Some of the outfits and hairstyles adorned by the X-men look ridiculously dated. This is especially true when the characters are dressed in civilian clothes. I was also not a fan of Storm's battle lingerie outfit (which, you can tell from the character designs in the back, comes complete with a thong!). On a less superficial level, Bianchi's artwork doesn't seem suited to fight scenes at all. The angles he chooses can often be hard to follow.
Warren Ellis's writing is also pretty uneven. There are some fascinating moments, like when Cyclopes and Storm lament over how complicated things have become since the early days. At the two issues which explore parallel universes are pretty cool. Unfortunately, the main storyline fluctuates between confusing and just plain dull. Also, there are some moments with the dialogue is just plain weird, such as the several panels when the X-men discuss the fact that Cyclops is okay with swearing now.
Astonishing X-men: Ghost Box may have it's moments, but the uneven story, dialogue, and artwork ultimately misses the mark. I'll probably grab the next collection or two from my library, but if it doesn't shape up, I'll be moving on to better things.
the_graylien's review against another edition
5.0
This is the first volume of Warren Ellis' run on "Astonishing X-Men".
Wow...
Wthin the span of six issues worth of comic book (issues #25-30), Ellis creates a world from which infinite amazing other stories could spring. He even begins to explore these possibilities in the two issues of the limited series "Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Boxes" which are also included in this fine volume.
Both the story by Ellis and the artwork by the likes of Simone Bianchi, Adi Granov, Clayton Crain, and Kaare Andrews are tinged with a beautiful weirdness, making this story an instant classic.
Truly amazing.
Wow...
Wthin the span of six issues worth of comic book (issues #25-30), Ellis creates a world from which infinite amazing other stories could spring. He even begins to explore these possibilities in the two issues of the limited series "Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Boxes" which are also included in this fine volume.
Both the story by Ellis and the artwork by the likes of Simone Bianchi, Adi Granov, Clayton Crain, and Kaare Andrews are tinged with a beautiful weirdness, making this story an instant classic.
Truly amazing.
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