Take a photo of a barcode or cover
23 reviews for:
Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon & John Cassaday Ultimate Collection Book 1
Joss Whedon
4.23 AVERAGE
23 reviews for:
Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon & John Cassaday Ultimate Collection Book 1
Joss Whedon
4.23 AVERAGE
I started this review laughing because I finished this book and forgot I'd finished it 10 minutes later. Nothing about this was memorable for me.
I tried letting my feelings on Whedon's take on the MCU films aside to read this. He's definitely not my favorite person when it comes to Marvel products but I like Firefly and Serenity and I like X-men, so I have this a shot. Strangely enough, the problems I have with his shows weren't present here. The problems I have with his films were, however.
One liners.
He loves his one liners. And a lot of them feel like he was just patting himself on the back as he wrote them. Why? Because they came from characters that wouldn't say things like this. Emma Frost is a complex character but her comments are often biting or slightly cold, not quippy. It made her dialogue seem awkward. Even her making blatantly sexual comments about Scott seemed more in character and those were kind of awkwardly placed, too.
Kitty was... interesting. I appreciated the reference to when she first met Emma and she had a few bad ass moments. She didn't stand out the same way she usually does to me and I'm not sure why that is?
I feel like I should give props for an X-men book that didn't focus on Wolverine over everyone else. That's a rarity.
That being said, I must admit that this is certainly not my favorite line up. I'm not sure why but there are no characters of color here. None of my favorite X-Men, aside from Emma, are here. Even Charles is gone for most of this. My excitement was at a 5/10 to begin with.
Anyway, the first plot contains is kind of the plot to the Last Stand. There's a potential cure for mutants and for two minutes, we get the debate over whether it's okay to choose to be cured Scott says it's not because it's they'd be naive to think the government wouldn't force it on proud mutants. Wolverine thinks it'll increase self-hatred. Beast would like the option. It's X-Men Last Stand. But somehow, more bland?
Anyway, of course there's something that kind of kills the choice. The doctor creating the cure is experimenting in dead mutants. So the X-men go to stop them.
The villains here are not memorable. The first one is a dude, I forgot his name, who's trying to cure the mutants for reasons. The second is the fucking Danger Room. Because Whedon thought that would be fun. Then it's a big ass, hybrid Sentinel. No real complexity here.
It's bland. There's nothing exciting about this. I don't think the next volume will excite me more unless they change the line up.
I tried letting my feelings on Whedon's take on the MCU films aside to read this. He's definitely not my favorite person when it comes to Marvel products but I like Firefly and Serenity and I like X-men, so I have this a shot. Strangely enough, the problems I have with his shows weren't present here. The problems I have with his films were, however.
One liners.
He loves his one liners. And a lot of them feel like he was just patting himself on the back as he wrote them. Why? Because they came from characters that wouldn't say things like this. Emma Frost is a complex character but her comments are often biting or slightly cold, not quippy. It made her dialogue seem awkward. Even her making blatantly sexual comments about Scott seemed more in character and those were kind of awkwardly placed, too.
Kitty was... interesting. I appreciated the reference to when she first met Emma and she had a few bad ass moments. She didn't stand out the same way she usually does to me and I'm not sure why that is?
I feel like I should give props for an X-men book that didn't focus on Wolverine over everyone else. That's a rarity.
That being said, I must admit that this is certainly not my favorite line up. I'm not sure why but there are no characters of color here. None of my favorite X-Men, aside from Emma, are here. Even Charles is gone for most of this. My excitement was at a 5/10 to begin with.
Anyway, the first plot contains is kind of the plot to the Last Stand. There's a potential cure for mutants and for two minutes, we get the debate over whether it's okay to choose to be cured Scott says it's not because it's they'd be naive to think the government wouldn't force it on proud mutants. Wolverine thinks it'll increase self-hatred. Beast would like the option. It's X-Men Last Stand. But somehow, more bland?
Anyway, of course there's something that kind of kills the choice. The doctor creating the cure is experimenting in dead mutants. So the X-men go to stop them.
The villains here are not memorable. The first one is a dude, I forgot his name, who's trying to cure the mutants for reasons. The second is the fucking Danger Room. Because Whedon thought that would be fun. Then it's a big ass, hybrid Sentinel. No real complexity here.
It's bland. There's nothing exciting about this. I don't think the next volume will excite me more unless they change the line up.
I have to confess, I haven't really kept up with the X-Men since the mid-1980s, so I don't know everything that's been going on with them for the last few decades. But a friend recently sent me two volumes of a run of X-Men by Joss Whedon, so I wanted to give it a shot. Joss Whedon does not disappoint, and even if I didn't understand every reference to the "current events" of mutants at the time it was written, it struck me as good stuff. A cure for the mutant gene? An alien who wants to wipe out human mutants to save his planet? The Danger Room AI gone sentient and rogue? I love it!
Enjoyed the story and the fact that all the characters looked the same throughout the book
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
I have wanted to get into comics for a while, and a friend's boyfriend suggested I start here. It was a brilliant suggestion.
I was familiar with the X-Men, so it didn't seem too daunting, and the fact that this particular series was penned by Joss Whedon just made it better. I was impressed with the story and the artwork, and I enjoyed how easy the format is to read without compromising the quality of the story telling. (That last bit is a misconception I'd had about comic books for a LONG time.)
All in all, I'm excited, and I'm glad I had volume two ready to jump into the second I finished this one.
I was familiar with the X-Men, so it didn't seem too daunting, and the fact that this particular series was penned by Joss Whedon just made it better. I was impressed with the story and the artwork, and I enjoyed how easy the format is to read without compromising the quality of the story telling. (That last bit is a misconception I'd had about comic books for a LONG time.)
All in all, I'm excited, and I'm glad I had volume two ready to jump into the second I finished this one.
This is a 4.5 star collection. The first six issues of this collection is basically perfect. Kitty Pryde has never been better than she is in Joss Whedon's hands for all the reasons that made Buffy such a revolutionary show. John Cassaday's art is peak of his powers good and Whedon knows when to get out of his way so much so that the big reveal in this series is actually wordless.
The last six issues are very, very good but just aren't on the level of the first six or what is to come later. I liked what Whedon was going for and I think he got every ounce of drama he could out of those issues and flips the script on the X-Men in a very interesting way but it is just impossible to live up to that early promise.
The last six issues are very, very good but just aren't on the level of the first six or what is to come later. I liked what Whedon was going for and I think he got every ounce of drama he could out of those issues and flips the script on the X-Men in a very interesting way but it is just impossible to live up to that early promise.
Very enjoyable take on the X-Men. Witty, imaginative, and with very few 'clunky declaration' missteps that are so common in superhero comics. I'll def be reading the final two volumes in Joss Whedon's run.
This book is amazing! Loved everything about it: the story arcs and the drawing are amazing! I am a bit picky about how the heroes are drawn, but this was flawless. And the plot kept you guessing. I read this in two sittings and when I put it down, I couldn't stop thinking about it. That's how good it is.
I bought these Ultimate editions of this fantastic run of X-Men for free comic book day this year and I'm only getting to them now. It's been awhile since I've read the whole run and man is it ever good. It might actually be better than I remember. I'm still a bit put off by Beast but he warms up to me.
No big surprise that there's great dialogue and great use of an ensemble cast but I am really blown away by the emotion here. With Kitty, with Cyclops, even with Emma Frost of all people. It's just an all around wonderful run.
No big surprise that there's great dialogue and great use of an ensemble cast but I am really blown away by the emotion here. With Kitty, with Cyclops, even with Emma Frost of all people. It's just an all around wonderful run.