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hc21's review
2.0
Maybe you just can't live up to a Joss Whedon written arc. Maybe I care too much about plot arcs. Maybe it was the alternative history version where we watched everyone kill themselves. Regardless, let's just say this was a letdown after the previous volumes:
eoremovich's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't love the art, and the story was a little confusing.
misterjay's review against another edition
2.0
Decent action, decent story, but the artwork didn't really do anything for me this time around.
However, the two "alternate takes" packaged at the end of the collection are excellent and well worth reading.
However, the two "alternate takes" packaged at the end of the collection are excellent and well worth reading.
tmwebb3's review against another edition
3.0
Different from Whedon's run. Not a bad thing but not what I was expecting.
saskiacb's review against another edition
3.0
So I assume this leads up to Secret Wars, an x event I've heard about but never really knew anything about.
In the multiverse, different earths have used ghost boxes so many that they've essentially damaged their own planets and are looking for a new place to inhabit. So these mutants have been sent to earth 616 to observe the state of the climate and whether it is habitable. Meanwhile, Forge has been looking into the multi-verse sense m-day and has created mutant-like creatures to try and defend earth 616.
The panels:
In the multiverse, different earths have used ghost boxes so many that they've essentially damaged their own planets and are looking for a new place to inhabit. So these mutants have been sent to earth 616 to observe the state of the climate and whether it is habitable. Meanwhile, Forge has been looking into the multi-verse sense m-day and has created mutant-like creatures to try and defend earth 616.
The panels:
shane_tiernan's review against another edition
5.0
Favorite line, "Emma is that you? I didn't recognize you with your legs closed."
Loved everything about this, the art, the writing and especially the alternate reality stories that I'm assuming happened on "other Earths". This was dark and still occasionally humorous, just like I want my X-Men stories to be.
Loved everything about this, the art, the writing and especially the alternate reality stories that I'm assuming happened on "other Earths". This was dark and still occasionally humorous, just like I want my X-Men stories to be.
manuelte's review
1.0
Warren Ellis was a very poor choice to follow Wheedon's arc. Every X-Men feels like a caricature taken out of proportion and behaves out of character. Cyclops is seen cursing and losing his patience at every turn (he's supposed to be the indomitable leader, all strategy and well thought out plans); Beast belittles other mutants by commenting repeatedly on "nice" mutations versus some that he "loathes" (direct quote): chameleonic mutations who always "smell so bad when they bleed. Vomit and old eggs"; and Storm explains "fine" mutations (psy) versus "gross" mutations (metamorphosis), and they comment on what they think are disgusting mutants such as ones with "brain bladders".
The X-Men are supposed to stand as the haven for all mutants, defending them from a world that is afraid of them. They have sheltered time and time again unsightly mutants that are rejected because they look different (the current mutation of Beast included!), or have a mutation that is unstable or difficult to hide. Seeing the clear leaders of the team dismiss and ridicule other mutants because they don't look humanoid is not what I expected from the X-Men.
It made me want to read the first 24 issues of Astonishing X-Men again to remind myself that the X-Men are still there, and that I just have to wait for another author to take over the helm.
The X-Men are supposed to stand as the haven for all mutants, defending them from a world that is afraid of them. They have sheltered time and time again unsightly mutants that are rejected because they look different (the current mutation of Beast included!), or have a mutation that is unstable or difficult to hide. Seeing the clear leaders of the team dismiss and ridicule other mutants because they don't look humanoid is not what I expected from the X-Men.
It made me want to read the first 24 issues of Astonishing X-Men again to remind myself that the X-Men are still there, and that I just have to wait for another author to take over the helm.
oneangrylibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
It was an okay book in the series but it felt a bit like groundwork. With a new author after Whedon, this volume builds on a premise without a lot of payoff....yet.
crookedtreehouse's review against another edition
2.0
Warren Ellis is a fantastic writer. Simone Bianchi is a beautiful artist. Unfortunately, their work doesn't really mesh well with each other, and neither of their work meshes well with the X-Men.
Because I'm trying to read all of the X-books and spin-offs, as opposed to just Astonishing, I didn't come to this title hungry for Whedon and Cassaday. Reading this way, the art is in a constant state of flux, and the characters personalities are also constantly evolving and devolving. This book was just messy.
Ellis's ideas are solid, and his dialog has improved greatly since the Counter-X days, but the pacing is off.
Bianchi's art is beautiful but his characters look inconsistent from panel to panel, and the way he breaks panels is cool, but interferes with the flow of this particular story.
If you're thirsty for Forge stories, I guess this book will do, or if you're really into X-books that deal heavily with fictional science. Casual X-readers, and fans of Warren Ellis's Vertigo, Image, and Avatar books may want to skip his run on Astonishing X-Men.
Because I'm trying to read all of the X-books and spin-offs, as opposed to just Astonishing, I didn't come to this title hungry for Whedon and Cassaday. Reading this way, the art is in a constant state of flux, and the characters personalities are also constantly evolving and devolving. This book was just messy.
Ellis's ideas are solid, and his dialog has improved greatly since the Counter-X days, but the pacing is off.
Bianchi's art is beautiful but his characters look inconsistent from panel to panel, and the way he breaks panels is cool, but interferes with the flow of this particular story.
If you're thirsty for Forge stories, I guess this book will do, or if you're really into X-books that deal heavily with fictional science. Casual X-readers, and fans of Warren Ellis's Vertigo, Image, and Avatar books may want to skip his run on Astonishing X-Men.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
3.0
It would have been nice if this book continued the story from the previous volume. Instead we have a huge jump shift. And we are in San Francisco. And there are 198 live mutants at most. Or maybe it is later and Hope has been born. Who can tell. At least Henry's relationship with Abigail apparently survived. Pretty good use of the characters. And Armor is a good add. But a bit more effort with continuity would have been appreciated. And perhaps a little more heart and soul. 3.5 of 5.