Gifted

This is a review of basically both Astonishing X-men Trade Paperbacks, "Gifted" and "Dangerous". First, I'll admit that I very much disliked Grant Morrison's run on New X-men. The whole, let's make the X-men more "realistic" was interesting, but I think that Morrison took it too far in points. And what also bugged me is that for all the talk of taking the team in new directions and what-not, he plodded out the same stuff that people have been using in X-men for forever. "I'm so new and different that I'll reintroduce the Phoenix Force, kill Jean Grey, reintroduce and kill Magneto" *sigh* What I really like about this particular series is that Whedon doesn't muck about with it. He's taking the X-men back to what he thinks is their best and he let's you know that he's doing that in the first couple of pages. If you didn't get that, or didn't want to see the X-men of the "Glory Days" basically retold in what I for one think a splendid fashion, then the book is wrong for you. I personally think that Whedon does it admirably. I don't know what to tell the people who don't like his wit, because frankly, I think that it's brilliant, and well-placed throughout. The pacing is great, and for all the grumbling about it being obviously paced for a TPB...um, you're reading a TPB. What's the big deal? Oh, and while the basic ideas for the story aren't brand new, I think that Whedon does a good job of putting a cool spin on it all. Sure, alien invasion isn't exactly the newest thing ever. But WHY this particular alien is invading is a very interesting twist. True, the general hatred of mutantkind by humankind is certainly not new, but this whole thing of casting it as a disease that can be cured and what that does to the mutants themselves as a community is new and interesting. Indeed, an evil AI bent on the X-men's destruction is pretty stale stuff. But the particular AI that is evil in this and WHY it's evil is a pretty cool development. Especially since it calls into question the motives and trustworthiness of a VERY IMPORTANT X-man (without resorting to the cheap trick of making it some deep, dark recess of the mind that's responsible -- and all about 5 mins after you were just cheering for this person). How does one not see the freshness in all this? All while staying true to the core ideas of the X-men. It's good stuff. Whedon also has a knack for humanizing characters and making them sympathetic and believable. Beast, to me, is the best example of that talent in this collection. It really is interesting to see the Beast's true feelings about his current state portrayed so well. And not just him bucking up and taking his newest mutations in stride in "true X-man fashion". It makes him an interesting character. Kitty was also given a great treatment as well, obviously, and the Kitty-Colossus thing just doesn't get old. And even somewhat minor characters like "Wing" get a GREAT treatment by Whedon. Cassady's art is very impre

This series is brilliant. The characterizations are spot on. The dialogue sharp and witty. The interactions between the characters realistic and entertaining. The action intense and stunning. The art some of the best in the bussiness. The emotional impact of certain scenes as powerful and real as comics, novels, or movies can ever get. And it's very funny in places as well (a hallmark of Whedon's. The man has a tremendous talent to develop believable characters, intense situations, strong suspense, and still make it funny without lessening any of the tension or reality.) This is a darn good series, and some of the best comics ever produced -- and I'm certainly not the only one to think that. I don't remember exactly, but it won somewhere around eight or nine Wizard fan awards this year, (far, far more than any other series,) including best writer, best artist, best moment, and best series. It's hard to argue any series with that much support behind it isn't good. That said, anyone who gives this series one star either doesn't like comics at all, or somehow has a completely different outlook on reality than most people do. I know some people don't get Whedon (or don't want to get Whedon because they like to feel like rebels,) but the awards and sales show that most people do get and appreciate him, and that should make anyone look at a one star review as being so far outside the normal view that it's an anomoly. Personally, I can't say if the story is at all dirivitive of 70's era Xmen, but even if it is, I don't see that as a problem for a couple of reasons -- One, that was 30 years ago, and many readers today are not familiar with things that happened to the characters way back then, so if those things are relevent, there's nothing wrong with bringing them to the attention of current readers. And two, comics have improved in pretty much every way over the last few years, comics I loved in my youth don't compare at all to comics I can buy today, so even if a storyline is dirivitive (which I'm not saying this is,) it can be looked at as a much improved remake akin to the new King Kong or Spiderman movies (remember those old 70's Spiderman movies staring Nicholas Hammond? Probably not. The production values were laughable by today's standards. The new Spiderman movies are written and acted much, much better, and the effects are far more believable.) This is a great, entertaining, fun, action packed story with touching, funny, and believable dialogue, an interesting villain, an intrigueing plot, and some scenes that will go down as all time classics (including the Collosus returns scene which won Wizards fan award for moment of the year, but many others as well.) It also has some of the best, most dramatic, most realistic art in the medium, and fantastic coloring to go with and enhance it. All the characters look as good or better than they ever have before, and I personally really, really like the new look for Beast. Beast's con

Growing up, I was the biggest X-Men fan. In the early nineties, I collected X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, Excaliber, and occassional issues of X-Force, X-Factor, Generation X, Wolverine, and the various other character specific series and minis. But above all, my favorite title was "X-Men Classic" ("Classic X-Men" in its early days). That title reprinted issues that started a few years before I was born, starting with Giant-Sized X-Men #1, and followed through the Claremont Byrne years. Those were just the best. There was a small, well defined team having great adventures and plenty of character interaction/drama. The newer issues were great, but there were too many conflicting titles, too many X-Men running around, and too many creative team switches. The stories couldn't maintain any direction because whichever writer happened to be plotting a given issue would have their own ideas of where the books should go, and would likely be off the title in under 4 months. Add to thise conflicts with the editor, and you get one sloppy read. So, eventually, I lost interest. Then Grant Morrison and company began their run, and I was appauled. I realize many liked his take on the team, but to me, they weren't the X-Men. That was the whole point, really. To come up with something that was completely new and different, in Morrison's "love it or hate it" style. It was that, but to this old time reader, it wasn't the X-Men. Through the black leather, secondary mutations, and lord only knows what else, I vowed never to pick up another X-book. Then Marvel did the smartest thing they ever could have. They hired Joss Whedon to write his own X-Men book. Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly, is a well known X-Men fan (he's the guy responsible for the "You're a dick" line in the X-Men movie, the only thing to remain of a complete rewrite he did of the film, just because he loved the characters and didn't think they were being handled right). Not only is Whedon a huge fan of the X-Men, but he's also one hell of a writer. The guy's proven time and again that he can blend drama, comedy, action, and believable characters like no one else. The following part of the review contains SPOILERS. While they're now fairly common knowledge in the comic book community, some of you might not know them and might not want to have any of this terrific story ruined for you. Astonishing X-Men begins with a rebuilding period for the characters, which I feel is only appropriate, given how many wayward readers were also finding their way back to the X-Men. Kitty Pryde is, appropriately enough, our point of view character for the first issue, much as she was when I began reading X-Men Classics (and including the phenomenal "Days of Future Past" storyline). Kitty's finally been allowed to grow up, so she's fresh out of college and ready to start her role as a teacher at the recently rebuilt Xavier's Institute. Whedon has professed that he loves

I haven't been buying much of the newer x-men comics lately... but I read some good things about this title in Wizard and I picked it up... What can I say? Astonishing X-men is amazing! The first thing you will notice is the artwork, which is beautiful! The artist has captured the emotions of the characters perfectly! At times it will take your breath away. The story of this comic is what really stands out to me though. Each issue will leave you hanging on every word, glued to the pages not wanting to miss a bit of it. Astonishing X-men draws on themes of old, and it brings me back memories of the Clarmount/Bryne issues of years ago. Cyclops, Wolverine, Emma Frost, the Beast, and Shadowcat (my fave character) join up to restart the X-men school. They are plagued with problems from the start- constant fighting between Emma and Shadowcat, bickering between Wovie and Cyclops... but then a sceintist discovers a cure for the mutant gene, and the Beast wonders if he still wants to be a mutant. A furious battle between Wolverine (who thinks beast is selling out) and Beast ensuies. I won't spoil it for you... I just want everyone to read this comic. And check out the old school x-men series- Excalibur.

The highlight of Marvel's X-Men: Reload event is the launch of Astonishing X-Men, drawn by superstar artist John Cassaday (Planetary, Captain America) and written by famed Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel creator Joss Whedon. This first storyarc finds Xavier School co-headmasters Scott "Cyclops" Summers and Emma Frost re-opening the school and reformating the team. Ditching the practical black leather outfits featured in Grant Morrison's brilliant New X-Men run and replacing them with new variations of their classic costumes, the X-Men are presenting themselves once again as a super hero team, and thanks to Whedon's vast writing talent, Astonishing X-Men is truly something special. Cyclops, Emma, Wolverine, Shadowcat, and Beast find themselves among chaos when it is announced that a cure for the mutant gene has been found. However, it is somehow connected to a mysterious creature named Ord, who himself has plenty of secrets, including one of the biggest jaw droppers to be seen in comics in the past decade. The return of a dead X-Men member stirred much fanfare when it was first seen in these pages (and if you don't know I'm not going to spoil it), and it is one of the absolute greatest moments in X-Men history. Whedon's odes and nods to the classic X-Men stories he grew up with that inspired him to create Buffy are pleasent joys to behold, and Cassaday's art is just plain awe-inspiring. All in all, please ignore John Q's review below, and if you've ever considered yourself an X-Men fan pick this up, you won't regret it.