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Astonishing X-Men (2004) (Collected Editions)
Astonishing X-Men, Vol. 6: Exogenetic
Abigail Brand, director of S.W.O.R.D., has been in some sticky situations, and she isn't the type who asks for help to get out of them. But when you're careening toward Earth in the cockpit of a damaged spaceship after being attacked on an exploding asteroid 7.5 million miles from Earth....it's time to call the X-Men. They might not have much of a plan, or much of a chance, but that's certainly never stopped them before. Watch as the X-Men go up against all-new versions of some of their worst foes: genetically manipulated Brood missiles, meat Sentinels and an island monster modeled after Krakoa. Superstar artist Phil Jimenez joins writer Warren Ellis for the second installment of this mind-bending series!
Collecting: Astonishing X-Men 31-35
Collecting: Astonishing X-Men 31-35
120 pages, Hardcover
First published November 10, 2010
About the author
Warren Ellis
1,891 books5,743 followersWarren Ellis is the award-winning writer of graphic novels like TRANSMETROPOLITAN, FELL, MINISTRY OF SPACE and PLANETARY, and the author of the NYT-bestselling GUN MACHINE and the “underground classic” novel CROOKED LITTLE VEIN, as well as the digital short-story single DEAD PIG COLLECTOR. His newest book is the novella NORMAL, from FSG Originals, listed as one of Amazon’s Best 100 Books Of 2016.
The movie RED is based on his graphic novel of the same name, its sequel having been released in summer 2013. IRON MAN 3 is based on his Marvel Comics graphic novel IRON MAN: EXTREMIS. He is currently developing his graphic novel sequence with Jason Howard, TREES, for television, in concert with HardySonBaker and NBCU, and continues to work as a screenwriter and producer in film and television, represented by Angela Cheng Caplan and Cheng Caplan Company. He is the creator, writer and co-producer of the Netflix series CASTLEVANIA, recently renewed for its third season, and of the recently-announced Netflix series HEAVEN’S FOREST.
He’s written extensively for VICE, WIRED UK and Reuters on technological and cultural matters, and given keynote speeches and lectures at events like dConstruct, ThingsCon, Improving Reality, SxSW, How The Light Gets In, Haunted Machines and Cognitive Cities.
Warren Ellis has recently developed and curated the revival of the Wildstorm creative library for DC Entertainment with the series THE WILD STORM, and is currently working on the serialising of new graphic novel works TREES: THREE FATES and INJECTION at Image Comics, and the serialised graphic novel THE BATMAN’S GRAVE for DC Comics, while working as a Consulting Producer on another television series.
A documentary about his work, CAPTURED GHOSTS, was released in 2012.
Recognitions include the NUIG Literary and Debating Society’s President’s Medal for service to freedom of speech, the EAGLE AWARDS Roll Of Honour for lifetime achievement in the field of comics & graphic novels, the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire 2010, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History and the International Horror Guild Award for illustrated narrative. He is a Patron of Humanists UK. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex.
Warren Ellis lives outside London, on the south-east coast of England, in case he needs to make a quick getaway.
The movie RED is based on his graphic novel of the same name, its sequel having been released in summer 2013. IRON MAN 3 is based on his Marvel Comics graphic novel IRON MAN: EXTREMIS. He is currently developing his graphic novel sequence with Jason Howard, TREES, for television, in concert with HardySonBaker and NBCU, and continues to work as a screenwriter and producer in film and television, represented by Angela Cheng Caplan and Cheng Caplan Company. He is the creator, writer and co-producer of the Netflix series CASTLEVANIA, recently renewed for its third season, and of the recently-announced Netflix series HEAVEN’S FOREST.
He’s written extensively for VICE, WIRED UK and Reuters on technological and cultural matters, and given keynote speeches and lectures at events like dConstruct, ThingsCon, Improving Reality, SxSW, How The Light Gets In, Haunted Machines and Cognitive Cities.
Warren Ellis has recently developed and curated the revival of the Wildstorm creative library for DC Entertainment with the series THE WILD STORM, and is currently working on the serialising of new graphic novel works TREES: THREE FATES and INJECTION at Image Comics, and the serialised graphic novel THE BATMAN’S GRAVE for DC Comics, while working as a Consulting Producer on another television series.
A documentary about his work, CAPTURED GHOSTS, was released in 2012.
Recognitions include the NUIG Literary and Debating Society’s President’s Medal for service to freedom of speech, the EAGLE AWARDS Roll Of Honour for lifetime achievement in the field of comics & graphic novels, the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire 2010, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History and the International Horror Guild Award for illustrated narrative. He is a Patron of Humanists UK. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex.
Warren Ellis lives outside London, on the south-east coast of England, in case he needs to make a quick getaway.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews
April 26, 2023
This has it all Brood, zombie mutants, Sentinels and Wolverine hitting a disabled man! With nice characterisations and a less dark broody X-Men, Ellis leaves his mark on the franchise. A solid 7 out of 12. It was always going to be tough following Wheedon, but Ellis did OK.
2018 read
2018 read
March 20, 2018
Having just finished some of the most over-scripted comics of all time (Stan Lee's S.H.I.E.L.D), I appreciate this wish not to over-script, but this seems to me to swing too far the other way:
The art is stunning, but it is not as self-explanatory as (dare I say "lazy"? How about "otiose"?) Warren Ellis seems to think.
Despite some cool concepts (bio-sentinels), and funny dialogue, the whole thing seemed half-executed (x-ecuted?).
This is slightly cringe-y:
The art is stunning, but it is not as self-explanatory as (dare I say "lazy"? How about "otiose"?) Warren Ellis seems to think.
Despite some cool concepts (bio-sentinels), and funny dialogue, the whole thing seemed half-executed (x-ecuted?).
This is slightly cringe-y:
July 7, 2019
Phil Jimenez says in the afterword that he first started reading the X-Men back in the early 80s, during the first appearance of the Brood, which coincidentally is when I began reading the series as well. So like Jimenez, I was a little pumped to see one of my favorite baddies returning. We even got to hear Wolverine calling them "Sleazoids" for old times' sake.
That and the dialog and a few good moments rate this X-Men installment 3.5 stars. I enjoyed it more than some of the other X-volumes I've read recently, but it didn't raise the level of excellence, let alone greatness.
I liked the idea behind the Big Bad: Kaga, a mutant who's a "real" mutant - i.e., deformed and ugly with no superpowers, not one of the sexy, flying, spandex-wearing kind. And it really, really pisses him off.
That said, I can no longer turn off my suspension of disbelief enough, even for a comic book, and even when Cyclops hangs a lampshade on it, to ignore the fact that both the X-Men and their enemies routinely spend half the GNP of Japan on their toys. Where does all this money come from?
Wolverine is kind of petulant in this volume, and Armor is a character I'm not really familiar with. Emma Frost has always annoyed me, hero or villain. But the banter between Cyclops and the Beast was pretty good. Storm was just kind of there, and there were two other female characters who I don't recognize at all.
Jimenez's art is not bad, but I wasn't really impressed by it either.
Worth reading for X-fans, a bit above average for the series.
That and the dialog and a few good moments rate this X-Men installment 3.5 stars. I enjoyed it more than some of the other X-volumes I've read recently, but it didn't raise the level of excellence, let alone greatness.
I liked the idea behind the Big Bad: Kaga, a mutant who's a "real" mutant - i.e., deformed and ugly with no superpowers, not one of the sexy, flying, spandex-wearing kind. And it really, really pisses him off.
"What were you expecting? A master plan? A scheme to turn off the sun?
This is the real world. Hatred and disgust are good enough reasons to want to kill people."
That said, I can no longer turn off my suspension of disbelief enough, even for a comic book, and even when Cyclops hangs a lampshade on it, to ignore the fact that both the X-Men and their enemies routinely spend half the GNP of Japan on their toys. Where does all this money come from?
Wolverine is kind of petulant in this volume, and Armor is a character I'm not really familiar with. Emma Frost has always annoyed me, hero or villain. But the banter between Cyclops and the Beast was pretty good. Storm was just kind of there, and there were two other female characters who I don't recognize at all.
Jimenez's art is not bad, but I wasn't really impressed by it either.
Worth reading for X-fans, a bit above average for the series.
October 26, 2015
You would think that the insanity would have calm down just a bit after the clusterfuckity that was Joss Whedon's first run for The Astonishing X-Men. But you're reading an X-Men title so your plucky optimism will only be surely crushed if you ever expected any different. Sure, Warren Ellis' two story arcs so far within ten issues haven't been as crazy and experimental compared to all of Whedon's four arcs, but it doesn't mean things have improved. In fact, the last time we left our heroes, certain events still remain to conspire against them, and this time their survival as a species is at stake, all thanks to Scarlet Witch's irreversible decimation where the mutant X gene had been wiped out, causing a tectonic shift in power. Now with only two hundred or less mutants globally, the X-Men are in a tight place. After recently discovering a mutant baby born in the aftermath of M-day and sending her somewhere dimensions far away under the care of Cable, Scott Summers' estranged son, the X-Men have been occupying themselves in making sure no more mutants will die, but that has to be the most difficult thing to do given the never-ending amount of enemies showing up left and right, trying to take advantage of the whittled down number of surviving mutants.
In the last arc Ghost Box, self-proclaimed mutant engineer Forge tried to create his own mutants by placing a modified X-gene in a different chromosome strand akin to those mutants who belong in alternate worlds. Mentally unstable, he justified this radical move on his part as a necessary evil but the X-Men fortunately was able to put a stop to all of it by allowing S.W.O.R.D leader Agent Abigail Brand (Beast's current squeeze) to step up and obliterate said alternate worlds via explosion through a ghost box which connects dimensions together. It was an enjoyable story especially with the pleasant addition of Ororo Munroe who was recently married and now queen of the rising African nation Wakanda. Because of M-day, she felt that her old friends needed her to fight by their side once more, and her timing couldn't have been more right. However, there seems to be a tension between her and Scott concerning how to run the team and his methods in containing situations during battles. Their difference in philosophies was pronounced by the previous arc and I got the feeling that Ellis might explore this some more in their other upcoming missions. Scott Summers has been changing--evolving into someone who more often than not has to cross certain lines his old self back in the more idyllic days of his team-leading never would have taken. As we will later witness in other titles and during the course of other decimation stories, this change in his leadership will only continue to grow and in turn will create a chasm between him and his colleagues/friends. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's discuss Elli's second arc, Exogenetic covered by issues #31-35.
Much like Ghost Box some asshole is taking advantage of M-day and specifically targeting the X-Men. His nefarious plan is much more twisted than Forge's was, however. Apparently, he's been reanimating dead mutants and combining their DNA with certain machines which is as disgusting as it sounds. This unholy union of genetics and confounding vendetta has produced really nightmarish killing machines such as a flesh-made Sentinel, and a horde of rabid Broods. But the most appalling thing about it was how this unseen enemy was able to get access to such a horrid necromancy idea in the first place; and that is no other than the helpful information provided by Hank McCoy's research. As a scientist, he had been working on different scenarios to ensure the safety of their mutantkind and that meant thinking outside the figurative box of conventional methods so, yes, he had written down the possibility of harvesting recently deceased mutants in hopes of possibly activating the X-gene...or some shit. Frankly, I was definitely as horrified by the fact that he considered much like everyone else. But not like Scott though because Scott is more than horrified; he is absolutely livid and is getting ready to kick his old friend's ass.
>They have a lovely verbal sparring where all their issues towards one another are finally discussed out in the open and in the presence of other parties. It's a really great way to clear the air. I loved the conversation because it was brutally honest and considering how Scott and Hank are now for the MARVEL NOW! continuity, it's great to see them speak up their minds and not worry about offending each other. There remains trust and friendship between these two and it's a remarkable relationship that was unfortunately snuffed out after the Avengers vs. X-Men debacle (you know, where Scott was possessed by the Phoenix force and ended up murdering Professor X).
>Hank raised valid points concerning Scott, psychoanalyzing him in a way that Emma had before during the TORN arc. Meanwhile, Abigail Brand has been developing as a rather likable character for me even if Scott disagrees because they never seem to ever get along (for now). I think that the only reason why they don't get along is the simple fact that they actually have the same methods of operating and leading their teams--and are therefore very judgmental of one another because they see their flaws reflected back at them through each other. I wonder if they were even aware of this paradox concerning their interactions but perhaps Ellis will touch upon in the next arc. So Agent Brand has known about this asshole targeting the X-Men for quite some time and was trying to contain the situation all by her lonesome before the X-Men get mixed up on it because, well, I think she is beginning to deeply care about the mutants. As brash, mercurial and stubborn as the woman is, Brand always upholds her duty and takes her job seriously but now that she's in love with Hank and is always hanging around the X-Men, her emotional investment is growing. She's now experiencing sentiment which Hank has pointed out back in Whedon's run is something that she lacked. It's pleasantly surprising to see that this has changed and now she's putting herself at risk to defend the X-Men from any unseen forces trying to tear them down. Scott will continue not to like her and distrust her, however, which I think Brand would rather have because they both keep each other honest and this actually works well for their strained and begrudging alliance.
Anyway, the unseen enemy here is a man named Kaga who was a villain I did not expect to feel so much sympathy for when his motivation for attacking the X-Men was finally revealed. It turns out that his mother was a survivor of the Hiroshima-Nagasaki US bombings and her mother's exposure to radiation has malformed in during pregnancy. He is the original "child of the atom" and this has made him physically disfigured, shunned and unloved by the majority. He has no superpowers whatsoever and his intelligence came from his dedication and hard work to rise above his afflictions. Finding out that there is a group of mutants who fight for equality rights such as the X-Men has gotten him so excited because he thought he will finally have a place to belong to and a new family to accept him. But seeing what the X-Men are and what they can do made him feel betrayed and cheated on because he argued a valid observation concerning the privilege that mutants have even if they are considered outcasts by humans. Kaga claimed that they at least have their powers and are aesthetically attractive as a unit, and that they will never know how real alienation, savagery and deprivation truly feel like, not like he has. That's why he felt the need to punish them. He was merely lashing out because he has been hurt all his life and it's time to hurt back even if most of his torment and the target of his vengeance are only imagined slights. Still, I can't help but feel very sorry for him:
Kaga's story is a great cautionary tale against revenge and also an introspective story about self-loathing and self-acceptance. It's great for writer Warren Ellis to raise these issues in his arc and for creating a supposed villain who is only acting out due to the anguish, jealousy and grief over the unfairness of his life, humanizing him as someone who doesn't know how to be compassionate and kind because he has not known anything remotely close to those qualities. The X-Men also realized that even though they represent a marginalized sector of society, their outsider status can still be considered a privilege next to someone like Kaga. Unfortunately, Ellis didn't commit to the message and the story awkwardly ends with an out-of-place humorous exchange about Wolverine after he knocked out Kaga because he mistakenly thought Kaga was still going to attack them when it was obvious he was finally surrendering. I was upset that Ellis pulled back the punches and instead left me cold and disappointed. He could have had something emotionally powerful and meaningful here by making the X-Men consider other people outside their mutant community who look up to them and what their fight for equality symbolized.
But instead, he chickened out in the last minute and just turn a redeemable villain like Kaga into a prisoner, some burden that Scott was only going to take care of not because he felt pity towards the guy but because he wanted to spite him. What a douche move, slim. Ororo should have said something because she seemed to be the only one who sympathized, given her facial expression in that one panel. Emma was expectedly cold-hearted; Hisako was too young to comprehend the poignancy and moral quandary she is witnessing; and Wolverine was UNCHARACTERISTICALLY BRUTISH. When he punched Kaga, that really shocked me. Sure, Logan can be a bit macho but we all know that underneath that is a man who had fought enough wars and experienced enough bloodshed to understand that Kaga is someone to heal, not someone to assault like that! I'm just very disappointed by how everyone acted here. It's times like this that we need Kitty Pryde more than ever; someone who is humane and empathic. But Kitty is gone, so who will step up to that plate and fill her role?
For such an insensitive conclusion, I'm deducting one star and making this arc a seven our of ten.
RECOMMENDED: 7/10
DO READ MY REVIEWS AT:
In the last arc Ghost Box, self-proclaimed mutant engineer Forge tried to create his own mutants by placing a modified X-gene in a different chromosome strand akin to those mutants who belong in alternate worlds. Mentally unstable, he justified this radical move on his part as a necessary evil but the X-Men fortunately was able to put a stop to all of it by allowing S.W.O.R.D leader Agent Abigail Brand (Beast's current squeeze) to step up and obliterate said alternate worlds via explosion through a ghost box which connects dimensions together. It was an enjoyable story especially with the pleasant addition of Ororo Munroe who was recently married and now queen of the rising African nation Wakanda. Because of M-day, she felt that her old friends needed her to fight by their side once more, and her timing couldn't have been more right. However, there seems to be a tension between her and Scott concerning how to run the team and his methods in containing situations during battles. Their difference in philosophies was pronounced by the previous arc and I got the feeling that Ellis might explore this some more in their other upcoming missions. Scott Summers has been changing--evolving into someone who more often than not has to cross certain lines his old self back in the more idyllic days of his team-leading never would have taken. As we will later witness in other titles and during the course of other decimation stories, this change in his leadership will only continue to grow and in turn will create a chasm between him and his colleagues/friends. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's discuss Elli's second arc, Exogenetic covered by issues #31-35.
Much like Ghost Box some asshole is taking advantage of M-day and specifically targeting the X-Men. His nefarious plan is much more twisted than Forge's was, however. Apparently, he's been reanimating dead mutants and combining their DNA with certain machines which is as disgusting as it sounds. This unholy union of genetics and confounding vendetta has produced really nightmarish killing machines such as a flesh-made Sentinel, and a horde of rabid Broods. But the most appalling thing about it was how this unseen enemy was able to get access to such a horrid necromancy idea in the first place; and that is no other than the helpful information provided by Hank McCoy's research. As a scientist, he had been working on different scenarios to ensure the safety of their mutantkind and that meant thinking outside the figurative box of conventional methods so, yes, he had written down the possibility of harvesting recently deceased mutants in hopes of possibly activating the X-gene...or some shit. Frankly, I was definitely as horrified by the fact that he considered much like everyone else. But not like Scott though because Scott is more than horrified; he is absolutely livid and is getting ready to kick his old friend's ass.
>They have a lovely verbal sparring where all their issues towards one another are finally discussed out in the open and in the presence of other parties. It's a really great way to clear the air. I loved the conversation because it was brutally honest and considering how Scott and Hank are now for the MARVEL NOW! continuity, it's great to see them speak up their minds and not worry about offending each other. There remains trust and friendship between these two and it's a remarkable relationship that was unfortunately snuffed out after the Avengers vs. X-Men debacle (you know, where Scott was possessed by the Phoenix force and ended up murdering Professor X).
>Hank raised valid points concerning Scott, psychoanalyzing him in a way that Emma had before during the TORN arc. Meanwhile, Abigail Brand has been developing as a rather likable character for me even if Scott disagrees because they never seem to ever get along (for now). I think that the only reason why they don't get along is the simple fact that they actually have the same methods of operating and leading their teams--and are therefore very judgmental of one another because they see their flaws reflected back at them through each other. I wonder if they were even aware of this paradox concerning their interactions but perhaps Ellis will touch upon in the next arc. So Agent Brand has known about this asshole targeting the X-Men for quite some time and was trying to contain the situation all by her lonesome before the X-Men get mixed up on it because, well, I think she is beginning to deeply care about the mutants. As brash, mercurial and stubborn as the woman is, Brand always upholds her duty and takes her job seriously but now that she's in love with Hank and is always hanging around the X-Men, her emotional investment is growing. She's now experiencing sentiment which Hank has pointed out back in Whedon's run is something that she lacked. It's pleasantly surprising to see that this has changed and now she's putting herself at risk to defend the X-Men from any unseen forces trying to tear them down. Scott will continue not to like her and distrust her, however, which I think Brand would rather have because they both keep each other honest and this actually works well for their strained and begrudging alliance.
Anyway, the unseen enemy here is a man named Kaga who was a villain I did not expect to feel so much sympathy for when his motivation for attacking the X-Men was finally revealed. It turns out that his mother was a survivor of the Hiroshima-Nagasaki US bombings and her mother's exposure to radiation has malformed in during pregnancy. He is the original "child of the atom" and this has made him physically disfigured, shunned and unloved by the majority. He has no superpowers whatsoever and his intelligence came from his dedication and hard work to rise above his afflictions. Finding out that there is a group of mutants who fight for equality rights such as the X-Men has gotten him so excited because he thought he will finally have a place to belong to and a new family to accept him. But seeing what the X-Men are and what they can do made him feel betrayed and cheated on because he argued a valid observation concerning the privilege that mutants have even if they are considered outcasts by humans. Kaga claimed that they at least have their powers and are aesthetically attractive as a unit, and that they will never know how real alienation, savagery and deprivation truly feel like, not like he has. That's why he felt the need to punish them. He was merely lashing out because he has been hurt all his life and it's time to hurt back even if most of his torment and the target of his vengeance are only imagined slights. Still, I can't help but feel very sorry for him:
Kaga's story is a great cautionary tale against revenge and also an introspective story about self-loathing and self-acceptance. It's great for writer Warren Ellis to raise these issues in his arc and for creating a supposed villain who is only acting out due to the anguish, jealousy and grief over the unfairness of his life, humanizing him as someone who doesn't know how to be compassionate and kind because he has not known anything remotely close to those qualities. The X-Men also realized that even though they represent a marginalized sector of society, their outsider status can still be considered a privilege next to someone like Kaga. Unfortunately, Ellis didn't commit to the message and the story awkwardly ends with an out-of-place humorous exchange about Wolverine after he knocked out Kaga because he mistakenly thought Kaga was still going to attack them when it was obvious he was finally surrendering. I was upset that Ellis pulled back the punches and instead left me cold and disappointed. He could have had something emotionally powerful and meaningful here by making the X-Men consider other people outside their mutant community who look up to them and what their fight for equality symbolized.
But instead, he chickened out in the last minute and just turn a redeemable villain like Kaga into a prisoner, some burden that Scott was only going to take care of not because he felt pity towards the guy but because he wanted to spite him. What a douche move, slim. Ororo should have said something because she seemed to be the only one who sympathized, given her facial expression in that one panel. Emma was expectedly cold-hearted; Hisako was too young to comprehend the poignancy and moral quandary she is witnessing; and Wolverine was UNCHARACTERISTICALLY BRUTISH. When he punched Kaga, that really shocked me. Sure, Logan can be a bit macho but we all know that underneath that is a man who had fought enough wars and experienced enough bloodshed to understand that Kaga is someone to heal, not someone to assault like that! I'm just very disappointed by how everyone acted here. It's times like this that we need Kitty Pryde more than ever; someone who is humane and empathic. But Kitty is gone, so who will step up to that plate and fill her role?
For such an insensitive conclusion, I'm deducting one star and making this arc a seven our of ten.
RECOMMENDED: 7/10
DO READ MY REVIEWS AT:
December 31, 2017
Thank God, the artwork looks amazingly visceral. And the story ends with humor. It's totally worth it, even just to see how some people are viewed by the physically challenged. Political correctness be damned.
On their return from saving Abigail Brand, the director of SHIELD, the X-Men are attacked by an organic, shapeshifting sentinel that looks completely badass
On their return from saving Abigail Brand, the director of SHIELD, the X-Men are attacked by an organic, shapeshifting sentinel that looks completely badass
August 15, 2011
Great story, and I loved the art!
The snarky barbs being traded between the characters really made the writing stand out.
Can't wait to read Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis!
The snarky barbs being traded between the characters really made the writing stand out.
Can't wait to read Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis!
February 25, 2011
Another fantastically enjoyable, big scienc-y romp through x-land with my favourite madman of comics, Warren Ellis. Tres cool start - all action - and very weird storyline to twist it all together. I'm thrilled that Jiminez was tapped to follow Bianchi - both talented artists, but this big, bold art style totally suits Ellis' writing. I don't know if there's any follow-ups to this stuff, but I say keep these guys on it as long as you possibly can.
May 15, 2016
I really enjoyed this one.
October 24, 2013
I have to wonder if I was the only one that found Ghost Box to be overcomplicated and confusing, as Warren Ellis's next installment in Astonishing X-men is a lot simpler and action focused. As a result, while the comic falls very short of the high standards set up by Joss Whedon, it's actually a fairly entertaining read. The storyline here is focused on the Brood, and while I would have preferred to see some of the ideas developed a bit more, it does have its moments. The book's big selling point would have to be it's break neck pace and focus on action. And while I wouldn't call Phil Jimenez's artwork perfect, it's certainly better suited to fight scenes (and my personal taste) then Ghost Box's Simon Bianchi.
Not a lot of time is spent on character moments, but there are a few good bits, including a tense confrontation between Beast and Cyclops. Much like Storm noticed in Ghost Box, Beast can see that Cyclops is changing, and not necessarily for the better. I also enjoyed the banter between Armor (who's really growing on me as a character) and Wolverine. Disappointingly, Exogenetic features what could be a really cool moment, if Joss Whedon hadn't done a really similar scene involving Wolverine and Cyclops during his run. The characters are in costume for almost the entirety of Exogenetic, so we don't have to worry about the embarrassingly dated civvies that were featured in Ghost Box. Speaking of embarrassingly dated, what's going on with Emma Frost's Charlie's Angels hair? Storm's costume continues to be completely ridiculous, which is a disappointment given how stylish she's been looking in the current run of X-men.
Exogenetic may not be perfect, but it's quite a step up from Ghost Box. I wouldn't pay full price for it, but it's certainly worth getting from your local library.
Not a lot of time is spent on character moments, but there are a few good bits, including a tense confrontation between Beast and Cyclops. Much like Storm noticed in Ghost Box, Beast can see that Cyclops is changing, and not necessarily for the better. I also enjoyed the banter between Armor (who's really growing on me as a character) and Wolverine. Disappointingly, Exogenetic features what could be a really cool moment, if Joss Whedon hadn't done a really similar scene involving Wolverine and Cyclops during his run. The characters are in costume for almost the entirety of Exogenetic, so we don't have to worry about the embarrassingly dated civvies that were featured in Ghost Box. Speaking of embarrassingly dated, what's going on with Emma Frost's Charlie's Angels hair? Storm's costume continues to be completely ridiculous, which is a disappointment given how stylish she's been looking in the current run of X-men.
Exogenetic may not be perfect, but it's quite a step up from Ghost Box. I wouldn't pay full price for it, but it's certainly worth getting from your local library.
October 22, 2014
I don't generally bother with the x-men, not from any active dislike but due to the fact that 90% of the genre are more or less boring superhero soap operas. The only exception is when i have a great regard for the creative team, such as Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly's New X-men run. So the concept of Warren Ellis writing the X-men was a big draw card as well as Jemenez's artwork. I wasn't overly impressed with the first issue or two, thinking that it was going to be 100% action orientated superheroics. As the story went on I started admiring the scale, style and general weirdness of Ellis' vision. The thing that probably impressed me the most though were the likes of the conversation between Beast and Cyclops, which had far more character depth and development than is generally seen in such titles. Also I greatly appreciated the stupid pretence in most superhero comics that it is wrong to kill the villian no matter how evil they may be. All in all a good read, by no means a must have but very enjoyable.
June 19, 2021
Witty barbs. Sci-fi claptrap. A forgettable story. Great art. It was fine.
April 10, 2013
Man, my expectations on this were super low based on the Goodreads reviews, plus I've never particularly liked Jimenez's art -- he always seems to get hired as the go-to guy to fill in for artists I really like, so I'm a little prejudiced whenever he shows up in the masthead. But I flipped through this trade several times, really digging on the new look for Armor ("ooooh!" says Nerd-Keith: "She's RED now that's so cool omg omg") and in general thinking "Hell, for Jimenez this isn't half bad." I'd also really enjoyed Ellis' previous X-book (Ghost Box), despite, again, a lot of fellows nerds saying that he really just doesn't write very well on work-for-hire books.
In fact, if this series is any indication I think Ellis is one of those writers who writes BETTER when he's not as passionate about the material. He's more critical of the needs of the narrative, packs in more story, and generally tries to make a superhero book that he would enjoy reading -- as opposed to a lot of the navel-gazing, digression, personal diatribes and general disregard for the audience that haunt his otherwise-awesome creator-owned work (Transmetropolitan, I'm looking at you. You know I got nothing but mad love, but let's be real; there's at least 5 issues of straight BS in your beautiful pages.)
By comparison, Jimenez is doing his best work here because -- um, duh -- X-Men are like totally his favorite characters ever, dude. He actually has an extensive interview reprinted in the backmatter, and it sort of makes you misty how much he loved drawing this particular story. And you know, based on my own paltry body of work in indie comics, I think it's true, for whatever reason -- writers (me) write best when they're working with material that might not be their cup of tea: instead of writing for themselves, they write for the audience, with a more critical perspective of what will work for the end product. Artists (everyone I've worked with) draw better when they're given free reign to go completely nuts on their favorite thing to draw.
Artists as id and writers as superego? Shit, I don't know science.
In any case, Exogenetic has to be one of the most balls-to-the-wall, all-killer-no-filler superhero comics I've read in a long, long, time. It's hyperviolent, hypersexualized without being exploitative, exciting, funny, whacky, ridiculous, and dark, with a real handle on the complex dualities (no, really) of our fearless heroes -- AND you don't need to be familiar with a bunch of backstory in order to follow along. The pace is so breakneck that when one of the characters stops to explain the 20-year history of X-Men that lead to this issue's particular monster, it's actually a nice breather until the next horrible thing explodes when you turn the page.
I'd really go as far as saying that this is a sort of "gonzo" comicbookery that borders on exploitation art, although I don't know if that kind of terminology really works for a genre that never had anything grounded in reality to exploit in the first place. But I have never -- like, never-ever -- gotten so involved in a big action-y blow-em-up in a comic book that it felt like I was watching a bigscreen movie with surround-sound. And that happened here.
STOP LAUGHING, YOU KNOW THAT'S RAD.
Anyway, awesome. I am literally regressing to my teenage self.
Without all the bad poetry and Tool albums though, which is a relief.
In fact, if this series is any indication I think Ellis is one of those writers who writes BETTER when he's not as passionate about the material. He's more critical of the needs of the narrative, packs in more story, and generally tries to make a superhero book that he would enjoy reading -- as opposed to a lot of the navel-gazing, digression, personal diatribes and general disregard for the audience that haunt his otherwise-awesome creator-owned work (Transmetropolitan, I'm looking at you. You know I got nothing but mad love, but let's be real; there's at least 5 issues of straight BS in your beautiful pages.)
By comparison, Jimenez is doing his best work here because -- um, duh -- X-Men are like totally his favorite characters ever, dude. He actually has an extensive interview reprinted in the backmatter, and it sort of makes you misty how much he loved drawing this particular story. And you know, based on my own paltry body of work in indie comics, I think it's true, for whatever reason -- writers (me) write best when they're working with material that might not be their cup of tea: instead of writing for themselves, they write for the audience, with a more critical perspective of what will work for the end product. Artists (everyone I've worked with) draw better when they're given free reign to go completely nuts on their favorite thing to draw.
Artists as id and writers as superego? Shit, I don't know science.
In any case, Exogenetic has to be one of the most balls-to-the-wall, all-killer-no-filler superhero comics I've read in a long, long, time. It's hyperviolent, hypersexualized without being exploitative, exciting, funny, whacky, ridiculous, and dark, with a real handle on the complex dualities (no, really) of our fearless heroes -- AND you don't need to be familiar with a bunch of backstory in order to follow along. The pace is so breakneck that when one of the characters stops to explain the 20-year history of X-Men that lead to this issue's particular monster, it's actually a nice breather until the next horrible thing explodes when you turn the page.
I'd really go as far as saying that this is a sort of "gonzo" comicbookery that borders on exploitation art, although I don't know if that kind of terminology really works for a genre that never had anything grounded in reality to exploit in the first place. But I have never -- like, never-ever -- gotten so involved in a big action-y blow-em-up in a comic book that it felt like I was watching a bigscreen movie with surround-sound. And that happened here.
STOP LAUGHING, YOU KNOW THAT'S RAD.
Anyway, awesome. I am literally regressing to my teenage self.
Without all the bad poetry and Tool albums though, which is a relief.
March 14, 2014
After many shipping delays for the individual issues collected in this book, reading it in one sitting works in the story's favour. It's hard to feel the urgency of a crisis when there are months between chapters. By the time you'd get the next chapter, you had to re-read the previous ones as a refresher. The characterisation and interactions between the cast seem natural and genuine, and the art is good. It's just... without spoiling anything, the X-Men seem to encounter no difficulty resolving whatever crisis they're facing. There's no sense of danger. The big baddie turns out not to be so big after all, and the way our heroes deal with "it" is very much anti-climactic.
Warren Ellis writes these X-Men well. The action set pieces and the "stunts" are exciting in themselves, but there it ends. Phil Jimenez supplies the art for this story (with Andy Lanning) and I must say that they do a good job. The cinematic angles used and the various designs used for the story are great. My only gripe is that Emma Frost looks like she aged 10-15 years since the last story arc, on top of having a '70s hairstyle, like she's one of Charlie's Angels...
What makes this story ultimately pointless is the fact that "Astonishing X-Men" (AXM), as a series, is never too bound by current continuity. In this particular story arc (when it was first published), the X-Men's base was still on the outskirts of San Francisco. They'd had their own island nation for over a year now, and you know they all make it there... So, again, there's no sense of danger. We probably won't see their wacky X-2 rescue jet (complete with scorpion legs!) - or that (really not) frightening baddie - ever again. (Yay!)
AXM used to be the flagship X-Title, from which other X-books took their cues. But an irregular shipping schedule, as well as so-so stories, have changed all that. Pity. This title deserves more. 2 stars.
Warren Ellis writes these X-Men well. The action set pieces and the "stunts" are exciting in themselves, but there it ends. Phil Jimenez supplies the art for this story (with Andy Lanning) and I must say that they do a good job. The cinematic angles used and the various designs used for the story are great. My only gripe is that Emma Frost looks like she aged 10-15 years since the last story arc, on top of having a '70s hairstyle, like she's one of Charlie's Angels...
What makes this story ultimately pointless is the fact that "Astonishing X-Men" (AXM), as a series, is never too bound by current continuity. In this particular story arc (when it was first published), the X-Men's base was still on the outskirts of San Francisco. They'd had their own island nation for over a year now, and you know they all make it there... So, again, there's no sense of danger. We probably won't see their wacky X-2 rescue jet (complete with scorpion legs!) - or that (really not) frightening baddie - ever again. (Yay!)
AXM used to be the flagship X-Title, from which other X-books took their cues. But an irregular shipping schedule, as well as so-so stories, have changed all that. Pity. This title deserves more. 2 stars.
September 4, 2016
An unknown enemy has got hold of Beast's research and is creating mutant hybrids from the cells of dead mutants to attack the X-Men.
While this is far from my favourite line up (Wolverine, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Beast, Storm and Hisako... nope I still don't have a clue what use she is lol) I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Its two strengths being great art and a rather good story.
When the premise is mutant hybrids from dead cells - I was expecting resurrection of past X-Men but this subverted my expectations - instead we get hybrids from classic enemies - The Brood, Krakoa, Sauron, Sentinels - huge thumbs up to the nod and wink to Classic X-Men stories. The dialogue is punchy and I like the interactions between the characters. I also loved the villain and his reason for setting up this elaborate attack which made a nice change from usual plans of world domination or alien invasion. Artwork is great and I thought Storm (although she had very little to do) looked the best I've seen her in ages - The female characters weren't completely over sexualised either - If I have to have Emma Frost it's nice not to have her boobs knocking me out on every page!
As X-Men graphics go, this one's solid throughout.
While this is far from my favourite line up (Wolverine, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Beast, Storm and Hisako... nope I still don't have a clue what use she is lol) I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Its two strengths being great art and a rather good story.
When the premise is mutant hybrids from dead cells - I was expecting resurrection of past X-Men but this subverted my expectations - instead we get hybrids from classic enemies - The Brood, Krakoa, Sauron, Sentinels - huge thumbs up to the nod and wink to Classic X-Men stories. The dialogue is punchy and I like the interactions between the characters. I also loved the villain and his reason for setting up this elaborate attack which made a nice change from usual plans of world domination or alien invasion. Artwork is great and I thought Storm (although she had very little to do) looked the best I've seen her in ages - The female characters weren't completely over sexualised either - If I have to have Emma Frost it's nice not to have her boobs knocking me out on every page!
As X-Men graphics go, this one's solid throughout.
April 1, 2015
The Warren Ellis arc continues as the X-Men rescue Agent Brand and she tells them exactly who and what they are facing and why they are only just learning about it now. Very human failings in a very not human situation as Sentinels and the Brood both are out to eliminate everyone. The witty banter between the team members continue but there are also some issues brought up as it is discovered what small, unintentional part Beast played in these horrifying beings seeking their destruction.
I loved the space element combined with the X-Men perhaps more than I enjoyed the actual plot. The scene of Cyclops blasting a fight into an end before it even begins, and the beginning with Beast flying up to save Agent Brand, and lots of others where just the sheer size of the enemy in comparison to how small the X-Men team is. The volume grew on me as it went along, which is a great indicator for me to be picking up volume seven.
I loved the space element combined with the X-Men perhaps more than I enjoyed the actual plot. The scene of Cyclops blasting a fight into an end before it even begins, and the beginning with Beast flying up to save Agent Brand, and lots of others where just the sheer size of the enemy in comparison to how small the X-Men team is. The volume grew on me as it went along, which is a great indicator for me to be picking up volume seven.
September 26, 2011
Library copy. I liked this more than the Warren Ellis book before and I liked the artwork more too. My only criticism is the colorist still paints with too dark a palette, which is something many complained about when he colored the Captain America book. He's a fine colorist, great really, but his colors are so dark, at least when it comes to print, that it washes out the pencil/ink lines. I probably wouldn't buy this book new, but used, yes, just like I did with the last book.
April 20, 2013
Such a thrill...nice seeing past X-Men characters used in a different way. Quick read, but still fun and definitely worthwhile.
April 26, 2023
Just reread this for the first time since these issues came out… still kind of hurts.
Ellis’ run was such a disappointment but it was hard at the time to pinpoint why, exactly. Part of it has to do with the M-day-San Fran status quo BS which were both horrible ideas, of course, ‘nuff said there, but the biggest issues are twofold, and I think enough time has past that they’re glaringly obvious.
1) Raison d’être. The book doesn’t feel like it has any reason to exist, it doesn’t feel important. Whedon’s book felt important and it was without a doubt the flagship from issue 1. Even if that wasn’t official, it would have been undeniable. The “raindrops” continuity and the lateness of the book screwed that up, but not entirely—and that’s really, really saying something. And I’m reading this out of context now of the contemporary wider line so it’s not just in comparison to the events unfolding in Uncanny and Legacy. Ellis has big ideas but they feel like side quests. The reason why this is remains a mystery to me. Maybe because the tone is so glib.
2) Characters. These X-Men are coming off as trying way too hard to be “astonishing.” They’re all “hotdogging,” showing off, and to boot with a smug attitude about it all. They come off like arrogant jerks who believe their own hype. They’re also behaving out of character in other ways. Scott and Logan and to an extent Storm and Armor are acting like they’re on Adderall. Seriously. Scott’s reaction to Beast’s dressing down, Logan whining about being treated like a kid, Storm and her jokes, Armor really feeling herself. Not to mention all the lovey-doveyness/hornball stuff. Worse, not only are they all constantly trying to impress, they’re all kissing each other’s mutie bums, too!
(RANT #1: SPEAKING OF THE OVERSEXED STUFF:
I’d be all for it, actually, if this were a mature book. But Armor is what? 13? And Emma Frost is joking that she’ll take her to the bondage store again, as in for a second time, because Armor would look good in that bondage gear they saw the first time she took her there? No. Nope. Although unfortunately this kind of thing does have precedence—way back in Uncanny X-Men 153, in the otherwise family-friendly Kitty’s Fairy Tale story, Kitty, also a 13yo, tells Colossus and his 5yo sister that she had a very “naughty” dream the night before. Walk outside and find a 13yo and a 5yo and think of that. And think of that line getting by so many pairs of eyes to even be published. And it’s not like it’s a unique incident of Claremont sexualizing this 13yo either. It’s all just weird, especially given Claremont’s bondage fetishism or BDSM interests or whatever. I feel gross writing this, lol, and weird because I’m big on sex, but I want it nowhere near kids, for crying out loud. When did this become controversial? Why can’t I go to a pride parade and ogle naked men without also seeing in my line of sight a screaming toddler being scarred for life? Ironically that oblivious toddler’s straight mother would call me a homophobe. Pride is for “queers” like her. She once owned an Ani DiFranco album in college, thank you very much!)
The best part of the book is the ending. The “out of the blue” villain—who’s been hating the X-Men and working for years behind the scenes for his big chance to kill them—calls them out, like a lot of communist critics have, for being privileged. Although Ellis immediately ruins his own point—the villain hates the X-Men because he, a literal mutant mutated due to atomic radiation, is ugly and doesn’t have superpowers while they do—except he is a billionaire because he was patenting insane inventions since he was a young ‘un. Almost like he had a “boy genius” superpower. Anyway, yes, the X-Men are “outcasts” but they’re gorgeous and they live in a mansion. Such a facile, petty argument. We get it. But there are plenty of ugly mutants, too. And the mansion is basically a prison for all they interact with the outside world and aside from Angel none of them have a dime to their names. And the “beautiful” criticism is just moot since comics is a visual medium. It’s only recently that the Overton window has been forced to include insane ideas like “everyone is beautiful.” That’s a farce, a lie, and that’s just the truth and no amount of campaigning will ever change that. Nobody wants to go the movies and watch two ugly people fall in love, nobody. Well, I suppose maybe this was Ellis’ answer to that “they hate us because we’re not outcast enough” argument. This was the late 2000s, after all, before anybody ever heard of any Oppression Olympics. A simpler time.
(RANT #2: THE CRITICS ARE BRAINDEAD
Funnily enough those very same communist critics never look in the mirror: of the billions of people who ever lived in the ENTIRE known universe the poorest, most “oppressed” westerner in the 21st century is still enjoying a privileged existence compared to the other 99%; the average project kid today might not have gold and castles but he has at his fingertips technology and amenities that kings and queens would have genocided for!)
It’s all a shame because there are some clever ideas and fun humor here (not the final bit of the final issue with Scott’s bomb of a joke and Brand’s over the top “I can’t believe he said that” reaction!!!), but Ellis, in trying to take Astonishing to the next level, took it to another level altogether. Underwhelming X-Men is still a frustrating read. Of the three Ellis arcs, to my mind, Xenogenesis works best because Andrews’ art is so wacky it fits with Ellis’ take, this book is the runner up, and Ghost Box is the weakest story for reasons I won’t get into here.
Astonishing X-Men stopped being astonishing right after Kitty Pryde got trapped in that (stupid but fun) giant bullet and it was only downhill from there. The title quickly devolved into the worst xbook since X-Men Unlimited and soon it was the hopeless book they let Marjorie Liu do…. whatever it is she does in her inimitably boring, soulless way. Talk about a book with no reason to exist. What was the remit of her time on the title? This is the xbook for bad fan fiction? Alas, we’ll always have the first two dozen issues.
(RANT #3: ALSO, SOMETHING THAT REALLY BUGGED ME ABOUT THIS BOOK I NEVER SAW ANYONE ELSE EVER MENTION:
Beast and Brand (ugh) are in the rescue and recovery plane and a big point is made that they don’t have any weapons as it’s just a rescue and recovery vehicle. They really make a big deal of hammering home that point. How’s Beast going to take down the huge organic sentinel then?!! With “science,” he says. (Yikes. As if weapons were magic.) And then he proceeds to fire “science,” I guess, in the form of what look exactly like a bunch of missiles that blow up when they hit their target. Not weapons? Just astonishingly weapon-like? Either this is an embarrassing miscommunication between artist and writer or one or both of them were blowing lines on the job. Crazy.
I think this was about the beginning of the time that some people in the real world starting treating science like magic. They watched a lot of pop science tv and read a lot of clickbait article titles about science, and suddenly science was on its way to becoming a religion. Now here we are all these years later and science is dogma. There’s no scientific method, theory and experiment and falsifying and reconfiguring, just: The Science. The be all and end all. It doesn’t change: it just is. And it always has been. Accept “the science” so you aren’t “anti-science.” Scary stuff. Dawkins and Hitchens could never have foreseen what tearing religion a new bumhole would lead to. People are hardwired to believe, now they just believe in another “infallible” institution except with this one there’s no separation between it and state so we will all face the consequences of their brainless preaching and proselytizing. All it takes is for one “influencer” to misread the results of a poorly designed study and make dramatic conclusions that go viral and become common “wisdom.” Scary, scary stuff. I liked it better when the average person on the street didn’t feel social pressure to be an expert on every discipline of science and politics, from global to local. They were probably happier then, too!)
Ellis’ run was such a disappointment but it was hard at the time to pinpoint why, exactly. Part of it has to do with the M-day-San Fran status quo BS which were both horrible ideas, of course, ‘nuff said there, but the biggest issues are twofold, and I think enough time has past that they’re glaringly obvious.
1) Raison d’être. The book doesn’t feel like it has any reason to exist, it doesn’t feel important. Whedon’s book felt important and it was without a doubt the flagship from issue 1. Even if that wasn’t official, it would have been undeniable. The “raindrops” continuity and the lateness of the book screwed that up, but not entirely—and that’s really, really saying something. And I’m reading this out of context now of the contemporary wider line so it’s not just in comparison to the events unfolding in Uncanny and Legacy. Ellis has big ideas but they feel like side quests. The reason why this is remains a mystery to me. Maybe because the tone is so glib.
2) Characters. These X-Men are coming off as trying way too hard to be “astonishing.” They’re all “hotdogging,” showing off, and to boot with a smug attitude about it all. They come off like arrogant jerks who believe their own hype. They’re also behaving out of character in other ways. Scott and Logan and to an extent Storm and Armor are acting like they’re on Adderall. Seriously. Scott’s reaction to Beast’s dressing down, Logan whining about being treated like a kid, Storm and her jokes, Armor really feeling herself. Not to mention all the lovey-doveyness/hornball stuff. Worse, not only are they all constantly trying to impress, they’re all kissing each other’s mutie bums, too!
(RANT #1: SPEAKING OF THE OVERSEXED STUFF:
I’d be all for it, actually, if this were a mature book. But Armor is what? 13? And Emma Frost is joking that she’ll take her to the bondage store again, as in for a second time, because Armor would look good in that bondage gear they saw the first time she took her there? No. Nope. Although unfortunately this kind of thing does have precedence—way back in Uncanny X-Men 153, in the otherwise family-friendly Kitty’s Fairy Tale story, Kitty, also a 13yo, tells Colossus and his 5yo sister that she had a very “naughty” dream the night before. Walk outside and find a 13yo and a 5yo and think of that. And think of that line getting by so many pairs of eyes to even be published. And it’s not like it’s a unique incident of Claremont sexualizing this 13yo either. It’s all just weird, especially given Claremont’s bondage fetishism or BDSM interests or whatever. I feel gross writing this, lol, and weird because I’m big on sex, but I want it nowhere near kids, for crying out loud. When did this become controversial? Why can’t I go to a pride parade and ogle naked men without also seeing in my line of sight a screaming toddler being scarred for life? Ironically that oblivious toddler’s straight mother would call me a homophobe. Pride is for “queers” like her. She once owned an Ani DiFranco album in college, thank you very much!)
The best part of the book is the ending. The “out of the blue” villain—who’s been hating the X-Men and working for years behind the scenes for his big chance to kill them—calls them out, like a lot of communist critics have, for being privileged. Although Ellis immediately ruins his own point—the villain hates the X-Men because he, a literal mutant mutated due to atomic radiation, is ugly and doesn’t have superpowers while they do—except he is a billionaire because he was patenting insane inventions since he was a young ‘un. Almost like he had a “boy genius” superpower. Anyway, yes, the X-Men are “outcasts” but they’re gorgeous and they live in a mansion. Such a facile, petty argument. We get it. But there are plenty of ugly mutants, too. And the mansion is basically a prison for all they interact with the outside world and aside from Angel none of them have a dime to their names. And the “beautiful” criticism is just moot since comics is a visual medium. It’s only recently that the Overton window has been forced to include insane ideas like “everyone is beautiful.” That’s a farce, a lie, and that’s just the truth and no amount of campaigning will ever change that. Nobody wants to go the movies and watch two ugly people fall in love, nobody. Well, I suppose maybe this was Ellis’ answer to that “they hate us because we’re not outcast enough” argument. This was the late 2000s, after all, before anybody ever heard of any Oppression Olympics. A simpler time.
(RANT #2: THE CRITICS ARE BRAINDEAD
Funnily enough those very same communist critics never look in the mirror: of the billions of people who ever lived in the ENTIRE known universe the poorest, most “oppressed” westerner in the 21st century is still enjoying a privileged existence compared to the other 99%; the average project kid today might not have gold and castles but he has at his fingertips technology and amenities that kings and queens would have genocided for!)
It’s all a shame because there are some clever ideas and fun humor here (not the final bit of the final issue with Scott’s bomb of a joke and Brand’s over the top “I can’t believe he said that” reaction!!!), but Ellis, in trying to take Astonishing to the next level, took it to another level altogether. Underwhelming X-Men is still a frustrating read. Of the three Ellis arcs, to my mind, Xenogenesis works best because Andrews’ art is so wacky it fits with Ellis’ take, this book is the runner up, and Ghost Box is the weakest story for reasons I won’t get into here.
Astonishing X-Men stopped being astonishing right after Kitty Pryde got trapped in that (stupid but fun) giant bullet and it was only downhill from there. The title quickly devolved into the worst xbook since X-Men Unlimited and soon it was the hopeless book they let Marjorie Liu do…. whatever it is she does in her inimitably boring, soulless way. Talk about a book with no reason to exist. What was the remit of her time on the title? This is the xbook for bad fan fiction? Alas, we’ll always have the first two dozen issues.
(RANT #3: ALSO, SOMETHING THAT REALLY BUGGED ME ABOUT THIS BOOK I NEVER SAW ANYONE ELSE EVER MENTION:
Beast and Brand (ugh) are in the rescue and recovery plane and a big point is made that they don’t have any weapons as it’s just a rescue and recovery vehicle. They really make a big deal of hammering home that point. How’s Beast going to take down the huge organic sentinel then?!! With “science,” he says. (Yikes. As if weapons were magic.) And then he proceeds to fire “science,” I guess, in the form of what look exactly like a bunch of missiles that blow up when they hit their target. Not weapons? Just astonishingly weapon-like? Either this is an embarrassing miscommunication between artist and writer or one or both of them were blowing lines on the job. Crazy.
I think this was about the beginning of the time that some people in the real world starting treating science like magic. They watched a lot of pop science tv and read a lot of clickbait article titles about science, and suddenly science was on its way to becoming a religion. Now here we are all these years later and science is dogma. There’s no scientific method, theory and experiment and falsifying and reconfiguring, just: The Science. The be all and end all. It doesn’t change: it just is. And it always has been. Accept “the science” so you aren’t “anti-science.” Scary stuff. Dawkins and Hitchens could never have foreseen what tearing religion a new bumhole would lead to. People are hardwired to believe, now they just believe in another “infallible” institution except with this one there’s no separation between it and state so we will all face the consequences of their brainless preaching and proselytizing. All it takes is for one “influencer” to misread the results of a poorly designed study and make dramatic conclusions that go viral and become common “wisdom.” Scary, scary stuff. I liked it better when the average person on the street didn’t feel social pressure to be an expert on every discipline of science and politics, from global to local. They were probably happier then, too!)
November 8, 2021
Book 6.
The X-Men rescue the head of S.W.O.R.D. only to find themselves under attack from bio-Sentinels and Brood clones. They soon discover that a deranged genius has been using the genetic material from dead mutants to create weapons to be used against the X-Men.
There's some real promise in some elements of this book. For instance, I found the idea of someone using dead mutants, including former students of the Xavier Institute, to create biological Sentinels to be both intriguing and chilling. Similarly, the cloning of the otherwise-extinct Brood brings the X-Men face to face with an enemy they thought gone forever.
Unfortunately none of these elements gets explored to the degree that I felt they should have done and the reveal of the madman behind everything, whilst meant to be poignant, was just very disappointing.
In fact the entirety of this book feels like the Ellis had something that he was aiming for with each element but which he falls just short of actually achieving.
Another case in point is the banter among the X-Men. Ellis is clearly aiming for the same tone set by (toxic bully) Joss Whedon in the first few books of the series but it all comes across as awkward and unnatural. Now, I've never been much of a fan of Whedon's constantly-quipping dialogue, but at least I can recognise that he does it a lot better than what we get here.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.com *
The X-Men rescue the head of S.W.O.R.D. only to find themselves under attack from bio-Sentinels and Brood clones. They soon discover that a deranged genius has been using the genetic material from dead mutants to create weapons to be used against the X-Men.
There's some real promise in some elements of this book. For instance, I found the idea of someone using dead mutants, including former students of the Xavier Institute, to create biological Sentinels to be both intriguing and chilling. Similarly, the cloning of the otherwise-extinct Brood brings the X-Men face to face with an enemy they thought gone forever.
Unfortunately none of these elements gets explored to the degree that I felt they should have done and the reveal of the madman behind everything, whilst meant to be poignant, was just very disappointing.
In fact the entirety of this book feels like the Ellis had something that he was aiming for with each element but which he falls just short of actually achieving.
Another case in point is the banter among the X-Men. Ellis is clearly aiming for the same tone set by (toxic bully) Joss Whedon in the first few books of the series but it all comes across as awkward and unnatural. Now, I've never been much of a fan of Whedon's constantly-quipping dialogue, but at least I can recognise that he does it a lot better than what we get here.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.com *
June 17, 2024
This was X-cellent. I should have read this before Uncanny X-Men: The Birth of Generation Hope, because it foreshadows the falling out between the Beast and Cyclops in that book. Warren Ellis is a great writer, and I will add him to my short list of 'must buy' creators for modern X-titles. I love his characterization. He gets what the core of these characters are really about. Cyclops is not the military strategist/ genius that Matt Fraction has painted him as. Here, Ellis has him as the Cyclops of old, second guessing himself and flying by the seat of his pants. Wolverine is not the immortal, omnipotent ninja that countless writers have crapped him into being, but the Wolverine that I fell in love with. Tough to get along with but ultimately will do the right thing. Even The White Queen didn't make me cringe here, again unlike Fraction's take on the character. It was also great to see the Brood again, albeit in a mutated strain form.
Phil Jimenez's artwork is top notch. This looks like a comic book, not a bunch of photoshop treated stills. He has the polish of prime John Byrne, and his action sequences are tremendous. His style is a marriage of Alan Davis and John Byrne, with modern flourishes. Tasty and tasteful.
This was a great read, but my opinion of the modern X-Men as a whole stands. I am still done with these titles unless specific creators who have earned my goodwill return to the title. Warren Ellis has earned my goodwill...and my hard earned money.
Phil Jimenez's artwork is top notch. This looks like a comic book, not a bunch of photoshop treated stills. He has the polish of prime John Byrne, and his action sequences are tremendous. His style is a marriage of Alan Davis and John Byrne, with modern flourishes. Tasty and tasteful.
This was a great read, but my opinion of the modern X-Men as a whole stands. I am still done with these titles unless specific creators who have earned my goodwill return to the title. Warren Ellis has earned my goodwill...and my hard earned money.
February 1, 2023
When biological monstrosities shaped in the form of former X villains begin to appear and attack the X-Men, they have to find out where they originate from and obviously, find a way to stop it.
After the Whedon's run on Astonishing, Marvel had to follow that up with a writer that was equally as good as Whedon. And back then, Ellis was one of the top of the crop (not so much now but that's neither here nor there). And the reason why he was so revered was very evident in this book. Not only did we have a cool plot, with villains that felt dangerous and unpredictable, but also the interpersonal play between the team members as far as their personalities was a highlight. I think Ellis is one of the first to really lean on that snarky type of dialogue that later writers such as Fraction and Spencer use still to this day, and you see just how good it can be.
I was a little disappointed as the ending is clever in a way, but kind of fizzles out. I think the speech the villain was making was definitely something that is interesting and kind of obvious, and the response from the team was equally as interesting.
This was a solid volume of the X-Men, and I definitely recommend it to fans of the team.
After the Whedon's run on Astonishing, Marvel had to follow that up with a writer that was equally as good as Whedon. And back then, Ellis was one of the top of the crop (not so much now but that's neither here nor there). And the reason why he was so revered was very evident in this book. Not only did we have a cool plot, with villains that felt dangerous and unpredictable, but also the interpersonal play between the team members as far as their personalities was a highlight. I think Ellis is one of the first to really lean on that snarky type of dialogue that later writers such as Fraction and Spencer use still to this day, and you see just how good it can be.
I was a little disappointed as the ending is clever in a way, but kind of fizzles out. I think the speech the villain was making was definitely something that is interesting and kind of obvious, and the response from the team was equally as interesting.
This was a solid volume of the X-Men, and I definitely recommend it to fans of the team.
December 10, 2018
I hate to think that a writer of Ellis's caliber was ever sat down (or Skyped) by edtorial, and told that his work was not gelling with the title. But it feels like that happened.
His previous volume, "Ghost Box", was an ambitious story with a talented artist whose work is more complex than the usual X-artists. But it fell flat. The art made the story visually unappealing, and difficult to follow. The story never delivered on its conceptual promise.
This volume has more traditonal art by Jiminez, but it's Top Of The Line Traditional. The concept is fairly basic and easy to follow, but it's not a cliche. The ending is a satisfying conclusion that we don't regularly see in Marvel books.
Even in the last volume, Ellis's dialogue takes Whedon's voice and tweaks it a bit. And it works. It may not be boundary-pushing or hilarious, but it gives a continuity with the previous art team.
His previous volume, "Ghost Box", was an ambitious story with a talented artist whose work is more complex than the usual X-artists. But it fell flat. The art made the story visually unappealing, and difficult to follow. The story never delivered on its conceptual promise.
This volume has more traditonal art by Jiminez, but it's Top Of The Line Traditional. The concept is fairly basic and easy to follow, but it's not a cliche. The ending is a satisfying conclusion that we don't regularly see in Marvel books.
Even in the last volume, Ellis's dialogue takes Whedon's voice and tweaks it a bit. And it works. It may not be boundary-pushing or hilarious, but it gives a continuity with the previous art team.
March 18, 2018
I gave Volume 5 a 1-star rating thought I would have given it a 0 if that were possible. I added a star from volume 6 because the artist is different. Volume 5 has the worst art of any comic that I have ever read. Every character looked ugly and every page was just terrible. The art here is light years better but the story is still horrible. Everything is non-sensicle, the action is weird and often one page doesn't tie in well with the next. It is almost like he wrote an extra 30 pages and rather than editing, he randomly removed whole pages. The dialogue is painful and the humor rarely hits. The purposes for what they are doing are basically non-existent.
January 10, 2021
Art was much better than the previous volume. I could actually see what was happening on page and there was a consistency to the characters.
Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for the writing. The story made more sense than Ghost Box (but anything would) but the humour was banal and dialogue didn't fit the characters as I perceive them.
I have the next book which I will read because it seems stupid not to but I know without a shadow of a doubt this writer is not for me.
ETA: I feel bad for the artist here. The art was worth 4 stars any day of the week but the writing was so bad that it dragged the rating right down. Jimnez is a good artist.
Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for the writing. The story made more sense than Ghost Box (but anything would) but the humour was banal and dialogue didn't fit the characters as I perceive them.
I have the next book which I will read because it seems stupid not to but I know without a shadow of a doubt this writer is not for me.
ETA: I feel bad for the artist here. The art was worth 4 stars any day of the week but the writing was so bad that it dragged the rating right down. Jimnez is a good artist.
October 2, 2019
This is a fairly by-the-numbers mutant adventure. Badguy tries to kill X-Men. X-Men stop him. Same shit, different day.
It was fun, the art was very good, but there was a yawn factor due to the triteness of this well treaded territory.
The highlight of this arc collection was the clever Warren Ellis dialogue. It was smart, funny and at times, very poignant.
Overall, this is a fine arc, but it’s pretty much guaranteed to not blow your mind. This is nobody’s favorite story, but it’s certainly not anyone’s least favorite either.
It was fun, the art was very good, but there was a yawn factor due to the triteness of this well treaded territory.
The highlight of this arc collection was the clever Warren Ellis dialogue. It was smart, funny and at times, very poignant.
Overall, this is a fine arc, but it’s pretty much guaranteed to not blow your mind. This is nobody’s favorite story, but it’s certainly not anyone’s least favorite either.
January 29, 2018
Talk about an improvement! Most of what I hated about the previous volume is fixed here, with better art (Phil Jimenez, great as always) and no X-Men characters become overnight villains.
(Seriously, what was it about this era of X-Men that they had to ruin characters like Forge and Bishop?)
We get the Brood, sort of. We get sentinels, sort of. There's action and quips! The ending is anti-climatic but at least I want to keep reading this book now. Talk about hit or miss, Warren Ellis.
(Seriously, what was it about this era of X-Men that they had to ruin characters like Forge and Bishop?)
We get the Brood, sort of. We get sentinels, sort of. There's action and quips! The ending is anti-climatic but at least I want to keep reading this book now. Talk about hit or miss, Warren Ellis.
February 26, 2017
Messy and confused. Definitely not a worthy followup to Joss Whedon's run. However the individual lines the character's actually say are pretty good. The story though is not. And the art doesn't make up for it. X-Men fight stuff and bicker among themselves. Blah blah blah. Armor at least is done pretty well. 2.5 of 5.
May 9, 2018
I'm still continuing my great x-read of 2017/2018 and I am WAY behind on reviews due to a move and limited down time. I will be updating everything I have read in the meantime with tiny (or nonexistent) reviews so I can catch up again...
Ok but not particularly memorable. Ellis again seems content to ignore the other x-books to a point. Not sure how I feel about that.
Ok but not particularly memorable. Ellis again seems content to ignore the other x-books to a point. Not sure how I feel about that.
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