I can’t tell if the problem with Astonishing X-Men is with the book or with me. It has Joss Whedon writing it and John Cassaday drawing it. That’s right, the genius (if I’m to believe all the hyperbole in the Serenity Special Edition DVD) behind Buffy, Angel, Firefly and Serenity (why does no one mention Toy Story?) and the artist who brought Warren Ellis’s Planetary to life. That should be enough to make this one of the coolest X-Men stories ever. So why does issue #22 and the series feel lethargic and stretched out?
Astonishing X-Men has been a frustrating book in nearly every way. Whedon’s scripts are languid, expanding to fit the six issue requirement for the trade, instead of letting the story determine the size of the story. There’s not a lot happening within the confines of a page here. It may be unfair to compare it to to other books but look at how much story Mike Allred fits into a page of Madman or how much Matt Fraction, Gabriel Ba or Mario Boon fit into a page of Casanova and then look at Astonishing X-Men. Whedon and Cassaday’s choices have left no urgency to the story, no immediacy that things need to happen NOW. They’ll happen at their own pace, their own slow, deliberate and thoughtful pace.
Maybe it’s the sporadic publishing schedule that this book has had that’s the problem. I hate to use that as a knock on the book but I think if this were coming out more regularly, the slow pace of the book wouldn’t be a factor. It most certainly won’t be a factor in the eventual collected trade and hardcover but it is brutal when there are four months between the issues. The resolutions of cliffhangers mean nothing if you can’t remember what the cliffhanger was. I’m one of those readers who usually skips the recap page but I had to end up going back to it to make any sense of the opening scenes of this issue.
Those complaints aside, I do like where Whedon and Cassaday are going once I remember the story that came before this. After an issue or two of having the team apart on Breakworld, they spend this issue bringing them back together, giving all of the team but Wolverine and Armor (I love her and hope she stays around after this) spotlight moments. Emma’s confrontation with Danger showcases Emma’s craftiness and quickness. When Morrison brought her onto the team, she was the vixen; the division between Scott and Jean Summers. Under Whedon, she’s become a better defined and conflicted character, including having to use her wits instead of just her kittenish personality that Morrison used her for.
The final scene this issue feels like everything is starting to come to a point. The true threat of Breakworld is revealed and an X-Man appears to make the ultimate sacrifice but how many times have we seen something like that? The character’s life flashes before his eyes and it focuses on the three lives that have been more important to him. It would be a nice send off if we didn’t live in a cynical world that doubts this is the last we’ve seen of that character. It’s the X-Men; resurrections and false deaths come with the territory.
Just as a side note, I love the poppy variant covers– highlighting one member of the team and using only two colors, one for the character and one for the background. This issue, Wolverine is featured, colored yellow. The figure jumps out against the flat blue background. They’re not great action shots or fantastic and intricate drawings but they are wonderful images.
Astonishing X-Men #22
Written by: Joss Whedon
Drawn by: John Cassaday
Colored by: Laura Martin
Lettered by: Chris Eliopoulos
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