Whitechapel - The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-08-22T18:11:52-07:00

Thoughts, comments, spare change? I could really use the spare change, as I quit this book. Hahaha.

-- W

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-08-25T12:56:44-07:00

Enjoyed the confrontation with the villain at the end (and your point about the lack of laserbeam eyes among people who were, y'know, actually mutated by radiation was well taken), and Phil's art is always a treat to look at. It felt a little abrupt, honestly. It read like one of those "Planetary" stories I'd finish and think, "Surely he'll come back to this in the next few issues and show things coming together," and you almost always did. Can I ask if the "Xenogenesis" mini ties together your two "Astonishing" stories?

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-08-25T13:04:02-07:00

Last issue was a little on the "What the fuck? This is somewhat fucked and rushed" side of things. This issue was a little more manageable, I think, read a little more cleanly. Andy Lanning did some great job finishing the work. Still it felt like there was something missing from this. A bunch of great ideas happened here, maybe it was the fact I have not read them all in a row and it seems jumpy in my brain. That might be it.

Mutated ugly fucks -- maybe I wanted something smashed at the end, but I think I just might have too much testosterone in my balls (among other places), so I applaud the thinking and doing things differently.

I think I'll sit down and read them through now.

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-08-25T22:41:55-07:00

I loved it. There were many great one-liners between the team (Armor not wanting to go to the bondage store again, Beast's comment when the plane was too big for the tunnel, etc.); the art was brilliant, I loved the spreads; but the main thing this issue has going for it is the bad guy at the end. I love his spiel, I thought it was so well written, talking about how lucky the typical mutant is, what it was like being a real mutant without powers, etc.

Oh, and "Wheelchair of death." Fucking beautiful.

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-08-26T15:11:56-07:00

I had a lot of trouble following the visual storytelling in this issue — but I really liked the revelation of the villain and his motivations.

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-08-26T17:37:36-07:00

The ending seemed to lose steam in regards to the plot payoff, but that's not really important so much as it's just an X-Men comic. The real attraction and enjoyment I got from AXM #35 was the banter between Emma and Hisako. All the Emma jokes in this issue were beyond hilarious, and Hisako never missed a beat. Thanks to you Mr. Ellis, and Mr. Jimenez, Hisako has become a personal favorite X-Man. I fear for her fate once you leave the X-Men franchise, but that's life.

Anyway, I enjoyed it, and honestly, Naga was pretty darn cool, especially with an actual, honest to Goddess excuse to hate "mutants." He's the textbook case of actual mutations and ugly, while the Chromosome 23 mutants of the 616 look like glamorous movie stars.

I also want to thank Jimenez and Lanning for some really nice group shots of the entire Astonishing cast (Abby included), those were great. Still, can't even hope to compete with any of your Avatar Press books, but it's simple mindless indulgence, thanks Warren, Phil, Lanning, and Frank. This was a nice science hero rescue fiction X-Men book.

Cheers!

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-08-26T19:29:55-07:00

Morrison also poked at the theme of the X-Men as "outcast movie stars" a little bit, when he had it pointed out by a character whose mutation basically seemed to amount to having two faces smooshed together.

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-08-27T06:43:49-07:00

That was bad ass.

I'm a horrible critic.

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-08-27T10:44:28-07:00

x-men are go? brilliant.

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-08-27T20:01:28-07:00

X-Men are F.A.B.!

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-08-27T21:07:13-07:00

I'd bet mutant money was sweet like honey, but sleepless and swing are the f--ing real thing. (I'm sorry I really really wanted to say that)

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-08-28T08:25:27-07:00

Brilliant!

I especially love the different looks on the faces of Emma and Brand in that last panel. I will be sad to see you leave Astonishing.

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-08-30T08:34:44-07:00

I agree the end was kind of a let down, it's doesn't build anything new, the mutants have been streamlined into just the pretty people, even the ones that were not that pretty (wolverine?) now look generic and uninteresting in most titles, I guess this started with the Morlock massacre, Morrison tried some things but they are all gone, where is Beak? oh yeah he looks normal now and has a superposered suit, right?

I would have liked this (The child of the atom) character to lead to something new, but I guess there is a reason why you quited the book, I am sad to say that I am getting so bored with the X-Men books, I read the ones that came out last week and the same thing happen over and over on every book, what is the point? the have good artists now, but the writing it's going nowhere, I will keep enjoying Xenogenesis till the end.

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-08-31T18:51:08-07:00

This story made me laugh, it made me go ooh! at the right moments and Beast has pretty much kept me afloat on every issue. Was it work for hire? Of course. But, it still has some points to make, the characterizations and inter-character dynamics are all sound, with some delicious novelty in presentation, and who has better body language in mainstream comics than Phil Jimenez?

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-09-03T00:18:24-07:00

Hello, THC! I see you found your way here. Yes, I agree too, Warren Ellis writes Henry by far the best. Although I do enjoy Warren fleshing out Hisako into a full fledged X-character that can keep up with the A-list X-cast. The eXogenetic arc was quite tongue and cheek the whole way through, especially with the first two issues devoted to Henry's sexual innuendos towards Abby and her playing "it's mission time now, but afterward we'll get our freak on."

I love how completely warped Warren made the Astonishing X-Men cast.

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-09-04T17:06:07-07:00

Did you see how angry the CBR X-board got about this? That and the fact that this is as close to an X-Men as A Team vibe as we're likely ever to get made it all worthwhile. Some can't groove on Thunderbirds versus bastardized meat robots.

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-09-04T17:38:28-07:00

I don't look at CBR boards, or read reviews, really.

But, you know, you can understand why this particular project might have annoyed some X-Men fans.

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-09-04T19:36:15-07:00

heh heh heh

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-09-07T06:32:24-07:00

I think the X-Men books need to bring Igor Kordey back, I would love to see an arc of Astonishing X-Men (The team from Xenogenesis) by him (but please do not rush him!).
oh also Travis Charest on covers, would you like to write that Warren?

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-09-07T07:50:04-07:00

I left AXM.

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-09-08T06:20:52-07:00

I don't think Igor it's coming back anytime soon, but a fan boy can dream right?

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-10-02T21:18:08-07:00

@Roho- Ah, I miss Igor Kordey, I loved his work on Morrison's New X-Men, despite being rushed, it was definitely something I had to get used to, but then once I did, I adopted the same attitude I did for Whilce Portacio's art: it's raw and ugly, but the visceral feel to the panels just amps up the panels, especially during hectic scenes and action scenes. While I used the term "ugly" I find neither Whilce Portacio's art nor Igor Kordey's art to fit the actual definition of the word "ugly." It's rough on the eyes, but I would read a book containing either of their art in a second.

@Warrenellis- pay no mind to the CBR riff-raff, they're still pissed at you for "killing" Wallflower, which totally set the tone for eXogenetic for me, which was "F.Y.I. Crazy shit ahead, have a nice day."

I'm loving Xenogenesis, too. I take back every negative comment I said towards Kaare Andrews. The man is a GOD at drawing the Astonishing X-Men.

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-10-04T18:16:00-07:00

...they're still pissed at you for "killing" Wallflower...

But she was killed in New X-Men when Stryker shot her through the head... (written by Craig Kyle and Chris Yost)

The ASTONISHING X-MEN #35 Thread

2010-10-04T23:11:48-07:00

@Warped Savant, I've heard people complain because Kyle and Yost may have, at some point, toyed with the idea of bringing her back to life, and these readers feel they've now been robbed. Not that anything from Astonishing prevents her from being brought back. It's corporate superhero comics, which means not only can anyone be brought back to life in any shape and status deemed fit, but that they eventually probably must, just so the trademark doesn't run out.