manuelte's review against another edition
3.0
Way better than the Ghost Box arc also from Warren Ellis. The characters are more centered and show their individual strengths. It's a light read with no confusing subplots, a simple beginning-middle-end story. The only thing going against it is that the team breezes through every challenge without missing a single beat and with no apparent danger to themselves.
crookedtreehouse's review against another edition
4.0
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.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
2.0
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.
ferencb's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
melhara's review against another edition
2.0
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Average rating for the entire series (minus Volume 12): 3.1/5
Check out my reviews for the rest of the series:
Volume 1: Gifted | Volume 2: Dangerous | Volume 3: Torn (no review) | Volume 4: Unstoppable (no review) | Volume 5: Ghost Box (no review) | Volume 6: Exogenic (no review) | Volume 7: Monstrous (no review) | Volume 8: Children of the Brood (no review) | Volume 9: Exalted (no review) | Volume 10: Northstar | Volume 11: Weaponized (no review) | Volume 12: Unmasked (TBR)
Average rating for the entire series (minus Volume 12): 3.1/5
Check out my reviews for the rest of the series:
Volume 1: Gifted | Volume 2: Dangerous | Volume 3: Torn (no review) | Volume 4: Unstoppable (no review) | Volume 5: Ghost Box (no review) | Volume 6: Exogenic (no review) | Volume 7: Monstrous (no review) | Volume 8: Children of the Brood (no review) | Volume 9: Exalted (no review) | Volume 10: Northstar | Volume 11: Weaponized (no review) | Volume 12: Unmasked (TBR)
carroq's review against another edition
3.0
I'm glad to see things turned around a bit here compared to volume 5. The darkness that took over Ghost Box is still present to a degree, but the creators acknowledge and begin to move past it.
First of all, this book features the return of the Brood! I loved watching the X-Men fight them in the '90s animated series. They get an upgrade here by being genetically modified by the latest person that wants to see the X-Men destroyed. There are also organic Sentinels and an island sized monster.
The art is superb, but I've always enjoyed the work of Phil Jimenez. He takes the style from the previous book and makes it his own. And the creatures are beautiful and horrific at the same time. That alone made this a better book.
The story was mediocre though. The team has to rescue Abigail Brand after her spaceship is damaged during a check of an asteroid. This sequence is pretty cool, although once it is done the X-Men just fight monsters and head off to the bad guys secret base. The villain never evoked any real feelings from me, so I think he could have been developed better. Maybe a slower reveal would have worked in his favor. That said, his backstory actually fits really well within the overall arc.
Personally, I will likely hold off on the rest of the series for a while because it has mostly lost my interest.
First of all, this book features the return of the Brood! I loved watching the X-Men fight them in the '90s animated series. They get an upgrade here by being genetically modified by the latest person that wants to see the X-Men destroyed. There are also organic Sentinels and an island sized monster.
The art is superb, but I've always enjoyed the work of Phil Jimenez. He takes the style from the previous book and makes it his own. And the creatures are beautiful and horrific at the same time. That alone made this a better book.
The story was mediocre though. The team has to rescue Abigail Brand after her spaceship is damaged during a check of an asteroid. This sequence is pretty cool, although once it is done the X-Men just fight monsters and head off to the bad guys secret base. The villain never evoked any real feelings from me, so I think he could have been developed better. Maybe a slower reveal would have worked in his favor. That said, his backstory actually fits really well within the overall arc.
Personally, I will likely hold off on the rest of the series for a while because it has mostly lost my interest.
nnebeluk's review
4.0
A very engaging and fun story arc that takes the piss out of the X-men being typical heroes. I love Ellis' characterization and team dynamics.
caoimhin42's review
3.0
Monsters with some 'modern' hype. Best part of the Storyline is the X-Man "Armor".
nancyotoole's review against another edition
3.0
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.