Joss Whedon

First Look: I Regret to Inform You that Devon Sanders Exploded After Reading “Astonishing X-Men”

For all of May, Sean and I have reviewing Marvel’s “X-Men: Reloaded” event and the reviews have varied. To recap, I gave Uncanny X-Men # 444 a rating of two while I gave Marvel Knights: District X #1 an enthusiastic four out of five Vikings. Not bad for a book that I was prepared to hate. Sean, last week reviewed New X-Men: Academy X # 1 and proceeded to give it a three, while Excalibur # 1 received a rating of three and a half Vikings out of five. Now here comes the science! Using the thing that those brains over at M.I.T. call a calculator, I tallied the overall review scores and found that overall “Reloaded” books worked at less than 63% of the capacity they could have, for us anyway.

Fuck that.

Reviewing ain’t a science. Never has been, never will be. Did we have fun reviewing them? Of course! We got to read comic books! That ain’t a bad thing. What I’m trying to say is that comics are simply a fun bit of business, but when well-written and well-drawn, they can even...(Wait for it.)...astonish.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this Wednesday Marvel will bring you, quite possibly, the beginnings of one to the greatest X-Men sagas, ever. Everything that I love about comics was found within the pages of Astonishing X-Men # 1. Series writer Joss (Fray) Whedon and artistic phenomenon John (Planetary) Cassaday have proven with their amazing first issue that comics and The X-Men franchise still have the ability to...astonish. (I’m sorry. Send all complaints to Samuel Morse.)

The X-Men are at a crossroads, and it’s left to new Academy headmasters Cyclops and Emma Frost to rebuild the team and educate the students Professor X left behind in order to help rebuild the mutant nation of Genosha. The team they’ve assembled? The Beast, brilliant teacher and team strongman. Kitty Pryde, computer specialist, student advisor and poster child for “safe mutants.” Wolverine...well, because he’s motherfuckin’ Wolverine. Each perfect in what they bring to the classroom and the team dynamic. The mutant world is changing, and it’s left to these five to ready the world for the changes to come. The changes come as a third and deadly mutant point of view is introduced into the mutant dynamic, with dire consequences for everyone. For The Astonishing X-Men, a new age has been ushered in. The days of simple good and evil are over. The public needs its’ heroes and these heroes are ready to show the masses what they should have known all along. That shield slinger and Iron Men are fine, but in this new world, The X-Men are simply ready to astonish.

Joss Whedon is well on his way to writing a story that in years to come we may be talking about in the same capacity as “The Dark Phoenix Saga.” It’s that good. The dialogue is first rate with perfect wit, showcasing the long histories these characters share with one another. Within Astonishing X-Men # 1’s twenty-four pages, there are just so many “moments” for longtime fans and new fans, as well. Too many to mention and I won’t because I want, no, need for you all to enjoy the story as much as I did. These moments reminded me why I love comics to begin with. Whedon’s every word of dialogue in Astonishing X-Men #1 shows a love and understanding of comics that just makes my heart soar.

Cassaday proves that he is simply the best artist working in comics today. Period. Beauty can be found in almost everything, and one need look no further than the unstated beauty within his line. There’s a lightness there that almost seems ethereal. His page layout is dead-on and is the perfect compliment to Whedon’s script. These two have totally synched up right off the bat. Only Cassaday could pull off a scene where X-Men are sitting, god-like, on Hawaii and make it look like they’re sitting at the kitchen table. Characters are constantly cutting glances at each other and the character and costumes re-designs are simply spot-on. His Cyclops is every bit the leader and looks every bit of his 6’4”. Emma radiates a cold beauty, Kitty still screams cute and Wolverine is...fuck, Wolverine. To those nay-sayers who can’t cotton to The Beast’s newer more feline look, just take a look at a kitten. Ain’t it cute and cuddly? Watch it stretch. Now it becomes all fang and claw. See it differently now, huh? Special mention must go to colorist Laura Martin for providing her beautifully unstated tones. I could not imagine this comic being anymore beautiful until I learned that she was on board to color Cassaday. I love their work on Planetary but on Astonishing they’re hitting beautiful notes that we’ve never even heard from them before.

Simply put, Astonishing X-Men # 1 is worthy of gush. Whedon’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” fans will find nothing but love within its’ pages. Cassaday fans will marvel at this man’s ability to just keep getting better. I’ve loved comics forever. Astonishing X-Men #1 has reminded me, all over again of how much they’ve meant to me. Highest possible recommendation, folks.