THIS year’s revamp of the X-Men line has, once again, turned the spotlight on Marvel Comics and its editor in chief, Joe Quesada-and not exactly in a good way.

Long-time X-writer Chris Claremont just bored millions of readers to death by cramming in as many word balloons into one panel as humanly possible. The ever-controversial Chuck Austen continued to draw much ire from fans for his awful characterization and dialogue (so much, in fact, that he is slated to be replaced by former X-Statix writer Peter Milligan).

However, all is not doom and gloom for the House of Ideas and their band of merry mutants. The new crowning glory from the Xavier Institute of Higher Learning has drawn accolades from fans and critics alike, and has drawn in thousands of new fans to the world’s best-selling super team.

Bannered by TV phenomenon Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel), and featuring linework from one of the most raved-about artists in the biz, John Cassaday, "Astonishing X-Men" is the biggest thing to hit the comics world since, well, Chris Claremont and Jim Lee relaunched the X-Men way back in the early ’90s.

Most of the buzz is due obviously to the star power of self-proclaimed X-Men fan Whedon. No stranger to the comics world, he’s done several issues of the comic version of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," as well as a Buffy spin-off mini-series called Fray for Dark Horse Comics.

Hip and tongue-in-cheek

Whedon brings what he does best in Buffy to this book-hip, tongue-in-cheek dialogue and tight, focused plotting. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the line-up he’s working with are some of the most beloved X-Men: Cyclops, Wolverine, Beast, Shadowcat and White Queen.

He works magic with what is perhaps the smallest team since the X-Men started. Whether it’s Wolverine’s tough-guy attitude, White Queen’s dry, sarcastic wit, Beast’s techno-babble, Cyclops’s "I’m the leader" tone, or the "coming back home" vibe of the reader’s POV character, Shadowcat, Whedon’s got the dialogue down pat.

In particular, the pointed vocal sparring between Shadowcat and White Queen is hilarious, as is Wolverine’s deliciously sharp-edged personality, which is cause for some occasional in-fighting. (As one student at the Mansion says, "So, what-the teachers spend all their time here trying to kill each other? This place is so cool.")

Whedon also undoes the edict of Marvel to have the characters dress the same way as their movie counterparts, by bringing back the always popular spandex togs. "Quite frankly, all the black leather is making people nervous," Cyclops notes, to which Wolverine mutters, "Here come the tights..."

Another thing Whedon imports from his TV experience is pacing. One can easily imagine this book to become the basis for the next X-Men movie sequel, as it does a bang-up job of establishing the setting, getting the reader familiar with the characters and their motivations, setting up the plot by introducing a new villain in the middle of a hostage situation, and by having a scientist reveal a chilling breakthrough to the world.

The second issue shows the X-Men working like an actual team to combat the new villain with a SWAT-like efficiency. Of course, things don’t go as smoothly as planned in that battle, and it takes the reappearance of an all-time favorite X-character to save the day.

Whedon keeps the pressure building with a cliffhanger in issue three, seemingly priming readers for the return of the recently buried Jean Grey. Only to blindside readers with the return of someone else-a move that drew collective raves from fans worldwide.

Clean and detailed pencils

The fact that Whedon is aided here by one of the most sought-after artists today, John Cassaday (whose portfolio includes the cult favorite "Planetary" and the first story arc of the "Marvel Knights Captain America") kicks the excitement notch up to eleven.

Boasting some of the cleanest and most detailed pencils this side of Bryan Hitch, Cassaday draws the best interpretation of the X-Men to be seen in a long time. The two-page spread of a Sentinel attack in Issue 1 is breathtaking.

But it’s not just the action scenes that he does well. He manages to capture just the right emotions Whedon’s script wants to project, best seen in Shadowcat’s stunned reaction to the return of the dead X-Man in Issue 4. Cassaday is also one of those artists who do not skimp on backgrounds. When the X-Men begin using the Danger Room for things other than training, Cassaday takes the idea and runs away with it, creating interesting backdrops for the team’s conferences.

Overall, this is the best X-book currently on the market, whether you’re an old fan or someone new to it. Whedon and Cassaday present some fantastic stories that do not need to rely on the genuine weirdness that was a major component of the previous Grant Morrison era.

Although the pair originally signed on for only 12 issues, Marvel should definitely move heaven and earth to keep this dynamic duo on board.

The story so far (Warning: spoilers!)

Issue #1: The Xavier Institute of Higher Learning has reopened its doors for the education of mutants after being destroyed by Magneto. Among the faculty is Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat), who returns from college to serve as student-faculty liaison. Cyclops advocates a return to the team’s superhero roots, and not a moment too soon as a mysterious new villain launches a hostage attack. At the same time, across New York, a scientist announces in a press conference that she has discovered a cure for the mutant gene.

Issue #2: The X-Men manage to defeat the human thugs of the new threat, Ord of the Breakworld who seems to be an alien, but run into problems defeating Ord himself. That is, until Shadowcat’s pet dragon Lockheed appears out of nowhere to save the day. The reaction to the cure is mixed, particularly among the students at the Xavier Institute. Without telling anyone else, Beast makes takes a trip to visit the scientist who has created the cure, who happens to be an old colleague of his. It turns out his intention is not to destroy the cure, but to see if it works.

Issue #3: Shadowcat’s tenure as student-faculty liaison gets off to a rocky start. Cyclops discovers that the human terrorists in Issue 1 were armed with experimental Shield weaponry and he suspects that Shield’s director, Nick Fury, may know more than he lets on. Ord turns out to be involved in developing the mutant cure, and Wolverine and Beast tussle when Wolverine finds out that Beast intends to use the cure to revert back to being human. All thoughts of that momentarily cease when Beast discovers that the cure may have been tested on mutants-on one dead mutant in particular, Jean Grey (Phoenix).

Issue #4: The team launches an assault on the facility housing the cure. At the same time, Ord sneaks into the X-Mansion and attacks the students there. Beast and Wolverine discover that other mutants have been murdered to test the cure, while Cyclops and White Queen are discovered by guards, with Cyclops getting shot in the process. Meanwhile, Shadowcat sneaks into the lowest level of the facility, a prison, and is also attacked by guards. In desperation, she opens the closest door, which opens to reveal an X-Man long thought dead, Colossus.