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This Week in Comics: Astonishing X-Men #31
I feel like Warren Ellis is hitting his stride in his writing of the mighty Marvel mutants, and his quality and action-packed storytelling is on display in Astonishing X-Men #31, my pick of the comic pile I hauled back from the comic store this Wednesday.
There's no arguing with the phenomenal work Joss Whedon brought to this series in its first several arcs, even if the constant delays in shipping were frustrating. Ellis took over writing duties on issue #25, and his initial tale, entitled Ghost Box, left me a little cold – despite some gorgeous art from Simone Bianchi. I never really figured out exactly what was going on with the alternate dimension of mutants hellbent on our destruction. There was some strange new chromosome, the X-Men headed to China, a villainous Forge showed up. I don't know. I read a lot of confusing comics, and this one was right up there.
The verdict is still out on the new story arc that started this week, but I'm digging the kickoff. Part One of Exogenetic opens with some classic sci-fi craziness, showing series mainstay Agent Brand as she infiltrates what appears to be an alien space station. Her discovery there, and the subsequent escape are some of the better scripted action sequences I've run into in months. As Brand's ship goes hurtling into the atmosphere, the X-Men are called into service – a response team of last resort before the vehicle crashes into San Francisco.
Thanks to strong, sharp penciling work from new artist Phil Jimenez, the visual storytelling rolls out like the opening of a Hollywood summer film. The action scene that dominates the latter half of the issue is awash in absurd tech (like a new X-Plane), and all the team members get a moment to shine (watch for Wolverine's stupidly awesome high-altitude dive onto a hurtling shuttle pod).
If the issue misses a few chances to flesh out some characters, I didn't find myself minding too much. There are plenty of X-Men books on the shelves right now that give me ample space to ponder the metaphorical plight of mutants as society's downtrodden. This new story arc for Astonishing leaves that to other, more subtle plots. Instead, issue #31 sets a tone, especially with its final full page image, that promises several months ahead of insanity and fun. Count me in.
Have you checked the series out recently?
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