It wasn't as harsh as I half-expected before clicking the link. Interesting take on it, but I think that its inevitable for people to be let down by this issue considering all of the stuff packed into the previous few. To me its not that this issue was bad, but that it was not on the same level as previous. Which is to say it was a good solid issue without being jaw dropping.

zeitgeist | February 23, 21:42 CET

I did agree that it wasn't as good as previous issues, in fact it might've been my least favourite thus far. However I do consider calling it rubbish to be pretty harsh.

Paul_Rocks | February 23, 21:52 CET

That's true, rubbish is pretty darned harsh. Especially considering some of the ACTUAL rubbish out there in comics.

zeitgeist | February 23, 22:18 CET

I would agree that it was definitely the worst so far, but just like Buffy, even the bad ones have moments that completely redeem it and make it better than a majority of the stuff out there.

For me it was when Lockheed lit up the the courtyard revealing the Sentinel and Wolverine's reaction to Cyclops blasting the Sentinel back a couple hundred yards.

ringworm | February 23, 22:25 CET

It is a setup issue to develop a continuing plot. These are a must for all storylines, if every issue was all action there would be no continuity.

rockchalkwatcher | February 23, 22:57 CET

It sounded a little like the reviewer was disappointed that it wasn't perfect. One could take it as a compliment that the expectations were so high.
I really liked it, though, no complaints at all. And ringworm, the second moment you mention was also my favorite as that's a question that has always nagged at me and now has a very clear answer.

Biff Turkle | February 23, 23:40 CET

The reviewer couldn't even be bothered to find out that it is 'Dangerous' part 2. Thus. The review is worthless.

Gouki | February 24, 05:41 CET

Gouki - I don't think the author got the title wrong, I think the faux title “Your Guess Is As Good As Mine” part 2 was meant as a sarcastic follow-up to the equally sarcastic title "(Allegedy) Astonishing X-men #8". The review is therefore not invalidated by using the wrong title (I hasten to add that I don't agree with the review but do think it is a valid point of view to be considered).

catalyst2 | February 24, 09:50 CET

Sorry, but to me Silverbullet hardly excels in its 'reviews' anyway. And I'm not merely talking about agreeing or disagreeing. Most reviews, like this one, are simply a little scribbling of barely two or three paragraphs that can be summed up with 'I didn't like it'. Give me a break. One of the reasons I don't really frequently visit the site anymore.

And personally I thought it was an excellent issue. It was a big set-up of the main plot, but how it was structured was quite interesting and had some powerful character moments as well. Merely summing up the main plot events of a 22 page pamphlet does not a good argument make. There's quite a few famous and awarded movies whose main, bare-bones plot I can sum up in a sentence or two as well if I want, but that's hardly a final verdict on the movie. And here the total of 6 issues should be judged in that fashion. These days it's nearly impossible to judge a single issue on it's own since they're all purely chapters of larger stories.

But then I wasn't surprised, given the site. Their columns got blander per month as well.

I also get the impression this guy may be a bit of a fanatical Morrisson fan and Joss following his run probably makes him a target to begin with. And do those guys actually realize Emma Frost was already no longer a villain LONG before GM ever took the reigns? The way some people talk, you'd think he invented the X-Men from scratch! Really not the case.

EdDantes | February 24, 11:48 CET

how about we write some reviews of the reviews? i'd call it metareviewing. seriously, there are so many critics out there who can barely construct a sentence, yet alone deconstruct a piece of art, that there needs to be some metacriticism just to make it a little more, well, fair.

biki | February 24, 17:38 CET

/agree w/ Ed- there are a lot of Morrisson fans wildly speculating that Joss is going to retcon things that Grant did and they are starting to annoy me with their potshotting.

zeitgeist | February 24, 19:22 CET

Biki, I kind of love you for noting that. The web has spawned so many "critics" that good writing has been abandoned in a gas station bathroom somewhere under the underground.

Metacritics unite! Or, not.

TheZeppo | February 25, 01:20 CET

I agree w/biki about the reviewer...I think he had an axe to grind.
the reviewer said : "To be fair, we do get a bit about a mole within the mansion working for the woman-who-looks-like-Madame-Hydra-but-isn’t, which is a point of some interest; and there’s a bit more development regarding Emma Frost’s apparent return to villainy, "
and I think that latter point has filled the reviewer w/so much anger and angst that he gave a totally biased review.

Personally I agree with ringworm, that the episode had a lot in it, more than you get from most issues of other titles.

Personally I am very excited about the 'danger room' and very interested in who Emma is working with...because I don't think she HAS turned evil, but I think she is definitely working under some conflicted loyalties...
and I'm betting on big surprises over the next few months.

I am LOVING the Astonishing X-men and thrilled that they are going to continue.

[ edited by embers on 2005-02-25 02:12 ]

embers | February 25, 02:37 CET

Embers, I'm right with you about Ms. Frost. If Emma was actually going evil again, Joss wouldn't make it so obvious. And as with almost all of the other negative reviews I've seen since the launch of the title, the main criticisms are things that may happen in future issues; constantly lashing out prematurely rather than seeing where the story goes.

This review also makes use of that now cliché Marvel complaint, "nothing happened" or "not enough happened". Occasionally, it's a valid criticism, but I think a good deal of these reviewers are just searching for a reason to use it. If a Marvel book doesn't involve the resurrection or death of a character, nothing happened. Personally, I thought the final revelation was definitely something happening!

The Danger Room becoming not only a sentient being, but some sort of technological messiah, that's a fairly unique, and just really darn cool, idea.

I will admit the issue flew by. It is a quick read, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I saw it as a trade-off of less dialogue for more action.

WindTheFrog | February 25, 09:14 CET

Interestingly there's now an extremely positive review on the same site.

Paul_Rocks | March 01, 20:23 CET