While I'm completely in agreement with Mssr. Bendis in this situation, I might point out that most of his recommendations are, ummm, extremely enthusiastic.

Crack also factors in many of his assessments. (Along with other, less savory substances.)

bookrats | July 24, 04:11 CET

I enjoyed this issue very much and look forward to the next. And I hope we don't have to wait another two months for it.

Mack | July 24, 05:09 CET

i wasn't that impressed with this issue, especially with all the other great comics that came out this week. the fight was way too short after all the build up. i, however, am also looking forward to this next issue. i don't know what i'm going to do with myself when the comic is on hiatus.

SteveHolt! | July 24, 05:25 CET

Hmmm. What are the chances that bookrats IS Mssr. Bendis?

Willowy | July 24, 06:00 CET

well due to the fact that mssr. bendis puts out like 50 books a month, i doubt he has time to come to whedonesque to read a review about astonishing xmen and then make a comment about it.

SteveHolt! | July 24, 06:34 CET

Just a joke, SteveHolt. Forgot my winkie, I guess. ;)

Willowy | July 24, 07:16 CET

This review is far less positive :(

http://www.comicsworthreading.com/blog/2005/07/marvel-astonishing-x-men-spider-man.html

What's happened to this title? It was the next great hope, after Morrison left the franchise, but it's piddled away into something about a killer girl robot with father issues, with scenes and dialog (crashing a tractor trailer into the bad guy, the emotional revelation while preparing in macho fashion for battle) that seem to have escaped from a third-rate action movie. It's all outdated, anyway, with most of the other big-deal Marvel titles busy with House of M while this is a couple of months behind.

biki | July 24, 07:43 CET

I didn't enjoy this issue nearly as much as the previous 10. The lackluster dialogue, the abrupt pacing: it felt...extremely un-Jossian. Enough so that I begin to credit the ghostwriter rumors from a few months back.

wren | July 24, 07:53 CET

I'm not so sure how I feel about this arc. Some parts are excellent but a lot fo it seems to be auto-pilot Whedon, and while it's good, it's not as good as it should/could be.

And that's why Cable & Deadpool and Teen Titans are the books I look forward to the most at the moment.

Gouki | July 24, 10:21 CET

cable and deadpool was hilarious this week. i loved all the stuff with sinister and deadpool early on. the whole series has been great so far. as you can tell, i buy/read a ton of books a week.

SteveHolt! | July 24, 10:24 CET

Go X!

BD | July 24, 10:29 CET

SteveHolt!, please capitalise your posts.

Caroline | July 24, 11:09 CET

Nope -- neither prolific nor profane enough to fill those trainers.

Why, I doubt I've used the word "blowjob" more than 3 times in the last 10 years.

bookrats | July 24, 19:34 CET

The encounter between Xavier and Danger at the opening of this issue was amazing. But I felt cheated by the reversal of the Kitty/Peter impalement. I don't know the extent of Elixir's powers (I've never read the "New X-Men" title he's featured in, and I'm not even entirely certain if his name's even Elixir...), but it seemed those were less than fixable wounds. Intestines probably lying in the rubble and whatnot. I knew the characters wouldn't actually die but I really thought Joss was going to have a more clever solution to bringing those two back to life. Maybe something involving Danger's ability to alter reality. I guess I just never expect Joss to take the most obvious route. I did love the conversation between Kitty and Peter later in the issue though. And the issue ended with another fun cliffhanger, so I can't complain too much.

WindTheFrog | July 25, 08:17 CET

I agree with just about everything you said Wind. The cliffhanger was great, but I also felt slightly cheated by the impalement reversal. The thing that I find so frustrating about comic books is that death is so rarely an option, and even when it happens it's often reversed. It sucks away all sense of danger or suspense for me while reading. I was hoping Joss wouldn't go the obvious route with the healer, but oh well.

MindPieces | July 25, 18:48 CET

But if you had the option of mutant healers, why wouldn't you take that option? Its the most obvious and logical choice, and its clear from the story that they seriously drained that kid to patch them all up.

Shroomy | July 25, 19:11 CET

I guess the question is whether they should have been killed instantly by the impalement, thus rendering the healer useless. Maybe I'm just a fan of the way Joss tends to use a sudden, shocking demise to fuel a powerful story. It would have been interesting if, say, Kitty had died instantly and Peter had been healed by Josh. I can imagine the amazing places the story could go from there, but because this is a comic book world and Kitty is too big of a character, such things can never happen.

MindPieces | July 25, 19:26 CET