This month we honour Astonishing X-men and Astonishing X-Men (it was that good an issue)
By Miles Baker and Owen K. Craig
Miles’ Book of the Month
Astonishing X-Men #23
Written by Joss Whedon
Art by John Cassaday
Marvel Comics, 2007
I hate to pick two Joss Whedon books back-to-back but no other book gave me the geek this month like this book did. Through Whedon, and Morrison before him, I’ve come to have great affection for Emma Frost. Between the two of them, they’ve constructed this strong yet fragile character, who also happens to have the best one-liners. This book had her greatest line of all time, as she rebuffs Kitty’s attempts at sympathies over Cyclops’ apparent death: “I am a diamond, Ms. Pryde. I am, by definition, my own best friend.” It just captures her humour and her tragic nature in one perfect line. It gave me the big geek.
But not as much as the ending did.
Cyclops, of course, doesn’t die. After revealing the elaborate ruse he concocted, he unleashes his eye beams as a summons to his teammates — which he can now control without his visor. To top it off, he ends the issue by saying, for the first time that I’ve ever seen, “To me, my X-Men.” (For those not in the know, “To me, my X-men. Let’s finish this.” is something Xavier has said many times to call the X-Men; in this case, it shows how Cyclops is finally coming into his own.)
All this, and the excellent work of John Cassaday, my favourite artist working in comics today. He keeps bringing the best work he can to this title, and takes great care to give each character a distinct look and feel. His panel composition is second to none, and his action is beautiful and dynamic.
See, I told you this book gave me the geek.
Owen’s Book of the Month
Astonishing X-Men #23
Written by Joss Whedon
Art by John Cassaday
Marvel Comics, 2007
When I saw Miles’ pick of the month I wasn’t at all surprised. After all, as I was going over my favourite books from November, one stood out as the most fun, most satisfying, and most geek-thrill-inducing read. It was an easy choice for me, and I imagine that it was an easy choice for Miles.
As frustrating as it is that Astonishing X-Men’s chronic lateness completely kills the momentum of the story, each issue still offers a wonderful collection of small character moments, amazing one-liners, and often – proving the genius that is Joss Whedon – both together, such as the “diamond” line that Miles mentioned.
Just like always, Cassaday’s art is mesmerizing. His use of shadow and his attention to detail are always top-notch, and he can show more emotion in the eyes of his characters than any other artist working today. Plus, I have to mention Laura Martin’s stellar colouring.
And oh, that ending. The explanation of a rather bizarre scene from last issue is both hilarious and sensible. Then Whedon once again proves that Cyclops CAN be cool with the right writer. If Cyclops were always written like this, I think he would be my favourite X-Man. His “To me, my X-Men” gave me chills, it was so perfect.
