Astonishing X-Men #29 – Review

By Warren Ellis (Writer), Simone Bianchi (Pencils & Inks), Andrea Silvestri (Inks), and Simone Peruzzi, Christina Strain, & Laura Martin (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Astonishing X-Men should be better than it has been, especially considering both the talent involved and how long the wait is between issues. The biting humor and high-concept storyline work quite well. The muddy, (sometimes ridiculous) artwork and fairly plodding pace, however, does not.

The Story: The penultimate chapter of “Ghost Boxes” reveals more of the details behind both the ghost boxes and the artificial mutants. In addition, the X-Men learn about Forge’s involvement in a secret war between alternate realities. The information comes mostly from some brutal interrogation techniques used by the team.

What’s Good: I know it sounds terribly simplistic, but the good stuff about the current form of Astonishing X-Men keeps being good in Astonishing #29. Warren Ellis does a great job writing some of the characters (especially Emma Frost) and his storyline continues to be dense and intriguing, but not overwhelming (though it still feels like the plot’s moving a bit slow). The interrogation scenes are particularly amusing, given that they are written with an edge rarely seen in an “X” book that isn’t called X-Force.

What’s Not So Good: Just as the good stuff remains good, the bad stuff remains bad. The artwork is a mess of highs and lows that is incredibly frustrating to look at. For every panel (or page) that looks damn near fantastic, there are a handful that can be described as (feel free to pick more than one) inconsistent, muddy, unclear, or just downright silly looking. Wolverine is shown with a hilariously flat face on two occasions. Cyclops seems to have some relation to Angelina Jolie. Storm is actually lacking facial features in one panel. I could go on, but I assume you get my point. I know how good Simone Bianchi’s work can look. That’s why I have to come down so hard on the art in Astonishing.

Conclusion: The good outweighs the bad in Astonishing X-Men #29, but not by as much as I’d like. The writing rocks for the most part, but the book as a whole is weighed down by the art and the pacing.

Grade: B-

-Kyle Posluszny