Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men, New comics, Box summary

New comics!

Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity 7

More of the same, which isn’t bad.  Looking forward to reading this all at once.

Captain Marvel 25

Same comment here.  Lee Garbett can draw the heck out of a good action scene.

Shang-Chi 5

A total letdown of a series, I’m probably not going to keep this after the re-read.  There was one little bit that I liked:

Strange Adventures 8

We’re two thirds of the way through, and finally starting to get somewhere.  It’s fun to see Batman not be good at something.

Astonishing X-Men 19-24

The X-Men on Breakworld.  They hate on Agent Brand, Armor becomes a full-fledged X-Man, and Whedon uses telepathy in a way that I’ve never seen before.  It catches me by surprise every time I read it, and it’s absolutely brilliant.

The original two-page scene.

One issue later.

God, it's brilliant.

Everyone else is wrong, Peter is hilarious.

This would work even better as a filmed cut.

Scott is channeling Giles here.

More excellent optic blast coloring by Laura Martin.

Joss letting them be happy is a clear sign something bad's going to happen to one of them.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good

Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men 1

The conclusion of the Breakworld arc and Whedon/Cassaday’s run.  (How in the world did Cassasday maintain a regular schedule?  Ah, it was basically bi-monthly.)

Kitty sacrifices everything to save the world.  It’s absolutely heartbreaking.  I didn’t even want to cry at the end, I just felt hollow and silent inside.  I have a lot to say about how Joss Whedon’s use of death often feels less plot-driven and more emotionally manipulative, but when he does it right, there’s no one better at it.  Nothing will ever surpass Buffy’s The Body, but this is close.  

I never realized until now that Peter's mirroring Kitty's body language.

The world is a horrible, mean, cruel place and no one will be happy ever again.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pure joy (In a “makes me want to die of sadness” kind of way.)

Box summary

Time spent reading: 21 hours 41 minutes

Issues read: 196

Issues cut: 24

Highlights (Good or better): New X-Men 114-126, Messiah Complex, Second Coming, Whedon/Cassaday Astonishing X-Men 

Project Summary:

Time spent reading: 32 days, 23 hours, 19 minutes

Issues read: 6769

Issues cut: 839