Joss Whedon

US, January 23, 2008 - Welcome to another IGN Comics review. If you’ve been here before, you know the drill. If you haven’t, here’s how it works. We grade on a 100-point scale. Numerically this is represented as a 10 point system with 0.1 increments. These scores also translate to particular labels. To learn more about our rating system, look for the red link near our final score at the bottom. For trade, arcs and manga reviews, we’ll comment on art and writing along with a final score. Weekly books get a faster treatment due to their shorter length.

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I’m usually hesitant to throw around the phrase "instant classic". It’s the exact type of dangerous expression that can be easily decimated by proper hindsight. (After all, there was a point in my adolescence, during my all too brief roller-blade obsession, when I used the very same idiom to describe the movie Airborne.) That being said, with their last Astonishing X-Men arc, Whedon and Cassaday are crafting the type of story that will easily merit countless re-readings - each of them undoubtedly as entertaining as the first. Now, I don’t have a dictionary present, but that accomplishment alone would be as close to the definition of the word "classic" as anything I could come up with myself.

Anyway, now that I’ve thoroughly bored you with my personal debate over phraseology, we can get into the good stuff. Astonishing X-Men #24 continues the recent trend of twists and turns that have become a staple for the title during the unpredictable Breakworld arc. Allegiances are questioned, missiles are pointed and, perhaps most importantly, questions are answered - all of this leading up to the explosive conclusion in the upcoming giant-sized finale. As with most penultimate chapters, the issue isn’t lacking for action, as the X- Men split into two different teams, both of them intent on stopping a massive projectile from being launched towards Earth. To those sophisticates out there, all of the witty exchanges and well-timed gags you can usually count on in a Whedon penned title are more than prevalent here, but make no qualms about it, this installment is at its heart a good old fashioned blood-fest.

One of the main strengths of the issue (and for that matter the whole Breakworld arc) comes from Whedon’s mastery of the character of Cyclops. This is a guy who has been through unspeakable tragedy in nearly every facet of his life, and despite surviving through it all, was perpetually stuck in a constant state of self-doubt. What started in Grant Morrison’s New X-Men, Whedon has continued brilliantly as he has infused the character with a newfound sense of confidence. Nearly void of outward emotion, the leader of the X-Men now demands respect rather than asking for it; a trait that has breathed new life into the character, making him interestingly complicated as opposed to the bland Scott Summers of old. And it appears that this version of the character is here to stay, as the general-like attitude has made its way directly into the pages of Messiah Complex - a story where he takes very little time making a nearly unending series of life-or-death decisions.

Moving on to the artwork - I honestly wish John Cassaday could draw every book that I read. Okay, maybe that’s going a little bit too far, but I’ll be damned if he can’t paint a pretty picture. I don’t know that there is one artist out there better at packing emotion into each and every panel. What impresses me the most about Cassaday’s pencils are their ability to combine the realistic with the aesthetic, crafting scenes that are as believable as they are fantastic.

On one hand, I’m eagerly anticipating Giant-Sized Astonishing X-Men #1, but there is also a part of me that doesn’t want this series to end. To me it represents that rare level of quality- the perfect combination of great art and storytelling- that helps me retain faith in the future of superhero comics. I tip my cap to both of its creators as they head into their new projects, of which I can only hope will be of the same golden standard.