Reviewer: Andy Campbell
Story Title: N/A
Written by: Joss Whedon
Art by: John Cassaday
Colored by: Laura Martin
Lettered by: Chris Eliopoulos
Assistant Editor: Sean Ryan
Associate Editor: Nick Lowe
Editor: Mike Marts
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Last issue, it was revealed that the enemy who locked Kitty Pryde and the students in the Danger Room…was the Danger Room itself. At the risk of oversimplifying the plot, this issue sees Kitty try to reason with the Danger Room (who is using deceased student Wing as a means of speaking), while her teammates attempt to shut the Danger Room down.
I don’t know what I can say about Astonishing X-Men that hasn’t been said over and over before. So I’ll repeat. AXM is the best X-book right now by far; it got me to actually read an X-book…something I’ve not done, outside of Morrison, for years. Joss has an obvious love for the characters, and a real gift for dialogue. And the storyline…the Danger Room gaining sentience…is brilliant. I just…there’s really nothing more I can say here.
John Cassaday’s art shows once again why he’s quite possibly the best comic book artist there is. His panel layouts are ingenious; his level of detail is amazing; and his ability to distinguish everyone’s faces, and capture facial expressions, is unrivaled (listen up, Rob Liefeld). If Cassaday drew every book out there, I’d be okay with that.
