ASTONISHING X-MEN #30 REVIEW

[Adam Chapman]

Reviewer: Adam Chapman adam.chapman@sympatico.ca
Quick Rating: Much better than recent issues

The X-Men confront Forge!

Writer: Warren Ellis
Pencils: Simone Bianchi
Ink Washes Simone Bianchi and Andrea Silvestri
Colors: Simone Peruzzi with Morry Hollowell and Simone Bianchi
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Assistant Editor: Daniel Ketchum
Editor: Axel Alonso
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Considering how infrequently this series has been shipping lately, it's hard to really think of this book as being nearly as important as the rest of the X-books in the line, as this one feels like a relic already, behind the times, as the other X-books approach the era of the Dark X-Men. With that being said, I have to admit that I enjoyed this issue a LOT more than I would have expected to have enjoyed it, the artwork seemed much better than it had been previously, and even the scripting was better.

Now, Forge wasn't really characterized all that well here, in fact this is probably the worst characterization that he has ever received, but other than that I think this issue worked a hell of a lot better than recent issues, with the team being there for a specific reason, they talk to Forge, they finish their mission, they go home. There's a few highlights of characterization, but considering how slowly this storyline had been moving, this issue managed to be a major step up in terms of quality.

The biggest step up in terms of quality, however, has to be in the artwork by Simone Bianchi. It's not nearly as muddled here, and I actually found myself impressed by some of the layouts, and how cool some of the characters happened to look here. There was most definitely an artistic shift here of some kind, perhaps a change in the colourists that somehow affected it, as the inks were the same, but I definitely felt differently towards the artwork here, at least all save where Forge was involved. I think Forge was the weak link here, as he didn't act like the Forge we've ever known, he didn't really look like the Forge we've seen most recently, nor like what he's ever looked like.

This issue was a major improvement, let's just hope that the next issue doesn't take nearly as long to have come out, and that it's a consistent package from the very get-go.

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[plackbus]

Forge is one of my favorites from the X-cast and this issue was a bummer. i love Ellis as a writer but i wish he could have picked on someone else. I sort of hope that in the next 6 issues this other dimensional force does come over and prove Forge right, but it seems like its the end of the line for him. It was a nice tragic touch between him and Storm, that in a way his madness was her caused by her refusal of him......

i thought this was a less exciting issue. too much talking, too little showing. i have actually been enjoying this arc, it is out of context with the other series, but what a relief to not just see Norman Osborn,ms marvel, fake wolverine blah blah blah.....

[Ben Lehnsherr]

This is the best issue Ellis has put out since he took over. He's on an upswing. Can't wait until he gets his new artist, though. Still can't stand Bianchi.

[invasionforce]

I don’t know whether Forge was out of character, because I haven’t read his most recent appearances, and I missed the whole apparent romance with Storm. I take it however, that Forge had gone somewhat nuts.

I don’t think his fans have to worry about Forge, though. Surely he was resourceful enough to escape the fate of his base. I imagine he would have a teleporter handy, or some other gadget that would allow him to escape incineration.

This wasn’t the ending I expected. It wasn’t the conventional superhero smack down of a supervillian, but I nonetheless found it to be satisfying. One thing I think all readers of this comic can agree on is that its tone and style are very different from any of the other X-books, which is a good thing. Otherwise, why have an Astonishing and an Uncanny? You could call them by the same title. Actually, I think it would be nice if Ellis continued to tell stories peripheral to the Dark Reign status quo, if he finds doing so to be possible.

[WhereIsTony]

This title has lost all relevance