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Ellis and Bianchi take over from Whedon and Cassaday. Do they rise to the challenge?

Astonishing X-Men. To me, this title has meant so much over the last several years. It was consistently and supremely entertaining, with great plots and unforgettable dialogue from the genius of Joss Whedon, as well as the truly amazing art of John Cassaday. Together they created the best comic title of the last decade by Marvel, as well as one of the best X-titles ever. Sadly, they left us… and so did Kitty Pryde… with their final issue Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1, but their legacy continues on with the new creative team of writer Warren Ellis and artist Simone Bianchi as they take over with issue #25. And in opposition to this legacy, they will be keeping up with the current state of the X-Universe, as opposed to ignoring it, as Whedon and Cassaday rightly did.

This takes place after Uncanny X-Men #499, where the X-Men are offered permanent residence and a base of operations in San Francisco after saving many of its citizens from the new female Mastermind. It also seems to take place several months after the last issue of this title, because they are comfortable in their new headquarters and dealing with more mundane issues. Hisako is being hassled by Logan to come up with a new codename other than Armor; Hank is being hassled by Hisako for singing in the morning; Scott is being hassled by Emma for not allowing her to sleep later; Logan is just… being Logan. But their digs are pretty fancy along with a new “car” that looks like something out of Robotech, and apparently, Storm is tired of ‘guilt-free shopping and constant love-making’ and wants to get some team time in. They are soon called by the SFPD to investigate a floating, burning corpse. Through further investigation, they find out that this corpse belonged to a mutant. But not just any kind of mutant. One that couldn’t be detected by Cerebra, and it also would have survived the mutant strip-down performed by Wanda Maximoff. So, in order to find the killer, the team decides to go to the killer’s supposed destination: a place called Chaparanga Beach, or ‘The place where spaceships go to die’.

One of the things that I loved so much about the Whedon/Cassaday run was that it focused on the characters and what made them all unique. It interlaced with thoughtful stories, and a barrage of cliffhanger endings. Now, admittedly, this duo is a VERY tough act to follow. But I knew that I was going to give Ellis and Bianchi a chance. After reading this issue though, I might not. Basically, I really didn’t enjoy it. Firstly, where the hell is Colossus? Has so much time elapsed that no one seems to mourn Kitty’s loss anymore? What kind of strange fetish does Warren Ellis have for pseudo-science? Why is Simone Bianchi’s art so damn dark? This is Astonishing X-Men, not Batman, for God’s sakes! Every element from Whedon and Cassaday‘s run, aside from Emma’s wit and Ellis having someone admit that Cyclops is the ‘world’s best superhero’ (it’s about damn time someone else did!), has been stripped bare and left to hang. It’s just another case of Ellis boring the crap out of me with his faux superhero science, and Bianchi’s art and Simone Peruzzi’s colors so dark that you need a flashlight to see it. Although there is at least a reference to the current affair between Hank and Abigail Brand. That was a nice touch.

If I sound biased… maybe it’s because I am. I really tried not to be. I really wanted to dig the new creative team. I’m not so blindly allegiant to Whedon and Cassaday that it would be impossible to enjoy a new creative team. But this just didn’t work on so many levels for me. This could have been worse, but not by much.

Astonishing X-Men #25
“Ghost Box”
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Simone Bianchi
Colors by Simone Peruzzi
Letters by Joe Caramagna

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