Astonishing X-Men #10 Review - Marvel Monday

X-Rated

Written by: Charles Soule
Pencils by: ACO
Inks by: David Lorenzo
Colors by: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letters by: VC's Clayton Cowles


The Astonishing X-Men monthly series is the book that is directly responsible for me getting back into the X-Men books for the first time since the late 1990s. Issue 1 reeled me in, and sent me back through the back catalog of recent years, and diving into the new series as they came on board. I'm now up to date in my X titles but has my love endured for the series that sparked it all off 10 months ago?

Whisper it...this series has become a little dull. Eek! Seriously though, this is the second arc which is still developing the story from the first arc. The big bad in this arc is now Proteus who has sent the X-Men traveling up from London to Scotland, Fetters Hill to be precise where Proteus has created a wall around the village and granted the villagers the same powers he possesses. It is a fatal gift on the road to Proteus creating his new Eden.

Ho-hum. I'm bored of this story now which has lurched from the original story arc and isn't doing anything for me whatsoever. I don't like X and am sorry to see him fully recovered from Logan sticking a dose of adamantium into him. He does little to help out in this issue and the cliffhanger didn't give me any real hope of this story being wrapped up in the next issue either. Maybe time to wait for the trade on this title.

Aside from that, the art is pretty good, mildly psychedelic splash pages, although it is quite hard to see what is going on in some of the pages - they are almost too detailed in depicting the villager "meld" in the second half of the issue. It is certainly colorful.

Bits and Pieces

This issue added to my growing sense of unease about the direction of this title. The chemistry of the team doesn't seem to be drawn out, X is unlikable and not an appealing draw, and the rest of the team are cast into his shadow given his central role. I'll stick with this title but, with a massive amount of new and exciting books coming on stream in the coming weeks and months from the big two, its place on the pull list may be in jeopardy.

5.8/10