Astonishing X-Men had a great run when Joss Whedon and John Cassaday were on board. When the inevitable news came that they were leaving (plus the fact that the book was facing delays), part of me felt the title should simply be canceled. We have plenty of other X-titles so it's not like we really needed it to keep going. When Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi took over, I was indeed curious since they both differ from Whedon and Cassaday. I have to say that I wasn't too crazy about the Ghost Boxes arc. Let's see what is going on now:
While the issue didn't have a ton of actual story, we're seeing the next big story being set up. My criticism here isn't a bad thing. It's great having these big kind of battles once in a while to be reminded just what the team and characters are capable of. It's a pretty flashy battle but isn't too over-the-top. I did enjoy Phil Jimenez's art although I have to say Emma looked a little odd a couple times. Hats off to Frank D'Amata too for his great use of orange and blue during the fighting. That almost gave the battle a distinctive look that I can't really recall seeing recently. With Agent Brand dropping her little bombshell at the end, we'll see how closely Warren Ellis will be tying this series to SWORD #1.
I think what I really liked was that this is separate from the other X-events. Let's hope it can continue that way without being too confusing. What did you think?