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Astonishing X-Men (2004) (Collected Editions)
Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis
Children of the Atom, or something else? A small African town has been hit with a series of bizarre occurrences, as children are born possessing strange and powerful abilities. With the mutant race dwindling, the X-Men are the fi rst on the scene to investigate the phenomenon. When they arrive, their hopes are raised by what looks to be a concentration of mutant births. But soon they find themselves confronted by the country's ruthless leader, who has his own ideas of what the children truly are and how to deal with them. Have the X-Men stumbled across a series of new mutant births, or are they dealing with something far more dangerous?
160 pages, Paperback
First published March 30, 2011
45 people are currently reading
328 people want to read
About the author
Warren Ellis
1,971 books5,765 followersWarren Ellis is the award-winning writer of graphic novels like TRANSMETROPOLITAN, FELL, MINISTRY OF SPACE and PLANETARY, and the author of the NYT-bestselling GUN MACHINE and the “underground classic” novel CROOKED LITTLE VEIN, as well as the digital short-story single DEAD PIG COLLECTOR. His newest book is the novella NORMAL, from FSG Originals, listed as one of Amazon’s Best 100 Books Of 2016.
The movie RED is based on his graphic novel of the same name, its sequel having been released in summer 2013. IRON MAN 3 is based on his Marvel Comics graphic novel IRON MAN: EXTREMIS. He is currently developing his graphic novel sequence with Jason Howard, TREES, for television, in concert with HardySonBaker and NBCU, and continues to work as a screenwriter and producer in film and television, represented by Angela Cheng Caplan and Cheng Caplan Company. He is the creator, writer and co-producer of the Netflix series CASTLEVANIA, recently renewed for its third season, and of the recently-announced Netflix series HEAVEN’S FOREST.
He’s written extensively for VICE, WIRED UK and Reuters on technological and cultural matters, and given keynote speeches and lectures at events like dConstruct, ThingsCon, Improving Reality, SxSW, How The Light Gets In, Haunted Machines and Cognitive Cities.
Warren Ellis has recently developed and curated the revival of the Wildstorm creative library for DC Entertainment with the series THE WILD STORM, and is currently working on the serialising of new graphic novel works TREES: THREE FATES and INJECTION at Image Comics, and the serialised graphic novel THE BATMAN’S GRAVE for DC Comics, while working as a Consulting Producer on another television series.
A documentary about his work, CAPTURED GHOSTS, was released in 2012.
Recognitions include the NUIG Literary and Debating Society’s President’s Medal for service to freedom of speech, the EAGLE AWARDS Roll Of Honour for lifetime achievement in the field of comics & graphic novels, the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire 2010, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History and the International Horror Guild Award for illustrated narrative. He is a Patron of Humanists UK. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex.
Warren Ellis lives outside London, on the south-east coast of England, in case he needs to make a quick getaway.
The movie RED is based on his graphic novel of the same name, its sequel having been released in summer 2013. IRON MAN 3 is based on his Marvel Comics graphic novel IRON MAN: EXTREMIS. He is currently developing his graphic novel sequence with Jason Howard, TREES, for television, in concert with HardySonBaker and NBCU, and continues to work as a screenwriter and producer in film and television, represented by Angela Cheng Caplan and Cheng Caplan Company. He is the creator, writer and co-producer of the Netflix series CASTLEVANIA, recently renewed for its third season, and of the recently-announced Netflix series HEAVEN’S FOREST.
He’s written extensively for VICE, WIRED UK and Reuters on technological and cultural matters, and given keynote speeches and lectures at events like dConstruct, ThingsCon, Improving Reality, SxSW, How The Light Gets In, Haunted Machines and Cognitive Cities.
Warren Ellis has recently developed and curated the revival of the Wildstorm creative library for DC Entertainment with the series THE WILD STORM, and is currently working on the serialising of new graphic novel works TREES: THREE FATES and INJECTION at Image Comics, and the serialised graphic novel THE BATMAN’S GRAVE for DC Comics, while working as a Consulting Producer on another television series.
A documentary about his work, CAPTURED GHOSTS, was released in 2012.
Recognitions include the NUIG Literary and Debating Society’s President’s Medal for service to freedom of speech, the EAGLE AWARDS Roll Of Honour for lifetime achievement in the field of comics & graphic novels, the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire 2010, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History and the International Horror Guild Award for illustrated narrative. He is a Patron of Humanists UK. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex.
Warren Ellis lives outside London, on the south-east coast of England, in case he needs to make a quick getaway.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews
May 9, 2023
The end of Ellis' run sees not only the return of some of his most dangerous earlier villains from the past, but also a trip and story set in a fictional African country craftily dispelling many negative inaccurate stereotypes about Africa! 7 out of 12, Three Star read.
2018 read
2018 read
February 6, 2012
This was actually pretty awful. I saw promise for Ellis writing the X-Men in The Ghost Box, but I saw none of that here. There's a decent plot in there, but it's hampered by uninteresting dialog, a general dumbing down of all of the characters, and a generally clumsy handling of Africa, Africans, and African issues. There's a scene where Storm reports a conversation that she had with an African woman to Cyclops, but why is it written that way? Why aren't we allowed to see this African woman speak for herself? I get the feeling that Ellis was trying to write this topic sensitively, but he dropped the ball.
Not to mention that the art is just atrocious. I am not familiar with Kaare Andrews' work, and after this, I don't intend to ever be familiar with it. This artwork is just so bad that I'm left wondering if it was a practical joke at Marvel's expense. It looks like a parody of ugly, oversexed, anatomically dubious comic art. Just take a look at the cover: what you see is what you get. Emma was especially victimized here, in art as well as in the writing. Dumbed down and sexed up in a manner that's crude even for her. I lost count of how many panels that featured her breasts but not her face.
Simply put, this is a trainwreck. I'm sorry I even picked the thing up.
Not to mention that the art is just atrocious. I am not familiar with Kaare Andrews' work, and after this, I don't intend to ever be familiar with it. This artwork is just so bad that I'm left wondering if it was a practical joke at Marvel's expense. It looks like a parody of ugly, oversexed, anatomically dubious comic art. Just take a look at the cover: what you see is what you get. Emma was especially victimized here, in art as well as in the writing. Dumbed down and sexed up in a manner that's crude even for her. I lost count of how many panels that featured her breasts but not her face.
Simply put, this is a trainwreck. I'm sorry I even picked the thing up.
December 19, 2011
I wanted to like this, but the plot just didn't do it for me. Beyond that, the art was definitely not my taste. Some of the characters look ok, but Emma Frost looks like a toddler with giant tits and a huge ass.
March 27, 2023
A story that provides a conflict far greater than a physical threat, it's got more depth than the cover would lead you to believe. Whilst it contains the usual amount of fighting - and perhaps a little more gore - the focus is largely political, with morals and leadership decisions being questioned and challenged throughout. More compelling than expected, Xenogenesis is a passable to good entry into the X-Men mythos.
TRIGGERS: cancer, needles, graphic violence
TRIGGERS: cancer, needles, graphic violence
March 13, 2015
That really, really, REALLY sucked balls. I literally fell asleep four pages before it ended. That's saying something. My biggest problem was the artwork, and it started at the cover (another terrible sign). Emma Frost has lumpy hips and ass, a conehead, and perky boobs that are at least a DDD. Storm's hips are wider than her shoulders while her stomach is about three inches wide. Armor's calves are about two centimeters wide. And Beast's paws are about two times larger than his head. It's really hard to fuck Logan and Scott up. I thought maybe it would get better on the inside, but not really. Armor looks to be about nine years old. Emma, instead of looking promiscuous and badass looks like she should be working a street corner, with her bra sticking out and everything. Storm looks like she's beeing doing meth for the past twelve years. Beast's head suddenly grows to normal size within the story, but his jaw surpassed the test and is now larger than his forehead. Again, whatever for Logan and Scott.
Even passed the horrific artwork, the story did nothing for me. This has nothing to do with the Astonishing X-Men I have grown to love. I thought the Mutant babies would be interesting and intense and create a killer story line. False. This was bland, with nothing bu come wannabe Cyborg running around screaming NO IT'S MY COUNTRY GET AWAY DON'T TOUCH IT like a five year old. You have my biggest problem: Emma. She's suddenly a shameless flirt who shoves her tits in Logan's face and then gets all protective when Storm so much as lays a literal finger on Scott. She was a thirteen year old privileged little bitch who was disguising herself as a prostitute. Armor may as well have stayed at home for all the good she did, which upsets me a lot. And Ororo was expected to be AFRICAN MISTRESS 2.0 instead of an X-Men, which I hated.
If Monstrous isn't a whole lot better I may sadly have to give up on Astonishing X-Men once and for all. And that would seriously piss me off.
(I wanted to count this as an Evil buddy read because I now want to kill people for this monstrosity. But I won't stray from the intended purpose.)
Even passed the horrific artwork, the story did nothing for me. This has nothing to do with the Astonishing X-Men I have grown to love. I thought the Mutant babies would be interesting and intense and create a killer story line. False. This was bland, with nothing bu come wannabe Cyborg running around screaming NO IT'S MY COUNTRY GET AWAY DON'T TOUCH IT like a five year old. You have my biggest problem: Emma. She's suddenly a shameless flirt who shoves her tits in Logan's face and then gets all protective when Storm so much as lays a literal finger on Scott. She was a thirteen year old privileged little bitch who was disguising herself as a prostitute. Armor may as well have stayed at home for all the good she did, which upsets me a lot. And Ororo was expected to be AFRICAN MISTRESS 2.0 instead of an X-Men, which I hated.
If Monstrous isn't a whole lot better I may sadly have to give up on Astonishing X-Men once and for all. And that would seriously piss me off.
(I wanted to count this as an Evil buddy read because I now want to kill people for this monstrosity. But I won't stray from the intended purpose.)
September 15, 2015
Funky artwork with some obvious sexual jabs at Emma Frost makes this a different X-Men tale. An unusual outbreak of mutant babies in an African country sends some of the X-Men over with some social remarks about how nobody really cares about happenings on said continent.
OVERALL GRADE: B.
OVERALL GRADE: B.
November 4, 2024
What's this?
Five
stars? Yes, indeed-y!
This book works best if read on its own, free of continuity and - especially - any pre-conceived character design ideas. Artist Kaare Andrews really went for a stylized and caricatural approach.
For example:
Once you accept the stylistic choices made by the artist and just go with it, this is a pretty fun book. Warren Ellis sends the team to Africa to investigate mysterious births in a remote - and wholly fictional - African village. As usual, the writer makes great use of each team member's powers and abilities. The unfamiliar setting (the African jungle) and the fearsome otherworldly villains, as well as the chilling possibility of the resurgence of ghost boxes (see Warren Ellis' Astonishing X-Men, Vol. 5: Ghost Box) and the simple-yet-cool field gear they wear (excepting Emma Frost, naturally) all contribute to make this a fun read.
There are also a few prized nuggets of dialogue written by Warren Ellis, such as: 'I didn't know the condom would split. My father had used it for twenty years without a problem.' But that doesn't even come close to the comment made by Forge in Astonishing X-Men, Vol. 5: Ghost Box: 'Emma Frost. I didn't recognize you with your legs together.' Hah!
This was Ellis' last story arc on the title, and a much, much better one than Astonishing X-Men, Vol. 6: Exogenetic. It is obvious that Ellis & Andrews both had a blast making this book. It's vibrant and energetic - what better way to leave a series?
This book works best if read on its own, free of continuity and - especially - any pre-conceived character design ideas. Artist Kaare Andrews really went for a stylized and caricatural approach.
For example:
Once you accept the stylistic choices made by the artist and just go with it, this is a pretty fun book. Warren Ellis sends the team to Africa to investigate mysterious births in a remote - and wholly fictional - African village. As usual, the writer makes great use of each team member's powers and abilities. The unfamiliar setting (the African jungle) and the fearsome otherworldly villains, as well as the chilling possibility of the resurgence of ghost boxes (see Warren Ellis' Astonishing X-Men, Vol. 5: Ghost Box) and the simple-yet-cool field gear they wear (excepting Emma Frost, naturally) all contribute to make this a fun read.
There are also a few prized nuggets of dialogue written by Warren Ellis, such as: 'I didn't know the condom would split. My father had used it for twenty years without a problem.' But that doesn't even come close to the comment made by Forge in Astonishing X-Men, Vol. 5: Ghost Box: 'Emma Frost. I didn't recognize you with your legs together.' Hah!
This was Ellis' last story arc on the title, and a much, much better one than Astonishing X-Men, Vol. 6: Exogenetic. It is obvious that Ellis & Andrews both had a blast making this book. It's vibrant and energetic - what better way to leave a series?
July 29, 2013
Reading this book while in the middle of a Chimamanda Adichie book provided some uncomfortable contrasts. The way the imperialist English talk in Adichie's novel sounded awkwardly similar to ranty digression Wolverine gives about how messed up all of Africa is. The opinion of a white guy from the UK on Africa as a whole can't help but come off as a little cringey. It's especially troublesome because it seems like a needless injection into what's otherwise an entertaining but not particularly thoughtful story about the X-Men dealing with spontaneous mutant babies in Africa.
Ellis can always hold on to three stars with me because his dialogue generally keeps me engaged. It's fast paced, fun to read, and generally doesn't get weighed down by the often mammoth back stories that Marvel characters come with. Even a bad Warren Ellis story is still readable.
While I usually like exaggerated art styles, Kaare Andrews goes a bit overboard on the depictions of Emma Frost in this one. I know some cheesecake is unavoidable in mainstream comics, like bad dialogue in Kung Fu movies, and I acknowledge that Emma Frost usually looks like a fancy prostitute even at the best of times, but her hyper-sexualized depiction in Xenogenesis borders on ghoulish. It borders on Crumb-level excess of the female form, and is more distracting than aesthetically pleasing.
While fun and disposable, Xenogenesis has a few disconcerting features that make it hard to recommend.
Ellis can always hold on to three stars with me because his dialogue generally keeps me engaged. It's fast paced, fun to read, and generally doesn't get weighed down by the often mammoth back stories that Marvel characters come with. Even a bad Warren Ellis story is still readable.
While I usually like exaggerated art styles, Kaare Andrews goes a bit overboard on the depictions of Emma Frost in this one. I know some cheesecake is unavoidable in mainstream comics, like bad dialogue in Kung Fu movies, and I acknowledge that Emma Frost usually looks like a fancy prostitute even at the best of times, but her hyper-sexualized depiction in Xenogenesis borders on ghoulish. It borders on Crumb-level excess of the female form, and is more distracting than aesthetically pleasing.
While fun and disposable, Xenogenesis has a few disconcerting features that make it hard to recommend.
May 12, 2011
Fun, thoughtfully-crafted, fast-paced big-brain action from the master. Love how Ellis refers to this in the included script as a doomed work :). Finite run perhaps but only because Marvel has a hard time keeping Ellis interested in extended runs these days. Love the razor-sharp wit that we get dosed with every time they try tho (usually at Marvel continuity-fanatics' expense).
Wish the art was more "art" though. There's one panel where Emma Frost looks like a mongoloid linebacker (tell me I'm wrong!). Ororo generally looks as thin as Sloth from Se7en. Everyone looks like they're viewed through funhouse mirrors. I like exaggeration for effect, but only when it doesn't look like a high-school art project.
Wish the art was more "art" though. There's one panel where Emma Frost looks like a mongoloid linebacker (tell me I'm wrong!). Ororo generally looks as thin as Sloth from Se7en. Everyone looks like they're viewed through funhouse mirrors. I like exaggeration for effect, but only when it doesn't look like a high-school art project.
February 18, 2016
While staying at the X-Bunker located in San Francisco with the team, Ororo receives a message from T’Challa about disturbing events taking place in a small village in Africa. There’s been a rise in the number of pregnancies occurring there, and many of these babies are being born with extraordinary powers and mutations. There are also reports of explosions being caused by these babies and a “devil” living in the bush.
Even though I am a Marvel fangirl (with the X-Men comics being my favorites), I’ve somewhat strayed from them in recent years and have started reading more comics from other companies. I’ve also started reading manga, so I’m being exposed to a whole new world of stories.
This is the first full arc that I’ve read in a while from Marvel. Was I impressed with what I read? No, but I wasn’t disappointed either.
This started out as a really interesting story, but soon became too easy to anticipate. A predictable story isn’t always bad, but the premise of this story held so much potential in my opinion. And even with it’s predictability, the story was solid. The writing was tight, moving. Despite the somewhat dark tone of the story, Ellis knows just when to bring a joke in without making it seem like it was too much.
The end was a bit too whipped up for my taste, but it was nice to see Emma get to shine a little bit. I’m an Emma fan, but she came off more air-headed than usual in this arc as if she were the butt (or should I say “the breasts”?) of some joke that everyone got but her. She just seemed really useless at first, but she made up for it. However, poor Hisako didn’t seem to get much play at all in the comics. She was just there.
Overall, this was a good story. No, it’s not memorable, but it isn’t horrible. And sometimes, given the state of comics now days, I think getting a solid story is a damn good thing.
Even though I am a Marvel fangirl (with the X-Men comics being my favorites), I’ve somewhat strayed from them in recent years and have started reading more comics from other companies. I’ve also started reading manga, so I’m being exposed to a whole new world of stories.
This is the first full arc that I’ve read in a while from Marvel. Was I impressed with what I read? No, but I wasn’t disappointed either.
This started out as a really interesting story, but soon became too easy to anticipate. A predictable story isn’t always bad, but the premise of this story held so much potential in my opinion. And even with it’s predictability, the story was solid. The writing was tight, moving. Despite the somewhat dark tone of the story, Ellis knows just when to bring a joke in without making it seem like it was too much.
The end was a bit too whipped up for my taste, but it was nice to see Emma get to shine a little bit. I’m an Emma fan, but she came off more air-headed than usual in this arc as if she were the butt (or should I say “the breasts”?) of some joke that everyone got but her. She just seemed really useless at first, but she made up for it. However, poor Hisako didn’t seem to get much play at all in the comics. She was just there.
Overall, this was a good story. No, it’s not memorable, but it isn’t horrible. And sometimes, given the state of comics now days, I think getting a solid story is a damn good thing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 2, 2011
The Astonishing X-Men book welcomes Warren Ellis and artist Kaare Andrewsto its latest volume. Adding Storm the roster, the team is sent to an African village to explore the apparent boom of mutant births in the area. As the group discovers that the X-gene is not to blame, they must contend with a violent doctor-turned-warlord, reality-jumpers, and the classic Excalibur-series villains called the Fury. As far as Ellis stories go, this one fails to resonate; he builds up the basis for a Storm/Cyclops relationship, over-sexualizes Emma Frost (I would have never thought that possible!), dumbs down Armor and Wolverine, and leaves Beast to be the jokester. Despite the uniquely charming art by Kaare Andrews (can we please tone down Emma overly-large bust size to human proportions, please?), this volume makes me wish Whedon and and Cassaday were still in charge of this title.
January 10, 2021
If I could give this minus stars I would.
The writing is racist and offensive. The artwork is hideous and offensive, especially in the portrayal of Emma.
Look at the cover, times that by 100 and imagine the awfulness on the inside pages.
Unfortunately I own this copy and now have to sell it knowing someone else will then have to read/look at this steaming pile of shit.
The writing is racist and offensive. The artwork is hideous and offensive, especially in the portrayal of Emma.
Look at the cover, times that by 100 and imagine the awfulness on the inside pages.
Unfortunately I own this copy and now have to sell it knowing someone else will then have to read/look at this steaming pile of shit.
June 23, 2023
Another in the category of I really really wanted to like this Warren Ellis book.
But while the characters fretted about being racist, they were racist, they mention all the horrible things wrong with Africa. The leader of the nation was a dictator willing to just kill everyone including children to get his way and maybe solve this problem. Oh the very sexist dialog of all the characters was very cringe (as the kids are calling it these days).
The art was also an issue and could have been better, Ororo was weirdly drawn and I expect when the artist dies that Storm will meet the artist in hell to make it even a worse afterlife for giving Storm underboob - I'm like Storm would die or kill people rather than wear that sexist outfit. Then there is Emma Frost she was never drawn the same twice and was always off model - she spent half the time in a super short skirt that continuously flashed her panties - or she was weirdly smashed / squished like a five year old with giant fatty face and breasts. Not a good look.
I guess that is what I get for buying a nearly perfect condition hardcover trade with dust jacket from the discount bin at the comic book store for $4. It was there for a reason.
But while the characters fretted about being racist, they were racist, they mention all the horrible things wrong with Africa. The leader of the nation was a dictator willing to just kill everyone including children to get his way and maybe solve this problem. Oh the very sexist dialog of all the characters was very cringe (as the kids are calling it these days).
The art was also an issue and could have been better, Ororo was weirdly drawn and I expect when the artist dies that Storm will meet the artist in hell to make it even a worse afterlife for giving Storm underboob - I'm like Storm would die or kill people rather than wear that sexist outfit. Then there is Emma Frost she was never drawn the same twice and was always off model - she spent half the time in a super short skirt that continuously flashed her panties - or she was weirdly smashed / squished like a five year old with giant fatty face and breasts. Not a good look.
I guess that is what I get for buying a nearly perfect condition hardcover trade with dust jacket from the discount bin at the comic book store for $4. It was there for a reason.
September 17, 2024
This was so unintentionally racist and some men should not be allowed to write or draw women but hey, at least they didn’t sexualise the child so that’s something.
May 28, 2011
If you're a fan of bitchy, pithy, wise-assery then this is the book for you. Especially if you like it dosed with a smattering of nothing else as interesting in comics, and an actually relevant real world allusion that doesn't come up dated, and badly handled like almost everything else Marvel comics terms a 'tent-pole' event. Yes, that's a slight against Secret Invasion, Civil War, Fear Itself and whatever other ridiculous political world view like themed event they're trying to shove into people's hands.
The X-Men desperate to find more mutant babies in the wake of seeing their race decimated (is mutancy a race?), go to Africa to help save and investigate what appear to be the births of mutant babies who are active mutants at birth. This doesn't quash with the whole 'mutants receive their powers in adolescence' routine that normally describes mutancy.
Skip ahead and you've got a very unapologetic view of the west's handling of Africa, their method of coping with global apathy and all of it neatly wrapped up in a story that is at once relevant to the times without being preachy and stupidly moralistic.
But enough about that. Wolverine gets eviscerated in new and fascinating ways, yet still manages to keep on fighting, Emma and Scott's sexy back and forth bitchy banter is well worth this book alone but when you add in all the action and every X-Men's penchant for being a smart ass in a genuinely cute and fun way and you've got a cynical story with a heart at the center and a gooey messy end so you don't leave thinking this is just all happy and flowers.
Definitely not for the kids, but a seriously good read, and an example of how you should handle comics if you're going to write them to an older audience. Warren Ellis does not give up the wonder or the beauty of his story yet he gives us something politically relevant and not morally preachy or dull.
A master at the top of his game. The less said about the art, the better. Kaare Andrews was a genius of artistic merit but something seems to have been lost along the way. I adored the idea behind his covers, a sort of jaded Hollywood poster kind of motif but they come across as so crass when compared to the ridiculous material inside the book. His boob shots of Emma Frost and his ridiculous anatomy where the women are concerned is quickly pushed aside in favor of the story but its so distastefully obvious at the beginning that its hard to take seriously. Thankfully the story does not suffer for it.
Warren Ellis's writing is in top form, and Kaare Andrews art is not ... but it isn't so bad to retract from the beautiful story.
The X-Men desperate to find more mutant babies in the wake of seeing their race decimated (is mutancy a race?), go to Africa to help save and investigate what appear to be the births of mutant babies who are active mutants at birth. This doesn't quash with the whole 'mutants receive their powers in adolescence' routine that normally describes mutancy.
Skip ahead and you've got a very unapologetic view of the west's handling of Africa, their method of coping with global apathy and all of it neatly wrapped up in a story that is at once relevant to the times without being preachy and stupidly moralistic.
But enough about that. Wolverine gets eviscerated in new and fascinating ways, yet still manages to keep on fighting, Emma and Scott's sexy back and forth bitchy banter is well worth this book alone but when you add in all the action and every X-Men's penchant for being a smart ass in a genuinely cute and fun way and you've got a cynical story with a heart at the center and a gooey messy end so you don't leave thinking this is just all happy and flowers.
Definitely not for the kids, but a seriously good read, and an example of how you should handle comics if you're going to write them to an older audience. Warren Ellis does not give up the wonder or the beauty of his story yet he gives us something politically relevant and not morally preachy or dull.
A master at the top of his game. The less said about the art, the better. Kaare Andrews was a genius of artistic merit but something seems to have been lost along the way. I adored the idea behind his covers, a sort of jaded Hollywood poster kind of motif but they come across as so crass when compared to the ridiculous material inside the book. His boob shots of Emma Frost and his ridiculous anatomy where the women are concerned is quickly pushed aside in favor of the story but its so distastefully obvious at the beginning that its hard to take seriously. Thankfully the story does not suffer for it.
Warren Ellis's writing is in top form, and Kaare Andrews art is not ... but it isn't so bad to retract from the beautiful story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2011
Early in this story, as the X-Men gear up to investigate mutant-like babies in a fictional east African country, Scott and Ororo (technically an American by birth) spend a few moments awkwardly discussing colonialism and stereotypes of Africa. Logan chimes in with his assessment that Africa is, at best, run by bastard anti-heroes (a familiar Warren Ellis subject), and nobody seriously contradicts him.
After a flyover of the Serengeti (conspicuously lacking in actual people), the X-Men land, beat up a bunch of soldiers who happen to be in their way, and go about their business. From this point on, actual Africans are mute "red shirt" soldiers, mute people in the background, or mutated babies who need to be killed. The exception is "Dr. Crocodile", the country's cyborg, English-educated, hereditary president, who is a classic Warren Ellis "necessary bastard."
It's as if there's a rule in this comic that the X-Men don't even really see people who aren't mutants. There's a scene in which Ororo reports to Scott about her conversation with the mother of one of the mutated babies. Why don't we see this conversation, instead of getting more tough-guy standoffs?
I don't know how much of this is Ellis' own limitations, how much of this is Marvel editorial mandate and how much is the limitations of the superhero genre. But this story does not live up to the mandate Ellis sets out in the first few pages.
Kaare Andrews' art is well-suited to superheroics, but stumbles when called upon to depict an everyday street scene.
After a flyover of the Serengeti (conspicuously lacking in actual people), the X-Men land, beat up a bunch of soldiers who happen to be in their way, and go about their business. From this point on, actual Africans are mute "red shirt" soldiers, mute people in the background, or mutated babies who need to be killed. The exception is "Dr. Crocodile", the country's cyborg, English-educated, hereditary president, who is a classic Warren Ellis "necessary bastard."
It's as if there's a rule in this comic that the X-Men don't even really see people who aren't mutants. There's a scene in which Ororo reports to Scott about her conversation with the mother of one of the mutated babies. Why don't we see this conversation, instead of getting more tough-guy standoffs?
I don't know how much of this is Ellis' own limitations, how much of this is Marvel editorial mandate and how much is the limitations of the superhero genre. But this story does not live up to the mandate Ellis sets out in the first few pages.
Kaare Andrews' art is well-suited to superheroics, but stumbles when called upon to depict an everyday street scene.
March 24, 2013
Collecting issues #1-5 of The Astonishing X-Men, the X-Men go to Africa to investigate what might possibly be a rash of mutant births, but it turns out to be something else entirely. What that was I didn't quite get and it seemed to me that the book ended with an abrupt and dissatisfying conclusion. Maybe this was just part of a longer story arc, but it certainly doesn't work well as a standalone.
Ellis, whom I usually like, seemed to be on autopilot on this one. While he tried to make some serious points on colonialism and human rights in Africa they fell flat in the midst of hackneyed dialogue, super-powered battles and Emma Frost's enormous breasts. Kaare Andrews' artwork, while technically fantastic, really needs to rein it in a bit regarding human anatomy. While I don't mind artistic liberty to convey power or sexiness, Andrews' artwork nudged a bit into the realm of grotesquerie.
All in all, a short and lackluster read. I may pick up the rest from the library since its free, but "astonishing" is a bit of an overstatement.
Ellis, whom I usually like, seemed to be on autopilot on this one. While he tried to make some serious points on colonialism and human rights in Africa they fell flat in the midst of hackneyed dialogue, super-powered battles and Emma Frost's enormous breasts. Kaare Andrews' artwork, while technically fantastic, really needs to rein it in a bit regarding human anatomy. While I don't mind artistic liberty to convey power or sexiness, Andrews' artwork nudged a bit into the realm of grotesquerie.
All in all, a short and lackluster read. I may pick up the rest from the library since its free, but "astonishing" is a bit of an overstatement.
September 5, 2017
I generally enjoy Warren Ellis' comics, and this is why. His dialogue is sharp, his character work is on point, and he often uses his comics to reflect on real world issues. This story takes place in a country in Africa, and it spends a lot of time pointing out how little the world cares about that continent. Very well done.
May 14, 2021
The art style is an actual abomination, the storyline just felt bleh and pretty damn racist tbh. It could've had great potential, but this was clearly illustrated by straight men who have no idea how female anatomy works, and all the guys looked the same, just with a different colour pallette.
I'm gonna pretend this xmen series never existed. Wish I could go back to before I knew this existed.
I'm gonna pretend this xmen series never existed. Wish I could go back to before I knew this existed.
October 26, 2014
Like a lot of others, I felt the artwork in this volume was impressive but the way Emma Frost in particular was drawn detracted from the story. The action driven pacing and plot were good, but it just seemed like this volume didn't have the depth as the last too.
January 12, 2013
The story is good, but the artwork will make your eyes vomit blood!
February 11, 2013
The artwork by Kaare Andrews was oversexualized and offensive. I won't be reading anything he's illustrated again. It completely overshadowed the story for me.
August 27, 2025
Firstly, in order to read this, you have to get past the fact that Warren Ellis decided to write a story about the X-Men in Africa and he chose a white virgin from Saskatchewan wearing misogynist contact lenses to doodle the art for it. If not for drawing Emma Frost with his unimpressive erection, I would say that his style wasn't really for me but wasn't too distracting from the story. I am also surprised that the African characters weren't drawn in an offensively stereotypical way. I'm certainly going to steer clear of any other book with Kaare Andrews name on it, though.
Whether the story is an appropriate representation of an African village, I will leave up to someone better informed. I imagine a White British guy probably isn't the best lens for this story. It does avoid many of the tropes I was expecting from the story but that doesn't mean it's anything close to accurate.
I did like that the leader of the country where the village is located was given some depth. Was he violent and impulsive? Yes. Did he have a solid backstory reason for his violence? Yes. Was it in service of the people who he served as leader? Certainly from his perspective. Despite his physical appearance (due to an attack similar to the one we see in this book), he's more Magneto than Dr. Doom. I would actually like to see him pop up again somewhere down the line.
I would also like to see what happened with The Warpies. I don't think they show up in continuity again, though.
I recommend this, hesitantly, to Warren Ellis fans. Particularly, those who enjoyed Astonishing X-Men, Vol. 5: Ghost Box. It's not a bad story but I don't think a single panel from this comic is referenced again in any continuity.
Whether the story is an appropriate representation of an African village, I will leave up to someone better informed. I imagine a White British guy probably isn't the best lens for this story. It does avoid many of the tropes I was expecting from the story but that doesn't mean it's anything close to accurate.
I did like that the leader of the country where the village is located was given some depth. Was he violent and impulsive? Yes. Did he have a solid backstory reason for his violence? Yes. Was it in service of the people who he served as leader? Certainly from his perspective. Despite his physical appearance (due to an attack similar to the one we see in this book), he's more Magneto than Dr. Doom. I would actually like to see him pop up again somewhere down the line.
I would also like to see what happened with The Warpies. I don't think they show up in continuity again, though.
I recommend this, hesitantly, to Warren Ellis fans. Particularly, those who enjoyed Astonishing X-Men, Vol. 5: Ghost Box. It's not a bad story but I don't think a single panel from this comic is referenced again in any continuity.
May 7, 2020
Cuando invitas a Warren Ellis a entrar en una serie, todo el mundo debería saber que el no va a entrar por la puerta, que probablemente tire una pared y la atraviese. Y eso, incluso después de llevar algún tiempo en la colección, es lo que hizo en su tercer arco en Astonishing X-Men. Después de sustituir a Joss Wheddon después de que este hiciera los dos primeros arcos de la serie, Ellis había hecho ya dos arcos: Cajas Fantasmas y Exogenético, y en ambos, trataba diferentes aspectos de la desaparición de los mutantes como especie: a través de las Cajas Fantasmas de Forja o a través de los mutantes generados por la bomba de Hiroshima en Exogenético. Y ahora, en Xenogénesis, vuelve a hablarnos de niños "mutantes", pero esta vez lo hace de la forma más gamberra y crítica que había utilizado hasta ahora en X-Men.
En Xenogénesis, la Patrulla-X recibe un aviso, una petición de ayuda de un pequeño país de África Oriental, Mbangawa o algo así, donde se han producido varios nacimientos de bebés con poderes, lo que supondría una alteración del gen mutante, que se manifiesta normalmente en la pubertad. Así que Cíclope y su equipo se dirigen a Mbangawa, un país dominado por un antiguo personaje al que habíamos visto muchos años atrás en Excalibur de Chris Claremont y Alan Davis, Doc Cocodrilo... y que trae otro personaje de la historia del Capitán Britania, la Furia... Ellis pone así a la Patrulla en la coyuntura de las dictaduras africanas (aparte de dejar muy claro en una de sus viñetas algo que todos deberíamos tener claro, que África no es un país).
Y a los lápices le acompaña uno de los dibujantes más arriesgados que se han implicado entre los mutantes, Kaare Andrews, .con un estilo cartoon muy lejos de los anteriores dibujantes de esta serie, como John Cassaday o Phil Jiménez, y que realiza unos dibujos del equipo de Cíclope muy... llamativos.
En Xenogénesis, la Patrulla-X recibe un aviso, una petición de ayuda de un pequeño país de África Oriental, Mbangawa o algo así, donde se han producido varios nacimientos de bebés con poderes, lo que supondría una alteración del gen mutante, que se manifiesta normalmente en la pubertad. Así que Cíclope y su equipo se dirigen a Mbangawa, un país dominado por un antiguo personaje al que habíamos visto muchos años atrás en Excalibur de Chris Claremont y Alan Davis, Doc Cocodrilo... y que trae otro personaje de la historia del Capitán Britania, la Furia... Ellis pone así a la Patrulla en la coyuntura de las dictaduras africanas (aparte de dejar muy claro en una de sus viñetas algo que todos deberíamos tener claro, que África no es un país).
Y a los lápices le acompaña uno de los dibujantes más arriesgados que se han implicado entre los mutantes, Kaare Andrews, .con un estilo cartoon muy lejos de los anteriores dibujantes de esta serie, como John Cassaday o Phil Jiménez, y que realiza unos dibujos del equipo de Cíclope muy... llamativos.
May 13, 2024
Tämä ei ota Marvelin maailmaa liian vakavasti. Humoristisena tämä juttu toimii ja kuvitus on sen verran absurdia, että jaksaa viihdyttää varmasti toistamiseen. Ryhmädynamiikka on sellaista jollaiseksi tämänlaisen ryhmän keskuudessa se voisikin olla. Kyse on supersankaritarinasta, joten mies laseilla on tavis ja sinisessä puvussa ja ilman laseja on vain helvetin tylsä. Pökkelö ja sininen pökkelö, joka lentää. Tai rikas pökkelö ja musta pökkelö. Ryhmä-X oli nuoruudessani juuri samaa pökkelömetsää, kuin nuo DC:n nukkumatit. Nyt ryhmän sankareilla on eri tehtävät ja erilaiset luonteet, jolloin ne eroavat toisistaan. Vakuvuudestaan huolimatta tarina on hauska, juttu luistaa.
Kuvitus on pirtsakkaa ja hyvin eläväistä. Ei yritetä leikkiä ruutukaavaliiton puheenjohtajaa ja sihteeriä, eli ruudut eivät määritä kuvia ja niiden tapahtumia. Välillä on reilummin tekstiä, mutta kuvitus silloinkin on kiinnostavaa, jolloin tarina ei etene pelkän tekstin varassa. Väliin on pistetty vauhdikkaampia jaksoja ja koko sivun kokoisia kuvia, jotka lisäävät toiminnan ja vauhdin tuntua. Jäseniä ryhmässä on juuri sopivasti, niin ei ole turhia seinäruusuja.
Jotkut moittivat naisten seksististä kuvausta, mutta kun nykyään katselee nuorisoa, niin kyllähän sen kropan esittely on tärkeää, vaikka olisi 20 astetta pakkasta. Silloinkin pitää tissivako näkyä, napakoru vilkkua ja kamelinvarvas tunkeutua esille. Innolla odotan kesää, jolloin ryhmä-X:n naisetkaan eivät kehtaisi lähteä niin vähissä vaatteissa ulos, kuin itseään varten pukeutuvat naiset.
Kuvitus on pirtsakkaa ja hyvin eläväistä. Ei yritetä leikkiä ruutukaavaliiton puheenjohtajaa ja sihteeriä, eli ruudut eivät määritä kuvia ja niiden tapahtumia. Välillä on reilummin tekstiä, mutta kuvitus silloinkin on kiinnostavaa, jolloin tarina ei etene pelkän tekstin varassa. Väliin on pistetty vauhdikkaampia jaksoja ja koko sivun kokoisia kuvia, jotka lisäävät toiminnan ja vauhdin tuntua. Jäseniä ryhmässä on juuri sopivasti, niin ei ole turhia seinäruusuja.
Jotkut moittivat naisten seksististä kuvausta, mutta kun nykyään katselee nuorisoa, niin kyllähän sen kropan esittely on tärkeää, vaikka olisi 20 astetta pakkasta. Silloinkin pitää tissivako näkyä, napakoru vilkkua ja kamelinvarvas tunkeutua esille. Innolla odotan kesää, jolloin ryhmä-X:n naisetkaan eivät kehtaisi lähteä niin vähissä vaatteissa ulos, kuin itseään varten pukeutuvat naiset.
July 23, 2018
Continuing the great x-read of 2017/18...
I have no idea how to rate this collection and not much of an idea how to review it...
My thoughts, in scattered form:
- I *hate* the art. It's stylized so your mileage may very well vary but wow. It is so sexualized and dysmorphic and just odd that I don't feel it fits this title at all.
- There are some odd racial/societal things going on. Wolverine comes off as your racist granddad and there are some odd things going on with Africans and who gets to tell their stories. I would read the other reviews here that go into a lot more depth. I want to give Ellis credit for broaching some of the subjects, but to say it isn't always handled deftly would be an understatement.
- The plot is surprisingly decent and the pacing is well-done. It ties into the earlier Ghost Box stories in an interesting way and if it weren't for the character and social oddities, I would wholeheartedly recommend it due to the tight plotting and action.
I have no idea how to rate this collection and not much of an idea how to review it...
My thoughts, in scattered form:
- I *hate* the art. It's stylized so your mileage may very well vary but wow. It is so sexualized and dysmorphic and just odd that I don't feel it fits this title at all.
- There are some odd racial/societal things going on. Wolverine comes off as your racist granddad and there are some odd things going on with Africans and who gets to tell their stories. I would read the other reviews here that go into a lot more depth. I want to give Ellis credit for broaching some of the subjects, but to say it isn't always handled deftly would be an understatement.
- The plot is surprisingly decent and the pacing is well-done. It ties into the earlier Ghost Box stories in an interesting way and if it weren't for the character and social oddities, I would wholeheartedly recommend it due to the tight plotting and action.
October 12, 2019
Meh. Showed some promise, had some interesting themes, but ultimately, I was bored.
The art was sloppy. Listen, I love a sexy Emma Frost as much as the next person... but this was ridiculous. Her tits and ass took up a disproportionately huge chunk of this tpb. It wasn’t even hot, it was just weird.
I found the plot bizarre and uninspired. This title was mindblowing when Joss Whedon was writing it... now it’s just odd. I guess I’m not as big of a Warren Ellis fan as everyone else seems to be.
Despite her bizarre and mildly offensive appearance, he does write Emma pretty well. I like her sass/quips/overall Emma-ness. She seems overly flirty with Wolverine, but if Cyke doesn’t mind, neither do I. Armor was almost a non entity. She barely contributed and every time I saw her in a fight, I was like “oh yeah, she’s in this too.”
I really don’t think anyone is going to love this. It’s not hateworthy, and it has a few decent qualities, but overall it’s one of the forgettable ones.
The art was sloppy. Listen, I love a sexy Emma Frost as much as the next person... but this was ridiculous. Her tits and ass took up a disproportionately huge chunk of this tpb. It wasn’t even hot, it was just weird.
I found the plot bizarre and uninspired. This title was mindblowing when Joss Whedon was writing it... now it’s just odd. I guess I’m not as big of a Warren Ellis fan as everyone else seems to be.
Despite her bizarre and mildly offensive appearance, he does write Emma pretty well. I like her sass/quips/overall Emma-ness. She seems overly flirty with Wolverine, but if Cyke doesn’t mind, neither do I. Armor was almost a non entity. She barely contributed and every time I saw her in a fight, I was like “oh yeah, she’s in this too.”
I really don’t think anyone is going to love this. It’s not hateworthy, and it has a few decent qualities, but overall it’s one of the forgettable ones.
June 10, 2024
Warren Ellis's run on Astonishing X-Men was, in my opinion, uniformly disappointing. This book follows suit, despite having some points I found interesting, and even a couple character moments that weren't just Ellis using characters as mouthpieces for his opinions. His Henry McCoy, Storm, and Cyclops are actually quite good. As to the art, I have one statement/question: What was going on with Emma Frost's boobs in this book? Everything else in the book looked uniform if stylized, but Emma's breasts looked like they were rendered by Salvador Dali. It was weird and offputting. 2.5 Stars, rounded down.
December 13, 2018
Ellis's final arc on the series that does an excellent job relating the extinction event that X-men faced with "M-Day" and real world politics and relevancy (even if perhaps a bit simplified). It even ties into Alan Moore's Captain Britain (with the Furies).
Ellis' best idea during his X-Men run was Ghost Boxes, something that would later be utilized in "spiritual sequel" arcs such as Greg Pak's Exalted and "X-Club"
Ellis' best idea during his X-Men run was Ghost Boxes, something that would later be utilized in "spiritual sequel" arcs such as Greg Pak's Exalted and "X-Club"
January 23, 2020
This was so bad. The art is off putting and over sexualized, especially Frost. Emma Frost does not resemble herself here and everything is better when she’s off panel. Unfortunately she’s the hero here and in most panels. Logan is apparently kind of racist. One issue is 90% talking. I’m now worried that if I say I read a lot of X-men that the only thing people will have read is this and they will think less of me.
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