COMIC BOOK REVIEW - Astonishing X-Men: Life of X
By The Masked Medic
Every time I take a little bit of a break from this website, I find that I have to really force myself to find a comic book, or a TV show or a film that really excites me, otherwise it can take a while. Given that it had been so long since I had reviewed a comic book, I thought to myself, I need to jump into a series I want to, and that naturally made me think of the X-Men!
‘Life Of X’ starts with powerful psychic Psylocke being attacked mentally by a villain named The Shadow King, aka, Amahl Farouk. In the ensuing battle, she ends up causing a massive explosion in London; however, realising that The Shadow King is attempting to take over the minds of many more unstoppable psychics, she summons a team to aid her. That team includes Old Man Logan, Rogue, Gambit, Fantomex, Bishop, Angel and Beast. The plan is simple: a group of them must travel to the psychic plane to stop Farouk before he achieves his plan. It won’t be easy, since The Shadow King will have far more power and ability to mentally challenge the team on his plane. Logan, Rogue, Gambit, Fantomex and Beast sign up to enter the nightmare realm, whilst Angel and Bishop stay behind to protect Psylocke whilst she maintains the psychic link. Despite being some of the best of the best, in the psychic plane, each of them is attacked in subtle ways, with the Shadow King attacking their very consciousness in an attempt to take over their minds. They’ve fought enemies like this before, but they’ll need help, and help is present in the most unlikely form. Can these X-Men survive the machinations of a madman? Or will they be guided to salvation by their friend in the shadows?
This happens every time I read X-Men novels. I’m always so excited, and there is a part of me internally that hopes they don’t disappoint, and then they don’t. Like seriously, this was a great novel with good character development, a nice mix of very well-known X-Men and some not-so-known. They all gelled well together, and I think in Amahl Farouk, we were given a good villain. I also think that, in this sense, comic books can portray stories that you know will never be considered by the film and TV show studios for their productions, but you wish they would. I have to say the twist at the end was enough to make me gasp!
The artwork was a mix, and each issue, I think, was drawn by someone different. Sometimes that annoys me. For a book like this, though, it was perfect. The covers were also pretty decent. Overall, a great novel in what is shaping up to be another good X-Men series!
Favourite Panel:
This was a crazy ending. Ultimate face turns heel?
Favourite Character:
Aah, books like these give you so much choice. It was a difficult one, but I think the character that really stood out for me was Fantomex!
Rating:
Story Arc: ★★★★
Character Development: ★★★★
Artwork: ★★★½
Enjoyability: ★★★★
Re-readability: ★★★½
Level: Intermediate