Alright, so bear with me as I give some background. I’ve always been lightly into comics. I’m aware of a lot of characters but I never got heavily into them. Growing up my grandmom left me tons of old comics from the bookstore she used to own (of which I’m working on beginning to sell some of them, like Uncanny X-men 51 and stuff) and so I got a bit of the old stories. But I never got into the newer ones while growing up.
I’ve discovered a great comic shop not too far away and so I went with the roomies today and decided to dive into a series. I admit I’m an X-men kid, they’re the ones I always liked while growing up. So I spent a while looking over the different X-men options and I decided to go with the fairly newly started series, Astonishing X-men.
I grabbed the Astonishing X-men 1, as well as their collection of 1-6, and tore through it when I got home. I know it’s written by Whedon (i admit, part of the reason I got into it), and his writing didn’t disappoint. His dialogue has always been excellent for most of his tv show writing, and the comic was fantastic so far. I’m very much looking forward to grabbing the volume 2 collection.
I thought issues 7-12 were decent, but not as good as 1-6. Plot wasn’t super original, but the dialogue (Whedon’s strong suit, IMO) was still good. Still better than the other two main X-books are right now.
But I thought the latest issue (#13) was great, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the current arc.
Another X-book with some great dialogue is X-Factor, if you don’t mind seeing a few of the more obscure X-characters featured. It’s only a few issues in, too, so you could probably get in on the ground floor. I highly recommend it.
IMHO, Astonishing is the best X-Title out there, with the new X-Factor as the second best. Both have great stories, dialogue, and art. Astonishing is a more standard x-title, only done right. X-Factor is more non-traditional so far. Minimal super villainy. More of an emphasis on story and character. Also, Layla Miller kicks ass.
Astonishing X-Men also has the benefit of being the title easiest for an old X-Men fan to read, I think. It’s not cluttered up with current continuity (though I guess the 4th story arc will be post-HoM) and all the characters are old favorites. The first story arc was better than the second (though the second still had its great moments). The first issue of the third arc just shipped this week, and is as good as the first arc. It’s a shame that the first 4 issues are going to be bimonthly.