Comics Official ASTONISHING X-MEN Discussion Thread

[Jennifer Walters]

Wow, didn't know someone could actually make that Storm costume not look bad.

 

[GambitXremy]

i know i love his work on New x-men

 

[Specter313]

Fresh off his stints on the thrice-weekly AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, artist Phil Jimenez will jump aboard ASTONISHING X-MEN, joining current writer Warren Ellis for a five-issue story arc beginning this fall.

Jimenez has previously drawn Marvel's Merry Mutants during Grant Morrison's run on NEW X-MEN, and the artist tells us he's always had a great deal of fondness for the characters and their world.

"The X-Men was the first mainstream super-hero comic book I ever collected," remembers Jimenez. "Its lead characters—Storm, Wolverine, even the Beast and Emma Frost—have been near and dear to my heart since I was a kid. I love these characters, I 'get' them, and I find drawing them is a huge pleasure and a real luxury for which I'm incredibly grateful."

Even though Jimenez hasn't drawn the team in a number of years, he had no difficulty getting reacquainted with the mutant heroes, even though a couple of differences exist between his current work and his previous run.

"I'm new to ASTONISHING, but I fell right back into the X-Men world once Warren developed the script," the artist relates. "I think the big difference so far is pace. My memory is that the last time I was working on X-Men, we were working at a very fast clip. My hope is that with enough lead time, we can get some really strong artwork to match Warren's awesome scripts. Also, the cast was slightly different in NEW X-MEN. With ASTONISHING, I get to play with characters I love drawing like Beast and Emma Frost, as well as Armor and Storm, my favorite Marvel character of all time, and that brings me joy every day.

"Most notably, I'm looking forward to showcasing the work of my inker Andy Lanning as well as the incredibly talented Frank D'Armata, who's lending his powerful coloring skills our work. I've had glorious colorists at Marvel, but Frank brings the art to a whole new level. I want him nominated for an Eisner already."



As for the characters' appearances, Jimenez explains that he'll give them his own unique style without altering their costumes in any significant way.

"My assistant editor, Daniel Ketchum, has been fielding costume questions from me for weeks," Jimenez confesses. "I'll make some slight modifications here and there, but mostly, I'd like to honor the work of the artists and designers that have come before me. The flourishes I'll add will be standard 'Phil Jimenez' flourishes in character more than costume. Look for a change in Armor's hair style, for example; lots of grandness from Storm—I love her as the regal goddess; Emma being icy and fabulous; Beast being as elegant and refined as he is ferocious in battle, etc."

On the scripting side of things, many artists have praised writer Warren Ellis' abilities, and Jimenez comes as no exception.

"Warren is, I kid you not, one of my two favorite writers to work with," the artist exudes. "I've only drawn for him twice, but each time the script felt like it was hand made just for me. It's divine. He wrote me something he knew I'd want to draw and get excited over. I appreciate that care far more than I can ever say. I always tell young writers, if you want to know how to write a comic script for artists, look at Warren's best scripts. For me, they're flawless. But talk about performance anxiety! He's done me right, now I want to return the favor, and I'm actually quite nervous about it!"

Jumping from Spider-Man's smaller, more personal corner of the Marvel Universe to the X-Men's might seem like a dramatic change in material, but for Jimenez that change allows him to travel back into a world and style that he greatly enjoys.

"For me, the fun of mainstream super hero comics is their 'bigness'—the sense of grand, epic adventure; the over top characters wearing costumes you'd only see on our Earth in a gay pride parade; the operatic nature the narrative; sweeping, bold, sometimes ridiculous, mostly impossible, but always dramatic," lists Jimenez. "The X-Men, for me, epitomizes what I love about these kinds of comics. The book works on multiple layers—social commentary; soap opera; giant summer blockbuster—and the cast is varied enough and international enough to keep me engaged on every page. I think my style reflects that.

"Spider-Man and his world seemed to me to be a very different animal. I actually came to love Spidey and Peter, as well as stalwarts like J Jonah Jameson and Betty Brant, but I missed the 'bigness' and the over-the-top adventure books like X-Men provide me. It's nice to play the big notes again!"

Jimenez reveals that, while he's looking forward to a number of elements working on ASTONISHING X-MEN, two in particular might stand out above the rest:

"Storm and Emma. Working with Warren Ellis. Storm and Emma. Working with Warren Ellis. Beyond that? Maybe drawing cameos of the New Mutants and Emma's original Hellions—hint, hint, Warren!"

http://marvel.com/news/comicstories.8483.WWPhilly_~apos~09~colon~_Jimenez_on_Astonishing

Quoted so people don't have to go back a page.

 

[UraniaChang]

The art is not bad, I have no interests in his fondness of Storm though.

 

[Jennifer Walters]

The art is not bad, I have no interests in his fondness of Storm though.

Don't knock the man on good taste.

It's not like he said he was fond of Armor or anything.

 

[Specter313]

Don't knock the man on good taste.

It's not like he said he was fond of Armor or anything.

Excuse me? Who said there was anything wrong with Armor? Unlike that used rag that is Storm, Armor is fresh and new.

 

[Jennifer Walters]

Excuse me? Who said there was anything wrong with Armor? Unlike that used rag that is Storm, Armor is fresh and new.

The only used rag is the numerous times we've gotten new Kitty Pryde's, it worked twice (Kitty and Jubilee), but the other times have been nothing but annoyingness (Pixie and Armor.)

Armor is better than Pixie though.

 

[Jennifer Walters]

Double Post.

 

[UraniaChang]

Armor is better than Storm, at least, that's the first Asian girl I can approve of, and she is no "Goddess".

Marvel generally sucks at writing Easterners.

 

[javi1024]

i always thought Jimenez was best when he draws X-Men (wasn't crazy about is Spider-Man or Justice League) and he actually makes Storm's costume look good- even though this is still the ONLY book that uses it. but again, you have to wonder what is the reason for this book. Uncanny is the flagship and it tries to feature a wide range of X-Men (arguably) around the core roster. Astonishing is featuring THE SAME PEOPLE but it comes out like 4 times a year with a story that honestly i cant even remember. with the revelation that Carey ONLY cares about Rogue and has turned Legacy into her own title, more than ever i have to ask Marvel "What the hell are you doing?". you have a cast of teens X-Men that youve grown and nurtured since 2001 and you have them sitting on the sidelines (and being killed off while the mutant population is on the brink of extinction). Iceman has been in San Francisco for the past 6 months or so and the best youve given us is a panel of him laughing with Hepzibah, and Havok, Polaris, and Rachel are still wandering the universe trying to kill someone because they keep failing. these are all examples of making better use of Astonishing and/or Legacy and i really feel like they not only dropped the ball, but arent even looking back to try and pick it up.

 

[mightiest_mortal]

So last issue was a bit of a mess...

Forge has found a genuine concern for the whole world and sets out a plan to stop it.

The X-Men go "Youre crazy" and mock him and beat on him for a while. Then they blow him up and all his work...

....even though Beast believes him anyway? WTF?

Is it just me that thought in this last issue the X-Men just came across as a bunch of arrogant ********s.

And as for Brand (who i guess has become an all seeing deus ex machina now) using her uber uber cannon as powerful as the sun... She didnt even know Hank was going to direct the energy somewhere else.. she would have decimated half the planet.

 

[Chamber_UK]

I get the feeling with all the delays that Astonishing X-Men had, the original planned conclusion for this story arch has been altered and speeded up a bit in order to avoid confliction with the large Dark Reign story.

Anybody else get that feelling with the end of Uncanny X-Men "Sisterhood" arch as well?

________________________________

Greetings all!! Just back from travelling Tibet and South Asia and finally just caught up on a years back log of comics.

 

[Manic]

Ellis' first story did seem like it was cut short, yeah. And I definitely got a rushed feeling from "Sisterhood," but that storyline was also horribly conceived.

 

[Specter313]

But also, when Bendis wants to do something, to hell with whatever anyone else has planned.

At least Bianchi kept to his promise of stepping down after the first arc if he couldn't keep to a monthly schedule.

 

[Specter313]

Damn lag...

 

[Jennifer Walters]

But also, when Bendis wants to do something, to hell with whatever anyone else has planned.

At least Bianchi kept to his promise of stepping down after the first arc if he couldn't keep to a monthly schedule.

Shush. You shouldn't speak ill of Bendis.. Quesada will find you and eat your babies....or mayhaps your marriage.

 

[Specter313]

Pfft, I'll just throw a cheesesteak in his path and walk away.

 

[Jennifer Walters]

Pfft, I'll just throw a cheesesteak in his path and walk away.

If only Peter Parker had thought of this.

 

[El Bastardo]

I liked this weird, odd, little Ellis arc.

 

[roach]

Wow, didn't know someone could actually make that Storm costume not look bad.

nothing spectacular about it...it looks like one of Emma's extra costumes

 

[roach]

Wow, didn't know someone could actually make that Storm costume not look bad.

nothing spectacular about it...it looks like one of Emma's extra costumes

 

[chris moore]

So... again with the nothing much happening? Was this entire arc just a long and drawn out way to kill Forge or somethin'?

Beast laments at Forge thinking like an engineer to solve the M-Day problem while simultaneously recruiting an engineer for his 'outside the box' X-Club?

 

[Colossal Spoons]

I actually didn't hate the last issue of AXM

 

[Manic]

So... again with the nothing much happening? Was this entire arc just a long and drawn out way to kill Forge or somethin'?

A few of us are under the belief that Ellis was forced to conclude this arc before he was ready. Say what you will about Warren Ellis, but the man doesn't typically rush his endings like this. Okay, fine, there was Global Frequency, but those were all one-shot stories.

 

[Specter313]

ASTONISHING X-MEN #31
Written by WARREN ELLIS
Pencils & Wraparound Cover by PHIL JIMENEZ
Variant Cover by TRAVIS CHAREST
‘EXOGENETIC,” PART 1 of 5
Abigail Brand, director of S.W.O.R.D., has been in some sticky situations, and she isn’t the type who asks for help to get out of them. But when you’re careening towards Earth in the cockpit of a damaged spaceship after being attacked on an exploding asteroid 7.5 million miles from Earth…it’s time to call the X-Men. They might not have much of a plan, or much of a chance, but that’s certainly never stopped them before. Superstar artist Phil Jimenez joins writer Warren Ellis for the second arc of the mind-bending ongoing series!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99​