The final volume of Joss Whedon's run on ASTONISHING X-MEN.

I enjoyed this book, and the series as a whole, but I think I'd have gotten a lot more out it if I'd read the whole thing back to back. As it stands, there wasn't quite enough momentum to carry me through this final volume.

It was good; I want to make the clear. I enjoyed the four books, and I'm glad I read them. Whedon and Cassaday have done some great things with the material. Ain't nobody out there who can turn a phrase like ol' Joss; the humor is spot-on, and the more dramatic stuff is just chock full of pathos. The characters interact in believable ways. And, most importantly, the storyline doesn't exclude readers who don't know much about what's gone down with the X-Men in recent years. There are definitely references to the many events that have impacted the team in the past, but they're introduced in such a way that newbies and folks who quit reading a long time (like me!) back can follow along.

Cassaday's art also noteworthy. It's the sort of work that fits so seamlessly into the story that you barely even notice it. You don't frown at a particular panel because Kitty's face is barely sketched in, or Peter's arm is at a funky angle, or anything like that; you just take it all at face value. These are our characters, living out their lives on the page. It fits, and fits very well at that.

So yes, I enjoyed this. I just wish I'd been able to read the whole series within a shorter period of time; stretching it out over seven or eight months was not the way to go.

(A slightly different version of this review originally appeared on my blog, Stella Matutina). ( )

He's the best at what he does...
I didn't want to return this one to the library. ( )

Joss wraps up his X-Men run in stellar style! ( )

What an awesome close to the series! I really liked the story arc. Throughout the series, I've appreciated the fact that someone who's fairly unfamiliar with the numerous X-Men plots can pick this up and go and still be invested in the characters. There's a great use of humor throughout the books, without detracting from the way that it ends. ( )

There are some great, great moments in this, many of them revolving around Cyclops, which I appreciate, and Peter and Kitty, which awesome socks. One of them, the whole wrongfooting with "Leviathan", could have been almost the all-time best X-Men moment in history if it were a bit easier to get what was going on at the big reveal. I have to admit it's not that hard - I just missed the "wow!" the first time because my eyes were glazed over because a lot of this is hard to follow. It really seems like somebody was all "Joss! Decompression is out the window now, EVEN FOR YOU! (Because of you!)." But Whedon had the ideas to keep the story on minimal life support even when given decompression levels of room, and this is just toooo crowded, dude. Also, it doesn't make me sad that superhero deaths in general mean nothing now, but it does make me a little sad for innocent bygone days when it's Kitty. ( )