Books: Whedon, Robinson, and Vaughan

[woodwardiocom]

Astonishing X-Men v4: Unstoppable by Whedon & Cassaday

This volume is Joss Whedon's "big bang", the climax of plot threads he's been weaving since his first issue. The warriors of the Breakworld are out to get the X-Men (or destroy the Earth), because their prophets say Colossus is destined to kill them all. The X-Men are hijacked by Agent Brand of S.W.O.R.D. and taken to the Breakworld, to either eliminate their threat, or fufill the prophecy.

This volume contains brilliant character moments for all our heroes, and complex writing that always leaves you guessing. The ending is dramatically perfect. (And, hey, while it might make me cranky, this is comic books we're talking about. Even Uncle Ben came back.) And, while I think Whedon writes Shadowcat a little bit too much like Willow, that's probably because he was writing Willow like Shadowcat. Highly recommended.

The Starman Omnibus v1 by Robinson, Harris, and Von Grawbadger

Back in 1994, James Robinson got the go-ahead to write a distinctly different kind of comic book. The nominal hero, Jack Knight, is the son of 1940s superhero Ted Knight, the original Starman. Jack doesn't want to take up his father's mantle, but events conspire against him, and he becomes the new Starman. However, his idea of a costume is a leather jacket and aviator goggles, and he'd much rather be rooting through other people's attics looking for Art Deco radios or back issues of Colliers.

I suspect there's more than a little Mary Sue in Jack Knight, and the endless divergences into the hobby of collecting and old movie trivia are indulgent, but Jack's a cool Mary Sue, and the pop culture talk is, if not right up my alley, at least in a neighboring street. Robinson gave us a divertingly different take on superheroics, and now it's back in beautiful hardcovers. Highly recommended.

Y: The Last Man v10: Whys and Wherefores by Vaughan, Guerra, Marzán

This is the tenth and final volume in the Y epic, a story of a world where every male mammal suddenly dies, except for a slacker and his monkey. In this volume Yorick, the last man, finally brings his five year, round-the-world quest to an end, as he journeys to Paris to find his girlfriend and propose. None of the subplots end exactly happily, but in the end, Yorick finds an out. Pick up volume 1 and give this untraditional comic book series a shot.

Comments

[whswhs.livejournal.com]

Thanks for mentioning Unstoppable. I hadn't realized it was out already. I've just called On Comic Ground and asked them to set one aside for me to pick up next week.

Isn't Ord the name of the representative alien from the world in question? I thought that the world was called "the Breakworld."

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

Err, right you are. Fixed.