Astonishing X-Men #15

I picked up 8 comics today, luckily I'm a very wealthy man and was able to purchase them with ease.After careful consideration I have chosen this issue as my pick of the week. This decision was difficult, I almost could't bring myself to do it, but then I did.

Let's start with the obvious, Joss Whedon is amazing, the dude is gifted.His dialogue is very cinematic. You feel like your watching a movie,a really awesome movie. But that's to be expected from some one who makes them.Cassaday's art is smooth and gorgeous as always.His characters emotion is conveyed through the eyes and it really shines in this comic. Some artists have a hard time achieving this. Cassaday is a master at it.

In this issue we witness an event that is frightening but intriguing to watch,much like a car wreck involving were-wolves.This event is the systematic and perfectly orchestrated take-down of the X-Men.No easy task, but The Hell-Fire Club are one of the X-Men's oldest and most dangerous enemies for a reason.One by one our favorite mutants(unless we count the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) are separated and beaten.But it isn't all despair, thanks to Cassadra Nova's immense psychic abilities, Wolverine spends the comic convinced he is a frightened, prissy little schoolboy!It's hilarious!But just when it looks like all hope is lost, we are reminded that each member of the team is a super hero, and you cannot take any member lightly.

If you haven't picked this series up, you need to, each issue is a punch in the pancackes and it doesn't look like Whedon and Cassaday are letting up any time soon.

Planetary: Vol I All Over the World and Other Stories

Have you ever felt like there was more going on in the world than we're being told and that history might not be all that accurate? If not, shoot yourself in the face, hard. Planetary's mission is to uncover the secret history of the world, discover forbidden knowledge, and destroy the official version of the twentieth century.

The comics three main characters are Elijah Snow (whose power is heat subtraction), Jakita Wagner (a fierce post-human, super speed and strength), and The Drummer (who talks to machines). They are an investigative team of mystery archaeologists. Overall this is science fiction and Warren Ellis is at his best in this series. This comic jumps from genre to genre, introducing characters who should seem familiar to comic book history enthusiasts. They are taken from the legends and lore of the DC and Marvel Universes. But what these stories do is make them seem almost real, thanks to John Cassidy's (you might know him from a little book called Astonishing X-Men) rich art work and Ellis's imaginative and often humorous storytelling. Basically it's fun. It's fun to see terrorists walking through a giant monster's rotting torso. Or how about seeing the ruined headquarters of a team of superheroes after their final battle? Look, you know this book is good when fuckin Alan Moore does the introduction.

This comic is for true believers, it's rad and everyone should be reading the shit out of it.

This is the first exchange of dialogue in this masterpiece of awesome…

Elijah Snow: Coffee tastes like your dog took a leak in it.

Waitress: Dawgs gotta go someplace.

Yesssssssss.

Two thumbs up. Scale of 1-10, eleventy.

Buy Planetary Vol. 1 at Amazon.com