As much as the reintroduction of the team roster bored me, I absolutely loved the maturity and camaraderie shown between Cyclops and Wolverine. It's never been easy between these two, but this issue finally shows that there's been some growth over the years and it's just written brilliantly. Please, let's keep this forward momentum going. The X-Men is all about evolution and after undoing nearly everything Grant Morrison did, maybe – just maybe - Marvel editorial will be smart enough to let things stick this time. Read Full Review

Here's the real problem with Astonishing at the moment - I don't know why I should care. The series no longer fills a niche. This same group of A-list X-Men will also occupy Uncanny on a monthly basis. The only real difference there is that Uncanny will substitute Pixie for Armor as the current "peppy female student with everything to prove." With no real story to speak of yet and art that's firmly in the good-but-not-great category, Ellis has his work cut out for him in the months ahead. I don't blame anyone who chooses to trade-wait this book. Read Full Review

Lately, whenever a new creative team takes over a title for a high-profile run, I've been finding that my reactions often fall into the same pattern. It's been a while since I've been really wowed by an opening issue, because it's becoming the norm for creators to use their first issues to set the scene for the rest of their run, rather than getting to the meat of their story straight away. Whilst this might result in a better structure for the stories once they're complete, it does make it hard to evaluate issues like this one in their own right. With no context bar that of Joss Whedon and John Cassaday's previous run on the title, this feels like a fairly slow opener that exists to (re)introduce the book's cast and set several plot threads in motion. Looking forwards, however, I get the sense that this issue is setting a solid foundation for Ellis and Bianchi's run on the book, and I'm already looking forward to seeing where the story goes. There's more here to absorb than many Read Full Review

However, all in all, I didn't hate this book. I give the story 4 out of 5, and the artwork 4 out of 5. Read Full Review

Simone Bianchi likes things dark and washed out, colour-wise. A tip: read this comic book in a well lit area or else you might not see everything. But the second time I read this comic book, I began to really enjoy the art. Its expressive and realistic and not over-sexualized. I believe this will work very well for the series, combining a focus on inter-team dynamics with an artist who can convey emotion and expression very well. My only complaint is the numerous dramatic close-ups. With the large amount of dialog, things become very cramped. It feels like too much of the art is covered up. But Bianchis art is perfect. This series should be entertaining to say the least. Read Full Review

It's clear that this book is going back into orbit and that's where it belongs, far away from Skrulls, Magneto and any other major storyline passing through the Marvel U. Ellis set himself up with enough science gimmicks to keep us entertained through the arc, but it's going to take more than that to have the lasting power of it's predecessor. Read Full Review

The good news is that the majority of the book's problems don't seem to be the lingering type (unless you're one of the people who doesn't like Bianchi's artwork). It's been a very long time since I was disappointed by a Warren Ellis penned story, so I fully expect this title to rebound with a strong second issue- hopefully by taking the arc into a less superficial, more distinct direction. Read Full Review

I'm tempted to say Avoid It as nothing happens here. You could pick it up next issue and probably follow along with ease. I may be judging this too harshly. However, given the pedigree of this title and the quality of the new creative team, I expected far more than what was offered in this debut issue. Read Full Review

Astonishing X-Men #25 was an ordinary read. I cannot say avoid it at all costs, however, I certainly cannot recommend spending your hard earned money on this title. Astonishing X-Men #25 is probably an issue that will only appeal to die-hard X-Men fans. Read Full Review