The issue everyone has been talking about! The unforgettable wedding of Northstar and Kyle Jinadu! But will their path to wedded matrimony in New York City be smooth or are there hidden dangers around the corner?
That act of finding the inherent drama is the high art of Marjorie Liu, and the signature of a true master storyteller. It has been decades since X-Men books have evidenced this profound connection with their past of producing socially relevant storylines. And decades more since this was effected with such skill. Astonishing X-Men #51 comes with the highest praise. It deserves to be read and reread. It deserves to be owned. But even more importantly. It deserves buying multiple copies, and being left in the places where it can be found. Read Full Review
A gamechanging issue for LGBT+ representations in comics, its impact and its content has left a mark that is profound and worth revisiting. It's also an incredibly crafted and engaging one. Read Full Review
The much-ballyhooed gay wedding goes off without a hitch. Karma at least waits until after the reception has started before doing... something gross to Ol' Woofie. Having tuned in to check out the hype machine, I'm not sure if I'll continue reading this title now that the big event has happened. It's a good enough book, but aside from being the host series for a social landmark, these last two issues haven't really jazzed me, which may just be a purely aesthetic response on my part. Your mileage may vary, of course. It's a place to get something you don't really get in most other superhero comics. If you dig it, keep on digging it. Read Full Review
I've said it before, Marjorie Liu excels in writing about characters rather than just writing about events among superheroes. She delves into the thinking and essence of who the characters are. The issue will indeed be remembered but for the wrong reasons. The real focus should be on the way the story is written rather than on only two of the characters in the issue. Read Full Review
On a more meta note, did Liu give Northstar a perverse sense of justice by having Wolverine get viciously attacked on his special day? That's some wedding present. Read Full Review
Reviewing an x-book is always difficult for me, as I have a fear of getting involved in a story and having it disappear into crossover madness or evaporate (X-Factor, X-Statix, Joss Whedon's run on this very title), leaving me with nothing but Iceman and Rogue. Treating Northstar as a character with history, bringing in his family AND Kyle's, addressing the strangeness of mutants and the attendees' questions about a gay wedding all leads to a book that could have been talky and boring. That bullet was dodged, though I'm not sure that I'll be back to find out what happens next issue with Karma and all, this is an enjoyable enough reading experience. Astonishing X-Men #51 is a commendable act by Marvel, one that I hope leads to a higher profile for Northstar (an under-used and great character in Marvel's vast library), earning 3.5 out of 5 stars overall. Read Full Review
This issue is a buy, but good luck finding it. My comic shop was sold out on Wednesday since everyone's been talking about the issue all over the news because of the gay marriage issue. Read Full Review
With all of the calamity and chaos surrounding the X-Men titles right now, this issue is a nice suspension of action. It's a wedding tale reminiscent of "Tales of the Teen Titans" #50, but with less over-the-top celebration. Sure, "Astonishing X-Men" #51 got substantially more media attention, but in the end, it's simply another comic book wedding and a quiet one at that, undisturbed by invasion or attack. Hopefully Kyle and Jean-Paul find their happily ever after. From here, however, Liu appears to have some plans that are going to test the X-Men a little more intently than the crisis of whether or not Avengers should be seated at the same tables as X-Men. Read Full Review
At the end of the day, it's a sweet issue, and one that ends with a vicious attack on one of the X-Men, perhaps undermining just how special this issue is. It doesn't break any new ground, but it certainly stands proud as an example of the diverse nature of the Marvel Universe, and the spirit of the original X-Men. Read Full Review
The story starts off with events that happened a week ago, and it's not hard to pick up where the story left off in the previous issue. The actual wedding scenes don't take place until the middle of the story, and Northstar starts to have doubts about the wedding, and he wonders is he's planning this too quick. I was able to relate to this, in my personal experience, I felt the same way on my wedding day, so this made this issue more realistic to me. In real life, people do get pre-wedding jitters, and they didn't leave that out of this story. Read Full Review
Overall, the issue works quite well. The wedding is lovely, the characterizations are strong, and the interactions are quite believable. Liu does a very good job of continuing the plot in a way that will satisfy regular readers but not confuse or alienate people who pick up the series for the first time. Astonishing X-Men #50 gets 3 out of 5 stars as a rushed and somewhat typical comic. Issue #51 gets a solid 5 stars for handling a potentially controversial topic with grace and for respecting readers both loyal and new. Overall the pair gets 4 stars. If you're interested in superheroes and gay rights, they're definitely worth a read. Read Full Review
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