So is the Whedon/Cassaday team the one true torch-bearing duo of Grant Morrisons radical overhaul of the X-Men? Not at all, and who cares? The frenetic pace of those now-old New X-Men stories, and the cosmic-scale drama they recounted, have been replaced by a more human-sized approach in which relationships between characters have taken on a powerful and realistic tone. The success of creative visions as diverse as theseand on the same titleis a testament to the greatness and the flexibility of the X-Men. Regardless of how many copies of X-Dudes and X-Etera we have to suffer through, each era seems to produce its own great X-Men stories to tell. Read Full Review

First off, I have to give the issue full marks for its cover, as its an undeniably powerful image that is sure to catch the eye of many X-fans. As for the interior art, John Cassaday continues to impress, as while most of this issue is made up of talking heads, he manages to keep things visually engaging by offering up a wide variety of facial expressions and some great reaction shots. The art also manages to make the most of the action that we do get in this issue, as theres a great double-page shot where Colossus and Wolverine are captured in the midst of a fastball special, and theres a lovely follow-up scene where Logan manages to stop Ord's escape. I also enjoyed the way the final two pages managed to capture the awkward tension between Colossus and Kitty, with the final close-up of Kitty being a great looking shot of the character. Read Full Review

It seems there is a lot to look forward to in this series and I hope that Joss and Cassaday really stick with it for the long haul. I haven't enjoyed reading anything to do with X-Men this much since the Morrison days, it is clearly (by far) the strongest X-Book on the shelves and seems set to stay there for a long time. Pick it up! Read Full Review

Perhaps it's because I've never been an X-Men fan, but I don't see this as being the world's greatest comic as so many others do. It's just not innovative and exciting enough for me to be really impressed. That said, it is exceptionally well-written and very well illustrated, and as such is undeniably an excellent comic book. Read Full Review

The cover is the sexiest image I can remember in ages from Marvel, since Quitelys drool-worthy Emma from New X-men at least. Cassady makes a brilliant visual argument for why these two characters belong together, with Peters stoic impassive form merging with Kittys quite literally. His hand over her belly makes me think of babies. Read Full Review

Those still waiting for Whedon to turn up the pressure will likely be disappointed by the conclusion of his first arc. With a rich history and a huge stable of characters to work with, it is pretty astonishing that the writer hasnt been able to accomplish more with the tools hes been given. Still, its hard not to get excited at the possibilities to come, at the near certainty that this is merely the prelude. And if this is the best it gets, Astonishing X-Men will still be an incredibly solid X-book, with snappy dialogue unrivalled in its uncanny and adjectiveless contemporaries. Read Full Review

Issue #6 is the wrap up of this particular arc. It didn't have a real black or white ending but the story was a pretty solid one overall. It has that fun aspect that is involved in most Joss Whedon projects and it shows that there may be some betrayal coming amoung some of the X-Men.

Art: 4/5
Story: 3.5/5
Total: 7.5/10