Much like last month, issue #4 has a superstar artist lined up this month in Carlos Pacheco. I've always been a fan of his and this month's issue, though not exactly a standout, was another good outing for the Spanish artist. Logan's skirmishes with Psylocke, Bishop and the MRD are strong action sequences, and the more tender scenes between the four characters on the astral plane do a decent job of accentuating their more traditionally desirable traits. Read Full Review

Overall Soule and company may not be completely where they need to be in the sense that they still have some growing to do but, that just means that the best is yet to come for this extremely exciting chapter in Astonishing X-Men history. The writing, as with the vast majority of Soule's work, is engrossing, entertaining and pretty darn exciting, while the ever-changing visual style afforded by the top-tier artists working on the title so far keeps things fresh and eye-popping. Astonishing X-Men is one Marvel title I hope sticks around for the long haul. 4/5 Read Full Review

Astonishing X-Men is still the best X-Men book currently on the stands. That is not to say that Blue or Gold are bad, but for all its flaws, Astonishing has me consistently more engaged and interested in the characters. I do recommend this issue, but I do hope its problems get ironed out soon. Read Full Review

What's most important about Astonishing X-Men is that Soule has done a magnificent job at juggling his team of mutants, and more importantly, knows how they work together and what has made them so beloved by readers for years. And in that regard, this might not be the strongest chapter of Astonishing X-Men, but you better believe I still can't wait to see what happens next. Read Full Review

While this series was billed as having more of a standalone approach to X-men storytelling than most X-books, it doesn't actually seem that way in practice. This opening storyline reads very much like one, continuous conflict. And a conflict that's becoming painfully drawn out, no less. Read Full Review

Too much stuff, not enough space. What we do get is decent, though. Read Full Review

Very good issue with nice, precise artwork. The story progresses and it all feels not so stagnant anymore. Every character is involved in a way or another which makes the storytelling much more dynamic. It's a very entertaining and enjoyable run overall.

While Carlos Pacheco is capable of much better, the art in issue #4 is still serviceable. The plot has begun to slow down a bit, though there are some interesting plot points involving Professor X. With each issue, it seems that Astonishing X-Men is turning into a Professor X story. Could we be seeing a return from the dead? Will be interesting to see.

The Shadow King claims another hero, but Professor X gets to make his presence felt outside the Astral Plane. This felt like over-development of a few simple plot points. Carlos Pacheco's art does decent storytelling, but it's arbitrarily different - it has a personal style, but that style doesn't feel impressive enough to justify the countless little changes in how these characters are being portrayed. This is probably a negative synergy effect; it's only in combination with each other that this particular script and these particular visuals feel disappointing. And slight disappointments aside, this is still a pretty fascinating, above-average read.

How did Fantomex and Mystique get that close, I'll never understand. He truly hated her. As for Gambit and Rogue... if you guys don't understand their relationship, better stop trying.