Joss Whedon & John Cassaday
Astonishing X-Men: Gifted (2004)
Author: Joss Whedon & John Cassaday
Genre: Graphic Novel (Superhero)
Plot Summary:
Cyclops and Emma Frost have re-formed the X-men following the death of Professor Xavier and the destruction of the school for gifted youngsters. SPOILER: Just when things seem to be getting restructured, a new threat to all X-men is revealed: human scientists are working on a vaccine to "cure" the X-men of their superhuman powers.
Geographical Setting: New York
Time Period: Present Day
Series: #1-6 of Astonishing X-Men
Appeal Characteristics:
This 2006 Eisner Award winner for Best Continuing Series is visually very stunning. The illustrations are realistic with bold, bright colors and almost appear to have a 3-D like quality to them. The images really bring the characters to life, helping to quickly move the story along and fill in for the lack of text. The X-Men franchise definitely sets the frame of this graphic novel and the reader will get a sense that it picks up where the final movie adaptation left off. The tone seems a little bleak - the characters are trying to recover and rebuild from a previous attempt to destroy them - but Whedon's humorous writing style helps balance out the darker tone of the plot. The plot isn't complicated but a few of the transitions between scenes may leave the reader a little confused and may need to be re-read to fully understand what's taking place. Those little speed bumps aside, Gifted is an action driven, fast paced read. The novel doesn't have a lot of dialogue or text and instead chooses to let the pictures do most of the story telling. The X-Men characters are familiar characters - Wolverine and Cyclops are present, as well as Kitty Pryde and Jean Gray. Every character in the novel is important and comes in to play at some point in the story line. With the exception of a short three page introduction, there isn't much background information given on the characters and it is assumed the readers already know what's taken place and can fill in the blanks. It is also important to mention that while there is action and violence in this title, there is little profanity outside of the occasional "damn." Some profanity is implied, but the actual words are not used - Whedon instead chooses to use symbols in place of profanity. Adult graphic novel fans may not find this appealing, but it neither distracts or detracts from the story and instead may actually play on the humorous writing style Whedon developed for the characters.
Read-alikes: A good book to start with would be the next book of the series, Astonishing X-Men: Dangerous #7-12 by Joss Whedon & John Cassaday. It has the same style as my book with the same characters and basic storyline. Cassaday once again is the illustrator. This book will answer the unanswered questions from my book. Fray by Joss Whedon is recommended because it is the same author. The books have the same lighthearted tone and pace. The characters drive the action and keep up the pace. Both books have a similar feel. Another read-alike is Planetary: All Over the World by Warren Ellis & John Cassaday. Again, this book uses the same illustrator as my book. Both books have graphics that improve the stories and add to the value of the book as a whole. Cassaday has the ability to tailor his artwork specifically to what the author describes so even though the writing is very different, the illustrations still fit to the story perfectly. One read-alike with appeal elements is The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller. It is another Superhero book along the same storyline of good guys saving people from the bad guys. Another similarity is the kind of characters-the reluctant superheroes. Batman and the X-Men are both superheroes out of honor not for fame. Both books also feature well-defined canon figures of comic books. Both writers closely followed the canons so that readers will recognize and appreciate them. Marvel 1602 by Neil Gaiman & Andy Kubert was recommended because of the similarities between the characters. Anyone familiar with the Marvel Universe will recognize the different characters in this historical setting. The epic battle of good verses evil is still played out. Another similar appeal element is that the story is full of adventure rather than action, which helps keep the face fast and interesting. Readers who want a continuation of the story should look no further than Astonishing X-Men: Dangerous. Also written by Joss Whedon, Dangerous features the same cast of characters, a similar story and the same type of writing style. This title was also illustrated by John Cassaday, so those who enjoyed the art work from Gifted should also like Dangerous. Another excellent selection is Watchmen by Alan Moore. This graphic novel has a cast of characters with a comparable story line about a group of crimefighters who uncover a plot to kill and defame them. This aspect as well as the bright, bold artwork should appeal to readers of the X-men graphic novels. House of M by Brian Michael Bendis features both the X-men and the Avengers. The two superhero groups have teamed up to stop an evil nemesis from destroying the world. This title promises to be a fast read with lots of action, familiar characters and beautiful art work. An older X-Men title that should appeal to readers is Essential X-Men, vol. 1 by Stan Lee. This graphic novel features the original X-Men comics as they appeared in magazines during the 1960s. Since the Whedon novel doesn't address any background information, this title will give readers a good background story for those who might have been unfamiliar with the X-Men. Since this is the beginning of the series, the character development is very detailed yet readers should find that Whedon's character development is right on par with this first installment. Finally, Civil War by Mark Millar should also interest readers of X-Men: Gifted. The X-Men characters appear in this novel along with the Avengers, the Fantastic Four and even Spiderman. The superheroes are forced to choose sides and even fight against each other in the classic story line of good versus evil. Readers will not only find the art work appealing but they will also enjoy the action in the plot and the fast paced writing style of Mar Millar.
Red Flags: violence, language, sex, partial nudity
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