Astonishing X-Men #17
	Writer: Joss Whedon Artist: John Cassaday Colorist: Laura Martin Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos Asst. Editor: Sean Ryan Asso. Editor: Nick Lowe Editor: Mike Marts Published by: Marvel Comics
	Reviewed by: Bruce Logan

Astonishing X-Men. The only mainline Marvel title that survived my flushing of my entire 616 MU pull-list, and one that continues to this day. While at first it had been because I just wanted to complete the ongoing arc (was at #14 then), now it is because of both Whedon’s great but for TPB writing and Cassaday’s pencils. That it was a bi-monthly also helped from a monetary point of view. One of those three changes with this issue as with #17 onwards AXM goes the monthly route.

For the story, even though a lot of things happen here, overall there isn’t much of a progress (as I stated, Whedon writes ‘for’ the TPB format, hence individual issues don’t have much ‘time’ progress). The story can be divided into two parts, one involving Kitty Pryde and the X-Men, and the other, well, even the other seems to involve Kitty, though not as directly as the first. With her lover (Colossus) revealed last issue as the destroyer of the Breakworld, and with Ord after him, Kitty gets another leg in that particular plotline with yet another revelation, that of the ‘mole’ of the SWORD people…someone very close to her. As for Ord, he and DANGER (the sentient former-Danger Room) arrive at the X-Mansion.

Moving onto the others, unless he is going the route of teenage boys and looking to getting plastered on booze…well, beer, looks like James has stepped back and the Wolverine is coming to the fore again. Time for niggling. Marvel seems to wh*ring themselves out with real company ads in their comics, yet when it comes to one of their biggest and largest selling characters, they couldn’t get one for a real beer company (and by ‘real’, I mean Canadian beer). Come on Marvel, I am sure you could have got Molson to make the one page showing.

Anyways, Emma (the real one), Piotr and the other X-Men and X-students also make appearances, all of them varying from a single panel (for Emma) to a few pages (for Piotr). Even Scoot…ahem, Scott shows up, and for anyone who’s seen the solicits/cover of the upcoming issue, his being up and sporting ‘new’ look wouldn’t be a surprise.

Finally, the art. Although up to the level of previous issues, it is still as simple yet engrossing. Now, if only someone could explain to me what are those humongous eyebrows doing on Xavier’s face. I know it is merely a ‘mental’ visualizations and it might even have elements of Cassandra Nova in it, but please, these big ones! It makes him look like he has just come from the beauty salon.

Conclusion: Have been with this arc for the better part of a year and am looking forward to how it ends. Best/funniest line of the issue, 'I could clearly see the silhouette of her undercurve.' (by who else, by Li'l James, about the 'other' Emma's attire and lack of a skirt on her.)

RATING: 8.5/10