New X-Men: Assault on Weapon Plus (New X-Men, Book 5)

Rating:
Summary: New X-men is great
Review: This is the start of Grant Morrison's take on the X-men. This graphic novel reprints New X-men #114-126 and New X-men Annual 2001. This book follows the X-men Cyclops, Beast, Phoenix, Wolverine, and Emma Frost. Tey face off against Cassandra Nova, Professor X's evil twin, the U-men, and the Shi-ar Imperial Guard. This novel also introduces some new x-men (imagine that!) like Xorn and Beak. The only bad side to this book is that some of the art isn't as great as I'd like. Some art is great, like Frank Quitely but others aren't. Well I hope this helped make your decission about this novel.

Rating:
Summary: Hmm...
Review: This was the weakest story arc in Morrison's new X-Men run.

It begins with the weakest issue of his entire run, an issue that does not seem at all to be even remotely close to a Grant Morrison comic book.

Chris Bachalo's art is the most radically different from any of the other 8 artists on the series. While Igor Kordey's art was not great, it at least fit in with van Sciver, Grant, Jiminez, Quitely, Yu and Leon. Bachalo does not resemble them stylistically.

And the story itself is probably the weakest in Morrison's run.

That being said, this is still better then most of the non-MOrrison x-books that are for sale.

Rating:
Summary: All three books averaging to four stars
Review: Though this review is for New XMen, I have to say that Uncanny and Extreme average overall into my rating of 4 stars. I know there's been a lot of hullabaloo about Morrison's work on New X-Men---new directions, excitement, blah blah. However I'm not so sure much has changed so radically. By measuring change I mean if Morrison didn't write anymore issues would there be a vast change in the X-Men. Ok, Emma Frost as a member is fun and a good twist, however I think that the creation of new characters and the wholesale tossing out of others (like the New Mutants, who're comign back in yet another series to run 50-100 issues and be cancelled along the lines of New Mutants, Generation X and X-Force) rather than integrating them eventually into the team. I think this is the main deficit of teh XMen. Characters created that are likeable, taht are durable, eventually can't be changed in any significant way.
Prof. X having a twin sister who is wholesale evil was nice, though from the first panel Cassandra appeared in, I knew who and what she was. Maybe I've been reading comics too long to be surprised too deeply..........
There was a HUGE, I mean HUGE storyline buildup to Cassandra stealing the Prof.'s body and returning with the Shiar to wax the Xmen out. And teh fight was.........ehhhhh....not that scary. I mean everyone pretty much stayed status quo. Morrison is twisting but not changing. At least in Xtreme, Psylocke is dead, dead, dead. Jean is having Phoenix trips again, Beats is upset because he's hideous, Wolverine is all violence talk and menace and Emma is a nice bit of relief as someone who's been there, done that. Cyclops, easily teh most boring person at a party is purposefully written as stiff, which is interesting and his affair with Emma, another interesting point but will he and Jean divorce over this? Nope. Status quo.
My measure of a great writer is that when you look back on the 20-50 issues they've done is it an entirely new playing field? Is anything of consequence changing?
Ok, the school is out and officially a mutant academy, which has possibilities but in many ways over the years it has been outted, just not as crowded. A lot of teh X-Men's main stable of enemies are either gone, dead or well........X-Men. So it makes you wonder what a real threat is going to be. This book dialogue wise and visually is sometimes good, even great and the overall plottin gof a maturing X-Men being more present in the world is interesting but I don't feel a sense of danger, a sense of forboding. I mean my big question is when a threat arrives, honestly, does anyone reading this book feel like someone might not survive? That Cyclops and Phoenix will break up? That Beast really might be gay? There are playful twists, stunts, but not true change going on.
Cassandra, a serious threat was defeated too easily, and by easily, I mean there was very little collateral damage that we got to see. Supposedly she rendered tne Shiar empire to rubble, that should've been part of what the readers SEE not just were told. Good writing shows you not just tells you. Essentially compressing Cassandra into a mental file inside of a metamorph was unique but somehow too easy. Then again, I have to wonder why Emma, Phoenix and Prof. X together couldn't fight her? Morrison is a good writer, I agree and I'm sure a lot of the things he's done have been uphill battles, unfortunately the XMen are stuck in their own quaqmire of history and static characterizations. It would have been really interesting to see this new Cyclops who had been part of Apocalypse. That theme was explored for two minutes but not truly cracked open.
Also is it just me or has anyone ever considered that these young people are the Prof's puppets? Wouldn't someone so telepathically formidable leak his desires to those around him? That would be an excellent area to be explored.

Rating:
Summary: damn, these books are great
Review: Well first off i have to say New X-men is the reason I love comic books. It has amazing storytelling, amazing artwork, and amazing characters. Grant Morrison never, ever fails to amaze me. His storytelling is definitely one of the best in comics (along with Jeph Loeb and Kevin Smith). He just has such vision and depth and thats one of the main reasons this comic book is an awesome read. Then the artwork, I think Quietly's, van Sciever's, and Kordey's work are all top notch and if they got any better it would be sickening. I've always liked Quietly's artwork since the first time i saw it. Ethan van Sciever's art work is also great. The way he makes Beast look is awesome. As for Kordey I really don't know what some people are complaining about, I think his art work is really cool. Now I know everyone has their own opinions and i just think some people want to complain about the smallest thing. Here's a little piece of advice. EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT. Picasso was different from da Vinci but just because he was different didn't mean he was a bad artist and just because Kordey's is a little different doesn't mean he is a bad artist. So what i'm trying to say is I liked Kordey's, Quietly's, and van Sciever's artwork the same and for anyone who hasn't read these books, I suggest you do. You will not be let down