Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis

And that’s a wrap.  This is Warren Ellis’ last “Astonishing” arc and with it, it’s safe to say that not only has he done better creator-owned work, but better work with Marvel’s superheroes as well.  Though his arcs had ideas and his considerable wit behind them, they were either badly paced or felt stretched out to fill a collection.  “Xenogenesis” is no different as the team heads to Africa after a series of “mutant” births are reported.  Once there, they find out that a much deadlier threat is afoot which has its ties in not only one of Ellis’ previous arcs, but in deep “Excalibur” and “Captain Britian” history as well.  It’s competently told, with some interesting twists, and Kaare Andrews delivers some truly distinctive and eye-catching art.  His work really brings the African countryside and its surroundings to life, and delivers some intense action scenes.  Too bad that his Emma Frost is so ridiculous — he was clearly shooting for self-parody and it’s not a style she wears well.

What does work in this volume is the return of the “Ghost Box.”  If you’ll recall, I thought that the idea of having the X-Men face off against invaders from a parallel reality was a good one, but it didn’t dig deep enough into the concept for the story to be a satisfying one.  I liked seeing it used again here because it gives the concept a deeper resonance, and suggests possibilities for future stories.  If nothing else, the concept of being invaded by a parallel reality and its side effects seems like it would be a good starting point for Marvel’s next crossover.  It’ll never happen, at least not in the way that I’m suggesting it, but after years of fighting against themselves, threats from outer space, and gods, taking on twisted versions of themselves seems like a viable option at this point.  (Yes, I know that was also the plot of “The Thanos Imperative” but this would involve pretty much everyone who wasn’t in that series.)

As for the book itself, like the previous volume it’s not bad but still deeply skippable by anyone who isn’t a fan of the creators or the characters.  Ellis writing the “X-Men” seemed like a brilliant idea at first, but the end result is that his run never really lived up to its potential.  As a creator who has enough clout to pretty much write what he wants, he doesn’t need to spend his time writing superheroes.  Due to this, you figure that Marvel editorial would want to put him on a series where he has a story to tell because otherwise he’ll just tackle it on autopilot.  They failed to do that here, but it seems like putting him on “Secret Avengers” was a good idea based on what I’ve heard about his first issue.  If the buzz on it continues to be that good, then I may even pick it up in hardcover.