Astonishing X-Men is one that has kept my interest, though it has the uncertainty of keeping its momentum with Soule behind the rails and the different artist changing every issue.
Blue is excellent if one has the gall to get past the fact that it’s the O5. After that, you get an X-team staying out of the real teams business for the just of the book, taking bold moves on characters while keeping the familiarity, and actually portraying the X-kids as if they could think beyond just their own personal problems. Jean is an actual leader vs Bendis interpretation of Kitty leading while calling Jean the leader with her protagonist-itis, Warren isn’t entirely focused on Laura anymore and becomeing just a supporting character in her arcs, Jimmy is actually a different version from most Wolverines with him being more calculated and aggressive rather than reckless (unless Jean is involved) becoming more like how Wolverine and Laura are in their solos which is refreshing in a team book, Beast is marginally more interesting with his magic (though in small doses rather than whole character arcs), Iceman is the same though danger seems to be addressing the clingy boyfriend attitude he has take on and going into his omega level status, Magneto is behind the scenes but retains his interesting side with how mysterious he is even when he reveals what he has done so far, and the new teachers are star power all-around. Knowing Bunn he will have planes for them like he did for Lorna briefly in her fight with Havok. The villains are bold moves but respectable if you look at them with an optimistic viewpoint because yes it exists. Emma will stick to continuity but will organically come out of where she is and come into her own once more (whether as a villain or not, Bunn has inferred that she will come out of where she is), Miss Sinister is a great replacement for the real Sinister (who was turned into the stupid Inhuman enthusiast by Lemire; albeit probably by his superiors but who knows, Lemires run was garbage), and Bastions plans are convoluted but in a weird way makes sense to me. I was not a fan of the Goblin Queens portrayal recently, but Bloodstorms inclusion was rather welcoming to me.
Jeans solo series is a good series if you could get passed two problems. The first is the fact that it’s teen Jean and the second is Hopeless millenial attitude and speech given to Jean. After that, it is a really good book. For those that have a problem with the guest stars, I understand that it’s a solo, but the guest stars aren’t too integral in the story beyond the role they were put in, ergo making that issue quite minimal if there at all. The Phoenix focus shouldn’t be a problem since the Phoenix isn’t there to begin with outside of referencing and real Jeans calls from within the Force. This is a story of Teen Jean preparing, not another Dark Phoenix Saga, so I won’t take the Phoenix is a tired plot device excuse for this one.
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