The Whedonverse strikes again

Joss Whedon, the brilliant being behind (alliteration - ah thank ya) Buffy the Vampire Slayer (movie and TV), Angel and Firefly (movie: Serenity due out soon, I hope) has brought me back into a fold that I never thought I would see hide nor hair of again - the X-Men.
Somewhere in my wicked childhood, I got a little hooked on comics - not a lot hooked, but definitely a little. I enjoyed The Uncanny X-Men, Fantastic Four, The Amazing SpiderMan and even a bit of Groo.
I was not an avid collector, but my cousin and I would sit around his room reading everything we could get our hands on once a month or so.
Then I started getting older and the trials and tribulations of those living in Knots Landing started mattering more than people in tights saving "the world." The older I got, the worse the art seemed to be as well. Oh, the porno, broken back comic book heroine was there all along, I just didn't notice her. Then I did notice her, and then I started to get a little sad, and a little mad. I started to believe that popular comic books were just for boys and sad lonely men to use as a sexual aid. That's the only reason I could see for drawing women that way.
I didn't leave comics forever tho - I started reading Books of Magic - thank you Neil Gaiman for starting a tale that thrilled the child and adult in me. Altho my love waned and eventually I drifted away from that series. Alan then got me hooked on several graphic novels and the story skills of Alan Moore.
So, a couple of weeks ago Alan goes and picks up his comic books. He asks me if I knew Joss Whedon was writing a new X-Men title. I did indeed know that, but it was the X-Men - the worst offender of horrible comic book art that I had seen.
Then, Alan read me some quotes. Emma (The White Queen) says to Kitty Pryde when Kitty is late (on the first page), "You're late." Kitty, looking at Emma's skimpy, odd outfit, replies, "I'm sorry, I was busy remembering to put on all my clothes." Well, that was intriguing. The scene takes place at The Xavier Institute, a school for young mutants, also included Kitty whispering to other teachers, "Did I miss the Sorting Hat?" I was hooked.
And as to Emma, who has the big boobs and the tiny waist that used to make me shake my head, she at least admits it: "Superpowers, a scintillating wit and the best body money can buy . . . and I still rate below a corpse." (This references Jean Grey and it is my fervent hope that unlike many of his predecessors, Whedon will keep her dead.)
Anyway, the art was lovely and so was the inking (colouring - I think that's the term). The writing was smart and sassy and as Robbie D. would say I like my writing the same way I like my turtle soup - snappy! And I already cannot wait for issue 8.
Take care,
V