Astonishing X-Men Torn

Movie Title: Astonishing X-Men - Torn (Marvel Knights)
Studio: Shout! Factory
Rated: Not Rated


DVD Release Date: 08/14/2012

Actors: Wolverine
Director: Joss Whedon


What is a motion comic? Its a bit of a hybrid genre-- the
video looks like someone was able to animate the spaces
between the panels in a comic book. The conversation
bubbles are replaced by voice actors.

Astonishing X-Men: Torn, the third in a series of motion-comic releases based on the story arc of the same name by Joss Whedon (Avengers) and artist John Cassaday, picks up where its predecessor, Dangerous, left off in its struggle for the heart and mind of Emma Frost. The former White Queen, having been revealed as under the sway of a newly formed Hellfire Club fronted by Sebastian Shaw, Cassandra Nova, Perfection, and Negasonic Teenage Warhead, is now carrying out their scheme to unmoor the X-Men by implanting false memories and fears into their minds. Whedon does a fine job of balancing the humor and drama of the X-Men under psychic attack, with Wolverine cowering at the sight of a now-feral Beast, while Cyclops agonizes over a childhood trauma as well as the idea of a fling with Frost during his relationship with Jean Grey. The depth of the writing meshes well with Cassaday's original artwork, much of which is reproduced for the feature; Torn will probably not change motion-comic detractors' opinion of the format, but the action moves smoothly during its 81-minute running time, which does much to make up for the lack of supplemental features.