252 - Year 42 Memorable Moment: Colossus Returns

Colossus' return midway through Astonishing's inaugural run is all the more surprising given how Morrison was told they couldn't bring him back just a scant few years earlier.

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251 - Year 42 Fun Fact: Alan Davis Redux

According to Davis, he was asked back to Uncanny out of a desire to make the X-books more kid-friendly, a sentiment he agreed with, leading to his reunion w/Claremont & the X-Men.

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250 - Year 42 Comic: Astonishing X-Men #1

While not as significant a sea change as Giant-Size, Adjectiveless or even New X-Men #114, it still marks a return to more traditional superheroics & the beginning of the long "Cyclops in charge" era.

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249 - Year 42 Character: Xorn

In which Grant Morrison does too good a job at creating a fake identity for Magneto, so Marvel decides to make the fake ID an actual character (& bring back Magneto), to deeply confusing results.

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248 - Year 42 Creator: Joss Whedon

Though his star's rightly dimmed of late, Whedon helming a new ongoing X-book as part of a high profile creative team is both a significant moment for #XMen & the "celebrity author comes to comics" trend.

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247 - Year 42 Cover: Astonishing X-Men #2

John Cassady? Pretty good at art. An elegantly simple but absolutely arresting image for Astonishing's second issue.

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