Stephanie Kay
Oct 13, 2007, 11:28 pm
<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/4images/details.php?image_id=10368" target="_blank"><img src=" http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/marvel/xfactorv3-14t.jpg" hspace=10 align=left alt="X-Factor #14"></a>Reviewer: Kevin Jones, kcjones242@aol.com
Story Title: Multiple Issues, Part 1
"To X-Factor: putting the 'fun' in 'dysfunctional.' "
Writer: Peter David
Art: Pablo Raimondi
Color Art: Brian Reber
Letterer: VC's Cory Petit
Cover Art: Pablo Raimondi
Assistant Editor: Sean Ryan
Editor: Andy Schmidt
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley
Published by: Marvel Comics (http://www.marvel.com)
Adolescence is an exciting, confusing time for most people. It's a time when you start to see your potential and the different paths your life can take. It's also pretty much the only time you can indulge in all of those directions at once. It's possible to sign up for any number of after-school activities in high school, depending on how long you want to stay after school. But eventually, most people decide on one direction to take their lives in, which is a big part of figuring out who they are. Jamie Madrox has such a hard time figuring out who he is because he doesn't have to choose. It's no wonder he's acted like a perpetual teenager for so much of his fictional life. And it explains why his newfound maturity is so difficult to deal with. He's taken a stand against registration and attempted to put Singularity out of business, and those are both decisions he can't take back. He can't look down those other paths to see what might have happened, and that's forced him to grow up a little bit.
This brings us to this new storyline, in which Jamie tries to make more solid choices. He has to deal with Theresa and Monet without falling back on the old "Oops, that was my dupe" excuse. You have to give the guy credit for taking responsibility with both of them. On top of that, he's now trying to deal with the all dupes he's sent out recently. I'm glad the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jamie is finally being dealt with (I was scratching my head when he abruptly appeared and disappeared back in #8.) Well, maybe "dealt with" isn't quite accurate, but at least it's being acknowledged instead of fading into the background.
It helps the book that Peter David has taken up the challenge of giving Jamie a gumshoe detective narration without making it seem boring or cliche. It's a peek into Jamie's psyche, and it makes sense that he sees himself as a down-on-his-luck detective and narrates accordingly. Notice that the only time the book really has that tone is when you're seeing it from his perspective. What makes it funny is that the other characters seem aware of it. Rictor even makes a comment about Jamie going "Noir."
Humor is still a huge part of this book, and it's woven into the story all over the place, always to good effect. I usually don't read the recap page, but this time I did, and it was really entertaining. What, you don't read it either? Well, go read it right now. You can see the rest of the review when you get back.
It's great to see a real emotional outburst from Layla in this issue. If we believe her that she's going to someday marry Jamie (though you really can't take it at face value), it makes sense that the love triangle would get under her skin. But wait a minute, if she really can see the consequences of her actions, doesn't that mean even her outburst was calculated? My brain hurts.
Jamie's conversation with Rictor really makes you see how much comics have changed in the last 10 or 15 years. I don't think an X-Men book could've ever gotten away with the sex talk back in the day. It's honest too; people do talk about sex like that. I don't know how many straight guy-dominated conversations I've seen that devolved quickly into "You wanna know why you're gay?" If any ladies were put off by this, believe me, it's how guys talk when you're not around.
I loved Guido and Rahne's part in this issue. Their visit with Mrs Buchanan is another example of how this book follows through with consequences of previous events. WIDOW's reaction is unexpected, yet entirely believable as she explains it. Plus, we get a beautiful splash page from Raimondi which isn't based on a dramatic pose or a hero punching out a villain, but on heartfelt emotion. It's powerful and delivers a message without feeling forced.
Overall, there's a lot of character interaction in this issue. In a team book, everyone should have a relationship with everyone else, and that's been a priority here. When Jamie slept with Monet and Siryn in the same night, I thought it was a silly distraction from a serious story. Boy, was I wrong. It's served to galvanize relationships, which is a fantastic thing. At this point in the series, it seems like everyone's formed opinions about each other, and we're now heading towards making the team into a family.
Pablo Raimondi's art continues to impress me. His strong contrast hasn't been getting in the way of characters' expressions, which is very important. His work also handles the balance between humor and drama competently. I am noticing now that his rendition of Rahne has changed since the Madrox miniseries. Apparently, she's gotten a haircut since then, and her facial features are slightly different (more Irish, maybe?). It's a good thing her look has changed though, because otherwise we might confuse her with Siryn. It looks like Raimondi is working hard to get the right look for each character, even building on what Sook and Calero have done with them.
The only thing that worries me about Raimondi's art is that it looks like he puts a lot of time into it. I'm hoping that we don't see delays similar to Sook's, but it looks entirely possible. I have a sneaking suspicion that in a couple of months, we'll see delays, fill-in artists, or a drop in quality. But all I can do for now is enjoy it as long as he can keep it up. (Hope you don't have a personal life, Pablo.)
Jamie's the star of this book in the same way that the captain is the star of a Star Trek show. The other characters need screen time, but he holds it all together. After another session with Doc Samson, Jamie sets off to find his SHIELD agent duplicate and runs into a familiar face. I'm glad we finally find out why SHIELD hasn't shut X-Factor down. Now, we're left with a springboard into next issue, which will probably be more action-oriented. That's not a bad thing, especially since this title balances action with character development so well. Overall, this was a very enjoyable issue, though maybe not as thought-provoking as the previous one. Plus, there was a bit of a feeling of taking care of loose ends before moving on to the real story. This issue works better as one link in a larger story, but that larger story is pretty damn good.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/xfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/xfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/xfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/xfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/xnone.jpg
‘Buy this issue online now from X-WORLD and save!’ (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=2061&cat=X%2DFACTOR+%28CURRENT+SERIES%29)
Story Title: Multiple Issues, Part 1
"To X-Factor: putting the 'fun' in 'dysfunctional.' "
Writer: Peter David
Art: Pablo Raimondi
Color Art: Brian Reber
Letterer: VC's Cory Petit
Cover Art: Pablo Raimondi
Assistant Editor: Sean Ryan
Editor: Andy Schmidt
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley
Published by: Marvel Comics (http://www.marvel.com)
Adolescence is an exciting, confusing time for most people. It's a time when you start to see your potential and the different paths your life can take. It's also pretty much the only time you can indulge in all of those directions at once. It's possible to sign up for any number of after-school activities in high school, depending on how long you want to stay after school. But eventually, most people decide on one direction to take their lives in, which is a big part of figuring out who they are. Jamie Madrox has such a hard time figuring out who he is because he doesn't have to choose. It's no wonder he's acted like a perpetual teenager for so much of his fictional life. And it explains why his newfound maturity is so difficult to deal with. He's taken a stand against registration and attempted to put Singularity out of business, and those are both decisions he can't take back. He can't look down those other paths to see what might have happened, and that's forced him to grow up a little bit.
This brings us to this new storyline, in which Jamie tries to make more solid choices. He has to deal with Theresa and Monet without falling back on the old "Oops, that was my dupe" excuse. You have to give the guy credit for taking responsibility with both of them. On top of that, he's now trying to deal with the all dupes he's sent out recently. I'm glad the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jamie is finally being dealt with (I was scratching my head when he abruptly appeared and disappeared back in #8.) Well, maybe "dealt with" isn't quite accurate, but at least it's being acknowledged instead of fading into the background.
It helps the book that Peter David has taken up the challenge of giving Jamie a gumshoe detective narration without making it seem boring or cliche. It's a peek into Jamie's psyche, and it makes sense that he sees himself as a down-on-his-luck detective and narrates accordingly. Notice that the only time the book really has that tone is when you're seeing it from his perspective. What makes it funny is that the other characters seem aware of it. Rictor even makes a comment about Jamie going "Noir."
Humor is still a huge part of this book, and it's woven into the story all over the place, always to good effect. I usually don't read the recap page, but this time I did, and it was really entertaining. What, you don't read it either? Well, go read it right now. You can see the rest of the review when you get back.
It's great to see a real emotional outburst from Layla in this issue. If we believe her that she's going to someday marry Jamie (though you really can't take it at face value), it makes sense that the love triangle would get under her skin. But wait a minute, if she really can see the consequences of her actions, doesn't that mean even her outburst was calculated? My brain hurts.
Jamie's conversation with Rictor really makes you see how much comics have changed in the last 10 or 15 years. I don't think an X-Men book could've ever gotten away with the sex talk back in the day. It's honest too; people do talk about sex like that. I don't know how many straight guy-dominated conversations I've seen that devolved quickly into "You wanna know why you're gay?" If any ladies were put off by this, believe me, it's how guys talk when you're not around.
I loved Guido and Rahne's part in this issue. Their visit with Mrs Buchanan is another example of how this book follows through with consequences of previous events. WIDOW's reaction is unexpected, yet entirely believable as she explains it. Plus, we get a beautiful splash page from Raimondi which isn't based on a dramatic pose or a hero punching out a villain, but on heartfelt emotion. It's powerful and delivers a message without feeling forced.
Overall, there's a lot of character interaction in this issue. In a team book, everyone should have a relationship with everyone else, and that's been a priority here. When Jamie slept with Monet and Siryn in the same night, I thought it was a silly distraction from a serious story. Boy, was I wrong. It's served to galvanize relationships, which is a fantastic thing. At this point in the series, it seems like everyone's formed opinions about each other, and we're now heading towards making the team into a family.
Pablo Raimondi's art continues to impress me. His strong contrast hasn't been getting in the way of characters' expressions, which is very important. His work also handles the balance between humor and drama competently. I am noticing now that his rendition of Rahne has changed since the Madrox miniseries. Apparently, she's gotten a haircut since then, and her facial features are slightly different (more Irish, maybe?). It's a good thing her look has changed though, because otherwise we might confuse her with Siryn. It looks like Raimondi is working hard to get the right look for each character, even building on what Sook and Calero have done with them.
The only thing that worries me about Raimondi's art is that it looks like he puts a lot of time into it. I'm hoping that we don't see delays similar to Sook's, but it looks entirely possible. I have a sneaking suspicion that in a couple of months, we'll see delays, fill-in artists, or a drop in quality. But all I can do for now is enjoy it as long as he can keep it up. (Hope you don't have a personal life, Pablo.)
Jamie's the star of this book in the same way that the captain is the star of a Star Trek show. The other characters need screen time, but he holds it all together. After another session with Doc Samson, Jamie sets off to find his SHIELD agent duplicate and runs into a familiar face. I'm glad we finally find out why SHIELD hasn't shut X-Factor down. Now, we're left with a springboard into next issue, which will probably be more action-oriented. That's not a bad thing, especially since this title balances action with character development so well. Overall, this was a very enjoyable issue, though maybe not as thought-provoking as the previous one. Plus, there was a bit of a feeling of taking care of loose ends before moving on to the real story. This issue works better as one link in a larger story, but that larger story is pretty damn good.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/xfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/xfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/xfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/xfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/xnone.jpg
‘Buy this issue online now from X-WORLD and save!’ (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=2061&cat=X%2DFACTOR+%28CURRENT+SERIES%29)