Written By Peter David
Illustrated By Valentine De LandroX-Factor Investigations has been taking on stranger and stranger cases recently…but when an eerie sighting leads the group to the hometown of their leader, Jamie Madrox the Multiple Man, they may have stumbled on a bigger mystery than they intended. With this new-reader friendly issue, there’s never been a better time to check out the series IGN.com says “puts most Triple-A titles to shame”!
Do you GET THE POINT? You’ve been POINT ONE-D!
Do any of these work? No? Oh well.
Marvel’s .1 Initiative has struck again, giving you an entry point into their most consistent title that carries an X. While others had the notoriety of having “Men” follow that “X”, Madrox and co. maintained a respectful distance and forged along on their own. Now it’s their time for casual fans to jump on and see what the fuss is about with this standalone title.
Check out to see if it was worth the $2.99 after the cut!
What I love about this title, like I mentioned before, is it’s consistency in the storytelling. Sometimes the art has left a little to be desired, but even the art has stepped up and been way more consistent. Now it has become a top-tier book, and is one I look forward to every week – and they both kept up that consistency with this issue, and I couldn’t be happier about.
There’s not THAT much you can say about Peter David these days other than “yeah, he’s awesome, he knows these characters, blah blah blah.” But the difference with this book, when compared to the other issues during his run, is that where those are all told almost exclusively from Jamie’s perspective, this one also has the perspective of some very human clients who don’t have any idea of what the world is like. And David uses this to his advantage, as the “guest stars” almost fill the same role as a guest star on Multiversity-favorite show Doctor Who. They’re the new viewer’s eyes, constantly thinking “what the hell is going ON?” when Jamie, Guido, Rictor, or M (or The Doctor himself) takes on the big bad and saves the day. David makes sure to re-introduce every character on the X-Factor Payroll, from M to Layla to Shatterstar (who has a “kinda cool name”) and their powers and roles are clearly defined to eliminate any confusion that might happen at any other point in the story.
The story also shares a bit in common with Doctor Who or even Buffy the Vampire Slayer in that it has a monster of the week, which is something that is relatively unique to the book. It gives a sense of finality and compressed storytelling that people miss in the days of writing for trade. But just when you think David is done, he (being the master storyteller he is) throws a curveball worthy of Cliff Lee or Tim Lincecum, leaving the reader on a hook. There’s a thread coming out of this title, and one that might even lead through Schism and beyond.
The art, performed by the young Toronto-based artist Valentine De Landro, is among the best and most eye-popping art the book has ever had. He draws some of the best faces and action scenes that have ever graced a David X-Factor book, and even drops an homage to the ever popular X-Men tag team move: The Fastball Special. But there’s even a fair amount of comedy in the art itself, which is something that is not only unexpected, but welcomed. Sometimes a fight can be a little boring if it’s not handled in a certain way, like the aforementioned Fastball Special, which works, but not in the way you expect. It gives a better idea of how the team works, which has more quirks than your standard team of merry mutants, which, considering the fact that New Mutants still exists, is really saying something.
The fact this book came out means you should read it. If you’re for whatever reason not pulling the series, get on it now. It’s a great addition to anyone’s collection. Just check it out.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – Buy
