It’s the fight you’ve been waiting for! Winner takes all! Who will be the Banshee after this issue? Not an “AvX” tie-in!
Written by Peter David
Illustrated by Paul Davidsen
- Banshee versus…an actual banshee?!
- Strong Guy asks M out on a date. (Yikes!)
Do you ever have that sense of dread that a book you actually like may be a bad book? You have no reason other than that Fanboy dread in your gut that a book will not live up to the hype you set for it. This issue was, for whatever reason one of those even though I put it on my CSBC on Tuesday.
Thank the Lord almighty I was wrong. I don’t know why I ever doubted Peter David’s excellent “X-Factor.”
Peter David really feels like he’s in it for the long con. For a long time it felt like he was just content telling great stories that doesn’t necessarily have a lot of continuity between them aside from the characters involved. But slowly, and somewhat under the radar, the characters have had run-ins with various gods over the years, and some seem to even been positioned to take the place of these gods. Darwin’s adaptation to becoming a god of death due to his entanglements with Hela, Rahne’s child with the Asgardian Hrimhari, and now Banshee’s fight in this issue with The Morrigan, a “real” banshee hints that Theresa may just indeed become a new god herself tells me that the something David is teasing in the beginning of the issue (something BIG is being announced in Issue #241) will be an event with these new gods converging. I’m calling it now, and if it doesn’t happen in #241, it seems like it’s too much of a coincidence to have at least three characters that are new gods or have given birth to new Asgardians.
Of course, the teasers for Issue #241 hints that Guido’s professed love for Monet will all be for naught. That in and of itself might break those shippers hearts because of how heartfelt the scene was. Both characters share a surprising amount of chemistry and one hopes they might stick together.
David is a genius at characterizing his characters and knowing how to insert just the right amount of humor into the book without it turning into a comedy. There are quite a few times when I chuckled at the one-liners coming from Pip or even guest stars. Everyone in the book feels so genuine with the depth that you would see in the best series’ on television. The fact that Peter David can make references to X-Factor sharing the name with a talent competition and play it off as a joke only makes it that much more likable in a self-effacing sort of way. There’s a particularly, I hesitate to use the term “adorable” when describing a scene where Theresa tricks a child into summoning a demon banshee to their house, but it was just that. David even knows how to write children as children, which is something that is preciously rare in media these days. There are many precocious children in entertainment and it gets tiresome after a while; it’s nice to see a kid act like a kid.
Paul Davidsen’s art works really well with the issue, but if there’s one fault I can find with the series it’s that there’s no artistic stability in the series. It’s a crap shoot on if the series will be as gorgeous as this one or, let’s just say, disappointing. But since Marvel has moved on to Writer-Centric runs with a myriad of artists, so I guess that’s to be expected. For what it’s worth, his art’s tone works with the tone of the issue itself, never once feeling out of step with the issue itself. Some of his facial reactions are a tiny bit over-exaggerated, but the action scenes look particularly dynamic and never bog down what David is trying to tell.
If you’re a fan of “X-Factor,” you won’t be disappointed. It’s not exactly the best jumping on point for new fans, but it’s not prohibitive either. However, I think the next issue, issue #240, is a standalone featuring everyone’s favorite know-it-all Layla Miller, would be a better jumping on point than this one, a Part 2 of 2.
Final Verdict: 8.5/10 – Buy
