There’s no need to repeat my love for Peter David’s X-Factor
and its valiant leader, Jamie Madrox; I’ve said it all before. But the latest
issue of X-Factor, #32, once again proves to the world just why it is Jamie and
the rest of X-Factor make for one of the best comics being produced at the
moment.
That being said, this issue did provide me with one
frustration, which we’ll get to at the very end.
If you haven’t been keeping up, then thankfully there is the
“Previously” page which nicely sums up all that is going on. For my part, let’s
just say that Mutant Town has gone to hell in a handbasket and X-Factor are
either hell or the handbasket.
Issue #32 is not action packed, full of explosive drama or
life changing events; thankfully. X-Factor has never been the Iron Man or
Avengers type of book, with someone dying every other issue and an explosion on
every fourth page. It is the other side of the X-Men story, the mutants who
don’t fit in, despite actually trying too (ie, compared to living out in some
mansion with a jet underneath the tennis court).
So in true X-Factor spirit, this latest issue, penned by
Peter David and illustrated by Valentine de Landro, takes us in to the fabric
of X-Factor, the team.
There is a lovely scene to open proceedings between Madrox,
a clone, and an elderly gentleman who provides a bit of a lifeline to Madrox as
the issue unfolds. He preaches the need to stick together, something that, of
late, X-Factor haven’t been doing so well. These panels lead straight in to a meeting
between Madrox and the head of O*N*E, Val Cooper.
Essentially, as Cooper describes it, X-Factor constitutes a
“clear and present danger” and subsequently they are presented with an
ultimatum; join up with the government in some capacity, or split up and go
witness-protection-y.
They’re given the regulation 24 hours to think about it, in
which time we get to spend a bit of time with Jamie, and his hallucination,
which of course comes in the form of Layla Miller (still missing mind you!). These
are nice moments, because we get Layla back, even though in her incorporeal
form, with her fantastic sense of humor and ability to make Jamie cringe. But
it also provides a line in to Jamie’s thinking, and his mental health.
However, by the end of the second third of this issue, Jamie
has finally grown a pair and manages to subsequently pull the team back
together! There is a beautiful moment between Jamie and Syren, followed by a
great team moment.
However, as I mentioned at the beginning, there is a
frustration for me in this issue. There is a “5 months later” which, you would
think, should change the status quo; create a difference from what we’ve been
reading, to what we will be reading. However in just a few pages, the five
months later has effectively been undone by Val Cooper, who is once again back
on Jamie’s tail.
The art is nothing really to speak about. It doesn’t detract
from the story, which I guess is the least you can ask from any comic artist,
but it doesn’t spring out at you either as fantastic art. Valentine de Landro
is someone who will probably always get a gig, but I would doubt that he is
going to be anything special.
This book gets 3 out of 5, a point detracted for the art and
another point detracted for the continued refusal to go look for Layla Miller,
despite the protestations that this book is about the team! Still, worth
getting on to X-Factor, and – we’ll wait and see – but issue #33 may be a
jumping on point for anyone interested.
