X-Factor # 7

Writer: Peter David
Art: Ariel Olivetti

Plot:
Times have been rough for X-Factor. In the wake of Siryn's merciless beating, the team has been trying to flush out those responsible. Jamie Madrox recieves a letter via courier requesting him to meet with Damian Tryp, head of Singularity Investigations. His son, Damian Junior, was the one responsible for Siryn's vicious assault and Madrox suspects as much, but can't prove it.

Meanwhile, Siryn is recuperating and gets the bad news that her father, Banshee, was killed (See X-Men: Deadly Genesis). She immediately goes into denial mode, claiming her father can't be dead, because X-Team members are thought dead all the time and turn up okay.

Madrox's appointment with the Singularity heads leads to an interesting deal, Damian Tryp wants to buy X-Factor Investigations outright. But Madrox's suspicions lead to accusations, and the deal goes down the tubes as quick as it was offered.

Review:
Peter David has done an excellent job with this team lately. I much prefer his writing of second- and third-tier characters than his work on Spider-Man. The whole X-Factor team has a "dysfunctional family" feel to it and lends humanity to the characters.

The two major plot points to this story are Madrox's talk with Tryp and Siryn coping with the loss of her father. The meeting was handled well and advanced the current story arc, but it was the Siryn angle that really shined. Her denial about Banshee's death not only echoed a common sentiment among comic book fans, but it brought a comfortable, flawed humanity to the character. She figured, after all Banshee and the X-Men had been through, how could he REALLY be dead? Of course, this genuine emotion only works so long as Marvel leaves Banshee dead.

Ariel Olivetti's art is great, a very realistic style with a bit of Steve Dillon thrown in. None of the characters have that "90's comic" look that is so distracting it takes you out of the story. Even Guido, who is known for being badly proportioned as Strong Guy, looks mostly believable. Olivetti has this great grasp of fabric and clothing, and his inking, while dark, gives the art a unique style. His faces are usually less heavy, so as to concentrate on _expression and individual facial features.

X-Factor is one of those books that exist on the fringes of the main Marvel universe. And that's what helps it the most. It is able to use all of the positive things about Marvel to help it without being bogged down too much with the negatives. For someone wanting to get into X-Force, this isn't that great of an issue to start with. As always, get caught up with trades. But for a monthly reader, this is a good issue and a solid read. If you're pulling X-Factor at your local comic shop, keep it up. Let's just hope Marvel lets these guys run with the ball.

Be sure to visit Andrew at Eclipse Comics & Cards!

Comic Review Index