X-Factor #1 - A good Mutant Book? Que?

Picked up X-Factor #1 this week. It's Peter David's new ongoing that follows up the situations established in his Madrox miniseries. Ryan Sook, fresh off a stint on Grant Morrison's Zatanna, handles the artwork, and it is very, very pretty.

Now, I should say right off the bat that I am not a Marvel Mutant fan in general. Outside of Morrison's New X-Men and the legendary X-Force/Statix, there are very few X-books that I have enjoyed. I've never even read the Phoenix Saga or Days of Future Past. Clearly I am completely unqualified to be reviewing a mutant book. But why would I let that stop me?

X-Factor #1 is great. Apparently Peter David has a bit of a reputation for being "cutesy" at time, and for relying excessively on puns in his lighter work. That may be true, I have no idea. I've read his Madrox miniseries and Fallen Angel, and both weren't excessively silly, to say the least. X-Factor does have a healthy amoount of humour, but it manages for the most part to keep from veering into parody. Jamie Madrox is a great lead character, especially now that he's been removed from one of Marvel's worst costumes.

David has surrounded Madrox with a grab-bag assortment of supporting characters, some taken from his earlier X-Factor run (which no, I haven't read) and some taken from more disparate corners of the Marvel Mutuant Universe. It seems like a good mix, but this issue didn't really have much of a chance to show too much interaction. With David in the writers chair, I have no doubt that the relationships will be revealed in full in forthcoming issues.

I thought House of M was utter pap, but I do think it was a good idea to clip the number of active mutants down to a reasonable amount. David is evidently going to explore some of the issues raised by the depowering of a significant portion of the mutant population, and I think I'll enjoy his examination of the new status quo much more than I enjoyed the initial House of M "mega-event".

One thing I didn't like about X-Factor #!? The inclusion of know-it-all super-mutant Layla Miller is a bad, bad idea. She was lame in House of M, and I don't see why a small child would seem like a logical addition to a hard-boiled detective pastiche.

Seriously, get rid of her. Please.

Ryan Sook does a dynamite job, using interesting panel layouts and very expressive (almost Kevin Maguire level) facial renditions. He's a keeper, that's for sure. Marvel did a great steal when they took him from DC. I usually am unhappy when an artist I like goes over to the House of Ideas (*cough*Pascal Ferry*cough), but if Sook is going to stick on this book long-term, I have no complaints.

hey, wow, I'm actually adding an X-book to my monthly take! Who says people don't grow and change!