75 comments on “OUT THIS WEEK–X-FACTOR #3”

  1. Had me rolling on the floor with laughter the whole way through… and loved the creepy eyes and flashlight effect at the end with Layla…

  2. I picked up 2 and 3 last night. That final page of #3 was utterly chilling.

    And the scene with Monet and Rictor…pricelesss. Especially the look on his face as she turns around to give him full-frontal goodness.

    JSM

  3. PAD, I know that you have said repeatedly that Fallen Angel is your best comic work ever, but I respectfully disagree. From my viewpoint, this has to be some of your best stuff. From an economic standpoint as well as someone continually attempting to limit the number of comics I buy on a monthly basis, I pick up new titles with the expectation that I’ll give it a shot and potentially move on…. X-Factor won’t let me go. Each issue contains all of the elements that I appreciate most about your skill as a writer. I care for the characters within the first few pages of being introduced to them. I laugh out loud. I get creeped out. I experience several “ah hah!” moments. This title has me coming back for more without any of the obsessive-compulsive tendencies that I often end up picking up books for. As I read #3 last night, I was immediately aware of some of the dynamic aspects of this read that remind me of the best of the old Noir films, X-Files, Buffy, and even a hint of Abbott and Costello banter. Any one of these themes done well would keep my interest, but on the rare chance that there are more…. I’m entranced.

    I guess what I’m trying to say is…. “marry me?”. 🙂

    Very nice work indeed.

    Fred

  4. Surprised that (a) Jamie’s liason with Siryn before didn’t come up in their conversation, especially the way “Jamie-Prime” broke her heart in X-Cutioner’s Song.

    And yeah, the line “I know stuff” has never been so creepy.

  5. LOVED IT!!!! Feels like your spot on with this series, PAD. Love the mixture of drama, humor, and intrigue. And, of course, I’m so glad Rhane is back! This is definitely my fanvorite X title (up there with Astonishing and Morrison’s run on New X-men). As played out as the mutant books are, I still think they have such rich and timely themes and characters. You just gotta sift through the cliched BS every once in a while to get to the goodies. I’m confused though…Is Ryan Sook staying on the series? It was unclear to me in the letter’s page as to whether or not he’d been bumped or not by Calero. I hope he stays on as the regular penciler. It’s always frustrating when a killer concept and a smart ášš new york jewish writer don’t get matched up with an A list artist.

  6. Oh, and stuff like the “evening gown and stilettos” line makes me remember why I expected Kim to be a cocker spaniel back in the MadroX mini 🙂

  8. At the risk of starting to become a pest I will leave another request for information on your upcoming Wonder Man series. This was announced some months ago. Amazon even had a title for the trade but besides mentioning it in your blorg a couple of months ago nobody has given more information. As some might know I’ve had a Wonder Man fansite for more than 6 years and you have been one of my dream writers for a Wonder Man series. I’ve been particularly impressed with the way you and Olivetti presented the character in “The Last Avengers Story” and curious with your use of the character (a significant cameo) in Hulk 380 which was a “death sentence” story and a non-Hulk story – but one of my favorite comic books serious reads ever. A couple of threads in Avengers Message boards seem to point at fans wanting a serious tone instead of a humorous one but I know you can do both very well plus the character is also suited to both depending on the cast. I’m sorry to be so insistent but the expectation is killing me.

  9. Jamie is hard to sympathise with because of his… diffuse nature. Siryn’s “new power” is unconscionable. M is completely unlikeable.

    Having said all that, the book is pretty enjoyable.

  11. Hëll flippin’ yeah! I can’t imagine this comic being better. Characterizations, plot, humor… hëll, even the “previously in X-Factor” page was awesome. Anyone not reading this series will be playing catch up once word-of-mouth finally convinces him to give it a try.

    YOU ROCK!

  12. This comic is on the top of the read pile. The writing and the art is perfect for each other. I do hope the secrets of Layla are NOT revealed to soon. The mystery of her works so well!
    I’m just surprised Wolverine isn’t part of the series and isn’t on every cover! hahaha JUST KIDDING!

  13. Loved it. The characterizations remain consistent and, even better, seem to grow deeper, with each issue. The mix of humor and suspense is great. Love the art – works so well in conveying the attitudes of the characters and the atmosphere they’re in. And Sook knows how to draw great action, while on other pages he’s great at, um, tastefully maximizing the exposure of his subjects in more, er, intimate settings. As with the Madrox series, month after month this is one of the books I find myself waiting on to come out so I can see what’s next.

  14. I’m greatly enjoying the book, but the only X-Book I’ve read since the early 90s was the Maddrox mini that led up to this series so…

    PAD has done a really good job of filling me in on the main playersl, but I feel like I know more about Layla Miller than I do about Monet, which I’d guess is not the intended effect. I’ve got some idea about her abrassive personality, but can anyone enlighten me as to her powers and origins. To steal an old joke of PAD’s “Show me the Monet!”

    Hey, it worked for Rictor!

  15. I laughed out loud over the Irish Spring and Lucky Charms dialog. Good work, and the Layla stuff is interesting. I assume that’s coordinated with the powers that be regarding how the decimation event will unfold in the coming year(s)?

  16. Books like these keep me hoping that the point where a similar themed, styled, paced, enjoyable TV show can have a budget to do this on a weekly basis, isn’t that far away.

    I mean, seriously, X-Factor: The Series. Why not? (Not the talent show)

    (Naturally: 8:00pm Fridays FOX)

  18. Peter, the series has continued to grow on me and issue #3 is the most enjoyable so far. I appreciate the big recap at the beginning, particularly since I’m not overly familiar with all over the characters. Having given up the countless X-books some years ago, I’m familiar with most of the players but not necessarily all the intervening continuity, so for example, I don’t know if Siryn’s ability to control people with her voice (a great idea!) is a creation of Peter’s or something that another writer had come up with. So while I’m still playing catch-up to a certain extent, I’m perfectly happy to pick it up as we go along.

    Although I’m sold on the story and dialogue, I still don’t know how I feel about the art, which still feels a bit uneven to me. While some panels are wonderfully expressionistic, there are others that are a bit muddy, and a couple of characters are difficult to tell apart, at least in my opinion. A very well-known comic artist once told me that the art is successful if you can look at the book without reading the words and still understand the gist of it on the basis of the art alone (bear in mind this is a penciller’s take not a writer’s). In this case, without Peter’s story and dialogue, I’m not all that sure I could follow X-Factor #3 on the basis of the art alone.

    But one of the best closing lines I’ve read in a long time!

  19. Wow. GREAT comic, imo. Best comic this week! Best issue of X-Factor yet too!

    I really like Madrox narration, the Monet/Rictor scene (lol), the Monet/Layla scene, the stuff with Mutant town, the mysterious new bad guys, Layla in general (what a creepy and cool character), and of course Madrox! Layla and Madrox are definitly my two favorite characters of the series. Though Siryn definitly had some good stuff in this issue too. Like that dream! LOL!

    What a cool series. Definitly my favorite Peter David book right now!

    DF2506
    ” I gotta read #1-3 again soon! “

  20. Anyone else notice that PAD doing an X-Factor series seems to preceed Claremont getting kicked off of Uncanny X-Men?

    You’re doing a good job with the plot device that walks like a goth, but can’t say I’m thrilled with her announcement that she’s there so that X-Factor won’t learn the truth of M-day. Kind of makes that whole plot line pointless. (Though since the likelyhood of a lower teir book like X-Factor being allowed to finish a BENDIS plot is low, it pretty much has been that way, anyhow).

    Why was M listening to Right Said Fred? Seems awfully so last decade, for her to have it on her ipod.

    Still, X-Factor is one of the few bright spots in the Marvel line-up these days. I just wish it wasn’t stuck in the shadow of Bendis and co,s junk.

  21. On the other side…re: Syrins’ new power stunt of controlling humans…why just humans and not mutants? That seems awfuly arbitrary.

    But I’m curious how it’ll play on her on/off again friend/stalker Deadpool (non mutant as he is). As I imagine Cable/Deadpool is being sacrificed for the new X-writers, he;ll need to show up someplace (or just join the TBolts).

  22. I’m enjoying this series more and more (and I liked the first issue a whole lot.) This makes two X-series I’m collecting (this and Astonishing) — which is surprising since when Morrison left New X-Men I figured that was it for me & the mutant books.

    Never say never, eh?

    This issue had a number of good moments, most of which have been mentioned, but the highlight, for me, was how you took a one-note “joke” character (“I know stuff”) and completely turned her on her ear by the end of this issue.

    As someone else said, creepy…

  23. Loved it, but then I have really enjoyed the first two issues.

    I am curious as to whether the people that criticized the Layla Miller character after the first two issues have a different opinion now.

  24. >Why was M listening to Right Said Fred? Seems awfully so last decade, for her to have it on her ipod.

    M is the single most narcisistic individual in the Marvel Universe. Think Namor and Quicksilver on their worst day. The song fits perfectly for her and it doesn’t surprise me that she’d not only know of it, but probably had it memorized by age 4.

    Fred

  25. Great issue. I am really enjoying this series. I hope it sticks around. You chose a really interesting cast, and gave them great interrelations. That in itself would keep me interested, but there’s a fascinating plot to go along with it. Out of all the comics labeled “House of M” or “Decimation” spin-offs, this is by far my favourite.

    Also, during House of M, Layla Miller was… well, I didn’t find her interesting at all. She felt like a plot device and not a character. Here, she’s the most interesting part of the book. I can’t wait to know more about her (including the promised code-name). You really turned her around for me.

    Oh and… maybe I’m foolish, but… I actually was uncertain where the art switched from one artist to another. So, I didn’t mind it.

  26. “Your comment submission failed for the following reasons:

    The validation failed. “

    That’s a little vague, isn’t it?

    What do I do now?

  27. Loved it, loved it, loved it! It’s very rare for me to start laughing as early as the recap page (Cable&Deadpool sometimes comes close, but usually they just try too hard for it to seem laugh-out-loud funny!), but the “he kind of looks like Merlin. But he’s not. Trust us.” line definitely got the book off to a great start. Okay, it technically got off to a great start with the Jamie/Siryn wake-up bit, but my point about the recap page still holds.

    Too many excellent scenes (like Rahne and Guido comparing entrance lines, the Rictor and Monet scene, the Jamie and Siryn “Faith and Begorrrra” lines, etc.) for me to really single out just one as the overall best, but I would like to point out the impressive transformation of Layla Miller, even in just this issue, from Cheerful Helper of an annoyed Monet early on, to a Delightfully Creepy (Sinister?) character at the end! Especially liked the flashlight! I wonder if any of the posters from the last “X-Factor #x: whadja think?” thread who didn’t like her then, still don’t like her?

    PAD, in a slight deviation from the topic (although it does come back to the topic at hand fairly quickly), I was rereading your New Frontier book “After the Fall” recently in preparation for the release of the next book in the series soon, and caught two of the characters doing the “grammatical confusion of the term ‘decimation'” gag that you used in X-Factor # 2.

    My curiousity was peaked, did you know back then that this “Decimation” event was coming up in the Marvel world? If not, have you ever had the same basic idea serendipitously dovetail into two separate works of yours in the past?

    As for the letters page, since you’ve reactivated the No-Prize, I’ll throw an explanation your way. It is a secondary mutation kickstarted in the aftermath of M-Day that allows Monet to subconsciously adopt the visage of anyone she is in close contact with (say, a teammate) for extremely brief periods of time (say, one panel).

    Thanks for a great read, PAD.

    Bill

  28. Regarding M listening to Right Said Fred on her ipod: I’m new to the whole ipod thing,but for me the whole point is that I have ALL my songs on the sucker, even the oldest, guiltiest pleasure. It was very believable to me that M would have that song on there; she could have been listening to Kanye West right before. 🙂

    Great issue. Layla Miller will mess you UP.

  29. I loved it… but I am a little confused about the whole subplot of investigating the Decimation and its cause.

    Granted that the utter stupidity of “House of M” has resulted in a situation where it’s not clear who remembers what, who did what, who’s been depowered and who’s been brought back to life/killed behind the scenes… but we have seen several characters (including the X-Men) retain full memory of what happened. A whole bunch of people know what Wanda did. So why is it such a big mystery?

    Making it stick, that’s something else (and I liked the bit of meta with Layla: her presence does perpetuate the “House of M” storyline, and the longer its effects are manifest in the canon, the longer it will take to be forgotten/retconned). But I’m not too clear on why the Decimation itself is such a major plot point, at least going by what Layla says.

  30. I weas kind of confused by the they must never learn the truth of M day. In son of M Spiderman clearly remembers what happened, and some of the X-men do too I guess. Are they not sharing info with the others?

  31. Jason, I believe that she was referring to a manipulation or end game plan that we are unaware of at this point.

    Fred

  32. So… does anybody know where, exactly, the events of X-Men: Deadly Genesis take place, and when the rest of the X-Men Universe is going to take it into account?

    Unfortunately, that mini doesn’t look like it’s going to shock anybody with what’s going on. Well, some particular things, might, but the concept as a whole? No.

  33. What’s to take into account? The whole story is structured on a secret in the X-Men’s past. Aside from the introduction of a new villain, not much else is going on in the “present” of the story that needs acknowledgment elsewhere.

  35. Aside from the introduction of a new villain, not much else is going on in the “present” of the story that needs acknowledgment elsewhere.

    Well, I’d have to take it that you haven’t actually read the three issues so far then.

  36. I certainly have. But please, enlighten me. Just what is happening over in “Deadly Genesis” that could possibly warrant any kind of line-wide acknowledgement?

  37. Just what is happening over in “Deadly Genesis” that could possibly warrant any kind of line-wide acknowledgement?

    You honestly don’t think the death of Banshee (and he looked pretty toasted to me) should be acknowledged in the other titles.

    Especially when Siryn is part of X-Factor?

    Nah, that doesn’t need to be acknowledged… I’m sure he’ll be alive and well in a couple years time anyways, so we can just conveniently ignore it and all that.

    This is why I have a problem with a lot of what Marvel has done – you get to wait 6-8 months for a mini to finish before you can even hope for it to be referenced elsewhere

    X-Men: Deadly Genesis meet Spider-Man: The Other, where things are supposed to be going on before House of M, yet must be ignored by the other storylines going on after House of M (see: Son of M).

  38. “I certainly have. But please, enlighten me. Just what is happening over in “Deadly Genesis” that could possibly warrant any kind of line-wide acknowledgement?”

    Syrn’s father was just killed in X-Men: Deadly Genesis. That should have some impact on Syren.

  39. That’s a rather big leap from Siryn to “the rest of the X-Men Universe”. And if I recall, Banshee and Siryn haven’t even been in the same comic, let alone the same page, in years. It deserves a minor reference, perhaps, but not much more.

  40. It deserves a minor reference, perhaps, but not much more.

    Right.

    Let me know when your father kicks the bucket, and how “minor” an event that is to you.

    Because that’s how badly you’re downplaying something that should be very important to the X-Men characters.

  42. Since Banshee only just died, I don’t think that Siryn or M would know about it until issue 5 at the earliest. But yes, nary a mention anytime in the future would not be proper.

  43. Since Banshee only just died, I don’t think that Siryn or M would know about it until issue 5 at the earliest.

    Well, that’s why I asked about when this is going on, especially in relation to X-Men & Uncanny (and New Excalibur and…)…

    I figure PAD will get around to it eventually, since X-Factor is pretty well removed from the other titles (save we know it’s post-HoM).

  44. Also, with Brubaker taking over Uncanny X-men he says that his run on Deadly Genesis will play over there. But I digress. Loved ish 3. Also just read Fallen Angel 2, loved that as well. Way to go Peter!

  45. I have to tell you that I am deeply disappointed and a little upset that, on page four, where you have the “what has happened before” update, there is no mention of the fate of the cabana boy. I miss him.

  46. Finally had the chance to pick up X-Factor #3 and read it.

    Top notch stuff as always, PAD!

  47. Issue #7 deals squarely with the death of Banshee and Siryn’s reaction to it. It’s far from simply a passing mention.

    Although, amazingly, I still did manage to find a trace of humor in the situation:

    GUIDO: Why’s everyone sittin’ around looking depressed? What happened?

    MONET: Sean Cassidy died.

    GUIDO: Aw, man. That’s a shame. I still remember him from “The Hardy Boys” with, what’s his name, Kirstie Alley’s ex.

    MONET: What?

    GUIDO: And I liked his cover of “Da doo ron ron…”

    MONET: Not Shaun Cassidy the actor, you great lummox! S-E-A-N Cassidy! Banshee!

    GUIDO: Oh…my God…I feel like a total idiot…

    MONET: Go with the feeling.

    PAD

  48. Issue #7 deals squarely with the death of Banshee and Siryn’s reaction to it. It’s far from simply a passing mention.

    Good to hear, PAD! 🙂

  49. I liked it, Peter. And I’m loving Ryan Sook’s Adam Hughes-influenced art more and more each issue. Your “Sook”-filled piece in the letters column was cute too. 🙂

  50. It’s official: X-Factor is now my favorite comic (no surprise, really, since Captain Marvel was once my favorite comic). It’s funny (there is no funnier comic book writer than Peter), it’s smart, it’s entertaining as hëll… it’s just plain wonderful.

    And I freaking LOVE Layla Miller! One of my all-time favorite TV characters is Marilyn Whirlwind from Northern Exposure, and one of the many reasons for that was because, in the first episode, she just showed up at Dr. Fleischman’s office and started working without even being hired. In this way, Layla Miller reminds me of her, and I love it.

    The only slight qualm I have with it is that Madrox is becoming almost indistinguishable from Rick Jones, in both looks and personality. In my admittedly limited experience with the character (mostly from Fallen Angels… hey, Fallen Angels, Fallen Angel, that’s the first time I’ve realized the coincidence there… um, anyway…), I’ve never known him to be quite so… well, Rick Jones-esque. I hope they never find themselves in a room together. They might forget which is which.

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