All-New X-Factor #3 – Review

By: Peter David (writer), Carmine Di Giandomenico (artist), Lee Loughridge (colorist)

The Story: Gambit discovers that leading the Thieves’ Guild is as easy as herding cats as we discover that he’s actually pretty good at herding cats.

The Review: The first two issues of All-New X-Factor were somewhat surprising. I’ve always found Peter David to be a very talented writer with a knack for defining his characters and people swear by his second run on X-Factor. All the same, there was a distinct lack of identity in the opening story of this series.

This issue begins to address that concern and wastes absolutely no time doing it. From the first panel, David’s character-driven, old-Hollywood sensibility comes through clearly. In addition to a greater sense of David’s voice, this issue deals with many of the most interesting topics from the first two issues. Big subjects like Serval’s morality and Dr.Hoffman’s obsession with mutant powers get some time to grow, while David set the stage for the introduction of at least one of X-Factor’s missing crewmembers. Along the way, he also makes good on his NYCC promise that Gambit’s leadership of the Thieves’ Guild would come into play, which sets up our newest arc.

As you may have guessed, this issue is the best paced of the short run. The issue is packed with plot progression, but there’s plenty of room to play around. Quicksilver’s personality is still being defined as ‘hated by one and all with good reason’, but he’s much more human than he was last time. We also get some insight into Polaris that certainly frees her from the ‘generic team leader’ role that she seemed in danger of falling into. Though she has a ways to go, the weak link continues to be Gambit.

All-New X-Factor #1 – Review

By: Peter David (writer), Carmine Di Giandomenico (artist), Lee Loughridge (colorist)

The Story: Gambit finds himse- THIS YEAR GET HER WHAT SHE’S ALWAYS WANTED- you can skip this advertisement in 5…

The Review: The original Peter David X-Factor was a team of mutants assembled by the United States government with mixed results. The next time David assembled the team they were a struggling private investigation firm based in Mutant Town. Now the transformation is complete as X-Factor becomes a corporate entity, bought out by the mysterious Serval Industries.

As he did in the Madrox miniseries that launched X-Factor Investigations, Peter David has chosen to start slow and introduce us to three key members of his new team. Gambit is our protagonist this issue and David proves capable of writing a heroic, yet flawed version of the character. Gambit’s wit and sex appeal are intact and, though he’s a tad more generic than in his recently canceled ongoing, I think fans will be happy with David’s first foray into writing out favorite Cajun superhero.

Fans of David’s Quicksilver may not be as pleased. While Pietro is himself, he’s a fairly unspectacular addition to this particular issue. Polaris is largely relegated to being a plot engine, however David does set the stage for some interesting developments and I expect that future issues will be better for both of Mr. Lensherr’s children.