Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities MadroX and X-Factor Investigations

This guy's from the future, remember? (he's working off memories and historical records from his own time).

Given PAD, he's probably a far-future version of the very guy he was talking to.

We have no way of knowing right now whether this guy is telling the truth about being from the future, or whether he's fooling the villain because he has an agenda of his own. As I said, time will tell.

#3.

"I'm Layla Miller. I know stuff."

Ouch.

I'm glad we're getting right into Layla Miller and what she's about. Good to see she's still intimately tied into Decimation and the larger story.

Like I said before, the tone and elements reminds me a lot of Buffy (or maybe Angel since it's more urban and darker). It looks like we'll be getting smaller cases revolving around a larger arc involving Singularity.

And PAD continues to explore the character implications of Madrox's abilities - moreso for what they mean to him as a person than just use of his powers.

While this puts a damper on being sold out, my unqualified notion is that if Marvel supports the book with reprints, then it might counter the effect David is talking about. And I think it's still good press -- among fans I think just hearing something sold out might pique someone's curiosity, especially if they're already familiar with the characters or were on the fence about checking it out.

But if they have to wait a month for a possible reprint, will they? Besides, the Law of Diminishing Returns on "sold out" notices kicked in at least a year ago, and they tend to generate more cynicism than interest these days.

And I didn't see any B&W X-Factor #2 covers today anyway...

Just based on my own reactions, I'll usually take notice if I hear something has sold out but whether or not I try a new book will be based on general buzz and my feelings or initial interest in a property. My general feeling is that if there's enough buzz to get someone to think "maybe I'll check it out" it's not a matter of them waiting for the book, but a matter of getting them to pick it up and flipping through it the next time they happen to see it on the shelves.

But I never took marketing or anything, so ...

Okay, so #3 is out. And, while I really liked some parts of it (no more pseudo-gay Rictor, yay!)... I do have a few nitpicks.

Firstly, I remember Jamie and Terry having a thing back in the day. Only, it was actually one of his dupes and, after he was reabsorbed, Jamie!prime didn't have the same emotional connection or something. Terry confronted, there was anger... so can someone please explain how that scene in the beginning is supposed to work in continuity?

Also, is it just me or is Rahne completely... weird? I get that she's more agressive when wolfed out but... that whole scene was so... over the top. Like, too far, y'know? And I don't get what her deal with Rictor is. Especially since they had their own thing way back when.

I'd just like to point out that, ironically enough, both of those relationships were addressed in X-Cutioner's Song. Madrox and Rahne were arresting X-Force, which had Terry and Julio as members at the time. I just remember there being one page kind of showcasing that or something. Tangent, yeah.

Other than that, though, this series is really intense (in a good way). I've been really enjoying it so far. And I'm interested in seeing where it's going...

I was wondering about that myself, and finally got a response, such as it was, out of PAD at Newsarama - http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?action=showpost&postid=1607545

Actually, it's really nice to see a writer be so honest about something like that. As someone who is completely new to the characters with this series (seriously, never read anything with any of them in before #1) he's right, I would have probably have found it a bit distracting. Of course the flip side to that is, could he not have ahd a similar conversation that didn't 'avoid' certain aspects of continuity and still got the point across?

Still, of a week of good comics PAD managed to have the top two for me with X-Factor #3 and Fallen Angel #2. Of course having fantastic artists on both didn't hurt either...

Well, this sucks...

Newsarama's reporting that Sook is voluntarily giving up the art chores for the book. DAMmit.

Well, he's done one whole issue and two half-issues and we're only on issue 3. And if issue 4 has "Maximum Sookage," I'll be very, very surprised.

Regarding the PAD article about Siryn and Madrox, I really don't see where it would've been confusing to mention that they once had a thing. Even if there was (god forbid) an editorial caption that said "it happened waaaay back in so -and-so". I don't think it would've been a big deal for new readers. I guess if he has no plans to build on it then there's no reason to mention it, but I'm a little surprised he would put her on the team and not want to include that dynamic.

And I'm really disappointed that Sook is leaving. I hope he doesn't prove to be as integral to my reading enjoyment of this title as Cheung is to "Young Avengers"

Over at newsarama, somebody said that in this issue, Layla went from cute to Very Creepy
Although personally, I think she went from Very Creepy to Really Very Creepy.

X-FACTOR #3

I like this book a lot, though I'm not sure I want a long-term 'who or what is she' mystery centered around Layla Miller. Everything else, I'm loving. Rictor and M? Hee-hee. Guess that does put the Shatterstar speculation to rest. Or does it? Why couldn't he be bi?

Jamie Madrox continues to shine. I love what PAD had done with a character who, after all, began as a one-shot adversary for the Fantastic Four in an annual.

It sucks that the book's gonna be sans Sook (still submitting slick covers though)...

Jamie rocks but I kinda miss his old costumes (both the green and yellow with connect the dot pattern and the last X-Factor version).

God, I love this book. The tone shifts so smoothly from comedy to tragedy, as all of PAD's best books have done over the years. The riots in Mutant Town, and Rahne's bloodthirst, were deeply disturbing. I must admit that if I had been there, my knee-jerk reaction would have been the same as hers ("Let 'em rot!") I just hope Guido doesn't go into too dark of a place; I don't want to see him turn too far away from being the jokester.

A good case of PAD's talent for characterization: Monet is the only team-member who I was completely unfamiliar with (being mostly ignorant on X-Continuity from 1994 to 2004; uncannyxmen.net helps a lot, but it's not the same) and yet she has already become my favorite character. She even shares my abominable taste in musical guilty pleasures...Right Said Fred, omg.

Re: Terry and Jamie and PAD's choice to ignore their history...I, personally, have come to dislike continuity and the way it compromises stories. I agree with PAD's choice -- he seems to be searching for a middle ground, and this is the best he can do for now.

And yes, it is a strange bit of synchronicity that this should come up just as we've been talking a lot about The X-Cutioner's Song.

[Cue Twilight Zone theme]

I'm with Stealth on this one. It's a great mix of humour and drama. The riots really brought out the darkness of modern Marvel. And Layla has me wondering about her now. What will M do when she finds out she isn't hte only know-it-all?

I didn't mind PAD's sidestep of continuity. It happened before I came to the X-world ('round Executioner's Song coinidentally enough.) It didn't contradict any info I had, just made me rethink some of it.

I hate multiple artists on a book. Unless it's used for different plotlines, it really jars my reading. I'll miss Sook, but if he needs fill ins, I'd rather have a different penciller.

I think M's gonna be fighting mad and nobody better get in her way. But she'll do it without losing her sense of humor or her sense of dignity. I just realized, M reminds me a lot of Sersi during the Harras/Epting Avengers Era. No wonder I like her so much.

I agree with CJ about multiple artists -- I'm enjoying myself, but then I turn the page, and...* gah *, what is that??

Hopefully the new artist will be okay. I remember on PAD's Hulk when Dale Keown flaked out and left the book...right in the middle of a major story arc, too (Ghosts of the Past.) Jan Duursema (who was doing tons of fill-ins for Marvel at the time...IIRC, her daughter was born at this time, and she needed the extra freelance money) and Chris Bachalo both stepped in to do work that was far below either of their standards. Then Gary Frank became the new artist, and...uh...well, he went from being mediocre to somewhat less mediocre. Saddest part was that Paul Pelletier did much better work than Frank on a bunch of back-up stories, and Pelletier also did a full issue (# 412, guest-starring She-Hulk) which had the best Hulk art since Keown left. I don't know the behind-the-scenes politics, but I assume that Pelletier was being groomed as Frank's successor, and then something must have fallen through, because Frank ended up being replaced by Liam Sharp, one of those artists who's good today but was abominable back in the mid-90s (see also: Mike Deodato.)

Point being -- and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get to it -- that even after Keown left, we still had more than two years in a row of good-to-great PAD Hulk stories which rose above the erratic quality of the art. I think X-Factor will be a similar case...except the stories are gonna stay good for much longer than two years, because PAD's on a roll here.

So...the last I heard, X-Factor # 4 was originally scheduled for this week, but now it's been delayed until at least next week. I had already set aside some time in my crazy, unpredictable schedule to go to the comic shop this weekend. I can't get there as often as I'd like because it's far away from where I live, and it's the only half-decent comic shop in the vicinity that didn't close down after the collapse of the speculator market in the 90s. Looks like I'll be reading # 4 later than the rest of you.

In the meantime, I guess I'll have to get my PAD X-Factor fix by re-reading PAD's first X-Factor run, # 71-89.

Chris Batista fans take note: in X-Factor # 88-89, PAD wrote a wonderful Quicksilver/Crystal backup story which was drawn by a then-unknown Batista.

It's on the provisional list for next week, and it's in the first looks @ CC, so it should definitely be out next week.

Which only confirms that I'm just barely going to miss it. Bah.

"I have to go out. Jamie wants you to deal with the corpse on the floor."

"Okay-dokey."

[Later]

"A bill from a private messenger service for $1000? Why?"

"Because they'll go anywhere at any time, and they don't ask questions."

I don't like PAD's take on Siryn, I've decided (cliffhanger notevenwithstanding). Good issue otherwise tho.

PAD really has some entertaining interplay between these characters. I'm not sure I don't like his take on Siryn, I'm just waiting to see why she is so angry these days.

Something else else about Junior... almost like it's an affectation he's assumed.

Great issue, with a nice scene with Monet and Jaime. Rahne and Guido did very little, but I really just enjoy them together written by PAD.

I like PAD writing Siryn, but I'm slightly less familar wtih Siryn than (I assume) most of you are...