So on the one hand fans decry my getting involved with tie-ins. On the other hand, I’m reading fans on other sites saying, “Hey, I just bought X-Factor because of the Civil War tie-in, and whoa, I’m on board for this series from now on.” Go figure.
Whad’ja think?
PAD
• 
I may as well just make bullet points!
1) I like Dennis Calero’s artwork – I think his facial expressions, especially reactions, are fantastic, and he has the sketchy noir look down. I think most complaints are from people who want a more typical “comic book” look. I don’t. I really didn’t like the artwork for #7… it was too cartoony and cutesy in panels. Whoever is the new artist, please retain the noir feel!
2) Layla is fantastic, awesome, etc! I’m sure you’ve heard enough praise. I love the treatment and respect given to the other characters… Rictor’s smackdown to Monet was pricless. Cast is just the right size as it is, with enough “screentime” for them all.
3) The Civil War crossover was handled very well. You always manage to make the characters sound intelligent too… Siryn’s registration point to Spiderman was well made, and in contrast Rictor and M’s indifference was also realistic.
4) Just a thought: if Cyclops has been keeping things ‘to himself’ for the greater good, doesn’t that make him no betrter than Professor X’s actions in Deadly Genesis…?
Also, want to add that I am horrified that Marvel has no system of informing writers what goes in other books. Always have suspected as much, but still. Would an A4 bit of paper, circulated with all the important developments that month, really be that hard?
“1) I like Dennis Calero’s artwork – I think his facial expressions, especially reactions, are fantastic, and he has the sketchy noir look down. I think most complaints are from people who want a more typical “comic book” look. I don’t. I really didn’t like the artwork for #7… it was too cartoony and cutesy in panels. Whoever is the new artist, please retain the noir feel!”
Absolutely.
This book would make a fantastic TV show to fill the void for us Angel fans
Mr. David,
This was the first issue of X-Factor, with the exception of #1, that didn’t make me cringe.
I’m buying the series because you are one of my favorite comic scribes, and because I’m a huge fan of the characters.
That being said, please give the other characters more face time. I’m sick of Layla; she’s less and less engaging with each issue. She’s far less interesting than the other characters to begin with.
Thank you for writing an issue where Siryn is starting to sound and feel like *Siryn.*
But my main issue? Your arbitrary division of the X-Factor personnel into pro and con registration.
Mr. David, NO ONE raised by Cable – meaning Rictor – would *ever* register in a government program tracking their whereabouts and identity. The premise that any mutant would go along with the SHRA is patently absurd, but that’s likely idiocy on the part of the Editorial Powers That Be at Marvel, not yours.
That being said, the writing in this issue in the scene where Rictor and Monet sign up was truly jarring. There was no nuance, no skillful exposition, nothing.
It seems grossly contra-logic to have Monet and Rictor go along with the SHRA. Honestly.
I also decry your treatment of Siryn when she learns of Banshee’s death. No one at Marvel has seen fit to provide us with anything approaching a tribute to Banshee, or a realistic depiction of reaction to his death. You had the chance to do that with Siryn. Instead, it felt like an artistic copout to play for comedy, with Terry in complete denial. I was so disappointed.
Sincerely,
Anne
San Francisco
Dear PAD:
Thank you for finally writing Terry properly. Yes, Terry aims for the head. Yes, Terry wouldn’t support registration. Yes, Terry is clever and logical and actually thinks about things, which certainly seems to make her a minority on this team.
However, I get the feeling you’ve stumbled on correct characterization of Terry by accident. I say this because you don’t seem to grasp Rictor very well, and the majority of information you have on Terry also contains information on Ric, so the fact that you’ve yet to write him with any appreciation of his backstory makes me question where you’re getting your info on Terry.
Rictor would never be pro-registration. No one raised by Cable and Domino would ever believe in giving the government that much power. It doesn’t matter that Rictor is powerless, it doesn’t matter that the members of X-Force never bothered to hide their identities because they never had lives outside of the team, they were raised to fight oppression and that’s exactly how they would view any kind of registration act.
Over the course of the comic, I have also seen a distinct lack of acknowledgement of the history that Rictor and Terry have together. You even have Ric call her “Siryn”! Julio has known Terry since he was fifteen. They grew up together. X-Force was more a family than any other group of X-types has ever been, and Terry and Ric are something approaching brother and sister. Now they are treating each other as if they barely know each other, with Terry reacting more to Jamie than she does to Ric. (I might understand this if there was acknowledgement of Terry dating one of Jamie’s dupes, but there isn’t that, either.)
I’m really glad you acknowledge the backstory of Rahne, Jamie, and Guido (and Pietro). Acknowledging backstory is so incredibly rare in Marvel these days that I’m willing to forget that it’s involving the characters I don’t give a dámņ about. But, honestly, there is backstory to these people that you didn’t write way back when, and I think it’s worth acknowledging that as well.
–Angharad
PS I know it’s not going to make any difference, but I still have to make my plug for Shatterstar. Please? Ric would be so much happier.
Angharad: It might be that Rictor and Siryn have grown apart. I know that, according to the comic book timeline, they were on X-Force together, like, yesterday or something, but a lot of stuff can happen in one comic book day. At least Rictor got to save Siryn in issue… ah… I think it was 5.
Angharad said:
“Now they are treating each other as if they barely know each other, with Terry reacting more to Jamie than she does to Ric. (I might understand this if there was acknowledgement of Terry dating one of Jamie’s dupes, but there isn’t that, either.)
You are forgettng (or were not aware that) Jamie and Terry spent their adolescent years together on Muir Island. They were 18-20 years old when the Shadow King destroyed most of the island and sent both characters packing. Besides the romantic relationship they had in the Coconut Grove (which supposedly never happened- I say its b.s.), they were very very very close friends. They were the only two teenagers on that Island for most of the time (when Rhane wasn’t around), and both lived in Moira’s facility.
Was gone on vacation, but finally got caught up on my comic reading. This title has VERY QUICKLY climbed to the #1 spot on my list of favorites. Layla is Scary Good. As someone else said-one minute she makes my laugh, the next she sends shivers down my spine. I love the David family update in the intro. By the way Peter, if you really don’t like to wait six months for reader feedback you could maybe send out some advance copies. 🙂
Dear PAD,
X-Factor is easily my favorite comic, of course it does help that Madrox is my favorite character. I have to agree with the poster above, what you have done with Layla Miller is astonishing, bringing her from a mere “plot device” in HoM, to a fan favorite, even though she had to eletrocute a guy to get there.
Jamie and Terry’s realationship was an odd one, I believe that they may have flirted, but then she went with the dupe to Beat Street and joined the Fallen Angels they had a realationship, Jamie Prime later absorbed the dupe in X-Factor #75, met Terry again during the “X-cutioner’s Song” crossover and said it was like seeing the realationship on t.v. he felt it in his brain but not in his heart……or something like that. Complicated isn’t it, but then again which X-Relationship isn’t?
P.S. Thank you for answering my letter in X-Factor #5, Mr. David, needless to say I was surprised and I can’t wait for X-Factor #9
Picked up this issue, along with the rest of my pull box and other stuff from the last couple weeks, this weekend – and I was very impressed. This is INTELLIGENT writing, and it makes for a great read.
Subplots skillfully built up, the large Marvel U event coming up naturally, main characters you can’t entirely trust – including Jamie, with the influence of his dupes… And, add me to the “like the art” column. For me, it feels very suited to the book.
And while we’re on the art…
Robert Fuller said: “There was one panel in which Siryn suddenly looked exactly like Neve Campbell, but she didn’t look that way in any other panel.”
YES! She looked COMPLETELY like Neve! That was kinda cool.
And, again, the issue was very cool.
Just wanted to take this opportunity to tell you how much I’m *LOVING* X-Factor! Layla drives me crazy – but she’s supposed to. Jaime… you’ve taken a 5th rate (at best) character and made me love him. Thank you!
Oh, and regarding other books of yours that have the initials FA… You Are Evil. In all the best ways. ;-D
Regarding your actual question – I thought you did a great tie-in without one needing to buy all the Civil War books to get it. That’s the best way to do a crossover IMHO.
If something huge is happening, of course characters will respond. What made crossovers insane for awhile was the fact that the stories in the individual issues *made no sense* unless you bought the whole shebang.
I didn’t see a better place to write this than here, but I just wanted to say how impressed I was by the latest issue of FN Spider-man. I have to admit, I was thinking of dropping the book until this issue. I always find the future Spider-men interesting, but this was a really solid time travel/alt. reality story. Between Uncle Ben and Spider-man: Agent of T.O.T.E.M.? Well done! And I LOVED the Doctor Who reference! Can’t wait to see Eccelston in The Prisoner re-make.