X-Factor Epic Collection, Vol. 7: All-New, All-Different X-Factor

X-Factor Epic Collection

by Peter David (Writer), Fabian Nicieza (Writer), Larry Stroman (Illustrator)

A new team is forged! Cyclops and company have rejoined the X-Men--and now Havok takes charge, leading a new government-sanctioned mutant squad! His recruits include Polaris, Wolfsbane, Quicksilver, Strong Guy and Multiple Man--but will the real Jamie Madrox please stand up? The new X-Factor must deal with murder mysteries, identity crises, smear campaigns and more--but Mr. Sinister and his Nasty Boys might be too much for them! The Incredible Hulk awaits in a foreign land, and the Mutant Liberation Front and Brotherhood of Evil Mutants heat things up at home, as the new X-Factor deals with diplomacy, deception and death wild protecting Homo superior from their genetically challenged brethren...and vice versa! X-perience Peter David's hilarious mutant masterpiece from the beginning! COLLECTING: X-Factor (1986) 71-83, Annual 7; Incredible Hulk (1968) 390-392

Genres: Comics, X Men, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics

456 pages, Paperback

First published November 28, 2018

About the author

aka David Peters

Peter Allen David, often abbreviated PAD, was an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films, and video games. His notable comic book work includes an award-winning 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk, as well as runs on Aquaman, Young Justice, SpyBoy, Supergirl, Fallen Angel, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Captain Marvel, and X-Factor.
His Star Trek work included comic books and novels such as the New Frontier book series. His other novels included film adaptations, media tie-ins, and original works, such as the Apropos of Nothing and Knight Life series. His television work includes series such as Babylon 5, Young Justice, Ben 10: Alien Force and Nickelodeon's Space Cases, which he co-created with Bill Mumy.
David often jokingly described his occupation as "Writer of Stuff", and he was noted for his prolific writing, characterized by its mingling of real-world issues with humor and references to popular culture, as well as elements of metafiction and self-reference.
David earned multiple awards for his work, including a 1992 Eisner Award, a 1993 Wizard Fan Award, a 1996 Haxtur Award, a 2007 Julie Award and a 2011 GLAAD Media Award.

Reviews

[Edward Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fun re-reading these, one of my favourite runs of the 90s.

[Marcelo Soares · Rating 4 out of 5]

Existe uma velha receita de sucesso nas HQs:
-Meia dúzia de personagens que ninguém se importa;
-Um escritor habilidoso em criar diálogos;
-Um artista diferentão;
-Maioridade para todos os personagens, inclusive para aquela menina tímida que parecia ter 14 anos eternamente;
-Uma pitada de Barrados no Baile no melhor estilo "quem comeu quem?";
-Vilões que já tiveram algum destaque ou novos vilões que nunca mais vão aparecer - alguém se lembra do Cyber?
-Um crossover com o outro personagem que o habilidoso escritor está trabalhando no momento (Hulk no Panteão).
Não tem muito erro.
O Peter David escreve sobre o Luigi dos X-Men - aquele cara que é irmão do Ciclope -, a Princesa Daisy - aquela mina de cabelo verde -, o Yoshi marrom - aquela mina que vira, vira lobisomem -, o filho do Magneto, o cara que se divide em vários, uma servidora pública que já esteve em todos os lados do muro dos mutantes, e o filho perdido da Paola Carosella; Guido. Eles enfrentam vários mutantes que eu nem lembrava mais, conspirações governamentais, traições e mais uma cambada totalmente inconsequente de eventos, afinal eles não são os X-Men, então quem se importa.
E funciona que é uma beleza.
Não é perfeito, mas não tem aquela aporrinhação dos outros títulos mutantes da época.

[Alex Sarll]

Peter David's first go-round on the offbeat mutant team, and I could have sworn I'd read most if not all of that before, but very little of this felt directly familiar. Indirectly, yes, because it's not that long since I finished his second run (we do not speak of the third), and it hits a lot of the same notes, not least the overarching action sitcom style, weaving quickfire dialogue and pop-culture riffs with deep Marvel familiarity and shit going boom. The real difference is that the return would have the more naturalistic look of the noughties, whereas here Stroman's art is very nineties in all sorts of different ways at once; the afterword references Simonson and Portacio, which I can see, but it's also somewhere between the ludicrous physiques of the Marvel artists who left to found Image in general, the expressionist stylisation of Billy the Sink, and Chaykin's raised-eyebrow fizz.

Among the little references, I was particularly charmed by Val Cooper mentioning her brother in the FBI investigating a corpse wrapped in plastic, but often I was spooked by the synchronicities. An overheard in-universe Weird Al song called Multiple Man, riffing on Particle Man – a song I'd listened to for the first time in years the day before reading that issue. The hypocritical wannabe President spreading hate, backed up by a gang called the Nasty Boys. And maybe this one is less of a convincing coincidence, but reading this over the same period as rewatching the first series of Blake's 7, I heard every snarky line Quicksilver delivered in the voice of Avon.

Yes, the era means there are bits that don't work so well; a crossover with PAD's Hulk run feels much more like a Hulk story and somewhat disrupts the flow, and Stryfe remains the poster-boy for asinine nineties 'kewl', even if his appearances here are mercifully brief. But even this early, the investigative structure that would power the best of the second run is starting to poke through, and the long-form plotting - even if the latter mainly manifests in the sad saga of Professor Vic Chalker, with his subplot that deliberately, hilariously never quite comes to fruition.

[Tamás Stekler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Might not be the most unbiased opinion, but here it goes: pure damn gold. An absolute fun read. Peter David is an unparalleled genius, the plot represents a perfect balance of humor and wits, as you'd expect. Some critics refer to his run as "comic sitcom" and I wouldn't argue with that for a minute - you might easily find yourself burst out laughing. Most of the issues are drawn by Larry Stroman and one must admit that his art is not quite of a usual represetation of the common aesthetics of the era, but it's stylistic definitely contributes to the authentic 90s charm of the collection. I loved the hell out of it and take my word for it: this is a purchase you'll never regret. 5/5

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this. I was a big fan of Peter David’s run on X-factor in the 2000s, so I was excited to read his first time with the characters. I loved the team’s dynamic. Quicksilver, Strong Guy, Polaris, and Wolfsbane were such interesting characters. Surprisingly the only character I don’t think he quite had down was Multiple Man, which he clearly eventually gets a handle on by the 2000s. However it was disappointing how far away he is from reaching that version of the character.

The villains were not that great in this book with the exception of the first arc of Mr Sinister, but the team interaction moments made up for that. I was more excited to read the hanging out moments than any action scenes. The Hulk crossover was fine. I loved Keown’s Hulk art even thought the story was pretty boring. I enjoyed Stromans art as well. It really fit the roughness of these characters.

Overall it was a peasant reading experience. Probably had way to many pop culture references that feel super dated now, but they were fine. I’m excited to check out the next collection of David’s stories.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

A completely zany reboot of the X-Factor title with basically only the title holding it together.

After the X-Men cross-over events of X-Tinction Agenda on Genosha and Shadow King Rising on Muir Island, Marvel launched the adjectiveless X-Men title in which the original line-up of X-Factor and the current X-Men joined together to form two separate teams to capitalize on the excitement around the X-Men in the early 90’s and basically sell more comics with less story substance.

Marvel also rebooted X-Factor with a random group of mutants (Havok, Polaris, Wolfsbane, Multiple-Man, Quicksilver, and Strong Guy). The premise is they took over the role of Freedom Force that the “reformed” bad guy group of Brotherhood of Evil Mutants was playing as government agents. But they call themselves X-Factor because there is already a title with that name.

With that set up this is surprisingly good for what ultimately should have been a throwaway. There is crazy humor. There is wild art. There is heart. Not a bad batch.

[ribbonknight · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn’t quite remember where I’d left off with X-Factor, so some of these were familiar but it was a good place to pick up because it’s basically right where they’re forming up as a team.

I don’t remember when or why Rahne became obsessed with Alex Summers, but her initial interactions with him and Lorna are inexplicably charged and filled with jealousy. Fortunately, they seem to drop it after a few issues, and have Rahne trusting Lorna when she lets Sam go without chasing him.

Looking forward to more with this team. I like Lorna’s hair!

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised what a mixed bag this was. On the one hand, it really does have the seeds of David's brilliant modern X-Factor run. On the other hand, it's full of weird, goofy, '90s stuff: dumb villains, everyone having weirdly long legs, and so on. It's much more episodic than the new stuff is, but you can still tell he's trying to do something new and interesting, which is praiseworthy.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished this volume up and it was one of my favorite epics I've read so far. I used to have a few of these issues that I got secondhand as a kid so it was a fun ride to see how this story played out and nostalgia may have gotten the better of me. The story was the real star of the show here while the art was just fine with a ton of pop culture references stuffed in as usual.

[Lance Grabmiller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Collects X-Factor #71-83 and Annual #7 (October 1991 - October 1992) and Incredible Hulk #390-392 (February - April 1992).

The art is good and the stories are decent but the constant jokiness of the writing gets old really fast. The gun toting, smart, freedom fighter Hulk is pretty silly as well.

[Nick Holt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guido was always a favorite of mine, the Hulk storyline is a good one as is the initial Multiple Man story

[Milan Konjevic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stromanov crtez nije bas najbolje ostario, a i Dejvid ima bolja scenarija, a Kesada ima debi na godisnjaku. Cetiri zvezdice jer nostalgija.

[Juan Cortez · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good read.