X-Factor by Peter David Omnibus, Vol. 2

X-Factor by Peter David Omnibus

by Peter David (Writer), Ryan Sook (Cover Art), Pablo Raimondi (Illustrator)

Peter David reinvents X-Factor — again! Jamie Madrox has become a private eye. But with so many of his duplicates out in the world, is an identity crisis imminent? X-Factor Investigations recruits Guido, Wolfsbane, Siryn, M and Rictor — plus Layla Miller, who knows stuff! But can the team help mutantkind navigate M-Day and deal with their unbalanced former ally Quicksilver? X-Factor butts heads with Singularity Investigations, X-Cell, the Isolationist and more. But what happens when two of Madrox’s dupes want their own lives — and when Jamie and Layla are thrown into the future? With Mutant Town under siege, Skrulls running rampant, personal problems tearing the team apart and a major change for Siryn, can X-Factor survive?

COLLECTING: Madrox (2004) 1-5; X-Factor (2005) 1-20, 21-24 (A stories), 25-39; X-Factor: The Quick and the Dead One-Shot (2008); X-Factor Special: Layla Miller One-Shot (2008); She-Hulk (2005) 31

Genres: Comics, Marvel, X Men, Superheroes, Mystery, Adventure, Action

1128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 21, 2009

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

[Nate Deprey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you think Peter David might be a dupe of Jamie Madrox? It would explain a lot. While this collection ends on a brutal, heartbreaker of a last issue the writing never dips and the army of artists contributing to these 47 collected issues are almost all totally at the top of their games.

[Myles Likes Tacos and Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

X Omnis and runs sometimes don't flow well with all the big events that interupt, however I didn't get that feeling at all with this near perfect collection. XF David vol 2 is gloomy, dark, maybe a bit politcially incorrect (cough, Layla Jamie) but it fits in so perfectly with the Pre Hope era mutants

The extras are also key with Omnis and they are great here
- variant covers
- sketches
- summary of major events in the X Verse

The only problem is that this whole crew is written so perfectly that I'm going to turn into one of the comic book readers who gets mad at each new book that doesn't live up to this standard (hopefully I won't)

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

PAD's original v1 X-Factor was good. It was basically an X-Men comic with a sense of humor. But his v3 X-Factor is a whole other beast, especially in this first collection. The humor and characters are better than ever, but beyond that the whole premise shines with its focus on a detective agency rather than typical supes.

Beyond that, the first X-Factor was somewhat dragged down by its crossovers. PAD dealt with them well, but they dragged down his storyline, particularly the X-Patriots, who were around forever while X-Factor was cross-overing. Here instead we get X-Factor as the heart of the M-Day mystery, then when we do get crossovers, PAD makes great use of them, such as when he sends Layla to a future. (Layla, by the by, under PAD is one of the characters in comics, and it's a crime that she hasn't been used in more recent years.)

Finally, we get X-Factor #39, which is one of the most traumatic issues ever in comics. Wow.

Some characters have good continuations from the original volume here (mostly Strong Guy, as Madrox never got enough attention in v1 and Rahne gets moved off to another comic before she gets a chance to shine here). But this can be read entirely independently, and if you only read one PAD X-Factor omnibus, it should be this one.

[Nico · Rating 4 out of 5]

peter davids initial run of x-factor in the 90s was the definition of missed potential. it had it all for a few short issues before meddling and crossovers ruined the title
but with the 2000s run, peter david is back and unchained, allowed to do practically anything with these characters, crafting this well written dramedy with some great characters, particularly with how in-depth it goes into the mind of a man that can live hundreds of lives at the same time.
while there is a crossover x-men event in this, it at least doesnt feel as forced or out of place as any of x-factors involvement the big x-events in the 90s felt, and even helps advance the story and world in an interesting and mostly organic way.
the main reason this is only 4 stars, however is due to the secret invasion tie-in that crossed over with she-hulk, as well as much of the story that followed it. the x-factor side of the crossover had some of the worst art ive seen in my life, as did the issues that proceeded the crossover, and the first part of it just seemed like peter david was phoning it in. the second half slowly improved, by going back to the drama of these characters lives, and the followup to their secret invasion tie-in did have some interesting concepts, what really saved the end of this book was its final issue, which i wont spoil

[Gary Rhodes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved David's first foray into writing X-Factor back in the early 90's, and it's wonderful to see him get to play with some of the same characters as well as the new additions. While I wasn't as charmed by the art as many readers seemed to be, the writing was pretty great throughout and the team really does get put through the ringer. This opening arcs set the tone well for the rest of the collection, and David somehow manages to get away with writing the least "event tie-in feeling" event tie-ins I've read in some time, which is a wonderful thing and not something most of the Marvel writers at the time were given the latitude to get away with. Overall, this book was a fun ride and leaves me looking forward to cracking open the third volume.

[Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

You just can’t help loving this cast of mutant outcasts. Props to Peter David for making you deeply care about this group of relatively unknown X-men characters. Even more impressive: if you actually DO know them, their character portrayal and growth feels even more spot-on. I also really liked the film noir style of the art, that remained fairly consistent even with many different artists. Only downside is that the plot is kind of mediocre and gets interrupted by events multiple times, but honestly I don’t even really care that much as long as I get to hang with the X-factor Investigations team.

[***Dave Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beyond the lovely artwork by Sook, et al., this volume showcase Peter David's grasp of the characters, wittiness (everybody quips and banters, to great effect), and his thoughtful sadism in the various ringers he runs the team through, particularly their leader, Jamie Madrox, the multiple man.

If there's any criticism to be had, it's the frequent imposition of cross-over events on the festivities, complete with their X-Men melodrama, jarring in style and tone so badly with the normal X-Factor saga as it plays out.

A long read, but a good one.

[Rahul Nadella · Rating 4 out of 5]

The team of Peter David & Ryan Sook transform the X-Factor team into a Mutant Investigation Team that lives in Mutant Town. The team consists of Multiple Man (lead investigator), Strong Guy, Wolfsbane, Siryn, Monet St Croix, Rictor and Layla Miller. This series runs through a couple of major Marvel events starting with aftermath of House of M and also includes Civil War. This is one of the best runs for any X book out there and is worth reading.

[OmniBen · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review)
I'm more than happy to be the wet blanket that has to piss all over this overhyped mess. Bad writing, worse art, abysmal colours. Basically the exact opposite of the 90's material, which was only really held back by being interrupted every five minutes for one average X-Men event after another. Everything I enjoyed about that initial run was greatly reduced or absent entirely. A monumental disappointment. 2/5


OmniBen.

[Robert McCallum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely first class - loved it.

Only downsides are the messiah complex and secret invasion crossover issues that take you totally out of the book and story coupled with some inconsistent art during the latter part of the book

Issue 39 is one of the most impactful comics marvel have ever produced - an absolute stunning masterpiece that is an incredible payoff (if you can call it that) to the series to date

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clever superhero mystery series that relies both on mystery tropes and superhero tropes yet holds your interest the entire time. The inconsistent art would usually warrant one star of a deduction but the story makes up for it.

[Luís Costa · Rating 4 out of 5]

First story is really good noir, the rest of it falls more into normal stuff for X books, but still quite fun.

[Craig W · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Larry Stroman art is some of the later issues is the only blight on this part of Peter David’s run - everything else is just some of the best comics of this century.

[***Dave Hill]

Fantastic stuff

Great art by Sook and company, but David is the headliner, showing off his wit, imagination, and thoughtful sadism to his characters. Fine work, very much worth the long read.