X-Factor #1: No more I love you’s…

From the minds of writer Mark Russell (no relation to Jack Russell, the Werewolf By Night) and artist Bob Quinn, X-Factor’s back in the From the Ashes era, and it’s all about mutant celebrities. Celebrities that also seem to be for contract agents for the United States government. Getting their own media/government liaison in the form of Rodger Broderick, who’s a cross between Val Cooper and Andy Cohen, whose job it is to sell this group to the American people, which he somewhat accomplishes. To various degrees of success. So here we go…

So. X-Factor as mutant celebrities isn’t something new. It’s not even new to X-Factor, as that is what the original team became after the events of the original Fall of the Mutants storyline. Being a government sponsored mutant team also isn’t something new, as that’s what the all-new, all-different team did back in 1991, so what we’ve got here isn’t something that’s not new, but safe and familiar. Which is kinda what the From the Ashes’ mission statement is: let’s give them something familiar, and build from there. It’s something that some of the books released thus far has accomplished, and some that has left fans wanting.

This revamped X-line almost reminds me how Brevoort handled the Avengers return after the year long Heroes Reborn era, bringing on classic creators like Kurt Busiek, Mark Waid, Ron Garney, Andy Kubert, George Perez, Alan Davis, Dan Jurgens and John Romita Jr., launching the line with some classic talent telling us some classic stories about these classic heroes. They weren’t busy trying to reinvent the wheel, they were bringing us fans to a very familiar place, and that’s the vibe I’m getting from this issue. I’m not saying that it’s a rehash of the classic Peter David and Larry Stroman’s run, but there are definitely elements. Especially Russell’s infusion of humor with this book. Whether it’s Feral getting booed at the launching event, or Firefist (snicker) wishing he could go back to being a nobody were definitely highlights of the book.

Unfortunately the first issue has some… issues. Whether it’s returning to the defunct Lorna/Alex relationship that’s been off for years, and erasing the years of development we’ve seen with Lorna since the last time these two were lovers. It feels very forced, and I’d hate to see Lorna return to Alex’s girlfriend, robbing her of the agency she’s fought to gain for so long. We also don’t get much time with the other characters who aren’t named Angel or Havok, which makes it more detrimental for the newer additions. I already know who Angel and Havok are. Why should I care about Xyber and Cameo? I literally had to look through the issue to remember what their names were, that’s how little their scenes stayed with me.

Bob Quinn’s on art duties, and has brought his steady hand to the book.  Quinn’s no stranger to the X-Men universe. He’s been a part of the merry mutants lives since his debut on Way of X, featuring Nightcrawler who was attempting to create a mutant religion, before moving over to Knights of X, where Capt. Britain and her crew head over to Otherworld to take down the army of Furies hellbent on destroying every mutant they can. His art is expressive, and hits all the marks for the comedic scenes. Quinn’s playing up his strengths here, who’s producing one very nice looking comic book.