X-Factor #238

(Some spoilers below)

This issue is classic Peter David. Then again so was the last issue, and the one before that, even though those two are as different as a barnstorming 90s-homage punch-up and a poignant look at guilt, religion and catharsis can be. #238 is something else again, a busy crossroads of plotlines and character moments. It's not every writer who can juggle such different modes of storytelling, or even wants to, but PAD clearly delights in this freedom of tone and focus and the whole series is unified by the consistency of the humour and character-building and the persistence of various long-term plot threads. It's a joy to read monthly and even more so in trade form.

This issue's an ensemble piece featuring the whole cast and a half-dozen storylines jostling for panel time. In other hands it might be unwieldy but PAD makes it all look fantastically easy (for him). There's a murderer borrowing Terry's banshee style; ongoing friction between old boss Jamie Madrox and new 'boss' (or is he?) Havok; Longshot's mysterious coma and the suspicious death of a Seattle seer; Layla and Jamie's halting relationship and a loopy, cryptic chat about the nature of her knowledge; Rahne's plan to find her abandoned son and her sweetly evolving friendship with Rictor and Shatterstar; and two semi-mythic villains mwahahaing at the end, continuing the apocalypse/magic thread that's been lurking through the last dozen or so issues. Oh, and Layla golfs. Heh. It all fits neatly into 20 pages with no sense of chop or unevenness and plenty of room for laughs. There's no big action scenes and no 'main' thread, but that's okay; the preceding issues had action and single focus all covered, and since X-Factor is foremost about the characters and their relationships, and this richness of plot threads needs marshalling at times, it's important for the book to have a #238 every so often. (I get baffled by reviews that claim 'nothing much happened' in issues like this. Huh?)

What I most enjoyed were the unexpected moments of warmth. X-Factor dialogue is thick with snark and flippancy (and it's great) but when PAD decides it's time for heartwarming he doesn't mess about. I especially liked the quirk that Guido's soullessness makes him better at seeing others' affection, and Rictor and Shatterstar stepping up as 'fake father and weird uncle' to help Rahne find her child. It may never happen, but the thought of those three co-parenting a werewolf cub is all sorts of dysfunctionally cute; Rahne's come a long way since throwing 'Star out of a window in defence of Rictor's soul.

David Yardin's cover is gorgeous as ever, this time with a Mondrian slant (seriously Marvel, 'Art of David Yardin' hardcover please). Paul Davidson fills in for Leonard Kirk on art; he's very good (I loved his work on X-Club) but I didn't quite feel he captured the characters here; their faces were a little too alike and glamorous. Then again, his rendering of Layla's stealth smile was perfect.