A Diverse Team of Detectives
X-Factor has been one of those series that has generally been praised, and has the running time to prove it, lasting 8 years and 20 volumes of work. And, as is to be expected, the first few story archs are considered the best of the series. Having finally had the chance to read the first of these volumes, I can say that, while it has its issues, the series is certainly one to experience in some manner.
The series revolves around a team of rather unknown mutants who have formed a detective agency in the downtown area known as Mutant-town, a very dangerous place to be since the disastrous House of M event. We follow our main characters as they take on investigations, ranging from somewhat every day or mundane to those rife with mutant involvement, including the cause of the House of M event. In this way, the series seems to take on a lot at the start, setting up for three long-term mysteries while focusing on one short term conflict. However, the narratives all coalesce in natural manner, building on one another that will eventually add up to some exciting and giant conflicts.
The characters are a bit of a mixed bag; Wolfsbane is a fantastic character, capable of hilarious comments and intense and serious situations. And Multiple Man has some in-depth character analysis going on, which, while somewhat spotty at times, helps make the series feel very contained and centralized, and helps to show the difficulty in leading this team. And Rictor is a great perspective to have in this book, even if he isn't the most fascinating person. The rest of the cast, however, suffers, to a degree; Guido feels rather stereotypical, like any other strength-based character, Siryn, while witty, comes across as a little bland, and Monet is just annoying, though this may just be a personal gripe. There's also an additional team member who appears early on, but their personality is somewhat obscured by the mystery surrounding them, making it difficult to earnestly like or dislike them.
The villains vary from very engaging to terribly stereotypical and boring, but ultimately, this is a book about the team, and, for what it is, we have a nice varied selection. Even though I don't care for a few of them, we're given a diverse group that retains my attention and allows for a great story. And, with the art pretty good most of the time, I would recommend checking this out.