A review by jesse_post
X-Factor Epic Collection Vol. 1: Genesis & Apocalypse by Jackson Butch Guice, Skip Dietz, Various, Bob Layton, Roger Stern, Marc Silvestri, Rick Leonardi, Shana David, Rurik Tyler, Tom DeFalco, Larry Stroman, Bob Harras, John Buscema, Joe Quesada, John Byrne, Terry Shoemaker, Fabian Nicieza, Walt Simonson, Peter David, Keith Pollard, Paul Neary, Jae Lee, Mark Pacella, Jim Fern, Louise Simonson, Chris Batista, Chris Claremont

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A great example of how the revolving door of creative teams in monthly periodical superhero comics can make a huge difference. The opening 2/3 of the book gives us the (quite tortured) story of how Jean Grey/Marvel Girl returns after being presumed dead as Dark Phoenix for five years; essential for X-Men completists but not a great read. The first six issues of X-Factor are badly written and too caught up in its weird premise of having the team pretend to be government mutant hunters. The Chris Claremont emotional X-dynamics one would expect from a spin-off at the time are absent here, and any emotional weight that should have been there in a major character’s return from the dead is lost in a weird decision the team made to just . . . not address it, I presume in hopes of drawing out the tension with a “when will they discuss he elephant in the room?” question. It’s sincerely terrible. BUT! Former Claremont editor Louise Simonson swoops in to save the day as new writer at this point and the series makes a noticeable shift for the better, reading much more like the “third X-Men book” it was billed as, leaving you in a “gotta read the next one” mode. Recommended only if you have to see the origin, otherwise it’s fine to Wikipedia the plot and skip straight to the next book.