Sunday, August 29, 2010

X-Factor TPB v6: Secret Invasion

All of my favorite elements of Peter David's X-Factor sort of get swept aside in the first part of this trade paperback. Secret Invasion was so pervasive, frankly, I have no interest in reading how the X-Factor team dealt with a skrull priest pretending to be Longshot. Factor in David's depressing and too-grumpy She-Hulk, and the first part of this trade is really forgettable. Larry Stroman's art is so odd and stylized that the bystanders and even some characters don't even look human.

I enjoyed the second story a lot more. The team sort of goes back its roots when hunting down Darwin. Making the whole story even better is the arrival of Longshot, who's unique power set and attitude make him a great addition to the team. With Siryn out of action and Rictor watching her, the team is a bit short-handed as they deal with the villain of the piece. I'm still interested in the odd aspects of Madrox's personality manifesting in his dupes, and there are some neat developments on that front too.

The art is much better in the closing chapters when Valentine De Landro takes over. I appreciate Stroman's style, but man, those people look weird!

Average

1 comment:

John said...

I know what you mean with Stroman's art. Back in the day I loved his and Adam Pollina's work. These last few years both have really changed their styles where they are no longer recognizable.