Bought vs. Thought Round 2 - April 18, 2012

[JewishHobbit]

Originally Posted by CConn

I have such a weird love/hate relationship with X-Factor.

I'll read like 6 issues of it, love it, but then immediately grow insanely bored by the following 6. And the same thing's happening again. I loved the They Keep Killing Madrox, and now the past issue or two has made me want to drop the book for a third time since David's relaunch.

It's really a shame. I love the characters - and I love the addition of Havok and Polaris - but there's just something about the writing that makes everything seem mundane and inconsequential.

I'm the same way. I loved the book through Messiah Complex. Then I got bored and dropped it. I came back with the baby issue and loved it through the Summers Rebellion storyline. The Doom arc was alright then I got bored and dropped it again. I came back toward the end of the Rahne's baby arc and was still bored but got back into it with Jamie's "death" and Havoc and Polaris' additions. So far I'm still good but I'm not expecting that to last.

It's one of those titles where I wouldn't be sad if it were canceled because I feel like a lot of these characters could be better used elsewhere by other writers. Shatterstar alone would flourish in Uncanny X-Force and I'd love to see Madrox, Havoc, and Polaris head to the X-Men. I'd love to see M head to Westchester so that she can join the school and be paired up with old Generation Xers Chamber and Husk. I love a lot of these characters but the writing is up and down for me.

[Mad Ones]

There are just so many characters in X-Factor. And Havok and Polaris don't help that. I'd be happier if PAD spread the focus a little bit, and had less Layla.

[Themanofbat]

I know this was last week, but I just read Scarlet Spider #4, and this book is quickly becoming one of Marvel's best titles... the writing, the art, the ties to the past yet the bold forging to the future... it's all there, and it's all good.

As impressed as I was when Venom first came out, this book is really knocking my socks off...

[Spider-Nerd]

Originally Posted by mjdiddy1

The only thing I didn't understand and maybe you guys can help me is why in AvX #2 when Cyclops was constantly getting hit in the head with a Vibranium Shield did he not at least pass out or something?

Meh, he took some hardcore headbutts from logan during schism too. I can only come to the logical conclusion that his hood is made out of the same material as bruce's cowl. Soft and comfy....but bulletproof.

[CConn]

Originally Posted by Mad Ones

There are just so many characters in X-Factor. And Havok and Polaris don't help that. I'd be happier if PAD spread the focus a little bit, and had less Layla.

Layla's the best thing about X-Factor.

[Mad Ones]

That's weird that you're not liking it than. She gets so much focus.

[CConn]

Um, maybe because good writing is about more than just character focus?

[Harlekin]

I like X-Factor in concept. PAD is great and so are the characters, but all of the time and dimension hopping stuff really took me out of the book. I didn't care one bit for the Summers Rebellion, the M tattoo or the latest Madrox getting killed arc. Honestly, I think PAD has also managed to just sour me on Madrox. He's taken that character in way too many crazy directions. I'd probably buy X-Factor again if he and Layla left.

[CConn]

Terrible taste.

[TheCorpulent1]

Youse guys are crazy. X-Factor is consistently great. Has been since the start. PAD's got that s*** locked down.

[CConn]

Originally Posted by Themanofbat

I know this was last week, but I just read Scarlet Spider #4, and this book is quickly becoming one of Marvel's best titles... the writing, the art, the ties to the past yet the bold forging to the future... it's all there, and it's all good.

As impressed as I was when Venom first came out, this book is really knocking my socks off...

I was bored and felt like spending money, so I picked up the first four issues on your recommendation...

I love the character, I love the status quo...but the plotting's very simplistic so far. I don't know if I'll kept buying it, but it's not bad at all.

[Themanofbat]

I think one of the main points of the last issue was when Kaine was thinking about how he can never escape being the "monster" he thinks he is and flashes over some of the people he had killed or died because of him, and then he utters the name "Louise", a Salt Lake police detective that Kaine had fallen in love with only to kill her in an insane moment of rage when he found out she was working with mobsters...

It's those small links to forgotten stories that made me really dig it... and Stegman's art has been top notch.

Glad you dug it...

[CConn]

Like I said, the character's really great. You can give him a bit of a Batman-esque edge without it being totally trite. And the supporting cast seems very strong too.

If they could mix up the plotting beyond him just fighting a bad guy, learning something about himself, then fighting a bad guy again, it could be legitimately great.

And honestly, it almost struck me as a very DC-style book. It read like Blue Beetle or Robin or some other "sidekick" series should read. And I liked that a lot. It's honestly something I always felt Marvel was lacking on.