X-Factor

X-Factor 63-68

The Whilce Portacio X-Factors, before he moved over to Uncanny X-Men.  I wasn’t the biggest fan of his art on Wetworks, but I really loved his X-Universe stuff.  There’s such a flair and energy to his images, everything is in constant motion.  Take a look at his covers:

They’re absolutely streaking across the page.

Effective use of speed lines.

Love his Archangel wings.

Portacio may not have been the first, but he’s the one that I most associate with the “circles around the hands” energy signature motif (See Iceman above).  I really dig it.

I also love the headdress/tiara thing he gives Jean Grey, as well as the pointed shoulders.  It’s a look Jim Lee will use a year later in the new X-Men book.

But I can’t ignore this epic fail of a knockout punch:

Looks so so bad.

And Michael Heisler continually fails with his word balloon placement.  It’s absolutely atrocious:

The jump from section 1 to section 2 makes rational sense, going from the bottom of one panel to the top of the next.  But the proximity of section 3 to section 1 feel more natural from a flow standpoint - The jump from 2 to 3 is too large to feel natural, as is the far right to far left transition of balloons in the panel.

Then there’s this monstrosity:

From context, it’s clear that section 2 follows 1, Jean’s reaction to Psynapse’s attack.  But where the heck is section 3 supposed to fall in the sequence of balloons? It’s in the same panel as 1, but it doesn’t fit between 1 and 2.  It’s not the first thing to read on the page, since 1 is a clear continuation from the previous page. And it’s placed completely out of the way of anything else in the lower left, just a pointless footnote.  It’s baffling.

Also, Heisler and his editors don’t know how to spell ‘kidnapped.’  It shows up twice as ‘kidnaped’ in this run.

To the story itself.  It starts with an “Iceman rescues Iris from her yakuza past” two-parter, which is as old-fashioned as it sounds.  Louise Simonson does her best to give Iris some agency in the matter, but at the end of the day, she’s still a damsel in distress with two guys fighting over her fate at the climax of the story.  Ugh.

Then it gets to the classic...what was this arc called?  I’ve always mentally named it the “Cyclops sends his son to the future to become Cable Saga.”  I think it’s officially “Endgame.” The plot meanders all over the place - The Dark Riders attack X-Factor, infect Ship with a virus, and kidnap (kidnape) Christopher (Scott’s infant son).   Ship blows up in space, where the team’s picked up by the Inhumans. They team up to attack Apocalypse, because he’s built a base on the moon for reasons. X-Factor defeat Apocalypse, but not before he infects Christopher with a techno-organic virus, a phrase I hope you like, because you’ll hear it every time Cable shows up in a comic until the end of time.  Askani, who’s been mysteriously popping in and out of the last couple issues, offers to bring Christopher to the future, where a cure exists. Cyclops reluctantly agrees, and the pain he feels as a father is quite poignant.

I can’t say how much of this is nostalgia and how of it is actually a good story, but this run still holds up.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice