Reviews for X-Factor, Volume 2: Life and Death Matters

The average rating for X-Factor, Volume 2: Life and Death Matters based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-10-21 00:00:00 Michael Azzarello I've been on this mini-Marvel comic reading binge for the past week. It's been unfortunately in lieu of reading books without pictures on every page, but I haven't been so great at sitting down and reading my usual books the last couple of weeks. I'm not sure what five stars actually means here. I'm not sure if it means I have been enjoying X-Factor more than some of the other titles, or if this one was just so unexpectedly good that it has surprised me into giving it the extra star. And I'm not sure if this volume is better than the first volume, or the Madrox prequel, and it just might be an extra star for consistency. It is possible that somewhere in the middle of the second book that I got over my annoyance with the name of the series. When I started reading comics back in apparently 1985, this was the first X-Men issue I bought. I probably had no idea what was going on in it, since it was sort of the tail end of the whole Jean Grey storyline. Then there was the special double-sized 200th issue, which again I think had some continuity things going on that I had no idea about. But, I was an 11 year old with a paper route that gave me more than enough money every week to buy every Marvel title being published back then, and I was committed to reading them all, so I kept on. And then there was this one, which was the first X-Men issue I can actually remember reading and somewhat enjoying. Granted, I didn't get this one so much either. I didn't get how someone who could do something so cool like shoot lasers out of his eyes could lose to someone who had powers I wasn't quite sure about. I mean, lasers shooting out of the eyes is so much cooler than controlling weather to an 11 year old growing up in the mid-80's who watched way too many very very very dumb action movies featuring uzis and ninjas. Yes, this is going somewhere. If you are looking to go back 32 years and get caught up with the X-Men, then I'm sorry for the spoilers, here. But Cyclops loses this little battle to see who will lead the X-Men, and then for some reason I have forgotten, maybe it was a hissy fit, or maybe it was part of the deal in having this mutant fisticuffs to see who would be head-honcho of the X-Men, but whatever the reason Cyclops leaves the X-Men and X-Factor is born. That's what I was trying to get to, about four months into my childhood reading of comics X-Factor (1986 (in the confusing way titles in the Marvel Universe get designated because there have been so many starts and stops, reboots, do-overs etc., of titles)) began. X-Factor quickly became probably my fourth favorite Marvel title for awhile. At the time X-Men were the kings in terms of popularity, but it would take awhile for me to read enough back issues that I got the whole story going on around them. There was too much histroy and mythology. But X-Factor was like the X-Men but with a lot less characters and less backstories and all of that stuff. Plus, it had a guy who shot lasers out of his eyes. I gave up reading comics a few years later, mostly because they seriously jacked up the cover prices and I would rather spend my money at the time on shitty Heavy Metal cassettes. But while I was reading them to me, X-Factor was the original X-Men. Not a Noir Detective agency. So my head for a while was yelling, it's not right that this should be called X-Factor, but it's probably better than the original had been, if I went and seeked out the issues to re-read them. Anyway, I have been really enjoying these. I'd recommend you read them. And I have just written quite a bit without saying almost anything about the actual book. Sorry for wasting your time!

Review # 2 was written on 2017-10-02 00:00:00 John Doe While not as strong as the first volume it remains highly engaging and well done. So let's get to it! Mr. Tryp is a cocksucker. Remember him from volume 1? Well now we get the origin of his story and goddamn...we talking dark shit that relates very close to Jamie. All well done. We also have a Civil War tie in. While these stories and plot are starting to connect we get some future crazyness coming into modern time, big fights, and a few twist I didn't see coming. Good: Jamie having multiple dupes sleeping with different girls in one house is both hilarious and scary. I also thought the twist with one of the members and their action was shocking and as always with this series thought provoking. I thought the ending really wrapped up nice and leads us to the next arc really well. Bad: I didn't love the civil war tie in. In fact I felt pretty let down by it. This could have hit well but the two issues between the rest kind of feel...boring. They just feel like added in because...well events. Hits the flow pretty bad for a few issues. Overall it was super fun and enjoyable just not AS strong as volume 1. Mostly due to the tie in. Either way still a high 3.5 and still in love with this series.