All New X-Factor #11

Peter David, Carmine Di Giandomenico & Lee Loughridge w/Kris Anka, Jared Fletcher

All New X-Factor has been consistently one of the strongest titles of All-New Marvel Now! and it’s a real shame to see it not gaining as much attention as the mainstream Bendis-written books, because David is a talented writer and he’s proven again here in issue eleven with a great continuation of the title.

The storyline is pretty solid as per normal and once again Peter David proves that he can handle characters incredibly well. Gambit, Polaris, Quicksilver, Danger, Cypher and Warlock continue to be a really fun mix of characters and over the past eleven issues, we’ve really seen them develop. We also get to deal with the relative newcomers, and like always, they’re handled just as well as the familiar faces.

The pace itself is handled very well. However,even though the ending may feel a little underwhelming to some, All New X-Factor still felt that it maintained its consistent quality throughout the book as it headed towards the conclusion of the current arc. We see that the team is far more cohesive and capable of working together as a unit than they were in earlier issues and it’s good to see this sort of development being recognizable as the series goes on.

The artwork by Carmine Di Giandomenico is as solid as ever with some interesting colors from Lee Loughridge. The tone of the book continues to be consistently fun and it’s good to see that this team has stuck around for eleven issues, showing that they can deliver when required. It’s great to see these characters handled well and Di Giandomenico was an excellent choice for this series.  With Kris Anka and Jared Fletcher’s covers looking awesome, this book rarely disappoints when it comes to the artistic side of things.

The fight scenes in this issue are pulled off creatively from both writer and artist and it’s always fun to watch. Peter David never lets character development clog up a whole issue and allows to keep things entertaining with some quality action sequences. We get to see all of the group in action in exciting ways that benefit their strengths, and that’s what a team book should really be doing. Give each character a chance to shine rather than just the most popular ones.

In short, if you’re not reading All New X-Factor, then you really should be. Whilst #11 wasn’t the greatest conclusion to an arc feeling underwhelming in places, this book still remains one of the superior X-Books and is something that is well worth your time. It’s smart, compelling, and the next issue can’t come quickly enough.