Peter David never ceases to amaze me. Back in my younger years when I was a huge Trekkie (or Trekker or Trekkette or Trekzombie or whatever they go by now) I would love reading David's Star Trek novels, as well as his Star Trek comics for DC. When I gave up on Star Trek (about the time Deep Space Nine ended and Voyager was the only thing Trek out there) I also lost touch with David's work. I unfortunately never had the opportunity to read his definitive run on the hulk or his work on X-Factor. I eventually dove back into what he was writing when I picked up Fallen Angel, arguably one of the best comics of the last two years. He hooked with that series and with Madrox he's reeled me in completely.
I didn't know what to expect from this mini, but upon finishing it, I do know that it was one hell of a read. Imagine a noir style story with mutants and a very sharp sense of humor, with a good amount of traditional and mutant based violence as well, and you'll start to get a feel for it.
Madrox the Multiple Man has been sending out his duplicates for the last few years to different areas of the world to learn all there is to know. Once a duplicate has learned a sufficient amount of knowledge, he returns to the original Madrox who reabsorbs him and gains all of that duplicates knowledge and memories. That alone could lead to some very interesting stories, but David focuses on a murder mystery angle. One of Madrox's duplicates was stabbed and died as Madrox was reabsorbing him. The rest of the story is the unfolding of Madrox's search for the killer, complete with noir-ish inner monologues, a stunning babe who turns out to be trouble, double crosses, and a couple of the old X-Factor cast (Wolfsbane and Strong Guy).
I don't really care what type of comics you usually read--superheroes, mystery, slice of life, supernatural, whatever--you're going to find this title engaging and a lot more interesting than you'd initially expect. It's really a shame that not all of the current X-titles could be written this well. On the positive side, however, David has laid hints that there might be more Madrox or X-Factor in the future and that is definitely something to hope for.
I didn't know what to expect from this mini, but upon finishing it, I do know that it was one hell of a read. Imagine a noir style story with mutants and a very sharp sense of humor, with a good amount of traditional and mutant based violence as well, and you'll start to get a feel for it.
Madrox the Multiple Man has been sending out his duplicates for the last few years to different areas of the world to learn all there is to know. Once a duplicate has learned a sufficient amount of knowledge, he returns to the original Madrox who reabsorbs him and gains all of that duplicates knowledge and memories. That alone could lead to some very interesting stories, but David focuses on a murder mystery angle. One of Madrox's duplicates was stabbed and died as Madrox was reabsorbing him. The rest of the story is the unfolding of Madrox's search for the killer, complete with noir-ish inner monologues, a stunning babe who turns out to be trouble, double crosses, and a couple of the old X-Factor cast (Wolfsbane and Strong Guy).
I don't really care what type of comics you usually read--superheroes, mystery, slice of life, supernatural, whatever--you're going to find this title engaging and a lot more interesting than you'd initially expect. It's really a shame that not all of the current X-titles could be written this well. On the positive side, however, David has laid hints that there might be more Madrox or X-Factor in the future and that is definitely something to hope for.
Ratings
Art: 4
Story: 4.5
Overall: 4.25
Art: 4
Story: 4.5
Overall: 4.25
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