X-FACTOR #1
"The Mountaintop, Part 1: The Player"
Recommended (8/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Jeff Jensen
Pencils: Arthur Ranson
Colors: Paul Mounts
Letters: Paul Tutrone
Editor: Mark Powers
Price: $2.50 US/$4.00 CAN |
Jeff Jensen certainly impresses with his comics-writing debut here. His script puts one immediately in mind of the Matthew Shepherd case, but from a completely different angle. This is about the politics of law-enforcement, and the fact that behind those politics are people with problems and prejudices. Ranson's a new name in comics (at least to me) as well, and his initial offering is just as striking.
A young mutant is found dead and strung up to the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, the victim of a brutal and particularly cruel murder. Two federal investigators from the new Mutant Civil Rights Task Force -- Aaron Kearse and Catherine Gray -- are brought in to get to the bottom of the apparent hate crime, but they find almost exactly the opposite what was initially expected. Meanwhile, it appears that the pair, despite being capable investigators, might not well suited to their duties, given their tumultuous pasts.
Ranson's art brings a number of apparent influences to mind... Richard (Cage) Corben, the late Edvin (Human Target Biukovic and Gene (Top 10) Ha among them. There's a rich but stark level of detail at play in the book, and the colors reinforce that tone. Some awkward pacing, inconsistent figures and odd scene transitions make for a little bit of confusion in the tail end of this issue, but overall, this is some strong, realistic artwork.
Jensen hasn't just crafted flawed characters here, but shattered ones. Kearse's anger toward mutants also adds to the property, giving one pause to think why the government would assign a man who is obviously wrong for the job (answer: it's a PR function). I also can't wait to find out more about Catherine's past and what caused her baby's death (I have an idea, but I'm waiting to see). This book isn't just about the pair's efforts to solve/prevent a crime, but about watching their inner struggles with gaping emotional wounds.
The greatest strength of this first issue is how politically-minded it is. Though dealing with ideas like super-powers, Jensen never lets it stray too far from reality. The parallels with real-life social issues gives this world of mutants a thoroughly believable tone. There's a complexity and intelligence behind the script that makes it compelling. Given that there are superhuman story elements and a male-and-female protagonist team, comparisons to The X-Files are likely, but they wouldn't do this book justice. X-Factor is far more grounded.
Addendum: A number of readers have e-mailed to point out that both Jensen and Ranson are not entirely new to the comics scene. Jensen did some writing on DC's Team Titans a few years ago, apparently, and Ranson has done work for 2000 AD as well as some for DC Comics. I appreciate the information.
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