For someone who enjoys the comic book art form, an entertaining comic is a pamphlet of pleasure. This issue of “X-Factor” is so well constructed, so entertaining, that it is almost a perfect pamphlet of pleasure. I reserve my highest rating for comic book writing for stories that strike me as being particularly innovative and original. The storytelling in this issue is not exactly revolutionary, but it is a highly refined and sophisticated example of contemporary comic storytelling from one of the genre’s masters, Peter David. This issue of “X-Factor” is a done-in-one story that has the feeling of being a near classic. The wit begins right away with the title of the issue. “Rising Again” is a double entendre with a sexual connotation (The story takes place the day after Jamie Madrox and Layla have been married.) and a reference to the villain, a zombie General Robert E. Lee. Yes, the Robert E. Lee of the American Civil War. When Jamie slices off the general’s head in an effort to stop him, Madrox cries, “The South really needs to stop rising again!” This issue also has what will probably be the sweetest, most romantic, without being treacly, moment in any comic book this year. When Jamie asks Layla (who “knows stuff”) whether she thinks they made a mistake in getting married, she says, “I’d rather make a mistake with you than play it safe with anyone else.” Awwww! Leonard Kirk’s art varies tremendously from issue to issue. I don’t know whether the variation is due to the time he has to invest in each comic, or whether it’s because of the inkers. In previous issues, Kirk’s penciling has been reminiscent of Stuart Immonen’s work. In this issue, Kirk appears to be limning the style of one-time “X-Factor” penciler Emanuela Luppachino, and that’s not a bad thing. Faces tend to be quite rounded and expressive, and action scenes look fluid. When Jamie is shirtless, Kirk remembers to draw the long chest scar from the wound that “killed” Madrox a number of issues ago. I don’t know which artist originated the concept, but I like that all the members of X-Factor have a double belt with an “X” buckle that distinguishes them from other X-teams.