If there was ever a series that you know will always pick you up from the airport, give you amazing back massages, and make sweet sweet love to you every night with out fail, X-Factor will be ten times better than that series. This was the first series that I started to pick up religiously back in 2005, and for every single issue, I become enthraled with the story (well, except for that lame She-Hulk crossover, but whatever.). X-Factor #44 is just another brick in the road of Peter David’s nearly flawless run, but like every single issue, it’s an amazing work to be witnessed.

The majority of this issue focuses on the bodyguard storyline that’s been winding between the past few issues, and the key players here are Monet and Darwin. Monet has been featured heavily since issue #2, and since then, her rich bitch character has been a delight to see with her peers who she looks down upon. So of course it’s always a treat to see her, but the real star of this issue is Darwin. A leftover character from Deadly Genesis, Darwin has truly florished under the guidance of PAD. This isn’t really much of a suprise, as pretty much the entire XF Investigations team were X-leftovers that he made into compelling characters, so turning Darwin into one is no hard task for him. He’s portrayed here as the young bumbling sweetheart who, despite being over his head, tries to stay upbeat and do the right thing. His reactions to an incredibly sexy Monet were hysterical, easily the high points of the issue. Otherwise, we have a brief scene of Madrox in the future enjoying some downtime with the new love of his life, and an even briefer, yet touching scene between Siryn and Val Cooper. All these scenes are expected to be solid once PAD expands upon them in future issues.

The art was good, I didn’t even notice that DeLandro had a guest artist working with him. The art wasn’t anything extravagent or mind-blowing, but for this series, it’s supposed to stay grounded. I still miss Pablo Raimondi.

Another solid issue, with great characterisation. Like we expect anything else.