In perhaps the most shocking news to come out of C2E2 this weekend, Marvel Comics announced at the X-Men panel that Peter David’s X-Factor run will finally come to an end in September with issue 262.
Writer Peter David has been guiding the red headed stepchildren of the mutant world on and off for over two decades, and while it’s been many years since the books have placed high on the sales charts it was still surprising to hear the news. X-Factor felt like one of those books that would just always be there.
Peter David’s recent serious health scare was well-publicized and one wonders if that came into play here, but regardless of the reasoning behind the end of the series you have to give it up to the magnificent feat that was Peter David’s X-Factor. David began his regular run with issue #70 in 1991 (he wrote #55 a year earlier) and wrote the series through various volumes and re-numberings for most of the years since then.
Other writers have certainly written X-Factor over the years, but Peter David’s dominance on the title certainly made it feel like his own and imbued the book with a spirit that was damn near indie. (You know, despite the constant crossovers that were foisted upon it, which caused me to eventually drop the book.)
Decades long runs by a single creator on a Big Two comic book seem more and more like a thing of the past and with the end of X-Factor we might have just seen the last of its kind.
I dropped this after the first two arc, but “mad propz and respectz” to Mr. Peter David..
Very sad to hear this, X-Factor is one of the books that got me into comics properly, and I’ve been following it faithfully through the years. Still, it has felt for the past few issues like it’s been building up to a big finale, so at least it looks like it’ll be going out with a bang instead of a whimper.
This is a bummer man.
This is sad news indeed, X-Factor has been one of my favorite titles every month and I’m sad to see it go. Hope Peter David’s health continues to improve and we see him on another title down the road.
“Peter David has been guiding the red-headed stepchildren of the mutant world on and off for over two decades”
Well, more OFF than ON.
He wrote X-Factor from fall ’91 to spring ’93. And he’s written it from 2006-present. So, like 9 of the last 22 years.
Overall I like the guy’s writing, but I don’t see how everything involving him has to be billed as some sort of a grandiose tragedy or injustice (aside from the guy’s health scare, of course). He had a DAMN long leash on this last X-Factor series. Its sales have been near the bottom of Marvel’s regular titles for at least a couple years now, but still they let him keep going.
So I don’t think it’s shocking at all that he’s finally off the book. I’m shocked that it’s lasted this long.
Likewise, pretty much EVERY Big Two writer has had to incorporate crossovers into their series from time to time, but only when Peter David has to do it do we hear so much kicking and screaming about what a grave inconvenience it is.
I wish the guy well, though, and would definitely like to see him do other comics work. Hopefully he stays healthy for a long time to come.
Hmmmm.. He may have been making half way decent sales in trades.
Does anyone know what the x factor trades sales numbers were like. I know i gifted a bunch of X factor trades.. It was the only “superhero” series that i thought people might like.
“Likewise, pretty much EVERY Big Two writer has had to incorporate crossovers into their series from time to time, but only when Peter David has to do it do we hear so much kicking and screaming about what a grave inconvenience it is.”
David writes “his own stories”, so a crossover feels especially forced and annoying. His writing always felt different from the rest of the X-books. At least to me. So when a crossover interrupts his own plots it feels like a big waste of time to get to the good stuff.
Comic news doesn’t normally get me misty eyed, but THIS did. X-Factor is not only the best X-Men book ever, but my single most favorite comic series of all time. It’s what got me into reading comics as both a kid and adult. My first tattoo was even X-Factor related. I understand that it had to end due to Peter David’s health scare, but man…this is so sad. No comic series in the world will ever replace X-Factor.
Wow, I’ve read a lot of Peter David’s run on these books and it was almost always a great read, wish him the best going forward.
Sad news about this, it’s been a consistently well written book. .. what’s with the jibe at redheads in your post…..so not cool. What’s next a nice wee racist joke?
It is a common American idiom.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=red+headed+stepchild
It’s also commonly used in the phrase “beat like a red-headed stepchild.”
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-red2.htm
I used this phrase once in some random context with a friend of mine several years ago. She said “You know that I have red hair. You know I grew up with a step-dad. You know I had a rough childhood. Why would you say that to me?”
So I’ve not used it since. But apart from that mortifying experience, I’ve never actually seen it said anywhere that people who are red-headed (or a step-child) find this expression offensive. I may be wrong though.
Hope Mr. David’s decision is not health-related and that we see some new projects (creator owned?) from him soon.
ya this is a cultural misunderstanding.
Hmmm… these redheaded step child ‘jokes’ were originally aimed at people of colour. Just sayin 🙁
I’ve always thought it was funny that no matter how many:
Relaunches
Renumberings
Change of cast
this book SOMEHOW survived. Sad to see it go but I’m sure Peter David needs more rest so I’m rooting for him to recover.
Wasn’t sure by the wording whether the book was cancelled or David was just moving on.
The book is cancelled but apparently PAD has something else in the works with Marvel coming up.
Good news.. the last part
Peter David’s run on the current volume of X-Factor will have to be considered one of the best X-Team runs ever. I think David was always swimming against the current by working with B-list X-characters, but he fleshed out so many of those characters, and made them interesting. I suspect that David’s run has seeded many ideas that future X writers will revisit.
I started reading comics regularly right when the current run of X-Factor started. It was one of the first books I tried. Overall it’s been a great run with some exceptionally strong character work.
Sadly, I just dropped it last month. I found the hell lords story so uninteresting and opposite of what I like about the series that I dropped it instantly. I typically avoid buying comics I don’t like out of habit or sentimentality but in this case I will probably make an exception and pick up the last few issues. At the very least the finale should be good.
Ya it hasnt been quite right recently.. i kind of guessed it would end soon.. so i stuck with it..
Hell on earth hasn’t been the best storyline and the art stinks. ..pity
Man the writing has been on the wall for this.. seeing as how the latest arc has been called some variation of “the end”.. i forget the exact title. And of course his health. I was able to tell Mr David how much i liked Xfactor a few years ago (i think it was at the first c2e2… maybe wizard world chicago.. i forget). I loved the mutant detective agency angle.. it was more like a non superhero book. At the time i put David’s Xfactor as the best marvel book along with Hickman’s early FF and i told him so. Im not sure if he even knew who Hickman was back then, Ha.. Now it seems more like a compliment than it did then i suppose. Heres looking forward to Mr David on a new title.
this makes me a sad panda.
i love the xFactor books and will now a have a big fat void to fill….
Many thanks to Mr David et al for the years of great stories 🙂
I really hope that Madrox and Layla end up in the right hands after this. PAD crafted all of these characters so well, it’d be a shame to see them fall by the wayside.
I didn’t know how much the news release would say or not, but as it was presented in the panel they wanted to make this sound like something Peter David decided to do. They ran a video of him at the show in which he said he was reaching the climax of a story he had been building for many years now, and that the sales were good but not great, and that he has another Marvel project lined up so this was the time. His video was comedic and featured his daughter crying and wailing at the loss of the book, so not much acrimony apparent in the decision.
I jumped into this with the Madrox mini – that was phenominal. I then picked up X Factor – but honestly it left me flat and the constant events really killed it. I think I dropped it somewhere in Skrull Invasation.
That’s some really sad news. I am old enough to have bought his first issue of X-Factor when it came out and it is still a great book nowadays. David is pretty much the only writer who could ever make me laugh out loud reading his stories, yet they don’t feel silly or gimmicky. I love his way of writing which is unique and different and always made me very happy.
I guess I always thought he’d be around writing X-Factor so even though this really shouldn’t come as a surprise it does. I hope Mr Davids health is going to keep improving and that he will keep on writing comics for many years to come. As far as I am concerned there is no X-Factor without him being the writer.
This makes me very sad. Peter David is one of my favorite comic writers and I hav been a loyal X-Factor reader for most of my life. Sad to see the title go. Hopefully PAD will be moving on o another great book.
Always wanted to check this run out, even though it didn’t get a ton of column inches, everything I’ve read has been really positive.
Sounds like PAD is getting to wrap things up on his own time, rather than pressured into doing so, which is nice.