X-Factor Special: Layla Miller

Do you love one-shots? Because I sure as hell do and it’s effing amazing how well the X-Factor writer Peter David wrote this one-shot, but then again it is Peter David so it should have been expected. Even though I thought (for some reason beyond me as I write this) that this was a limited series, as a one-shot it’s simply outstanding.

Before I get things started, I’m going to say one thing real quick:

• I didn’t read the X-Factor/She-Hulk cross over for Secret Invasion just because. I really wanted to just get past the terrible art and push the X-Factor story forward. This doesn’t have anything to do with this review, but it is X-Factor and I was originally going to do a double review, but decided against it.

So! To continue, I’m not even going to come close to giving away all the spoilers of X-Factor: Layla Miller because it’s simply too good for you to not go out an buy, but I’ll do my best to fill you in and let you know how much I liked it. (haha)

**minor spoilers and more after the break**

Our story begins with, you guessed it, Layla Miller, doing what she does best: odd things. And she continues to do odd things–which in this case is standing on an X she drew in the dirt–until someone notices and wants her to stop. In this case, it’s guards at the mutant camp she is being contained at. When they come to stop her (after 8 days of Layla standing, mind you), a satellite comes crashing down to earth killing all of the guards around her and leaving her unscathed… I guess she must have known some kind of stuff (hehe).

Layla Miller is a bad ass

This kind of crash and destruction gives Layla a way to escape the camp. After escaping we see Layla help a few other people by doing the right little thing at the right time which, in turn, causes her to interact with our main characters: Ruby (wiki), the daughter of Cyclops–it sounds crazy, I know–and your average-joe Dwayne. Layla sparks some rebellion into some run-of-the-mill wanna-be protesters and we end up seeing that pan out in the end of the issue.

What this issue really comes down to is Layla doing what she’s great at: putting herself in the right place or saying just the right thing at the right time. It’s perfect. Peter David knows how to write this character so well it’s sick. He captures Layla’s sarcastic tone yet near-emotional-breakdown feeling that makes this character so definitive. It’s wonderous how much Layla knows and can only tell so much to nudge the world in the right direction. I’m hoping to see more of this series (because the end of this comic is so incredible I can’t tell you and it WILL make you want more) even if they are one-shots.

One thing that caught my attention was the lack of young Bishop in this issue. Given that he’s shown to be at the camp where Layla and the Jaime Madrox dupe, back in Messiah CompleX, went into the future to Bishop’s time line (that’s 80 years in the future)… nevertheless, it’s not a big deal.

Art-wise… thing were just as great as the writing. Ruby and the future-Cyclops (yea, he’s in the issue) are drawn almost too well. Just like the writing this art is so amazing. Valentine De Landro mixing with Peter David is utterly stunning throughout this issue. I can’t express how well done all of this is.

Now, you better go out and get this comic… I mean, you have to support great writing like David’s and, as sad as it is to say, you don’t come by art as good as De Landro’s very much.