Issue(s): X-Factor #76
Cover Date: Mar 92
Title: "X-communication"
Credits:
Peter David - Writer
Tom Raney & Kevin West - Penciler
Al Milgrom - Inker
Suzanne Gaffney - Assistant Editor
Bob Harras - Editor

Review/plot:
In the Considerations for Hulk #390-391, i quoted the kind of soft-sell approach that was used to send readers to this issue. Of course understatement is part of Peter David's humor toolkit, but i kind of wonder if the hand-off reflected his philosophy regarding crossovers. This entire issue is written in such a way that if you were just reading the Hulk stories, you could skip this and almost not know you were missing anything (the developments with Wolfsbane here will factor in to the final Hulk part, though). It's not quite the same the other way around since this story starts with X-Factor already in Trans-Sabal and reacting directly to events from Hulk #391, but it is a complete story in its own right; you wouldn't have to go back to Hulk #392 to see the conclusion (of course "have to" is a matter of perspective; any self-respecting comic nerd completest is going to want all four parts of the story). It's also worth noting that while the Hulk arc is called "War & Pieces", it's labelled as a 3 part story, all 3 parts being in the Hulk issues, and the cover of this issue doesn't even say "A War & Pieces tie-in!" or anything like that. (It's for that reason that you won't see "War & Pieces" listed in the Crossover field at the bottom of this entry or in the drop-down on the Advanced search page.)

I wondered if the kind of one-way push (i.e. X-Factor readers need to get the Hulk issues more than Hulk readers need the X-Factor issue) was due to the fact that X-Factor was the stronger seller. Conveniently, these issues take place during the time of year when the Statement of Ownership numbers are published, and it turns out that while X-Factor did sell better, it wasn't by an order of magnitude. Most likely i'm looking at all of this way too deeply (and just wait until i get to the Galactic Storm reference in Hulk #393!) but in any event it was worth looking at how this crossover was structured.

Here's the opening page of this issue, which again uses humor to acknowledge the crossover while bringing us up to speed.

Note that we have two guest pencilers on this issue. This opening page makes a real effort to replicate Larry Stroman's art in terms of Rahne's close-up, and the artists are very generous with speedlines when depicting Quicksilver, but in general the art in this issue is more straightforward than Stroman's.

The story begins after Wolfsbane was knocked away, and knocked unconscious, during X-Factor's fight with the Hulk. She is found by a Trans-Sabalian brother and sister (for what it's worth, while coming in and out of consciousness, Rahne briefly thinks that the brother is Rictor). The brother, at least, is loyal to Farnoq Dahn, the Trans-Sabalian leader, and he treats him like a religious figure.

The rest of X-Factor are searching for Havok, who was caught in an explosion with the Hulk. But they can't find him. Quicksilver goes to search for Wolfsbane while the rest of X-Factor get into a battle with the Pantheon.

X-Factor eventually manage to drive the Pantheon off.

Speedlines galore as Quicksilver searches for Wolfsbane by being chased by Prometheus!

While Quicksilver searches, Wolfsbane is treated to the philosophical views of the brother that found her. He's tied her up and he harangues her "American" ways (even though she says that she's not American). Wolfsbane could escape by transforming into her full wolf form, but she's afraid that she would lose control.

Wolfsbane manages to break out at the same time that Prometheus catches up to Quicksilver. But she's still tied up.

The brother comes out to stab her, but he's stopped by the sister.

The brother responds by killing his sister, and then Rahne's full animal side comes out, and she kills the brother.

The issue ends with Wolfsbane saying that she's going to burn in Hell.

Good contrasts. I like the way that the brother has some good points mixed in with a lot of ignorance, and also the way Wolfsbane reacts and then regrets it. It's good nuance.

Of course no one was probably clamoring for an X-Factor vs. Pantheon fight, and the fill-in art doesn't really sell it, but that's not the focus of the story.

Statement of Ownership Total Paid Circulation: Average of Past 12 months = 265,377. Single issue closest to filing date = 392,125.

Quality Rating: B+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Continues directly from Hulk #391, and continues in Hulk #392. See the considerations for Avengers West Coast #83 regarding Quicksilver.

References:

• Wolfsbane get knocked away by the Hulk in Hulk #391.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

"Of course no one was probably clamoring for an X-Factor vs. Pantheon fight"
I love fights between different teams in Marvel comics. There are so many different match-ups possible that it will always be interesting, IMO.

The Tom Raney art isn't too bad. Haven't alway been a fan of his, but he does have his moments and he and Milgrom do a decent Stroman impression. The Kevin West is very Marvel house style. It's not bad, but it's certainly not as expressive as Raney/Stroman.

Peter David is renowned for hating crossovers and hypocritically has X-Factor crossover with the other book he's writing after the first story arc.

I think this crossover is slightly different than say X-Cutioner's Song or X-Tinction Agenda. It's straight forward, deftly written and as fnord points out, you don't need to read the X-Factor issue (note: singular) to understand the Hulk stuff. Everything is handled really well and it's fairly self-contained. I don't necessarily see it as hypocritical, but that might be because I really love the story.

This is vaguely familiar so I wonder if I had this issue in my ancient box of random garage sale comics at my grandparent's place. Those panels of the brother killing his sister and Wolfsbane going berserk are familiar.

AF, PAD has said the reason he hates crossovers is because the writer has to stop working on his plots and work on other people's plots. There's nothing hypocritical about him not minding a crossover written by one writer- himself, in this case.

Love the culture clash. It's rather relevant in 2016, if you've been following the news. Including the splash page prominently showing Rhane's large breasts. She's what, fourteen years old? The story wasn't all that good (coming in the middle of "Hulk" and "X-Factor" storylines) but it was a good analysis of the clashes between cultures, which still resonates to this day.