Regardless of the numbers game this issue packs a lot of content. Let’s run those numbers (what is this, Bleeding Cool.com?):

Main story: 40 pages

Secondary story: 12

Character profiles: 15 pages

Madrox #1 reprint: 21 pages

Covers gallery: 2 pages

Ads: only 10

In THE INVISIBLE WOMAN HAS VANISHED Pt.1, X-Factor Investigations has returned to New York City. Their first unlikely clients are none other than Franklin and Valeria Richards. (The latter quite humorously informs Madrox and Darwin of the real meaning of irony.) The Invisible Woman left in the Fantasticar. The car came back. She didn’t. The case is accepted and most of the team—Madrox, Shatterstar, Rictor, and Guido—head to the Baxter building to consult a dismissive and suspect Reed Richards.

Elsewhere, Siryn is dressing after a fling with Deadpool. Wait, what?

Back at X-Factor Investigations—an abandoned morgue—Monet shows up, followed soon after by Val (with whom I am not familiar). Val bears the bad news that Monet’s father has been taken by terrorist extremists. Their price? Monet herself.

At the Baxter Building, Guido and The Thing push each other’s figurative buttons until a fight breaks out. Madrox uses this opportunity to distract Reed with a dupe while the real Madrox and Rictor find their way to the Fantasticar to search for clues. They come across a bobby pin, which Longshot uses to somehow determine that Sue Reed was sucked into a spatial rift, all seen in a beautiful black and white vision. In the final pages of the vision, and the story thus far, Longshot encounters Layla Miller; she welcomes him to Latveria.

While there are other features, the main story is of course the main attraction of this over-sized spectacular. In those forty pages, all creators involved deliver a perfect jumping-on point for new readers. Most notable, for me as a writer, is Peter David’s realistic dialogue. Their intentions, positive and negative connotations, and mannerisms are clear and indicative of their attitudes, making the characters relatable and easily understood. The art—not as jarring as one might expect from art duties split between two artists—also helps in keeping the action and emotions clear. It serves the story well and it looks good, too.

Overall it’s a solid package and a fun read well worth the $4.99 price tag.

“ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!”