Gambit #1 review

When Gambit needs some me time, it's time for a bit of thieving. But given he's an X-Man these days, he steals from criminals. In this debut issue the mark is Borya Cich, who finances costumed bad guys' schemes and, if their plans don't come off, takes their scientific or magical gimmicks. So it's off to a party at Cich's house, where a mix of wits, weapons and feminine wiles (er, someone else's) helps his heist come off.  Gambit doesn't want anything in particular, just the challenge. He has to take something, of course, which makes for a killer ending.

Writer James Asmus gives us a Gambit for today. Gone is the Pepe Le Pew soundalike, instead we have an instinctively intelligent guy who'll be whoever people want him to be if it'll help his goal. And today, no one wants him to be a heavily accented cartoon skunk.

Which isn't to say he doesn't employ the old charm, but the guest with whom he flirts obviously has her own agenda - he'd have had to work pretty hard not to have her 'fall' for him.

And I'm not wholly convinced Cich isn't playing Gambit too - the heist goes far too smoothly, considering the mutant uses his own name for the party and Cich knows Gambit's reputation.

All of which is a matter for future issues. This one, despite a cliffhanger, is pretty much a done-in-one. Like last week's Hawkeye, it features a hero out of costume, away from his regular team. Current storylines in the main book don't impinge one whit, allowing us to relax and just enjoy the comic at hand. There's a terrific panel of party guests talking about life in the Marvel Universe, but it adds texture and humour without demanding special knowledge on the part of the reader.

This opener is enjoyable. Remy is cocky without being arrogant, smart in the use of his powers. He's a good-looking chap too, as drawn by Clay Mann - fans will be delighted at the opening page's cheesecake. Slug-like criminal aside, penciller Mann and inker Seth Mann drew everyone real purty. The problem is that their action sequences aren't always clear. What, for example, is Gambit tossing an explosive tiepin at in this sequence?
                                   

A car presumably, but there's an establishing shot missing.

Later in the book there's a sequence of panels in which Ganbit is preparing to steal what looks to be a metal scarab beetle, but it's not at all clear why he's putting a metal clip on the stalk holding it up.

If Asmus and Mann can keep the storytelling tight, and the book away from crossovers. this could be a very enjoyable series. It's definitely off to a great start.