Gambit: Wanted #1
Writer: Chris Claremont
Artist: Robert Gill
Colorist: Bryan Valenza
Cover Artist: Lenil Francis Yu & Romulo Fajardo Jr.
In comics, change is a constant. But, some things remain forever the same. In a time when some books give us entire pages with no narration or dialogue whatsoever, you can always rely on Chris Claremont to give you plenty of text. There’s no doubt he makes sure you get your money’s worth in Gambit: Wanted #1.
The Big Easy
Remy LeBeau—Gambit—was first introduced in Uncanny X-Men #266. Here he helps a de-aged Storm, and as a result the two bonded over their common background as thieves. When he returned her to the X-Men, she offered for him to join.
This miniseries takes place between the offer and his acceptance of it.
Gambit has returned home to New Orleans just in time for Mardi Gras. The group of children that serve as his would-be apprentices find him as he’s enjoying the festivities. There are too many homeless, and the thieves are trying to help. Since Gambit was away, the oldest—a young woman named Elodie—took it upon herself to game the new casino in town.
Gambit finds Elodie having caught the eye of a mysterious and dangerous woman named Suzerain. Unfortunately, in extricating Elodie, Remy himself catches Suzerain’s eye. She hires the deadly assassin known as Bullseye to bring them both to her. Are Gambit’s skills enough to save him from such a deadly foe?
Let the Good Times Roll
Gambit is one of my favorite X-Men. Yeah, he’s mysterious with a really cool visual look, and he has a cool accent. I’m not immune to the Rule of Cool. But what really draws me to the character is his sense of loyalty and honor, which I think is stronger than most of the X-Men’s (including a certain short guy with claws who’s supposed to follow the samurai code).
Gail Simone is doing good stuff with Gambit over in Uncanny X-Men, but I couldn’t pass up the allure of a solo miniseries written by his creator, the Man himself—Chris Claremont. And I’m glad I didn’t.
By going back to our earliest days with the character, Claremont ignores much of the baggage that has been added to the character over the ensuing years. Here, there’s no Thieves Guild, no Belladonna or Julien, no Mutant Massacre, no tortured romance with Rogue… you get the idea. Here he’s just Remy LeBeau, a thief with a code of honor. Which is still plenty captivating.
As I said earlier, with Claremont, you get your money’s worth when it comes to word count. Gambit’s inner monologue is very talkative, so we get plenty of insights into his mind. We can feel his love for his home of New Orleans, and for the children under his care. It’s that love that has him so conflicted about the offer to join the X-Men. He understands the need to help the whole world, but what about his world?
Soon, he’s in the crosshairs of Bullseye. It’s rare that we see the assassin outside of Daredevil’s orbit, let alone hanging out in the mutant side of the Marvel universe. Here, it makes for a very exciting matchup that shows both how deadly Bullseye can be but also just how skilled Gambit is. And this was just round one. It’s clear they’ll be facing off again before the miniseries is over.
Man of Mystery
Chris Claremont is practically synonymous with the X-Men. He wrote them longer than anybody, and he’s responsible for so many of their most famous stories. Plus, he created Gambit along with Jim Lee, so in a lot of ways, this book is like coming home again for him. He’s always been a bit guilty of overwriting, and that’s certainly the case here. But when it’s all good, I can’t complain too much. He’s crafted an intriguing mystery with who Suzerain is, and why she’s interested in Gambit and Elodie.
Artist Robert Gill is unfamiliar to me, but he does a great job here. If you’re going to draw Gambit, you have to be able to handle his costume and make him look suitably cool. Gill is more than capable of doing just that. His action choreography is impressive as well. When Gambit and Bullseye throw down, you definitely get a sense of how skilled both men are.
The colors by Bryan Valenza complement the art well here. New Orleans is a bright and colorful city, which shows through here. But the parts that Gambit and his young charges occupy are the darker, more dangerous corners, and the colors convey that difference as well. The casino looks almost like another world entirely, as bright and modern as it looks, which shows how it’s almost a whole different world from the one outside. Oh, and Gambit’s power effects look as awesome as they should.
Don’t Miss
Gambit: Wanted #1 is a great showcase for the character, as we get plenty of insight into his headspace while also seeing him face off with a foe that doesn’t usually interact with mutants. There’s an intriguing mystery at its core, and plenty of action along the way. They say that sometimes you can’t go home again, but based on this first issue, that’s not the case for Chris Claremont and Gambit.