Gambit #4 Review

Marvel has launched a number of new solo series in the last year that have succeeded in offering clean, engaging, accessible takes on old characters. It's disappointing that Gambit hasn't been able to find the same creative success as books like Hawkeye and Captain Marvel. The fun factor is there, but beneath that veneer the series still seems strangely hollow after four issues.

James Asmus focuses more on action this month, as Gambit dives head first into a battle with dragon demons with little but the clothes on his back to serve as weapons. The scale is certainly bigger than I would have expected from the series. It's cool to see Gambit successfully battling monsters of the sort one would normally expect Thor to contend with. And our hero gets a few nice lines of narration in, including "I might as well die as I lived -- tryin' to impress a pretty girl that doesn't care." That's Gambit to a tee.

Clay Mann can certainly render a mean dragon or three. Some of the many battle scenes in this issue look spectacular, showing off Mann's talent for kinetic motion and power. But many panels are rough and haphazard as Leonard Kirk is called upon to fill in the gaps in Mann's work. Hopefully Mann will be allowed a bit of a breather and can return in top form again on a future arc.

Ultimately, what is the point of all of this tomfoolery? Asmus never reveals much about Remy's new partner, Joelle, or why she went through all this trouble on what was apparently a simple death wish. At the end of the conflict, Gambit is still in the exact same wayward emotional state he began the series. There's just too little sense of purpose, impetus, or clear direction to the book. Without those qualities, I can't picture myself following Gambit's solo adventures much longer.

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

New Posters for Rise of the Guardians and More Upcoming Films

Check out the latest one-sheets for the upcoming releases Rise of the Guardians, Stand Up Guys, and Gambit (no, not that Gambit, fanboys).

Source : ign[dot]com

Gambit #2 Review

An ongoing Gambit series is a tough sell. Though the character is fairly popular even by X-Men standards, much of that is due to residual nostalgia from the early '90s and X-Men: The Animated Series rather than any recent, memorable comic storylines. Gambit is one of the few characters whom even Marvel writers will admit to not liking very much. James Asmus had his work cut out for him coming into this series. And while there's fun to be had in Gambit's new series, the book still hasn't done much to justify its own existence after two issues.

Fresh off robbing a collector's secret stash of supervillain artifacts, Gambit now finds himself involuntarily bonded to a mystery device and in need of some answers. What ensues is another heist, this time in a museum setting. The focus on thievery and heists provides the book with a slight touch of excitement. And unlike issue #1, Gambit doesn't rely on a series of extremely convenient and contrived occurrences to succeed in his goals here.

Asmus still relies overly much on Gambit's narration, not as a means of exploring his character or motivations, but merely providing exposition and pushing the plot forward. And with the relative lack of supporting characters in this issue, Gambit really has no one to talk to but himself. Worse, it's still difficult to say what exactly is driving Gambit in this series. There's the vague notion that he wants to return to his thieving roots, but why? What is he really trying to accomplish beyond removing the pesky artifact from his body? That deeper emotional core needs to become apparent if this series is going to have any sort of lasting appeal.

Clay Mann's art helps keep the heist sequences engaging, at least. Mann has a real talent for rendering powerful, fluid figures that Asmus puts to good use. I do wish that the coloring meshed better with the pencils and inks, however. The colors are too shimmery and ethereal for what would otherwise be a realistically rendered issue.

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and IGN Movies. He can't wait until he's old enough to feel ways about stuff. Follow Jesse on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Gambit #1 Review

Remy LeBeau is back in action in a new ongoing solo series, much to the delight (or, in some cases, disdain) of many fans. Gambit #1 by James Asmus and Clay Mann aims to return the character to his thieving roots, which results in what is essentially a superhero heist comic. It’s a lot of fun, but convenient plot points , a lack of convincing motivation, and lackluster art production hold this debut back from being all that it could be.

Asmus frames this issue with Gambit’s sometimes excessive narration, which does little to offer up much insight on his character for newcomers. Instead, the narration serves the purpose of exposition, leaving a character that should be undeniably charming with his words falling flat. Thankfully, Remy’s dialogue doesn’t suffer from the same problem, and his interactions with the other characters – romantic interests and enemies alike – are bouncy enough to keep this book moving along at an enjoyable pace. It was strange, however, that Gambit’s typical dialect and slang only begins to appear about midway through the issue.

While the dialogue is mostly solid, Gambit’s motivation for returning to a life of heists is rather thin. Perhaps there will be more revealed in issues to come, but at this point, the only true motivation for Gambit’s actions in this issue – crashing a fundraiser held by a mutant-hating socialite – is apparent boredom and a desire for thrills. Even though mutant-prejudice is present in the issue, it’s importance is merely inferred instead of being used as a primary motivating factor for the character, giving his plight less weight to the reader. Additionally, the methods in which Gambit gains access to the target of his heist is rather convenient. Basically, the aforementioned socialite has a bizarre and complicated name, which Remy purposefully mispronounces when speaking to him in order to tape the man repeating it, later using the recording in a voice authentication system.

The other major drawback of this issue falls in the lap of the art team. Mann’s layouts are generally impressive with his storytelling succinct and creative. However, the pencil thin inks of Seth Mann suggests an attempt at a photorealistic style of art, which isn’t corroborated by the colors of Rachelle Rosenberg. She gives the book an almost watercolor-esque feel for a majority of the foregrounds, but all of the styles just culminate in a look that bleeds together and becomes muddied. Individually, the artists deliver some appealing work, but when it all comes together it just doesn’t click. That said, there are select wide shots and extreme close-ups that work incredibly well.

Though I’m not typically a huge Gambit fan, last week’s Hawkeye #1 proved once again that any character can anchor a book for any kind of reader as long as the writing is solid and the storytelling is sound. Sadly, Gambit #1 is a fundamentally flawed book that doesn’t live up to its concept. Hopefully, things can turn around in future issues with more cohesive art and consistent characterization.

Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator himself. Follow Joey on Twitter, or find him on IGN. He loves superhero pets so hard.

Source : ign[dot]com