Gambit, Volume 1: Once a Thief... by James Asmus

Gambit, Volume 1: Once a Thief... Reviews

• 
  Amanda

  Oh, Remy LeBeau, why can't Marvel let you be a truly dastardly scoundrel these days?
  
  One of the reasons I like Chris Claremont's Gambit is because he truly walked the line between good guy and bad guy and, in Howard Mackie's The Tithing story arc, we learned about a complex past steeped in the back alleys and shadows of New Orleans. To me, the best Gambit is an unapologetic thief whose wit and devil-may-care attitude make us forgive--but not forget--his shortcomings. What I don't enjoy is a Gambit who steals only because it's an itch that needs to be scratched--but, hey, no real harm done because it's always from some bad guy, Gambit never really wanted the said object any way, and by stealing said object he creates the means by which he can heroically save the day. All while he cracks a few obvious jokes that stand in for any real wit or charm. The Gambit-lite of John Layman doesn't particularly interest me.
  
  And neither does the one presented by James Asmus. This Gambit does have some promise, but is ultimately predictable. Gambit's bored these days and just wants to stretch the old sticky fingers and see if he still has the ability to walk out of some place with something that isn't his. His target is the home of a supervillain and his outing brings him into contact with a femme fatale who looks like a Laura Croft rip-off with tattoos. He, of course, steals what she wants, they team up (but have trust issues), he saves her, she betrays him, yadda, yadda, yadda.
  
  If there's a character ripe for a mature storyline, it's Gambit. Frankly, I want a Gambit who is a bastard. There should be womanizing, honest-to-God stealing because he wants something of value that's not his and no rhapsodizing on the supposed romance of thievery, gambling (with cards and with lives), voodoo, betrayal from his end instead of someone else's, and maybe a few bodies left in a bayou.
  
  I am sticking with the series, however, because there are flashes of promise. I enjoyed the realistic art work which shuns the cartoonish art work that was my biggest problem with the John Layman series. Also, there are genuine flashes of humor and, while it does lean too heavily on internal monologue to move the story forward, Gambit's voice hits the right tone for me. And, best of all, THERE'S NO ROGUE (a character that I liked in the 90's, but that storyline's been done to death). Hopefully, now that we've got the pre-requisite heist story arc out of the way, Asmus might take this into some more intriguing and unexpected directions.
  
  Cross posted at
  This Insignificant Cinder
  
• 
  Sam Quixote

  Gambit has his own Marvel NOW! series? They kept that quiet! But it’s true, there are 3 volumes of Remy Lebeau’s antics from James “Quantum and Woody” Asmus, and, after reading the first one, I can see why no-one’s talking about it. It’s Gambit repeatedly doing his rogueish thief thing while a bunch of two-dimensional characters take him through some unengaging storylines.
  
  Gambit appears at a rich businessman’s private party to lift some expensive gear, just ‘cos he’s bored of being a teacher at the Jean Grey School, and meets a femme fatale who leads him on a bizarre journey into another realm, or something. The second and final storyline sees Gambit forced into working for the rich businessman to steal Excalibur - enter Pete Wisdom and MI13 (paranormal British intelligence agency).
  
  James Asmus is doing great stuff over at Valiant but he can’t find a pulse with Gambit. I don’t think that’s entirely fault - Gambit simply isn’t a lead character who’s much better in an ensemble cast (like a lot of X-Men characters, Wolverine included). Asmus tries to give Remy a personality but besides the raffish ‘tude and occasional dips into French (oh-ho-ho mon ami!), there isn’t much to him.
  
  None of the supporting cast, from the generic evil businessguy to the bad girl with the rad ink and everyone in between, are particularly interesting either, so there’s no-one here to really become invested in. The first storyline didn’t make sense in where it headed while the second was easier to follow but still wasn’t very enthralling.
  
  My default mood when reading Gambit was basically unattached boredom, occasionally rising to mild interest (like when Gambit’s thrown out of a plane with his arms and legs tied and has to figure out how to survive), but its not enough to recommend and definitely didn’t interest me in wanting to pick up volumes 2 and 3.
  
  It looks like Marvel are giving every single character they’ve got a shot at their own series which sometimes works - take Magneto, Loki and the forthcoming Doop series which I’m sure will be mega-awesome - but in the case of Gambit, it’s a gamble that didn’t pay off. Au revoir, Remy and your weird hot-pink attire!
• 
  Kristen ꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱

  this volume started with promise but issue by issue my interest fell. maybe it’s a personal thing — i don’t think gambit could ever be boring but this writer doesn’t do it for me. there are so many characters to keep track of and remembering who’s good and who’s bad was nearly impossible (especially considering it took me 4 days to read this!) i think if you read this all in one day it would be better.
• 
  Ariana Deralte

  The art in this series is pretty good, but that story was cliché as can be.
• 
  Dan

  Yes, I am aware that this review may be somewhat biased, seeing as how Gambit is my favorite comic character, but I think that would also entitle me to be more critical of any new ongoing he stars in.
  
  This series debuted a week after the new Hawkeye ongoing series, and while they both got grouped together in several previews and reviews, due to similarities in the nature of the characters (womanizing, reformed villain-types who have impeccable aim), it was obvious the Hawkeye series would continue to garner more attention, what with the Avengers film and the fact that it was being created by two superstars. Gambit's series continued to fly under the radar, and I never read or heard much about it on comic sits after that. James Asmus had a lot of pre-launch interviews where he claimed he was going to get Gambit away from his typical haunts and friends, and not take him anywhere near New Orleans or other mutants - just see what he does when he's away from the team and the school (oddly enough, a similar premise behind Hawkeye's book). I'm happy to say he follows through on his promises.
  
  Right from the outset, the book carries a sense of humor about itself - the first words are Gambit's thoughts joking about how he can pull off a pink costume - and throughout these first seven issues, it sustains Gambit's devil-may-care attitude. Asmus seems intent on making sure this is truly a Gambit solo book. There are no cameos by other X-Men (Pete Wisdom pops up, but more on that in a moment), all the villains he faces are new creations, yet feel organic, as if they've been here all along, and he never once wears his trademark costume. He just starts out for a little thieving fun, and the next several issues are dealing with the fallout from it.
  Clay Mann's art is nice, though at times it did tend to get a little confusing on what action was taking place. Regardless, I'm glad to see a competent artist being given this book.
  
  While the first few issues definitely worked better having been read in trade format, it was the re-appearance of Pete Wisdom that totally sold me on this series monthly. Wisdom has been another favorite character of mine. When he was created by Warren Ellis back in the days of his run on Excalibur, he immediately felt to me like a British version of Gambit, though a bit more of a bastard (I even recall an issue of X-Men where Gambit returns after some time away, and Kitty Pryde isn't a fan - Wolverine quips that maybe it's because he reminds her of a certain old British flame, referring to her relationship with Wisdom). His "hot knives" powers were pretty cool, and he refused to wear any spandex costume, just sticking to a simple black suit. How it took this long for the two characters to finally meet is beyond me, but it worked out just as I'd hoped (and glad to see they'll meet up again soon in the series). Bonus points for Pete's aside about wanting to sic' a Sentinel on Gambit, "...and maybe that sanctimonious tin Russian".
  
  Asmus and company do a great job of making this attempt at a solo series unique (the last series was set heavily in New Orleans, had Bella Donna and Rogue all over it, and featured a Wolverine appearance by issue #5) and look forward to them getting a good run (and maybe a crossover with Hawkeye? Their team-up in A+X was fun, after all).
• 
  Gavin

  If there was a 2.5 Star option it would get that. There are things I like about this, and things I don't, and things I just rolled my eyes at. I feel like Gambit has always been an underutilized character...he can be very fun, very entertaining, and also walks close to, and sometimes, past the anti-hero line. I feel like he doesn't get a ton of exposure in the new X-Men series' (Yes he was in X-Men Legacies but still...).
  This lets him just be him, and he starts out exactly like you want, casing a joint, chatting up the ladies, and causing shit. But then it seems like they lost the plot just a little too much.
  Random trips to Guatamala to explore old ruins of a civilization that ends up feeling like the bad 4th episode of Uncharted for PS3...Monsters? Really? Ugh.
  Then things are just insufferable in the dialogue department, when he pretty much says "Oh zee laydeez always leeed mee astray, but Sheee eeez tres Belle! I shall follow her even though every instinct in my brain says otherwise". I hate shit like that.
  It picks up a bit when the mystery woman disappears and bad guy catches up to him and makes him do work for him or die. He crosses paths with MI-13, the superhero version of MI-6, with some cool characters: Pete Wisdom (the head of the agency, and a bad tempered mouthy guy, awesome fun, created by Warren Ellis [hence maybe why he kicks ass]; Black Knight (former Avenger, who always seemed primed to break out into the next level), being the ones who spring to mind.
  
  Their arrival helps things a bit, but on the whole, the happiness of seeing a Gambit solo book is muted by it being a little...boring? outdated? predictable? too tame? I didn't dislike this, but I can't go out and recommend it either, unless you're a Gambit fan.
  
  ***SPOILER ALERT***
  
  This series was cancelled with issue #17; this Volume 1 covers issues #1-7. Shame. They just need to get the write voice with the right vision...
• 
  Nicky

  I vaguely remember Gambit from watching X-men cartoons as a kid, I think. But I don't remember him well enough to just jump in like this and actually care about Gambit's inconsequential adventures that're his own damn fault for messing with stuff he doesn't understand for the heck of stealing something. I mean, sure, if that's Remy's character, then... okay? But I know he has fans, and surely they're for something more substantial than this? Right?
  
  So yeah, not impressed with this. The art is great, but the stories are just... I had difficulty, honestly, remembering the names of the two dimensional characters he was running into.
  
  Not one for me, I think.
• 
  Amanda [Novel Addiction]

  I loved this! I mean, I may be a little biased because I love Gambit anyways, but this was a seriously fun volume. And like a friend of mine stated in his review, it's the first Marvel NOW! title I've read that I truly enjoyed. So as long as Marvel doesn't screw this series up, I'll continue to eagerly anticipate each new volume.
• 
  WinterStars

  Featuring: zany Gambit shenanigans, with lots of naked body parts and campy action sequences. That's right mes amis!
• 
  Judah Radd

  Indiana Jones, but with Gambit.
  
  Romance, danger, action... this is exactly the type of heist-based story I’d expect about Remy. It’s fun!
  
  There are many cool moments and some interesting new characters. I see a lot of potential here.
  
  The art was really good too! It reminded me of oldschool Greg Capullo. Remy’s face was very expressive and very... Gambitish.
  
  I look forward to more volumes of this!
• 
  Ken

  Finally the sweet talking, charismatic, enigmatic Gambit gets his own series. Gambit has always been a dark horse when it comes to X-Men, mostly under appreciated, with Wolverine, Magneto, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Storm and other high end mutants around no one really notices Gambit that much. Well Marvel has finally written him his own series and at best it is an incredibly fun ride.
  
  To set things straight, Gambit: Once a Thief is not an origin story, in this setting he is already known as part of the X-Men and they tell you that he had a past with Rogue, yup 'had' as in he's single. So this is more of a reintroduction to the character.
  
  The plot tells of how Gambit was once a thief and since his X-Men work he moved away from that lifestyle, however once a thief always a thief and in Gambit we see exactly that. He has a time off being a part of the X-Men so to kill his boredom he planned to steal from a notorious collector that goes by the name of cich (sitch). Unfortunately for Gambit he acquired an alien artifact that causes him more trouble than expected and from then on chaos ensues.
  
  The with the pacing of Once a Thief, it is safe to say that we can divide this into two parts. To avoid plot leakage and possible spoilers I'm just gonna call them 1st part and 2nd part. The 1st part is without a doubt the best part of the series. Showing Gambit in mission impossible clothes pulling off heist with style and that sweet smooth banter is also there. The 2nd part on the other hand is not as exciting as the 1st but it had it's moments. That said it felt like it should have been another volume for it really takes away that the substance that is in the 1st part. And that is the biggest complaint that I have for this Volume.
  
  Once a Thief also brings a lot of good things. For example he is the only character from the X-Men that is present here, and this is Marvel making sure that the readers understand that this is purely dedicated to Gambit and no one else. At that, Marvel did and amazing job isolating him and giving him fun and exhilarating story to follow. Now we also usually see him with his cape and head band, pole and playing cards. But in Once a Thief, the cartoony version of his character is downplayed and we see Gambit in a more simple way and that also works very well.
  
  To sum up, Once a Thief is currently the best reintroduction to the character of Gambit. It is amazing to see him work without the X-Men or any other Marvel heroes. Not only this, but in here we see him as humanly as possible you almost forget he's a mutant. The interesting characters are there, clever and witty dialogue is there and as usual the artwork is incredible. The pacing however is questionable but it is still a fun read all in all. For people getting into the character of Gambit or Remy, Once a Thief is definitely a recommended start.
• 
  Michelle (In Libris Veritas)

  Gambit is a smooth talking cajun with some serious sticky fingers and the ability to use kinetic energy as an explosive. In short he’s a pretty cool guy, however this set of issues was seriously lacking and I found myself kind of disappointed in my first venture into pure Gambit storyline.
  
  I rather like Gambit as a person, he’s kind of edgy and is not limited to his mutant ability as far as skills. However I feel like I didn’t really find a reason to care much about him in this, at least not like I did with the cartoons or other short instances of him. I understand that he’s a kleptomaniac, or at least I’m hoping he is because I honestly didn’t see any other reason as to why he would be pulling off huge heists when he has already built a life as an X-man. At any rate he’s still the smooth talker and until towards the end of the story I didn’t really care too much about him. Of course there is a girl, but she’s sort of a throw away character. She’s supposed to be edgy and sexy, but she really just reminds me of Lara Croft and you don’t even find out her name until towards the end…which I have forgotten already.
  
  The plot is only so so, and I didn’t really get the middle section of it at all. I’m not really sure I like the whole find super rare and mythological artifacts angle, because it honestly seems like an attempt at an Lara Croft meets Indiana vibe and while it’s “fun” it also means nothing.
  
  So overall it’s an okay story arc, but it’s not one that I would personally buy. I’ll probably read the second set of issues, but I’m in no real hurry.
• 
  Christa Seeley

  This review originally posted at
  The Improbable Chuck: Canucks on Comics
  
  Gambit and Rogue were my OTP before that was even a term people used. I remember watching them on the old X-Men cartoon before school and loving every line of their Southern dialogue. And Gambit’s absence from the X-Men movies (let’s just pretend the Wolverine origin movie doesn’t count) was one of my biggest disappoints. So when I saw he was staring in his own comic series I knew I had to check it out.
  
  I thought this collection started out on a strong note. Gambit is a lot more mature after everything he’s gone through but he is still himself and he is dying to return to his old ways (if only for a little while). But as it continued I began to lose interest. Primarily because he hardly interacts with any of the other X-Men. I know this is his solo series but I have a hard time believing the team/the school wouldn’t be a central part of his life/thoughts. The second reason was that this reads just like an Indiana Jones story, which in itself isn’t a bad thing, but doesn’t feel particularly “X-Men.” This could have been any generic thief in my opinion. And finally the love interest. She fell completely flat to me. Her actions didn’t make any sense and ultimately she is completely forgettable.
  
  Despite how initially excited I was for this series I don’t think I will be continuing with Volume 2.
• 
  Ria

  Gambit was always one of my favourite characters from the X-Men cartoon I watched when I was little, but I've never really had much exposure to him beyond the primary-coloured animation I loved so much. So after reading and enjoying Hawkeye, I decided to give another Marvel Now title a whirl with everyone's favourite Ragin' Cajun.
  
  I liked the artwork (apart from the last two issues - what happened to Gambit's beautiful face?!) and Gambit is an interesting character, walking the line between "good guy" and "utter bastard", to quote Pete Wisdom. The story was just OK though - Joelle was a dull femme fatale lacking in a third dimension and the Cich menace was nothing we've not seen before.
  
  After the quirkiness of Hawkeye, complete with complex characters and really striking art, Gambit wasn't as cool as it could have been, but future issues may well still surprise me.
• 
  Alex Sarll

  Though sometimes exaggerated (because that's what the modern net does), there's undoubtedly a problem with objectification of female characters in superhero comics. So what better solution than a comic objectifying a male character instead, and what better male character than Gambit, whose fans mainly seem to have been crushing on him since the old cartoon? Every one of the first four issues sees him spending at least one scene topless, the highlight being the incident where, because of some plot, he's obliged to blow up his own clothes.
• 
  Shannon Appelcline

  An entirely OK comic. Asmus does a good job of characterizing Gambit if you can get past the fact that he goes and steals things when he's bored. However, the comic itself is pretty shallow, just one fast-paced heist after another. It's all well done, but it's not very filling. I also think that the comic is hurt by largely being a continuity-free zone. Finally meeting up with MI-13 in the last few issues is the height of the comic, but before that, Gambit could have been any roguish character with a heart of gold.
• 
  Christina Nightengale

  Gambit is as sexy, charming, fun and suave as ever! Pete wisdom came off like a complete jerk in this. It was cool that Excalibur is weld by a Muslim woman. It is a very fun read, but nothing deep and this isn't much character development. That's the only thing that stopped this from being 5 stars to me. I still found it to be a very enjoyable read. I did love the little bits of fan service;) There should be more in that in comics with the guys! ^_^
• 
  Aaron

  Story-wise, this book gets a two star rating. The third star is for Gambit himself, who is blackmailed into working for a criminal after destroying his collection of rarities in a heist gone awry. That part of the story isn't bad. It's the strange arc near the beginning involving Gambit being infected by an alien parasite and eventually battling dragons from another dimension that feels completely out of place.
  
  Overall, not a bad read, but not what I was hoping for.
• 
  Angela

  Gambit decides to steal something for old times sake, he ends up making enemies and getting alien tech imbedded in him. This is a fun storyline with Gambit just along for the ride a lot of the time. The second half is considerably better when a crime boss forces Gambit to work for him, now that is classic Gambit and worthy of 4 stars. A good read, a very good read in part.
• 
  Eli

  I was really excited for this. But I really did not like this. I can not come up with anything I liked about this. The art was pretty good...until the final issue. The dialogue was uncomfortable and some of the paneling was just confusing. I don't even want to get started on the plot.
  
  Definitely will not continue this series.
• 
  Elizabeth

  Roomie handed me this when I was going through Hawkeye withdrawal, and I think it's a good way to fill the Hawk-hole now that Fraction's Hawkeye run is done. Remy LeBeau feels like a cross between Clint Barton and Robin Hood, but with an x-gene and a spectacularly-written Louisiana drawl. Lots of fun with pretty art.
• 
  Jenna

  3.5ish? I definitely liked the artwork in the first story line, but in the others, it didn't seem as fitting. The plots themselves, however, seemed rather weak. I'd read more since it's Gambit, but he didn't seem to have his regular flair and poise that I remember him having in the cartoon.
• 
  Ellen

  Not amazing or anything but still enjoyable. I'll probably read at least one more volume to see if it develops any more.
• 
  Jasmine

  I actually think that I, as a straight woman, was the target audience for this book. And it was AMAZING.
  
  *fans self*
• 
  Lindsey.parks

  The scope of this story was pretty huge, but I think the pacing helped it considerably. Honestly, I just love the character, Gambit, and I'm glad he's finally getting his own run.
• 
  Lionel

  Nice start with an untypical "hero" that gradually goes to the typical hero story....
• 
  Krzysztof Grabowski

  Album zawiera zeszyty z serii: Gambit #1-7 (2012).
  
  Nie wiem jak to działa, ale Remy naprawdę czaruje w tym nowym wydaniu, oferując czytelnikowi coś na kształt Jamesa Bond przemieszanego z Ocean's Eleven. Uroczy złodziej, który jednak trzyma się pewnych zasad. Tylko wolałbym mniej Tomb Raidera w pewnym momencie, bo to wyglądało na małe "wzorowanie się". W zasadzie nie takie małe...
  
  Ramy wkręca się na balety, ale to tylko pretekst, aby wykraść pewnemu zamożnemu rosyjskiemu oligarchowi parę fantów. Szkopuł w tym, że takowym jednostkom się nie podpada, bo będą konsekwencje. Na ten moment jednak w posiadanie Gambia wszedł pewien artefakt, który to "postanawia wykręcić" mutantowi mały numer. Przez zaistniałą sytuację trzeba będzie się wybrać do Guatemali i pobawić w archeologa.
  
  Potem jest jeszcze lepiej, bo aby udobruchać wściekłego mafioza, trzeba będzie wykonać kilka zleceń, w tym jedno obejmujące kradzież samego Ekskalibura. Remy będzie musiał się wznieść na wyżyny swoich umiejętności, aby wykaraskać się z kłopotów i lewirować pomiędzy różnymi grupami interesów. I przy okazji zachować życie.
  
  Sporo tu akcji, w najlepszym wydaniu, bo Gambit nie ogranicza się w szafowaniu swoimi umiejętnościami. W dodatku całość wygląda naprawdę ślicznie, a dynamiczne kadry potrafią zachwycić swoim wyglądem.
  
  Niestety Gambit ma też swoje minusy. Tam gdzie akcja zwalnia mamy troszeczkę dialogów, które nie są jakichś wysokich lotów i potrafią myć nudnawe. Poza tym reszta na plus. Także kilka pomysłów, wydaje się być naiwne w tłumaczeniu, nawet jak na komiks.
• 
  Ernest

  What makes Gambit, well, Gambit? And if all he does is to remain doing what he always does in the same way, does this make is poor, one-dimensional writing without appropriate character development, or being true to the essence of who he is?
  
  For all that this volume was, in the end I found it eventually rather too predictable overall. Even accepting wanting to be faithful to the roots of the character and of where this fits within the timeline, I think I was (am?) ready for a more mature, deeper character with more nuanced supporting characters (if it is to be a solo title) and a higher quality of stories. These ‘filler’ type stories may be ok once in awhile, but I can’t help yearning for something a bit meatier and more substantial.
  
• 
  Rangga Sukmawijaya

  Sebenarnya serial orang per orang dalam kisah X-Men tidak menjadi prioritas saya, namun gara-gara salah satu seri X-Men yang sedang saya ikuti rasanya mengecewakan, akhirnya saya secara acak mengambil seri komik lain dan kebetulan seri Gambit inilah yang kebagian untung.
  
  Gambit bukan tokoh favorit saya di X-Men jadi tidak banyak yang bisa saya perkirakan dalam serial ini. Episode pertama yang terentang dari nomor pertama sampai ketujuh ini menceritakan kehidupan Gambit di luar Sekolah Jean Grey (yup, di sini diceritakan bahwa ia menjadi guru di sekolah itu). Saya tahu bahwa sebelum menjadi anggota X-Men, Gambit berprofesi sebagai pencuri, jadi nomor ini tidak terlalu menambah wawasan saya tentang Gambit. Meskipun demikian, cerita di episode pertama ini lumayan menarik.
• 
  Fate's Lady

  Gambit intrigues me as a character, but this story was a bit flat. He was fun and charming and gallant and probably too goody considering who he's supposed to be. The mysterious Lara Croft knockoff was unimpressive. Why the hell is she pulling a heist in her underwear? Between that and the connect-the-dot storyline, I was sort of relieved when it was over.