It’s a podcast weekend (and it’ll be a few weeks before we pick up again), so don’t forget to check that out in the post now. \u00a0Meanwhile…<\/p>\n
Gambit #15<\/strong> – Having largely tied up the storylines that covered its first year,\u00a0Gambit<\/em> finds itself in an odd position. \u00a0The series is being cancelled with issue #17, so it would feel a bit odd to start something completely new now. \u00a0On the other hand, you can’t really do several straight issues of filler to end the book.<\/p>\n The solution that James Asmus offers here is to effectively start a new story, but use the series to date as its springboard. \u00a0This being essentially a caper book, Gambit has been racing around the world doing high profile thievery for the duration of its run. \u00a0In doing so, it seems that he’s attracted a bit of competition, from people looking to get under his skin by pulling off the theft he’s dreamed of for years but has never actually managed to do.<\/p>\n Somewhat oddly, that theft is the bell of the New York Stock Exchange, which doesn’t really feel like something Gambit would care all that much about. \u00a0The story acknowledges the incongruity, and offers as an explanation that Gambit really wants to cause disruption to trading in a sort of Anonymous spirit. \u00a0I don’t really buy this on a number of levels. \u00a0I’m not convinced that stealing the bell would cause all that much disruption, but hey, maybe. \u00a0More to the point is that it feels like a cute idea that doesn’t really fit with Gambit, but which has been nailed on anyway. \u00a0I don’t believe Gambit cares enough about the politics to make this his dream job. \u00a0And if he really wanted to steal the bell, what was stopping him?<\/p>\n The real point in this story, though, is to have Gambit dwell on whether he wants to be a hero or a thief – has he got his kleptomaniac tendencies out of his system over the last year or so of stories, or does he really not belong in the X-Men? \u00a0In the context of this series it’s hardly a surprise that he chooses to embrace his identity as a thief, which leads to the perhaps inevitable return of the Thieves Guild. \u00a0An appearance by the Guild is always a prospect to greet with ambivalence, but if you’re trying to get to the core of what makes Gambit tick as a character, then you’ve kind of got to work with them.<\/p>\n It’s an issue with some lovely art by Clay Mann, particularly on the opening pages (the inking towards the end is noticeably less crisp), and Asmus does have Gambit’s voice down. \u00a0I’m not quite sure what the point is of a three-page interlude with aliens, which is presumably setting up something for future issues, but still seems dreadfully compressed.<\/p>\n Not a bad issue, and one that works hard to give the sense that the book is leading to some sort of natural conclusion instead of just marking time before the end.<\/p>\n Uncanny Avengers<\/em> #10<\/strong> – I think I’m going to have to try and find time to sit down and re-read this storyline from the start, because at this stage it’s all starting to become a bit of a blur. \u00a0It’s clear enough that the big threat here comes from the Apocalypse Twins, and that the core of the story is intended to be the heroes failing to work together and splitting into two groups. \u00a0But what exactly the twins are proposing to do remains terribly vague, as does the nature of Kang’s involvement. \u00a0This issue adds the new Horsemen to the mix – revived versions of Banshee, Sentry, Daken and Grim Reaper – but quite how that advances the plot beyond giving the heroes some more things to react to is altogether beyond me. \u00a0There are some good character moments in these scenes, and Remender seems to have a good handle on his cast. \u00a0And loosely, there’s some plot progress here, in the sense that the two splintered teams are both converging on the Twins. \u00a0But the whole thing still feels rather sprawling and unfocussed. \u00a0Like I say, perhaps it’ll take more shape on a re-read.<\/p>\n Wolverine<\/em> #7<\/strong> – “Mortal” is an issue devoted to selling the idea that Wolverine has lost his healing factor, and the impact on him. \u00a0This isn’t the first time something along these lines has been done (as the letters page admits), but there are plenty of nice details in this issue to get the premise across. \u00a0Some are fairly obvious – Wolverine has trouble adapting to how much alcohol he can really get away with drinking – but others are rather neater, such as him having to pay attention when shaving for the first time. \u00a0And when Hank claims to be looking for a cure, Wolverine rightly points out that he isn’t actually sick. \u00a0He’s just no longer special. \u00a0(In that way. \u00a0He’s still got the metal skeleton and the enhanced senses – and the claws, if he doesn’t mind the practical difficulties in getting them out.) \u00a0Thor puts in a cameo appearance to deliver a fabulously insensitive speech about how lucky Wolverine is to be mortal now.<\/p>\n Mirco Pierfederici’s art isn’t spectacular, but it’s entirely acceptable. \u00a0There’s a bit of plot advancement here too, to keep our attention for the next issue. \u00a0Mainly, though, this is a comparatively low key character piece that exists to get across the idea of how badly shaken Wolverine is about losing something he takes for granted, and Cornell gets that to work very well.<\/p>\n Wolverine and the X-Men<\/em> #33<\/strong> – Part 3 of the Hellfire Saga has the focus on Idie, in what I suppose we’re meant to take as tragic and ironic. \u00a0Idie has taken on board the Hellfire Academy’s lessons on life, but all this has done is to harden her (making her into an even more damaged character than she already was), and thus more of a threat to the Academy itself. \u00a0An apparently smitten Kade wants her to be the Black Queen, and she’s apparently about to accept until she realises that he was the one who shot Broo. \u00a0Ultimately she can’t bring herself to kill him and tries to escape with Quentin instead.<\/p>\n I see what it’s going for, but it faces the usual problem of stories where the Hellfire Brats are in the foreground – this is just far too far removed from any sort of recognisable human behaviour to carry weight. \u00a0It’s not simply that the Hellfire Academy is silly; it’s that it doesn’t feel as though it even maps on to anything in the real world, with any degree of exaggeration. \u00a0When characters criticise the Academy’s approach to education, they might as well be lamenting Dick Dastardly’s approach to pigeon interception. \u00a0The Academy is fine for comedy, but it can’t support drama.<\/p>\n Wolverine: Japan’s Most Wanted<\/em> #3<\/strong> – If you’re wondering how these issues compare to print editions in terms of content, then DC’s\u00a0Batman 66<\/em> collections may give an answer – they seem to run at two digital stories making one print issue. \u00a0Granted, that print issue is a pretty heavily compromised version of the story, which, after all, is designed primarily for the “Infinite” format (or what Comixology chooses to call “Guided View Native”, which I suppose at least has the advantage of being neutral between publishers). \u00a0But it still means that by charging full price for the digital edition, Marvel (and DC) are seeking a hefty premium on these things.<\/p>\n Wolverine’s essentially absent from this issue, though he gets talked about a lot. \u00a0This issue contains some material re-establishing the gimmick of the new Silver Samurai, and then an extended scene in which the Japanese authorities hire the Hand to bring in Wolverine. \u00a0Much of the real interest there lies in Kojima, the undercover Hand agent we saw in the police last issue, who is understandably none too impressed with the leadership style of Sabretooth. \u00a0The story seems to be removing him from the board, but he’s given enough prominence that you have to wonder. \u00a0The theme of this version of the Silver Samurai is that he has one foot in the past and the other in the future; he wouldn’t reject Sabretooth simply for being different from what’s gone before, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to be completely uncritical of the Hand being led by a jumped-up thug.<\/p>\n It’s a nice enough scene, and the weekly pacing is enough to make it work. \u00a0But it’s a hell of a pricey format, even by today’s standards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It’s a podcast weekend (and it’ll be a few weeks before we pick up again), so don’t forget to check that out in the post now. \u00a0Meanwhile… Gambit #15 – Having largely tied up the storylines that covered its first year,\u00a0Gambit finds itself in an odd position. \u00a0The series is being cancelled with issue #17, 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