Deadpool V Gambit #1
Written by: Ben Acker & Ben Blacker
Artist: Danilo Beyruth
Colors: Cris Peters
Letters: Joe Sabino
Publisher: Marvel
Review by Gregory Brothers
Deadpool and Gambit are two of the characters who really took off in the 1990s world of Marvel Comics. Like many in the X-Men corner of the universe these two characters do not have squeaky clean back stories from before their superheroing days. Unlike many of their fellow heroes neither one of these characters are afraid to flirt with the wrong side of the law if it means a financial gain for them in the end. So putting them together in Deadpool V Gambit should create an interesting story that can go many different directions. Unfortunately many times even the greatest intentions do not always go the way that the creators may have hoped.
Deadpool V Gambit starts with present day as Gambit and Deadpool run into each other in line at the local coffee shop. Just as it seems they are going to come to blows, we flash back to what happened that created this tension. The reasoning behind their tension is a believable one and falls right in line with the characteristics and motivation of both Deadpool and Gambit. The flashback story is told in a way that is humorous while also informative, but it does run a bit to long. Much of the back story is told with Gamit and Deadpool impersonating other people, so it takes away the amount of true interaction between the two of them, and by the time they are themselves the issue is wrapping up. As with any Deadpool book the pop culture references are plentiful throughout the book for some of them, such as the reference to the Broadway hit Hamilton and comparing it to a Broadway miss featuring a certain unnamed Marvel character, they hit while others, like the made up hipster diets, are a little off the mark. It is obvious that Acker and Blacker really do not like hipsters, as they are the butt of many of the jokes. In the end of this first issue they do realize that their beef is not with each other, but instead with a third person, setting up what I assume will be the storyline for the rest of the series. While the Characters of Deadpool and Gambit are written true to their traditional motivations and actions there is another set of major Marvel characters who show up in this first issue that do not act how one would expect. It is a small detail, but something that the writers should have caught and adjusted.
The art throughout Deadpool V Gambit was hit and miss for me. I thought that the overall coloring and action were done very well. It was not a real gritty feel to the drawings but it was not as light as some might expect with a comic that was so heavily based in comedy. Gambit is one of those characters that is hard to get right when drawing him. He is suppose to be older than many of the other X-Men, but at the same time he is suppose to have these looks that make women swoon over him. Here in many of the panels he is drawn to look older with to many lines in his face and a nose that is longer and a bit more pointed then usually seen. In addition the use of Gambits powers seem just a bit off in a few places.
Verdict:
Wait and See. Deadpool V Gambit has some potential to explore two characters that have more of a shared history that either completely realizes and it would be nice to see how they work together and against each other. This first issue however spends too much time on the set up and not enough time exploring why they were working together in the first place. The scenes of conflict seem to be thrown in just to get a bunch of jokes and current day references out without serving the purpose of advancing the story at all. The voice of the characters is spot on, meaning that the ability to explore both Gambit and Deadpool and their similarities and differences is there, and with the drawn out flashback out of the way it will be interesting to see if Acker and Blacker can focus and the present day conflict and build upon Gambit and Deadpools mythos.
