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narwhallove · 6 years

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X-uniforms: Gambit edition

See here for X-uniforms: Nightcrawler edition.

By 1990, Logan had long been a reformed hero with a heart o’ gold, so a new bad boy seemed necessary. And, boy, did Jim Lee deliver. Gambit’s uniform made clear he was the new X-antihero, swooping in to dazzle every eye and sear every retina.

I won’t bash the lack of functionality to Gambit’s uniform. Cosplayers, who know best, have done so trenchantly, one of whom I quote: Gambit’s “costume not only fails to complement his role [as a thief], it actively opposes it.”

But if you’ve ever wondered why this uniform, this post attempts to explain the uniform from an artist’s POV; what it reveals about Gambit’s role in the team; why hot pink; and how three artists handle the uniform (and the man). I will focus primarily on his co-creator’s, Jim Lee’s, 1991 depictions.

LET’S PLAY SPOT THE CAJUN

How do you find a fave character when they’re swinging thru images as busy as these 90s covers?

In the same way we seek out Waldo’s striped shirt, we seek out a character’s identifying markers, or main attributes. You know it’s Cyclops when you see a white guy in red glasses or a visor. You know it’s Jean when you see a woman with red hair. Simple.

But the later a character enters a franchise, the more markers they need to distinguish themselves from the earlier, more “basic” characters. Red-haired, green-eyed Rogue needed that skunk stripe to distinguish herself from red-haired, green-eyed Jean.

By the time the 90s roll around, white guys like Gambit and Cable verge on being overdesigned—some might argue they are. Consider all the identifying markers that make Gambit Gambit:

1-Hot pink chest, pink-striped legs; 2-Reticulated metal boots; 3-Head sock; 4-Fingerless gloves—which fingers depends on the artist! 5-Duster.

Various accoutrements:

6-Cards; 7-Bo staff; 8-Cigarette.

Distinctive physical features:

9-Black-red eyes; 10-Unruly auburn hair /ponytail /mullet;

and you’ve got a superhero with a lot to identify him with. Head to metal toe. This is meant to serve the reader: Even if you saw only his crotch in a 2-inch frame, you would know it’s him, thanks to the metal boots and trench coat, or psychedelic combo of hot pink and turquoise.

Therefore, no matter how hidden his figure or from what angle, you know who it is and where he is. And that’s the whole point of this. Graphic design trumps beauty and practicality. In the comics world, anyway.

THE DUSTER The question then arises: How are all these elements united coherently? How does Lee pull off 10 different identifying markers without making a mess?

This uniform has stood the test of time. With a few exceptions, Gambit has worn essentially the same uniform since his introduction. Much of its success has to do with the duster—because visually a duster makes miracles.

Want to dazzle your readers with Gambit’s physical might? Give us fig. 3. The capelike duster rises in a column above him, nearly doubling his size. Infinitely voluminous, it claims plenty of visual real estate, even when Gambit’s relegated behind other characters, which he often is (note figs. 1 and 2).

Want to show off his athleticism? Give us fig. 4, where his body shoots out of the duster like a Roman candle. Or a gun from a brown-paper bag.

Want to show us a man o’ mystery? Give us fig. 5, where the duster shrouds him in moody, Batman-like gravitas.

Conveniently, this coat reveals as little or as much of Gambit’s peacock-like colors and peacock-like persona as the writing demands. More significantly, it reveals something fundamental about his character: his (former) reluctance to be a superhero—so much so that he’s thrown a giant coat over his X-uniform. Unlike Rogue’s bomber jacket, which sports X-insignia on both shoulders, this duster is unaffiliated.

Ultimately, the duster signifies Gambit’s antihero status: It’s both a flag of heroism and a metaphor for Gambit’s shadowy past. And it’s become so a part of Gambit that to see him without it is off-putting.

WHY PINK? (Even Dazzler don’t wear pink.) My crackpot theory: Superhero villains often wear secondary colors: purple, green, orange. Think Magneto’s beautiful purple outfit, Sentinels in purple, Juggernaut in orange, Dr. Doom in green. Even Rogue’s green uniform refers her former villain status. This practice was more common in the Silver Age, but it’s likely true for Gambit too. Gambit probably started out in what was meant to be purple (see fig. 6 below).

This shifts to pink when he joins the X-men (compare figs. 6 and 7). Color printing was quite limited in 1991, so bright pink may have been a cheaper option. And cheap is important for cast member who shows up in every single issue, unlike a villain. So my crackpot theory? Pink was cheaper.

I want to praise pink’s utility for a second. Those aerobics-leotard leg stripes are edited out in later years (see fig. 8). But you can see what excellent graphic work they do in figs. 2–5: They give his body a fluidity and grace, because you can track the turn of his pink hips from his pink torso. If Gambit’s power is about energy, those leotard legs are a good visual representation of the kinetics of the human body.

THREE VISIONS OF GAMBIT, COMPARED Impractical, bright as hell, the uniform is iconic. Fig. 6, by Mike Collins, from 1990, is of Gambit’s ‭first appearance, and fig. 7, drawn by Lee, is from 1991. Fig. 8 was published exactly 20 years later, and you’ll note the uniform is tweaked but remains largely the same.

To my eye, fig. 6’s uniform appears less outlandish than 7’s, because Collins’s work is cartoonier—that is, his head and shoulders are oversized in the way children’s cartoon characters’ are. Gambit looks like a film-noir private eye who wandered into aerobics class—and because the style is more childish, we’re more forgiving of a nonsensical imagination.

On the other hand, Lee’s image is a perfect collision of 90s self-seriousness and 90s gaudiness. Straightaway you can see that though this art is no less exaggerated, it is gritty and more “adult.” Gambit is hyperbolically macho, with gleaming abs, a clenched fist, and small-head-giant-body proportions. This is no private eye but a macho-man brooding over his own sad story . . . in turquoise boots.

Marco Checchetto’s 2010 Gambit borrows the romance of fig. 7—flowing hair— without the self-seriousness. This Gambit looks like he might actually be winsome and witty, thanks to his loose body posture.

Notice that Checchetto removes some of the macho signifiers: no more abs, no more breastplate, much narrower shoulders. In this, he gets something right about Gambit that Lee misses: Gambit’s ’tude isn’t in his abs or his metal boots; it’s in his swagger.

So I’m not as impressed with Lee’s burly portrayal, well-known as it is. It’s striking, it conveys physical power; it doesn’t evoke the unpredictability or wiliness of our hero’s nature. Mike Collins nails it the first time around, and that’s impressive, even if his Gambit is not the handsome romantic lead we’ve come to expect.

CREDITS “Gambit: Best Worst Costume Ever.” Ryan. Mad Art Lab. http://madartlab.com/gambit-best-worst-costume-ever/

Uncanny X-men #266 (1990) Pencils: Mike Collins Colors: Brad Vancata

X-23 #4 (2010) Pencils: Marco Checchetto Colors: John Rauch

X-men #1, 5, 9, 10 (1991, 1992) Pencils, finishes: Jim Lee Colors: Joe Rosas

#gambit #remy lebeau #x-men uniforms #x-men costumes #x-men looks #jim lee #joe rosas #mike collins #brad vancata #marco checchetto #john rauch #mad art lab #formal analysis #antihero #90s x-men #90s comics

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spacesuitsforemergency · 3 years

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10 for Lucy LeBeau?

1. She’s really good at tennis for absolutely no reason. She’s never played it before but Nancy asked her to be her opponent and she beat Nancy so hard it was embarrassing (since Nancy had tennis lessons all through her life)

2. Unlike her brother, she likes the calmer and smoother jazz

3. She has no problem eating bugs. Like, she will get those candies that have bugs in them. ON PURPOSE

4. She had a stutter when she was little, but her mom put her in speech therapy and she did end up outgrowing it

5. She always carries at least 3 decks of cards around with her. Either to use with her powers, play cards with her brother or anyone else, or she stacks cards when she’s bored

6. She’s pretty clumsy, and she has little burn scars on her hands and arms from cooking (which I also have, I can’t operate an oven without burning myself somehow)

7. She’s allergic to walnuts and strawberries

8. She hates Brad Pitt with a passion for no reason. She cannot watch any movie he’s in without going into a rage (so naturally people will put them on to irritate her)

9. Dazzler is her favorite X-Men member, half because she’s gay for her and half because she just thinks her powers are awesome

10. Her main instrument is the saxophone, she will not play Careless Whisper if you ask her cause she had to play it so many times before

#thanks for the ask!#lucy lebeau #tactic #tactic and maneuver

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rabbittstewcomics · 3 years

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Episode 295

Comic Reviews:

Rorschach 7 by Tom King, Jorge Fornes, Dave Stewart

Batman: The Detective 1 by Tom Taylor, Andy Kubert, Brad Anderson

Infinite Frontier Secret Files 1 by Brandon Thomas, Joshua Williamson, Valentine De Landro

Let Them Live 6 by Elliott Kalan, Mike Norton, Marissa Louise

Darkhawk: Heart of the Hawk by Danny Fingeroth, Mike Manley, Tom DeFalco, Dan Abnett, Kyle Higgins, Andrea Di Vito, Juanan Ramirez, Lebeau Underwood, Chris Sotomayor, Erick Arciniega, Sebastian Cheng

Spider-Man: Spider's Shadow 1 by Chip Zdarsky, Pasqual Ferry, Matt Hollingsworth

Home 1 by Julia Anta, Anna Wieszczyk

Jules Verne's Lighthouse 1 by Brian Haberline, David Hine

Jenny Zero 1 by Dave Dwonch, Magenta King

Canto and the City of Giants 1 by David Booher, Sebastian Piriz

Locke & Key / The Sandman Universe: Hell and Gone 1 by Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodriguez, Jay Fotos

Black Hammer Visions 3 by Chip Zdarsky, Johnnie Christmas, Dave Stewart

Phantom On the Scan 1 by Cullen Bunn, Mark Torres

Unikorn 1 by Don Handfield, Joshua Malkin, Rafael Loureiro

Man-Goat and the Bunny Man 1 by Ralph Tedesco, Joe Brusha, Dave Fanchini, Edgar Salazar

Everything Vol 2 by Christopher Cantwell, INJ Culbard

Riverdale: The Ties That Bind OGN by Micol Ostow, Thomas Pitilli

Peanuts: Scotland Bound Charlie Brown by Charles Schulz

99 Cent

Abducted by Zach Herring, Jay Red, Maja Opacic

The Fools 1 by Gabe Harris

Additional Reviews: Falcon/Winter Soldier, Infinity Train final season, more on Avatar, Arlo the Alligator Boy

News: Skybound X, DC Round Robin 3, Joe Cornish directing Starlight movie, Zdarsky's Justice League gets prestige roll-out, Mike Flanagan's next project, JLQ creative team, new Amazing Fantasy mini by Kaare Andrews, Batman/Catwoman special, World War She-Hulk, Predator legal issues, X-Men creative team, new Avatar mini-series coming this week, Queen Crab gets a tv shows, Alfred Molina confirms MCU Spider role, Heather Antos to IDW

Comics Countdown:

Rorschach 7 by Tom King, Jorge Fornes, Dave Stewart

Spider-Man: The Spider's Shadow 1 by Chip Zdarsky, Pasqual Ferry, Matt Hollingsworth

Locke & Key/Sandman: Hell and Gone 1 by Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodriguez, Jay Fotos

Black Hammer Visions 3 by Chip Zdarsky, Johnnie Christmas, Dave Stewart

Joker 2 by James Tynion IV, Sam Johns, Mirka Andolfo, Guillem March, Arif Prianto, Romulo Fajardo Jr.

Daredevil 29 by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto, Marcio Menyz

Usagi Yojimbo 18 by Stan Sakai, Hi-Fi

American Vampire 1976 7 by Scott Snyder, Francesco Francavilla, Ricardo Lopez Ortiz, Tula Lotay, Dave McCaig

Sweet Tooth: The Return 6 by Jeff Lemire, Jose Villarrubia

Proctor Valley Road 2 by Alex Child, Grant Morrison, Naomi Franquiz, Tamra Bonvillain

Check out this episode!

#comics #podcast #podernfamily #rabbittstew

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applejacks1552 · 4 years

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https://twitter.com/CBCCPodcast/status/1215667549964206080?s=19

Hey all, please go check out this podcast! Lisa and Brad are the best. #Romy #Rambit #rogue #gambit #xmen #rogueandgambit #comics #Anna Marie LeBeau #Remy LeBeau #rogue/gambitweek2020

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thecomicsofsolitude · 2 years

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First buys of 2022! First Apperance of Gambit! The Uncanny X-Men 266 at an 8.0 CGC “Gambit: Out of the frying pan” This book is under rated and it’s a great one to have in your collection! I first had a copy a long time ago and now I have one I can keep 🤩 “Hasn't been your night, eh, chère? Or maybe it has -- considering how often I am here to rescue you.” —Gambit Synopsis for "Gambit: Out of the Frying Pan" In her attempt to steal back some stolen paintings, Ororo has run right into the Shadow King's trap. She desperately struggles against the attacks of his Hounds and, after hurting the King with her haphazard weather power, she falls into a pool, from which she is rescued by a charismatic young thief who calls himself Gambit and has mutant powers himself. Gambit almost manages to mesmerize the King's aide Lian with his charm, but is attacked by the King himself. Together, though, the two thieves manage to trick their attackers and flee via the roof and Storm's parachute.….. WRITER(S) Chris Claremont PENCILER(S) Mike Collins INKER(S) Josef Rubinstein COLORIST(S) Brad Vancata LETTERER(S) Pat Brosseau Tom Orzechowski EDITOR(S) Bob Harras Appearing in "Gambit: Out of the Frying Pan" Featured Characters: * Ororo Supporting Characters: * Gambit (Remy LeBeau) (First full appearance) * Mystique (Raven Darkhölme) Antagonists: * Val Cooper (Possessed by Shadow King) * Dr. Lian Shen (Possessed by Shadow King) * Jacob Reisz (Possessed by Shadow King) * Nanny * Orphan-Maker (Peter) Other Characters: * Unnamed human "Hounds", servants of the Shadow King * Freedom Force (Referenced) * Destiny (Irene Adler) (Photo) Races and Species: * Humans * Mutants #thecomicsofsolitude #comicsofsolitude #comicbooks #comicbook #comic #comics #marvelcomics #dccomics #actioncomics #marvel #marvelstudios #marvellegends #marveluniverse #stanlee #dc #dcuniverse #dcextendeduniverse #dcfans #marvelfans #love #manofsteel #cgc #superman #instagood #gambit #cosplay #cosplayer #xmen #superhero https://www.instagram.com/p/CYzjYYCPRri/?utm_medium=tumblr

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mitchbeck · 5 years

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CANTLON: BRAD

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings SPRINGFIELD, MA - Shooter is where he deserves to be - The AHL Hall of Fame. For Brad “Shooter” Smyth, with his family and friends on hand, got to bask in the glow of the game he has loved so much. “It feels awesome to go to the Hall of Fame with all of these talented gentlemen, and especially to be recognized so early in my retirement. I’m just five years removed from my last game, and to get this honor so early into it, is very, very special for me, and for my family to enjoy it with me,” Smyth stated. His brother Greg Smyth, flew in from Hong Kong for the event. His wife Jackie was also in attendance. He called her his ultimate teammate when he paid her with a warm, sincere moment of thanks toward the end of his acceptance speech. “I love you very much. You stuck with me all these years bouncing around from place to place, I was kind of a human suitcase. Your positivity and sense of humor made it all worthwhile. I love you.” Smyth, known for his ebullience, confidence, and swagger, had his moments of doubt while he was with the Birmingham Bulls of the ECHL during the infancy of his career in pro hockey back in the early 90s. “Everyone has doubts as you strive to get to that next level. At the time, the Coast (ECHL) wasn’t comparable to the American Hockey League. A place like Birmingham was where you worked hard to earn that promotion to the next level and work on all aspects of your game. Once I got to the AHL, I never looked back.” In his first three AHL games in Springfield with the Falcons, a Connecticut connection helped him start his path to the top of the AHL mountain. The assistant coach with the Falcons that year was a former Hartford Whaler and a 50 goal scorer in the NHL twice, Blaine “Stash” Stoughton. “It was brief, but I really learned from him about the importance of the release of a shot, as well as, the strength of a shot.” He got his first big AHL break, with the expansion in Greensboro, NC of the Carolina Monarchs in 1995. That signing turned out to be a very sound decision. “I had a very good coach in Rich Kromm, and he knew my skill set and put me on a line with a super-skilled Gilbert Dionne and a great passer in Brett Harkins. I benefitted playing with those guys as a right-handed shot. I just loved standing in the slot. Our powerplay was lethal that year.” Smyth would score 68 goals in 68 games. He's the only player ever to have come so close to challenging the AHL record for goals in a season that is held by Stephan Lebeau when he scored 70 back in 1988-89 with the Sherbrooke Canadiens. Smyth is arguably the greatest Wolf Pack player ever, with a team-best 182 goals and 365 points through three tours of duty in Hartford. His time here made him grow fonder of the team, the players and the city. “I played a little in Hartford,“ Smyth said with a deadpanned, warm, wry smile, “We were a very close group and back then you spent more time with teammates as there wasn’t nearly the movement we have today. Then, you got to know people on-and-off the ice and the on-ice factor you got to know a person’s characteristics. We were a team that was built to win. Many guys like myself were signed to come to Hartford for that (express) purpose. To put all those pieces together, we had not a good coach - a great coach - in John Paddock. He knew how to push us and use all our skills combined to make a solid team. That’s why we won a title." Paddock was someone he truly admired. “John always knew the way to motivate players and teams. One way was that he would cut your ice time,” Smyth said with some levity in his voice. “It was because he was demanding of you in order to get results, and in the same way, he gave you room to be yourself and created that all within a team framework. He was a tremendous coach and its an honor to be with him here as part of the AHL Hall of Fame.” Smyth regaled the crowd with a Paddock story whom he followed to Binghamton and eventually got to play for in his hometown with the Ottawa Senators. “The veteran guys there some weren’t so happy with our ice time, and I was one of them. So, we're in Newfoundland and the other veterans said, 'You played with him for a few years, you go ask him.' So, John is scouting the morning skate. He's writing down line combinations and never took his eyes from what he was doing. So, I said to him, 'John, I want to ask you about something.' So, I let him know a few of the guys understand it’s a younger development team, but we're hoping we could get a few more minutes (of ice time).' John goes, 'I’m glad you brought that up.' Well, the first player was our tough guy. He says he's taking too many selfish penalties lately. The second guy we picked up on a PTO deal, and he had one goal and one assist in 18 games. Since you got back from Ottawa, you're not scoring at the same clip you were before, so does that answer any of your questions? We're done here.'" The packed house roared with laughter, but Shooter was not done yet. “So, I run out into the cold of Newfoundland, and the guys ask me, 'How did it go?' So, I told them. I said, 'The next time you want to ask him something, do it yourselves!' That was vintage John, he held every player accountable. There was no hiding in the lineup. That’s the way it ought to be.” Smyth gave a warm tribute to the Wolf Pack teams he played on. “We had the undeniable skill of Marc Savard, the leadership of Ken Gernander, and the competitiveness of Brent Thompson. We had all the elements, the fans, and the electricity (in Hartford). It was tough (for the fans) when the Whalers left, but we tried to provide the energy for the fans.” Two players from the Calder Cup team stood out for him. The first was goalie J.F. Labbe, who was the first of the four members of that Wolf Pack championship team to be enshrined in the AHL Hall of Fame. “I believe he was the driving force that led us to the 2000 Calder Cup championship. He was the definition of a big game goalie. I loved playing with him. Thanks, JF.” Smyth then paid homage to his lifelong friend, Derek Armstrong, who's now 3,000 miles away in LA. The pair started out as two high school age kids who were playing hockey in Ontario - their on-and-off ice chemistry was as genuine as you can find in pro sports. It was a true give-and-take friendship. “Derek Armstrong was special. The reason I got to talk about him is if I didn’t, he wouldn’t talk to me (anymore),” Smyth said with a laugh. “We're pretty tight on-and-off the ice. I loved playing with Army. His puck carrying skills, and savvy were second to none. The passion for the game, which I shared with him, was infectious.” Smyth ended it with a simple refrain, “Thanks for passing me the puck, Army.” You could almost hear Armstrong’s trademark gravely, voice saying, “Ha” as it bounced off the hills of Los Angeles making it's way to Springfield. Smyth ended his career playing for Armstrong, who was then the head coach for the now defunct Central Hockey League's Denver Cutthroats, The two were a coaching tandem there the following season before the team and league ceased operations. Smyth thanked his parents for all their dedication of driving him to every rink as a kid and helping him develop as a human being. He also thanked his brother Greg, who he attributes him as the kid-brother who got him started playing hockey. After the crowd had left, after he was signing some of the last autograph seekers at the Aria ballroom at the MGM Springfield, Shooter still had one more funny story to tell. “My brother Greg's name is the same spelling as a guy I played against. We're in St. John’s playing the Maple Leafs and Greg Smyth, who had a few penalty minutes in his career (1,970 to be exact) and he was nearing the end of his run there. We're on the ice at a faceoff and he looks over at me, skates past me and says, 'Good thing you spell your last name right, or I’d knock your head off.' I looked at him and was totally stunned. Nobody before or since had ever said that to me.“ Smyth was on the road well-traveled. From his days in London, Ontario, to Greensboro, NC, to Binghamton, NY, to Manchester, NH and Hartford with NHL stops in Florida, in New York with the Rangers and then in Ottawa. Brad Smyth has become an important piece of a quilt that has been knitted in the AHL fabric, and it now has a nice swatch with the name Shooter forever emblazoned on it for all to see. Photo by Gerry Cantlon Read the full article

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ntrending · 6 years

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Tesla shares pop after trucker JB Hunt reserves 'multiple' semitractor-trailers

New Post has been published on https://nexcraft.co/tesla-shares-pop-after-trucker-jb-hunt-reserves-multiple-semitractor-trailers/

Tesla shares pop after trucker JB Hunt reserves 'multiple' semitractor-trailers

Tesla shares jumped Friday after J.B. Hunt Transport Services announced it has reserved “multiple” new electric semis just unveiled by Elon Musk.

Tesla shares spiked 4.5 percent in morning trade before closing 0.8 percent higher at $315 a share.

“We believe electric trucks will be most beneficial on local and dray routes, and we look forward to utilizing this new, sustainable technology,” John Roberts, president and chief executive officer at J.B. Hunt, said in a statement.

Wal-Mart also said Friday the retail giant is planning to test the Tesla trucks and has actually preordered 15.

In an expansion from personal vehicles, Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled an electric semitractor-trailer Thursday that has a 500-mile range on a single charge and is electronically connected with a fleet’s management system. The vehicle allows the driver to stand and puts the steering wheel in the center with a touchscreen panel on both sides of the driver. Musk said the truck is set to go into production in 2019, although the company has fallen far behind on its production schedule for the Model 3 mass market consumer vehicles.

“TSLA unveiled the Tesla Semi, a heavy-duty truck we believe could be disruptive to trucking markets given the strong specifications (~500 mile range) and low expected cost of ownership (potentially ~20% less expensive per mile than traditional trucks),” Baird Equity Research senior research analyst Ben Kallo and his team said in a Friday note.

“We believe the large U.S. market will support sales of the Tesla Semi as we think the vehicle should be competitive with many traditional heavy-duty trucks, and exceed performance of existing electric trucks,” Kallo said.

Baird has an outperform rating on Tesla with a price target of $411, based on Kallo’s model, which does not include any revenue from the truck but factors in spending for research and development.

J.B. Hunt said it plans to deploy the electric trucks to its intermodal and dedicated contract services divisions to support operations on the West Coast.

“This news is not unexpected. Transportation companies are always looking for ways to lower operating costs given the competitiveness in the industry,” Stephens Research Analyst Brad Delco said in an email to CNBC. “My assumption is that they will purchase a few trucks and test them in a more localized freight network before making a bigger purchases decision.”

Savings could be in the tens of thousands of dollars per truck a year.

Musk said Thursday a Tesla truck would be 25 cents cheaper to operate per mile than a standard diesel truck, at $1.26 a mile versus $1.51.

The average number of miles driven a year per large truck is just over 100,000, according to industry analysts. That means each Tesla Semi could save a company at least $25,000 a year.

The U.S. Class 8 semitrailer market is about $30 billion in size so every 1 percent is worth $300 million, according to RBC Capital Markets analyst Joseph Spak.

— CNBC’s Phil Lebeau, Michael Bloom and Robert Ferris contributed to this report.

Share & Written By CNBC

#Business

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narwhallove · 6 years

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Review of R&G—Deep dive into Gambit

Earlier reviews that Ludi & I have been batting back and forth linked here, with a most welcome guest post by Jessi:

1. Faces (by me) 2. Callbacks (by @ludi-ling) 3. Jim Lee & Pere Pérez (by me) 4. More on faces, and ‘sex creep’ Remy LeBeau (by @ludi-ling) 5. Faces and ‘creep factors’ (by @jehilew)

On sex creep Remy LeBeau:

If I’m not misreading, Ludi and Jessi, you’re both saying Remy’s behavior is generally sexy; that he is within the parameters of good behavior because Rogue’s implicitly given him permission to talk this way. As Ludi wisely says, “The whole conversation is a way for them to negotiate where they’re at in their relationship.”

I still find this a tad problematic. He may have intuited Rogue’s feelings correctly, he may be testing her boundaries, but at this point in time, there’s no indication that he is at all worried about her feelings. To me, he sounds like the type of guy who corners an inexperienced girl into reacting the way he wants her to—even if he isn’t actually that guy.

But I’m gonna blame it on the writing. Gambit is supposed to be charming. Jessi hits the nail on the head: “You can tell he was not written by anyone who is even remotely smooth with women here.”

So I’m glad that Thompson sweetens Remy’s dialogue. This scene is practically a perfume commercial. Lee and Lobdell, etc., obviously could not write sexy and sweet, and so we’ve wound up with creepy (to me).

Reader, thank you for reaching this point. If you’re a Gambit fan, you’ve probably unfollowed me. But! The post below is a deep dive into Gambit’s . . . portrayal.

Ludi: So, Ms. Narwhal, what did you think about those transitions from down-time to the proverbial ka-pow? I’m interested because some of my most favourite X-Men issues were the down-time ones. Uncanny X-Men #337 - which is almost entirely focused on the X-Men having breakfast - is one of my favourites of all time.

I’m sidestepping your gorgeous question about breakfast, sadly, because I’ve changed my mind about where the art stumbles. After turning through the gorgeous TPB, I realized that it stumbles at the flashbacks. Which is weird, because the flashbacks were some of the most heady, charming parts of the series. And the art is definitely at its most ambitious.

It’s clear the team decided that they would imitate the visual styles that these original moments were rendered in, whether the original penciller was Mike Collins or Jim Lee or Andy Kubert. What a rad challenge for Pérez and D'Armata to flex their art muscles and have fun.

Let’s applaud the team for this. Thompson was ambitious in deciding to revisit of scenes from up to 20 years ago—can you imagine another writer wanting to touch Antarctica?! And Pérez was ambitious in his mimicry of styles that haven't aged so well. He’s done it with wit and verve, as below (and in my earlier post comparing Pérez’s and Lee’s versions of Rogue).

On the left is Andy Kubert’s 1994 rendering of Remy at Scott and Jean’s wedding, done in the “edgy” style of the decade: lots of hatching, high-contrast shadows, viewed from a very dramatic angle. Remy poses in such a flamboyant way you’d think he just blew Magneto up. That’s 90s for “dashing.”

Pérez updates Remy with a look that’s as fresh as Thompson’s dialogue. Same hair and arching eyebrows, but his smirk has a smile now, and he looks playful rather than self-serious. Too bad Pérez couldn’t retcon that awful tie!

It starts getting interesting when Pérez quotes Gambit’s facial structure from still earlier. The left is a detail from Gambit's first appearance in 1990, in Uncanny X-men #266, by Mike Collins. The middle is from an X-men Team card of the same year. And on the right is Pérez, clearly taking a cue from these precedents, down to the smoke drifting out of Gambit's eyes. His nose is even sharper. It's a fun reminder of how Gambit used to be portrayed—as someone capable, dangerous, and not a matinee romantic lead.

However, this “facial quotation” means Pérez runs into some trouble when we return to the present day. Somewhere between 1990 and 2018, Gambit got a nose job. The decision to play with different styles means that Gambit doesn't look like the same person throughout the miniseries.

These panels precede that glorious kiss in #3, and Remy looks so earnest, so chipmunklike (with that new nose), that it’s hard to believe he could have ever been the naughty, fast-on-his-feet thief we see in #2.

So the decision has pros—it’s clever, it’s charming—and it’s got cons. One con is that if we don't like the referent artist, then we're not going to appreciate the imitation, either. But the bigger con is that the style differences can be so jarring that it seems Rogue and Gambit are being played by a bunch of different actors.

This only gets weirder when clones are introduced.

This panel is from #4, and tbh, I don’t know who these people are. These are not clones, but Rogue looks like a soccer mom, and Remy’s a chrome robot. Though I’ve developed an argument to account for some wildly different facial features throughout the miniseries, I am unsure what’s going on here. Maybe there’s a comic in which someone used Jennifer Aniston as Rogue’s reference. (I have a theory Jim Lee used model Stephanie Seymour for Rogue and Jean.)

Like Gambit, Rogue undergoes the same treatment throughout her flashbacks, though it’s more evident in her body and body language. Hopefully this post makes it clear enough that when you glance through them, you might see what I’m talking about.

Ludi, I know you had some thoughts about the ways Rogue's and Gambit's faces were rendered too, as well as when they were engaged in some important stuff—like the kissing. Were there moments you felt the characterization of our heroes wasn't as successfully conveyed? Or any big centerpieces you thought really nailed their histories?

We would like to invite anyone who wants to chime in about R&G to write a post, which we’ll link to as part of a chain. And we will comment the hell out of your posts, too. ;-) @jehilew @cmoineau @pastellarts @90sxmen4ever @bustedflipflop @awesomeamberlady @xevg and anyone whom I might have missed! Please PM.

Bullied Gently reminded by @ludi-ling that posts may be as short as a single sentence. Essays not required!

CREDITS Marvel Universe Series I Trading Cards by Fleer (1990) X-men Team Card (detail)

Rogue & Gambit #3, #4 (2018) Pencils: Pere Pérez Colors: Frank D’Armata

Uncanny X-men #266 (1990) Pencils: Mike Collins Colors: Brad Vancata

X-men #30 (1994) Pencils: Andy Kubert Colors: Joe Rosas

#is gambit a creep?#rogue and gambit #kelly thompson #pere perez #comics me too #comics review #frank d'armata #andy kubert #mike collins #x-men 30 #uncanny x-men 266 #gambit #remy lebeau #rogue #anna marie lebeau #callbacks #ludi-ling #jehilew

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