Against slender competition, Gambit ends up as the best of this week's X-books.  Which isn't to say that it's particularly good, but at least it's readable and fun.

Sales on Gambit haven't exactly been spectacular, and you could say the same for the other recently launched titles.  I'd be interested to know whether Wolverine was originally intended to show up out of nowhere in the final act, or whether he's been shunted into this story in the vague hope of boosting sales.  (If so, it probably won't work.  Guest stars do almost nothing for sales these days, because everybody with any name value is already hopelessly overexposed.)

Anyhow, last issue Gambit got himself caught by the bad guys, and his friend Dan got killed after calling in Wolverine.  Wolverine rescues Gambit, and the heroes plan the big comeback.  Since it's Gambit we're talking about, his comeback consists of an elaborate scam to convince the bad guys that the whole X-Men team is in town and coming after them.  So Gambit and Wolverine go around doing an impersonation routine. 

It doesn't really stand up to scrutiny - why not just call in the actual X-Men, and is it remotely plausible that Wolverine would agree to some of this stuff?  And considering Gambit's meant to be revenging the death of his friend, it's a bit of a flippant plan.  And come to think of it, if this routine was always planned, it's a shame that Alfonse wasn't established as a big X-Men fan earlier on (since he really should be in awe of Gambit too, but that wasn't the way the story was written, so it has to be worked around).

Actually, the more I think about it, it's not very good at all, is it?

But, for all that the story makes no sense, the book has just enough charm to carry it off.  Stupidly elaborate scams are precisely the sort of thing Gambit ought to be doing.  That's what the character's all about.  It crumbles on inspection, but it still somehow feels right.  The intangibles just about let the book get away with its undeniable flaws.

Rating: B

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