Astonishing X-Men: Gambit, Vol. 1 - House of Cards

Gambit (2004) #1-6

by John Layman, Georges Jeanty (Illustrator)

Ever wonder what Gambit gets up to when he's not out saving the world with the X-Men? Welcome to the exciting but treacherous terrain of the New Orleans underworld, where Gambit's skills and mastery are unquestioned but this time, his confidence might be his downfall!

Collects Gambit (2004) #1-6.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, X Men, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

144 pages, Paperback

First published March 23, 2005

About the author

John Steele Layman is an American comic book writer and letterer. Layman is most known for writing Chew, published by Image Comics.

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looking for a little non-X excitement, Remy LeBeau returns to Louisiana, lured by a job that he can't resist and a longing for home. Hired by the beautiful Lili Penrose to steal a deck of cards from her own uncle, Gambit takes on the heist as much for the excitement as for the payoff. However, he learns too late that there's nothing ordinary about this deck of cards--they're a powerful set of tarot cards that can tap into dark powers and blind those who look upon them. Of course, for Gambit, the added element of danger makes this an irresistible challenge.

I'm going with 3.5 stars here. It is a fun story, but there were a few disappointments along the way--first and foremost of which is the art. The characters look somewhat cartoonish and malformed, which is made all the more obvious when compared with the amazing cover work done by Greg Land. I also think the story should have taken advantage of the New Orleans setting. Oh, there's some stereotypical New Orleans-ish references here, but they're flat and unoriginal. It would have been nice to see Gambit's scoundrel side played up a bit more, too. While there are some witty quips here and there, he certainly doesn't read like the same cavalier, devil-may-care Gambit that I'm accustomed to.

There are some fun elements to the story, however. When Gambit and Wolverine rout several well known thief watering holes, I couldn't wipe the stupid smile off of my face. In addition, a sex tape featuring an encounter between Lili and Remy surfaces toward the end of the book, and promises to make for some interesting reading in Gambit: Hath No Fury.

Cross posted at This Insignificant Cinder

[Terence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gambit is hired to steal a deck of cards, but he finds out they aren't just rare or jewel encrusted playing cards for poker.

This is Gambit.

Gambit is a thief. Unfortunately he's no diamond in the rough type of thief who only steals to eat or a Robin Hood who steals from the rich to give to the poor. Gambit steals for thrills. I used to love Gambit, but now I'm older and have had things stolen from me so I have grown to dislike thieves.

Gambit: House of Cards involves Gambit getting in trouble after accepting a job to rob a woman's Uncle of his special cards. Thieves just aren't my thing even when they are characters I loved as a child.

2.5 out of 5 stars

[James DeSantis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Extremely bland. Better written than last mini series but by issue 4 I was dozing off...maybe Gambit just isn't good solo?

[Tyas · Rating 3 out of 5]

1) It's about Gambit, my favourite X-Man.

2) Greg Land made the covers.

3) But the artwork inside is... well. Let's just say I wish Land had drawn the comic.

4) Gambit made fun of Wolverine. WOW.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

The problem with most solo X-Men series is that authors tend to try to make a whole new world instead of taking what makes those characters great and maximizing it. And.....that's what happens here. New, unlikable characters are introduced here and they are all throw-aways. The villains were totally unoriginal and cliched. I liked Georges Jeanty's art and it was missed in the final chapter. Overall, the book was an unnecessary addition to an already overdone genre.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Minus the cheating on Rogue, I liked this. Remy's a fun character.

[Adam Stone · Rating 2 out of 5]

John Layman's Chew, Vol. 1: Taster's Choice is one of my all-time favorite titles, but his superhero work leaves a lot to be desired. Despite him being a central character in one of my favorite X-Men era, I've never understood why people find Gambit so compelling. Outside of his interactions with Rogue, and the occasional reveal of how he was involved in the X-Men's lives before he became a major character, he's really dull. A supposedly charming mutant with red eyes who can charge objects and make them explode, but who almost exclusively uses cards as his gimmick? Eh.

Nothing exciting happens in this series. A bunch of characters who will either be killed off or forgotten about by the end of the series are introduced. They're mostly unlikable, and completely two-dimensional.

[C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another addendum to the great x-read of 2017/18...

Fun plot but a lot of throwaway characters.

Gambit always walked that line between sleaze and the trope of the good-hearted thief. Here, he seems much further over the sleaze line than he usually is. It's interesting but it doesn't particularly feel like Gambit.

[Amy Bodine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable. Some clever jokes that were a bit smarmy. Typical Marvel I feel like

[Brad Krautwurst · Rating 2 out of 5]

Remy was looking for some excitement and, uh, so was I. Not sure if Gambit just isn’t cut out for a solo book or if this writer just didn’t nail characterization or what, but... 😴

[Lillian Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad at all. Fun story set in New Orleans with demons and woo woo tarot cards.

[Eye-ra · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s been a good 15 years at least since I’ve read this. Nostalgia + Gambit can’t be bad.

[Francesca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Niente di eccezionale, ma comunque molto carino. La parte con Wolverine mi ha divertito molto... Inoltre Gambit che ruba alla Stark Int.

[Bruce Bean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh, not really for me.

[Mel Perry-Luce · Rating 1 out of 5]

Here's the thing, I've read a lot of comics, thousands of them. I've inhaled X-men and its associated spin0ffs since 1990. This is the first six issues of volume four of Gambit. The writing is beyond trite, easily predictable, and honestly, Gambit was so OOC it was downright painful. I read the series a second time to see if maybe I was being harsh as I had been rather depressed when I read it the first time. It was even worse the second time. I highly suggest giving this a pass, even if you're a diehard Gambit fan.

[Silas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gambit is a favorite character of mine, from when I was a kid. Still, his solo outings in comics are generally pretty bad. This one is a cut above some of the others, since it is less focused on religious storylines (redemption being one of Gambit's themes, those seem to come up a lot), with only some tangential things like Voodoo, demons, and tarot cards coming up. It's more standard Marvel magic than religious iconography. It also seems a bit off from the character in X-Men comics. I understand that this story is meant to be him getting away from that, but it seems like they ought to be the same character, at least. It's not bad, just not terribly great.

[Krystl Louwagie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not Gambit's best storylines, that's for sure...

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Use a thief to catch a thief. Interesting and fun.