Customer Reviews

Wolverine/Gambit: Victims

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Having read and collected every other book that the Loeb/Sale team has collaborated on, I finally was able to add this final piece to my collection. Being an X-Men fan, I was curious to see what they would do with the characters, but it was quite a disappointment.

The story is about Gambit tracking down Wolverine, who is the #1 suspect in a series of serial murder cases in London, the latest of which was a former love of Gambit. What starts out as a so-so concept quickly descends into a bland outcome. After such stellar work on the other marvel characters they tackled together, not to mention their Batman masterpiece, The Long Halloween, it's shocking how badly they miss the mark here. None of the emotion or excitement was there, and it just left me cold with the abruptness of it all. Even Sale's artwork which I typically enjoy felt mostly rushed. For such an all star team-up of arguably the two most popular X-men, the villain, Arcade just seems silly. How about a worthy opponent next time? What a wasted opportunity, considering how much you could do with these two.

Nothing against these guys, cause when they're on, they produce some quality stuff, but this is their poorest work and felt completely phoned in.

Wolverine/Gambit: Victims lives up to it's name...I was victimized to the tune of Twelve Dollars and Ninety-Five cents.

The story revolves around Gambit's attempt to solve a series of Jack-the-Ripper inspired murders in london, seemingly committed by his fellow X-Man Wolverine. The revelation of the actual killer makes NO sense, and leads to a ton more questions that Writer Jeph Loeb just ignores: Where did his female partner come from? How did he get disfigured? (That in particular makes no sense- How did exactly half of his face get peeled off? What was he doing when this happened? Did he think of maybe going to a Doctor? As it stands, Loeb has made a perfectly servicable villain into a poor-man's Two-Face....) Why does he hate Wolverine so much? Considering the villain owns huge underground lairs, why does he need to dispose of his first victim's corpse in the middle of London, let alone continue killing to throw off suspicion? The book makes absolutely NO sense. Some background is SORELY needed; I consider myself pretty well-versed in The X-Men, but the motivations of this character went TOTALLY against the grain of everything I knew about him.

Victims is bound to attract the attention of fans of Loeb and Sale's Batman work, but it's nowhere NEAR that level of quality. It should be avoided at all costs!

This story combines two of the most popular X-Men, Wolverine and Gambit. It also combines two of the most popular creators in comic books today, Jeff Loeb and Tim Sale. Their other creations include Hulk: Gray, Daredevil: Yellow, and Batman: Dark Victory.

In London, women are being murdered. Five have been killed so far. The manner in which they have been killed kindles rumors of Jack the Ripper's return. One of the victims, Alexandra Davies, was a former romance of Gambit's. When he arrives in London, he is shocked to learn that the murderer might be his friend and teammate Wolverine, who has been rapidly sinking into an animal state. Yet, things are rarely as they appear in the X-Men universe and this is no exception.

Jeff Loeb and Tim Sale do a great job of delivering a intense murder mystery, and yet at the same time, delivering some very touching character development moments.

The story is also a stand alone so it's easy access for new fans. Yet, established fans, do not fear, there's enough references to events in the X-Men's past that keep us riveted.

A brilliant book all around.

You'd figure with the great work that Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale have done together on Batman and Daredevil that they could weave a good tale starring X-Men members Wolverine and Gambit. Well, you'd figure wrong. Collecting a four issue mini-series, Victims finds Gambit travelling to London to investigate a series of Jack the Ripper type murders that Wolverine may or may not be involved in. This mini-series was released not long after the Age of Apocalypse saga ended (when reality returned to normal, Wolverine had succumbed to his feral urges, which is tied into this story as Wolvie being a suspect), but there are so many loose ends and plot holes that make Victims seem like it was rushed to the printers. Sale's art is as good here as it's ever been, which is one of this story's only saving graces. Loeb is a phenominal writer; just about everything he's done from his recent Batman run to Daredevil to Cable and even X-Man has been nothing short of superb, but Victims is purely disappointing.

I love Gambit and Wolverine the characters, even if not perfectly done in this comic. I especially like few of the quotes in this comic tho the story is lacking:

Wolverine: "Might've thought to bring a bigger car--"
Gambit: "Dunno, I find it kinda cozy."

Wolverine: "One problem solved."
Gambit: "Which is?"
Wolverine: "You won't be needin' mouth ta mouth. . ."

This is fun especially to a gay x-men fan like myself, tho unfortunately the first may get spoilt in comic by a woman being in car too. Relatively good art, tho the rendering of Gambit is too gaunt.
The major failing of this comic tho is the illogical storyline, Gambit has a mental barrier and couldn't be manipulated so fully by a "novice" telepath. Also, tho some nice eyecandy, the plot is anti-climatic in the extreme.

Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, who've long been the finest team in comics, bring us here a wonderful story of Wolverine and Gambit.

It seems that women are being killed in London, sort of like Jack the Ripper, only many years later. Gambit realizes that the only person who can be responsible is his fellow X-Man - Wolverine.

But is Wolverine really commiting those crimes? Or are they part of a larger scheme?

What pulls this book down from a 5 star rating is the surprise villain, who I thought was rather weak and underdeveloped. And, Sale's pencils are much more suited to Batman's Gotham City, rather than London. This isn't to say that the artwork is bad; it's some of the finest work there is.

This is an above average X-Men story that is well worth having, and should be in your collection. Get it while you can.

A must read for all hardcore X-men fans, and comic fans in general, I highly recommend this Book with the two best X-character in marvel: Wolverine & Gambit