To update: Chris Claremont’s Gambit, a five-issue limited series with artist Sid Kotian now slated for debut on July 27.
Gambit was originally announced to be released in March, but a May debut was later requested and is now scheduled for July.
The series is set in the X-Men’s past before Gambit was a member of the team when he and an aging Storm first met and “forged an everlasting bond while stealing along the Mississippi River”. Gambit will feature several untold adventures of the duo, including a confrontation with the Shadow King.
Marvel has released a four-page first look at Kotian’s interior art, along with variant covers from Salvador Larroca, Peach Momoko, Scott Williams, and InHyuk Lee.
Follow the original story…
When it comes to the X-Men, no creator is as synonymous with the adventures of the mutant team as writer Chris Claremont, who guided the X-Men in its main title and numerous spin-offs from 1975 to 1991, and in March 2022, he returns (along with artist Syd Kotian) to the X-Men franchise for a new title starring Gambit.
No further plot details for the new Gambit title have been revealed, but the series is scheduled to kick off just as the X-Men line enters its next ‘Destiny of X’ era in March and April.
Several titles have been announced for ‘Destiny of X’ thus far, including Knights of X, a new title that picks up where Gambit’s previous team Excalibur left off in its recent series finale, with Gambit himself shown in the preview art for the new Knights. of title X.
Gambit was created way back in 1990 in Uncanny X-Men Annual #14. (opens in a new tab)created by Claremont himself along with artist Jim Lee, with artist Mike Collins drawing the interiors for Gambit’s first real appearance.
A master thief (and master heartthrob) Gambit has often been a wild card – pun intended entirely – for the X-Men, as well as a fan favorite thanks to his prominent role in X-Men: The Animated Series. and his long and tense romance with Rogue.
In the current Krakoa era of the X-Men, Gambit and Rogue have managed to marry and maintain a stable relationship, while also joining the newest incarnation of the Excalibur team.
Gambit has struck out on his own before, starring in multiple limited series and even continuing titles under his own name over the years.
Judging by the art by Whilce Portacio, depicting Gambit alongside an aging Storm, it pays homage to the cover of Uncanny X-Men #266. (opens in a new tab), his first appearance in the main X-Men title, the story will flash back to Gambit’s early days with the team. Interestingly, Portacio himself drew that theme back in 1990.
Marvel has recently announced a number of similar flashback titles, including the upcoming Venom: Lethal Protector, which pairs the classic creators with their best-known characters, set in the contemporary era of their original run.
Marvel Comics promises more information coming soon, likely when the publisher’s full March 2022 solicitations arrive later this month here on Newsarama.
Gambit is just one of several new or re-released Marvel mutant titles you’ll need to keep an eye on on our list of. all the new X-Men comics, graphic novels and collections coming in 2021 and 2022.
