Welcome to Cover Girls. Each month, we gather a team of WWAC contributors to analyze a new and notable comic book cover featuring one or more women. This month, Kate Tanski, Louis Skye, Kat Overland, Anna Peppard, Wendy Browne, and Kayleigh Hearn shake it up a little and share their thoughts on a Cover Guy: Gambit on the X-Men: Hellfire Gala one-shot variant cover by David Nakayama.
This special edition of the column is dedicated to editor Kayleigh Hearn’s mom in honor of her reaction to Gambit’s 2022 Hellfire Gala look:
What is your initial reaction to this cover as a piece of comic art?
Kate Tanski: This is the sluttiest that Gambit has looked in a long time, and I am here for it.
Louis Skye: Yes! Remy is looking fine… Also, that purple is gorgeous. I want his pants. And the man in the pants.
Kat Overland: [fans self]
Anna Peppard: I like it but can’t help comparing it to my favorite Gambit pinup by Kevin Wada, from Wada and Kris Anka’s Marvel Swimsuit revival that never was. In superhero comics and in general, sexy pinups of men often do this thing where the guy is supposed to look scary or intimidating–like he’s challenging our gaze with his own. There’s a bit of that here, where we are positioned to look up at Gambit’s marble midsection while he stares confidently ahead. This isn’t a bad thing, and everyone’s taste is different! But I prefer the more overtly playful posture of Wada’s Gambit, which feels more touchable. I like to empathize with a pinup–to feel like they’re playing with/to my gaze, making me feel welcome and safe by flashing just enough vulnerability. Despite his slutty threads, this Gambit is too statuesque for me. I would prefer him a bit more sticky/sweaty/messy.
Wendy Browne: Ooh là là indeed.
Kayleigh Hearn: Gambit’s happy trail and bare hip bones are on an X-Men comic cover. WE MADE IT, MA!
What do you think the artist is trying to achieve?
Kate: David Nakayama has consistently updated a character’s look based on their personality and the new context for them. His work in the Avengers Academy iPad game was incredible. He’s so talented at knowing just the right style choices that make it feel real and organic. It reminds me of that old Tumblr post comparing Hugh Jackman’s two covers for Good Housekeeping and Muscle & Fitness–two different demographics, two different covers. This is the perfect fashion glamor magazine style that I could see in a magazine like Flaunt, that has published some amazing photoshoots in the past (see: Chris Evans).
Louis: David Nakayama wants to give Gambit fans what they want – looking hot, amazing, and confident on a cover. Beyond how good Gambit looks, the magazine cover style gives me nostalgic vibes. I haven’t picked up a magazine in ages, but this took me back to the heady Cosmo/Femina days. And what a choice for a cover guy. I would have happily picked this issue up (were it a real magazine or a comic) even if I didn’t know who Gambit was. I’d also like to think the Marvel Comics Universe is now more accepting of mutants and that’s why Gambit is beautifully gracing this magazine cover. I hope so.
Kat: I love how this outfit is like, an upscale yet extremely thirsty version of his trademark look: long, dark jacket and magenta pants. And I find the gloves fabulous. Nakayama has done a great job pulling in high fashion details on this — the straps on the waist of the pants are the perfect kind of impractical but sexy finesse I want in haute couture AND comic book costumes. It’s easy to imagine Gambit flipping cards in this look, but he could easily walk a red carpet. I think Nakayama is trying to tap into the slightly sleazy but always charming sex appeal of our favorite Cajun. It’s a rarin’ success.
Anna: For decades, Gambit’s been one of Marvel’s foremost sex symbols of any gender. That makes him an interesting character to think through sexiness in superhero comics. What did mainstream superhero comics think sexy looked like in the early ’90s? What do they think it looks like now? You can look at Gambit since he’s one of the few male characters in cape comics who’s consistently drawn to appeal beyond a stereotypical straight male audience. I think this image is trying to check a lot of boxes, and appeal to a lot of gazes. This Remy is landscaped without being femme. He’s retro and modern. He’s trashy and high fashion. Nakayama strikes this balance very successfully. But part of me wishes he’d more boldly commit to one of these things instead of trying to do all of them. Basically, I think it could be a little gayer? (Again–taste is extremely subjective!)
Wendy: I understand the lean towards seeing him as a pinup here, but given the Hellfire Gala context, I am loving the fashion-focused choices in the layout of the cover. The magazine styling, save for the too-large emblem in the bottom left, is just right in terms of sizing and placement, with font choices that enhance the subject matter, not too cringy puns, and the color complements that add to the smolder. The sightlines give the feeling of being a privileged audience member in prime seats, gazing up at the model poised at the end of the runway. The original Ragin’ Cajun is well aware that you are taking in every aspect of him and relishes the desirous spotlight, turning away to saunter behind the curtains a moment later. Nakayama doesn’t skimp on the costume design details Russell Dauterman provides, giving us a closer look at the original designs. I still cling to my assumption that the Gala has become Dauterman’s costume redesign portfolio. Nakayama’s cover adds fire to the proposal. With some tactical tweaks, this outfit would look fantastic on the field.
Kayleigh: This cover is a companion piece to Nakayama’s magazine-themed variants for last year’s Hellfire Gala, particularly Rogue on the cover of X-Men #21. The couple that slays covers together stays together. Variant covers have always been willing to serve us a nice, hefty slice of cheesecake, but this X-Men: Hellfire Gala cover is also a strong piece of visual storytelling. In the real world, we see the celebrities on the covers of Vogue and Vanity Fair make gasp-worthy entrances at the Met Gala. As “Hellfire magazine” shows, mutants are gorgeous, glamorous, and out of the shadows for good. Gambit is gasp-worthy. And anyone who’s anyone better be at the Hellfire Gala.
What does this cover tell you about the character?
Kate: I haven’t read X-Men comics in an extremely long time and this cover just made me remember the ‘90s Fox X-Men cartoon when I fell in love with Gambit and his sexy Cajun drawl. “No facts, just slutty vibes” is my understanding of his character, and honestly, all I need to know.
Louis: Gambit looks like he’s in a boy band. I think it’s the necklace. And the bare chest. And the pose? Sorry, I got distracted. I feel like that’s the cover’s intention – it’s calling our attention to how hot the X-Men are (and have always been!). And that they’re happy being X-Men. The anti-mutant sentiment was pretty strong in the old comics I read, but this cover is announcing that mutants are the group of heroes for the Marvel Universe. And who better to exemplify how amazing it is to be a mutant than Gambit?
Kat: He is probably extremely dehydrated.
Anna: In a letter published in Marvel Swimsuit #3 from 1994, Caroline Richards and Caroline Sawyers describe being “EXTREMELY disappointed with the obvious lack of one particular person in your latest edition of the Marvel Swimsuit Special–namely, GAMBIT!” To make their case for a significant increase in sexy Gambit content in the next issue, the Carolines took a poll at their local comic book store, which determined that “9 out of 10 female comic readers said Gambit was the most attractive male character in the industry today.” This image tells me this grassroots marketing campaign paid off. In 2022, Gambit is finally an unabashed cover boy. I’m happy for him and all the Carolines. And the Chrises; it was likely Chris Cooper, Marvel’s first openly gay writer and editor, who selected the Carolines’ thirsty Gambit letter for publication.
Wendy: It tells me that we must once again demand that Marvel bring back swimsuit issues. Fans of Gambit — and Nightcrawler — demand it.
Kayleigh: Look at that smirk! Gambit knows we’re checking him out, and he’s looking right back. I can say with confidence that David Nakayama may have drawn the definitive Gambit comic cover here. He’s confident and alluring. Provocative, but not dangerous. (Remy did make an honest woman out of Rogue, after all!) This cover single-handedly justifies my mother’s 30-year-old crush on a cartoon character. Ooh la la, indeed.
