Comments on: Cable #1 http://alternatecover.com/2008/03/06/cable-1/ A new comic review EVERY weekday! Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:44:15 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=MU By: Julian Hazeldine http://alternatecover.com/2008/03/06/cable-1/#comment-168 Julian Hazeldine Sun, 09 Mar 2008 15:46:48 +0000 http://comicsdaily.wordpress.com/?p=242#comment-168 I’m an unreconstructed fanboy when it comes to this character, so predictably I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the issue. That said, the first page was a welcome relief- I was under the impression that Cable had jumped back to his own time, which I’ve always found incredibly dull. Swierczynski presents a very stripped down version of the character. There’s no political dimension here and no strategy, just Nathan as a solider with a job to do. Understandably, the book seems less targeted at Cable fans like me and more for readers who are wanting the MC story followed up- in fact I’d be surprised if Marvel hadn’t at least considered entitling the book as an ongoing version of the crossover. (For the kid, my money’s still on a reincarnated Jean Grey, particularly after X-Men #207 confirmed the red hair.) However, it’s the art that give me the greatest concerns- Olivetti’s psuedo-painted style lacks dynamism, with the flashbacks to Messiah Complex looking particularly absurd. I’m not a fan of the redesign of Summers: the eighties-style outfit doesn’t really work, even with the poncho (If there was every an X-Man who should be wearing normal clothes, it’s Cable), and bulking the character out again without sufficient emphasis on his height makes him look like more of a wrestler than a solider. Another slight bugbear is the lack of clarity as to whether the character has any mutant abilities, or just his weapons and brain. Cable lost his psi-powers in Cable & Deadpool #12, and has been using artificial substitutes since then (which actually makes him much more coherent as a character, as well as suiting his name). However, the gizmos that made this possible are conspicuously absence from Olivetti’s version of the character. If they were just going to have Nate as effectively human, it’d be fine- his apparent lack of powers made his encounter with the bandits far more interesting. However, the opening blurb puts emphasis on Cable as a mutant… I’m an unreconstructed fanboy when it comes to this character, so predictably I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the issue. That said, the first page was a welcome relief- I was under the impression that Cable had jumped back to his own time, which I’ve always found incredibly dull. Swierczynski presents a very stripped down version of the character. There’s no political dimension here and no strategy, just Nathan as a solider with a job to do. Understandably, the book seems less targeted at Cable fans like me and more for readers who are wanting the MC story followed up- in fact I’d be surprised if Marvel hadn’t at least considered entitling the book as an ongoing version of the crossover. (For the kid, my money’s still on a reincarnated Jean Grey, particularly after X-Men #207 confirmed the red hair.)

However, it’s the art that give me the greatest concerns- Olivetti’s psuedo-painted style lacks dynamism, with the flashbacks to Messiah Complex looking particularly absurd. I’m not a fan of the redesign of Summers: the eighties-style outfit doesn’t really work, even with the poncho (If there was every an X-Man who should be wearing normal clothes, it’s Cable), and bulking the character out again without sufficient emphasis on his height makes him look like more of a wrestler than a solider. Another slight bugbear is the lack of clarity as to whether the character has any mutant abilities, or just his weapons and brain. Cable lost his psi-powers in Cable & Deadpool #12, and has been using artificial substitutes since then (which actually makes him much more coherent as a character, as well as suiting his name). However, the gizmos that made this possible are conspicuously absence from Olivetti’s version of the character. If they were just going to have Nate as effectively human, it’d be fine- his apparent lack of powers made his encounter with the bandits far more interesting. However, the opening blurb puts emphasis on Cable as a mutant…

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