Mr. & Mrs. X vol. 1: Love & Marriage

“Rogue & Gambit:  Ring of Fire” was one of last year’s most pleasant comic surprises in that it managed to make the title characters’ romance seem interesting again.  To the point that their surprise wedding in the pages of “X-Men: Gold” actually made a certain amount of sense. Now they’ve got their own ongoing series to explore their newlywed life, starting with the honeymoon!  As both characters are members of the X-Men, said honeymoon is off in outer space where Rogue and Gambit can enjoy some quality time alone together. Naturally that doesn’t last as Kitty contacts the two to let them know that one of their Shi’Ar allies has a package that needs to be extracted out of the Empire.  Being the closest to the problem, it falls to Rogue and Gambit to deal with it, along with everyone who wants the package. Which includes the Shi’Ar Imperial Guard, the Technet, and… Deadpool?

Believe it or not, the Merc With a Mouth’s presence makes a certain amount of storytelling sense as he and Rogue were apparently an item in the pages of “Uncanny Avengers.”  Dealing with that feels more relevant to the title pair’s struggle than the main story of Shi’Ar intrigue and genetically engineered offspring, which comes off like a plot point that’s being set up for future stories.  Fortunately the characters’ charm shines through all the plot complications and the fighting to the point where you’re always rooting for them to beat the bad guys and come out ahead in the end. The effectively stylish art from Oscar Bazaluda in the main story only adds to their charm and the story’s quirkier bits too.

Writer Kelly Thompson saved the best for last, however, as the final issue is the couple’s housewarming party which features all sorts of fun superhero complications.  By that I mean unexpected guest appearances from the likes of Gambit’s ex-wife, his dad Jean-Luc, the Thieves Guild, and Magneto. The drama and humor complement each other in this story, which comes off as a fun X-Men hangout session ably sold via the excellent art from David Lopez.  Certainly not a bad start to the couple’s marriage, though the final story is a better example than the main one of what I’d like to see from this series going forward.