Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics, X-Men | Tagged: chris claremont, gambit, jim lee

Chris Claremont Tells Gambit's Last Adventure Before Joining The X-Men

Chris Claremont and Robert Gill to tell the story of Gambit's last adventure before joining the X-Men, in July 2026

To paraphrase the great LP Hartley, "the past is a foreign country. They let Chris Claremont tell X-Men stories there." And so Chris Claremont is writing a character he co-created with Jim Lee, Gambit: Wanted, a five-issue retro limited series drawn by Robert Gill, which launches this July. Well, if Jim Lee gets to go back to Superman/Spider-Man this week, they might as well let Chris.

GAMBIT: WANTED #1 (OF 5)
Written by CHRIS CLAREMONT Art by ROBERT GILL
Covers by LEINIL FRANCIS YU, PHIL NOTO, KRIS ANKA, STANLEY "ARTGERM" LAU, YASMINE PUTRI, STEPHEN SEGOVIA
On Sale 7/22
TARGET: REMY LEBEAU! Get ready, mes amis, as Gambit, the mutant-thief-hero, travels back to his hometown for an explosive showdown! Set in the timeframe when Gambit returned Storm to what was left of the X-Men, discover how Gambit came to join the team for the first time – and the deadly trial that made it so! Someone's got mutants in their crosshairs down in New Orleans… and when they hire Bullseye to target Gambit, hang on for the most kinetic showdown of the month!

"Visionary writer Chris Claremont returns with another revelatory retro series set during his incredible run of Uncanny X-Men, this time revisiting one of his most beloved—and mysterious—co-creations, GAMBIT. Teaming up with acclaimed artist Robert Gill (Dungeons of Doom, X-Force), Claremont will shed light on Gambit's final adventure before he officially took his place among the X-Men. Back in New Orleans after meeting the team, Gambit isn't ready to leave his old life and friends behind, but when an anti-mutant threat is unleashed across his city, the choice may be taken out of his hands! The deck is stacked with new enemies alongside fan-favorite villains in this surprising tale that adds new depth to Gambit's fateful decision to join the X-Men!

"GAMBIT: WANTED is the latest retro series that sees Chris Claremont fill in gaps and flesh out stories from his legendary, decades-long work on the X-Men franchise, following hit series like Wolverine and Kitty Pryde, X-Treme X-Men, and 2022's Gambit series. On what motivated him to revisit the Ragin' Cajun again, Claremont said, "I enjoy returning to Gambit because when I first created him, I never had much of a chance to build his backstory. I gave him the dichotomy of being both a hero and a thief, a conflict that creates a fertile patch for stories. GAMBIT: WANTED is set when he first meets the X-Men, and gives me a chance to explore why he decided to give up his unfettered life doing as he wished in New Orleans, becoming bound to this group of heroes, dramatically changing his life's course."

"Getting the chance to work on a Gambit book with Chris was a complete surprise, and it continues to be a surreal experience," Gill said. "Chris's name is iconic and one that surrounded my early days of reading comics. I've always thought Gambit was one of the coolest and mysterious X-Men characters, and despite more than eight years drawing comics for Marvel, I've almost never drawn him… until now!"

Gambit: Wanted #1 by Chris Claremont and Robert Gill, will be published by Marvel Comics on the 22nd of July 2026.

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