Cable #150

By Ed Brisson, Jon Malin, and Jesus Aburtov

Cable as a character is a little odd. He’s popular with comic readers and not extremely well-known by anyone outside of that fan base. The odd thing about him though is that he constantly has a solo series. Sometimes they last for a long period and other times they don’t, but he keeps getting solos. We’re now into the Marvel Legacy phase in comics, and with that comes Legacy numbering. This is issue #150 of Cable, so he’s been in print for a while. Ed Brisson, a blossoming superstar at Marvel, is taking over, and this first arc looks to bring some excitement to the series.

It doesn’t take too much to make comic fans happy. We like our superheroes ageless and our stories good. There are many things that work for this issue, but it’s Cable’s interaction with his time-traveling companions that make this extremely fun. Longshot (aside from a recent appearance in X-Men Blue) hasn’t been seen or heard from in a while, and Brisson is using him to open up this arc. The interaction between Longshot and Cable is fun and playful, but you ultimately know Cable is in the driver’s seat. This issue has a comedic side as well; throw Doop into anything and it’s comic gold, but his introduction here is downright classic. It’s also great to see Cable interact with Shatterstar. Their dynamic was something that made X-Force infectious in the 90s and it’s nice to see them together again. Underneath all of these reunions is an intriguing story about the Externals. Brisson demonstrates  that he can write multiple characters this issue, all from different times to boot, and it comes off stellar. Waiting for the next issue will be difficult.



The pencils this issue are handled by Jon Malin with colors by Jesus Aburtov. Malin does a very good job on the pencils this issue. There are a few panels, one in which Cable and Selene speak after a battle, where details on Cable’s face are a little scarce. Also, If you’re not a fan of the 90’s style feet by the Rob Leifeld era, you may not want to look below the waist of any of the characters. Those two gripes aside, Maling shines for much of the issue, particularly in the many shaded panels throughout the book. Cable’s face is almost completely blacked out in several panels, and it gives a cool look to the panel. It’s also pretty hard to smile whenever Doop is on the page. Malin draws him so innocent and fun-loving. You’re heartless if you aren’t grinning from ear to ear in these panels. The colors by Jesus Aburtov are good here. In a fight scene with Candra, Aburtov uses some bright pinks and hot orange to draw your eye to the panel. There is also a 90’s style color scheme to this issue. As Selene slaps Doop across the room, Smack is written on the page in a dull pink, almost like something you would see on a Capri Sun package.

Cable #150 has put this title back on the map. This was a fun issue that meshed some of our favorite moments from the past together. Ed Brisson has the magic touch with Marvel. The art was very good all around and should make you feel nostalgic for the days of big hair and bigger weapons.