Cable #8
Recap
Cable gets together with his – ahem - intimate friend Domino long before they ever met! Will it be a fortunate encounter? Or has Cable met his match?
Review
The last issue of Cable set up Domino’s guest appearance and issue #8 is the payoff. With no leads on Stryfe’s motivations and location, Nate turns to Domino for some help and a little bit of luck. Cable ends up with a lot of luck as Domino’s gyoza craving leads them right to a restaurant that staffs an Order of X cult member. A big chase and brawl happens on cue.
This issue doubles down on the concept of cloning that has always been attached to Cable’s brand name. Stryfe’s plan is still not entirely clear, but it does involve cloning Cable and infiltrating Krakoa. Thankfully, the plan is foiled by the heroes and readers are spared more panel time given to a clone of a teenage time-traveller made by the evil clone of the teenage time-traveller’s older self. Stryfe’s endgame and the adventures of Old Man Cable that end-cap this issue continue to slowly burn.
Once again, I appreciate the attention to detail that Gerry Duggan brings to his writing. In particular, referencing both Apocalypse and the Cuckoos, neither of whom appear in this issue, draws focus to Nate’s past and present. Nate’s feelings toward Apocalypse contrasts the more heroic version of the Dawn of X and the fact that Cable is still cleaning up his messes creates more cohesion, continuity, and purpose. The book has had fun showing Cable court the Cuckoos, but this romantic subplot now underpins larger questions around how characters like Cable, and the new status quo at large, view clones.
This issue hinges on the reader’s willingness to suspend their disbelief regarding the story breaking potential of Domino’s luck powers. Are Domino’s powers clever or just convenient for the plot? That concern, for me, is nullified by the stealthy cleverness of how the seemingly innocuous imagery of asteroids used to explain Domino’s powers early in the issue unexpectedly pays off in the end. I do wonder if this moment that put a grin on my face broke another reader’s disbelief, but a game of chance has big rewards.
The downside to a Cable and Domino team-up is that it only gives artist Phil Noto two superheroes to draw. His pencils and colours are so exceptional that I want to see him draw as many characters as possible in his retro-photographic style. The realistic chases and brawls, in particular, compliment Noto’s strengths. In a perfect example of story telling in the comics medium, beautiful neon colours of the city depicted at the issue’s start now reflect in the puddles of the street during a chase sequence; those puddles conduct the electricity that incapacitates the heroes and puts them at the mercy of Domino’s luck. The synergy between writer and artist is electrifying and elevates this mid-arc issue.
Final Thoughts
Duggan and Noto use the impacts and trajectories that chart life as the setups and rewards of good comics storytelling, making Cable #8 stellar. The synergy between writer and artist is electrifying and elevates this mid-arc issue.
Cable #8: Worlds Collide
- Writing - 9/109/10
- Storyline - 8/108/10
- Art - 10/1010/10
- Color - 10/1010/10
- Cover Art - 9/109/10