Gambit #1

Dec 1993 · Marvel · 2.50 USD; 3.15 CAD; 1.85 GBP

📊 ~46,992 copies sold its debut month

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“Tithing”

★ 1st appearance — Jean-Luc LeBeau★ 1st appearance — Candra

About this Issue

Gambit #1 (December 1993) is the opening chapter of the character's very first solo outing — a four-issue limited series that gave Remy LeBeau's shadowy New Orleans backstory its first full, dedicated exploration after three years of him operating as an enigmatic X-Man. The issue simultaneously marks the first appearances of several characters who would anchor Gambit's mythology for decades: the immortal External Candra the Benefactress, the first named appearance of the Assassins Guild as an organized body, and the first in-series appearances of Jean-Luc LeBeau and Henri LeBeau. Remarkably, the miniseries' Thieves/Assassins Guild premise was adapted almost in real time — the animated episode 'X-Ternally Yours' aired December 4, 1993, drawing directly from story material that hadn't even finished its print run yet, a striking illustration of how tightly Marvel's publishing and licensing operations were synchronized during the X-Men boom. The series planted narrative infrastructure — the Tithing ritual, Candra's Elixir of Life, the arranged marriage between Gambit and Bella Donna — that subsequent writers (including two further Mackie-penned limited series) returned to repeatedly, cementing New Orleans Gothic as Gambit's defining dramatic register.

Gambit #1 (1993) kicks off with a tense family reunion at the X-Mansion, where Henri LeBeau warns his stepbrother, Gambit, that the time of the tithing is upon them—New Orleans is in danger, and the Assassins Guild is breaking ancient pacts. When Henri is felled by an assassin’s arrow, Gambit pursues the killer only to face a shocking revelation: the assassin is Julien, the brother of Gambit’s presumed-dead wife, Bella Donna. With her alive and the stakes rising, Gambit and Rogue prepare to leave for New Orleans. Written by Howard Mackie and illustrated by Lee Weeks, with inks by Klaus Janson, colors by Steve Buccellato, and letters by Richard Starkings, the cover by Lee Weeks captures the moment of betrayal in stark, dramatic detail.

writer Howard Mackie · artist Lee Weeks · inker Klaus Janson · colorist Steve Buccellato · letterer Richard Starkings · cover Lee Weeks

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (NM) $14

CGC 9.8 · 1354 in census $99*

CGC 9.6 · 740 in census $62

CGC 9.4 · 343 in census $45

CGC 9.2 · 200 in census $39

CGC 9.0 · 126 in census $30

CGC 8.5 · 105 in census $30

Show all 22 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 33 in census $30

CGC 7.5 · 35 in census $26*

CGC 7.0 · 12 in census $26*

CGC 6.5 · 11 in census $24*

CGC 6.0 · 5 in census $21*

CGC 5.5 none in existence

CGC 5.0 none in existence

CGC 4.5 none in existence

CGC 4.0 none in existence

CGC 3.5 none in existence

CGC 3.0 none in existence

CGC 2.5 none in existence

CGC 2.0 none in existence

CGC 1.5 none in existence

CGC 1.0 none in existence

CGC 0.5 · 1 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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History

The series was written by Howard Mackie, who came to the Gambit assignment through X-Men editor Bob Harras after Mackie's success on Ghost Rider drew Harras's attention to him for X-line work. Pencils were by Lee Weeks with inks by Klaus Janson and colors by Steve Buccellato — a production team that brought a grounded, noir-inflected aesthetic to the 36-page premiere issue. The story picks up plot threads seeded in a 1992 crossover between Ghost Rider #26–27 and X-Men #8–9, which had introduced Bella Donna and devastated the New Orleans Guilds; #1 of the limited series directly revisits and reframes the fallout of that crossover. The direct-edition cover carries a gold foil-embossed logo, a hallmark production choice of the speculator era, and a separately issued signed variant was produced in coordination with an independent certificate of authenticity company.

Trivia · 10 facts

First solo limited series ever published starring Gambit (Remy LeBeau), running four issues from December 1993 to March 1994.
Written by Howard Mackie; penciled by Lee Weeks; inked by Klaus Janson; colored by Steve Buccellato; lettered by Richard Starkings; edited by Bob Harras under editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco.
First appearance of Candra the Benefactress (an immortal External who serves as power broker to both the Thieves Guild and the Assassins Guild of New Orleans).
First appearances of Jean-Luc LeBeau (Gambit's adoptive father) and Henri LeBeau (Gambit's step-brother), with Henri dying in this very issue.
First named, organized team appearance of the Assassins Guild in the Marvel Universe.
Story title is 'Tithing'; the plot follows the ceremonial tribute paid by both New Orleans Guilds to Candra, and reveals that Gambit's wife Bella Donna — believed killed in X-Men #8 — is in fact alive but comatose.
Direct-edition copies feature a gold foil-embossed cover; the series was released in both direct and newsstand editions, with at least one signed variant produced.
The miniseries' Guild mythology was adapted almost simultaneously by X-Men: The Animated Series in the Season 2 episode 'X-Ternally Yours' (aired December 4, 1993), before the comic's run had even concluded.
The complete four-issue series was later collected in trade paperback and is also included in the X-Men Epic Collection #23: Fatal Attractions (2024 reprint).
The series directly continues plot threads from the 1992 Ghost Rider / X-Men crossover (Ghost Rider #26–27, X-Men #8–9), tying Gambit's solo debut to an established, cross-title continuity event.