Body Horror Fun In Cable #155
by Jordan Jennings
Cable takes time from his self-assigned role as Time Cop to confront his past, all the while making amends with his daughter Hope in this month’s Cable #155. Just so happens his past is literally a living embodiment of the technorganic virus that has threatened to kill him from a young age. That’s Cable.
Cable is a character with a rather complicated history. The majority of which revolves around his childhood as the Askani-son. Zac Thompson and Lonnie Nadler embrace the weird past of Cable in Cable #155. This is very much a comic aimed at longtime Cable fans and it is well done in that regard. Thompson and Nadler dips their toes into the strained relationship between Cable and Hope rather nicely. It is painfully awkward, but rekindling estranged relationships are meant to be that way.
The pacing of the story is sound, but it does have moments where it stalls. Namely, when Cable and Hope reunite, there is a painful moment involving Kitty Pryde at the school. The framing of the scene is meant to be self-referencing, but it comes off as awkward and bizarre. The dynamic between Cable and Kitty, and Hope and Kitty is non-existent. It is only a couple pages of the comic, but with this being right in the middle, it creates a drag on the story.
The art by German Peralta and Jesus Aburtov is serviceable. The line work by Peralta is dynamic at times, and highly detailed. The character design of Metus is a great touch of body horror and a fantastic exploration of the technorganic virus concept that felt underutilized throughout most of the last decade. It feels right at home in the the pages of Cable.
There are moments of great character work with Hope and Cable sharing tender moments. Peralta does some things really well there. That said, the overall figure work needs some fine-tuning. The expressions are largely stiff. It is something that comes with more work and there are moments of promise. Yet, at the end of the issue, it is largely okay.
The coloring from Aburtov is good. The fleshtones feel off a little and the overall palette feels dim. With the understanding this is a Cable book after all, it is expected to feel drab at times. Some vibrancy would have been welcom, but understandably doesn’t fit the tone of the comic. The fight with Metus does feature some rather great coloring and pencil work and is definitely the strength of the issue.
Cable #155 is a good comic for fans of Cable, Hope, or Sci-fi Body Horror. That said, if you are not a fan of Cable, this comic is not likely to get you on board just yet. Cable is an interesting character from weird moment in comics history and this issue touches on some of the highlights of the character. You can tell the creative staff are fans of the character and they are setting out to tell good Cable stories.
Cable # 155 released on March 21st, 2018, and can be found at your local comic shop and comiXology.
