Excalibur from the Beginning [Archive] - Page 3

limerick

11-02-2009, 01:30 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.21.GIF

Excalibur # 21...................April 1990

"Crusader X"----The Cross-Time Caper Part

Claremont/Wozniak

London,Earth 2212:Crusader X(This reality's Captain Britain) goes about his daily crime-fighting when he spots military helicopters heading for Euston Square......He follows them and when they land he sees Weird Happenings Organisation troops disembarking......Down below he joins Brigadier Alistaire Stuart,his scientist sister,Alysande(both of W.H.O.) and Dai Thomas of C.I.D.......They are here investigating the appearance of a dragon-powered steam locomotive which appeared in the station overnight(Excalibur's train).....They find evidence inside that people have been using it but no-one is present......However,Thomas finds a photograph of Nightcrawler,who in this reality is a top Prussian agent----He must be found lest he endanger the Queen's summit of Great Powers which is about to begin......Crusader X asks to be shown to Nightcrawler's carraige.....He then uses his power to track people by identifying their aura on their possessions and then tracking it

Merlin Mews,London,Earth 616:Kitty Pryde wakes up,forgetting for a moment that she's back in her own reality seperated from her team-mates......Sat-Yr-9(Posing as Courtney Ross) brings her in a cup of tea but Kitty loses her patience when she can't solidify immediately to pick up the cup......She ends up spilling the tea all over 'Courtney'......Later,as Kitty launders 'Courtney's' stained clothes they discuss Kitty's recent history and how she's lost the X-men and now Excalibur.....'Courtney' tells her that she'll never be alone as long as she's with her.

Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters,London Outskirts,Earth 2212:Jean Grey arrives back to the secret base of the X-men(This reality's British Secret Service)......She senses somthing is wrong as she drives up the driveway.....As she reaches the mansion she has a strange experience where she finds herself assuming the mantle of the Shadow Queen......Jason Wyngarde waits by the house for her,telling her she's ready to be the Hellfire Club's Shadow Queen......Then there is a burst of the Phoenix-effect and she finds herself back to normal....But her car and clothes have changed......She wonders what's happening to her??

London,Earth 2212:Rachel assumes the Phoenix effect as she's mindlinked with her mother in this reality.....She senses what's happening and tells the rest of Excalibur that Mastermind and The Hellfire Club are putting Jean Grey's life in terrible danger...

The Hellfire Club:The Shadow King controls all four Lords Cardinal.......He has just witnessed the death of Emma Frost(The White Queen) and is not happy......Mastermind explained that Emma allowed him to enter Jean's mind but then there was a powerful psychic backlash which killed her.....The Shadow King makes Mastermind punish himself with his own power,putting himself into a hoffific nightmare of his own making......Iron Man watches,unhappy with the results he's paying dearly for......The Shadow King assures him he'll get the results he's looking for by using Jean Grey to allow Iron Man to smash the Queen's summit and strike a blow for American Independence......As Iron Man retires with a couple of The Shadow King's concubines,he is unaware of Farouk's sneer of it being the American's last supper.

Hyde Park,London,Earth 616:Jamie Braddock and Nigel Frobisher meet with the Crimelord,Vixen who is accompanied by several armed goons.....When Jamie tells her he's 'changing the guard',she orders her men to shoot them.....But Jamie turns their guns to birdcages and turns Vixen to a white fox.....He then alters Frobisher,allowing him to assume Vixe's female form,thus giving him command of her gang who are none the wiser.

Xavier's:Jean is upset and puzzled by what happened and goes to see Xavier who is in his office with Moira MacTaggert.......But when she enters the room she sees a vision of herself as the Shadow Queen with the mutilated corpes of Xavier and MacTaggert at her feet.......Behind her the Shadow King praises her for embracing her dark side and doing his bidding.

London Docks:Rachel senses Jean's plight and knows someone's interfering with her mind....She tells Nightcrawler they've gotta do something but he feels this is another reality and they should just concentrate on getting home......They are suddenly attacted by Crusader X who has tracked Nightcrawler via his aura......Rachel reacts quickly enough to counter his attack and grab him telekinetically.

Xavier's:Jean tries to resist the Shadow King and sees herself fleeing him on a horse(She's actually in her car).....She hopes the Phoenix entity that helped her before will come to her rescue again......But it's too late and the Shadow King seizes control of her mind....

London Docks:Rachel feels the psychic shock of her mother and is completely distracted by this......Crusader X is free from her grasp and he manages to knock Nightcrawler out before he can escape.......Rachel flies from the Docks intent on saving her 'mother'...Thinking he's caught the Prussian agent,Crusader X heads away to bring him to the authorities....

Moments later,Captain Britain,Meggan and Alistaire arrive at the scene of the fight.....Meggan changes to a wolfen form and reads the scents of her two team-mates and another,who seems much like Brian......Knowing Rachel has left by herself,they decide to go after Kurt and Meggan starts to track them.

A Country Lane Near Xavier's:Rachel arrives at the lane where she finds Jean Grey badly injured after a car crash brought on by the Shadow King's psychic attack.....Jean is trying to resist his power with Rachel's help......But she knows without her support she will be completely under his influence....She begs Rachel to let her die so she won't go on to hurt the ones she loves......For a second the Shadow King gains control and Rachel sees his evil nature......Knowing it is the right thing to do she lets her 'mother' die.....Full of rage,she swearsrevenge on the Hellfire Club.....their deaths for her 'mother's' death....

FIN

Cub

11-09-2009, 11:56 PM

Ugh, creative lowpoint alert! I realize that anyone after Davis is a bit of a disappointment, but this is not acceptable. I liked Leonardi well enough, (some times more than others), but this Wozniak dude, coming after the completely generic Ron Lim, and whoever visually assaulted us with #18 is simply not talented enough to be allowed to draw a comic book.You know how people try and think of horrifying images, like hooking up with their grandmother, or beheading kittens, to calm themselves down when they are horny at inappropriate times, like public speaking, church, etc? The image I use is of Meggan's hair on the cover of #21.Gross.
But at least it's combined with silly, throwaway plots. I hate how Claremont's quality goes down so noticeably when he's working with an artist he doesn't click with. Oh,and the fill-in writer? Michael Higgins, if i remember correctly? He should be set on fire. Just awful.
Kinda liked #19,despite its shocking implausibility. Rachel's memories of the x-men are what fuel Meggan's transformation. But, like, she remembers current x-men, like longshot, dazzler,and havok, who joined after Rachel dicked over the team and split. You're going to tell me they are fresher in her mind than say, Cyclops, or Franklin Richards (whose power against Jamie could be interesting to see)? Lazy storytelling.

A mix of filler issues and the cross-time caper, which is quickly wearing out its welcome? I admit the high points are kinda few and far between for the next 20 issues or so...

The Sword Is Drawn

11-10-2009, 07:10 AM

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/77/84460-51269-crusader-x_super.jpg

Crusader X,who debuts in the next issue of Excalibur----# 21,which I'll summarise either tonight or tomorrow

It is well worth noting that while THAT Crusader X appeared in 2000s Excalibur mini series, the guy in the suit in the original Excalibur looks VERY different...:biggrin:

limerick

11-10-2009, 01:41 PM

It is well worth noting that while THAT Crusader X appeared in 2000s Excalibur mini series, the guy in the suit in the original Excalibur looks VERY different...:biggrin:
Yeah,I just couldn't find a decent image of him from 1990.....I generally try to post art relative to the issues but I made an exception here.....He looks....busy!.....It is the same guy,isn't it?(or did I f**k up!)

limerick

11-10-2009, 02:22 PM

Thoughts on Excalibur # 21:

--Another variation on what has become a 'standard' Excalibur cover......What are those stringy things hanging off Crusader X's boots....They look really impractical.

--'Crusader X----Created by Chris Claremont & Chris Wozniak'.....In my opinion,that's the most pretentious statement uttered in the history of comics.....Take an established character,change his outfit and powers so very slightly.....and demand a credit for creating him(and the editor bows to your whim)......C.C...Get a life....(wishing for 'eyes to heaven smilie'!!)

--Funny how as time goes on this comic seems to resemble 'Exiles'......I'm not a huge fan of this alternate universe stuff because at the end of it all they just move onto the next universe and everything is forgotten and meaningless.

--Saying that....although it's old hat now,this was an interesting presentation of the X-men in an alternate universe.....Female Archangel,X-Men based in the U.K.,Shadow King as Hellfire Club member....They were all interesting twists on the standard 616 universe.

--Meggan and Rachel really don't seem to be getting on too well at the moment....Meggan makes an uncharacteristicly snide remark about her on page 27.

--Overall I wasn't greatly impressed re-reading this issue......Although probably original at the time,the alternate universe has been done to death now and this seems a bit tired......I wasn't very impressed with the art either.

The Sword Is Drawn

11-10-2009, 05:47 PM

Thoughts on Excalibur # 21:

--Another variation on what has become a 'standard' Excalibur cover......What are those stringy things hanging off Crusader X's boots....They look really impractical.

They appear to be lace up ties. Very... rustic. But no, not very practical.

--'Crusader X----Created by Chris Claremont & Chris Wozniak'.....In my opinion,that's the most pretentious statement uttered in the history of comics.....Take an established character,change his outfit and powers so very slightly.....and demand a credit for creating him(and the editor bows to your whim)......C.C...Get a life....(wishing for 'eyes to heaven smilie'!!)

Yes. What the hell ever did happen to that smilie? When did it disappear? :confused:

--Funny how as time goes on this comic seems to resemble 'Exiles'......I'm not a huge fan of this alternate universe stuff because at the end of it all they just move onto the next universe and everything is forgotten and meaningless.

I think you'll find that it was Exiles which seemed to resemble Excalibur? :wink:

Seriously, if not for the Cross Time Caper Exiles would probably never have come about.

--Saying that....although it's old hat now,this was an interesting presentation of the X-men in an alternate universe.....Female Archangel,X-Men based in the U.K.,Shadow King as Hellfire Club member....They were all interesting twists on the standard 616 universe.

Indeed. we even get a Cable in there. But a pre-'Cable-Son-Of-Cyclops' Cable. At the time this story was written that retcon hadn't happened yet, and as a result this Cable does seem a little bit... off, to a 21dt Century reading.

--Meggan and Rachel really don't seem to be getting on too well at the moment....Meggan makes an uncharacteristicly snide remark about her on page 27.

It's hardly the only out-of-character issue here, sadly.

--Overall I wasn't greatly impressed re-reading this issue......Although probably original at the time,the alternate universe has been done to death now and this seems a bit tired......I wasn't very impressed with the art either.

Yeah, the art is a little patchy. But at the time this came out people just weren't doing AU ongoing stories. This was a bit of breakthrough stuff at the time. But it's like the Manga stuff previously. It grates a little reading it now.

limerick

11-11-2009, 04:23 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.22.GIF

Excalibur # 22...................May 1990

"Shadows Triumphant?"----The Cross-Time Caper Part

Claremont/Wozniak

W.H.O.'s Base,London,Earth 2212:Nightcrawler is chained up and interrogated by this reality's Dai Thomas and W.H.O. agents who believe him to be a Prussian agent......They get pretty heavy-handed and give him quite a beating as they do not believe the explanation he gives them(that he is from an alternative Earth).....Alysande Stuart doesn't agree with their rough-house tactics and asks them to be reasonable but Dai is convinced if they persist he'll crack and tell them the 'truth'......Kurt's helpless and bleeding as he awaits round 2.

Xavier's School,London Outskirts:Crusader X flies to the mansion where the residents are still reeling from the attack on Charles Xavier and Moira MacTaggert......He meets Archangel(female in this reality) and Cable who are the X-Men's tactical chief and Head of Security respectively.....They explain how Xavier has been seriously hurt by a psychic attack which effected everyone in the building to some extent.....In trying to prtect Moira he had taken more of the assault himself......As Xavier is taken away to hospital in an ambulance,Cable explains that the only clue was the sudden departure of Jean Grey's car after the incident---And she hasn't been heard from since.....Crusader X sets of to find her with his tracking abilities.

The Hellfire Club,Mayfair London:Phoenix stands in the gardens of the Club trying to shake off her fears......As a teenager,she had been captured by the HellfireClub after they attacked the School and killed Professor Xavier......She found herself attacked by the Psychic powerhouse,The Shadow King......Years later she found herself similarly under the control of Mojo in the Mojoverse......In both cases she had eventually freed herself......But she can't control the fear she feels and she sinks to the ground,dreading having to face The Hellfire Club.

London Zoo,Earth 616:Kitty Pryde pays the zoo a visit to check on the Warwolves......They seem to be well contained but one of the Warwolves smirks to himself as he awaits the rebirth of 2 of their six-pack who were not killed as Kitty thinks during their confrontation with Excalibur.

1 Merlin Mews,London,Earth 2122:Excalibur arrive at the address they use while in their London......They are in time to stop a bunch of thugs attacking a woman......After frightening them off they realise the woman is this reality's version of their team-mate,Kitty......But when they speak to her ,she actually identifies herself as Courtney Ross.

The Hellfire Club:Rachel is brought before the Shadow King who thinks she is this reality's Jean Grey......She swears obedience to him and Farouk orders her to accompany Iron Man to the Summit.....He wants her to get Stark past the guards and traps present to allow him to kill the World's monarchs.

W.H.O.'s Tower:Alysande comes to visit Nightcrawler in his cell,bringing him a cup of coffoe......She believes his story about the alternate realities and he tells her about his Earth's version of her......Suddenly he grabs her and teleports outside......She is shocked,not realising he had that power.....He tells her that may be why her reality's Nightcrawler has proved so elusive.........They are disturbed as Captain Britain hits the turret they're standing on,half destroying it.......Nightcrawler gets her to safety and then takes in what's going on around him---A full blown scrap between Crusader X and C.B......As the two heroes fight they find each other a tough opponent as their instincts are similar and they can guess what each other is going to do next.

The World Monarch Summit,Hampton Court,London:By posing as Jean and using her I.D. Rachel breezes past security.......Once inside she knocks out the guards telepathically.......This clears the way for the watching Iron Man who smashes through the buildings wall,intent on killing the delegates......But he's been tricked by Rachel......The delegates were removed safely hours ago and instead he faces a suited and booted Phoenix who proceeds to kick his ass......But when she defeats him telepathically by stunning him into unconciousness,she is surprised when his suit kees coming at her!......Pre-programmed to continue fighting if Tony Stark was defeated by a psychicly enhanced opponent,she finds herself in trouble against the non-sentient suit......She calls out telepathically to her team-mates to come and help her.

Meggan arrives first but she too is overcome by the Iron Man suit......Crusader X and Captain Britain have finally realised they're fighting for the same side.....They dash to Hamton Cour to find Meggan and Rachel unconcious......They quickly overcome Iron Man and the battle is over......

The Hellfire Club:Later,Excalibur return to the Hellfire Club with Dai Thomas,Crusader X and Alistaire Stuart......But their search for The Shadow King is fruitless as he's made a clean getaway.......Rachel is upset that they haven't caught him but Kurt reminds her that the good guys have won and that's nothing to be ashamed of!!

FIN

Cub

11-11-2009, 10:20 PM

Those are some tall teeth Brian is rocking on the cover.

creaky

11-11-2009, 11:56 PM

Those are some tall teeth Brian is rocking on the cover.

Oh god the art is unbelievable. And to think he got paid.

The Sword Is Drawn

11-12-2009, 05:14 AM

Oh god the art is unbelievable. And to think he got paid.

You can see why the went and persuaded Alan Davis to come back and take over, can't you?

It's a shame really because story wise it's actually not bad, at all. But you can't deny that the art looked rushed and patchy in places. The standards back in the late 80s were very different in comic books than what we are used to today.

limerick

11-12-2009, 03:37 PM

Those are some tall teeth Brian is rocking on the cover.

They are,you know!

Oh god the art is unbelievable. And to think he got paid.

It was generally poor but I've seen worse on the X-Books in this time period---What's going on with the art on most of the books.....It really has nose-dived in standard!

You can see why the went and persuaded Alan Davis to come back and take over, can't you?

It's a shame really because story wise it's actually not bad, at all. But you can't deny that the art looked rushed and patchy in places. The standards back in the late 80s were very different in comic books than what we are used to today.

Unfortunately,he's only back for two issues---The Judge Dredd tribute!!:wink:

limerick

11-12-2009, 03:53 PM

Thoughts on Excalibur # 22:

This has gotta be one of Claremont's sloppiest isssues in ages.....Things really don't come together at all.....There are just so many plot holes.....Why doesn't Kurt teleport out of the interrogation room?Why doesn't Farouk realise Rachel isn't Jean?Why does Rachel bother luring Iron Man to Hampton Court--She could take him out long before that?Why is Meggan being such a bitch all of a sudden?....It goes on and on.....He's lost concentration a little,I think.

--I was surprised to see Crusader X has a black-haired ponytail(page 7)......Does 616 Brian dye his hair?!!

--Archangel stacked like a Playboy model just seems wrong!!.

--There's some surprising new information on Rachel's past on pages 8 and 9....In her reality Farouk was in the Hellfire Club as well and after the Xavier assassination she was brought there......Interestingly in a editor's note,it's romsed this story will be told in Excalibur Special Edition # 3 and # 4.....Did they ever actually see print??.

--The Warwolves look like they'll be returning soon...Fingers crossed it'll be Davis drawing them.

--Kitty was this reality's Courtney Ross....Nice touch but Claremont doesn't have the time to elaborate.

--Nightcrawler is really smooth....He was almost in for a tongue sandwich with Alysande there,until C.B. cramped his style.

--Sales figures are given in this issue and I'm pretty sure Excalibur is the second best selling X-book after Uncanny with average paid circulation figures of approx 317,000 per month.....This was well ahead of New Mutants and slightly ahead of X-Factor.....That's a pretty strong performance for such a new book.

creaky

11-12-2009, 04:01 PM

It was generally poor but I've seen worse on the X-Books in this time period---What's going on with the art on most of the books.....It really has nose-dived in standard!

Worse?? Really??

limerick

11-12-2009, 04:04 PM

I was thinking of some of the New Mutants art before Liefeld joined permanantly.....Even Uncanny has been fairly poor....At least Silvestri's on X-Factor for a couple of issues(starting # 54)

The Sword Is Drawn

11-12-2009, 04:28 PM

--Sales figures are given in this issue and I'm pretty sure Excalibur is the second best selling X-book after Uncanny with average paid circulation figures of approx 317,000 per month.....This was well ahead of New Mutants and slightly ahead of X-Factor.....That's a pretty strong performance for such a new book.

It really WAS. It did huge sales, back then. But you've got to look at it a bit like Bendis starting a new title. Claremont had the same kind of clout back then, and brought a comparable percentage of his readership.

Although, at this point, it should really be pointed out that the idea of an X-Men Franchise did not really exist. It was just four separate titles. Excalibur wasn't even that well connected TO the X-Men, really.

limerick

11-12-2009, 04:37 PM

It really WAS. It did huge sales, back then. But you've got to look at it a bit like Bendis starting a new title. Claremont had the same kind of clout back then, and brought a comparable percentage of his readership.

Although, at this point, it should really be pointed out that the idea of an X-Men Franchise did not really exist. It was just four separate titles. Excalibur wasn't even that well connected TO the X-Men, really.
You're right,the X-Franchise was still a ways off....and this book was edited by Terry Kavanagh while the others fell under Bob Harras.

Claremonts name certainly did guarantee sales but this is a dodgy period for him on his two remaining X-titles Uncanny and Excalibur......I feel his heart isn't in Excalibur like it was......Or maybe I'm underestimating Davis' input on the title.

limerick

11-16-2009, 05:05 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.23.GIF

Back Tomorrow With # 23---The beginning of The End of The CrossTime Caper...(With A Glorious Nod to Judge Dredd!)

Koni

11-17-2009, 01:45 AM

You can see why the went and persuaded Alan Davis to come back and take over, can't you?

Why did he leave anyway?

limerick

11-17-2009, 03:55 PM

Why did he leave anyway?
Hi,Koni,I'm not sure....Maybe The Sword is Drawn or Loki might know?

limerick

11-17-2009, 04:19 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.23.GIF

Excalibur # 23...................June 1990

"Here Comes the Judge"----The Cross-Time Caper Part

Claremont/Davis

A Futuristic Skyscraper,An Alternate Earth:This reality's Illyana uses her Scrying Glass to locate Excalibur as they travel in their train through the interdimensional rift......She tells her friend,Kit Pryde(this reality's version),who intends impersonating their missing team member.

One of Kitty's soldiers bursts in warning of the arrival of the Justicers(including Justicer Bull......Kitty orders him to delay them as long as possible and Illyana sends Excalibur an image of Kitty to try and lure them to their reality.....

The Excalibur Train,Interdimensional Rift:Alistaire is irritated by their ongoing journey and tries shouting at Widget to try and take them back to Earth 616......But Widget becomes angry and stuns him with an electric burst.....Phoenix reasons with Widget but suddenly the image of Kitty sent by Alternate Illyana appears......Widget isoverjoyed to see her and activates the energy burst required to follow the signal and emerge on the appropriate Earth.

Kit Pryde's Penthouse Residence,Alternate Earth:Doug Ramsey acts as Kit's attorney as he tries to defend her from accusations of being linked to organised crime......Justicer Bull is determined to put her away......But the scene is suddenly disturbed by the Excalibur Train crashing through the penthouses enormous windows......In the commotion Kit is sent sprawling out the window.....Captain Britain flies out to catch her but they are both hit by Justicer Bulls 'Lawgiver':wink: and they fall towards the ground far below......Meggan tries to save them but the pollution in the air burns her lungs and she also falls to the ground below.

Meanwhile,Nightcrawler recovers to face another one of the Justicers(Justicer Cadbury),only to find it is this reality's version of himself---only human in appearance.....He manages to grab Cadbury's gun but is gunned down from behind by Justicer Bull......Bull orders the arrest of Nightcrawler, a groggy Phoenix and Alistaire but Illyana intervines,reminding Bull her warrant doesn't cover the arrest of anyone other than Kit Pryde.......The Justicers leave with Nightcrawler,who assaulted Cadbury,but Bull promises she'll be back......As Alistaire thanks the teenage mutant he does not see her evil grinning face,starting to assume a demonic appearance!

Far below them Brian tries to regain his concentration as he approahes the ground with Kitty at breakneck speed......He thinks he's too late and prepares to meet his maker but the 'ground' turns out to a pollution raged Ocean......As he emerges with 'Kitty' he sees Meggan fall in flames into the Ocean beside them......He brings his two dazed team-mates to a ledge nearby......He looks up at the enormous city towering over him as he thinks about his next move......He is unaware of several scary looking humanoids moving towards him in the shadows!!

Central Criminal Court:Nightcrawler finds himself condemned guilty in a court where he seems to be given no defence.....He tries to plea for mercy and to be allowed move on his way as soon as possible.....But his requests fall on deaf ears and Bull tells him he'll be genetically altered to a human form and then will serve a penal sentence......Kurt is kicked into a holding cell with a load of other bizarre looking prisoners,awaiting transport in an hour or so......In the corner he hears a womans voice begging for help as she is attacked......He overcomes her torrmentors easily,only to find she is this reality's version of Meggan!

The City Depths:Brian tries to hold off the attacking humanoids but finds himself outnumbered.....But suddenly Meggan recovers from her ordeal......She has assumed a shape that will allow her to survive this Earth's pollution......Her awesome strength soon frightens the attackers away......Kitty is in a bad way and she curses Illyana for betraying her......As she breathes her last,she asks them to avenge her......As Brian lets her gently down on the ground he realises Meggan has already left to do just that.

Kit Pryde's Penthouse:Alistaire nurses Phoenix who is really out for the count......Suddenly Illyana confronts him and,changing to her Darkchylde persona,she makes him an offer----Help her use Phoenix's power and his scientific knowledge to make her mistress of this reality and she will give him Rachel!

The Central Criminal Court:On the roof of the court Nightcrawler is led in chains to be transported to prison......But he teleports free of his shackles and takes out Justicer Cadbury with a left hook......Using Cadbury's gun to free ' Alternate Meggan' they escape in the transport.....But Bull manages to get a shot at them and Meggan takes the hit to save Nightcrawler......She hugs Nightcrawler as she dies but in her last moments she accquires the use of her shape-changing powers......She dies with a smile on her face as she assumes an appearance similar to Nightcrawler......He heads for Kit Pryde's penthouse.

Kit Pryde's Penthouse:Phoenix recovers to tackle Illyana and try and save Alistaire......But she's still below par and Illyana soon has the upperhand......Nightcrawler crashes through the roof in his stolen Justicer Aircar......It distracts Illyana for a few seconds......She casts a spell to conceal the Excalibur members as Bull and Cadbury arrive......But Meggan shows up disguising herself as Kit Pryde and it all kicks off......Brian shows up followed by Alternate Brian and Psylocke.....Bull and Cadbury are shocked to see Brian and Betsy using powers as they founded the Justicers and superpowers are banned under Justicer Law......The two Brians hold the Darkchylde at bay while Psylocke telekinetically revives Phoenix......Restored to her full potential,Rachel kicks Illyana's ass and frees her from her demonic possession,restoring her to a normal teenage girl.

As the battle ends,Bull tries to arrest them all for possessing super-powers but Alistaire points out she might fall within her definition of 'super-powered'......Alternate Brian explains that the world was ravaged by battling superheroes so he set up the Justicers to bring them to justice......But his plan worked too well and now innocent 'powered' individuals are being hunted down for no reason......He and Bull agree that changes must be made to the law.....Bull still wants to arrest Excalibur but Nightcrawler convinces her to give them a chance and lets them away.

FIN!!

Cub

11-17-2009, 09:18 PM

I really like this issue. Don't even know the Judge Dredd references, but this is an example of an alternate reality story done right

The Sword Is Drawn

11-18-2009, 02:16 AM

I really like this issue. Don't even know the Judge Dredd references, but this is an example of an alternate reality story done right

Agreed. Being a long time 2000 AD reader I do recognise the odd nod to Judge Dredd, but it's all done pretty respectfully. And of course we do have a Justicer 'Cadbury' here, a nod to Britain's largest producer of chocolate.

Who are currently fighting off a hostile takeover from US company Kraft Foods... :frown:

limerick

11-25-2009, 04:08 PM

Thoughts on Excalibur # 23:

--Great to have Davis back for this Dredd tribute.....I thought the references were heavily laid on.....The 'JUDGE' letters in the story title are in the same font as in Dredd's own title and that gives a little idea of what's coming......London looks very similar to Mega-City-One with a huge sprawling mass of ultimate skyscrapers forming the cityscape......But most of all Justicer Bull is (a female!)Judge Dredd!

--Nice seeing a Doug Ramsey back in action---even if it's not the 616 version!

--Kit Pryde's idea to locate Excalibur and bring them her dimension fairly backfires on her and she ends up dead---bad call!

--Widget shows his teeth on page 3 and gives Alistaire a bit of a shock--literally!......The little guy really seems to have a thing for Kitty.

--Poor alternate Meggan....Just when things were coming together a little,she gets fried!.....Excalibur members are pretty disposable in this dimension.

--This was quite an enjoyable issue but The Cros Time Caper isn't really hanging together as an overall story....Sure,it's got good individual issues but for a story of this length,I'd be expecting quite a buildup to a dramatic,epic climax......But that really doesn't happen,which is a shame......The next issue is a bit of a letdown for a story climax.

limerick

11-28-2009, 04:27 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.24.GIF

Excalibur # 24...................Late July 1990

"Tempting Fates"----The Cross-Time Caper--The Final Chapter

Claremont/Davis

Excalibur's Train,The Interdimensional Rift:Opal-Luna Saturnyne appears to Excalibur as a hologram and tells them she's furious at the problems their continuing cross-dimensional jumps are causing to the continuum......She tells them she's bringing them to the Omniversal Hub to sort things out and that she wants to sort out the Phoenix problem while they're there......Something that worries Rachel a little when Brian tells her of Saturnyne's history....

London,Earth 616:Kitty awakes on her 15th birthday and hides in her bed depressed at recent events......'Courtney Ross' brings her a birthday cake in bed and tries to reassure her......Kitty explains since she joined the X-Men she can only relate properly to other superheroes......Now she's lost Excalibur as well as the X-Men she feels she has no-one to talk to.....'Courtney' tells her she understands her situation because of her relationship with Brian......After convincing Kitty there should be no secrets between them,she promises to show Kitty a good time on her birthday.

Omniversal Hub:Excalibur's train materialises in some type of futuristic parking lot......Brian explains a little more about Saturnyne and her powers and responsibilities......Rachel is worried that she will want to destroy her because Saturnyne believes the Phoenix Force to be a threat to reality.....Kurt has an idea and Rachel disguises herself as Shadowcat!......Seconds later,heavies from the Immigration Dept. arrive to check them out......Nightcrawler starts to explain who's who.

London:Kitty gets new clothes and a more adult hairdo......Later,she's nervous as 'Courtney' takes her to one of London's most exclusive restaurants......But she throws caution to the wind and decides to just go for it.

Immigration,Omniversal Hub:An Immigration inspector grills Excalibur about their recorded details being different from their current appearance.....The main problem is over Captain Britain's costume being different from the one expected for 616 and 'Shadowcat' having better tits and ass than expected!......A row breaks out between the Immigration Officer and the archivist.....As it develops into fisticuffs,Excalibur takes the oppurtunity to escape to look for Saturnyne.

London 616:Kitty strugles a little with her confidence in the restaurant but with 'Courtney's' prompting she orders the best champagne and they both laugh as they drink it.......Soon after,'Courtney' takes Kitty in her private jet to Paris.

Omniversal Hub:Excalibur head to Saturnyne's residence but when they try and enter her personal guards,The Avant Guard,refusethem entry......Brian gets into a scrap with them and before long Brian finds himself facing a dimensional alter-ego,Centurius Britannus and Lady London.....Centurion plants a big one on Brian's chin,almost sending him into next week!

Excalibur find themselves facing various versions of Captain Britain from several dimensions......Although they encounter plenty of problems and take a few bad hits they eventually emerge victorious......Suddenly,Rachel senses Widget is in trouble back at the train.....They get there as quickly as they canm and find Saturnyne waiuting for them......She has entered the correct course back to Earth 616 into Widget so they can return home.....When they ask how they will power him,she casts a knowing glance at 'Shadowcat'---It's obvious she knows it's Rachel but she's going to let it go---this time!

Paris,Earth-616:Meanwhile,Kitty has the time of her life......They head to a nightclub and meet some guys.....They then join a party on a barge,where,'Courtney' lets Kitty enjoy herself on her own......When they meet up again later,Kitty's had a great time,dancing the night away......But the party's not over yet.......'Courtney' gives Kitty a present of a new Jaguar.....Despite not having a liecense,'Courtney' lets her drive it around Paris.....She tells Kitty that some people play by the rules,others make them......

Excalibur Lighthouse,England,Earth-616:The train reappears in the sub-basement of their lighthouse......Meggan is overjoyed to be finally home and heads outside to check they really are where they think they are......They are all unaware that just outside,the star-devourer,Galactus,is reaching towards their home----Ready to strike!!!!

FIN!

creaky

11-28-2009, 04:44 PM

I assume this is the source for this infamous scene:

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n69/roilier/sugar_mommy.jpg

Also, LOL:

The main problem is over Captain Britain's costume being different from the one expected for 616 and 'Shadowcat' having better tits and ass than expected!......

limerick

11-28-2009, 05:13 PM

I assume this is the source for this infamous scene:

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n69/roilier/sugar_mommy.jpg

Also, LOL:
LOLOL.....creaky,you're right....that scene is very standoutish!:eek: ....I'M glad you posted it......What was Claremont thinking---the sexual overtones are kinda inappropriate for a 15 year old!

coveredinbees

11-28-2009, 05:16 PM

Only in the last four panels.

limerick

11-28-2009, 05:19 PM

I hadn't really noticed it before but when I re-read this the other night this page really,really made my jaw drop.....I'll post a little more on it when I gather my thoughts tomorrow(God,that sounds pretentious!)

limerick

11-28-2009, 05:34 PM

Only Davis puts this much work into costumes for what will almost surely be one-off appearance characters.....Check out these gems from Excalibur # 24:

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/77/259781-84651-lady-london_super.jpg

LADY LONDON

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/77/259783-52704-captain-cymru_super.jpg

CAPTAIN CYMRU....(Hubba Hubba!!)

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/77/259779-65313-centurion-britannus_super.jpg

CENTURION BRITANNUS

I know Captain Cymru did appear again but Davis wouldn't have know that.....His detail is amazing and Excalibur will miss him for the next 25 issues or so!

limerick

12-05-2009, 03:22 PM

Thoughts on Excalibur # 24:

--The Cross-Time Caper finally wraps up.....It's always great to have Davis back on the book and he really excels in off-Earth situations where his imagination is allowed to run riot.....But there are plenty of disappointing things about this issue as well.....Why did Opal-Luna Saturnyne send the Technet after Rachel in the first place....She has her where she wants her here and just casually decides to let her go(okay,she does offer the explanation of avoiding a confrontation with Excalibur,but still--I find it a little bit lame)......Also Saturnyne summons them to the Hub to confron them but when they get there they have to kinda battle their way to actually see her---So the whole story just seems a bit forced.

--The birthday cake scene with Kitty and 'Courtney' was laden with sexual innuendo---something that passed me by as an innocent Irish Catholic teenager!...But when I read it last week I was stunned at the last few panels coveredinbees is referring to......Kitty is too young for that sort of thing,IMO......Claremont,wash your head out with soap!

--Saying that,I did enjoy most of the Kitty sequences...It was good to see her enjoying herself for once....(Although her hairdo on page 8 makes her look like Margaret Thatcher!)....She gets into some pretty heavy conversation in Paris---Cat's Laughing get another mention,one of many so far in Excalibur.

--And then in a flash it's all over......The next issue's gotta be a letdown,hasn't it?....Until Davis delivers that killer last page!......Galactus looks magnificent,awei-nspiring and dead scary all at the same time.....Davis captures his size so well...(I'm, depressed because IIRC this is the last Davis issue for ages)

--I'm reading an original copy......Did anyone else have some colouring problems on pages 8 and 27.....Brian and Meggan'shair is pink rather than blonde and Meggan's costume is purple,not green.....It looks like they ran out of one of the inks?

--Overall,the Cross-Time Caper was an amazing story providing some amazing set-pieces with wonderful Davis art......But the issues without him didn't gel so well.....And the change in creative team during the run definitely affected the quality of the overal product......Nowadays,Marvel will wait for an artist to finish the next issue and will hold an issue over to produce a consistent story suitable for trades......If only Marvel did the same thing back in the day,we may have had the finished result a few month later but with Davis on board for the full run,it could have been so muc better and not suffered from an overly episodic feel......Don't get me wrong....It was an incredible run and a bunch of issues to rival any significant run on the X-Books.

limerick

12-05-2009, 03:29 PM

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/77/259783-52704-captain-cymru_super.jpg

CAPTAIN CYMRU....I'm moving to Wales if the all the women look like this!....sigh.....Again,there seems to be a colouring issue on this page as well(pg. 19)Her boots are purple in my issue.

EDIT:Which takes away from the effect of her outfit being made up of the Welsh colours......That was lost with the mis-colouring

Koni

12-05-2009, 03:36 PM

--I'm reading an original copy......Did anyone else have some colouring problems on pages 8 and 27.....Brian and Meggan's hair is pink rather than blonde and Meggan's costume is purple,not green.....It looks like they ran out of one of the inks?

Just checked my issue, no problems there. Looks like you got something unique in your hands.

limerick

12-05-2009, 03:47 PM

Yeah!!...Hi,koni..It is strange....most of the colours are fine but I think it's the yellow/green based colours that are affected

limerick

12-05-2009, 03:49 PM

But only on three pages...very strange.

creaky

12-05-2009, 04:32 PM

"Captain Cymru"...is that supposed to be some sort of alternate version of Kymri or are the name similarities coincidental?

The Sword Is Drawn

12-05-2009, 05:32 PM

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/77/259783-52704-captain-cymru_super.jpg

CAPTAIN CYMRU....I'm moving to Wales if the all the women look like this!....sigh.....

Sorry to disappoint you Limerick, but having lived in Wales for three years od my life, I'd have to tell you they're not. Not all of them anyway... :biggrin:

"Captain Cymru"...is that supposed to be some sort of alternate version of Kymri or are the name similarities coincidental?

Ah, no. Sorry Creaky, but 'Cymru' (Pronounced 'Kum-ree') is the Welsh language word for the country 'Wales'.

Wales first language is Cymraeg (Pronounced closer to 'Kum-rig'), quite possibly the oldest living European language in the world today.

limerick

12-05-2009, 05:34 PM

limerick

12-05-2009, 05:36 PM

You beat me to it,TSID....and with a lot more information,too!

limerick

12-05-2009, 05:38 PM

Sorry to disappoint you Limerick, but having lived in Wales for three years od my life, I'd have to tell you they're not. Not all of them anyway... :biggrin:

Ha,ha...I guessed as much....Only in the land of Alan Davis.....he is so talented!

I'm really gonna miss his art over the next 25 issues or so.:frown:

The Sword Is Drawn

12-05-2009, 05:39 PM

Cymru is the Welsh language term for Wales,as far as I know......So this version of Captain Britain is 'Captain Wales'.....So I think it's just a coincidence,creaky--Basically,Davis is playing with the different variations on the Captain Britain theme......(I wasn't sure if 'Lady London' was meant to be an alternate Betsy or an Alternate Captain Britain(or possibly a combination of both!))

One might plausibly assume that Captain Cymru is from a world where the Welsh Celts stopped the Romans invading britain, and Celtic Welshmen expanded across what we know as Britain today.

That's what I love about The Corps. The way that Davis, Moore, Claremont et all played with the possibilities with these characters. It really ticks me off that Claremont killed most of them off a couple of years ago. :mad:

kk1

12-05-2009, 05:42 PM

LOLOL.....creaky,you're right....that scene is very standoutish!:eek: ....I'M glad you posted it......What was Claremont thinking---the sexual overtones are kinda inappropriate for a 15 year old!

Hello Mr. Davis!

The following was on the Comixfan chat boards. I was wondering if you could shed any light on the subject.

Thanks!

DM Jim

In Excalibur CC and AD hinted that Courtney/Sat-Yr-9 wanted something from Kitty – it was a power-play though and not a mother/daughter thing. She knew that Kitty was the only one no longer displaced in time and therefore she wanted to capitalize on that for her own gain.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope I'm not going to disappoint you Jim but although I knew Chris had some plan for Sat Yr 9 to corrupt Kitty and that the various Cross time versions of Saturnyne were attracted to Kitty, I had no idea what, if any, the goal of this relationship was to be. I just played it as a lesbian affair. Kitty the innocent victim of a wicked woman-- I thought all of scheming was just a ruse to keep Kitty interested.
I mean, the Hellfire Club isn't really into world domination thats just a ploy to get the women to dress up as dominatrix... Isn't it?

Alan

limerick

12-05-2009, 05:47 PM

Yeah,one of my favourite things about the Cross-time Caper was the subtle(or really not subtle)variations on the different characters of Excalibur......It was ashame we didn't get to see different versions of Phoenix--that would have been interesting......

BTW,do you remember when Excalibur just missed bumping into Prof Xavier while in a Tattoine-type bar where Kitty was relating their recent adventure(issue 18 & 19,I think).......That would have meant they were in 616 universe at the time......I always found that connection a bit dubious as that would mean they had travelled in space as well as across dimensions which is what seemed to happen in all the other 'journies'.....It just didn't seem to sit right that they were on the far side of the galaxy(another galaxy even?)with the train.

limerick

12-05-2009, 05:51 PM

Hello Mr. Davis!

The following was on the Comixfan chat boards. I was wondering if you could shed any light on the subject.

Thanks!

DM Jim

In Excalibur CC and AD hinted that Courtney/Sat-Yr-9 wanted something from Kitty – it was a power-play though and not a mother/daughter thing. She knew that Kitty was the only one no longer displaced in time and therefore she wanted to capitalize on that for her own gain.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope I'm not going to disappoint you Jim but although I knew Chris had some plan for Sat Yr 9 to corrupt Kitty and that the various Cross time versions of Saturnyne were attracted to Kitty, I had no idea what, if any, the goal of this relationship was to be. I just played it as a lesbian affair. Kitty the innocent victim of a wicked woman-- I thought all of scheming was just a ruse to keep Kitty interested.
I mean, the Hellfire Club isn't really into world domination thats just a ploy to get the women to dress up as dominatrix... Isn't it?

Alan
There is an interesting panel as Kitty and Sat-Yr-9 drive off in her Ferrari....Davis purposely draws Kitty as a mirror image of Sat-Yr-9......they are both wearing glasses,smiling exactly the same way and Kitty has replicated her hairstyle(if not the colour).....I just noticed it when looking back through the issue earlier....So there is a definite inference(and in the dialogue)that Sat-Yr-9 wants to make Kitty a pawn in her own image

limerick

12-05-2009, 05:56 PM

The Sword Is Drawn

12-06-2009, 03:16 AM

BTW,kk1,great quote---it really clears up a lot......I think that information would fit in with the way Claremont protrayed a lot of his female characters......I think that Emma Frost's second encounter with Kitty(Uncanny circa 152-153?) was very similar (but without the sexual aspect),with her trying to dominate her by force of personality.....Frost uses power...Sat-Yr-9 seems to be trying to win her over with kindness

I always found this pretty creepy, myself. But Sat-yr-9 is the perfect depraved dictator on here home world. The idea that she swings both ways is hardly that unusual, given some of the glimpses of practices she may have got up to on that world. If I remember rightly, when Psylocke gets a flash of the mind of Kaptain Briton (The Captain Britain of that world) we actually see a woman chained and bound in what could easily be seen as an S&M manner. Anything is possible.

limerick

12-08-2009, 03:50 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.25.GIF

Excalibur # 25...................Early August 1990

"Guess Who's Coming For Phoenix"

Claremont/Wozniak

Excalibur's Lighthouse Base,England:Excalibur emerge from their base to find Galactus towering over them.....His herald,Nova,tells them that Galactus considers Phoenix too great a threat to his survival and to hand her over......Phoenix hits her so hard she lands on the moon!......The Watcher takes note as she recovers and heads back to Earth.

Galatus tells them he's going to use a huge machine to seperate the Phoenx Force from Rachel and liberate it back to the cosmos......When Nightcrawler objects Galactus tells them he will not stand interference and if they do,he will not be responsible for the consequences to Earth and it's inhabitants......But Excalibur ignore his threats and Captain Britain smashes the machine hovering beside Galactus......Galactus responds by unleashing a monster which begins to envelope Brian......Meggan saves him by hitting the creature with an energy blast......Brian is dazed and falls towards the ground......But she manages to catch him before he hits the water.

Alistaire has an idea for defeating Galactus and Rachel accompanies him inside.......Nightcrawler watches as The Watcher materialises on the cliff nearby,watching what is happening......In the lighthouse,Alistaire explains that he has an idea to try and send Galactus across space and time to try and locate him in a dimension so far away he won't be able to get them......With Rachel's help he locates a device which will help him achieve this feat.

Outside the rest of thecteam are battling more creatures created by Galactus to keep them busy.....They are holding their own when they see Roma has also appeared on the clifftop......Like The Watcher,she says she is here to observe only......Rachel joins them and a final observer arrives---Death!!.....He tells them he always goes where he is needed.

Rachel and Alistaire begin to put his plan into action.......Nova arrives back from the Moon,ready to take Phoenix on......But Rachel is ready for her and,grabbing her telekinetically,she launches her at Galactus,knocking him off-guard for a few seconds......Alistaire takes his chance and uses his device to createTrans-temporal Anomaly,hoping to send Galactus through time and space.....But Galactus is too powerful and shakes off the attempt easily......Meggan starts to face up to Galactus......She starts to draw power from the Earth and increases in size ,ready to strike him......But Rachel tells her to stop.....She would need to draw far more energy than the Earth possesses to destroy him and in the process would destroy Earth.....Rachel decides the only way to stop Galactus is to give in to him......She agrees to be seperated from the Phoenix Force(which will kill her)by Galactus' machine(which he has regenerated)......She says an emotional goodbye to her team-mates and succumbs to the process.....Galactus operates the machine and as it beginsthe process,Rachel is in awful pain.

Her team-mates can barely watch.....But then Nova shouts out to Galactus.....The stars are starting to disappear from the night sky......Roma explains to Galactus that the Force cannot be seerated from her......She is the living embodiment of Phoenix and to try and seperate the two would destroy all existence......Galactus relents and frees Rachel......Nova,The Watcher and Death de-materialise......Rachel embraces her tem-mates,thanking them for their part in freeing her.

A Train,Elsewhere:Kitty Pryde sleeps on the overnight train......She has been sent to a boarding school,St Cyril's,to spend a term there......Kitty had been keen to start University at Oxbridge but she was considered too young by the college.......They preferred her to get some experience in a normal school before starting an undergraduate course.......'Courtney Ross' intervened,sending Kitty to her own alma mater.....Kitty begrudgingly accepts her place there,telling Courtney she'll be running the place within a term!

FIN

creaky

12-08-2009, 04:23 PM

The ART! *cries*

And LOL at Kurt getting in Galactus' face.

limerick

12-08-2009, 04:39 PM

The ART! *cries*

And LOL at Kurt getting in Galactus' face.
It hurts,creaky....it really hurts......This was a pretty important story what with the Phoenix stuff and all....But it's just not right with Wozniak's art......I mean,no offence to him,but he's not up to this kinda story

creaky

12-08-2009, 04:45 PM

It hurts,creaky....it really hurts......This was a pretty important story what with the Phoenix stuff and all....But it's just not right with Wozniak's art......I mean,no offence to him,but he's not up to this kinda story

I'm not convinced he's up to any story. Anyone who thinks art in comics is irrelevant should read this issue. It's just...unreadable.

The Sword Is Drawn

12-09-2009, 03:19 AM

This is another fine example of how later contradictions over The Phoenix would occur. It's made quite plain here that The Phoenix force cannot be seperated from Rachel without making very bad things happen.

These days it seems The Phoenix can be split up and given to any old psychic at will... :frown:

And yes. The art does suck. Although a lot of 80s books did have sucky art. This was far from the only one.

Koni

12-23-2009, 03:14 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.8.GIF

Sorry to dig this up, but who exactly is taking Spider-Man's usual place in the bottom left corner?

limerick

12-23-2009, 05:58 PM

Sorry to dig this up, but who exactly is taking Spider-Man's usual place in the bottom left corner?
Although I don't have the issue in front of me I'm pretty sure that guy featured as a cab driver in that issue......I think Brian 's powers were on the blink and he rode around in his cab trying to find Meggan,who had gone AWOL.

kk1

12-24-2009, 12:17 AM

MartinRedmond

12-24-2009, 09:48 AM

Idk, the editor didn't seem to have his thing together all that much. The stories once Chris left really lacked something. It was still good even with Chris Wozniak drawing.

I really really enjoyed Kitty's birthday. This was in high school and I had gotten some of my buddies reading it. LOL Courtney sticking her finger in Kitty's mouth left us with alot of questions as to her intentions. But that's nothing to how depraved the Captain Britain comics by Moore and Delano were. Davis, Moore and Delano were really pushing it.

I suggest jumping to issue 42 after this. And maybe read the Erick Larsen / Terry Austin Excalibur vs Arcade serial in MCP in between. That wasn't so bad.

if any book proves CC's writing gets way too much credit it's Excalibur.

What credit? LOL Chris was being (VERY UNFAIRLY) bashed as a hack writer (by people who just didn't get it) as far as I can tell. I've rarely seen any professional writer defending him. I don't care, I love all his quirks. And if you keep reading the series, you'll notice Alan writing on his own is a little less interesting than with someone like Chris or even Jamie Delano backing him up.

There is an interesting panel as Kitty and Sat-Yr-9 drive off in her Ferrari....Davis purposely draws Kitty as a mirror image of Sat-Yr-9......they are both wearing glasses,smiling exactly the same way and Kitty has replicated her hairstyle(if not the colour).....I just noticed it when looking back through the issue earlier....So there is a definite inference(and in the dialogue)that Sat-Yr-9 wants to make Kitty a pawn in her own image

I liked when she turn Nigel Forbisher? has a copy of herself. That was awesome. If only she had been this crazy when Chris brought her back a few years back.

limerick

12-24-2009, 01:05 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.25.GIF

Excalibur # 25...................Early August 1990

"Guess Who's Coming For Phoenix"

Claremont/Wozniak

Thoughts on Excalibur # 25:

--The story has a classic feel to it with the appearance of Galactus being appropriate to the (sort of)landmark issue of # 25.......But Claremont and Wozniak combine like oil and water.......And this issue is such a disappointment for an issue that should be important in the Phoenix/X-Book folklore........Wozniak's limitations are poorly exposed ,much more so than on his previous issues.......He just can't make the step up to a classic encounter between two of the galaxy's most potent forces......I kept comparing this issue to the later Davis-Scripted/drawn issue which depicted an outer space encounter between Galactus and Phoenix--there is no comparison!!

--Wozniak's style really irritates me---Random annoyances are:Butch unfeminine depictions of Excalibur's female characters,particularly Meggan who looks like a cross-dressing bodybuilder at times......Galactus standing with his legs in the water---He stands in thin air!......Small heads!!......And just a general lack of conveyance of the amazing events taking place----The Watcher,Roma and Death all put in an appearance but it's protrayed with about as much impact as three old ladies crossing the road.

--I found it amusing that Rachel faces her biggest test still wearing Kitty's uniform.

--On page 13 the train is shown as having the Nazi paintjob it had when it first appeared---I thought it had been repainted several times since then on the Cross-Time Caper??

--Claremont seems to have strange things planned for Kitty.....She's under the illusion that she's lost a second batch of team-mates when,in fact,both teams are still very much alive.......But how believable that Excalibur's encounter with Galactus could stay out of the news......In reality she'd be back wit the team the next day.

--Overall,a missed oppurtunity.....I agree with kk1 that this issue could have been great with Davison board......Why did he leave the title anyway??

limerick

12-25-2009, 07:38 AM

Idk, the editor didn't seem to have his thing together all that much. The stories once Chris left really lacked something. It was still good even with Chris Wozniak drawing.

I really really enjoyed Kitty's birthday. This was in high school and I had gotten some of my buddies reading it. LOL Courtney sticking her finger in Kitty's mouth left us with alot of questions as to her intentions. But that's nothing to how depraved the Captain Britain comics by Moore and Delano were. Davis, Moore and Delano were really pushing it.

I suggest jumping to issue 42 after this. And maybe read the Erick Larsen / Terry Austin Excalibur vs Arcade serial in MCP in between. That wasn't so bad.

What credit? LOL Chris was being (VERY UNFAIRLY) bashed as a hack writer (by people who just didn't get it) as far as I can tell. I've rarely seen any professional writer defending him. I don't care, I love all his quirks. And if you keep reading the series, you'll notice Alan writing on his own is a little less interesting than with someone like Chris or even Jamie Delano backing him up.

I liked when she turn Nigel Forbisher? has a copy of herself. That was awesome. If only she had been this crazy when Chris brought her back a few years back.

I've just got the next 10 issues out of storage and the writer changes with almost every issue--unforgivable!.......Remember,Excalibur was one of Marvel's best selling titles at the time......I'm not sure if Claremont gets a decent run on this title again(He might have had enough after Davis left?),probably not,if I remember rightly.......But I personally feel that Marvel's way of doing things meant that the artist had a huge role in how each iussue came out......Hence John Byrne insisting on co-plotting credits for Uncanny.....I feel Claremont was a great writer on Excalibur but without doubt the Claremont/Davis issues are far superior to the Claremont/Other artist issues which surely can't be coincidence......So all credit to Claremont but Davis deserves his acknowledgements for story as well as art.

limerick

12-25-2009, 07:45 AM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.26.GIF

Excalibur # 26...................Mid August 1990

"The Times,They Are A-Changin'"

Higgins/Lim

THIS ISSUE TAKES PLACE BEFORE THE CROSS-TIME CAPER

Excalibur's Lighthouse Base,England:Rachel has a restless night dreaming about the death of her former boyfriend,Franklin Richards,back in her own reality.......But suddenly something happens that alters this memory......As she relives the events again as a dream,this time she destroys the Sentinel before it obliterates Franklin......Unaware her memories have been altered she suddenly sleeps more restfully than for years.

The next morning Rachel is in great form and she convinces Kitty to go shopping.......Elsewhere,Kurt tries to comfort Meggan over her troubles with Brian......Brian picks that moment to arrive home and isn't too impressed with their closeness......Further aggrevated by Lockheed and Widget,he decides to leave and tells them he might be in touch.......Meggan agrees with Kurt's suggestion to put the whole thing behind her and she flies the two of them off together be alone!!

Seth's Boutique:Rachel checks ot the style .......Kitty gets tired of looking at clothes and heads down the street to a computer software shop.....Rachel is suddenly shocked when she recognises another customer in the shop----The adult Franklin Richards from her reality.....They hug each other......He explains that Operation Nimrod was a success in their era but that he's been sent back in time to catch the rogue Nimrod unit.....They head for a coffoe to catch up......Kitty catches up with them but as she recognises Franklin she feels something strange happening to her as her memories are changed.

Excalibur's Lighthouse:They return to the lighthouse where Lockheed and Widget seem a bit freaked by Franklin......Kitty goes down to her room to chack out her new software.....Franklin suggests a PSI-link with Rachel to catch up on what they've been up to......As they link it becomes obvious Franklin is not who he says he is and is not even actually there physically......He revels in the access he has gained to the Phoenix Force and celebrates that the power is once more his.......Kitty tries to return upstairs but seems to keep returning to her room.......Kurt and Meggan arrive back from their 'date' and somehow are unable to see Rachel.....They head downstairs to find Kitty..

In her room Kitty fills them in on what's happened......Kurt tells her that Franklin died in the future and Kitty realises someone has been messing with their minds......They deduce who must behind the scheme and put a plan together......Kitty dresses up as her older self from Rachel's future while Meggan assumes the form of Jean Grey in her Black Queen form......Kurt teleports them upstairs...

Muir Isle:Moira MacTaggert investigates an anomaly in one of her sleeper cell-blocks......When she opens the cell she's shocked at what she sees.

Excalibur Lighthouse:Kurt,Kitty and Meggan telport upstairs in front of Rachel.......The sight of her 'mother' as the Black Queen shocks her back to her senses......Their true foe,Mastermind,finally reveals himself.....He has been posing as Captain Britain for a while......Now linked to the Phoenix power ,he is confident of success......But although he has tapped into the power,Rachel is the power.....She exposes him to power ultimate and then takes it away from him,leaving him in the same empty state as when the original Phoenix did the same thing to him......Kitty shouts at Rachel to control herself or the power will overwhelm her.....And she manages to reel herself in---just!

Later,Moira returns with the real Captain Britain who had been left in the cell block by Mastermind after he trapped Brian's mind......It explains some of Brian's recent behaviour.....Mastermind has been returned to the sleep cell.....In his own mind he is content---Convinced he is at one with the universe!

FIN

kk1

12-25-2009, 11:32 AM

.

What credit? LOL Chris was being (VERY UNFAIRLY) bashed as a hack writer (by people who just didn't get it) as far as I can tell. I've rarely seen any professional writer defending him. I don't care, I love all his quirks. And if you keep reading the series, you'll notice Alan writing on his own is a little less interesting than with someone like Chris or even Jamie Delano backing him up.

.

I'm not bashing CC but he is very much a collaborator. When he is teamed with a great artist his writing shines, but when his writing has to back up a lesser talent or carry the book through some fill-in issues it's pretty forgettable. I think that's a major problem with a lot of Marvel books today they've abandoned the "Marvel method" (writer and artist discuss and plot an issue then the artist draws it and then the writer does the dialogue). It seems now artists have to work from a script already written and a lot of creativity is being lost from that collaboration that used to take place.

limerick

12-25-2009, 04:07 PM

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/77/261688-118046-marvel-girl_super.jpg

Phoenix drawn by Alan Davis(From one of the Marvel swimsuit Specials,perhaps?)......Interesting times as she has just faced down Galactus who tried to seperate her from the Phoenix Force.......We then get this issue(set a little while ago)telling of her previous encounter with Mastermind---the man who ultimately caused her mother's death in this reality

limerick

12-26-2009, 04:45 AM

Thoughts on Excalibur # 26:

--This issue takes a pretty good concept--Mastermind versus New Phoenix--and produces a reasonable story......Although there is some confusion as to when this story takes place.....It's stated in an editor's note that this issue takes place before the Cross-time caper.......But in the Marvel Chronology Project it's placed between Excalibur # 34 & # 35.....I think there may be inconsistencies as to exactly when this occured.......The Moira MacTaggert appearance also throws things off as she's showing no signs of the Shadow King's influence......Also,how long is Captain Britain supposed to have been mssing for......The Marvel Chronology estimates would indicate anything occuring before the Crosstime Caper was actually the real C.B......CONFUSING!!.....I don't think the story should flitter around time-wise like it's been doing......Possibly,Claremont was missing deadlines post-Davis and Terry Kavanagh was having to do what he could.

--I've never understood how such a powerful entity as Phoenix could be hood-winked by a relatively innocuous villain such as Mastermind......Wouldn't she be able to detect any mental interferences he was carrying out.......Kitty,who possesses no powers,almost manages to twig it herself.

--Kurt and Meggan seem to be getting very close......That seemed to be almost an official date they were on and it seemed to indicate that things were finished between C.B. and Meggan??

--Another example of Meggan's shape-changing powers here.....She does have Mystique-like abilities,as shown here.....She can mimic someones appearance exactly if she chooses to......Couple this with her power to imitate the X-men's powers shown recently during the Cross-Time Caper and we're getting an idea how powerful she really is.......

--I'm not Ron Lim's biggest fan but he does draw a fantastic Rachel at the end.....Not quite Davis but pretty darn good.

--Overall,an interesting issue which tackles some pretty important issues for a fill in issue(Rachel almost going down the Dark Phoenix route,C.B. being locked away for a period of time).......But I'll be keeping a close eye circa issues # 34 & # 35 to see why the M.C.P. places this issue between them chronologically.

limerick

12-27-2009, 03:55 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.27.GIF

Excalibur # 27...................Late August 1990

"Reel People"

Claremont/Windsor Smith(Sienkiewicz inks!!)

The Braddock Residence,London,England:Jamie Braddock sits in his pants watching in wonderment as the world whizzes by......He believes he is asleep and that everything happening is a dream......Nigel Frobisher arrives and loses his temper with Jamie's housekeeper(the dead but animated Emma Collins)......Jamie quickly puts him in his place by physically transforming him into the physical likeness of Vixen,the crimelord......He/she must meet the London Underworld crime chiefs tonight......Nigel asks about the recently returned Excalibur.......Jamie summons them up on his television to watch what they're doing......He becomes excited when he sees a blinding flash of light.....

Pinewood Studios:Excalibur arrive at the film studios at the request of Commander Dai Thomas and Brigadier Stuart.......They explain the abscence of Kitty Pryde.......Stuart explains that a consultant to the Pentagon,Dr. Candy Goodstroke,appeared at the studios......But she is unheard of in Washington and they suspect she may be from another dimension......Phoenix probes her mind and sees she's from a parallel Earth where World War III has been instigated by an omnipotent being called Alfie O'Meagan......Dr. Goodstroke had been trying to psyche him out of his Megalomania when she appeared at Pinewood in a bright flash of light......Disorientated,she knows,neither how she got here or how to get back.

Phoenix wanders off,still upset at having lost Kitty......Nightcrawler joins her and starts to dance with her......He leads her up a spiral ramp......Suddenly,Rachel sees him as Spiral worries she is being led into another trap to bring her to Mojoworld.....She flares the Phoenix energy signature and they both feel a strange twisting sensation.......Seconds later,they have been replaced by two different people wearing their costumes!

Washington D.C. ,Parallel Earth:Rachel and Kurt find themselves in front of the White House,towered over by a huge figure wearing a Galactus-type costume.......He is startled by their appearance and asks where Nth Man and Colonel Novikova have gone......Kurt sees a huge television beside them......Staring at them from the screen is Jamie Braddock!

Pinewood:Nth Man and Colonel Novikova see Captain Britain and Meggan heading towards them and Nth Man uses his magical powers to keep them at bay......They head further into the studios to try and escape.

Parallel Washington D.C.:Rachel takes on the Galactus-like figure,who turns out to be the omnipotent Alfie O'Meagan......She punches him on his ass......Jamie gives him a pep talk through the t.v.,encouraging him to 'Blow his brains out'......Alfie responds by uppiung the ante and going to full attack mode.

Pinewood Studios:Nth Man And Novikova move through a Vietnam-type set......They are unaware everything is fictional and they believe they are in a scenario created by O'Meagan......They board a helicopter to find it is just a shell.....Then Meggan and C.B. arrive,telling them to surrender.....But Novikova rigs up an explosion and they escape again......The director and other film personal watch in horror as the set is being destroyed.

Alternate Washington D.C.:Kurt worries that Rachel is getting out of hand and in danger of submitting to the Dark nature of the Phoenix Force......Jamie tries to reach through the T.V. to grab him......Kurt avoids him by jumping onto the top of the television.......As Jamie's hand tries to get him,it accidentally hits the REWIND button on the remote control.......Kurt sees on the television that Jamie has vanished and that events are moving backwards.....He takes a chance and presses the FASTFOWARD button to see what happens......He sees a future where Phoenix obliterates everything......Having no other option he presses the CANCEL button.......Instantly,Kurt and Rachel find themselves back in Pinewood studios ,dancing together as they had been minutes before.......Kurt reassures her he is not Spiral and Rachel doesn't react like she did previously.......They meet up with the rest of Excalibur,who tell them that Nth Man,Novikova and Dr. Goodstroke have all vanished at the same time they arrived.......Rachel apologises to Kurt for freaking like she did.

Braddock Residence:Jamie is angry at Nightcrawler for interfering like he did and ending the dimensional link......He has a comic book depicting Nth Man's adventures.....Determined to get Excalibur under his complete control,he rearranges the molecular structure of the comic book to depict him controlling Excalibur like puppets---His ambition!

FIN

Valjean999

12-28-2009, 01:47 PM

limerick

12-29-2009, 02:35 PM

I have never understood how #26 could take place BEFORE the cross time caper...didnt them meeting Widget kick off the CTC in the first place? And yet they know Widget in this story? Am I missing something?
Yeahy,that was the main thing in the issue I noticed that would place it after the Cross-Time Caper......Kitty addresses Widget in a way that could not have occured before the CTC ......Also Widget and Lockheed are hanging around togeter like best buds---Something which would again place it after the CTC.

As I said,the editor's note places it before the CTC......The Marvel Chronology Project places it after #34......I would be inclined to go with after # 34 as the MCP is pretty well researched and,let's face it,Marvel editing from this era was pretty poor generally anyway......I couldn't spot other details specifically placing it at a certain point.....Like you say,the Widget familiarity was the standout for me......But obviously the presence of Kitty means it can't take place directly after #25.......The Moira MacTaggert appearance would suggest this appearance does not take place in a time period where she is being influenced by the Shadow King.......The C.B. 'acting strangely' reference would seem to refer to events before the CTC,so that is the one thing throwing things off a little.

Overall,I think there's no perfect solution to it and you just have to accept that they F***ed up a little and the MCP is attempting damage limitation.

limerick

12-29-2009, 02:43 PM

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/77/261688-118046-marvel-girl_super.jpg

There's something about Rachel in that image that just seems off a little.......She looks great from the neck down.....but,IMO,her expression looks kinda weird and child-like.....For some reason it kinda reminds me of.....

http://blog.bernardgomez.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/alfalfa.jpeg

Anyone else see it??!!

http://leninimports.com/stan_laurel_1.jpg

Or Stan Laurel,even??!..........."That's another fine mess you got me into!!"

Koni

12-29-2009, 02:55 PM

limerick

12-29-2009, 02:57 PM

Her neck is a bit too long and the shadowing makes it look like her head is floating, too.
I think she looks so child like because of her right apple-cheek. Too much red and shine on it.

Still a pretty nice picture though.
Yeah,you're right....the dog collar is too bulky and that's making her head look floaty.....The rosey cheeks and,especially,the closed eyes don't really work for me....But otherwise it is a nice image.

limerick

01-01-2010, 04:36 AM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.27.GIF

Thoughts on Excalibur # 27:

--Look at that cover!!....I know Marvel are entitled to employ a little artistic liscence on the cover to try and attract a sale but this cover is so far from what happens in the issue,it's ridiculous!....On the cover all of Excalibur battle Alfie O'Meagan in New York while the confrontaion in the comic is between Nightcrawler,Phoenix and Alfie and it occurs in Washgington D.C......Meggan is giant-sized for some reason--Is that some reference to the unrelated events in # 25 where she took on Galactus in a giant form?......Also there's an obvious implying that Alfie is Nth man,which he isn't......Chris Wozniak must have had a very early draft of the plot to come up with that cover!.....Still,it's only a minor gripe but it highlights a common problem on Marvel covers of this period especially if the cover is not by the artist doing the interior art.

--Barry Windsor Smith brings his unique style to Excalibur.....Unfortunately,while I'M a huge fan of his(I especially love Uncanny # 205),I'm not sure his style is as suitable to this comic book as it is to others......I'd love to have seen him doing another Wolverine story instead(maybe in his own ongoing)......Bill Sienkiewicz inks the pencils.....It seems a bit of a waste of his talents to employ him as an inker but overall with Claremont,Sienk. and Windsor-Smith,we cant complain we're not getting a good creative team!

--It's interesting to see the way the team have given up on Kitty....They seem sorry she's gone but make no effort to try and catch up with her across the timelines......Being seemingly abandoned by her X-team would be something she will have to face again in the future!!......Of course,she's really back on Earth but they don't know that......I find it hard to believe Kitty isn't aware of their return by now....It seems common knowledge and Nigel Frobisher mentions it in passing to Jamie Braddock.

--I found this story enjoyable but strange......Claremont makes an almost immediate return to 'parallel ' worlds despite this being only his second issue after they returned to England in # 24......Also Alfie's costume resembling Galactus' seems a bit weird......I didn't see where he was going with that:confused: (especially after Galactus appearing so recently in # 25).

--Rachel seems about to succumb to the Dark side of the Phoenix Force towards the end of the issue......When Kurt fast-fowards to the future he sees Phoenix ripping the city apart.......Is another 'Dark Phoenix' saga awaiting??

--Overall,another very different issue from Excalibur.....At the moment you really don't know what each issue will bring......It's a lucky dip with a different creative team each issue......The timeline is also flitting between post- and pre- Cross Time Caper issues.

HAPPY NEW YEAR,EVERYONE!

Loki

01-01-2010, 09:15 AM

Also Alfie's costume resembling Galactus' seems a bit weird......I didn't see where he was going with that:confused: (especially after Galactus appearing so recently in # 25).

That's not down to Claremont. Alfie was a comic book fan, and dressed up like Galactus when he decided to go off and explore space - he even transformed his poor shrink to look like the Silver Surfer.
http://www.milehighcomics.com/cgi-bin/backissue.cgi?action=fullsize&issue=58136163400%2011
http://www.milehighcomics.com/cgi-bin/backissue.cgi?action=fullsize&issue=58136163400%2013
Nth Man's an underrated series that is well worth checking out.

limerick

01-01-2010, 10:59 AM

Hi,loki....Happy New Year to you.....Thanks for that.....I'm completely unfamiliar with the series and that does explain an awful lot.....I was really confused by the whole thing!.....The characters were lost on me but your post has really cleared up this issue for me...Thanks a lot.

limerick

01-01-2010, 11:53 AM

limerick

01-01-2010, 12:41 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.28.GIF

Excalibur # 28...................Early September 1990

"The Night They Tore Down the Gilded Lady"

Austin/Doran

Excalibur's Lighthouse Base(Exterior):Meggan and Captain Britain
sneak out of their base and take to the sky with a packed bag......As they fly towards London,they interact playfully,looking foward to their night on the town.

London:On reaching London,they put on some overcoats to cover their superhero costumes and head for a working man's pub,The Gilded Lady......The pub was an old college haunt of Brian's and he's come here for the closing night as the pub is about to be sold,refurbished and aimed at a more 'upscale' crowd.......Brian sayshello to the landlord,Brendan O'Reilly,who recalls Brian less than Brian does him......He explains a corporation has offered him huge money for the family pub and he decided he couldn't turn down their lucrative offer......Brian orders a lemonade because of his drinking problem.

Meggan goes to the bathroom......Some local drunks take offence at Brian's no alcohol policy......They buy him a drink and try to force him to drink it......When he refuses things are about to kick off......But ,Meggan returns,morphs into an exact likeness of Brian and then knocks back the lager,pretending to be his twin brother.......Her actions satisfy the drunks but she suddenly feels sick and dashes to the bathroom(about to puke!).

Suddenly,a striking blonde(Cooter) and her burly cousin(Bash) arrive into the bar.......She claims to have struck gold and has a bagful of gold nuggets to sell......The nuggets initially appear like ordinary rocks when she shows tham .....But almost immediately they change in appearance to golden nuggets,thanks to her mutant powers of suggestion......Several punters try to buy them,believing they are onto a good thing......One guy recognises them for what they are---Worthless rocks but on Cooter's suggestion,Bash knocks him out.......As the owner,O' Reilly,signs the sale of his pub to a corporation rep,a huge scrap breaks out in the pub and Brian and Meggan become embroiled......As Brian goes all out versus Bash,O'Reilly calls the cops.....Meggan finds herself in trouble,being susceptible to Cooter's suggestive powers......She unvoluntarily changes to a mermaid,driving the pub's customers wild......Summoning all her will she changes to a were-wolf type form and quickly disperses her admirers......The police arrive but have second thoughts about entering the premesis when they see C.B. and Bash going at it hammer and tongs......Cooter tries appearing as Meggan's 'heart's desire' to keep her at bay......Tellingly,Meggan sees first Brian but then Nightcrawler,suggesting she is developing feelings for him.

Cooter gets knocked out by an accidental blow as the two men continue to fight......Brian tires to finish things but gets hit through the roof for his troubles......Wanting to preserve Brian's ego,Meggan finishes taking Bash out and when Brian returns he believes he has done the job......The police prepare to take an unconcious Bash into custody,placing him in a policecar.....But they have nothing to charge Cooter with.......Annoyed,Meggan and Brian fly back home.

After they leave Cooter uses her power once more......By making the pub rubble appear as gold,she creates a distraction and steals the policecar......She tells Bash (as he recovers conciousness)that they should think about heading Stateside!

FIN

The Sword Is Drawn

01-04-2010, 06:45 AM

This would have to be my least favourite issue of Excalibur. Ever.

And for one very specific reason. The inference that, completely out of character with all previous characterisations, Brian Braddock suddenly appears to be showing signs of alcoholism.

It makes me quite angry.

Yes, sure, he is seen far earlier in the series, drinking spirits whilst grieving the death of his twin sister. But this was very much a grief response.

Brian has been seen throughout his life in comics to be drinking Socially. Right from the very roots of the character. At no point had he ever been shown to have a drinking problem, or even shown to be drunk, during that time and in later appearances also.

Yet here he is painted as struggling to be around people who are drinking, like some bizarre 1950s American Public Information film on the 'Horrors of Alcohol'.

It is greatly out of character, and something which I sincerely doubt that Chris Claremont would have chosen to saddle the character with. Luckily, it is a concept which modern characterisations have chosen not to acknowledge.

limerick

01-20-2010, 04:46 PM

Dang....you're right,TSID....This issue is real s**t,a definite low point so far......Must finish summary......must.....finish......summary......m.. .u...s...t...f...i..n...i...s...h..

limerick

01-20-2010, 04:58 PM

I'll finish it tomorrow!

limerick

01-21-2010, 05:03 PM

Thoughts on Excalibur # 28:

This would have to be my least favourite issue of Excalibur. Ever.

And for one very specific reason. The inference that, completely out of character with all previous characterisations, Brian Braddock suddenly appears to be showing signs of alcoholism.

It makes me quite angry.

Yes, sure, he is seen far earlier in the series, drinking spirits whilst grieving the death of his twin sister. But this was very much a grief response.

Brian has been seen throughout his life in comics to be drinking Socially. Right from the very roots of the character. At no point had he ever been shown to have a drinking problem, or even shown to be drunk, during that time and in later appearances also.

Yet here he is painted as struggling to be around people who are drinking, like some bizarre 1950s American Public Information film on the 'Horrors of Alcohol'.

It is greatly out of character, and something which I sincerely doubt that Chris Claremont would have chosen to saddle the character with. Luckily, it is a concept which modern characterisations have chosen not to acknowledge.

--You make an interesting point there,TheSwordisDrawn......I remember in one of the early issues of this thread I suggested Brian was a drunk and loki put me straight on what actually was depicted as opposed to what I was interpreting as happening.......Interestingly,I had read this issue not long before that and I think the Alcoholic references were fresh in my mind.....There's no doubt that Brian was depicted by Claremont/Davis as having a fondness for drink and that drink played an important part in his life.....But that doesn't make him an alcoholic......But certainly there were times when his team-mates may have felt that Brian had a drink problem(one incident where Rachel dumps his whiskey collection sticks in my mind)......But I don't think Brian ever felt that way......There is,of course,a slightly different attitude to drink between us and our American friends......I feel Terry Austin(Boy,it's strange seeing him with a scripting credit!!)has taken something present and exaggerated it and all of a sudden Brian's looking like an alcoholic in this issue.....That is the problem with constantly changing writers,a problem suddenly and dramatically affecting this comic book.

--But you are so right about this issue being dire......Your reason wouldn't be my first reason.....I can think of so many others......But my main problem is the seemingly stable relationship between Brian and Meggan......I felt they had much bigger problems than this at this stage but everything seems hunky-dory between them again.....Continuity problems due,again,to the changing scripters.

--Awful art,the worst colouring I can ever remember--what is the story with the skin colouring of Brian and Meggan on pages 2 & 3??,Dire villains.....There's nothing positive to say about this trash......I really struggled to summarize this one,it was so poor......But worst of all is the complete loss of direction and continuity on the title......We are stuck in no-direction,single issue story hell.

--As I mentioned in one of the other threads,I stopped collecting X-Books at around this period due to non-renewal of the Marvel subscrptions I'd tried for a year......The books used to be deliverd in awful condition which really got to me---I was always obsessed about the condition of all my comics and books.....But these poor stories were the final straw......Poor New Mutants,Wolverine(The Lazarus Project)and now this really poor Excalibur issue were enough to make me walk away.....Not easy to do after 10 Years dedication(It was hard to be an x-book fan in Ireland in the 1980's....U.S. Marvels were very rare to come across in local newsagents).....Chris Claremont,come back...All is forgiven!!!!

limerick

01-21-2010, 05:28 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.29.GIF

Next up----Another issue to test the loyalty of Excalibur fans!!

limerick

01-22-2010, 12:47 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.29.GIF

Excalibur # 29...................Late September 1990

"Dream A Little Dream"

Higgins/Wozniak

Excalibur's Lighthouse Base(Exterior):Meggan,Phoenix, and Captain Britain rush towards an unidentified spacecraft which has appeared above their base......But they are beaten there by Nightcrawler,who (riskily)teleports on board......Inside he encounters a horse-like creature who he assumes to be an alien.....But it turns out to be Alex Power---the child superhero who is a member of Power Pack.....He explains that he was recently transformed to this alien form.....He has come for Excalibur's help.

He explains how his mother is suffering from a mental illness......The Power family had flown to the Psychic Research Facility in Britain to see if they could help her.....But not long after they arrived the entire family were gassed.....Alex managed to escape--just!---by transforming to his gaseous state and leaving via the air duct system.....He had managed to contact their Smartship,Friday,and it had rescued him as he passed out.

Excalibur fly with Alex in his Smartship to the Institue of Psychic Research......Alex and Nightcrawler teleport down to the basement while Brian,Meggan and Rachel pose as a doctor,nurse and patient respectively.....Although there are lots of people around,Rachel tells the others that their minds are blank--they have no thoughts!!......A short time later one of these 'beings' recognises they do not belong.....A fight breaks out between the three Excalibur members and the hospital staff who morph into strange,large,monochrome humanoids......As Nightcrawler and Alex join the others through a trapdoor from the basement,a gas is released into the room which knocks them all out......The humanoid beings boast how their 'Master' will feed on their nightmares to gain psychic sustenance.....

Later,in a giant lab the members of Excalibur are attatched to the wall with strange mental probes.....Unaware of the exact nature of their assailant they experience their worst nightmares as if they were real.

Nearby,Franklin Richards stirs from a similarly induced dream-state......His Astral self has been stirred into action by an unrecognised presence.......He sees Alex facing the entity,Nightmare,who has Rachel under his control and starts to mentally fuse with her......But Franklin disrupts the process,freeing Rachel from the joining,although she is still under Nightmare's control......As Rachel attacks him,Franklin realises his only hope is to try and possess her body,which he does---with dramatic results!!!!

Excalibur's Base:The next morning the team have some breakfast,unaware exactly what happened the night before......Uncannily,they all seem to have had the same dream!!.....They put it down to Rachel having PSI-linked them during their sleep....

Smartship:Mr Power tells Power Pack to ignore their shared dreams....He puts it down to just being one of those things.......Franklin tries to object but Mr Power tells him to leave it.

As the fly away from the Institute,they are unaware of what really happened them and how close they all came to becoming Nightmare's victims!!

FIN

MartinRedmond

01-22-2010, 01:14 PM

I'm not sure his style is as suitable to this comic book as it is to others......I'd love to have seen him doing another Wolverine story instead(maybe in his own ongoing)......Bill Sienkiewicz inks the pencils.....It seems a bit of a waste of his talents to employ him as an inker but overall with Claremont,Sienk. and Windsor-Smith,we cant complain we're not getting a good creative team!

That's a big reason I have so much love for 80s mutant books, they put eccentric artists on junior books or light hearted books instead of sticking them on Wolverine / Punisher snooze.

limerick

01-22-2010, 01:35 PM

That's a big reason I have so much love for 80s mutant books, they put eccentric artists on junior books or light hearted books instead of sticking them on Wolverine / Punisher snooze.
I thought Uncanny #205 was a Wolverine high point and Windsor-Smith's presence on another Wolverine story might have produced a similar result....That would have been great.....This Excalibur story was okay but IMO his style is suited to a specific type of story....I suppose the Wolverine story I'm hoping for does arrive in the form of Weapon X.

creaky

01-22-2010, 10:32 PM

Eagerly looking forward to the Davis era.

The Sword Is Drawn

01-24-2010, 12:48 PM

Eagerly looking forward to the Davis era.

And rightly so. These fill ins really don't add anything to the series, in my opinion. And, as we saw with the previous issue, actually can saddle characters with some pretty illogical baggage.

Alan Davis is so central to all things Captain Britain and Excalibur. From his time writing the guy for UK titles, right through to the cameo appearances in ClanDestine mini. He has a handle on these characters which few others have.

Man I'm enjoying the Excalibur Visionaries trades.

limerick

01-27-2010, 04:48 PM

And rightly so. These fill ins really don't add anything to the series, in my opinion. And, as we saw with the previous issue, actually can saddle characters with some pretty illogical baggage.

Alan Davis is so central to all things Captain Britain and Excalibur. From his time writing the guy for UK titles, right through to the cameo appearances in ClanDestine mini. He has a handle on these characters which few others have.

Man I'm enjoying the Excalibur Visionaries trades.

I'm having more recollections as I read these and the other X-books from the same time period of why I stopped reading the X-books altogether......And it was mainly that the characters had become 2-dimensional.....They stories were no longer driven by the characters.....Instead the characters were fitted into a Story.....These one-off issues are quite poor but even worse was out-of-character actions by characters I had become very familiar with---they just didn't seem themselves anymore and that was really off-putting.

limerick

01-27-2010, 05:09 PM

Thoughts on Excalibur # 29:

--This issue doesn't hang around,I'll give it that!......The story is established within three pages.....I found the change to Alex from POWER PACK strange--I hadn't been aware of that.

--Franklin Richards returns to Excalibur--The real one this time.....Although we don't get much interaction between him and Rachel.

--Interestingly,the Batman logo appears on page 30 on a mug of Nightcrawler's.....It's strange to see it in a Marvel comic but understandable given the success of the 'Batman' movie not too long before this.

--Is is just me or does the 'INSTITUTE OF PSYCHIC RESEARCH' look like an I-POD??!!

--IMO,this was a fairly poor issue.....The story isn't great and Nightmare really comes across as villain of the month......The whole set up of the INSTITUTE is really poor and stretches the imagination to the limit......But worst of all was the art......Wozniak delivers his worst art on the title so far.....The cover image of Phoenix has to be the worst I've seen of her.....He seems to draw really small heads on his female characters for some reason and they generally look awful...next issue please!

creaky

01-27-2010, 05:27 PM

Suddenly,a striking blonde(Cooter)

Little bit of a delayed reaction here, but isn't "cooter" slang for female genitalia?

limerick

01-27-2010, 05:39 PM

Little bit of a delayed reaction here, but isn't "cooter" slang for female genitalia?
I thought that too...(but am too polite too have brought it up...thanks creaky!!!)

kk1

01-28-2010, 04:10 AM

I thought that too...(but am too polite too have brought it up...thanks creaky!!!)

You can get away with it though because (like on Dukes Of Hazzard) it's a southern nickname for snapping turtles.

MartinRedmond

01-28-2010, 06:33 AM

You should skip right on to the Davis issues. It's not the best, but it's way better than what's to follow. School Girls from Heck was fun, but I don't think anyone here will enjoy it.

limerick

01-28-2010, 03:54 PM

You can get away with it though because (like on Dukes Of Hazzard) it's a southern nickname for snapping turtles.

Okay,I'll go with that!

You should skip right on to the Davis issues. It's not the best, but it's way better than what's to follow. School Girls from Heck was fun, but I don't think anyone here will enjoy it.

I'm not giving up that easily,Martin:biggrin:.....Those last 2 issues were really poor but I'm going to hang in there ...(for now!)

limerick

01-28-2010, 04:05 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.30.GIF

Excalibur # 30...................October 1990

"Twas a Dark and Stormy Night...."

Moreshead/Ross

Excalibur's Lighthouse Base(Exterior):Alysande Stuart approaches the Excalibur base on a dark and stormy evening.....She's here to celebrate her brother,Alistaire's,birthday---Nightcrawler has arranged a party for him and Meggan,who hasn't been feeling to well lately.

As she approaches the lighthouse door,it smashes open and a vampiric creature flies out,pursued closely by Captain Britain,Lockheed and Widget.....As they disappear into the sky,Alistaire emerges telling her that the creature was actually Meggan,who seems to have been turned into a vampire....

Upstairs,Phoenix lies injured on a couch,having been hit by Meggan.....Worse still,Alistaire has locked Nightcrawler in a cupboard,suspecting he may also be a vampire after Meggan bit him!.....The twins are uncertain what to do until Alistaire thinks of calling someone who specialises in these kind of cases--Dr. Strange.

London:Captain Britain(with Widget and Lockheed in tow)arrives in London after Lockheed followed Meggan's scent.....He runs into Dai Thomas,who's investigating the apparent appearance of a seven foot bat......He tells Brian it's been spotted heading for Hyde Park......He heads there and is checking things out when he is suddenly attacked by a delerious,vampire-like Meggan!!

Excalibur's Lighthouse:Alistaire manages to get through to Dr. Strange's assistant,Wong,on the phone......Wong passes the message on to hismaster about the apparent transformation of two of Excalibur's members to vampires.

Hyde Park:Initially,Brian resists hitting Meggan but she is attacking him with full force and eventually he has no choice.....After taking a big shot from him,she suddenly reverts to a more human form but rather than returning to her normal self,she loudly accuses Brian of rape.....A group of civilians rushes to her aid and start to hit him......Meggan takes her chance to escape,changing to rabbit form.

Excalibur's Lighthouse:Dr Strange arrives via a portal with his apprentice,Rintrah......He qucikly deduces that Kurt has not been infected with a vampiric bite.....Released from his captivity,Kurt is a little peeved at Alistaire who mistook his sharp teehth as proof of vampiric transformation.

Hyde Park:Brian (and his two helpers) locate Meggan,who is about to try eating a dog......He manages to grab her after Lockheed distracts her.....Widget opens a portal and they are all pulled through!

Excalibur's Lighthouse:Hearing a commotion from the basement,Nightcrawler,Dr. Strange,Alistaire and Rintrah head down to check it out.....They are stunned to find Meggan scrapping with Captain Britain,surrounded by Lockheed,Widget and the Dragon......Dr Strange useshis magic to freeze them all.....Then he explains that energies released from the DARKHOLD by Marie Laveau had caused Meggan's body to react as it did.....He then summons the Eye of Agamotto and uses it to peel away the evil which has bonded to Meggan's body.....After 15 painful minutes,Meggan is finally free.......As she recovers,Dr. Strange and Rintrah say their goodbyes and open a portal to return home......Within minutes of leaving things have returned to normal in the Excalibur base and they are all arguing with each other!......Having heard enough,Alysande slips back out into the night to begin her trip home.

FIN

The Sword Is Drawn

01-29-2010, 02:30 AM

I'm having more recollections as I read these and the other X-books from the same time period of why I stopped reading the X-books altogether......And it was mainly that the characters had become 2-dimensional.....They stories were no longer driven by the characters.....Instead the characters were fitted into a Story.....These one-off issues are quite poor but even worse was out-of-character actions by characters I had become very familiar with---they just didn't seem themselves anymore and that was really off-putting.

They're a tough read, yes. We're not THAT far off Davis' run, now. So things will pick up. But it's this exact section which prompted Marvel to stop publishing Classic Excalibur after vol 5, and move onto Excalibur Visionaries: Alan Davis vols 1 & 2.

It's a shame. But of course, at this point, Excalibur was still a big selling title. As long as people were buying it maybe the powers that be figured they could continue to churn out the odd poor fill in issue.

At least we get Claremont back in a couple of issues time. Although Girls School from Heck is not the greatest of stories.

Keep on plowing through, Limerick. The ropey issues will just make the stronger ones seem all the better.

kk1

01-29-2010, 05:18 AM

I hated Capt Britain's redesigned costume from the beginning but these issues just cemented it, Capt Jack of Diamonds more like it....

The Sword Is Drawn

01-29-2010, 06:36 AM

I hated Capt Britain's redesigned costume from the beginning but these issues just cemented it, Capt Jack of Diamonds more like it....

It was explained at the time that this was purely motivated by a colourist decision.

The previous Union Flag design - layered like a giant 'X' across Brian's chest - was becoming to difficult for the colourist to colour cleanly. The thin white line between Red and Blue was getting lost when shrunk down to US comic book size.

It was never a problem in UK Comic ratio - but that is the height of (And slightly wider than) A4. It was far cleaner at that size.

This was just the limitations of 80s colouring at Marvel US. Marvel UK were capable of delivering painted artwork in places by a similar point of the decade. But in the days before digital colouring an more modern scanners it was, apparently, a problem.

I was not a big fan of the diamonds on the shoulders either. I felt the costume was a bit of a step backwards. I was so pleased when a more modern Union Flag costume was introduced during the Carlos Pacheco/Casey Jones pencilled issues Warren Ellis wrote.

limerick

01-29-2010, 02:39 PM

They're a tough read, yes. We're not THAT far off Davis' run, now. So things will pick up. But it's this exact section which prompted Marvel to stop publishing Classic Excalibur after vol 5, and move onto Excalibur Visionaries: Alan Davis vols 1 & 2.

It's a shame. But of course, at this point, Excalibur was still a big selling title. As long as people were buying it maybe the powers that be figured they could continue to churn out the odd poor fill in issue.

At least we get Claremont back in a couple of issues time. Although Girls School from Heck is not the greatest of stories.

Keep on plowing through, Limerick. The ropey issues will just make the stronger ones seem all the better.

Don't worry,The Sword is Drawn....I'm sticking with it.....I am actually enjoying re-reading these issues....even the poor ones!

I hated Capt Britain's redesigned costume from the beginning but these issues just cemented it, Capt Jack of Diamonds more like it....

Great description!
It was explained at the time that this was purely motivated by a colourist decision.

The previous Union Flag design - layered like a giant 'X' across Brian's chest - was becoming to difficult for the colourist to colour cleanly. The thin white line between Red and Blue was getting lost when shrunk down to US comic book size.

It was never a problem in UK Comic ratio - but that is the height of (And slightly wider than) A4. It was far cleaner at that size.

This was just the limitations of 80s colouring at Marvel US. Marvel UK were capable of delivering painted artwork in places by a similar point of the decade. But in the days before digital colouring an more modern scanners it was, apparently, a problem.

I was not a big fan of the diamonds on the shoulders either. I felt the costume was a bit of a step backwards. I was so pleased when a more modern Union Flag costume was introduced during the Carlos Pacheco/Casey Jones pencilled issues Warren Ellis wrote.

Nice information,TSID.....I remember reading before that C.B.'s costume caused problems at the printers.....It's nice to hear little details like that.....Like both of you,I preferred Cap's Union Jack costume......I remember when I first saw it on the cover of Marvel Superheros(U.K.)(Was it # 377??),I was instantly drawn to it and bought the issue......As a bonus,I think that comic featured lovely black and white reprints of Neal Adams X-men run--magic!!(As well as Byrne Avengers!)

kk1

01-29-2010, 05:31 PM

I know the why, glad you put it out there for those that don't I didn't feel like wrting it ;), but it still sucks balls.

limerick

01-29-2010, 06:55 PM

http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/CapMSH377.jpg

Here's that nostalgic Marvel Superheroes Cover....(I'm delighted I can still remember that ssue number!).....If I remember rightly,this was the cover for a kind of relaunch of the title.....What a cover!!......And,shit,that costume is good!......That sure brings back a lot of memories and I've still got that issue upstairs in pristine condition....I'm glad I was so anal as a kid about looking after my comics!

kk1

01-29-2010, 07:13 PM

hmmm never seen (or just didn't notice) that version with the different helmet design.

limerick

01-29-2010, 07:25 PM

hmmm never seen (or just didn't notice) that version with the different helmet design.
IIRC,this was the debut appearance of his new costume.....i.e.This issue was set very soon after C.B.'s appearance in Marvel Team-Up(Claremont/Byrne?)......The powers which were previously wielded through a hand held device(I can't remember the proper termn for it)were incorporated into the suit,thus freeing up both of C.B.'s hands,which was useful!

limerick

01-29-2010, 07:33 PM

It was a great achievement by Paul Neary and co. to get original stories published.....These Marvel U.K. comics did not have high circulation figures and the creators must have worked for practically nothing as their budget would have been pretty close to zilch......The reason this cover was so striking was most of the Marvel U.K. content was reprints of U.S. Marvel material......So to see this British Superhero was definitely a surprise.....I'm sorry if I'm being over nostalgic but I can remember very clearly buying this comic---It was 30 years ago,for crying out loud!

I love the way it phrases C.B. as Great Britain's 'NO.1 SUPERHERO'!.....At that stage he was it's only superhero!......And if look closely at Ireland on the cover you can see my house...(well....very,very,very closely!)

Loki

01-30-2010, 04:01 AM

IIRC,this was the debut appearance of his new costume.....
Yes, it was.

i.e.This issue was set very soon after C.B.'s appearance in Marvel Team-Up(Claremont/Byrne?)......
Not that soon - you had the whole Black Knight / Otherworld saga in between.
The powers which were previously wielded through a hand held device(I can't remember the proper termn for it)
The Star Sceptre.
I love the way it phrases C.B. as Great Britain's 'NO.1 SUPERHERO'!.....At that stage he was it's only superhero!
Not really - in terms of Marvel, both Spitfire and Union Jack were already around. And in terms of the wider British comic book market of the time, Captain Britain was far from the only superhero - there'd been dozens over the years, most prominently the likes of Robot Archie, the Spider, etc, and at the time this comic came out you had the likes of King Cobra and Nick Jolly in Hotspur (perhaps appearing only the Annuals by that point) and the Leopardman (Leopard from Lime Street) in Buster still being published, with 2000 A.D.'s Captain Klep, MACH 1 and MACH Zero, Tornado/2000 A.D.'s Wolfie Smith, Jackpot's Amazing Three, and of course, Tornado's editor Big E (aka Dave Gibbons), all recent memories.

limerick

01-30-2010, 08:35 AM

Yes, it was.

Not that soon - you had the whole Black Knight / Otherworld saga in between.

The Star Sceptre.

Not really - in terms of Marvel, both Spitfire and Union Jack were already around. And in terms of the wider British comic book market of the time, Captain Britain was far from the only superhero - there'd been dozens over the years, most prominently the likes of Robot Archie, the Spider, etc, and at the time this comic came out you had the likes of King Cobra and Nick Jolly in Hotspur (perhaps appearing only the Annuals by that point) and the Leopardman (Leopard from Lime Street) in Buster still being published, with 2000 A.D.'s Captain Klep, MACH 1 and MACH Zero, Tornado/2000 A.D.'s Wolfie Smith, Jackpot's Amazing Three, and of course, Tornado's editor Big E (aka Dave Gibbons), all recent memories.
I stand corrected about Spitfire and Union Jack.....(I did mean just Marvel,though!).....Lololol....I remember King Cobra,the Leopardman,Captain Klep,MACH 1 and MACH Zero.....2000A.D. was such a great title.....I'm impressed looking back how writers managed to conclude the previous issue's cliffhanger,progress the story and set up a new cliffhanger--all within about 4-5 pages.....Non-2000 A.D. stories probably had 3 pages to do this!.....I have a vague recollection of a series in a comic about a non-superpowered boy who possessed a high spec submarine in the shape of a swordfish--Good times!!

I'm impressed,as always,by your encyclopedic knowledge,loki.....You and The Sword is Drawn are both a fountai of knowledge on British comics.

Do you read 2000 A.D. today?.....Is it as good as ever?......It passed it's 2000th issue not too long ago,I believe......An amazing achievement in today's competetive market.

limerick

01-30-2010, 08:36 AM

BTW,it goes without saying that Captain Britain manages to eclipse Captain Klep!:wink:

limerick

01-30-2010, 08:55 AM

Thoughts on Excalibur # 30:

--Another one-off issue but I preferred this one to the last 2......A nice cover to open.....The interior art is better as well.....There's some nice,dark,athmospheric panels when the action is set outside(I love how C.B. looks on the first panel on page 8--he looks much more menacing than normal).....Monstrous Meggan is well depicted throughout as well(although she looks awful when she returns to normal on page 30!).

--I enjoyed the story as well.....It was pretty well constructed,there was plenty of Claremont-like humour,Dr.Strange's guest role was nicely handled......But there were two glaring holes in the plot which just can't be overlooked.....Why the hell wouldn't Nightcrawler just teleport out of the cupboard rather than spend ages trapped in there?.....And worse,why the hell is the all-powerful Phoenix so vunerable to a simple punch from(an admittedly souped-up)Meggan??!!......It's pretty obvious the writer didn't want to include her in the story but this seeems a lame way to achieve that.

--On a smaller point,Lockheed and Widget keep up with C.B. 's flying pace fairly effortlessly as he heads towards London......I didn't realise Lockheed could achieve those speeds(unless Cap is 'waitiung up' for him?)

--Overall,this was a fairly decent issue with a fairly macabre athmosphere......Iwouldn't mind the odd one-off issue like this but at the moment every issue is a one-off with a different creative team....Certainly,that's not ideal!

Loki

01-30-2010, 09:04 AM

I stand corrected about Spitfire and Union Jack.....(I did mean just Marvel,though!).....Lololol....I remember King Cobra,the Leopardman,Captain Klep,MACH 1 and MACH Zero.....2000A.D. was such a great title.....
Much as I love it, I always feel Starlord was better, at least back when both were being published.

I'm impressed looking back how writers managed to conclude the previous issue's cliffhanger,progress the story and set up a new cliffhanger--all within about 4-5 pages.....Non-2000 A.D. stories probably had 3 pages to do this!.....I have a vague recollection of a series in a comic about a non-superpowered boy who possessed a high spec submarine in the shape of a swordfish--Good times!!
The Iron Fish - there were two versions of that, the one from Beano (late 1940s through 60s) and the later one in Buddy (1980s).

Do you read 2000 A.D. today?.....Is it as good as ever?......It passed it's 2000th issue not too long ago,I believe......An amazing achievement in today's competetive market.
On and off. I'd say yes. And it's actually "only" at Prog 1669 - what probably confused you is that they have an annual end of year/start of new year special, which is numbered according to the new year (they started when 2000 A.D. reached the year 2000 A.D.) - thus they just released Prog 2010, which was (confusingly) followed by Prog 1666. Nonetheless, still an amazing achievement.

limerick

01-30-2010, 09:28 AM

The Iron Fish!!....You are unbelievable!:biggrin:--I can't believe you know it!.....Ha,ha.....It was from Buddy....I couldn't recall the name of the comic it featured in......I don't know if you've ever read Viz but it features parodies of old-style comic series like that---Whenever I read them I think of The Iron Fish and think it'd be hard to parody that!

limerick

01-30-2010, 09:34 AM

Edit.............

limerick

01-30-2010, 09:39 AM

On and off. I'd say yes. And it's actually "only" at Prog 1669 - what probably confused you is that they have an annual end of year/start of new year special, which is numbered according to the new year (they started when 2000 A.D. reached the year 2000 A.D.) - thus they just released Prog 2010, which was (confusingly) followed by Prog 1666. Nonetheless, still an amazing achievement.
That is a confusing way of numbering the PROGs---What happens when they get to the real Prog 2001,2002 etc??.....I was in London recently and I noticed a Prog numbered 2000-and-something when I visited Forbidden Planet Bookshop......Interestingly,I remeber years ago a reader wrote into 2000 A.D. giving his estimates for the PROG number on the 1st Jan. 2000......His figures were much disputed for a couple of weeks after by other readers.....Even more confusing were subsequent attempts to calculate the date of publication of PROG 2000.

Loki

01-30-2010, 10:11 AM

The Iron Fish!!!!

Okay,I know this is off-thread a bit but I just wanted our trans-Atlantic friends to see what they were missing......5 shillings says that torpedo misses him....just!

Please don't hotlink Limerick. It costs the site owner bandwidth, which in turn can cost the site owner money. And the site owner in this case is me. If you want to use the image, download it and then put it up on a photobucket (or similar) account.

That is a confusing way of numbering the PROGs---What happens when they get to the real Prog 2001,2002 etc??.....
No idea - I guess we'll find out in 6 to 7 years.

limerick

01-30-2010, 10:31 AM

Please don't hotlink Limerick. It costs the site owner bandwidth, which in turn can cost the site owner money. And the site owner in this case is me. If you want to use the image, download it and then put it up on a photobucket (or similar) account.

No idea - I guess we'll find out in 6 to 7 years.
Sorry,loki....I'm very resistant to technology(fortunately,it's not required for my job) and am fairly computer illiterate(I also refuse to succumb to mobile phone ownership...weird,I know)....So I wasn't aware there was a detriment to a web[page owner for links like that......I've deleted the image......Congrats on the site.....I suspected you might have something like that up your sleeve....it would be a shame to waste all that knowledge.

Koni

01-30-2010, 10:38 AM

[B]Why the hell wouldn't Nightcrawler just teleport out of the cupboard rather than spend ages trapped in there?

Did he have his powers recovered by then? Who knows, maybe he already used his one-port-a-day.
But still.

limerick

01-30-2010, 12:04 PM

Did he have his powers recovered by then? Who knows, maybe he already used his one-port-a-day.
But still.
I don't think he's on quite that strict a ration when it comes to teleporting.....He only needed to jump a few feet so I don't think it would've been that strenuous....No,I think this was just sloppy writing and editing,I'm afraid.

limerick

01-31-2010, 05:36 AM

Welcome to my Signature limit-defying 'fake signature'......Post your thoughts and observations on all the X-Book 'From the Beginning' threads using the links below---You know you want to!!

X-Men from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=194896&page=2221)
New Mutants from the beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=219728&page=1051)
Alpha Flight from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=222969&page=5911)
X-Factor from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=239594&page=2000)
Wolverine from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=269070&page=1711)
Excalibur from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=265296&page=4111)
X-Men Mini-Series/One-Shots(Not Quite)from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=271955&page=6111)

Do you want to post a review of an upcoming issue from any of these threads???....Post Message me if you do--The more the merrier!

limerick

02-09-2010, 03:25 PM

Did he have his powers recovered by then? Who knows, maybe he already used his one-port-a-day.
But still.

Actually,you're right--he does mention in # 31 that he is on a once-a-day teleporting limit......Although he promptly goes and 'ports a few times in a few hours!

limerick

02-09-2010, 03:47 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.31.GIF

Excalibur # 31...................November 1990

"No Man is an Island"

Lobdell/Ross

The South Seas:Nightcrawler flies Brian's plane through a heavy storm while on vacation to recover from his encounter with Meggan(see last issue)......Fearing he's going to crash,he abandons the plane by teleporting onto an isolated island where he lands heavily......When he finally comes to a halt he is shocked to see several 'Easter Island' type statues---in the shape of the X-men!!!.....Unknown to him,he has been spotted by a female native islander.....

Later,he hears a commotion nearby and discovers some natives trying to take the woman to the top of a volcano......He follows at a distance but when it appears she's about to be sacrificed,he resorts to his hero persona and teleports to her rescue......But the strain unbalances him and they both fall into the volcano!

Fortunately,a rock appears from from nowhere and transports him into a side cavern.....Eventually,it stops in front of a strange creature,who turns out to be ....The Son of Krakoa!!!!!!!!!!(WTF!!)

After some verbal sparring,they eventually end up fighting.....But Krakoa Jr. uses his powers to create fake X-Men made from stone,Lava and ice......Nightcrawler overcomes them but it becomes clear the woman he saved is siding with Krakoa Jr. and he has to teleport again to avoid a knife thrown by her......He teleports back to the surface where Krakoa creates two more fake X-Men('Vega-Men) including a false version of himself and Angel......After defeating his doppleganger,he notices that the pseudo-X-men are rendered inert whebn they lose contact with the ground.....Moments later,when Krakoa and the woman reappear,he tries to use that knowledge.....He tricks them into following him into the sea and after a few seconds,Krakoa Jr. starts to disintegrate---Nightcrawler has won!

Days later,Meggan,Brian and Rachel fly over the island while searching for their team-mate......They spot him in his element,surrounded by several beautiful islanders......He begins to tell them his story,neglecting to tell Brian about the ruined aeroplane!

FIN

Welcome to my Signature limit-defying 'fake signature'......Post your thoughts and observations on all the X-Book 'From the Beginning' threads using the links below---You know you want to!!

X-Men from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=194896&page=2221)
New Mutants from the beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=219728&page=1051)
Alpha Flight from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=222969&page=5911)
X-Factor from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=239594&page=2000)
Wolverine from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=269070&page=1711)
Excalibur from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=265296&page=4111)
X-Men Mini-Series/One-Shots(Not Quite)from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=271955&page=6111)

Do you want to post a review of an upcoming issue from any of these threads???....Post Message me if you do--The more the merrier!

creaky

02-09-2010, 03:47 PM

Actually,you're right--he does mention in # 31 that he is on a once-a-day teleporting limit......Although he promptly goes and 'ports a few times in a few hours!

I keep telling you all - the man has a deathwish. I mean, he flipped off Galactus! (As much as someone with two fingers can do so, that is)

Koni

02-10-2010, 10:28 AM

I always liked this one's title. "No man is an island, but no island is a man either so it works out". Just has a nice ring to it. Didn't know until later that it refers to a work of John Donne.

limerick

02-11-2010, 04:13 PM

I always liked this one's title. "No man is an island, but no island is a man either so it works out". Just has a nice ring to it. Didn't know until later that it refers to a work of John Donne.
Yeah,I liked it too.....But I was completely unfamiliar with the reference until you mentioned it....Thanks for the info.!

limerick

02-14-2010, 12:40 PM

Thoughts on Excalibur # 31:

--Another fairly poor issue.....I liked the cover and the interior art was better than some of the other fill-in artists(Dave Ross pencils while Al Milgrom inks).....The story was reasonable at first and there was a little suspense building for the first 10 pages or so,especially when Nightcrawler encounters the 'Easter Island'-type statues of the X-Men.....But any of the good work done is spoiled by the emergence of the villain--a very non-threatening 'Son of Krakoa'.....Kurt never really seems in a lot of danger and that takes away from the issue......Also,the banter between the two of them is a bit too comedic and it just falls flat.....Nightcrawler even claims that he's faced tougher tests in the Danger Room--While it was turned off!....Unfortunately,he was right.....Still,any issue featuring Nightcrawler as it's main protaginist can't be all bad and it's good to see the fuzzy,blue elf back in action--I'm sure creaky loved this one!!

--Scott Lobdell takes the scripting duties here.....I may be wrong but I think this may be his first X-Book.....a pretty low key effort!.....There are plenty of flaws but the one that stands out is a pretty important plot point......When Nightcrawler battles his Vega-Man doppleganger,he notices that when the other Nightcrawler becomes seperated from the ground he becomes inanimate because it's power is derived from it's connection with the earth.....But a couple of pages before an Angel doppleganger flies above the island completely unaffected??....It doesn't add up.....Also,the island can speak,an ability I'm assuming it accquired from the captured D.N.A. of the X-men during the events of Giant Sized X-Men # 1.....But if the island learned how to speak English that way,why couldn't it have learned how to swim?

--It's also a little unclear about the exact relationship between the 'damsel in distress' and the Son of Krakoa.....She's highly stressed when she's being sacraficed on the mountain top.....But not long after she's riding shotgun with Krakoa Jr. and baying for Nightcrawler's blood.....Krakoa even refers to her as his 'love'---that's taking interspecies relations a step too far,IMO!

--Overall,not one to spend too much time on.....Claremont returns next issue so here's hoping things pick up!

Wildways

02-14-2010, 12:44 PM

Girls School from Heck! up next! :)

jarrod

02-14-2010, 02:13 PM

OMG, I love GSFH! Kitty rocking prepschool and Kurt rocking that speedo!

limerick

02-14-2010, 04:01 PM

Girls School from Heck! up next! :)

OMG, I love GSFH! Kitty rocking prepschool and Kurt rocking that speedo!

You guys are getting my hopes up here!!:biggrin:

McFarlane's Green Hulk

02-16-2010, 07:28 PM

Wildways

02-16-2010, 07:38 PM

This was my first and last issue of Excalibur. Never did catch on to it, but now that my tastes from my younger years have branched out into new and different directions, I'm probably going to pick up the Excalibur Classic TPBs and see what I missed back then.

You jumped on at one of the worst possible issues you could. It gets better from there. The Excalibur Classics are great though.

creaky

02-16-2010, 08:19 PM

.....Still,any issue featuring Nightcrawler as it's main protaginist can't be all bad and it's good to see the fuzzy,blue elf back in action--I'm sure creaky loved this one!!

Meh. It was alright, but while I'm a big fan of Kurt, I'm not a big fan of stories with no point.

limerick

02-17-2010, 03:58 PM

[QUOTE=limerick;10522792]http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.31.GIF

Excalibur # 31...................November 1990

This was my first and last issue of Excalibur. Never did catch on to it, but now that my tastes from my younger years have branched out into new and different directions, I'm probably going to pick up the Excalibur Classic TPBs and see what I missed back then.

You jumped on at one of the worst possible issues you could. It gets better from there. The Excalibur Classics are great though.

Wildways talks sense.....this was one of a run of poor stand alone issues.....the best thing about it was that plant-like X-men logo on the cover.....You can just sense the editor scrambling around for fill-in stories as Claremont lost interest and Davis jumped ship.

Meh. It was alright, but while I'm a big fan of Kurt, I'm not a big fan of stories with no point.

Pointless it was,I'm afraid.....very flawed.:frown:

McFarlane's Green Hulk

02-18-2010, 05:11 PM

Well, I went and bought Excalibur #1 today. Not sure what to make of it yet. Might have to pick up the Classic TPB, as it has the initial Excalibur story.
Shoot, the wife ain't gonna like this...:biggrin:

limerick

02-20-2010, 06:21 PM

Don't forget the one-off Origin special---Excalibur--'The Sword is Drawn'.....That's the real # 1.

limerick

03-04-2010, 12:45 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.32.GIF

Excalibur # 32...................December 1990

"Someone Will Die For This!--Girls School From Heck Part 1"

Claremont/Wagner

London,An Alternate Earth(In the Prime Minister's imagination!):Excalibur(In this dimension,composed of the teenage male team of Arizona,Dark Tiger,Nightcrawler and Morgan) defeat a platoon of Nazi soldiers in Cebtral London and turn them over to W.H.O......Their stern leader(a very muscular female Captain Britain!)joins them and tells them they need to return to their base to continue their lessons.....Later that evenging Captain Britain brings her charges cocoa and reads them some Charles Dickens in front of a roaring fire......After they go to bed,she tidies up after them and contemplates her existence as teacher to the shining future of the realm.

London,Earth 616:Margaret Thatcher,the Prime Minister wakes with a start after a session with her therapist......She thanks him for his help,telling him she feels invigorated after the session.....After she leaves,the therapist reveals his real identity--Mesmero!.....He's delighted with his new career which he thinks will make him rich.

St Searle's School For Young Ladies,Scotland:Kitty Pryde is welcomed to the school by it's principal,Miss Rutherford......She's not overjoyed at having to attend but the Ministry of Education says it is mandatory before she can attend Oxford or Cambridge University.....She goes back to her room in one of the school's towers but is surprised to find three other students there going through her stuff......She gets into a scrap with them and is surprised to find that her phasing power doesn't seem to be working.....Miss Rutherford arrives to break things up but when Kitty tries to explain that they were goinmg through her possessions,the head teacher doesn't believe her.....She brings Kitty down to her study where she makes her write out hundreds of lines as punishment.....Hours later,Kitty returns to her room,tired,depressed and angry.....She's shocked at the state her rooms been left in with her clothes strewn all over the place.....She decides to go home but not before she gets her revenge!

The National Gallery,London:The rest of Excalibur stop 'Vixen's' gang from breaking into the National Gallery.....She escapes down a side street and Captain Britain and Meggan give chase.....But 'Vixen' changes back to Nigel Frobisher and Brian and Meggan pass him,unaware he and Vixen are one and the same......Nigel laughs to himself,thinking that time is coming!

St.Searle's School For Young Ladies:Kitty has an awful time at the school over the next few weeks......She finds herself isolated from the other pupils who trick and taunt her.....She also runs foul of Miss Rutherford several times and ends up in detention,writing lines.....Confined to the school grounds,she can't see herself seeing the term out.

One night she packs a bag and starts to sneak out.....She overhears Miss Rutherford begging a do-gooder for a donation to keep the school open and realises that the school is in serious financial trouble......Kitty sneaks out to the village and considers hitching to the Excalibur Lighthouse or ringing Courtney in London......But at the last minute she remembers who she is and decides to stay.

The next day Kitty takes on her school foes in a hockey game and after a tough game in goals she finally wins some respect from her fellow pupils.....Unknown to her,she is being watched through binoculars by 'Courtney'.

Mesmero's Penthouse,London:Mesmero is woken by two robots who are pointing hi-tech crossbows at him.....They order him to accompany them or be killed.....He agrees but is determined to find a way to beat them.

FIN

Welcome to my Signature limit-defying 'fake signature'......Post your thoughts and observations on all the X-Book 'From the Beginning' threads using the links below---You know you want to!!

X-Men from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=194896&page=2221)
New Mutants from the beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=219728&page=1051)
Alpha Flight from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=222969&page=5911)
X-Factor from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=239594&page=2000)
Wolverine from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=269070&page=1711)
Excalibur from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=265296&page=4111)
X-Men Mini-Series/One-Shots(Not Quite)from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=271955&page=6111)

Do you want to post a review of an upcoming issue from any of these threads???....Post Message me if you do--The more the merrier!

Wildways

03-04-2010, 01:28 PM

Girls School From Heck was a breath of fresh air after months of disappointing issues! :) Kitty in her prime as well. Very good stuff.

jarrod

03-04-2010, 01:31 PM

Wait until next issue. Kurt Speedo Fun Time!

I'll scan it for creaky when lim does EX33.

limerick

03-04-2010, 04:31 PM

Wait until next issue. Kurt Speedo Fun Time!

I'll scan it for creaky when lim does EX33.
Lol,I just sneaked a peek at that issue......creaky will love that!

creaky

03-05-2010, 01:57 AM

Wait until next issue. Kurt Speedo Fun Time!

I'll scan it for creaky when lim does EX33.

I can't wait!

limerick

03-09-2010, 03:57 PM

Thoughts on Excalibur # 32:

--I wasn't as big a fan of this issue or storyline as some people......With Claremont returning I was expecting something spectacular and this storyline was far from it......It was good to have Kitty back in action--That was the one positive thing about this issue,IMO.

--The opening sequence confused me at first......I wasn't really sure what was going on.....But while glancing through the issue again,it dawned on me that that opening sequence might be a dream Mrs. Tatcher had while under Mesmero's hypnosis.....I'm still not sure if that was the intention or not--I suppose it'll all be revealed in the next couple of issues......I'm struggling to remember much from this story the first time I read it years ago......(Also,that opening sequence disappointed me a bit--I felt I'd had enough of alternative realities for the moment so it was a bit of a downer for Claremont to plunge right back into another dimensional storyline,or so it appeared).

--The art was very reminiscent of British comic art from around this time or the Seventies.....The school sequences look like they could have been pulled from the pages of 'Jackie' or some other Girls comic published by Fleetway/IPC magazines or the like(I'm sure Loki would have more information on those British publishing companies)......I'm not certain if that's a coincidence or whether there's a definitive effort to pay homage to that type of story.

--I thought that the main school bitch,Phoebe,looked just like Sarah Harding from Girls Aloud!
http://images.mirror.co.uk/upl/m3/mar2008/6/2/75245AAE-CEBB-EA58-C0FCD07C798AFC91.jpg

--I was curious as to whether Kitty's powers being on the blink was a cynical plot device to have her in the school in a 'normal' state,thus preventing her from using her powers to sort out the bullies......Or was it an actual important part of the story that would be explained and expanded on at a later stage.....Either way,it seemed completely out of characterfor Kitty to end up being the victim of a bullying campaign---She has always seemed too strong for that.....BTW,what the hell is she still doing in Scotland anyway......Surely she's heard that Excalibur are back in town,let alone that the X-men are still alive,a fact carried by the International media after the events of 'Extinction Agenda'

--After Kitty meets the head-mistress for the first time,Miss Rutherford pecked her on the cheek....It seemed a bit wierd anyway but the way the artist protrays it makes it seem more so(like she's going in with tongues for a Frenchie!)

--Great to see Mesmero back in action......He had a particularly brutal appearance in 'Alpha Flight' a few years ago......He seemed back to his 'Vanisher'-type persona here,which I enjoyed.

--That hockey face-off thing was dumb.....Where did they get their hockey ball?---It's the size of a soccer ball!......Marvel artists and non-USA sports don't mix!

limerick

03-10-2010, 03:42 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.33.GIF

Excalibur # 33...................January 1991

"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof--Girls School From Heck Part 2"

Claremont/Wagner

The BBC Studios,White City,London:Captain Britain and Meggan arrive at the studios where the television soap,'Sporting Life',is filmed.....Meggan has recieved an inviatation to guest star on the programme.....They are confused when the studio turns out to be deserted and before they can find out exactly what's happening they hear a voice and fall under it's owners control

Excalibur's Lighthouse Base:Nightcrawler carries out a spot of free-diving while simultaneously testing the recovery progress of his teleporting powers.....But he miscalculates and ends up deep underwater,disorientated and unable to teleport to the surface.....Fortunately,help arrives in the form of Rachel,who telekinetically saves him.....She suddenly senses someone at the door and rushes to answer it while she continues to scold Nightcrawler with an astral projection.....She is shocked to see her mother,Jean Grey,at the door......Momentarily distracted,she suffers the same fate as Brian and Meggan did earlier and falls under the control of the unknown assailant.

Seconds later,Captain Britain attacks Nightcrawler and restrains him.....Nightcrawler is confused at first,sensing that something like this has happened before......As Rachel and Meggan(who had assumed Jean Grey's form) arrive,he hopes they will save him......But he sees the blank,staring lokk in their eyes and knows something is wrong......Just then,Excalibur's captor presents himself---Mesmero!!.....Before Kurt can act,Mesmero has him under his control and the four members of Excalibur are at his command......Mesmero promises not to make the same mistakes he made when he took the X-Men prisoner years before.

St Searle's School For Young Ladies,Scotland:Kitty Pryde rises early and heads onto the School playing fields so that she can practice her ninja skills.....Unknown to her,she is being watched by some of the schools junior pupils.....Phoebe Huntsman and her two friends come outside and tell the younger students to get inside......As the three older girls watch Kitty they realise she has serious fighting skills......But they are determined to undermine her and Phoebe tells the others to put the word out that everyone is to ignore Kitty and treat her as if she didn't exist.

One night,not too long later,Kitty sits in her room thinking about the way the other puplils are ignoring her---She's not overjoyed about it but won't let it get to her......Suddenly,the principal,Miss Rutherford,arrives and asks her why she can't make friends......She offers to help but is then called away to a meeting with the school's Finance Council......Kitty sees Phoebe creeping out of her room and sneaking over the rooftop.....She follows her and finds Phoebe listening in on Miss Rutherford's meeting......Shockingly,the finance committee reccommend that the school be closed,so desperate are the finances.......At that moment,Phoebe spots Kitty and they have a confrontation.....But they manage to patch up their differences,finding that they both come from a family where the marraige has broken down.....They then hear Miss Rutherford crying and decide they must try to do something about the situation.

Mesmero's Harley Street Office:Mesmero relaxes in his apartment when he is visited by the two robots who threatened him before.....He refuses to succumb to their demands without first meeting the people controlling them......The robots say that is impossible but Mesmero insists and tells them to convey the message......When they leave,they are unaware they are being tracked by Captain Britain......'Mesmero' turns out to be Meggan in her 'masters' form......The real Mesmero enters with the rest of Excalibur......His plan is that Excalibur will uncover and defeat the people who have been trying to blackmail him.......Under his command,Excalibur blankly applaud his plans.

Scotland:The entire pupil population have been woken and gathered in a room by Kitty and Phoebe who have explained the financial situation facing the school.....Kitty and Phoebe present their plan to save the school.....There is a cheer-leading competition at a London American Football match in two weeks......She intends to train a team and sneak them down to London where they will enter the competition and win the substantial cash prize---Enough to save the school.....Several of the pupils are dubious about her idea.

Fin

Welcome to my Signature limit-defying 'fake signature'......Post your thoughts and observations on all the X-Book 'From the Beginning' threads using the links below---You know you want to!!

X-Men from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=194896&page=2221)
New Mutants from the beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=219728&page=1051)
Alpha Flight from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=222969&page=5911)
X-Factor from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=239594&page=2000)
Wolverine from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=269070&page=1711)
Excalibur from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=265296&page=4111)
X-Men Mini-Series/One-Shots(Not Quite)from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=271955&page=6111)

Do you want to post a review of an upcoming issue from any of these threads???....Post Message me if you do--The more the merrier!

limerick

03-10-2010, 05:07 PM

Sorry everyone,I've had some mod interference that I won't tolerate and it's enough to make me finish posting on this Forum.....Thanks for all the input on the threads from everyone--Steven F.,Parch,Imraith,WBE and so many others......Rest assured I will continue to read my X-Books and may one day catch up with the rest of you!......Regards,Limerick

Welcome to my Signature limit-defying 'fake signature'......Post your thoughts and observations on all the X-Book 'From the Beginning' threads using the links below---You know you want to!!

X-Men from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=194896&page=2221)
New Mutants from the beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=219728&page=1051)
Alpha Flight from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=222969&page=5911)
X-Factor from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=239594&page=2000)
Wolverine from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=269070&page=1711)
Excalibur from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=265296&page=4111)
X-Men Mini-Series/One-Shots(Not Quite)from the Beginning (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=271955&page=6111)

Do you want to post a review of an upcoming issue from any of these threads???....Post Message me if you do--The more the merrier!

McFarlane's Green Hulk

03-10-2010, 06:42 PM

Ahhhh, nuts!
I was letting you know that I picked up the first Excalibur Classic trade, and am really enjoying it. Wife's gonna be pissed when I keep buying them...:tongue:
Too bad about your situation. I enjoyed reading and going back in time with your summaries. Take care...

Wildways

03-10-2010, 11:08 PM

Justin K.

03-11-2010, 01:18 AM

Aw, this sucks. I really liked reading these. Lurked, but read.
Actually gonna pick up the Excalibur tpbs when I can now...

longshot3

03-11-2010, 05:42 PM

Sorry 'bout the problems, limerick... If you or anyone else doesn't mind, I could continue with the Excalibur thread and post new summeries and reviews every Friday or so. Everyone alright with that?
(P.S. There's only a few issues of Excalibur that I don't have so if people with the issues that I don't have could jump in and do summeries for them that would be great! I'll just let y'all know which ones I don't have a summery before.)

I definitely wouldn't mind, please do continue. Excalibur, New Mutants, Alpha Flight and X-Force were all series that I never faithfully read all the way through and I was really really enjoying these threads to get the story

inferno

03-11-2010, 05:56 PM

What's the dispute over? The obnoxious .sig file? Just make it less obnoxious.

creaky

03-12-2010, 03:26 PM

I'm very sorry to hear that, limerick. You've done such a tremendous job with these "from the beginning" threads. We will miss you. :frown:

creaky

03-15-2010, 03:05 PM

Jarrod? Where is that speedo?

Also, as we can see here, Kurt's issues with usefulness are far from new. This is at least the second time he almost kills himself by trying too hard. The man needs therapy.

jarrod

03-15-2010, 03:32 PM

NO! Limerick! ;_;

Creaky, I'll speedo you Wed. Rachel bikini bonus too! <3

The Sword Is Drawn

03-16-2010, 03:13 AM

Ah, hell. Say it aint so Limerick!

You've done some absolutely sterling work on these threads, and it would be a shame to see them discontinued. I really hope you reconsider.

jarrod

03-19-2010, 07:26 AM

I'm late but OMGSCANZ!

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w213/jarrodand/IMG.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w213/jarrodand/IMG_0001-2.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w213/jarrodand/IMG_0002.jpg

jarrod

03-19-2010, 07:27 AM

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w213/jarrodand/IMG_0003.jpghttp://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w213/jarrodand/IMG_0004.jpg

Daniel Mengsk

03-19-2010, 08:29 AM

Lockheed seems to be enjoying the view, especially of 'Crawlers...eh, backside.

MartinRedmond

03-19-2010, 08:31 AM

Good old mind control! :tongue:This has given me the urge to reread Excalibur.

creaky

03-19-2010, 10:22 AM

Yay!
Mullets! Speedos! Characterization!

Wildways

03-19-2010, 01:28 PM

So I take it limerick is not coming back? If no one had any objections I can post a summery of the next issue within the next 24 hours.

jarrod

03-19-2010, 05:15 PM

Summery plz!!!!

Wildways

03-19-2010, 08:59 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.34.GIF

Excalibur #34, Feb 1991

School Spirit (or Cheerleaders from HECK), The Final Installment (YAY) of Girls' School from HECK! by Chris Claremont and Ron Wagner

The issue opens with Miss Rutherford waiting for the train to London with Mr. Reeve as well as Kitty Pryde, Phoebe Huntsman, and other senior students looking on. Miss Rutherford discusses her plans of going to London to meet with Courtney Ross and asking for her bank's help with the financial troubles St. Searle's has been having. Reeve seems a little hesitent in asking for help but Miss Rutherford is determined to keep the school up and running and continuing helping girls further their education. As Miss Rutherford's train leaves, Reeve tells Kitty and Phoebe that he doesn't think Miss Rutherford's plan will work and offers to drive the girls back to the school. Phoebe declines, saying that the girls are going to show Kitty around town. As soon as Reeve leaves, Phoebe whistles to the freshmen girls hiding nearby and they run over to the seniors with bags and a cell phone that they hand to Kitty.

Cut to the other end of the cell phone, which is another group of freshmen girls just outside the entrence to St. Searle's. After Reeve's car passes those freshmen, Kitty walks the girls through blowing up an old tree with dynomite to not only block the drive but cut off the phone lines into the school as well.

The girls at the train station board a train as Kitty makes another call to the station that Miss Rutherford is heading for and tells the station master to tell her that Miss Ross has cancelled her appointment at the last minute. Kitty explains to the girls that she was the one that set up the appointment in the first place to keep Miss Rutherford from finding out where they are headed. Phoebe is concerned that the other cheerleading teams have been practicing for the competition they are heading to a lot longer then them. "Long odds, Pryde." "I'm a Cubs fan, remember? We thrive on longshots." "I've done some reading, Pryde. Your precious cubs, they always lose." "I don't!"

The same morning on Salisbury Plain...Mesmero instructs the mind controlled Phoenix, Meggan, and Captain Britain to train against the Ministry of Defense's robot combat units thanks to yet another mind controlled Alistaire Stuart. The team make fast work of the robots as Mesmero talks to Alistaire about how he's done playing the villian and only hypnotized Excalibur because his life was at stake. Right on cue, Alysande Stuart approches him, with gun in hand. After his powers fail to control her, Mesmero tells Nightcrawler to teleport her away which he does so Brain can knock her out.

Cut to the girls on their way to London. While trying to practice their routine in the tight space on the train, a few of the girls start fighting. As Kitty tries to break it up, one of the girl's hand goes right through her. Kitty then reveals that she's a mutant and Shadowcat of Excalibur. Much to Kitty's surprise all of the girls are excited and accepting of her being a mutant. Immediately right after the girls' discovery, they pass by another train...one that is taking Miss Rutherford back to the school! The girls all duck but Miss Rutherford thinks to herself that the girls on the other train looked exactly like hers. As the girls get back to their feet, Phoebe tells Kitty that she is disappointed that she kept her secret from her. Kitty apologizes and Phoebe tells her not let it happen again.

The girls finally reach Wembly Stadium for the Yeoman vs New York Giants game and the cheerleading competition for half time. In the dressing room, the girls get a little nervous when they see their competition, professional American cheerleaders. The professionals comment on how they're competing against children and seem very condescending. As the girls are getting ready, Kitty gives them a pep talk about how they're competing not for themselves, but for the money to use it to save their school. The girls get pumped up and start heading out to the field.

Meanwhile, beneath another part of the stadium, Mesmero shows up to meet the people that are after him...but he bumps into a couple of Wardroids and their masters: Fenris! Fenris wants to recruit Mesmero in working for them but he declines and turns into a very muscular Meggan who starts to fight the Wardroids.

The Searle's Girls take the field inside the stadium for their routine. As they are performing, the announcer is shocked to see how great they are, saying that they're turning the contest into a real horse race!

While underneath the stadium, Meggan is blasted by Fenris before she can destroy all of the Wardroids. Captain Britain and Phoenix show up but Rachel gets hit by one of the Wardroids lasers and is thrown out in plane sight of the cheerleaders. Kitty is shocked to see the Phoenix effect and that Excalibur is back on Earth. Phoebe tells Kitty that she can't desert the girls but Kitty tells her that there was another school, another team, and other obligations she can't deny and with that, she phases through the ground. Phoebe tells the other girls that they'll go on without her as Kitty, embarrassingly, ends up in the football players locker room. Just then Captain Britain and a Wardroid come flying through a wall and start fighting. Kitty distracts the robot while Brain punches its head off. Inside the air vents, some of the freshmen watch the battle while they radio up to the other ones on the sidelines. They run out to Phoebe on the field and tell her that Kitty needs their help. Phoebe tells them that Kitty can take care of herself but changes her mind, grabs a mallet from one of the freshmen and runs down to the locker rooms. Nightcrawler keeps Andrea occupied as Phoenix keeps Andreas away from his sister. Kitty starts to get on her feet as she is confronted by Mesmero. He starts to put Kitty under his spell when Lockheed blasts him in the back with a flame. The rest of Excalibur starts to come to their senses. While they're distracted Andrea and Andreas run toward each other so that they can activate their power but unfortunatly for them the St. Searle's girls are there before them, beating them both and Mesmero up with mallets and tying them up.

And so...after the villians have been handed over to Dai Thomas of Scotland Yard...Dai laughs at the thought of Excalibur being saved by school girls as the girls themselves flirt with both Captain Britain and Nightcrawler. Kitty feels bad that she left her cheerleading squad which meant that the pro-cheerleaders won. Phoebe tells her that if it wasn't for her, they won't have gotten that far in the first place. A freshman agrees with her as Miss Rutherford barges in demanding an explaination from the girls. When Captain Britain tries to answer for them, she starts yelling at him. Courtney Ross then enters with Mr Pollack, President of the Yeoman Organization and introduces him to Miss Rutherford. He says that he has a solution for St Searle's financial problems and Miss Rutherford agrees to let part of the school used for Yeoman permanent training facilities. Miss Rutherford then tells Kitty and the girls that even though they did succeed in helping out the school, they will still have to serve punishment for their crimes once they get back. But she then expresses her graditude to the girls and thanks them with all her heart. The issue closes with Phoebe and the St Searle's girls hugging Miss Rutherford while Kitty is happily reunited with her teammates in Excalibur.

The End.

Wildways

03-20-2010, 01:18 AM

Thoughts on the issue:

-Kitty = Cady Heron and Phoebe = Regina George (I mean, Phoebe has some fierce style!)
http://www.ugo.com/versus/images/characters/gallery_Regina_George_1.jpg

-Like I've said before in posts a few pages back, Girls' School from Heck is a great arc in the middle of a rough time for Excalibur.

-The storyline and writing is great and fun...a mixture of old-school Chris Claremont's X-Men and an 80s teen movie. The characters at St Searle's are pretty cleché (Miss Rutherford, Mr Reeve, Phoebe, the freshmen) but that's what makes it great and entertaining. Kitty really shines in these three issues.

-The art is good and like the writing, better than the few issues before and following. Wagner does great in catching the school girl feel (especially Phoebe) and does great with the characters' facial expressions. His Fenris on page 20 is really awesome! (I sadly couldn't find a scan of it... :( ) Looking at the artist on the X-books at the time, I'd say that Wagner was a lot better then a few of the regular ones...

-Glad to see Kitty reunited with Excalibur finally.

Couple few things that I didn't really like:

-Dialogue was a little bit too much at times but that's how Claremont books are...didn't bother me too much though since this issue was more down time then fighting.

-Hardly any page time from the other members of Excalibur except for Kitty.

-Mesmero trying to be a "good guy"? lol.

-Whatever Courtney Ross' cape was on the last page. lolwtf?

But yeah, I meant to say Sat-Yr-9 since the real Courtney is still an outline on the carpet. I can't wait to see what's in store for her in later issues... :biggrin:

Up Next:

A couple more meh issues...an arc with Dr. Doom and then the return of Alan Davis! Start a countdown!

Isn't there supposed to be a special mixed in there somewhere? :confused:
I honestly couldn't keep track of where all of those random Excalibur specials went in the series...so I'll just plan on #35 for next week if no one has information on where the special goes for me.

Wildways

03-26-2010, 02:29 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.35.GIF

Excalibur #35, March 1991

Heartbreaker by Scott Lobdell and Luke Ross

The issue opens with six-year-old Amy Keats huddled down somewhere wet and green...the reader finds out from a news bulletin on the next page that she was abducted by a mentally ill man, named Gunther Gyles, who is now in police custody but is not giving up the location of Amy. Nightcrawler and Shadowcat search the building where she was last seen without any luck...Kitty wants to invite Amy to the welcome home party Excalibur was throwing for her when they were called away to help with the search party. While Captain Britain and Meggan scan the city's rooftops from the air, Dai Thomas talks to the press in the rain with Phoenix watching on. The reporters are conserned about the rain and how Gyles has no memory of Amy's location, but Inspector Thomas assures them that they have a specialist in cerebral disorders...Rachel.

Interrupting another officer hitting on Rachel, Inspector Thomas tells her that he wants her to enter Gyles' mind to find the location of Amy. After a debate over the ethics of mind-reading, Rachel accompanies Dai to an interrogation room. Gyles pleads with Rachel, saying, "It's like a giant black fist has grabbed my brain and won't let go!" and "I wouldn't hurt her. I love her...", which at that point, Rachel tells him he makes her sick and then enters his mind.

In Gyles' memories Rachel sees him getting ready for a "date", watching Amy walking home from school, a struggle, and Gyles leaving Amy somewhere dark... Rachel senses some interference and an outside force...something that doesn't want the girl to be found. Rachel goes in deeper, the center of his mind...the core of his memory. She sees Amy in an open land ("The Moors?") with a building in the distance... Rachel goes over to Amy to comfort her, but it turns out to be a demon form with a 'psychic bomb'. Before the bomb detonates, the demon says no one can find Amy in time and no one can do anything about it.

Back in reality, Rachel activates the Phoenix effect and shatters windows for several city blocks. As the people inside the police station start to recover, Dai asks Rachel if she found anything. Rachel tells him about the abandoned building on the Moors and Dai tells her to contact the rest of Excalibur and have them search the Moors individually. Dai and Rachel leave the building as Gyles mutters to himself...drooling on himself.

Meanwhile at the Moors as the rain starts coming down harder, Amy, who is in an abondoned well, has a shadowed visiter, who is glad to hear that she is frightened.

Later, Rachel and Dai pull up near the building that Rachel saw. Rachel contacts the rest of Excalibur, who are a ways away, and the two of them suit up to rescue Amy. As she rushes ahead of Dai to the well, Rachel is blinded by a bright flash of light. When she opens her eyes, she is face to face with Ahab and his hounds. Rachel then starts reliving her past (not being able to control her actions) when she was a hound...and the night that she tracked down Nightcrawler in United Germany. Now a priest, Kurt tries to reason with Rachel but she doesn't back down due to Ahab's wishes of taking down Nightcrawler and the European Mutant Collective. Rachel stuns Kurt as Ahab appears and drives his staff into Kurt's chest. As Rachel comes back to reality, she doubles over with the memory of her friend's death.

Dai tries to get through to Rachel as an entity starts to appear...D'Spayre! The kidnapping of Amy was all engineered by D'Spayre so that he could feed off of the despair and hopelessness of the masses. But now, because of Rachel's memories and their affect on her, he has enough cosmic angst to expand his reign of terror over Earth. As Dai tries to defend her, Rachel asks D'Spayre how he is at siphoning off disgust. Rachel blasts D'Spayre off of her and into the abandoned building as Amy watches them fly by while still in the well. Dai rushes over to help but his gut tells him to check the well that he just past. He yells for Amy and she answers. Dai then loses his weapons and goes down into the well after her before she can drown because of the rain.

As the fight goes on, D'Spayre starts feeding off of Rachel's emotions, getting stronger. D'Spayre directs the rainfall at Rachel and at the same time causes debris to fall into the well, knocking Dai out. While Amy hopefully reassures the unconscious Inspector Thomas, D'Spayre tries to take down Rachel for the last time...but can't! Amy's hope turns the battle in Rachel's favor as D'Spayre shrinks and tells Rachel that he'll be back. Rachel tells him she'll be waiting for him as she crushes him. Rachel then lifts Dai and Amy out of the well and helps Dai regain consciousness. She is amazed how concerned Amy is about him even after everything she just went through. Inspector Thomas reluctantly thanks Rachel for the save as the three of them leave to take Amy home. End.

Wildways

03-26-2010, 05:35 PM

Thought on the issue:

The writing:

Pretty average...nothing horrible, but nothing fantastic about it...

The art:

Same as the writing.

Things that I liked:

-The Days of Future Past storyline and Rachel's past revisited.

-D'Spayre, not a normal X-Villian, appearing.

-Dai acting heroically.

-Rachel and Dai's interacts with each other.

-The panel with Rachel's and Gyles' faces merging as she enters his mind.

-The last lines of the book...Rachel: "You big softy. If I were twenty years older..." Dai: "You wouldn't be dressed like that!" lolz.

Things that I didn't like:

-The rest of Excalibur was hardly featured.

-This issue felt a lot like filler material...not really what I'm looking for when I'm reading.

-Ending was a little abrupt. Would have liked to see Amy interact with her rescuers a little more.

Up next:

Issue #36! Lots of guest stars! And six more issues until the return of Alan Davis!

Thoughts on the issue?

creaky

03-27-2010, 01:32 AM

I thought that in Rachel's reality, Kurt and Amanda were gunned down?

Wildways

03-27-2010, 01:47 AM

I thought that in Rachel's reality, Kurt and Amanda were gunned down?

Putting spoilers up for a future issue...
In Warren Ellis' later Excalibur run, it was retconned into that (what you posted) in the 'Days of Future Tense' issue (#94).

creaky

03-27-2010, 01:53 AM

Putting spoilers up for a future issue...
In Warren Ellis' later Excalibur run, it was retconned into that (what you posted) in the 'Days of Future Tense' issue (#94).

Wasn't there a flashback in Uncanny around the time Rachel joined the X-men, though?

Wildways

03-27-2010, 01:54 AM

Wasn't there a flashback in Uncanny around the time Rachel joined the X-men, though?

Hmmm...I'm actually not sure...I could grab my Essential X-Men real quick...

EDIT: Yes! You were correct! In Uncanny #188, Rachel tells her teammates about her future and how Kurt, Amanda, and Illyana were all gunned down on their way to drop 'Yana off at her bus stop. Kinda strange how Illyana was 14-years-old again and Kurt and Amanda were married. Good memory!

creaky

03-27-2010, 02:02 AM

Ahh, retcons.

Wildways

03-27-2010, 02:04 AM

Ahh, retcons.

lol, yeah! So it was retconned and then retconned back to what it was before! haha.

jarrod

03-27-2010, 12:37 PM

Ahh, retcons.
Retconning the Kurt/Amanda future marriage is hardly a bad thing though. <3

creaky

03-27-2010, 02:13 PM

Retconning the Kurt/Amanda future marriage is hardly a bad thing though. <3

That is very true.

Wildways

03-27-2010, 02:20 PM

So do you two not like Amanda in general or just her relationship with Kurt?

Loki

03-27-2010, 02:26 PM

Putting spoilers up for a future issue...
In Warren Ellis' later Excalibur run, it was retconned into that (what you posted) in the 'Days of Future Tense' issue (#94).

Nope. Two different realities. Similar, but not the same.

There's several versions of Days of Future Past. We have the original one seen (Earth-811), which appeared in Uncanny X-Men #141 and 142, and which was seen in flashback in New Mutants #18, Wolverine: Days of Future Past, and Excalibur #67 and 68. We saw the Wolverine of this reality in Exiles and Paradise X as well. Some other DoFP style stories might be that same timeline too.

However, we also have a DoFP reality where Hyperstorm originated. We've got a DoFP reality linked to the children of Battleworld in What If? #114, which isn't 811. We've got different DoFP associated with both the X-Men 1990s cartoon and another for the Wolverine and the X-Men cartoon.

The one seen in Excalibur #94 is Earth-9620. Differences between the realities are numerous:

811 had no team known as Excalibur - this from Arthur of the Resistance Coordination Executive, a statement he made in front of 811 Tangerine, who in Days of Future Tense was a member of Excalibur. 811's Nightcrawler and Amanda Sefton were a married couple who shot down during a surprise attack on Xavier's School, killing Amanda - Kurt survived, escaped, and was later tracked down by Rachel when she was a Hound; Days of Future Tense Nightcrawler died holding Mystique's hand, while Amanda Sefton was slain by Margali. 811 Captain Britain and Meggan (and their children) died in a surprise Sentinel attack on Braddock Manor; Days of Future Tense Captain Britain and Meggan apparently die attacking Black Air's base in London.

Tellingly - by the time of Days of Future Tense (Excalibur #94), 811 has unequivocably diverged from 616, and is no longer a possible future for 616 - Phoenix had stolen Jean Grey's form (616) rather than merged with Jean Grey and survived to have a child with Scott (811), Senator Kelly had survived assassination (616) rather than been killed by the Brotherhood when Kitty was 13 (811). Similarly dystopian futures ruled by Sentinels remain possibilities, but 811 itself is not. Whereas Brian's nightmare about Days of Future Tense is because that reality is becoming more likely; until Black Air and the London Hellfire Club were defeated, DoFT remained a possible future for 616.

creaky

03-27-2010, 02:44 PM

So do you two not like Amanda in general or just her relationship with Kurt?

I love Amanda, but her relationship with Kurt screams of issues. If you want to portray a blue, devil-looking guy as a well-adjusted, proud go-getter, having him date his sister figure is not the way to go. He needs a "normal" girlfriend that he would actually have to open up to without the comfort of knowing that she already knows everything about him. (He's a bit like Cyclops, in some ways)
The only other girlfriend he had was Cerise, and she was an alien without any concept of "demons" or even what regular human beings were supposed to look like when she arrived.
It just feels to me like Kurt wants to stick with what's "safe". Like he doesn't want to deal with how a "normal" woman might see him, with his off-beat looks and personality.

Anodyne

03-27-2010, 05:26 PM

Hmmm...I'm actually not sure...I could grab my Essential X-Men real quick...

EDIT: Yes! You were correct! In Uncanny #188, Rachel tells her teammates about her future and how Kurt, Amanda, and Illyana were all gunned down on their way to drop 'Yana off at her bus stop. Kinda strange how Illyana was 14-years-old again and Kurt and Amanda were married. Good memory!
Evidently the Illyana of Rachel's timeline never spent years in Limbo. If Jean Grey's 616 death/811 survival was the point at which the timelines diverged, then anything after Uncanny #137 need not have happened for Rachel. Please don't say it wasn't really Jean; when Claremont wrote the Dark Phoenix Saga, he intended it to be the real Jean who died.

Wildways

03-28-2010, 02:00 AM

Nope. Two different realities. Similar, but not the same.

There's several versions of Days of Future Past. We have the original one seen (Earth-811), which appeared in Uncanny X-Men #141 and 142, and which was seen in flashback in New Mutants #18, Wolverine: Days of Future Past, and Excalibur #67 and 68. We saw the Wolverine of this reality in Exiles and Paradise X as well. Some other DoFP style stories might be that same timeline too.

However, we also have a DoFP reality where Hyperstorm originated. We've got a DoFP reality linked to the children of Battleworld in What If? #114, which isn't 811. We've got different DoFP associated with both the X-Men 1990s cartoon and another for the Wolverine and the X-Men cartoon.

The one seen in Excalibur #94 is Earth-9620. Differences between the realities are numerous:

811 had no team known as Excalibur - this from Arthur of the Resistance Coordination Executive, a statement he made in front of 811 Tangerine, who in Days of Future Tense was a member of Excalibur. 811's Nightcrawler and Amanda Sefton were a married couple who shot down during a surprise attack on Xavier's School, killing Amanda - Kurt survived, escaped, and was later tracked down by Rachel when she was a Hound; Days of Future Tense Nightcrawler died holding Mystique's hand, while Amanda Sefton was slain by Margali. 811 Captain Britain and Meggan (and their children) died in a surprise Sentinel attack on Braddock Manor; Days of Future Tense Captain Britain and Meggan apparently die attacking Black Air's base in London.

Tellingly - by the time of Days of Future Tense (Excalibur #94), 811 has unequivocably diverged from 616, and is no longer a possible future for 616 - Phoenix had stolen Jean Grey's form (616) rather than merged with Jean Grey and survived to have a child with Scott (811), Senator Kelly had survived assassination (616) rather than been killed by the Brotherhood when Kitty was 13 (811). Similarly dystopian futures ruled by Sentinels remain possibilities, but 811 itself is not. Whereas Brian's nightmare about Days of Future Tense is because that reality is becoming more likely; until Black Air and the London Hellfire Club were defeated, DoFT remained a possible future for 616.

Thanks for all of the info. I actually did not know about all of those "Days of Future ________" realities were different. Still doesn't really explain Rachel having two different memories of Kurt dying though.

I love Amanda, but her relationship with Kurt screams of issues. If you want to portray a blue, devil-looking guy as a well-adjusted, proud go-getter, having him date his sister figure is not the way to go. He needs a "normal" girlfriend that he would actually have to open up to without the comfort of knowing that she already knows everything about him. (He's a bit like Cyclops, in some ways)
The only other girlfriend he had was Cerise, and she was an alien without any concept of "demons" or even what regular human beings were supposed to look like when she arrived.
It just feels to me like Kurt wants to stick with what's "safe". Like he doesn't want to deal with how a "normal" woman might see him, with his off-beat looks and personality.

Great! I love Amanda too. I was just wondering your opinion on her since everyone knows who you think Kurt should be with. :biggrin:
I agree with you about Kurt sticking with what's "safe".

P.S. I'm probably going to start going through the next six issues pretty fast...maybe one every other day until issue #42 and then go back to one every Friday since #42 and up will most likely have more discussion to them.

The Sword Is Drawn

03-28-2010, 03:54 PM

I may be in the minority here, but I actually quite like the upcoming Dr Doom story... :biggrin:

Wildways

03-29-2010, 03:17 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.36.GIF

Excalibur #36, April 1991

Xs and Os by Scott Lobdell and Luke Ross

Flashback to before Brian Braddock was Captain Britain, when he was a research assistant at the the Darkmoor Research Center in England. Brian had just dozed off while trying to find a safe way to produce nuclear energy, when he was woken up by Professor Walshe, the owner of research center. Walshe tells Brian to go home and get some sleep as Brian explains to him that he just wants to help the world.

Five years later, Brian and the rest of Excalibur (Meggan, Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, and Phoenix) arrive at a "No Nukes" demonstration outside of Darkmoor. Rachel tells Kurt that she's not very comfortable with "this civil disobedience". Kurt agrees but says that they came to Darkmoor on Brian's request. Brian tells the protesters to disperse but they start yelling back at him that Darkmoor is conducting illegal experiments. Brian starts to get angry, defending nuclear power, when Kitty steps in saying "nuclear energy is the pits". As the two teammates start debating the pros and cons of nuclear energy, Walshe appears at the gate and invites them in to the research center. As Excalibur joins Walshe, a man in the crowd asks a woman what they should do now. She replies that they will continue with their plan...

Inside Darkmoor, Walshe tells Excalibur that it is the final days of the research center and reveals to Brain that he knows it is him behind his mask. Kitty blatanly asks Walshe if he is conducting illegal experiments. As Walshe starts to explain, a lab assistant nearby gets nervous at the sight of Excalibur and thinks about his three weeks undercover study in Darkmoor and a rendezvous in two minutes.

At the moment the wall to Darkmoor explodes and in walks Silver Sable, Paladin, Sandman, and Rocket Racer. Silver Sable tells Excalibur to stand down, that they were hired by the Symkerian government to return stolen technology from Walshe. Sandman attacks Brian and Rachel while Nightcrawler tells Walshe to head for the exit. Nightcrawler leaps toward the research assistant, trying to protect him, but is thrown across the building. It turns out that he was Prowler in disguise. Brain takes on Sandman as Meggan tries to reason with Silver Sable. Sable tells Meggan that Darkmoor stole a bionuclear simulator, technology that threatens every living being on the face of the Earth. Rachel uses her powers to hold Silver Sable in place, but Paladin gets the drop on Phoenix and hits her with his stun gun. Instead of getting knocked out, Rachel staggers around, dazed, until she falls into Paladin's arms. Paladin keeps Rachel "distracted" as they lock lips. Nightcrawler distracts Rocket Racer, but is attacked again by Prowler. Meggan shape shifts her arms to mimic Sandman's powers as she traps Silver Sable. Prowler is thrown into Kitty, but are both phased as they fly threw their teammates and into the next room. They both look up and see something so shocking that they agree to stop fighting and alert the rest of their teams.

Back in the other room, Brain punches Sandman in the face which causes a sand cloud to engulf the room. As the teams are distracted, Kitty returns and tells them to check the other room. Brian and Sandman break down the wall to find Walshe with the bionuclear simulator and motionless clones test subjects. Walshe tells them that he made adjustments to it and was testing the human body's radiation saturation level as well as genetically creating a strain of humanity capable of surviving a nuclear holocaust. Brian tells him that his experiments sound insane and tries to reason with his old friend. Walshe then reveals that he is really a faulty construct of Arnim Zola! He tells the heroes and heroes for hire that all he wanted to do was believe that he was alive and make a difference...save the world...but now he is having second thoughts on the experiments he was conducting. Paladin's sensor starts going off as Welshe tells them that nuclear energy is starting to run rampant due to the battle. Rachel says that she can hold the energy in check but it'll take all of her power to do it. As Walshe's consentration starts to slip, the clones come to life. Kitty phases threw Walshe to see if it helps to control the clones but it just makes matters worse as the Shepherd, a fail-safe against the clones, comes to life. Walshe says that the clones and the Shepherd are out of control due to Kitty's phasing threw him. The two teams start doing battle with the radioactive clones and the Shepherd as they break threw the outside wall, exposing their fight to the guards and protesters. As the battle moves outside, Brian is left with Walshe, who is pleading to help him destroy his ESP box. Brian says he can't do that to his old friend. Just then, Walshe's ESP box is destroyed by Meggan's sand form as she tells Brian that he wanted to be destroyed so that the rest of the heroes could live. Outside the clones and the Shepherd collapse while the bionuclear simulator powers down.

The mercenaries leave with the bionuclear simulator after both teams apologize for the misunderstanding and Paladin and Rachel tell one another to "call me sometime". As Welshe starts to die, Brian takes off his mask and asks him if there was ever a person as "Dr Walshe". Walshe answers, "If a man's life is measured by the love and respect of others...if you believed in our dream of a better world...then yes, lad. I was 'real'. If not, then I'm sorry..." Walshe's screen then goes blank as Brian starts to cry.

The last page of the issue is a pin-up for a later issue...
"Coming soon! The Return of the Technet!"

DevilishRogue

03-29-2010, 04:38 PM

I liked that issue! Lobdell (Lobdull) gets a lot of flack but he had some fun Excalibur issues I thought. He listed Kurt as favorite character one time.

Nice package Captain!

I can't wait until you get to the 2 Lobdell/Mad issues where they meet up with the X-Men for the first time since the X-Men faked their deaths. Alchemy from X-Factor series was in it I think??? This makes me want to dig through my dreaded Comic book Fortress and read all these non stop again in a marathon! :redface:

Wildways

03-29-2010, 05:33 PM

Thoughts on the issue:

The writing:

-Better than last issue...some very nice dialogue between the two teams as well as Brain and Kitty's opposing stances on nuclear energy.

The art:

-Not as good as last issue...but again, not too bad, not that great...

Things that I like:

-All of the characters in Excalibur had pretty balanced page time...something the reader hasn't seen in quite a few issues.

-Brian and Kitty's opinions on nuclear energy...as well as other characters'...interesting to see the political side of Excalibur and in comics in general.

-All of the guest stars were very enjoyable and had some great dialogue.

-Silver Sable smacking Meggan lolz. I love Meggan but that panel for some reason was really funny to me.

-Rachel and Paladin's kiss. Quite the "distraction" indeed.

-Brian showing a softer side to him.

Things that I didn't like:

-The real "villians"...meh, could have been more interesting but they were taken down pretty easily...

Up Next:

DOOM! (oh yeah, and Limbo, the Soulsword, and an Avengers team that lives on the West Coast, too!)

Wildways

04-03-2010, 12:53 PM

Sorry I didn't have a summary yesterday...my internet was down for half of the day... I'll try to get the next three issues out pretty soon within the next three days!

Dermie

04-03-2010, 02:40 PM

--Oh,and please Brian,no more bondage gear--especially the kinky G-string---it's just not you!

*lol* I thought that was great! As others have already pointed out in the thread, Brian is a hot guy (especially as drawn by Davis)...and it is a great example of equality to have the male characters forced into skimpy outfits when enslaved by magic or mind-controllers, instead of it always happening to just the women. That was a nice bit of role-reversal.

Dermie

04-03-2010, 03:00 PM

Thoughts on Excalibur # 10:
--I' m not sure Alistair came off the better when Kitty rescued him from the Amazonian in the alternative reality....She seemed pretty keen!...Kitty could have let him had a few days there just to see how they got on!!:biggrin:

*L* She seemed a bit too keen--I'm not sure Alistair would have survived that encounter.

At the scene at the end of the issue, did anyone else notice Brian changing his costume in the background? Very classy, Brian, taking your clothes off and getting re-dressed in a public place, in mixed company. :tongue:

Dermie

04-03-2010, 06:36 PM

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/77/264245-56496-kymri_large.jpg

Kymri-----Although she looks made for Nightcrawler,she does the nasty with Alistaire instead.....Some people have no taste!

Hey, don't knock Alistaire. He may not be quite as charming as our fuzzy blue elf...but he's pretty easy on the eyes. :wink:

WWWD

04-04-2010, 10:39 AM

Wildways

04-04-2010, 01:22 PM

I think I'm in the minority. So far, I haven't enjoyed this series (I've been reading along)

I quite loved the issues before the CTC, and I enjoyed the few Claremont ones after it. But so far, it's had a lot of re-telling of the same issues, and too much alternate dimension standalone stories.

Which sucks, because I really loved the characterization in the few issues. It's a shame that my X-Books love is dying out in this era... with New Mutants becoming X-Force, Excalibur going through a carousel of artists and writers, and Wolverine just not being my cup of tea.

The issues after Claremont left were a little...well, not that great. A lot of the later runs were fantastic. Spoilers for later issues...Alan Davis' run from #42 to #67 and Warren Ellis' run from #83 to #103 were two of my favorite comic book runs of all time. Great stuff.

Wildways

04-05-2010, 05:15 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.37.GIF

Excalibur #37, May 1991

House Call Book One of "The Promethium Exchange" by Scott Lobdell and Mark Badger

The issue opens with Meggen cooking breakfast for her Excalibur teammates (Captain Britain, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Phoenix, and Lockheed). Kurt finds a phone message that Meggan took for Kitty, which the whole team thinks was a prank phone call because the message was from Dr. Doom, saying that he would be over to talk to Kitty. As the team jokes around, Meggan goes to get the door. Meggan comes back in to the kitchen to tell her teammates that Doom is in the living room! As the team changes into their costumes, Kitty calms them down by saying he isn't here for trouble, he called ahead of time so Kitty goes to see what he wants from them. Doom tells Kitty about a mystical metal known as Promethium (which he claims is inexhaustible and waste-free). He says that he wants the metal to end Earth's energy crisis and he needs Kitty's help getting it because it is found in Limbo. Kitty asks him if she got his story straight, asks him a few more questions, and agrees to help him, much to Excalibur's surprise. Her teammates pull Kitty into the other room and voice their concern with her helping Doom. Doom suggests for Rachel to read his mind. She does, and doesn't find any real evil in his plan. Excalibur reluctantly agrees to let Kitty help Doom.

Outside, Doom creates a minor spell to weaken the barrier between Earth and Limbo, while Kitty pulls the Soulsword out of the stone in front of the lighthouse, changing her costume into armor. While Kitty and Doom are getting ready to leave, the rest of Excalibur (plus Alistaire Stuart) hook up Widget's dimensional fine tuner without Doom's knowledge. Kitty cuts a hole in Doom's spell and they both leave Earth. Excalibur then enters Widget's gate in hopes to following Doom and Kitty. As Alistaire makes his way back to the lighthouse, a green woman in the water who witnessed the events outside the lighthouse disappears into the sea.

As Doom, Kitty, and Lockheed travel through a pocket dimension to get to Limbo, a creature attacks Kitty. Since she can't phase free in her armor, Doom grabs the Soulsword from her and cuts Kitty free. Doom punches a hole to Limbo with the sword as Kitty's armor fades. He tells Kitty that he only wanted for her to draw the Soulsword and now that he has it, he is the ruler of Limbo. Lockheed blasts Doom with his flames but Doom's force field protects him. Doom hits Lockheed with the sword and punches Kitty in the face just as the rest of Excalibur arrives.

Meanwhile at the home of the West Coast Avengers, Wonder Man, Iron Man, Quicksilver, Tigra, and the Scarlet Witch are enjoying a cookout when the green woman that was outside Excalibur's lighthouse appears in the pool. She reveals herself to be the Lady of the Lake, the one that only appears in times of England's darkest hours. She tells the WCA that she has come to find Iron Man (since he has defended Britain in the past) and to warn them that Doom and his unwitting pawns have begun the total obliteration of England.

Back in Limbo, Doom starts making fast work of Excalibur by trapping Rachel in an endless loop hologram of her defeating Doom and by making Nightcrawler teleport himself halfway in between his force field. As Kurt teleports back out of the force field, he realizes that the field cured his teleportation from back when he was injured by the Marauders. In his excitement, he starts teleporting everywhere. Doom's armor changes Kurt's direction as he teleports himself near Meggan, making them both crash into each other and knocking themselves out. As Brain and Doom start to fight, their battle is interupted by Limbo's inhabitants, twisted versions of Earth's heroes!

To be continued...

Justin K.

04-08-2010, 04:34 AM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.1.GIF

Found a homage...

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/3/35698/831370-5.jpg

Am I the only one who hasn't seen this before?

Either way, I like it.

Koni

04-08-2010, 06:02 AM

I like it better than the recolour they did for the TPB.
Notice how they only half edited the Spider-Man logo out, and forgot to colour poor Big Ben.

http://img381.imageshack.us/img381/3206/reco.jpg

mimschkin

04-08-2010, 01:43 PM

^^Haha, that's terrible.

Wildways

04-08-2010, 08:18 PM

I will be summerizing the rest of "The Promethium Exchange" on Saturday! Two, maybe three, issues this weekend; I promise! I've been having a hard time managing my time this week due to the start of my job late last week, but I'll be back in the swing of things by this weekend and hopefully getting to Alan Davis' run by next Friday! :)

PS...limerick, I see that you've been posting a little here and there...Is it alright if I continue with this thread for the time being?

Wildways

04-10-2010, 01:52 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.38.GIF

Excalibur #38, June 1991

Out on a Limbo Book Two of "The Promethium Exchange" by Scott Lobdell and Mark Badger

The issue opens with Alistaire Stuart making his way inside Excalibur's lighthouse when parts of the Earth start getting sucked up into a dimensional gateway caused by the team entering Limbo.

Back in Limbo, demonic versions of Thor and the Thing punch Captain Britain so hard that it causes him to get buried underground! Dr. Doom watches on with a strange looking purple demon that tells him that the demons of Limbo took the form of the heroes to reflect the needs and thoughts of the current ruler of Limbo, which is now Doom since he holds the Soulsword. The demon asks if they should torture Excalibur, but Doom tells him to kill them quickly. He then makes his way to Limbo's castle and to secure the metal, promethium.

On Earth, the Lady of the Lake transports the West Coast Avengers (Iron Man, Wonder Man, Scarlet Witch, Tigra, Quicksilver) to Excalibur's lighthouse just in time to save Alistaire from the portal. Between the Lady of the Lake's magic abilities and Wanda's hex powers, the heroes close the portal temporarily. The Lady of the Lake tells the Avengers that there are five other portals appearing in England since Doom is trying to collapse Limbo onto Earth in order to secure the promethium.

While on Limbo, a demonic Wolverine is ready to kill a distorted Shadowcat when the Avengers arrive with the help of the Lady of the Lake's magic and drive the demons away from Excalibur. Meggan and Nightcrawler regain consciousness while Iron Man frees Phoenix from the encephalographic loop. Crawling out of the ground, Captain Britain mistakes Wonder Man for a demon, and starts fighting with him. Phoenix breaks up the fight and Brian apologizes to Simon for mistaking him for a demon. The two teams agree to break into teams of two to close the portals and then meet at the castle to take care of Doom. As they leave, the purple demon plots to destroy everyone in Limbo.

Nightcrawler and the Scarlet Witch defeat demonic versions of Dr Strange and Mr Fantastic as Wanda closes the first portal. Meggan and Iron Man take care of a demonic Human Torch and a demonic Silver Surfer and close the second portal. Kitty and Tigra reach the portal that the Avengers blocked in the beginning of the issue, and with a little non-voluntary help from several demon Wolverines, they destroy the portal. Captain Britain and Wonder Man knock out the demon Thor and the Thing and close the fourth portal. The last portal is destroyed by Rachel while she and Quicksilver battle demon versions of Professor X and Invisible Woman.

From his castle, Doom finds out the Excalibur is alive due to the appearance of the Phoenix effect from Rachel closing the portal. He asks the purple demon how he could have lied to him about destroying Excalibur. The purple demon replies that he is not from Limbo, but he doesn't know who he is due to him being encumbered in the "remains of the mortal coil" which is another demon connected to him. The demon tells Doom that he wants to destroy him but Doom tells him that he better do it quickly since he is about to plunge the Soulsword into the heart of Limbo, making every living native creature in Limbo to revert to promethium. Excalibur and the Avengers arrive at the castle too late as Doom strikes the literal heart of Limbo with the Soulsword.

Concludes next issue...

Wildways

04-10-2010, 02:55 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.39.GIF

Excalibur #39, July 1991

Heart of the Matter Book Three of "The Promethium Exchange" by Scott Lobdell and Mark Badger

The issue opens with Dr Doom plunging the Soulsword into the heart of Limbo as Excalibur (Captain Britain, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Meggan, and Phoenix) and the West Coast Avengers (Iron Man, Wonder Man, Scarlet Witch, Tigra, and Quicksilver) try and stop him. Phoenix graps the Soulsword with her TK powers in mid-stroke and tries to hold the heart together while Iron Man tackles Doom. Doom then calls in reinforcements in the form of Limbo's demons to keep the heroes occupied. The purple demon gets stuck down and Meggan notices that she can feel his pain due to her powers being amplified in Limbo. While the others fight the demons, Meggan notices that the purple demon is transforming due to Limbo's heart getting struck and that his skeleton is laced with promethium.

Doom tries to get the drop on Rachel but the purple demon distracts him and reveals that he is Darkoth the Demon. Now with his memories back due to the "remains of the mortal coil" leaving him because of the heart being struck, he tells the teams about his origin and how he waited in Limbo after he had died to wait to take revenge on Doom for turning him into a demon. Darkoth starts to destroy Doom's armor until Doom changes his armor into promethium due to the fact that he was the last person to weld the Soulsword. They fight as Rachel loses concentration on the heart and it explodes. All of the demons go back to their original demonic forms and everyone in Limbo becomes chaos.

As the choas is going on, Doom retreats back to Earth from a portal created when the heart was destroyed. He plans to come back after the demons have destroyed the two teams of heroes. With no one around the Soulsword, S'ym appears and tries to take it, but Darkoth is faster and starts to fight S'ym with it. As the heroes are still battling the demons, Darkoth swallows S'ym whole with his body and then plans to destroy himself and then Limbo with him with the Soulsword. Meggan stops him and talks him down to a state of peace. As he calms down, Limbo changes, with the landscape and the demon having disappeared. Darkoth then sends the Avengers home. He tells Excalibur that Doom won't be a problem anymore since he purged Limbo of all promethium. Kitty finds a critically injured Lockheed with wounds from his battle with Doom. Darkoth then sends Excalibur home except for Meggan. He tells Meggan that the strength she sensed in him was actually from her and that she is a strong person and that he sees her for what she is. Meggan asks Darkoth if he will come back with her, but he declines and tells her that he is needed to keep the peace in Limbo. He then teleports Meggan away and reflects on his new found humanity.

Wildways

04-15-2010, 06:30 PM

Thoughts on "The Promethium Exchange":

The writing:

-Mostly good dialogue...the plot started off great but ending not as good...

The art:

-Meh.

Things that I liked:

-The WCA and the Lady in the Lake guest staring.

-The dialogue between the two teams were great...most notably Nightcrawler and Scarlet Witch, Captain Britain and Wonder Man.

-The opening in the first part was fun with breakfast and Meggan.

Things that I didn't like:

-The art...it was hard to make things out in some scenes...I didn't really know what was up with Darkoth and the "mortal coil" thing...and I felt like it would have been a lot more clear with another artist... Lockheed was changing sizes and looking quite stiff... There were also a few major coloring errors...like coloring Tigra's costume the same color as her fur. Oops...naked Tigra?

-The writing at the end chapter was a little weak...I would have just liked the team taking on Doom but with the reveal of Darkoth and then S'ym randomly showing up, it felt a little crowded.

Up Next:

Lockheed's life on the line!

Dermie

04-15-2010, 09:42 PM

The Promethium Exchange was an interesting arc...but, it could have been a lot better with some Davis art! :wink:

I know they had to limit the number of WCA members so that there was a balance between the Avengers and Excalibur...but this is a rather odd selection of WCA members, with some notable absences (if Tigra and Quicksilver are both with the group, then Hawkeye, Dr. Pym, Wasp and USAgent were all active with the team at this time too).

The Brian/Wondy relationship was amusing, with the way they go from pounding on each other to being best buds. That one panel in #38 where they're walking along with their arms around each other, I half expected them to kiss before the issue was over. *L* Of course, just a page earlier it looks like Brian made a flying punch to Simon's crotch! That must have been a bad angle, right--surely Captain Britain would not have taken such a low blow?

The Wanda/Nightcrawler team-up was interesting, in light of the introduction of Nocturne how many years later...

Koni

04-16-2010, 05:54 AM

Lockheed's life on the line!

Is that the issue in rhyme, or does that come later on?

Also, is it me, or what this the only time Nightcrawler and Scarlet Witch ever teamed up?

Wildways

04-18-2010, 12:39 PM

Is that the issue in rhyme, or does that come later on?

Yup! It is the rhyme issue! And the summery will be up in less than a half hour!

Wildways

04-18-2010, 01:48 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.40.GIF

Excalibur #40, Aug 1991

The Trial of Lockheed by Scott Lobdell and Dave Hoover

The issue opens in an operating room where doctors try to help an injured Lockheed. Excalibur (Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, Meggan, Captain Britain, and Phoenix) watches on from an observation booth. Four hours later, Kitty is blaming herself for Lockheed being hurt by Dr Doom since she was the one that wanted to trust him. Dr Edgerton comes in a tells the team that she's done everything she can do for Lockheed and the rest is up to him.

Back in the operating room, Lockheed becomes trapped in an astral tractor-beam and his astral self starts to become transported up to a ship that is cloaked above the hospital. Lockheed, speaking in 'Dragonspeak,' enters the ship, which is filled with the trasient souls of his race, the Flock. Lockheed is shackled and is brought to the Arbitrator for his 'abandonment' of his people, who are a race founded on community. The Casemaker tells Lockheed that he is on trial and if he is found guilty, he will be put to death.

A screen appears that reflect the images that are being told and the Casemaker tells the Flock of Lockheed's time while battling the Brood and how he was called a hero. But he then disappeared (pictures of his first meeting with Kitty and fighting the Sidri are seen) and left his Fiance (who is looking on at the trial) at the altar. The Casemaker gives Lockheed a chance to defend himself and he uses the screen and with a 'thought-stroke' of his 'soul-brush,' he starts to paint his case and why he stayed on Earth...his team, Excalibur.

Lockheed starts to tell of his friends, Kitty and then Kurt, when the Casemaker objects, stating that he is just telling of his friends' backgrounds even though neither humans or the Flock speak each others' language. Lockheed tells the Flock that since all dragons are empaths, he doesn't need to know how to speak to his teammates. He says that humans revere individuality and friendship and also celebrate the present and past, unlike most of the Flock. When the Casemaker tries to object again, Lockheed's Fiance (who is also the Casemaker's daughter) tells the Casemaker to listen to Lockheed's story. Lockheed can tell that his Fiance still has feelings for him. Continuing, Lockheed tells the Flock of Meggan and Captain Britain.

Back on Earth, Brian finds Rachel up on the hospital's roof, thinking about the time when she tried to kill Selene. Brian asks her if she is thinking about going after Doom, but Rachel tells him that she wants to exact vengeance on him but in the future that's how all of the mutant laws came into affect, by people putting themselves above the law.

Back in the Flock's ship, the Casemaker voices his concern about Phoenix being one of Lockheed's teammates but Lockheed tells him that she is an unto death friend. Lockheed then goes into telling about Excalibur's formation and paints pictures of the Technet, the Warwolves, Widget, and even Colin.

At Scotland Yard, Inspector Dai Thomas and Dr Alistaire Stewart talk about Lockheed when Inspector Thomas gets a call. He starts to sound worried as he tells whoever is on the phone to block off all of the roads between 'there' and the hospital. Alistaire asks if there was trouble while Dai replies with plenty as they both rush out the door.

In the Flock's ship, Lockheed continues his stories with Excalibur when he notices that he is putting most of the Flock asleep with his stories, including the pilots and his crew! The ship starts to go out of control and the Arbitrator says if the ship loses power when the souls of the Flock are so far away from their original bodies, they would die. In the confusion, Lockheed flies up to the controls of the ship, gets it under control, wakes up the crew, and flies back down to continue the trial. Both the Arbitrator and the Casmaker are surprised that Lockheed returned rather than trying to escape. Lockheed says that this is the case he was trying to make, he is an individual and he wants to help people and to live with his friends in Excalibur. The Arbitrator says that it is unanimous that he is guilty but he is dropping the death sentence and says that instead he will be exiled from the Flock if he leaves. As he goes to leave, Lockheed's Fiance tells him that she is proud of him and that she harbors no ill feelings for him.

As Lockheed's astral self returns to his body, the Flock's ship leaves as a military looking helicopter lands on the roof of the hospital. Rachel senses trouble because the the hospital security is in a panic and that the chopper is resistant to her telepathic probes. As Excalibur rushes up to the roof to take care of the new visitors, they learn that it's their old, long thought dead teammates from the X-Men...Jean Grey, Storm, Colossus, Psylocke, Rogue, and Wolverine!

"Next issue: The title says it all! 'At last--The Reunion!' (sort of!)"

AstonishingXMan

04-18-2010, 02:26 PM

Why did Excalibur cost more than the other X-books at this time? I think Wolverine did, too.

WWWD

04-18-2010, 03:07 PM

I hate the next issue.

Wildways

04-18-2010, 05:17 PM

I hate the next issue.

lol! Such a bore. Followed by an amazing issue though.

spEEdy

04-20-2010, 06:02 PM

Love Excalibur..and love following the issues again....great summaries of each story so far!!

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k54/rukuscully/ex.jpg

http://www.etsy.com/shop/RoganJosh?section_id=6553148&page=1

Wildways

04-22-2010, 04:55 PM

Wildways

04-22-2010, 05:06 PM

Thoughts on the last issue:

The writing:

-Good character driven issue...nice moments from Lockheed's POV, which hadn't been done up to this point.

The art:

-Hoover does a great job depicting Lockheed and the Flock...average on the other characters.

Things that I liked:

-Seeing Lockheed's view on the team and part of his and his race's past.

-The way that the members of the Flock rhyme was interesting and actually worked in this story.

-Reading this issue alone (and not the one that follows...) would have made the last page of the issue quite shocking...since Excalibur still thought the X-Men to be dead.

Things that I didn't like:

-Nothing much...I enjoyed this issue quite a bit...it was nice to reintroduce Excalibur's past just before a very major run on the series and at the same time give some nice character work on a team member that hadn't had the spotlight in the past.

Up Next:

THE X-MEN!!! (...or are they...)

Wildways

04-22-2010, 06:20 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.41.GIF

Excalibur #41, Sept 1991

At Last...The Reunion! (or The Office Furniture That Ate London!) by Scott Lobdell and Dana Moreshead

The issue starts off with people fleeing from Neale's Pub in London. The reason for this is the lack of superheroes in the city...heroes like Excalibur (Meggan, Captain Britian, Phoenix, Nightcrawler, and Shadowcat) and the X-Men (Wolverine, Colossus, Rogue, Psylocke, Storm, and Marvel Girl) who came to the pub to enjoy themselves for their reunion. As Jean tries to break the ice, Kitty starts yelling at her that her and Kurt wouldn't come back to Westchester with them. She storms out of the pub, saying that she's going back to the hospital to be with Lockheed.

Meanwhile, not far away...Inspector Dai Thomas and Dr Alistaire Stuart arrive at a road blockade. Alistaire comments on the amount of police and guns that they have while Dai says that he has that sort of pull. Dai gets handed a missing persons file and he shows it to Alistaire which looks like Cooter and Bash (From Excalibur #28). Alistaire goes to call his sister, Alysdane Stuart of W.H.O., as Dai says that he is going in.

At another tense moment at the pub, Brian crosses the room to his sister, as the others watch on waiting for something bad to happen. They both greet each other and give one another a hug.

Inside a prison transport truck, chanting is going on from the back. As the guards tell the prisoners to be quite, the chanting coming from Phineous Umbridge stops. He had captured the souls of his jailmates in an ancient gem stone and is planning on releasing them on new bodies, that would contain super powers, at the hospital.

At the hospital, Kitty watches over Lockheed as Storm comes in. Kitty apologizes for her outburst and tells Storm that when she found out the X-Men were alive, she felt rejected just like when her parents divorced. Kitty forgives Storm as Storm says that they'll be together for the rest of their lives, with a sinister smile on her face.

Outside of the pub, the owner and people that were in the pub start to come back when they see that the pub isn't getting destroyed. The prison transport truck goes by and Phineous drops the gem stone and it breaks open next to some old furniture in the trash.

Inside, Kurt and Logan talk about if Kurt wants to return to the States with the team but they are interupted by a scream outside. The heroes inside rush out to see what is going on while Peter tries to talk to Rachel who has been up on the roof of the pub since they got there. Rachel says that she doesn't want to disappoint anyone and that everyone is better off without her because of the way the X-Men have shunned her.

Out front again, the souls of the prisoners are now in possession of the furniture and are attacking the pub owner and other pub goers. The heroes go to help as Rogue and Wolverine hang back and talk about "offing" Excalibur, but not until they reach their "ultimate goal".

On the roof, Colossus tells Rachel that yes, everyone would be better off without her and the powers of the Phoenix. As Rachel starts to reply, Dai approaches the two heroes and fires his gun into Colossus' chest.

While on the street, the two teams fight the furniture and a woman from the pub tells Nightcrawler that she thinks that the gem stone had something to do with the furniture coming to life.

Yet again on the roof, Colossus pushes Dai away from him as he reveals his true identity...a Warwolf! He grabs Phoenix and tells her that the Warwolves are finally going to return her to their master, Mojo. He calls his other Warwolves, who turn out to be all of the other members of the X-Men. As they head to the roof to help contain Phoenix, Excalibur is left to deal with the furniture by themselves. As the Warwolves merge together into one Warwolf with five heads, they start opening a portal back to Mojoworld. Kitty appears through the floor and grabs Rachel as Brian kicks the Warwolf out of the way and traps them in the portal that they tried to create. Kurt breaks the gem stone, with the inmates souls back inside it, in front of the Warwolf and the souls, the gem stone, and the Warwolf are all sucked into the portal. Excalibur discusses how they won but at a price of the Warwolves manipulating their hearts and souls, which Dai tells them they should fix the old wounds that the Warwolves opened.

A week later at Excalibur's lighthouse, Dai and Alistaire are watching over a still recovering Lockheed as Dai tells Alistaire about how the Warwolves made their X-Men costumes themselves and had X-Men related photos, newspapers, and videos in their hideout. Out on the balcany, Rachel thinks about why she didn't tell her teammates about the X-Men resurrection when she found out almost a year ago (In the Days of Future Present event in the X-Men and Fantastic Four annuals). She thinks that she didn't want her teammates to leave her and that she was scared of what she would do when she runs into the real Wolverine (Who crucially injured her around Uncanny# 208 and 209). Inside by the fireplace, Meggan asks Brian how he could accept Besty coming back to life when she looks so different now. He tells her that people change but she is still his sister and he loves and misses her. Meggan suggest that the team should call the X-Men. In the communication room, Kitty and Kurt agree to call their former teammates and they both decide to stay in Excalibur because of Professor Xavier's dream needed in Europe as much as in the United States. As Meggan, Brian, and Rachel show up in the communication room, they phone the X-mansion as Cable picks up and transfers them to the X-Men. On the last page all of the current X-Teams are seem on separate screens, X-Men Gold Team (Colossus, Storm, Jean Grey, Archangel, and Iceman), X-Factor (Multiple Man, Polaris, Wolfsbane, Strong Guy, and Havok), Excalibur, X-Men Blue Team (Gambit, Psylocke, Rogue, Wolverine, Cyclops, and Beast), and New Mutants (Boom-Boom, Cannonball, Feral, Cable(?), Domino, Warpath, and Shatterstar).

Next Issue: The legend begins anew, when Excalibur co-creator Alan Davis returns as writer and penciler! And this time...we mean it! Really. Honest.

Wildways

04-22-2010, 07:15 PM

Thoughts on the last issue:

The writing:

-Ehhh...not one of his best issues...

The art:

-Average...not spectacular and nothing that stood out to me...

Things that I liked:

-Dai and Alistaire's dialogue between each other.

-Tying the first issue of Excalibur to this issue before the new run.

-Aparently resolving the X-Men are not dead issue.

Things that I didn't like:

-When the X-Men were revealed to be Warwolves, it seemed like their and Excalibur's interacts between each other seemed kinda cheap and wasted...

-The not very clear reference of Cooter and Bash...at least that's who I thought those two were...

-Phineous Umbridge lol. Worst. Villian. Ever. Such a womanizer too... "A woman! I shall make her my bride when I rule the world!" LOL! He sounds like an old Claremont villian going after Storm.

-The furniture...

-The art was a little iffy at times...like on the last couple of pages when Kitty randomly had red hair and how Cable was standing with the New Mutants when Cable was the one standing there behind the screens... (Stryfe? lol.)

Up Next:

Alan Davis returns! So does Technet!

Koni

04-23-2010, 04:11 AM

Wildways

04-23-2010, 11:01 PM

Felt like mentioning that that cover is a pastiche on the original special.

http://i44.tinypic.com/f025hk.jpg

I get the feeling everyone is eagerly looking forward to Davis's return. Is there any particular reason he left in the first place? And how was the fan reaction at the time?

The original was so much better. :smile:

And I honestly don't know the reasons for Davis' leave and the fan reaction...I imagine the fans didn't like it that much since the 20 something issues inbetween his runs were filled with so many mediocre artist that never stayed on the book. I don't think Davis was working on any other books or projects at the time...and he later teamed up with Claremont on Uncanny...so I don't think his leave had anything to do with creative differences...maybe he just needed a break?

Good questions, Koni.

Wildways

04-28-2010, 12:00 AM

I will be doing a special "In Memory of" summery of issue #42 tomorrow night.

Wildways

04-29-2010, 06:52 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.42.GIF

Excalibur #42, Oct 1991

A Hatch is Plotted by Alan Davis

The issue opens on the Old Pier in Brighton, England, the current home of the Technet (Gatecrasher, Yap, Ferro II, Numbers, Joyboy, Thug, Bodybag, Ringtoss, Waxworks, Scatterbrain, and China Doll). Gatecrasher is working on a plan to finally capture Phoenix for her employer, Opal Luna Saturnyne. The rest of the Technet look worried when she reveals to them her secret weapon...an egg.

A little after dawn, Meggan is making eggs for the other members of Excalibur (Captain Britain, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Lockheed, Widget, and Phoenix) after just getting back home from a rescue mission for a train derailment. Suddenly, one of the eggs jumps in the air, starts bouncing around, and cracks open. Out bursts Hard-Boiled Henry, who announces that he has come to defeat them. Kurt recognizes Henry as a bomb but...

THOOM! Outside of Excalibur's lighthouse, Technet watches the top of the building explode. Pleased with her plan, Gatecrasher begins to gloat until Yap asks if was such a great idea in case they killed Phoenix. Technet looks worried as Gatecrasher just brushes it off and has Yap teleport inside the kitchen of the lighthouse.

In the cramped space, Technet looks around for thier pray, only to realize that they're standing on an unconscious Excalibur. Teleporting back outside, Gatecrasher orders Bodybag to contain Rachel but is interupted by Kitty phasing her free. Phoenix had taken the blunt of the blast so the rest of Excalibur was just stunned. As Scatterbrain distracts Kitty, the rest of Excalibur jumps to their feet and starts to battle the Technet. Abruptly, all of the members of the Technet freeze in place as two figures step out of a bright portal.

A well dressed man introduces himself as Horatio Cringebottom, from the Ministry for Cross-Time Transport Regulation Monitor and Control, Sanction Implementation Department and introduces his partner as Bert. As Bert gets out some machinery and tools, Horatio explains to Excalibur that they are here to prosecute a writ concerning numerous violations of interdimensional transit regulations and were sent to Earth by Saturnyne and Roma. Instead of coming for the Technet as Excalibur assumed, the men tell the team that they are there regarding Widget. Bert takes Widget and puts him in a stasis to study his structure and how to prevent more pan-dimensional disruption. Confused to as why the men employed by Saturnyne aren't trying to capture Phoenix and the Technet employed by Saturnyne as well is, Excalibur discusses why this would be. Asking the team's help in figuring out what Widget is made out of and how he is able to work, the men show them a suspension field with a dissected Widget inside of it. Bert tells Excalibur that dispite the random objects (baked beans, apple core, rubber spider, a key, etc) in Widget's insides, he has a highly active energy matrix, which Horatio suggests is a lifeforce. Bert then puts him back together with a device that helps Widget transport along the wavelengths of the multiverse and will prevent any more cross-time disturbances. Although Bert says that Widget will be fine and the same that he was, Kitty says that he looks odd. Horatio and Bert start to leave as they give Brian a hologram to give to Gatecrasher when then Technet un-freezes five minutes after they leave.

Five minutes later, the Technet un-freezes after Excalibur had positioned them to attack one another. Brian gives Gatecrasher the hologram crystal and Saturnyne appears from it. She tells the Technet that the warrant they had for Phoenix was withdrawn and that they are now all exiled to Earth 616. As the Technet starts to gang up on her, Gatecrasher makes Yap teleport the both of them away. Rachel wonders what Saturnyne ever want with her as Excalibur makes their way back to their damaged lighthouse. The remaining members of the Technet stop them and beg the team to give them a place to stay for their exile in exchange for helping them repair the damages on the lighthouse. Brian says no and becomes angry as the rest of the team agrees to take them in and watch over them as Kurt suggests. Meggan kisses Kurt on the cheek for his idea and Brian scowls as both Excalibur and the Technet make their way to the lighthouse.

On the alternate world where time moves more quickly of Ee'Rath, a Druid hovers above a city inflamed demanding that the people of the city pay homage to his master, Necrom. A figure appears in the flames and stabs and kills the evil Druid. The citizens of the town recognize the figure as a legend of their world, Kylun. He asks the people to help him in defeating Necrom in his tower that crosses time. The people agree and Kylun tells them that Excalibur will pay for the devastation they unleashed on the world.

Next issue: Home Conforts, or Who Exploded the Toilet?

creaky

04-30-2010, 03:15 AM

Hawd-boiled Henwy!!

One of my favorite scenes EVER. Especially Captain Britain's "I'll just have toast".

Koni

05-01-2010, 07:46 AM

Ah yes, the magical number 42. Davis changed inkers here, no?

I'll have to agree on the beauty of the kitchen scene. I love homy stuff like that. And the choreography of the jumping egg.

http://i41.tinypic.com/s1102c.jpg

Also, nice touch of Bert's ever changing headband. And Brian's scowl is the perfect set-up for the next issues.

Last but not least: Yay, Kylun!

mimschkin

05-01-2010, 09:01 AM

I have to say, I can't wait to read all these issues. I just bought vol. 1 and it's so great. How did I live all these years without it?

Nevets F

05-01-2010, 10:09 AM

Issue 41 - I really loved the miscolored Jean outfit.

Issue 42 - This series really gets fantastic starting with this issue. I loved it before too, but wow, Davis' run was so fantastic.

Wildways

05-02-2010, 04:36 PM

Hawd-boiled Henwy!!

One of my favorite scenes EVER. Especially Captain Britain's "I'll just have toast".

Ah yes, the magical number 42. Davis changed inkers here, no?

I'll have to agree on the beauty of the kitchen scene. I love homy stuff like that. And the choreography of the jumping egg.

[IMG][IMG]

Also, nice touch of Bert's ever changing headband. And Brian's scowl is the perfect set-up for the next issues.

Last but not least: Yay, Kylun!

That scene with the egg and Brian's line was too funny. One of the best panels ever.

Issue 41 - I really loved the miscolored Jean outfit.

Issue 42 - This series really gets fantastic starting with this issue. I loved it before too, but wow, Davis' run was so fantastic.

It really does. One of the three great runs of the series. (Claremont's and Ellis' being the other two.) One of the best runs in X-book history, actually. :smile:

Wildways

05-02-2010, 04:57 PM

Thoughts on the last issue:

The writing:

-Fantastic! Hilarious moments as well as strange and crazy ideas that set the stage for Davis' run of the book. Characterization is spot on.

The art:

-Also fantastic! Davis' art in Excalibur is the defining art of the book and team (Nightcrawler especially). Facial expressions are great as well as subtle but interesting details.

Things that I liked:

-Loved the return of the Technet. Crazy, disfunctional team of villians that can't seem to do anything right. Very interesting move seeing them move in with Excalibur. Gatecrasher's descent into madness is also interesting.

-Like other posters have mentioned...Brian's "I'll have toast" line. Hilarious.

-All of the Technet teleporting inside the small kitchen lol.

-The "Saturnyne/Technet going after Rachel" plotline sort of being resolved but then again opening up more questions at the same time. Interesting.

-Widget's background being touched upon. The start of some interesting developments for the character.

-Bert's ever changing headband.

-Brian's jealousy of Meggan's affection for Kurt being touched upon again. More interesting developments starting there as well.

-Strange and exciting ending and cliffhanger.

Things that I didn't like:

-I honestly can't find anything that I didn't like about this issue. Pretty much perfect. 10/10. If you don't have this issue already...find it.

Up next:

New roomies! Two members of Excalibur duke it out! Another member of Excalibur hooks up with a member of Technet! And who exploded the toilet?!

Valeria Kementari

05-02-2010, 10:11 PM

The best of Excalibur has come!!! Goddess I miss this book :(

Wildways

05-02-2010, 10:13 PM

The best of Excalibur has come!!! Goddess I miss this book :(

I know! :( I miss Alan Davis' writing and drawing...

Valeria Kementari

05-02-2010, 10:19 PM

I read JLA The Nail recently, and though I despise DC I loved those books. DAvis is such a great artist/writer :( His run on X-Men is also one of my favorites ever.

Wildways

05-02-2010, 10:28 PM

I read JLA The Nail recently, and though I despise DC I loved those books. DAvis is such a great artist/writer :( His run on X-Men is also one of my favorites ever.

His run on Uncanny/X-Men was great and very underrated. He was writing two books a month and providing art for one of those...very interesting stuff in there as well.

Valeria Kementari

05-02-2010, 10:30 PM

His run on Uncanny/X-Men was great and very underrated. He was writing two books a month and providing art for one of those...very interesting stuff in there as well.

The whole trip to Skrull moon where they were studying humans to infiltrate Earth was just terrific... and blatantly stolen by Bendis to create Secret Invasion... Also the Magneto War issue, X-Men 85 was just jaw dropping. The search for both Mags and Charles to believe in their dreams and Ororo's part in reminding Charles of the dream... just glorious. 95 thumbs up

Wildways

05-02-2010, 10:42 PM

The whole trip to Skrull moon where they were studying humans to infiltrate Earth was just terrific... and blatantly stolen by Bendis to create Secret Invasion... Also the Magneto War issue, X-Men 85 was just jaw dropping. The search for both Mags and Charles to believe in their dreams and Ororo's part in reminding Charles of the dream... just glorious. 95 thumbs up

Yeah! He did a lot in his short time on the books. Lots of exciting and strange stuff and ideas not found in the X-books at the time. Like you said, the Skrull stuff, Magneto War (and Magneto actually winning for once!), the introduction of the Destany Diaries, the Twelve storyline...

Valeria Kementari

05-02-2010, 11:03 PM

Yeah! He did a lot in his short time on the books. Lots of exciting and strange stuff and ideas not found in the X-books at the time. Like you said, the Skrull stuff, Magneto War (and Magneto actually winning for once!), the introduction of the Destany Diaries, the Twelve storyline...

The big problem is his run is so underrated when it was glorious :(

Wildways

05-05-2010, 11:55 PM

New summary up either Thursday or Friday!

Wildways

05-07-2010, 09:13 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.43.GIF

Excalibur #43, Nov 1991

Home Comforts (or Who Exploded the Toilet?) by Alan Davis

The issue opens with Nightcrawler and Meggan maneuvering around the obstacle course of metal that is Excalibur's lighthouse's basement. As they go, Meggan starts shapeshifting slowy to resemble Nightcrawler. They reach the end of their workout and without a word, they start to passionately kiss. Nightcrawler starts to say Meggan's name as a hand reaches for his throat!

It was all a dream. Inside a makeshift sleeping area for the male residents at the lighthouse, Captain Britain has Kurt by the throat after hearing him utter his girlfriend's name in his sleep. Brian accuses Kurt of wanting to be with Meggan and Kurt teleports across the room. Phoenix rushes up the hole going through the middle of the lighthouse (that was created last issue by the Technet's bomb) and breaks up the fight. Angrily, Brian vents his frustrations over the Technet moving into his lighthouse, the noise and chaos of them trying to repair the damages, and now Nightcrawler calling Meggan's name out in his sleep. Rachel looks at Kurt with a look of surprise as Meggan and Thug fly down the hole with a piece of machinery. As they pass, Meggan tells Brian good morning and gives him a kiss on the lips while continuing downstairs. Rachel then looks at Brain with a look of confusion as Brain storms down the stairs to finish the rest of the book he was reading.

On the next floor down, Brian passes by Meggan and Thug working with Joyboy, Waxworks, and Ringtoss. Excited, Meggan goes over to Brian to show him the new null-grav elevator that they are working on going through the hole in the center of the lighthouse. Brian, in his agitated state, tells Meggan that she might fit in with the "moronic aliens" but he doesn't and he wants to be left alone. Meggan looks upset as Brian continues down to the next floor with Scatterbrain following him, feeding off his emotions.

Entering the next floor down (a room full of computers), Brian sees Shadowcat and Ferro II trying to run a diagnostic on Widget after Bert's tinkering (of last issue). Disobeying Kitty's orders for him to not touch anything, Ferro II overloads the computers as he tries to speed up the process. Kitty yells at Ferro II while Brian basically tells her "I told you so" for taking in the Technet. Kitty tells Brian that she still agrees with the team decision as she phases through the floor with Widget to take a nap.

Arriving in the girl's makeshift quarters another floor down, Brian sees Bodybag stalking something behind a curtain. The Technet member lunges forward and attacks something. Brian rushes over as he hears Kitty scream and pulls Bodybag away. Brian discovers that Bodybag wasn't attacking Kitty at all, he was just trying to eat her teddy bear, which he eats half of. Brian becomes even more agitated as he realizes that he dropped his book and lost the page he was on. Ferro II takes the teddy away from Kitty and starts reading the lable in search for materials that make Bodybag sick, but it is too late. Bodybag bloats up and runs for the bathroom, holding his mouth. The bathroom door explodes and Bodybag struggles out with the toliet seat around his neck. Inside the bathroom is totally destroyed. Frustrated, Kitty yells at the two members of Technet about causing more damage then they have repaired (the computers, the teddy, the bathroom) as Scatterbrain leaves Brian and starts to follow Kitty around. Kitty yells that Brian was right for not wanting to take in the Technet but Brian is already making his way down to the next floor.

Brian enters the ground floor and he thinks to himself that he should really take care of all of the garbage that is pilling up but he decides to do it tomorrow and finish his book down in the basement with all of the new furniture for the lighthouse. As he turns on the light to the basement, he interrupts Numbers and the Dragon (the Nazi Excalibur's one that was inside the Cross-Time Train that has been living with the team) cuddling on the furniture. Numbers informs him that they are now are in a relationship as Brian closes the door to leave. Brian turns around and runs into Scatterbrain who is following him again. Brian yells at her about why she is following him as China Doll appears in the mound of trash. She tells Brian that Scatterbrain doesn't have the intelligence to comprehend what he is yelling at her about and also cannot talk. She goes on to say that Scatterbrain is attracted to and feeds off radiated emotional energy. Brian tells her that she better find another food source while China Dolls says to each their own as she feeds off maggots on a piece of garbage.

Brian snaps. He tells China Doll that he is beaten and the Technet has won the lighthouse and that he'll go and stay in his London place. Brian starts to fly to the hole in the lighthouse but is flown upwards out of control because the null-grav elevator is being tested out. He hits the null-grav projector on the top floor of the lighthouse and causes an explosion and debris to go everywhere. Kurt dives and pushes Meggan out of the way. In a daze, Brian sees Nightcrawler near Meggan and punches Kurt in the face! The two males start to fight as the rest of Excalibur and Technet look on. Kitty asks if they should stop it but Rachel says that this has been brewing for a long time and that there needs to be a resolution. Scatterbrain tries to get near Brian again but is elbowed in the face. Thug and Ferro II cheer the fight on. Kurt teleports the two out of the top of the lighthouse...

...and to the base of the lighthouse outside. The fighting starts to get worse as Meggan flies down and puts a stop to the battle. She says that Rachel told her that they were fighting in part due to Meggan and she tells the two men that no one can own her, that she loves only Brian, and that she loves her friends like a family. She goes on to say that she doesn't remember her real family or even who she really is because of her powers. In tears, she flies away from the lighthouse. As Brian goes to stop her, Rachel says to leave her alone, tells Kitty that Kurt's femur is fractured, and then goes after Meggan. Kitty goes inside to get the medi-kit and leaves Brian and Kurt outside in silence. Brian tells Kurt that he is sorry and tells him why he's been acting so tempermental since Excalibur formed. He says that when he was solo he felt competent, effective, and in control but when Excalibur formed, he had occasions that he doubted his abilities and that dented his pride and confidence. He goes on to say that when the other members, and especially Meggan, went to Kurt for leadership, he assumed the worst. Kurt tells him that he was right, he was attracted to Meggan but is not in love with her. He goes on to say that the dreams that he has had about her is a penance, an acceptance of guilt and shame that he fears is his weakness. Brian tells Kurt that he has been a fool just as a portal opens up behind him. Out steps four members of the Captain Britain Corps. They tell Brian that he is guilty of breaking a morality code and is summoned for immediate court-martial on Otherworld. They disappear with Brian and leave Kurt all alone in front of the lighthouse.

Meanwhile on Ee'Rath, Necrom's soldiers transport the shackled princess, Sa'Tneen, the last of the might sorceress sisterhood. The transport party is attacked and defeated by Kylun and the villagers that he saved (in last issue). Kylun and Sa'Tneen kiss and Kylun ensures her that he will get her throne back to her from Necrom. Sa'Tneen prays that he is right, or the whole Multiverse may perish!

Next issue: Witless for the Prosecution!

Hindsight lad

05-07-2010, 10:10 PM

Alan Davis did such a good job on this run of the book. His illustrations are so incredibly rich and detailed, so fluid. And I don't think his dialogue and plotting were ever better.

I just love the character development he gave each member of the Technet. They were so wonderful. It's a shame that they displayed none of the growth Davis gave them the last time they appeared.:frown:

Some interesting foreshadowing, though we don't know it at the time:

In issue #42, I believe Nigel Orpington-Smythe is giving an interview or making a statement over the radio. Orpington-Smythe will play a major role in the series.

Despite appearances, Bodybag dd not actually destroy the bathroom. But who did? Hmmmm.......

Hindsight lad

Wildways

05-07-2010, 10:15 PM

Alan Davis did such a good job on this run of the book. His illustrations are so incredibly rich and detailed, so fluid. And I don't think his dialogue and plotting were ever better.

Very much agree!

I just love the character development he gave each member of the Technet. They were so wonderful. It's a shame that they displayed none of the growth Davis gave them the last time they appeared.:frown:

Yes, great, interesting, and fun characterization for very little used characters.

Some interesting foreshadowing, though we don't know it at the time:

In issue #42, I believe Nigel Orpington-Smythe is giving an interview or making a statement over the radio. Orpington-Smythe will play a major role in the series.

I too just noticed that when I summarized last issue!

Despite appearances, Bodybag dd not actually destroy the bathroom. But who did? Hmmmm.......

Oh no, was that revealed in #46? Because that issue and #125 are the only issues to the series that I do not have.

Hindsight lad

05-07-2010, 10:42 PM

Oh no, was that revealed in #46? Because that issue and #125 are the only issues to the series that I do not have.

I'm not sure on the number, but in the issue where Kurt first meets Kylun, Kurt realizes that it was actually Necrom entering the lighthouse bathroom that caused the explosion, not Bodybag. I don't have access to my issues right this second, so I'm going off memory.

Liked your summary, btw.

Hindsight lad

Wildways

05-07-2010, 10:46 PM

I'm not sure on the number, but in the issue where Kurt first meets Kylun, Kurt realizes that it was actually Necrom entering the lighthouse bathroom that caused the explosion, not Bodybag. I don't have access to my issues right this second, so I'm going off memory.

Liked your summary, btw.

Hindsight lad

Aww...that is #46... :frown:

And thank you!

Wildways

05-08-2010, 12:15 AM

Thoughts on the last issue:

The writing:

-A great second issue of Alan Davis' run! A lot of down time in this issue but it certainly made up in character development.

The art:

-Also great! Very consistant and detailed work here.

Things that I liked:

-Brian's story...descending the lighthouse and descending more and more into frustration and grief...very well written.

-The characters of Technet being more fleshed out and given great characterization. I really liked the members of both teams interacting with each other one on one.

-The Brian-Meggan-Kurt triangle being resolved.

-Numbers and the Dragon lol.

-The cover! I love Davis' comedic covers!

-A number of single panels. Most notably Scatterbrain getting elbowed in the face, Rachel's reactions of shock and confusion toward Kurt and Brian, Bodybag swallowing the teddy and then him coming out of the bathroom, any panel with Davis' Widget.

Things that I didn't like:

-Hmmm...nothing? lol. Another fantastic issue. 10/10.

Up next:

The trial of Captain Britain (of Earth-616)! Meggan and Phoenix on a journey to discover their past! Nightcrawler in a leg cast!

creaky

05-08-2010, 01:26 AM

One of my favorite issues of all time.<3

I might have more to say about it later, but right now, I'm content with just agreeing with what's already been said.

Koni

05-08-2010, 05:53 AM

This one is so good. Might be my favourite issue ever. Humour! Drama! Characterisation! Fights! And the art, wonderful. Those first three pages (Davis has a nice drawing here (http://www.alandavis-comicart.com/images/W-NightcrawlerMeggan.jpg)). Those silent panels between Brian, Rachel and Kurt. And "Does your leg hurt?" "JA." always gets a chuckle out of me.

In short, this issue = <3

Btw, Kurt's outfit keeps changing colour in my issue, does anyone else have this?

(I totally forgot what happened to those Nazis by now though...)

NickFury90

05-08-2010, 09:47 AM

Is Captain Britain punching Nightcrawler on that cover? What a jerk.

Oh, and Alan Davis draws the cutest Kitty Pyrde since Paul Smith. I think its those wonderful teeth he puts on everybody.

Loki

05-08-2010, 10:31 AM

Is Captain Britain punching Nightcrawler on that cover? What a jerk.

Why? Just for punching Nightcrawler? Unless and until you know the context, you can't say who, if anyone, is being a jerk.

As it happens, Brian is in the wrong, but Nightcrawler isn't blameless either.

NickFury90

05-08-2010, 12:55 PM

Why? Just for punching Nightcrawler? Unless and until you know the context, you can't say who, if anyone, is being a jerk.

Whoa, way too many commas in that sentence. Might need to back off on the Claremontisms for awhile :biggrin:

But Brian is always a jerk, so it doesn't surprise me to see him smacking his teammates around or being mean to Meggan for whatever reason.

Koni

05-08-2010, 12:59 PM

But Brian is always a jerk, so it doesn't surprise me to see him smacking his teammates around or being mean to Meggan for whatever reason.

Wet dream about Meggan, actually.

Loki

05-08-2010, 01:47 PM

Whoa, way too many commas in that sentence. Might need to back off on the Claremontisms for awhile :biggrin:

But Brian is always a jerk, so it doesn't surprise me to see him smacking his teammates around or being mean to Meggan for whatever reason.

No, exactly the right number of commas. And you clearly don't know Brian if you think he's always a jerk.

Wildways

05-08-2010, 03:17 PM

Here's a couple random scans that I found from the last two issues:

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/3/33603/978792-kitgal55.jpg

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/3/33603/978793-kitgal56.jpg

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/3/33603/992432-britian2ex43.gif

And I believe this image was released around this time as well:

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/3/36872/859722-pimpinkurt.jpg

Another thing that I forgot to mention that I liked about the issue was...the start of Alan Davis' Krazy Kitty Sweaters! lol.

creaky

05-08-2010, 04:06 PM

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/3/36872/859722-pimpinkurt.jpg

There was a time when seeing Kurt offering two hotdogs would not make me burst into giggles, I'm sure. Austen changed so much.
And look - small-boobed Kitty!

Hindsight lad

05-08-2010, 07:37 PM

And I believe this image was released around this time as well:

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/3/36872/859722-pimpinkurt.jpg

Another thing that I forgot to mention that I liked about the issue was...the start of Alan Davis' Krazy Kitty Sweaters! lol.

Man, I always loved that ad. Beautiful shot of the ladies, Cap wearing a Union Jack barbeque apron. You can't see it but Lockheed is at the top wearing swim trunks and sunglasses. It's adorable.:biggrin:

You know, I always assumed that the art was by Alan Davis, but looking at some of the facial features, I wonder if that wasn't done by Gary Frank.

Anyone know for sure?

Hindsight lad

Valeria Kementari

05-08-2010, 08:27 PM

What I always LOVED about Excalibur is that they were totally accepted by the britons, they were Britain's answer to the Avengers. It truly separated them from the rest of the X-Books :( It should never have ended :(

Syrinx

05-08-2010, 09:06 PM

Btw, Kurt's outfit keeps changing colour in my issue, does anyone else have this?

Same here - pant legs.

There was a time when seeing Kurt offering two hotdogs would not make me burst into giggles, I'm sure. Austen changed so much.
And look - small-boobed Kitty!

An emphatic JA! on both accounts!

creaky

05-09-2010, 12:56 AM

This whole issue is so incredibly well-paced. You just don't see this good storytelling very often. I assume it's because Davis is both the writer and the artist and awesome to boot.

A nice end to a barely-existing love triangle. Oh how I hate love triangles. This was as good as they get for me, I think - a dramatic resolution. An actual resolution! Not just all parties walking around being wishy-washy whiners for decades. No endless will-they-or-won't-they. Just a nice spectacular fight and then talking it out. Over with and done. Ahhhh.

Kitty is adorable this issue, with her glasses and her catshirt and her hair up. This is my favorite version of her.

Here's an excerpt of the fight:

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n69/roilier/exc46_fight.jpg

Koni

05-09-2010, 04:40 AM

Man, look at that choreography. Beautiful. I love seeing teleportation used offensively rather than defensively.

NickFury90

05-09-2010, 08:23 AM

I don't much care for the dialog boxes telling me the actions instead of just showing it to me, but it does look beautiful!

creaky

05-09-2010, 04:10 PM

I don't much care for the dialog boxes telling me the actions instead of just showing it to me, but it does look beautiful!

That is a problem, but in Davis' case, the art is so good, I can actually forget the captions.

Wildways

05-14-2010, 05:57 PM

I will have the next issue up in the next 24 hours!

Wildways

05-16-2010, 02:44 PM

Ummm...I didn't have internet for a few days...so the summary will be up in a few hours!

Wildways

05-16-2010, 03:33 PM

http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/30205696326.44.GIF

Excalibur #44, Late November 1991

Witless for the Prosecution by Alan Davis

The issue starts off in Otherworld...at the court-martial of Captain Britain before the gathered members of the Captain Britain Corps. In addition to a list of seventy-four violations of Earth-616's morality code, Brian was also charged with making an uprovoked attack on Nightcrawler (Last issue). Imprisoned in shackles and not able to speak, Brian's representative, Captain UK, tells the members of the Corps that he pleads not guilty and that he is unformilliar with the procedure and rules of the court. After talking Brian down from his anger and confusion, Captain UK convinces the Corps to remove his restraints. As Linda explains to Brian about each separate reality's morality code, the prosecuting counsel steps forword...who is none other than Hauptmann Englande! (The Nazi version of Brian from Excalibur #9-11)

Back on Earth-616, high in the Yorkshire Dales, Phoenix and Meggan are on the search for Meggan's family. After visiting a couple of gypsy camps without any luck, Meggan goes over everything she knows about her origin...being born with fur due to the cold weather, being shaped by her powers due to superstitious fears that surrounded her, and her folks hiding her with a TV in a caravan all day and having her only come out at night. Rachel offers to access her subconscious memory for some clues about her parents' location due to Meggan's memories being fuzzy. As Rachel enters her mind, she realizes Meggan does not have an psy shields and dives into a sea of splintered memory. Overwhelmed and drowning in raw emotions, Rachel cuts off contact. She explains to Meggan that the structures of both of their minds are very similar and that they began to merge...with Rachel having to live in the present and Meggan choosing to live in the present due to their jumbled memories. Rachel comments on how this is most likely the cause of the rapport they share (Excalibur #9, 15, 19). She also tells Meggan of a name of a family that she picked up from her memories, the Scotts. Once she mentions the family, Meggan takes off to London, saying that Josie knew her in her old form.

Elsewhere, at Excalibur's lighthouse, Alistaire Stuart walks to the front door laughing about how the newly repaired lighthouse looks like a mushroom. As Alistaire enters the lighthouse, he is thrown into a war zone between the members of the Technet and is pushed into the null-grav elevator. He tumbles upwards to the top of the building and runs into Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Lockheed, and Widget. Confused about what is going on, Alistaire tells the members of Excalibur that he came to ask Rachel to join him on a dig in Ireland. Telling him that she's in London, Kitty asks if she can keep him company and runs downstairs to grab a few things. Kurt explains to Alistaire that the Technet are on their lunch break and during that half hour they spend it fighting and knocking the stuffing out of each other. Kitty returns to the top floor all ready to go and with Alistaire, starts air-walking to the ground below.

Meanwhile on Earth-148 (also known as E'Erath), Kylun, Sa'Tneen, and the rest of their rebellion continue to wage war on the forces of Necrom.

Earth-616, again, and in London, Meggan and Rachel arrive at the Scotts' home and Meggan introduces Rachel to them (Josie, Mrs Scott (Joan), and Grandad). While Meggan goes with Josie to catch up on their lives, Joan invites Rachel to help her make tea. Rachel, sensing how ordinary the family is, wills the Phoenix Force inside of her to be dormant for the first time since acquiring it. After telling Joan of the events that lead them there, Rachel finds out that Brian felt responsible and consumed with guilt over Joan's son, Micky's, death. Joan tells Rachel that he still sends the family cards and flowers and she tells her to send Brian their love. Just then, Meggan and Josie come in and tell Rachel that the police won't let any of the gypsies camp around anymore but one of them set up shop as Madam Zelda, a fortune teller.

Later that evening, the Excalibur lighthouse has two other visiters, Inspector Dai Thomas and Miss Emelia Witherspoon, a clairvoyant from Scotland Yard. Dai tells Kurt that Emelia had predicted a series of robberies but the thief still had been unable to be detected and apprehended and that they are there because they need Excalibur's help in catching this thief. Kurt says that the other members of Excalibur are gone but Emelia asks if the Technet could help because they are desperate and that this is "merely the prelude"...

At Madam Zelda's shop in London, Meggan goes up to meet with her as Rachel and Josie stay outside. As Meggan enters her den, Madam Zelda goes to read her palm but Meggan shapeshifts the lines of her palm away. She tells her that she just wants to know where her parents are. Outside, Rachel and Josie window shop as Rachel spots a trail of energy going into an antique store. Sensing trouble, Rachel follows it into the closed store and tries to prevent an invisible and barely tangible thief from stealing an old knife. As Rachel struggles to contain the creature, someone else comes up behind her and puts her in a headlock. Rachel throws him off and turns to face him as the person (who is wearing a costume) gets up and starts to grow larger. She then throws him through the antique store window. As she goes to finish the fight, she is surrounded by special agents and camera crews. The growing man introduces himself as Micromax of F.I.6 and tells her that she is under arrest for robbery. As both Rachel and Micromax start yelling at each other about who the real thief was, an agent runs up and tells Micromax that their sensers detected a vague humanoid shape that was the real robber. As Phoenix walks away, Micromax yells after her to stay out of government operation in the future. Meggan and Josie ask what that was about, while Rachel tells them that it was nothing. Meggan then informs them that Madam Zelda had told her that last she heard, her parents had gone to France.

On Otherworld, Hauptmann Englande uses a screen to depict all of Brian's "crimes". He tells the Corps that Brian is guilty of disrupting numerous realities when making a series of illegal interdimensional transits (issues #12-24), deserting his post on Earth-616, adopting the uniform of Captain Marshall without the Corps approval (issue #13), creating conflict and fighting other members of the Corps (issues #10, 22-24), and finally attacking one of his fellow teammates. As he concludes, Brother Brit-Man of Earth-65 asks of killing Slaymaster should also be included with the list of crimes while Hauptmann Englande tells him that it was a legitimate execution since the Corps constitution permits executive action in defense or revenge of Otherworld descendants. Brian tells Linda that this trial is rediculous and he thanks her for defending him. He then wishes to give a statement to the Corps and relieves Captain UK of all liability as his defense counsel. He then goes to say that he will make no plea as he does not recognize the authority of the Corps court and does not want to play their silly game. Angrily, one of the Corps declears that by Brian rejecting the right to a defense, he has accepted his guilt. And that he is hereby sentenced to death...effective immediately! Brian looks worried as the members of the Corps get ready to attack!

Next Issue: Nightcrawler's Technet!

Hindsight lad

05-16-2010, 04:27 PM

limerick

05-16-2010, 05:43 PM

And I liked how Grandpa Scott was glancing at Rachel's bum.:biggrin:

Hindsight lad

Can I categorically say that he is most definitely not the only one staring at Rachel's perfect behind......sigh......

Koni

05-17-2010, 09:04 AM

Man, I feel really stupid for never noticing that tagline.

Drawing all those different versions of Captain Britain must've been a pain for Davis. And this issue does a great job of introducing some of Cap and Meggan's background to new readers, while making them curious at the same time. With a helpful footnote to the TPB, of course.

I love Kitty's gym outfit. And this, of course:
http://i41.tinypic.com/245x66v.jpg

And I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but how did everyone like Excalibur in ClanDestine?

Wildways

05-18-2010, 09:32 PM

Excellent summary, Wildways. Another great Alan Davis issue. So many wonderful Captain Britain designs. Enforcer Capone, Brother Britman, dinosaurs, robots. Too bad Chris Claremont destroyed most of them.:frown:

It was great to see the Scotts again. They first appeared in Captain Britain comics, written by Jamie Delano and drawn by Davis. Brian accidentally killed Mickey Scott, and he came to the Scott's house to apologize. While there, someone attacked, destroying the Scotts' home in a housing project. Brian was mortified, but the Scotts were very forgiving, and Mrs. Scott assured Brian that now they would get a new house in a better area. It's good to see that Brian kept in touch, before duty and fear for the Scotts' safety forced him to stay away.

And I liked how Grandpa Scott was glancing at Rachel's bum.:biggrin:

Hindsight lad

Thank you! And thanks for the info, Hindsight lad! Very good for the posters that just follow this thread and have limited knowledge on Brian's history.

Man, I feel really stupid for never noticing that tagline.

Drawing all those different versions of Captain Britain must've been a pain for Davis. And this issue does a great job of introducing some of Cap and Meggan's background to new readers, while making them curious at the same time. With a helpful footnote to the TPB, of course.

I love Kitty's gym outfit. And this, of course:
http://i41.tinypic.com/245x66v.jpg

And I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but how did everyone like Excalibur in ClanDestine?

All the different Caps were pretty neat to look at. So was that scene! Loved it.