Not Blog Ex?

In honor of my fellow blogger G Kendall of Not Blog X, I present to you Not Blog Ex?, where we take a look at that oft-ignored X-spinoff title, Excalibur. Owing to the fact that my favorite X-Man, Nightcrawler, was a member of the team, Excal was the first "serious" (so to speak) comic book series I ever collected. So let's take a look back, shall we, and see how the group from across the pond holds up 15-plus years after the fact. Presented here is the first issue of Excalibur I ever purchased, along with the second part -- which I finally found years later!

EXCALIBUR #55

The Ghost of Braddock Manner
Credits: Alan Davis (Script), Alan Davis (Pencils), Mark Farmer (Inks), Glynis Oliver (Colors), Michael Heisler (Letters).

Summary
We begin by catching up with all of Excalibur's members, each dealing with their personal issues in the hours before a housewarming party welcoming them to their new home of Braddock Manor. Captain Britian spars with his sister Psylocke while lamenting how he always resorts to violence, and reminiscing about their family life. Nightcrawler practices his martial arts in a very aggressive manner, surprising Kitty and Meggan, who have been out shopping for the big shindig. Kylun mourns at his life-mate's grave while Cerise tries to figure out why humans form emotional bonds. Kylun then leaves for Scotland before the party. The party gets underway and there are lots of guests, all dressed to the nines -- including Inspector Dai Thomas, Emelia Witherspoon, Alysande and Alistaire Stuart, Courtney Ross and her right hand man Nigel. Alysdane, it seems, is being court-martialed for supposedly selling secrets to SHIELD. The festive mood is soon dashed when Alysande is attacked and found dead, and soon it is clear that the Manor is under siege. Once the entire team (save Kitty) is incapacitated, Courtney is revealed to be Sat-Yr-9, and her weapon of choice is none other than Jamie Braddock.

Gimmicks
The cover is actually the first page of the story (labeled "0" at the bottom, as you can see). Editor Terry Kavanagh apologizing about that always made me smile. Note also that Terry's name is trademarked!

Continuity Note
There's a looot of past adventures and events alluded to within this pages which make no sense unless you have been reading this title regularly. Very obscure for the first time reader -- a common complaint for Excalibur. Widget pops in for literally one panel. This issue also begins the romantic angle between Nightcrawler and Cerise.

Approved By The Comics Code Authority
Right after Alysdane is found dead, Psylocke gets shot at point blank range -- turns out that they are just tranqs, but that is not spelled out here.

Review
This is a transitional type of issue. Starting with Davis' return in #42 through the big blowoff in #50, the team was moving in new directions, moving away from the lighthouse and picking up new members. The first half of this comic is sort of a "game reset" for readers, to re-establish who these people are and what their general personalities entail. There's a ton of great character moments in here. The sparring match between Brian and Betsy is sweet without feeling forced. One of my favorite comedic moments in the entire run of the title happens in this issue as well. When Courtney arrives, she immediately lays a giant kiss on Brian. Meggan sees this, and in a fit of jealous rage, also grabs Brian and kisses him. This leads Cerise to ponder if "lip massage" is an important part of human ritual, then grab Nightcrawler and kiss him for 10 solid minutes. When she looks up to see everyone staring, she meekly asks "Did I not do it right?" Alan Davis also shines in showing off everyone's fancy duds -- all the gals look gorgeous and glamorous, not slutty or provacative. The second half picks up the pace, as everything goes wrong in very quick manner. There's no fighting, per se, but Davis does create a lot of mood and suspense before the reveals on the villians.

Still, for someone who is not already familiar with this team and its history, this is a hard story to follow and care about. Maybe because it was originally created with Chris Claremont at the helm, but Excalibur was always continuity-heavy, with a lot of callbacks and references in the narrative. Sat-Yr-9, for example, gives a little exposition as to who she is be referencing the conept of the Omniverse, saying she is a counterpart to Saturnyne, but then she doesn't say who Saturnyne is. Similarly, none of the guests are introduced -- we learn that Emelia is psychic because she has a psychic flash, and that Alysdane runs WHO, but that's about it. As a young reader these were very frustrating stumbling blocks, and they still remain that way today. If you want to get into Excal, don't start with this issue. It's a good story if you know what is going on already, but not if you're new to the series.



EXCALIBUR #56

Things That Go Shriek In the Night
Credits: Alan Davis (Script), Alan Davis (Pencils), Mark Farmer (Inks), Glynis Oliver (Colors), Michael Heisler (Letters).

Summary
Trapped inside Braddock Manor in the thrall of Jamie Braddock, Excalibur is helpless as Sat-Yr-9 begins to plots her siezing control of Earth-616. First, though, she sends her troops to capture the still-missing Kitty Pryde. Nigel is jealous of Sat-Yr-9 using Captain Britian as her personal toy, thinking him a musclebound moron. In his mind, Cap is reached out to by Betsy, and he tells his sister all about Sat-Yr-9 and her plans before Sat puts an end to that. Kitty manages to avoid capture and grabs the gear of one of Sat-Yr-9's guards. Nigel, planning on killing Cap and taking his place, is repayed for his treachery by Sat-Yr-9. Meggan is able to free herself from Jamie's "living dream" by using her shapeshifting powers, and pounds on Jamie until he is forced to release his grip on Excalibur and the guests. Before Sat-Yr-9 can attack them, Psylocke uses her psychic blade on Jamie, and Kitty shoots her with a poison dart, forcing Sat and her crew to retreat. At the funeral for Alysdane Stuart, Nick Fury shows up and says that she was setup from the inside.

Continuity Note
Brian winds up giving a lot of the backstory to the reader by explaining to Betsy how Sat-Yr-9 bragged about her accomplishments, including how she came to Earth-616, replaced Courtney Ross, and planted Nigel as The Vixen -- events which happened behind the scenes years ago, real time. We also see flashbacks to Jamie's run in with Doc Croc, which helped turn him into the nutjob he is today. Brigadier Alysdane Stuart is really, truly dead. As far as I know, Sat-Yr-9 has yet to reappear after this issue.

Approved By The Comics Code Authority
Sat-Yr-9 impales Nigel on his own knife, leaving a bloody residue on the blade.

Review
This one, thanks to the large chuck of exposition provided by Brian, reads much easier and faster than the previous issue. There's also a bit of action as Kitty goes as all "Metal Gear" on us and sneaks around the Manor avoiding capture and taking out guards. It's also very nice to see Meggan and Psylocke (who I always thought was handled much better in these pages than she was in the regular X-Books) shine -- the women were usually portrayed very well on this team and this issue is no exception. Brian being paraded around in a sort of "love slave" variation on his uniform was a nice comedic touch.

All in all, these two issues make a pretty decent little Excal story, but only if you know some of the background. This issue is far superior in that respect. Neither of these comics are standouts or classics, but when it comes to your regular dose of Excalibur antics, they are pretty good. Worth grabbing if you are alreayd fan, but otherwise, go back a bit earlier. Like, to the beginning of the series.