EXCALIBUR EPIC COLLECTION: THE SWORD IS DRAWN [NEW PRINTING] (Excalibur Epic Collection, 1)

Well done

I never collected Excalibur when it was out, and now I regret it. Honestly, I got because I loved 80s Elf and Kitty, but was SHOCKED, and in the best and most surprising way that they actually developed Rachel as a character, whom I always liked but thought was vastly underdeveloped. Otherwise Captain Britain was wonderfully flawed as a leader and Meggan was adorably amusing.It all made for a pleasure to read despite the fact that it was still searching for it's footing in the first volume.

My opinions on Chris Claremont are pretty solid. He writes some of the best comics and this one is no exception. Alan Davis is the main artist here and he is worth the price of admission, creating some absolutely stunning artwork. It is a wonderful book in so many respects.But... the team, guys. The team is kind of middling.This isn't about the individual characters, by the way. The team MEMBERS are fantastic. Nightcrawler and Shadowcat from the X-Men are fan favorites and command every scene they're in. Phoenix hasn't reached her full potential yet but it's great to reconnect to her story and see where it's going to go. Captain Britain is a powerhouse from the Marvel UK titles with a who's who pedigree of creators working on his past adventures. Meggan and Widget might not be as great but it's still nice to get into Meggan's head... and I don't know about Widget, yet.This is a situation where the sum isn't as great as its parts. These great characters spend their time as an almost sideline team. It's not that they're stuck in Great Britain. If anything, that should have expanded their influence. The problem is they are stuck with mostly minor enemies, low impact adventures, and the one time they interact with the wider Marvel Universe during the Inferno crossover, the team mostly flies over the pond to deal with their own problems with no real interactions with any other Marvel teams.They are purposely given a smaller footprint and as such, the adventures don't seem as important. All this is done with a creative team that is killing it. I want to read more unimportant stories about Excalibur because I want to see how Captain Britain deals with his feelings for Meggan and his ex-girlfriend. I want to see if Shadowcat can find love. I want to see Nightcrawler swashbuckle. The characters are doing fine. The adventures could use some work.That being said, Chris Claremont is the only one that can make a villain like Arcade seem like a big deal and the only one that can write his dialogue correctly. In fact, the main issue comics are followed up by a Mojo-centered special and THEN a Marvel Comics Presents story featuring Arcade as the main bad guy and that second Arcade story just DOES NOT work. At all. Even the Erik Larsen art can't save it.But that Mojo-centered Special? Mixed feelings. It features the X-Babies and Mojo and BEFORE YOU FALL ASLEEP it also has Art Adams artwork and Claremont writing. Very mixed feelings.Excalibur was supposed to feature light-hearted, comedically flavored adventures of a British based super-hero team that formed upon the "death" of the X-Men during Fall of the Mutants. It mashed together the X-Men and Marvel UK's Captain Britain and introduced American readers to some of the Marvel UK stuff. However, the stories aren't really FUNNY... it's not like jokes don't land- it's more that there aren't jokes to begin with. It's slighly more light-hearted, maybe? I also don't really know how well those Marvel UK elements were introduced to those unaware of them. Some things slot in well and others show up all confusingly as though we should already know what's going on. The story telling is good but things could have used another pass in the explanation department. I say much the same about the current Excalibur series.It makes me want to read more about Captain Britain and, what luck, we have a sampling of his earlier adventures, including his two-part origin story written by Claremont and illustrated by Herb Trimpe. Another tale from Alan Moore and Alan Davis introduces Meggan with a follow-up story from Alan Davis bringing Meggan and Captain Britain together for the first time. The Alan Moore/ Alan Davis story is just a taste of a larger storyline and it makes me want for more.We also get some extras from Marvel Age: articles about the original Excalibur Graphic Novel and another about the ongoing series (that second article is written by future super-star writer, Scott Lobdell). They're fun little reads of what readers at the time would have learned about the Excalibur title.Anyway, Excalibur Epic Collection volume 1 is a good read but largely feels unimportant. And that's too bad because the cast is excellent and the creative team is just great. I remember seeing those Alan Davis Inferno issues in an Inferno collection and thinking that it was the best art in the book. It's just too bad it's so side-story.

Somewhat biased, this being one of my favorite comic book runs Marvel has ever published. But Chris Claremont and Alan Davis were on full tilt here, letting their imaginations fly with a rag-tag group of (ex) X-Men, Captain Britain and friends leading the way. The book doesn't mind getting bizarre in this series (given the signature themes of reality bending and dimension jumping), but the storytelling and relationships between the characters are never taken lightly. I was able to get a really good deal on the digital version, but I imagine the paperback is quite a priceless gem.

I have recently been collecting Marvel trades and pre-ordered this one under recommendations from friends. I will say that I like it. I like the characters, how they came together as a team, and the art by Alan Davis is pretty damn good. It's pretty trippy for the most part, especially in the early issues, but that doesn't take away from the enjoyability of this book. I recommend it to those who want to take a look at a well respected chapter of the X-Men's history.

Some of Claremont's best work. This takes place shortly after the X-Men were "killed" (again) and a straggler team sets up in London. I found myself enjoying the stories even 20 years later as they do not feel dated or tie themselves to a particular event or year. The humor adds a much needed finesse to the series, and the characters do not dive into a morose or somber mood. Highly recommended.

Excalibur was pretty transparently a way for Marvel to continue to grow the X-Men line, and I will say it never really justifies removing Kitty and Nightcrawler from the main team. That being said, Claremont's passion for all things United Kingdom really comes through here, and more often than not the humor and inter-dimensional hijinks work. I like the slowly-growing supporting cast (police detectives, government officials, etc.), and to that end, it actually starts to remind me of BPRD. Wonder if Mignola was partially inspired by this? Kitty continues to develop as a character, growing into an adult now that her mentors are gone. Nightcrawler and Rachel Grey feel a little more stagnant, with the former mostly just being a ladies' man and the latter doing her usual thing of getting angry and flying off to cause trouble that the rest of the team then has to solve. Art-wise things usually match the lighter tone, with some slightly more cartoony pencils than in the X-Men books and a lot of bright colors. I found the back-up stories at the end of the collection very tedious. Overall, I would skip unless you are looking to become the ultimate X-Men reader.

Thank you for finally pictures these beloved stories in one book.

una de las constantes del comic de X-Men, y sus derivados, fue el cambio. En los '80s, la colección se fue diversificando. Surgieron The New Mutants, X-Factor y Wolverine tuvo su propio comic. Otro de ellos fue Excaliburm con varios de los X-Men principales y que dejaron el tíulo pues en una de las historias sufrieron heridas considerables (en la masacre mutante, que también puedes encontrar en recopilación).Excalibur reune a Nightcrawler, Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde) y Phoenix II (Rachel Summers). Además, integra a Captain Britain y Meggan, de Marvel UK, en los comics norteamericanos.El quinteto decide operar juntos como EXcalibur, en Inglaterra, pues creen a sus amigos de X-Men muertos en combate (en la Caída de los Mutantes, que también está disponible en compendio).Esta serie es una de las más originales de Marvel, pero que por alguna razón, no fue tan comercial (estyos comics eran más caros).Dos de los creativos más importantes del medio , Chris Claremont y Alan Davis, crean algunas de sus mejores historias en este volumen. Se ve el origen de EXcalibur, su integración como equipo y su participación en Inferno, otro crossover recomendable de X-Men y de Marvel (y que también puedes conseguir en dos o tres volúmenes).Este volumen está repleto de interesantes extras, como el especial Mojo Mayhem, dibujado por Art Adams y Terry Austin, una historia de ocho partes de Marvel comics Presents, con arte de Erik Larsen, muchas fichas técnicas y entrevistas, además de historias que no se consiguen fácilmente, con comics de Captain Britain, también por Alan Davis y que incluyen la rpimera aparición de Meggan.Finalmente, también se incluye la primera aparición de Captan Britain, publicada en 1976 en Reino Unido, por sus creadores, el propio Chris Claremont y el cocreador de Wolverine, Herb Trimpe.En pocas palabras, son demasiadas buenas historias en un solo volumen y a un buen precio.

I first read some of these adventures 30 years ago or so in French. How nice to be able to fill in the gaps of my favourite team of heroes besides the New Mutants.

Um dos maiores e melhores autores dos anos 80 e 90 em uma historia interessante e divertida; os personagens são conhecidos, mas a abordagem é diferente. Um pouco datada, mas mata a saudade

Worth buying. Forgot how awesome and inventive this series was in the mid late 80's. Loved the art work and it made me care about CAPTAIN BRITAIN.

Il capolavoro di Clairemont e Davis. La Marvel quando era la casa delle idee. Umorismo e azione, uno dei capolavoro di Chris Claremont.