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I downloaded scans of the whole first Excalibur run about a week ago. I was very interested because we didn't get much of Excalibur here in Finland. We got only the first one-shot (The Sword Is Drawn), some of the earlier issues ( #1-3 and #6-7) and Mojo Mayhem. I liked what I'd read so I decided it'd be worth my time to d/l all the 125 issues and the 9 specials. And it definetly was.

I was very surprised with how consistent Excalibur was. I'm a big fan of post "original X-Men" X-Factor but even I have to admit it had very few high points after #100. Sure, Excalibur had weak issues, but it seldom felt like there were a series of them. Mostly some issues here and there. Other thing I really liked was how rarely Excalibur fought any of the classic X-Men villains and introduced a lot of new ones (at least to me) like Gatecrasher and the Technet, Sat-Yr-9, Jamie Braddock, Necron and so on. I found that quite refreshing. The new heroes were also a breath of fresh air. Captain Britain and Meggan might've been well known in the UK but they were new acquaintances to me. And I liked them immediately after the first issue.

The start was very strong, building up characters, relationships and plotlines that were to be used up to issue #55. The small parts with Widget and the strange things happening in the lighthouse didn't come to play for a long time, which gave a feeling that something was happening all the time, that the big threats didn't just come from nowhere. It also made you think they had a big masterplan all along but decided to wait. I really dug that.

After the interesting nazi-Excalibur thing came what I think was the lowest point of the whole series. There were some good issues during the Cross-Time Caper but as a whole, I thought it was messy, confusing and boring. And too long. Waay too long. And the first confrontation with Jamie Braddock soon after that wasn't much better. Claremont sure started well but it just seems like he dropped the ball at one point, and never got it back.

After a couple of random issues by random writers they seemed to get back on the track. Lobdell, Davis, Ellis, Raab. No matter, they just couldn't get it wrong. I thought the quality was very good from #35 to the end, with only a few weak issues here and there and a lot of big storylines, character development and whatnot. Didn't really care about the concentration on Muir Island and the legacy virus. I mean, how many times can you read Moira angsting about having the virus before you want to hurt someone physically? But the new additions more than made up for that. Pete Wisdom, it was fun while it lasted. And let me say, it didn't last nearly long enough. And I'm a total Wolfsbane mark. Can't explain it, won't deny it.

The series ended with a style, giving us a happy ending. I'm a sucker for happy endings. As you can see, I really enjoyed the run. It began very well, started coughing a bit after that but ended very well. I don't think I've read a part of a continuing series like that since UXM #184-227. Just like that one, Excalibur from issue #35 onwards just seemed to melt together, going ahead fluently and naturally.

I do have a few complaints though. As much as I liked Captain Britain, he just seemed to change too much. First the clumsy Captain Britain, then the confident Cap, then the loonatic Britanic, then the Brian-like Britanic and last "just Brian". I didn't even notice when he transformed from eccentric Britanic to the more sound Britanic who tinkered with planes and answered to the name 'Brian'. And it seemed like the writers got too used to have a deus ex machina in Phoenix because some time after Rachel left they turned Meggan into a character who could do virtually anything.

But hey, I can't be angry for that. I don't know why I enjoyed Excalibur so much, but I did. Sure, when comparing it to the "actually good" comics like Sandman or Kingdom Come, it's not that big a deal. But I had helluva fun reading it through, and in the end, that's all that matters.

I either really love or really hate Excalibur. The best of the early stuff is Claremont/Davis or Davis/Davis... I found the fill-ins tried to copy their style too much, and were often forgettable... The stuff from when Davis finally leaves to before Ellis comes aboard I personally found pretty weak. Ellis' stuff is remarkably good. Totally different to the first 50-60 issues, and yet really, really good fun. Pete is God, and he nails everyone's characters. The rough two-parter where they all go down the pub, and then a deranged Colossus nearly kills Pete. Pete and Kitty are, in my mind, a clear contender for best comic couple of all time. And Ellis writes such glorious dialogue. Raab. I hate Raab. I want to beat him until he bleeds out of his ears, and then kick his nose off, gouge out his eyes and get some tramps to piss in the gory sockets. He totally undid Brian's return as Captain Britain in #100 with all that Crimson Dawn ****, and turned it into a second-rate X-Men book. You weren't in Chris Claremont's X-Men run? Sorry, **** off and die. Raab raped Wisdom, completely changing the character simply because CHRIS WOULD HAVE WANTED HER WITH COLOSSUS AND WISDOM WASN'T EVER AN X-MAN. And, on top of everything, Raab was utter rubbish.

Excalibur's one of the few titles I truly love that I don't feel in the least bit compelled to have the full run of.

EDIT: Dude, keep an eye out for the Alan Davis Captain Britain stuff. You'll love it

Originally posted by Cliffjumper
Raab. I hate Raab. He totally undid Brian's return as Captain Britain in #100 with all that Crimson Dawn ****, and turned it into a second-rate X-Men book.

Admitted, they never really did anything with Captain Britain after #100 and before the Crimson Dawn thing. Admitted, the whole Crimson Dawn thing did feel a bit out of place in Excalibur.

Raab raped Wisdom, completely changing the character simply because CHRIS WOULD HAVE WANTED HER WITH COLOSSUS AND WISDOM WASN'T EVER AN X-MAN. And, on top of everything, Raab was utter rubbish.

I did notice a change in Wisdom's character. And it wasn't for the better, although I wouldn't say Raab raped him. But then again, I don't have harsh opinions about much anything.

EDIT: Dude, keep an eye out for the Alan Davis Captain Britain stuff. You'll love it

Is that pre- or post-Excalibur? If it's pre does it have something to do with often-mentioned Marvel UK which no one seems to know much about? And while on the subject, know any good sites about Marvel UK? There seems to be a lot of stories that seem interesting but of which I know nearly nothing of.

Forgot to mention in my first post, another thing I liked about Excalibur was the way they seemed to be outside of the normal X-continuity. They even mention about it in the latter issues. Except for the Necrom thing they don't really save the world as much as the other teams seem to do. Also they missed a lot of the later X-overs, which was nice. That didn't seem to stop the creators from advertising them as a part of the X-over though.

Originally posted by Silly Cow
I did notice a change in Wisdom's character. And it wasn't for the better, although I wouldn't say Raab raped him. But then again, I don't have harsh opinions about much anything.

I have little else Seriously, though, they just turned Pete into something of a bastard simply to split him and Kitty, and have her smelling of roses. Ellis was none too amused: - http://katryn.future.easyspace.com/warren.htm - though it's ironic than Ian Edginton flat-out ignored him at the end of X-Force.

Is that pre- or post-Excalibur? If it's pre does it have something to do with often-mentioned Marvel UK which no one seems to know much about? And while on the subject, know any good sites about Marvel UK? There seems to be a lot of stories that seem interesting but of which I know nearly nothing of.

Pre. Yep, all Marvel UK. Cap basically staggered through various series from about '76 until around 1982, when a Doctor Who staffer named Alan Moore revamped the character. The last two chunks are avaliable in TPB format - there was one published a couple of years' ago containing Moore's final work on the title - it's generally referred to as the Jaspers' Warp TPB, and is very, VERY good - among the more notables are Satyrnyne and Roma. There's another one containing the following material, which I think covers all the Cap stuff between Jaspers' Warp and the first Excalibur special edition, also called Captain Britain, which came out in the late-80s as an Excalibur cash-in. It's also pretty good, with Jamie Delano and Davis himself handling the writing chores [Davis does the art for both the trades] and lots and lots of goodies for Excalibur fans - the Technet, the first appearances of Meggan and the RCX, Doc Crocodile, Jamie Braddock, plus the brief hotness that was Betsy as Captain Britain. Both are highly recommended, and the Moore storyline was reissued as an X-Men series named X-Men Archives Featuring Captain Britain, something which Alan didn't seem to have known about...

Forgot to mention in my first post, another thing I liked about Excalibur was the way they seemed to be outside of the normal X-continuity. They even mention about it in the latter issues. Except for the Necrom thing they don't really save the world as much as the other teams seem to do. Also they missed a lot of the later X-overs, which was nice. That didn't seem to stop the creators from advertising them as a part of the X-over though.

Yeh, it is nice that it existed in a slightly different world... even the Inferno stuff was largely sideways from the main crossover. Though the Excalibur bit of Fatal Attractions was a bit rubbish it makes it a nice easy book to keep up with. Well, aside from the odd 14-part arc, of course

Oh, and http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/marvuk.htm has a fair bit of info on Marvel UK stuff. IH.co.uk is one of the best general comic resources out there, especially if you're after something which isn't especially huge.