Excalibur: Special Edition

Excalibur:  Special Edition (1987)
Rating:  ★★★★★★★★
The Sword is Drawn
Writer:  Chris Claremont
Artist:  Alan Davis
Inker:  Paul Neary

This issue marked the first x-team introduced since the New Mutants.  Unlike the New Mutants, however, this team was established entirely of already known characters.  Kitty and Nightcrawler, fresh off of their recovery from injuries, Phoenix (Rachel Summers) who had been missing for a few years, and Captain Britain and Meggan who were both part of Marvel's UK line and had made some appearances in American comics, including Uncanny X-Men.  In fact, Psylocke of the X-Men is Captain Britain's twin sister (fraternal, obviously).

In Mojo's world, the X-Men are movie stars

This issue is Claremont at his finest, even if the villains are a bit more comical than we're used to.  Technet (led by the ugly Gatecrasher) is rather inept and you can't help but chuckle as they stumble through and successfully (at least momentarily) capture their prey.  Still, Claremont reminds us all that these are people he's writing about who just happen to have fantastic powers.  Shadowcat and Nightcrawler are still grieving for the X-Men (whom they believe perished in Dallas).  Captain Britain is a drunk as he grieves for his sister (again who is believed to have been killed in Dallas).  Meggan doesn't know how to deal with him (by the way, turns out he's an angry drunk).

Some of my favorite moments are outside of the battles.  Seeing Phoenix pulled in chains by her supposed friends (in Mojo's universe, of course, but still), Kitty crying over a picture of the X-Men, and Nightcrawler trying to sober up Captain Britain all rank among my favorite.  Especially Nightcrawler confronting Britain.  Seeing Nightcrawler slam the drunk up against the wall and how his own humility and pain is just fantastic.

Nightcrawler tries to sober up a drunk Captain Britain

The villains, like I said, are a bit silly.  The Warwolves are henchmen and Technet is just a standard villain team with little thought into their motivations (turns out, they're bounty hunters).  I will give credit to their powers.  They really do have some unique abilities. The big villain in this issue is really just pulling the strings and that would be Mojo.  Unfortunately, you really never get to explore that aspect.  Mojo works through his Warwolves and we seldom see any of that fight.

The art is fantastic.  I love Alan Davis.  His style is sometimes a bit more cartoony than others, but the characters are always very smooth and everything is where it needs to be.

Overall, even if you never cared for the Excalibur series, this issue is a must read.  It definitely makes you love the characters.