R.I.P. Excalibur

1988-1998

by Jason Bourgeois

Funny. Confusing. Excellent. Insipid. Crap. Gold. I have heard all of these words used to describe Excalibur over its ten year history. Even though I have only been involved in it for about 5 and a half of those years.

I had heard bits and pieces about Excalibur over the early years, but had never found the time to get an issue. Then came number 42. The X-titles were having a veritable renaissance. X-Men had gotten an adjectiveless second title, the New Mutants had reformed as X-Force, with a new number 1, bagged with a random card, X-Factor was going in a totally new direction with a brand new team, and even Excalibur was being revamped. It was going back to its roots. The man who did the art for the first 25 issues, with several fill-in artists, was returning. Alan Davis.

His art was clean, and simple, unlike much of the art of the day, and the characters were realistically proportioned. A definite breath of fresh air amidst the Liefeld’s and Lee’s, whose women were huge chested, men were wide-shouldered, and the feet of which were non-existent, and the feet rarely got seen, due to being off panel, or obscured by rubble. To see such beautifully rendered characters on a regular basis was nice.

I got some more issues, and fell totally in love with it. The characters were well defined, and had different personalities, plotlines were actually tied up, and always with a bit of humor. I had followed a number of these characters in the past, so it was like coming back to some old friends I hadn’t seen in years.

Then it began. I was bitten by the back-issue bug. I hunted out the remaining 41 issues quickly. Most of them were found at discount prices at the first, and only comic convention I had been to. This was the first series I had ever gone out and tracked down the back issues with any zeal. This is where my addiction really began, I guess. I had fallen in love with these characters. They had become great friends. I had seen them change, grow, fall in love, fall out of it, have arguments: they weren’t just super heroes, they were people. That, in my opinion, makes for a great book.

It was near perfection. I even had a letter printed. Again, my one and only. Started a fan club. Got my friends interested in the characters and the comic. They’re now just as much Alan Davis fanboys as I.

Then things went bad. Alan Davis had finally explained the origin and tied up, for the most part, the story of Rachel Summers. And with that, he left the books. We had a short storyline, tying up the origin of Cerise, and getting rid of her. Then with issue 71, everything changed. New writer, new penciller, new direction.

The team was moved out of its familiar settings, many team members were left behind, Captain Britain himself was lost when they came back from Phoenix’s war torn future, an event that happened in between two issues! The storylines were typical, and nothing of great interest.

And still, it got worse. Issue 75 hit the stands, and Rachel traded places with the timelost Captain, and she was hurtled to Gods knew where. She eventually turned up again as an old woman in the far future, raising baby Cable. Where she soon died. At this point, I quit comics, and only got Excalibur off and on. Eventually, I filled in the missing holes.

Finally, with issue 83, Warren Ellis came aboard. The stories during his run were filled with danger, conspiracies, intrigue, magic, myth, and best of all, characterization. Things actually seemed like they were happening in this book again. The plotline he began with his introductory story, sowed the seeds for the story that hit in issue 100.

Due to editorial differences, he left the series with 103, and that was the end of the beginning. A few fill-in stories later, a new writer came along, Ben Raab. His stories were horrible. I actually took 4 hours reading an issue once, I had that much trouble getting through it. And about 8 months ago, the cancellation notice came down. I was saddened, but at this point, felt it was a mercy killing. The very next issue, was leaps and bounds above the rest. Every issue following got better and better. I was now totally sad that my dear friends would be leaving me.

And this week, the final issue came out. With the cover done by Alan Davis, done similar to the cover of the comic Excalibur first appeared in. Nearly everyone who has ever appeared in the comic was there, even villains. As I reached the page where three members announced they were leaving, I was in tears, I felt like I was losing a friend.

And the last panel, had a shot of the original team above the sun with the phoenix force surrounding it. The image that had caused the team to ome together. The title had come full circle. I couldn’t believe it was over, but it was.

I had been following their adventures for years, and invested a lot of time and care into these people, who weren’t even real. It’s all that’s been on my mind lately, and that’s why I decided to share my experiences, tell of all the ups and downs, to move past my loss, as superficial as it may be, over a comic book.

This book will always hold a special place for me, as a shining example of how a comic books should be done. And how it shouldn’t be done. Farewell Excalibur, it’s been a long strange trip, but some of us will miss you.

"Though the sword we two so craftily forged hath been sheathed for now, it may yet be drawn anew when the time is right......someday." Merlyn, Excalibur 125

Jason M Bourgeois

Copyright © 1998 Jason M. Bourgeois

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