Excalibur, Vol. 1

Excalibur (2019) #1-2

by Tini Howard

Forging a new dawn! A fresh era begins for mutantkind — and for Betsy Braddock! When a portal opens between the X-Men’s new home Krakoa and the mystical Otherworld, magic and science collide — and Betsy is transformed into the new Captain Britain! She is joined by allies Rogue, Gambit, Jubilee, Rictor…and Apocalypse! But what happens when mutantkind’s rise threatens the reign of Morgan Le Fay? And whose side will this new Excalibur take in the Otherworld war? Rogue faces an uncertain fate, Apocalypse performs a ritual, and a throne of power will change hands! Plus, Excalibur faces an old foe — only this time they are the hunters, and the Warwolves are the game! Betsy is torn between Otherworld, Britain and Krakoa…and Apocalypse forges ahead toward his mysterious ultimate goal! The stage is set for X OF SWORDS!

COLLECTING: Excalibur (2019) 1-12

Genres: Marvel, Comics, X Men, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Comic Book

336 pages, Hardcover

First published August 17, 2021

Reviews

[Tesutamento · Rating 2 out of 5]

House of X/Powers of X ile başlayan dönemin serilerinden biri olan Excalibur aslında 90'lı yıllarda popüler bir seri olsa da 2000'lerde bir iki başarısız deneme sonrasında rafa kalkmış bir seriydi.

X-Men'in İngiliz ayağı da denebilecek serinin X-Men'den asıl farkı barındırdığı Captain Britain gibi daha belirli bir bölgeye ait karakterler ve onların çevresinde gelişen, içerisinde büyü barındıran maceralardı. Bu seride de Captain Britain rolü Betsy Braddock yani eski Psylocke'a verilmiş.

Seride Braddock'un yanında kapakta da gözüken Apocalypse, Rogue, Gambit, Jubilee ve Rictor bulunuyor. Bekleneceği gibi Braddock serinin açık ara merkezinde yer alırken Apocalypse anti-hero bir rol benimsiyor. Rogue, Gambit ve Jubilee maalesef kitap satsın diye oradalar. Hikayeye hiçbir katkıları yok, İngiltere ile alakaları yok, büyüyle işleri yok. Şahsen bu karakterleri daha çok görmeyi umduğumdan hayal kırıklığı yaşadım.

Daha genel bir çerçeveden baktığımda da iyi bir şey bulamadım. Başlı başına tempo sorunları var iken bir de hikaye çok kopuk ilerliyor, özellikle mekan geçişleri çok sıkıntılı. Bir bakıyoruz oradayız bir de bakmışız ki buradayız. Bu geçişler bazen dövüşün ortasında bazen de normal sakin bir vakitte oluyor. Bazı kısımlar yok yere uzatılıyor, bazı kısımlar da bahsettiğim gibi ne olduğunu anlayamadan sona eriyor. Kısacası okurken keyif almaktan çok yorulduğumu hissettim.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story of two gates: one to Avalon, one to the Starlight Citadel. Through them, Howard manages to connect together not just the physicalities of Otherworld and Krakoa, but also their storylines, which would be crucial for the upcoming Swords of X storyline.

Though these volumes were somewhat muddy when originally read in the trade paperbacks, and though they really ran against the expectations of the new Krakoa comics, read together, without all that luggage, they're fairly delightful reads offering a very different type of X-storyline, yet one right in sync with old Captain Britain and Excalibur storylines.

The only exceptions are #7-8, a tired storyline of a British aristrocrat that is stretched at two issues and somewhat out of sync with the rest of the volume.

[Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excalibur’s story is a lot more coherent and exciting when you read it consecutively instead of peppered throughout the Dawn of X. It’s actually very ambitious and manages to combine past X-men and Excalibur lore AND set up the pieces for the X of Swords crossover. But there’s also a lot of space for almost all of the characters to shine. I especially loved the development in the characters of Rictor and Apocalypse. Besides all of that, the art and the coloring is phenomenal as well.

[Ferzem Khan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review for entire series (#1-26):

Tini Howard has so many interesting ideas but just constantly fails to execute them properly. This barely feels like an X-Men book, it honestly should have been a Betsy Braddock solo series with maybe Rictor and Apocalypse as side characters, because Howard clearly has favorites and has absolutely no idea what to with Rogue, Gambit and Jubilee and it's clear that they're only here to make people buy the book.

[Troy-David Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read. I found it reads better in sequence than when interwoven with the companions titles of “Dawn of X”, but you might prefer differently.

There was a mixture of characters I know and like, and characters I’ve never cared for, as well as an up-ending of continuity points that no longer hold relevance.
In all, a good read.
Not awesome, but good.

[Ada]

Excalibur (2019) #1-12 (will end in Dawn of X, Vol. 16)

***dinsdag 17 januari 2023***
I'm reading this in the Trade Paperbacks editions and I have to say I really don't like it.

Which I did not expected. Superheroes, magic, Rogue & Gambit, and King Arthur? Yes please!

I am bored most of the time and I'm really thinking about unhauling this edition...

[Eye-ra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different but still good stuff! I’m just not as familiar with the Excalibur world.

[Cian · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Nicolas Loze · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5

[Cyril Corbaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I liked the art style a lot, I didn't find the Excalibur arc to be very compelling to read, and it turned out to be a bit of a slog for me. There were some slightly more interesting moments, but this ended up being one of my least favourite story arcs from the Krakoa era.

[Sean McGinity · Rating 4 out of 5]

There have been several attempts to bring back Excalibur over the decades but this time they got it! Tini Howard weaves a tale complex and magical, remaining beholden what came before without rehashing it, and with artwork by Marcus Ho, honors Alan Davis before him while keeping his own voice. This is beautiful and majestic, complex (I have read through it twice now) and endlessly re-readable. I don't miss the original team. This is the new Excalibur, this is our new Captain Britain.