Comics: Excalibur #4

EXCALIBUR #4
January 1989
"Still Crazy After All These Years"
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Alan Davis
Inker: Paul Neary
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Editor: Terry Kavanagh
Editor In Chief: Tom DeFalco

I can't think of any other issue in recent memory that contains both everything great about Claremont and everything frustrating about him. I'll start with the great.

The main cast is great. Claremont expertly builds friendships between cast members that were previously strangers, like with Meggan and Nightcrawler. Their flirtation is so palpable and believable yet subtly done. Nightcrawler has received a new lease on life with this title. Alan Davis was born to draw him, it seems, and Claremont is really rejuvenating everything that made the character such a winner. With Wolverine and Storm taking center stage in Uncanny, Nightcrawler was getting overshadowed. Here he's front and center and deserving of the attention.

The friendship Phoenix and Shadowcat began forging in their previous title has carried on across the pond and to Excalibur. I love that Claremont so bluntly states what each character's viewpoint is on each other's fashion choices and has them play off each other. It's kinda simplistic, but it's so rare that readers get these personal glimpses into superheroes' lives. We never hear what music or movies or books characters like, and most every hero has absolutely zero fashion sense outside of their spandex. They usually just wear a t-shirt and converse.

Lastly, Courtney Ross grows as a supporting character in ways few other writers could accomplish. Claremont was never content at just letting his core team members get personal growth. He was always striving, either with Moira MacTaggert, Amanda Sefton or Stevie Hunter, to have the supporting and powerless players be as strong and fleshed out as the top billed names. Courtney Ross is fierce, independent and totally charming. I like her. She's much more than Captain Britain's ex-girlfriend.

And now on to the stuff that Claremont fails at. The Crazy Gang. I know this is supposedly a comedy book (the cover is comedically meta), but a team of villains who dress up (or are?) characters from "Alice in Wonderland"? Seems like another idea that only Claremont is interested in. Was anyone really that psyched to see a Tweedledum analogue named Tweedle Dope? No? Believe it or not, these characters were actually created by Alan Moore...pre-Watchmen. Tying them to Arcade makes some sense, and Arcade does have a known vendetta against Captain Britain so that's all sound, I just don't want to read about the Crazy Gang.

This issue ALSO features body swapping and mind control. I'm actually tired of complaining about how much Claremont uses these two story devices, so I'm just going to say that he uses them too much, wag my finger, and move on.

So this was a mixed effort, which was definitely bumped up due to Alan Davis' impeccable art. Was this guy ever bad? It seems that he started out as strong as he is now. That's amazing.

MY SCORE: 8.5/10