Jim Lemoine
Feb 4, 2004, 03:01 pm
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/logos/dittol_logo.gif" align=left border=0 alt="Did I Think That Out Loud?!? logo">By Jim Lemoine, jimlemoine@comixfan.cjb.net
What If... Excalibur Had Lived?
The following is reprinted from a news feature column covering the release of Marvel's new Excalibur title, circa February, 2004, on Earth 867.
Marvel's finally made it official: this March, the second Excalibur title arrives at last. Legend of Excalibur #1 will debut concurrently with the big 200th issue of the regular Excalibur title.
"This is something the fans have been clamoring for, for a long time," said Marvel Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada. "And you won't believe the team we've assembled to make Legend of Excalibur #1 the most powerful debut issue since Alan Moore came back to Captain Britain."
According to Marvel sources, Legend of Excalibur will be written and drawn by the original series creators, Chris Claremont and Alan Davis, marking the first time this team has worked together since they left the core Excalibur book in 1997. With Claremont coming off an extremely well-received five-year run on Shadowcat, and Davis fresh from his Hush Batman arc with Jeph Loeb, both creators are said to be looking forward to returning to the team they're arguably best known for.
Although fans, critics, and Marvel business-types alike seem overjoyed by the possibility of seeing this team together again, there is a slight undercurrent of anxiety as to how long the partnership will last. Although details have never been officially released and the two creators have never spoken of it, there have always been rumors of a tension in their partnership, dating all the way back to the first Cross-Time Caper arc. At the time, word on the street said that disagreements over the direction of the title and its characters (specifically, the issues of team leadership and Meggan's love life) threatened to cause one or both creators to leave Excalibur. Thankfully, Terry Kavanagh (who was then only Excalibur's editor; his term as Marvel's Editor-In-Chief hadn't begun yet) managed to bridge the gaps and Claremont and Davis both stayed on the title. Cross-Time Caper was completed successfully by Claremont and Davis, and was followed by three more hugely popular arcs that served to cement the title's place as Marvel's #1 book: A Technet Story, Girls' School From Heck, and Cross-Time Caper II (which was recently given the hardcover treatment by Marvel's trade division).
The Excalibur franchise has been a huge success for Marvel almost since the core title's very launch, in many ways driving the entire industry's direction for the decade of the nineties. Every decade seems to have its "core" comic title: in the sixties Fantastic Four was the big thing, the book that introduced comics readers to all-too-human characters and continuing storylines. Then Amazing Spider-Man took over as the industry's front-runner during the seventies, featuring intricate relationship-based plots and the hard-luck hero we all know and love. Uncanny X-Men was, of course, the big book of the eighties, with its themes of fighting prejudice and unsung heroes. And for a while, it looked like Uncanny X-Men was going to rule the nineties as well... but that was before October 1, 1990, when Excalibur #30 finally became the first of many issues to outsell Uncanny. Then when Excalibur #39 outsold both X-Force #1 and X-Men #1 and the speculator craze was officially proclaimed dead, we all knew it had become the decade of Brian, Kurt, Kitty, Meggan, and Rachel.
One almost has to wonder how different the nineties would have been if not for Excalibur's clear market dominance. This columnist can only imagine that Uncanny X-Men would have remained on top of the heap, with the industry as a whole stagnating under its weight. Or perhaps the #1 mantle would have passed back to the title of the seventies, Amazing Spider-Man, where the critically-acclaimed "Clone" storyline was wowing audiences and gaining mainstream attention. Or maybe speculation would have continued unabated and our copies of X-Force #1 would be virtually worthless, believe it or not. However, all this is mere speculation: Claremont and Davis's run on the title, which finally ended with issue #75 in 1994, kept Excalibur firmly entrenched in the industry's #1 spot. And other titles, be they from Marvel, DC, Valiant, or any of the other publishers, followed Excalibur's lead: suddenly every title was advertised as having strong stories, clean, realistic art, and creators with lengthy tenures.
With a seemingly unending barrage of cheap tie-ins and limited series over the last few years, though, the strength of the Excalibur franchise has been waning. Although Grant Morrison's celebrated run as writer (which will end with Excalibur #199 next month) has helped the core title's financial success, spin-offs have not fared as well. Despite its strong critical acclaim, Claremont's Shadowcat series is again rumored to be in danger of cancellation. Sales have similarly slipped on the Milligan/Allred Captain Britain, as well as the critically-panned Nightcrawler under writer Chuck Austen. And the past few years have seen both the best and the worst of limited series: while Alan Moore's limited series The Extraordinary Excalibur was a huge hit and the Loeb/Sale produced Captain Britain: White (which dealt with the Captain's early relationship with Courtney Ross) was hailed a masterpiece, the franchise was bogged down with titles like Nightcrawler: Bamf (a manga disaster by Tsutomu Nihei) and Excalibur: Phoenix (a MAX title consisting mostly of shots of Rachel Summers and Meggan in tiny metal outfits that held onto the curves of their bodies with remarkable tenacity).
Obviously with some of these gratuitous tie-ins, we've fallen a long way from classics like Casey's The Sword Is Drawn or even Nicieza's Excalibur Forever.
In addition to bringing the Excalibur team back to what Quesada calls "that classic feel," Marvel hopes to use "Excalibur Reload" to tighten the connection between Excalibur and the suffering X-Men franchise. The success of the two X-Men movies has not carried over to the comic series, and nothing, not even Peter Milligan's Eisner-winning Uncanny X-Men, seems to be able to slow the franchise's decline. Although a long way from the franchise's low in the mid-nineties, when repeated fill-in arcs by Michael Higgins, Richard Ashford, and Ben Raab nearly got both Uncanny and X-Men cancelled, numbers are still disappointingly low for Marvel.
Meanwhile, several of the titles in the extended EX line have been improving and/or holding steady. Gail Simone and UDON will be celebrating their 30th issue covering Wade Wilson in Deadpool #94, a story that will tie in to Legend of Excalibur #1. eX-Force, by the fan-favorite team of Frank Tieri and Whilce Portacio, will also be connected to the new title's launch. Judd Winick's Exiles will receive a double-sized issue as he wraps up the book's latest mega-arc with the return of artist Mike McKone, and there are even rumors that a new book called Weapon X may debut in May. Current speculation places either Tieri or Winick as the writer.
Details are tightly under wraps regarding the big story arc that will be featured in Excalibur #200 and LOE #1, but Claremont has let slip a few details. "Nightcrawler's marital problems are going to come to a head, and we'll finally get a resolution between him and Cerise, I promise," said the writer. "Brian's going to be in the sauce again, Betsy's going to return to the team to help him out. You're going to see one of the biggest developments since Cable was revealed to be an alternate Mr. Sinister, and... what's that? A metal-skinned Russian? Sorry, don't know what you're talking about."
Claremont, you tease.
Alan Davis seems to be no less excited about his return to the franchise that really made his career: "Chris and I have been going over old plots, new plots, old characters, new characters... and I can tell you, this is going to be an amazing comic. We've had our differences in the past, yes, but we've always managed to overcome them because we value the working relationship so highly. Here's hoping we beat that puny 75-issue run this time around!"
The confirmation of Claremont and Davis as the creative team on the new title seems to lay to rest rumors that Jim Valentino would be returning to Marvel to work on Excalibur. Since leaving the company following the publication of Guardians of the Galaxy #100, Valentino still seems committed to his fledgling "Image" comic book publishing house. So far the company's only hit has been Valentino's own Shadowhawk, but the new Spawn series by Todd McFarlane is gaining in popularity. Still, Valentino has stated that he "remains open" to Marvel EIC Joe Quesada's invitation to return to either Guardians or New Warriors (which will celebrate an anniversary of its own, #175, in April).
Excalibur #200 by Claremont and Larocca, featuring a back-up story by former Avengers writer/Marvel EIC Terry Kavanagh, will go on sale this March. Legend of Excalibur #1, by Claremont and Davis, will be released two weeks later.
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Jim Lemoine, ComiX-Fan's Columns Editor, recently completed the manuscript for his first book, an examination of business leadership. This column's been in his head for years, he believes there's a point to it all, and no, he's not currently on drugs.
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The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and are not reflective of ComiX-Fan or its other staff in general.
What If... Excalibur Had Lived?
The following is reprinted from a news feature column covering the release of Marvel's new Excalibur title, circa February, 2004, on Earth 867.
Marvel's finally made it official: this March, the second Excalibur title arrives at last. Legend of Excalibur #1 will debut concurrently with the big 200th issue of the regular Excalibur title.
"This is something the fans have been clamoring for, for a long time," said Marvel Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada. "And you won't believe the team we've assembled to make Legend of Excalibur #1 the most powerful debut issue since Alan Moore came back to Captain Britain."
According to Marvel sources, Legend of Excalibur will be written and drawn by the original series creators, Chris Claremont and Alan Davis, marking the first time this team has worked together since they left the core Excalibur book in 1997. With Claremont coming off an extremely well-received five-year run on Shadowcat, and Davis fresh from his Hush Batman arc with Jeph Loeb, both creators are said to be looking forward to returning to the team they're arguably best known for.
Although fans, critics, and Marvel business-types alike seem overjoyed by the possibility of seeing this team together again, there is a slight undercurrent of anxiety as to how long the partnership will last. Although details have never been officially released and the two creators have never spoken of it, there have always been rumors of a tension in their partnership, dating all the way back to the first Cross-Time Caper arc. At the time, word on the street said that disagreements over the direction of the title and its characters (specifically, the issues of team leadership and Meggan's love life) threatened to cause one or both creators to leave Excalibur. Thankfully, Terry Kavanagh (who was then only Excalibur's editor; his term as Marvel's Editor-In-Chief hadn't begun yet) managed to bridge the gaps and Claremont and Davis both stayed on the title. Cross-Time Caper was completed successfully by Claremont and Davis, and was followed by three more hugely popular arcs that served to cement the title's place as Marvel's #1 book: A Technet Story, Girls' School From Heck, and Cross-Time Caper II (which was recently given the hardcover treatment by Marvel's trade division).
The Excalibur franchise has been a huge success for Marvel almost since the core title's very launch, in many ways driving the entire industry's direction for the decade of the nineties. Every decade seems to have its "core" comic title: in the sixties Fantastic Four was the big thing, the book that introduced comics readers to all-too-human characters and continuing storylines. Then Amazing Spider-Man took over as the industry's front-runner during the seventies, featuring intricate relationship-based plots and the hard-luck hero we all know and love. Uncanny X-Men was, of course, the big book of the eighties, with its themes of fighting prejudice and unsung heroes. And for a while, it looked like Uncanny X-Men was going to rule the nineties as well... but that was before October 1, 1990, when Excalibur #30 finally became the first of many issues to outsell Uncanny. Then when Excalibur #39 outsold both X-Force #1 and X-Men #1 and the speculator craze was officially proclaimed dead, we all knew it had become the decade of Brian, Kurt, Kitty, Meggan, and Rachel.
One almost has to wonder how different the nineties would have been if not for Excalibur's clear market dominance. This columnist can only imagine that Uncanny X-Men would have remained on top of the heap, with the industry as a whole stagnating under its weight. Or perhaps the #1 mantle would have passed back to the title of the seventies, Amazing Spider-Man, where the critically-acclaimed "Clone" storyline was wowing audiences and gaining mainstream attention. Or maybe speculation would have continued unabated and our copies of X-Force #1 would be virtually worthless, believe it or not. However, all this is mere speculation: Claremont and Davis's run on the title, which finally ended with issue #75 in 1994, kept Excalibur firmly entrenched in the industry's #1 spot. And other titles, be they from Marvel, DC, Valiant, or any of the other publishers, followed Excalibur's lead: suddenly every title was advertised as having strong stories, clean, realistic art, and creators with lengthy tenures.
With a seemingly unending barrage of cheap tie-ins and limited series over the last few years, though, the strength of the Excalibur franchise has been waning. Although Grant Morrison's celebrated run as writer (which will end with Excalibur #199 next month) has helped the core title's financial success, spin-offs have not fared as well. Despite its strong critical acclaim, Claremont's Shadowcat series is again rumored to be in danger of cancellation. Sales have similarly slipped on the Milligan/Allred Captain Britain, as well as the critically-panned Nightcrawler under writer Chuck Austen. And the past few years have seen both the best and the worst of limited series: while Alan Moore's limited series The Extraordinary Excalibur was a huge hit and the Loeb/Sale produced Captain Britain: White (which dealt with the Captain's early relationship with Courtney Ross) was hailed a masterpiece, the franchise was bogged down with titles like Nightcrawler: Bamf (a manga disaster by Tsutomu Nihei) and Excalibur: Phoenix (a MAX title consisting mostly of shots of Rachel Summers and Meggan in tiny metal outfits that held onto the curves of their bodies with remarkable tenacity).
Obviously with some of these gratuitous tie-ins, we've fallen a long way from classics like Casey's The Sword Is Drawn or even Nicieza's Excalibur Forever.
In addition to bringing the Excalibur team back to what Quesada calls "that classic feel," Marvel hopes to use "Excalibur Reload" to tighten the connection between Excalibur and the suffering X-Men franchise. The success of the two X-Men movies has not carried over to the comic series, and nothing, not even Peter Milligan's Eisner-winning Uncanny X-Men, seems to be able to slow the franchise's decline. Although a long way from the franchise's low in the mid-nineties, when repeated fill-in arcs by Michael Higgins, Richard Ashford, and Ben Raab nearly got both Uncanny and X-Men cancelled, numbers are still disappointingly low for Marvel.
Meanwhile, several of the titles in the extended EX line have been improving and/or holding steady. Gail Simone and UDON will be celebrating their 30th issue covering Wade Wilson in Deadpool #94, a story that will tie in to Legend of Excalibur #1. eX-Force, by the fan-favorite team of Frank Tieri and Whilce Portacio, will also be connected to the new title's launch. Judd Winick's Exiles will receive a double-sized issue as he wraps up the book's latest mega-arc with the return of artist Mike McKone, and there are even rumors that a new book called Weapon X may debut in May. Current speculation places either Tieri or Winick as the writer.
Details are tightly under wraps regarding the big story arc that will be featured in Excalibur #200 and LOE #1, but Claremont has let slip a few details. "Nightcrawler's marital problems are going to come to a head, and we'll finally get a resolution between him and Cerise, I promise," said the writer. "Brian's going to be in the sauce again, Betsy's going to return to the team to help him out. You're going to see one of the biggest developments since Cable was revealed to be an alternate Mr. Sinister, and... what's that? A metal-skinned Russian? Sorry, don't know what you're talking about."
Claremont, you tease.
Alan Davis seems to be no less excited about his return to the franchise that really made his career: "Chris and I have been going over old plots, new plots, old characters, new characters... and I can tell you, this is going to be an amazing comic. We've had our differences in the past, yes, but we've always managed to overcome them because we value the working relationship so highly. Here's hoping we beat that puny 75-issue run this time around!"
The confirmation of Claremont and Davis as the creative team on the new title seems to lay to rest rumors that Jim Valentino would be returning to Marvel to work on Excalibur. Since leaving the company following the publication of Guardians of the Galaxy #100, Valentino still seems committed to his fledgling "Image" comic book publishing house. So far the company's only hit has been Valentino's own Shadowhawk, but the new Spawn series by Todd McFarlane is gaining in popularity. Still, Valentino has stated that he "remains open" to Marvel EIC Joe Quesada's invitation to return to either Guardians or New Warriors (which will celebrate an anniversary of its own, #175, in April).
Excalibur #200 by Claremont and Larocca, featuring a back-up story by former Avengers writer/Marvel EIC Terry Kavanagh, will go on sale this March. Legend of Excalibur #1, by Claremont and Davis, will be released two weeks later.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
Jim Lemoine, ComiX-Fan's Columns Editor, recently completed the manuscript for his first book, an examination of business leadership. This column's been in his head for years, he believes there's a point to it all, and no, he's not currently on drugs.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and are not reflective of ComiX-Fan or its other staff in general.