Classic X-Men and Excalibur

Riding on the wave of mutant success writer Chris Claremont decide to add another ‘X’ project to his already busy roster of X-Men titles.

After having huge successes with The Uncanny X-Men, The New Mutants and a string of mini-series, Chris was ready for something with a little lighter edge and a lot more humor.

So he came up with Excalibur-a very British take on mutants.

The Excalibur Special Edition sets up the team.  Kitty Pride of the X-Men has had some horrendous dreams.  So scary in fact that she can’t sleep.

At that time she believed the X-Men were dead. Professor X was halfway across the galaxy.

She contacts Nightcrawler (the only other ‘surviving X-Man) and then things really get out of control.

They are attacked by one of the most unusual band of aliens imaginable, almost get killed by Warwolves, run into Captain Britain and that’s just part of the melee.

Eventually things settle down and Kitty, along with Nightcrawler, Captain Britain, his shape-shifting girlfriend Megan and Rachel Summers (Phoenix) band together and create Excalibur.

There’s a lot more stuff to see in this issue to completely grasp the story.

Artist Alan Davis and inker Paul Neary deliver some absolutely fantastic art full of action, emotional highs and lows, some incredible fight scenes, unique character designs and lots of humor.

Currently a raw copy goes for around $10 and a 9+ slabbed copy for about $100.

For even more fun be sure to pick up a copy of Excalibur Mojo Mayhem featuring the art of Arthur Adams.

In this issue Excalibur goes up against Mojo and his assassin and team-up with the X-Babies.

It is hilarious and Arthur’s artwork fits the bill perfectly.

There’s a classy tribute to the Jack Kirby and Stan Lee legacy that both Marvel and DC Comics fans are sure to get a kick out of. 

It’s absolutely a hoot and a fun read that is sure to become a classic.

Issues are available for less than five bucks.

Purchasing the very first run of The New Uncanny X-Men titles can be daunting and expensive.

The classic run of Giant Size X-Men #1 and The Uncanny X-Men #94 through #143 can clean out one’s wallet.

When it comes to Claremont, Cockrum and Byrne’s classic runs on the title it can get expensive.

If you’re a penny-pincher like myself you can’t slap down hundreds or thousands of dollars for comic books.

I’m fortunate that I have most of the classic Cockrum and Byrne X-Men issues-mainly because I bought them when they were originally on sale at the newsstand.

Still, for a great way to pick up the classic X-Men issues without paying high prices search for Marvel’s Classic X-Men series.

It features reprints of the classic issues with original art provided by John Bolton intermingled with the classic Byrne and Cockrum art.

It’s a great way to save a few bucks and still enjoy some classic tales.