Excalibur (comic book)
| Excalibur | |
|---|---|
 Cover to Excalibur #1 (Oct. 1988). | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | Superhero |
| Main character(s) | Excalibur |
Excalibur is the name of several comic book titles featuring the team Excalibur and published by Marvel Comics, beginning with the original Excalibur comic book series which debuted in 1988.
Publication history[]
Excalibur (vol. 1, 1988–1998)[]
Excalibur's original creative team, writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer Alan Davis, incorporated elements of two Marvel properties: the X-Men and Captain Britain. The resulting superhero team Excalibur first gathered together in Excalibur Special Edition #1 (1988) and were soon featured in a monthly series.
Davis left with Excalibur #24 (1990) and Claremont with Excalibur #34 (1991), leaving a number of various plot points unresolved before his departure. A year later, Davis returned as both writer and illustrator with Excalibur #42. He rejuvenated the series, returning to the (mostly) lighthearted tone of his original run, while resolving many of the plotlines Claremont had left dangling.
After Davis left again in 1993 (issue #67), Uncanny X-Men writer Scott Lobdell filled in for over a year (issues #68-82). Lobdell stated one of his key goals was to create a foundation for the series beyond being another X-Men spinoff, something both he and editor Bob Harras felt the series was lacking.[1] In addition, the tone of the series changed as well, from a lighthearted, fun comic to a more grim and depressing series.
In 1994, Warren Ellis assumed writing duties (issue #83) and, using his dark sense of humor, helped the book gain its own voice once again. Ellis left in 1996 (issue #103) and Ben Raab, his replacement (issue #106), failed to find a voice for the series, often borrowing plotlines from other X-books. Sales fell and Marvel canceled the series, which ended with issue #125 (1998).
Excalibur (vol. 2, 2001)[]
In 2001, a four-issue limited series titled Excalibur was published, written by Raab. Originally solicited as Excalibur: Sword of Power, the subtitle was absent from the published issues, and, due to an error, the indicia described it as Excalibur volume 1. In addition, the solicited cover to issue #1 was unused.[2]
Excalibur (vol. 3, 2004)[]
In 2004, Marvel Comics launched a new ongoing series titled Excalibur. Aside from the name and the writer (Claremont), it had no connection to Marvel's previous Excalibur titles. The series' last issue was #14, released in May, 2005.
The letters page of the final issue of Excalibur (vol. 3) announced a relaunch of the title as New Excalibur in November, 2005.
Excalibur (vol. 4, 2019)[]
| Excalibur | |
|---|---|
 Cover to Excalibur (vol. 4) #1 by Mahmud Asrar & Matthew Wilson. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Genre | Superhero, Fantasy |
| No. of issues | 24 (as of October 2021) |
| Main character(s) | Apocalypse Captain Britain Gambit Jubilee Rictor Rogue |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | Tini Howard |
| Artist(s) | Marcus To Wilton Santos R.B. Silva Phil Noto Mahmud Asrar Stefano Caselli Covers Mahmud Asrar Matthew Wilson |
| Colorist(s) | Erick Arciniega Nolan Woodward Phil Noto Sunny Gho Rachelle Rosenberg |
| Editor(s) | Editor Jordan D. White Assistant Editor Chris Robinson Head of X Jonathan Hickman |
Excalibur was relaunched as a part of Dawn of X in October 2019. The initial roster comprised includes Betsy Braddock as the new Captain Britain, Gambit, Rogue, Jubilee, Rictor and Apocalypse.
Roster[]
| Character | Real Name | Joined in | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Captain Britain | Betsy Braddock | “Excalibur #1” (October 2019) | Presumed dead in Excalibur #14, revived in Excalibur #20 |
| Captain Avalon | Brian Braddock | ||
| Apocalypse | En Sabbah Nur | Leaves in X of Swords: Destruction (November 2020) | |
| Gambit | Remy LeBeau | ||
| Jubilee | Jubilation Lee | ||
| Rogue | Anna-Marie LeBeau | Leaves in Excalibur #21 to join the X-Men | |
| Rictor | Julio Richter | “Excalibur #3” (December 2019) | |
| Gloriana | Meggan Braddock | “Excalibur #16” (December 2020) | Appeared as a supporting character prior to officially joining the team |
Supporting characters[]
- Angel (Warren Worthington III)
- Captain Britain Corps
- Monarch (Jamie Braddock)
- Merlyn
- Morgan le Fay
- Opal Luna Saturnyne
- Shatterstar (Gaveedra-Seven)
- Pete Wisdom and S.T.R.I.K.E.
- Psylocke (Kwannon)
Prints[]
| Issue | Publication Date | Writer | Artist | Colorist | Rating[3] | Estimated Sales to North American Retailers (First Month) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | October 30, 2019 | Tini Howard | Marcus To | Erick Arciniega | 7.6 by 25 professional critics | 83,023[4] | None |
| #2 | November 20, 2019 | 7.3 by 14 professional critics | 55,828[5] | ||||
| #3 | December 4, 2019 | 8.3 by 10 professional critics | 47,253[6] | ||||
| #4 | December 18, 2019 | 8.1 by 6 professional critics | 46,022[6] | ||||
| #5 | January 8, 2020 | 8.1 by 8 professional critics | 48,887[7] | ||||
| #6 | January 22, 2020 | 8.6 by 10 professional critics | 45,374[7] | ||||
| #7 | February 12, 2020 | Wilton Santos | 7.5 by 8 professional critics | 40,131[8] | |||
| #8 | March 4, 2020 | Wilton Santos & Marcus To | 8.2 by 4 professional critics | 35,429[9] | |||
| #9 | March 18, 2020 | Marcus To | 7.6 by 6 professional critics | 36,259[9] | |||
| #10 | June 10, 2020 | 7.8 by 8 professional critics | Data not yet available | ||||
| #11 | August 19, 2020 | 7.9 by 6 professional critics | |||||
| #12 | September 16, 2020 | 8.2 by 6 professional critics | |||||
| #13 | October 21, 2020 | R.B. Silva | Nolan Woodward | 7.7 by 8 professional critics | X of Swords tie-in | ||
| #14 | November 11, 2020 | Phil Noto | 7.3 by 11 professional critics | ||||
| #15 | November 25, 2020 | Mahmud Asrar Stefano Caselli |
Sunny Gho Rachelle Rosenberg |
7.6 by 4 professional critics | |||
Collected editions[]
| Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excalibur Classic, Vol. 1 - The Sword is Drawn | Excalibur #1-5; Excalibur Special Edition | November 2005 | 978-0785118886 |
| Excalibur Classic, Vol. 2 - Two-Edged Sword | Excalibur #6-11; Excalibur: Mojo Mayhem | August 2006 | 978-0785122012 |
| Excalibur Classic, Vol. 3 - Cross Time Caper, Book 1 | Excalibur #12-20 | February 2007 | 978-0785122029 |
| Excalibur Classic, Vol. 4 - Cross-Time Caper, Book 2 | Excalibur #21-28 | November 2007 | 978-0785122036 |
| Excalibur Classic, Vol. 5 | Excalibur #29-34; Excalibur: Weird War III | May 2008 | 978-0785131229 |
| Excalibur Visionaries: Alan Davis, Vol. 1 | Excalibur #42-50 | June 2009 | 978-0785137405 |
| Excalibur Visionaries: Alan Davis, Vol. 2 | Excalibur #51-58; Excalibur: XX Crossing | February 2010 | 978-0785144557 |
| Excalibur Visionaries: Alan Davis, Vol. 3 | Excalibur #59-67 | July 2011 | 978-0785155430 |
| X-Men: Fatal Attractions | Excalibur, vol. 1 #71; X-Factor, vol. 1 #92; Uncanny X-Men #304; X-Men, vol. 2 #25; Wolverine, vol. 2 #75; and X-Force, vol. 1 #25 | August 2000 | 0-7851-0748-7 |
| X-Men: The Phalanx Covenant | Excalibur, vol. 1 #78-82; Uncanny X-Men #306, 311-314, 316–317; X-Men, vol. 2 #36–37; X-Factor, vol. 1 #106; X-Force, vol. 1 #38; Wolverine, vol. 2 #85; Cable, vol. 1 #16 | February 2014 | 0-7851-8549-6 |
| Origin of Generation X: Tales of the Phalanx Covenant | Excalibur, vol. 1 #82; Uncanny X-Men #316–317; X-Men, vol. 2 #36–37; X-Factor, vol. 1 #106; X-Force, vol. 1 #38; Wolverine, vol. 2 #85; Cable, vol. 1 #16; and Generation X #1 | June 2001 | 0-7851-0216-7 |
| Excalibur Visionaries: Warren Ellis, Vol. 1 | Excalibur #83-90 | May 2010 | 978-0785144564 |
| Excalibur Visionaries: Warren Ellis, Vol. 2 | Excalibur #91-95; X-Man #12; Starjammers #1-4 | August 2010 | 978-0785149293 |
| Excalibur Visionaries: Warren Ellis, Vol. 3 | Excalibur #96-103; Pryde and Wisdom #1-3 | December 2010 | 978-0785149521 |
| Excalibur: Forging the Sword | Excalibur vol. 3, #1-4 | November 2004 | 978-0785115274 |
| Excalibur: Saturday Night Fever | Excalibur vol. 3, #5-10 | June 2005 | 978-0785114765 |
| House of M: Excalibur - Prelude | Excalibur vol. 3, #11-14 | August 2005 | 978-0785118121 |
| New Excalibur: Defenders of the Realm | New Excalibur #1-7 | August 2006 | 978-0785118350 |
| New Excalibur: Last Days of Camelot | New Excalibur #8-15 | March 2007 | 978-0785122210 |
| New Excalibur: Battle for Eternity | New Excalibur #16-24 | December 2007 | 978-0785124559 |
| X-Men: Die by the Sword | X-Men: Die by the Sword #1-5 (epilogue to New Excalibur) | March 2008 | 978-0785127918 |
| Excalibur by Tini Howard – Volume 1 | Excalibur #1–6 | April 22, 2020[10] | ISBN 978-1302919917 |
| Excalibur by Tini Howard – Volume 2 | Excalibur #7–12 | December 1, 2020[11] | ISBN 978-1302921460 |
| Excalibur by Tini Howard – Volume 3 | Excalibur #16-21 | September 15, 2021 | ISBN 978-1302924843 |
Epic Collections[]
| Volume | Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Excalibur Epic Collection: The Sword is Drawn | Excalibur vol.1 #1–11; Excalibur Special Edition; Captain Britain (1976) #1–2; Excalibur: Mojo Mayhem; material from Mighty World of Marvel (vol. 2) #7, 14–15; Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #31–38 | March 2017 | 978-1302904340 |
| 2 | Excalibur Epic Collection: The Cross-Time Caper | Excalibur vol.1 #12–30 | June 2018 | 978-1302910129 |
| 3 | Excalibur Epic Collection: Girls' School From Heck | Excalibur vol.1 #31–41; Excalibur: Weird War III; Excalibur: The Possession; Excalibur: Air Apparent; Sensational She-Hulk #26; material from Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #75 | February 2019 | 978-1302916527 |
| 4 | Excalibur Epic Collection: Curiouser and Curiouser | Excalibur vol.1 #42–58; Excalibur: XX Crossing; material from Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #110 | February 2020 | 978-1302922764 |
References[]
- ^ O'Neill, Patrick Daniel (August 1993). "The Future is Now". Wizard: X-Men Turn Thirty. pp. 12–25.
- ^ "Marvel Comics for December". Comics Continuum. September 20, 2000.
- ^ "Excalibur (2019) Comic Series Reviews at ComicBookRoundUp.com". . Retrieved 2020-02-27.
- ^ "October 2019 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops". Comichron. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
- ^ "November 2019 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops". Comichron. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
- ^ a b "December 2019 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops". Comichron. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
- ^ a b "January 2020 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops". Comichron. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
- ^ "February 2020 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops". Comichron. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
- ^ a b "March 2020 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops". Comichron. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
- ^ "Excalibur by Tini Howard Vol. 1". Amazon. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
- ^ "Excalibur by Tini Howard Vol. 2". Amazon. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
Categories - 1988 comics debuts
- Comics by Chris Claremont
- Excalibur (comics)
- X-Men titles