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Excalibur Visionaries #2
Excalibur Visionaries: Alan Davis, Vol. 2
Secrets of the Phoenix-Force! Dinosaur subplots resolved! Captain Britain and Spider-Man vs. a pack of human dogs! These and other astonishments await as co-creator Alan Davis takes Excalibur into space and down the rabbit hole! Plus: a battle with the X-Men across time and a team-up with the X-Men against Trolls! Collects Excalibur (1988) #51-58 and the Excalibur: XX Crossing one-shot.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
About the author
Alan Davis
1,058 books84 followersAlan Davis is an English writer and artist of comic books, known for his work on titles such as Captain Britain, The Uncanny X-Men, ClanDestine, Excalibur, JLA: The Nail and JLA: Another Nail and others.
Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 23, 2020
Alan Davies drops Excalibur fully into the world of The Uncanny X-Men… Prof X and Jean Grey turn up to see The Phoenix, and the comatose Rachel inside it, to the stars. Psylocke aids Excalibur against Jamie Braddock, Vixen and Satyr9. And the Trolls return with their entire race and Alchemy, and end up battling Excalibur and the X-Men. Alan Davies continues his continuity completion clean-up of outstanding sub-plots aplenty. 5 out of 12.
Collects Excalibur #51-58 and 'XX Crossing'
Collects Excalibur #51-58 and 'XX Crossing'
April 4, 2012
Varied a bit more in quality than it should have. The actual Alan Davis stories were pretty good, and served mostly to tie up any leftover loose ends from the previous 50 or so issues of Excalibur, including getting Jamie Braddock sorted. But the issues not actually by Alan Davis are less successful. There's an awful lot of non-Davis stuff in here, for a collection named after him. I guess I should see these collections not as Visionaries, but Classics (not just one writer, but complete chronological runs of a book). But why not just call them that? The last two issues are a Davis-plotted, Scott Lobdell-penned crossover with the X-Men. Good grief. Hated the art, hated the writing style. Davis's influence is best seen in the framing device that accompanies the story, which is (surprise!) the best thing about it by far.
February 15, 2023
La mayoría de este volumen son historias de relleno completamente ilegibles con un dibujo que va de lo simplemente feo a lo directamente horroroso. A pesar de que su nombre aparece bien grande en la portada, los números de Davis al guión y dibujo son;
- Un número bastante majo en el que Britania se interna por el mundo de Alicia en el País de las Maravillas donde el síndrome del Rey Rojo se emplea de forma ingeniosa, concluyendo con un momento de reflexión de Britania que quizá podría llevar al personaje a algún lugar interesante.
- Tres números ocupados por el clásico argumento de "home invasion", o mejor dicho "mansion invasion" tan habitual en los grupos de superhéroes y que no se deja ni un cliché de este tipo de historias sin tocar. Davis aprovecha para cerrar otro par de cabos sueltos de los primeros números de la colección. Pasable sin más.
- Un número bastante majo en el que Britania se interna por el mundo de Alicia en el País de las Maravillas donde el síndrome del Rey Rojo se emplea de forma ingeniosa, concluyendo con un momento de reflexión de Britania que quizá podría llevar al personaje a algún lugar interesante.
- Tres números ocupados por el clásico argumento de "home invasion", o mejor dicho "mansion invasion" tan habitual en los grupos de superhéroes y que no se deja ni un cliché de este tipo de historias sin tocar. Davis aprovecha para cerrar otro par de cabos sueltos de los primeros números de la colección. Pasable sin más.
June 20, 2019
It’s always fine to see the three Braddock siblings together. Excalibur is changing as a team a little: Rachel is not conscious, cerise and Feron are around, Kylun is taking some time, Nightcrawler is becoming more leader-y. But it is all fun. I enjoyed this collection, not as much as some other, but the goofy fun and unique Excalibur perspective is there. Also, Captain Britain takes a full powered blast from Cyclops and it doesn’t phase him!!!
January 21, 2024
This era of Excalibur centers on cozy British weirdness and a fair bit of "roll your eyes" storytelling.
In this volume, at least, the X-men are more integrated than they have been in a while. The Professor and Jean Gray show up to "Poochy" Rachel Summers off into space. Excalbur teams up with the Jim Lee-era X-men to fight a group of British trolls. The members of Excalibur even face off one-on-one against the original X-men (pre-Bendis!) in time periods ranging from the prehistoric to the Revolutionary War in a ploy conceived by a low-rent assassin trying to impress Doctor Doom. (It doesn't work out well for him.)
Writer (and sometimes illustrator) Alan Davis weaves in a few jokes that these appearances are intended to boost sales. We see a similar sentiment on a cover that reveals that a young Captain Britain was roommates in New York City with Spider-Man. All of it has the vibe of throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks as Excalibur enters a transitional era. We're saying goodbye to classic characters, like Phoenix, testing out new characters, like Cerise, Kylun and Feron, and generally just trying to see what works for a book with niche characters, a niche setting and (presumably) niche sales figures.
None of it's bad exactly, but the tone and characters all seem to be trying too hard to really succeed. Even the "main" focus of the volume, an all-out attack by "Sat-yr-9, former dictator of Earth-794," has convoluted plotting and confusing cross-universe continuity.
At their best, these stories can be charming and reveal different facets of a diverse cast. But the meta-plots never seem to deliver, and it's rare to get through an issue without a sequence that leaves you rolling your eyes.
In this volume, at least, the X-men are more integrated than they have been in a while. The Professor and Jean Gray show up to "Poochy" Rachel Summers off into space. Excalbur teams up with the Jim Lee-era X-men to fight a group of British trolls. The members of Excalibur even face off one-on-one against the original X-men (pre-Bendis!) in time periods ranging from the prehistoric to the Revolutionary War in a ploy conceived by a low-rent assassin trying to impress Doctor Doom. (It doesn't work out well for him.)
Writer (and sometimes illustrator) Alan Davis weaves in a few jokes that these appearances are intended to boost sales. We see a similar sentiment on a cover that reveals that a young Captain Britain was roommates in New York City with Spider-Man. All of it has the vibe of throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks as Excalibur enters a transitional era. We're saying goodbye to classic characters, like Phoenix, testing out new characters, like Cerise, Kylun and Feron, and generally just trying to see what works for a book with niche characters, a niche setting and (presumably) niche sales figures.
None of it's bad exactly, but the tone and characters all seem to be trying too hard to really succeed. Even the "main" focus of the volume, an all-out attack by "Sat-yr-9, former dictator of Earth-794," has convoluted plotting and confusing cross-universe continuity.
At their best, these stories can be charming and reveal different facets of a diverse cast. But the meta-plots never seem to deliver, and it's rare to get through an issue without a sequence that leaves you rolling your eyes.
July 26, 2024
More of Alan Davis cleaning up Claremont's continuity doesn't really make for exciting stories. There are some desperate attempts to attract new readers by putting the X-Men and Spider-Man on some covers. I don't have the sales numbers in front of me to see if they paid off, but they certainly didn't make the stories any more interesting. Apart from a few pages with Captain Britain and Psylocke (in Kwannon's body) catching up with each other during a friendly battle, not a single storyline stayed in my brain. I remember they introduced a new assassin the same way they introduced Arcade a decade earlier, and I remember they fought the insufferably boring Alice In Wonderland villains but everything else washed away by the time I closed the book.
I know some people love Excalibur, and I'm not sure if they continued to love it during the Alan Davis run, but the book has never been one that I've enjoyed, and this run wasn't an exception. In the words of Lewis Carroll, it is "stuff and nonsense."
I know some people love Excalibur, and I'm not sure if they continued to love it during the Alan Davis run, but the book has never been one that I've enjoyed, and this run wasn't an exception. In the words of Lewis Carroll, it is "stuff and nonsense."
January 12, 2026
Not as tightly put together as the previous volume. Davis still shows his skill pulling double duty as both writer and artist for a good deal of the stories. This volume brought many guest stars, with a flashback featuring Spider-Man; visits from Professor X, Psylocke, and the X-Men; even the return of the Crazy Gang. Possibly the best thing about these stories, is there are many plot threads that are pick up from the first few issues of the series, bringing resolution to a few things and leaving the door open for more stories later regarding other plot points. A mixed bag, but fun, and provided character growth for many of the main cast.
June 29, 2018
A mixed bag. The Alan Davis stories were fairly good, with the two-issue arc with Sat-Yr-9 being the best. The Scott Lobdell issues were only OK at best, though the flashback to Captain Britain's early days was at least an interesting change of pace (if still flawed). There's also a fairly noticeable but needless increase in tie-ins with the X-Men, which I bet was some kind of editorial mandate. (B)
July 5, 2024
The issues where Alan Davis actually draws the title are great. The ones where he doesn't...not so great. There are a couple of issues which were plotted by Alan Davis, but scripted by Scott Lobdell, a third rate writer who overwrites everything. When Davis is in the driver's seat, though, this is a good time. I love his action sequences, as their is a fluidity to them that is just amazing. You can almost 'see' the movement in your mind.
March 3, 2025
Something of a disappointment.
I’m a fan of Alan Davis, a fan of Excalibur, and a huge fan of Captain Britain, so I’m definitely the target audience for this book. A big problem is Alan Davis is present here and there, but so are other writers and artists, making the Visionaries label a bit obsolete.
Added to this is the fact the stories are generally average at best, and the main saving grace for me is the not-seen-enough Alan Davis art.
Average Marvel.
I’m a fan of Alan Davis, a fan of Excalibur, and a huge fan of Captain Britain, so I’m definitely the target audience for this book. A big problem is Alan Davis is present here and there, but so are other writers and artists, making the Visionaries label a bit obsolete.
Added to this is the fact the stories are generally average at best, and the main saving grace for me is the not-seen-enough Alan Davis art.
Average Marvel.
August 1, 2020
Such a relief to spend time with these characters instead of the improbable muscles and violence of the other x-titles’ contemporaneous issues. Also nice to have some continuity and wrap-ups of plots instead of constantly being dumped in new surroundings with almost no context.
I think this was probably my favorite volume yet.
I think this was probably my favorite volume yet.
May 16, 2023
This collection would have been better by cutting out any of the issues Davis wasn’t on art duty for. Those stories were clearly filler and distracted from what is otherwise great comic book storytelling.
November 25, 2018
The issue describing Rachel's origins is one of my favorite issues of Excalibur ever. Everything else is just okay.
July 11, 2013
Alan Davis certainly seems to enjoy writing in the 1-issue form … but perhaps that's a necessity when you never know if you have time to write the next issue.
Don't Drink the Water (51). In which Davis clears up the loose end of those missing tourists. An absolutely hilarious issue due to its focus on Dinosaur Excalibur [8/10].
All We Wanted to Know about Phoenix … (52). In Which Davis clears up the loose ends related to Phoenix. Unfortunately, a largely boring issue as it's pretty much an expositional lump about Phoenix, Jean, and Rachel. I was also pretty unthrilled at the time by the departure of Rachel, one of my favorite characters in the X-Men [4/10].
The Litter (53). A Lobdell fill-in. He's canny in choosing to offer more backstory on Brian's time in America, and his early take on his alcoholism is good also. Unfortunately, he treats Brian like a very inexperienced hero which is totally at odds with his extensive British adventures and he introduces a laughably stupid villain group, the Pack [5/10].
Curiouser and Curiouser (54). In which Davis clears up the loose end of the Crazy Gang (and Joyboy). A pretty funny and fun issue that uses the Crazy Gang well [7/10].
XX Crossing (Special). So a time warper walks into Dr. Doom's bar … and that's sadly pretty much the plot of the comic. He makes each member of Excalibur fight a member of the original X-Men in a historical place.It's every bit as stupid as a sounds [3/10].
The Ghost of Braddock Manor & Things That Go Shriek … (55-56). In which Davis remembers that Sat-yr-9 is disguised as Courtney Ross and Nigel Frobisher is disguised as Vixen and Jamie Braddock is on the loose … and closes up the vast majority of those very long-lasting loose ends! This issue is a bit too abrupt in its revelations, and there's too much expository lumping. Nonetheless, it's a great action-packed set of issues, and it's really nice to see all of this closed up, when some of it has been running for about 50 issues with no real movement [7/10].
The X-Men & Trolls (57-58). And finally, we have a really silly story of a fight against trolls with a totally unnecessary X-Men crossover. The writing actually isn't bad, but it's unimportant to the larger story [6/10].
Overall, this is a really erratic volume, which is probably why I originally stopped reading Excalibur in this time frame. I'd suggest skipping all of the stories that Lobdell is involved with (53, Special, 57-58). It won't hurt the storyline, since that pretty much skips the Lobdell issues, and it'll make for a much more enjoyable read.
Don't Drink the Water (51). In which Davis clears up the loose end of those missing tourists. An absolutely hilarious issue due to its focus on Dinosaur Excalibur [8/10].
All We Wanted to Know about Phoenix … (52). In Which Davis clears up the loose ends related to Phoenix. Unfortunately, a largely boring issue as it's pretty much an expositional lump about Phoenix, Jean, and Rachel. I was also pretty unthrilled at the time by the departure of Rachel, one of my favorite characters in the X-Men [4/10].
The Litter (53). A Lobdell fill-in. He's canny in choosing to offer more backstory on Brian's time in America, and his early take on his alcoholism is good also. Unfortunately, he treats Brian like a very inexperienced hero which is totally at odds with his extensive British adventures and he introduces a laughably stupid villain group, the Pack [5/10].
Curiouser and Curiouser (54). In which Davis clears up the loose end of the Crazy Gang (and Joyboy). A pretty funny and fun issue that uses the Crazy Gang well [7/10].
XX Crossing (Special). So a time warper walks into Dr. Doom's bar … and that's sadly pretty much the plot of the comic. He makes each member of Excalibur fight a member of the original X-Men in a historical place.It's every bit as stupid as a sounds [3/10].
The Ghost of Braddock Manor & Things That Go Shriek … (55-56). In which Davis remembers that Sat-yr-9 is disguised as Courtney Ross and Nigel Frobisher is disguised as Vixen and Jamie Braddock is on the loose … and closes up the vast majority of those very long-lasting loose ends! This issue is a bit too abrupt in its revelations, and there's too much expository lumping. Nonetheless, it's a great action-packed set of issues, and it's really nice to see all of this closed up, when some of it has been running for about 50 issues with no real movement [7/10].
The X-Men & Trolls (57-58). And finally, we have a really silly story of a fight against trolls with a totally unnecessary X-Men crossover. The writing actually isn't bad, but it's unimportant to the larger story [6/10].
Overall, this is a really erratic volume, which is probably why I originally stopped reading Excalibur in this time frame. I'd suggest skipping all of the stories that Lobdell is involved with (53, Special, 57-58). It won't hurt the storyline, since that pretty much skips the Lobdell issues, and it'll make for a much more enjoyable read.
November 26, 2010
Most of this book represents Alan Davis's finale on this book, and it is for the most part good stuff. Ties up loose ends from the early days of Excalibur and Davis's run on Captain Britain. However, a couple of the stories feature work by Scott Lobdell, and they represent the crap that was Excalibur without Alan Davis onboard, and shows the perils of corporate comics, especially in the '90s.
I can forgive the last couple weak stories that are scripted by Lobdell, because at least they feature Davis's plots, but there are two issues here that don't feature Davis in any capacity, and shouldn't have been included in a "Visionaries" volume.
I can forgive the last couple weak stories that are scripted by Lobdell, because at least they feature Davis's plots, but there are two issues here that don't feature Davis in any capacity, and shouldn't have been included in a "Visionaries" volume.
September 12, 2014
Two of my favorite storylines in this collection: a flashback sequence where Peter Parker has far greater impact on Captain Britain than Spiderman does, and a multi-part arc where Courtney Ross and Jamie Braddock devastate Excalibur in every possible sense. And there's some great moments here as Meggan, Brian, and Kurt each grow and change under pressure, along with gorgeous art from Alan Davis, who just keeps getting better and better.
October 20, 2011
Another step into the weird and wacky realm of Excalibur. This time the Xmen, and Spiderman guest star. Quite a few loose ends are finally finished, including that of Jamie Braddox and the Crazy gang. An ok read.
March 30, 2012
Too many weak fill-ins. Why even bother collecting the non-Alan Davis stuff?
September 16, 2013
The Alan Davis bits are a 5, with everything else a 1.
October 23, 2016
Beyond excellent and into sublime. Loved every bit of it. Alan Davis is the master. Easily the best super-hero stuff of the early 90's. Essential reading for Phoenix force details.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews