Diving In: New Excalibur # 6

Trying a series, whether it is a # 1, still relatively new, or hundreds of issues into a run, has risks, but it is also potentially rewarding. Diving In will explore the combination of factors that brought me to try an issue and how I feel about it afterwards.

New Excalibur # 6 is the first issue I've bought from this new run of Excalibur. So, why did I buy it? Of course, there's that nostalgia connection. I did sometimes buy Excalibur during the very late 80's and 90's, so I do remember the nice art by Alan Davis and Mark Farmer. Following Nightcrawler and Shadowcat in those days also appealed to me, as they had super-powers that struck me as pretty useful. Teleporting short distances or phasing through solid objects could come in handy. That subway door just closed on you? BAMF! Made it. It was also interesting to have a team that wasn't based in New York.

This new team is almost completely different. I had seen them in action in a few Uncanny X-Men issues related to House of M, and I did want to follow them after that. Captain Britain is the only character I remember from the old series. I have read some stories with Sage in Extreme X-Men. Juggernaut as a good guy is new to me, and while I have heard of Dazzler and Nocturne, an alternate reality offspring of Nightcrawler, I haven't read too many stories with them. The appeal of this is that I'm getting quite a bit of new content. Plus these characters are not in the hands of multiple writers, so this book would have some exclusive content by default.

Nocturne's ability is potentially one of the most powerful in comics. When I first saw Rogue, I didn't grasp how important she could be. I was stuck on the idea that she needed other people around to have power. But she essentially incapacitates an opponent and adds their biological distinctiveness to her own side. Wow. So, say a 5 on 5, becomes 5+ to 4. Nocturne possesses an opponent totally. So that is just as potent.

At this point, I was just waiting for the art to attract me enough to buy. While this cover is generic in terms of story relevance, it has a dynamic feel to it that I think is really cool. The New Excalibur title lettering/logo/font design works for me too. And Micheal Ryan and Co.'s interior art seemed sharp. This issue was the first to really pop for me on a flip through.

Here's part of a disaster scene showing Dazzler and Nocturne helping out:



So, I was satisfied with the art even after reading it. As far as story, there were some potentially cool avenues. You have Pete Wisdom on the team, an agent of MI-13, which handles super-natural affairs. There is a prisoner transfer of some Dark X-Men that were captured earlier in the series. A former mutant hero, depowered by M-Day, reveals his new plans. And it seems one of the team's goals is to track down the cause of M-Day. There's even more.

My hunch about New Excalibur # 6 paid off. Unfortunately, reports are saying writer Chris Claremont has had to take some time off of late, so the series could suffer during that time. I will look for more chances to buy it though.