Excalibur 3 page 15 by Alan Davis and Paul Neary

I was delighted to add this early Excalibur page to my collection as I loved those two Davis runs for one and second, it perfectly exemplifies the soap opera and domestic humour aspect of that made it so distinctive and successful.

This page has been laser burned into my young brain ever since I’ve read it and I’d say there is a good chance I’m not the only one for whom it is the same. I’d even hazard that there is only one other page in the series that would equally qualify in showcasing that domestic soap fun.

The first panel shows us the raging storm outside of Excalibur’s headquarter, the famous lighthouse. But those onomatopoeia are indicating that another storm is also happening inside. I have always been a fan and amused by the use of verbs as onomatopoeia, a fun comedic device I find :)

Then we have an impressive second panel in which the bouncing Nightcrawler is testing the space limit of his room. That pane is packed with many architectural elements and yet it read effortlessly.

Below the bouncing hero, we find a badly hung over Brian Braddock suffering from the gymnastic efforts of his friend. Again, everything you need to know is there, the empty alcohol bottle and his face, telling you what’s going on even without any words. You also gotta love those thumping sounds crowding Brian’s word balloons, visually enhancing what it must feel like in his head right now.

The fourth panel continues to underline the poor state Brian is in in showing us how messy his room is this morning.

Then Brian does what we all do upon waking up, he goes to the bathroom (or so he thinks!). I love all those mowing boxes in the corridor, indicating that on top of all the teammates being painfully accustoming to live with each other, the place is still packed full and materially in the process of welcoming everyone.

Then we gat a super fun shot of a supremely annoyed Kitty who really does not appreciate being disturbed in her the bath she waited so long to get in, on top of being sick.

Brian’s face expression is pure gold here as you can tell that while being the well-mannered gentleman that he is, he is now being faced with the domestic horror of HAVING TO SHARE his house he will have to live with. Super fun stuff.

The balloon placement on this page from Lois Buhalis is just fantastic. I will point to a last example which is the placement between panels 6 and 7, indicating that passive aggressive vibe between the two friends. Simply brilliant.

Let's not forget to mention those super smooth (and well meshing) inks by Neary. Davis really benefited from great inkers during his career and especially on this title.

Note that this page is perfectly understandable without reading any word on it, proof is that crystal clear storytelling is spot on.

With a page from the first Alan Davis tenure on the book and a splash from his second run, I find I’m quite good even if I certainly would not mind to add more examples of that beloved series.

This is part 6 of my 2024 CAF birthday party.