Excalibur #2

   The series Excalibur got off to a fair start with the first issue, but this one feels like more of a stumble.

   After assembling the team, this issue seems dedicated to splitting them up (or not using them at all).

   The issue begins with the team racing to The Lighthouse, their former headquarters - which seems odd, since they have pressing business: Rogue is in a mystical coma of some kind, and the former Captain Britain (Brian Braddock) is a captive of the witch Morgan La Fey - but there seems no urgency about rescuing him or curing Rogue.

   Instead we get a story packed with odd bits of business - like Kitty Pryde, who doesn't stick around long at all, Jubilee, who worries about her young child (I have no idea what's up with the kid and the story just makes it more confusing), there are attacking sea creatures, mysteries around Apocalypse (including an opening sequence that seems to have nothing to do with the rest of the story) and a couple of competing druid enclaves that may be allies and may be enemies.

   So there's a lot to unpack here, but it just flies around in the comic and never seems to tie together at all.

   Perhaps future issues will sort it out, but I'm not sure I'll be hanging around for it - my past enjoyment of the original series doesn't seem to be translating to the modern version.

   Luckily, there are plenty of other X-books to check out.

Grade: C+

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