Excalibur [02]: A Tower of Flowers SPOILERS

[Michael Watkins]

this is probably my least favorite book so far. the art on a lot of these book is kind of weak imo. i was spoiled by the House of X/Powers of X stuff.

[RD155]

this is probably my least favorite book so far. the art on a lot of these book is kind of weak imo. i was spoiled by the House of X/Powers of X stuff.

As a whole, DOX has kind of been up and down so far. The only outright bad book to me right now is X-men though. Ironically enough I actually feel Excalibur might have the best art. Fallen Angels art is also up there.

[The Quiet Councilor]

this is probably my least favorite book so far. the art on a lot of these book is kind of weak imo. i was spoiled by the House of X/Powers of X stuff.

That’s been my biggest disappointment overall. Larraz, Silva, and Gracia radically moved the needle on the aesthetic, and I’m finding New Mutants and X-Force are the only books really carrying that baton. Everything else feels pretty pedestrian by comparison, but I think Fallen Angels might get there.

(ok, really it’s Excalibur and Marauders)

[xhx23x]

I liked the issue just fine, since this still feels pretty set up-y so I don't mind the odd pacing, but the character voices do seem to be off. Jubes and Beetsy I can more or less explain away but this Gambit is pretty weird. Like X-Men Legacy pouting at Magneto and Rogue at every scene weird.

Still like it enough though. So I'll see where this goes. Especially with Dragon Shogo. That seems fun. ..[A].. is still the best character. I hope Rogue wakes up soon, if only to get Remy to shut up about it.

[Andru]

Here's my issue...and this is not directed at any one individual as I have seen multiple posters state this...but Dawn of X was supposed to build off the exciting new direction started with House & Powers of X. Everything should be top notch, excitement inducing, & rich in terms of story & art...not "just fine".

I understand everyone has different tastes and preferences...but looking throughout this thread, the reactions have been mostly meh to bad.

As a fan who, like many others, have suffered through mediocrity these last few years, I was expecting better.

[RD155]

I

Here's my issue...and this is not directed at any one individual as I have seen multiple posters state this...but Dawn of X was supposed to build off the exciting new direction started with House & Powers of X. Everything should be top notch, excitement inducing, & rich in terms of story & art...not "just fine".

I understand everyone has different tastes and preferences...but looking throughout this thread, the reactions have been mostly meh to bad.

As a fan who, like many others, have suffered through mediocrity these last few years, I was expecting better.

I can totally understand where you’re coming from. DOX has been a bit up and down and we were probably all expecting these books to come out swinging, no punches pulled. That kind of hasn’t been the case yet. Excalibur is worrying me. I do enjoy the book but there are some definite issues with this title and the fan response to it hasn’t be extremely positive especially considering the amount of fan favorite characters in the title.

[Knightmare]

You mean like how he possibly "exploited" the Otherworld situation to place Brian Braddock in a situation that would spur Betsy to take his Captain Britain powers and thus put it at the "disposal of Krakoa"? Or that he may also "possibly" have set up Shogo being brought to Otherworld to be balefully poly-morphed and set him up to be eliminated (and thus remove the one element - mothering a human - that has made Jubilee come off as less-approachable to the Krakoans)?

Yeah all of the above!

Your Shogo assertion is a stretch. It could just be a contrivance to have some fun with a human baby in a comic that is clearly supposed to be fun and entertaining.

Your [A] assertion is certainly one way of reading the premise, but by no means the only one. It's not an 'obvious' plot line, its a theory.

You mean that in one scene both Jubilee and Betsy have crazy dreams which lead them to take certain actions that involve trust issues with Apocalypse! Yeah OK, just a coincidence

[useridgoeshere]

I can totally understand where you’re coming from. DOX has been a bit up and down and we were probably all expecting these books to come out swinging, no punches pulled. That kind of hasn’t been the case yet. Excalibur is worrying me. I do enjoy the book but there are some definite issues with this title and the fan response to it hasn’t be extremely positive especially considering the amount of fan favorite characters in the title.

I like the cast and premise. However, it just reads weirdly for me. The pacing and dialogue seem like they needed more time. It's like a first draft. HOXPOX was developed over years, so I wouldn't expect that level of attention, but of all the books, this one could stand some more workshopping to get it tighter and crisper.

[anyajenkins]

See right there embedded in that comment is the fallacy of evolution as not “survival of the fittest” as in the closest fit to the environmental conditions available but “survival of the strongest/cleverest/most skilful” that just isn’t evolution. That’s a supremacist mission statement.

That’s been a looong standing problem with the x books. ‘Homo superior’ , the next step in evolution, Phoenix burns planets that don’t work’ and stop ‘evolving.’ It’s always been bs, but it only bugs you in apocalypse? Also, him being a ‘scientist’ does mean he can’t be jerk, it’s not binary.

So I did get this issue, not as bad as it sounded. Disjointed is a valid criticism. Why are they dragging rogue (and jubilee who has a baby to take care of) to the lighthouse? Attacked by evil mermaids, betsy says if Morgan set them they’ll follow her, they do. But then she says she’s not sure if Morgan set them. Jubilee is worried about Shogo, understandable, but then she goes and gets him and brings him to the lighthouse, instead of just going back and staying with him? (or taking him somewhere else.) gambit is worried about rogue, also understandable, but everyone’s acting annoyed with him, even though he has a right to be worried, and he was right about apocalypse playing them all along. Hmm...still a potentially good idea, hopefully the flaws get better: I’m definitely feeling like this was meant as a mini series designed to set up some things for hickman’s next crossover.

[Domino_Dare-Doll]

See right there embedded in that comment is the fallacy of evolution as not “survival of the fittest” as in the closest fit to the environmental conditions available but “survival of the strongest/cleverest/most skilful” that just isn’t evolution. That’s a supremacist mission statement.

Yeah, and that's usually how Apocalypse operates from what I've seen.

[jpmst17]

does anyone else find this series very dull? if not for Apocalypse, there would be almost nothing interesting about it

[RD155]

does anyone else find this series very dull? if not for Apocalypse, there would be almost nothing interesting about it

Its got some issues no doubt. Originally going into the series I was hoping that every character would be an equal member. As the series grew closer it became clear from Tini’s interviews that Betsy would be the main focus. I don’t have anything against Betsy and love the character but....I was hoping that every character would get that attention. I do like the series but Tini has to really Iron some things out, specifically her treatment of Gambit at the moment ....

[Domino_Dare-Doll]

does anyone else find this series very dull? if not for Apocalypse, there would be almost nothing interesting about it

I think it depends on what you're after; like I personally love the more character-driven focus over larger plots so I'm totally happy, but I can definitely see where you're coming from! Different strokes and all that.

[AdamFTF]

Well, personally I liked it. But I'm only reading this and New Mutants, so I don't know what to compare it to.

[Psycwave]

Reading this issue again, I actually enjoyed it more the second time around.
Or at least the aspects I liked really stuck out a little more. Poccy being in both Betsy and Jubes’ dreams is a nice reminder that he’s absolutely manipulating this entire situation. I also liked that the new lighthouse is Krakoan in nature. Adding some mutant roots to the Braddock land is a nice touch. I’m really anxious to see how it all ties into the new magic, should we ever actually see it. Though given the cover to issue 6, I’m starting to think that magic mutants burst out after whatever Apocalypse is planning. Pixie kind of would’ve been great for this book.

I do wonder how the lighthouse is going to give off light once Rogue wakes up and stops glowing lol. I guess it also makes sense that they’re taking Rogue to the lighthouse. Whatever happened to her was a result of the gate being destroyed from the other side in Otherworld. Braddocks and the Lighthouse have ties to that. Probably felt it was a good place to take her to try and figure out her current state. Though of course that could’ve been said...