I agree. They had an even closer family feel, than the core X-books did at the time. That was one of the thing's I really loved about it. So much of Marvel now is just combat for combat sakes, and to satisfy the ADHD crowd, you lose alot of the characterization in favor of coolness. Even when you see two characters together and people comment it's usually about their combat prowess together, rather than the over all relationship between the characters.
I miss Excalibur.
This all day. Marvel NOW is NOW about doom and gloom, and Heroes that don't actually make a difference or go on fantastic adventures. The Fantastic Four isn't a typical hero book, It's a family book first, then it's Doc Savage X4 second. That book is built for fantastical Science adventures. Excalibur is about Fantastical multi-universal adventures with copies of the same people, just in different situations, based around one family.
But Marvel's thing now is Punchy punchy stabby stabby and blam pow pew pew! I only get Psylocke's X=Force and X-men and the UK books out now, because I'm a Braddock Nerd.
I would have "lived" for a revisit of the characters and creative powerhouse team. I picked up The Sword is Drawn on a whim at a grocery store carosel and had to beg (there may have been crying),for my Mom to buy it because it was higher priced. I collected every issue and every special until it ended. This was and is my favorite run of a comic (a lot was lost when C and A left though). Man, for just a 6 issue run back with original team and creators would make my year. I would actually buy the single issues (which in today's market would be a very special effort on my end ).
Dark Excalibur days indeed, plus this is when we lost Rachel...I just threw up in my mouth.
Loved the brief moment in Uncanny when Ray and Kurt saw Brian and Meggan again...may have been the first time since she returned I think. Brief, but nice (plus it was Coipel art).
I just wanted to apologise to all Excalibur fans for being the first person in this thread to bring up the horror that was Britannic.