Excalibur #55
“The Ghost of Braddock Manor”
Writer and pencils: Alan Davis
Inks: Mark Farmer
Colours: Glynis Oliver
Letters: Michael Heisler
Editor: Terry Kavanagh
Original publication date: October 1992
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.14.7″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] [/et_pb_code][et_pb_button button_url=”https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/8638/excalibur_1988_55″ url_new_window=”on” button_text=”marvel unlimited link” _builder_version=”4.14.7″ custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”14px” button_text_color=”#FFFFFF” button_bg_color=”#ef00db” button_border_width=”8px” button_border_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” button_letter_spacing=”2px” button_font=”Nunito|700||on|||||” button_use_icon=”off” custom_margin=”30px|||” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”right” animation_intensity_slide=”5%” animation_starting_opacity=”100%” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”0px” box_shadow_vertical=”25px” box_shadow_blur=”45px” box_shadow_color=”rgba(148,166,191,0.25)” global_colors_info=”{}” button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off”][/et_pb_button][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”My Books Section” _builder_version=”3.22″ custom_margin=”23px|||||” custom_padding=”100px||100px|” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_margin=”-78px|auto||auto||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.14.7″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||7px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”]The last time Excalibur threw a party, Meggan became a vampire and tried to eat a dog. So expectations are high! But this issue’s up to the challenge, and so’s our guest, comics and pop culture scholar Jeffrey A. Brown, author of many fabulous books including, most recently, Love, Sex, Gender, and Superheroes. We talk plenty about those four topics in this episode, in which multiple blonde ladies smooch Brian, Kurt and Cerise spend seven minutes in heaven, and a bunch of less-fun stuff gives us lots of mixed feelings. It’s a mega-sized ep for a mega-sexy issue!
Content warning: This episode includes discussion of sexual violence.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.14.5" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.14.5" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_blurb title="On context:" image="https://voxpopcast.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/55_courtney-arrives.jpg" _builder_version="4.14.7" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"]“I was really struck by the outrageousness of the kissing and grabbing and presentation of kisses as sex. It wasn’t just soap opera. It felt like a key party.” -Jeff
[/et_pb_blurb][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.14.5" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.14.5" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_blurb title="On character beats:" image="https://voxpopcast.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/55_kurt-and-kitty-convo.jpg" _builder_version="4.14.7" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"]“Davis is starting to refine the distinctions between the character voices, and he’s getting those distinctions without imitating Claremont. He’s making these characters his own and they’re defining themselves while creating internal consistency.” -Andrew
[/et_pb_blurb][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.14.5" _module_preset="default" custom_margin="-16px|auto||auto||" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.14.5" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_blurb title="On sexual symbolism:" image="https://voxpopcast.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/55_brian-and-meggan-kiss.jpg" _builder_version="4.14.7" _module_preset="default" custom_padding="0px|||||" global_colors_info="{}"]“Talking about sex in the superhero genre is fascinating because it says so much about how weird we are about sex. Superhero comics are dripping with sexuality, yet sex is often sublimated or transformed into violence. This issue of Excalibur is a really good example of that.” -Jeff
[/et_pb_blurb][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.14.5" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.14.5" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_blurb title="On the appeal of impossible monster boys:" image="https://voxpopcast.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/55_kurt-and-cerise-top-part.jpg" _builder_version="4.14.7" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"]“Speaking as a fellow big strong lady: I like seeing Kurt be seduced by a woman who’s not beholden to earthly gender norms.” -Anna
[/et_pb_blurb][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.14.5" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.14.5" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_blurb title="On sexual possibilities:" image="https://voxpopcast.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/55_kurt-and-cerise-bottom-part.jpg" _builder_version="4.14.7" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"]“Kurt’s character arc is largely tied to his sexuality and gender expression. So for him to develop feelings for Cerise based on her helping him develop new ways of exploring that—I think that’s more than sexual. I think it opens a lot of possibilities.” -Andrew
[/et_pb_blurb][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.14.5" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.14.5" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_blurb title="On fridging:" image="https://voxpopcast.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/55_alysande.jpg" _builder_version="4.14.7" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"]“Alysande is masculine-coded in many ways. But here, we see her in a feminine setting, in a silky nightie, in front of the mirror, applying lipstick with her butt facing us. And this is where she gets killed. Which makes the violence deeply gendered. I’m tired of this shit.” -Anna
[/et_pb_blurb][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.14.5" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.14.5" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_blurb title="On sexualized threats:" image="https://voxpopcast.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/55_Jamie.jpg" _builder_version="4.14.7" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"]“In some ways, the closing image of Jamie is the most shocking one in the issue. He’s explicitly naked, with shackles on his wrists and ankles, and hair trailing down his chest into his loincloth… Superhero comics depict metaphorically naked bodies, but no one gets ‘actually’ naked. Bodies are painted with bright colours. Jamie is the return of the repressed.” -Jeff
[/et_pb_blurb][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.14.5" _module_preset="default" custom_margin="20px|auto||auto||" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.14.5" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_team_member name="Want more Jeffrey A. Brown?" image_url="https://voxpopcast.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/55_love-sex-cover.jpg" _builder_version="4.14.7" _module_preset="default" hover_enabled="0" global_colors_info="{}" link_option_url="https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/bucknell/love-sex-gender-and-superheroes/9781978825260" sticky_enabled="0"]He’s low profile online, but you can find his fabulous scholarship wherever fine books are solid! Here’s a few words about his most recent book:
[/et_pb_team_member][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure="1_5,1_5,1_5,1_5,1_5" _builder_version="4.14.7" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_column type="1_5" _builder_version="4.14.7" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_image src="https://voxpopcast.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/55_milestone-cover.jpg" title_text="#55_milestone cover" url="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001QFYZAO/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0" _builder_version="4.14.7" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type="1_5" _builder_version="4.14.7" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_image src="https://voxpopcast.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/55_panthers-hulks-cover.jpg" title_text="#55_panthers hulks cover" url="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08BX84JX5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1" _builder_version="4.14.7" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type="1_5" _builder_version="4.14.7" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_image src="https://voxpopcast.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/55_batman-cover.jpg" title_text="#55_batman cover" url="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07LB8D226/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2" _builder_version="4.14.7" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type="1_5" _builder_version="4.14.7" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_image src="https://voxpopcast.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/55_beyond-bombshells-cover.jpg" title_text="#55_beyond bombshells cover" url="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015TOS2LK/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i5" _builder_version="4.14.7" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type="1_5" _builder_version="4.14.7" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_image src="https://voxpopcast.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/55_dangerous-curves-cover.jpg" title_text="#55_dangerous curves cover" url="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004ZWHIR2/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i6" _builder_version="4.14.7" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built="1" _builder_version="4.14.5" _module_preset="default" custom_margin="-107px|||||" custom_padding="80px|||||" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.14.5" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.14.5" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.14.5" _module_preset="default" custom_margin="-63px|||||" global_colors_info="{}"]
And as usual:
You can find Anna on Twitter (@peppard_anna) and on her podcast with Andrew and Michael Hancock, Three Panel Contrast (@3PanelContrast).
You can find Andrew on Twitter (@ClaremontRun).
You can find Mav on Twitter (@chrismaverick) and on his podcast, VoxPopcast (@VoxPopcast).
Enjoy!
-GGW Team
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