Excalibur #118
“New Year’s Evil”
Writer: Ben Raab
Pencils: Mel Rubi
Inks: Scott Koblish
Colours: Kevin Tinsley
Letters: Richard Starkings & Kiff Scholl
Editors: Frank Pittarese, Kelly Corvese & Jason White
Original publication date: March 1998
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″] [/et_pb_code][et_pb_button button_url=”https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/8583/excalibur_1988_118″ url_new_window=”on” button_text=”marvel unlimited link” _builder_version=”4.18.0″ 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%” hover_enabled=”0″ 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” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][/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=”4.16″ custom_margin=”23px|||||” custom_padding=”100px||100px|” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”-78px|auto|-110px|auto||” custom_padding=”||126px|||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||7px|||” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]We’re besieged by Bamfs gone bad in Excalibur #118, “New Year’s Evil,” and playwright and toy scholar Jonathan Alexandratos is here to help us have the smartest dang convo about bite-sized, upsettingly horny Nightcrawlers you’re ever likely to hear, exploring the long history of our cultural distrust (and disrespect!) for toys and convos about them, and why scholarship on toys is its own kind of play.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.16" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}" theme_builder_area="post_content"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.16" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}" theme_builder_area="post_content"][et_pb_blurb title="On textual toys:" image="https://voxpopcast.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/118_toys-as-text.jpg" _builder_version="4.18.0" _module_preset="default" hover_enabled="0" global_colors_info="{}" theme_builder_area="post_content" title_text="#118_toys as text" sticky_enabled="0"]“Toys are a text. But they don’t typically get presented that way.” -Jonathan
[/et_pb_blurb][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.16" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}" theme_builder_area="post_content"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.16" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}" theme_builder_area="post_content"][et_pb_blurb title="On toyific experiences:" image="https://voxpopcast.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/118_bamf-comes-to-life.jpg" _builder_version="4.18.0" _module_preset="default" custom_padding="||0px|||" hover_enabled="0" global_colors_info="{}" theme_builder_area="post_content" title_text="#118_bamf comes to life" sticky_enabled="0"]“When your favourite comic book characters become action figures—you can feel those muscles, you can feel that sculpt, you can pick up Batwoman and Catwoman and make them do whatever you want.” -Jonathan
[/et_pb_blurb][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.16" _module_preset="default" custom_margin="-16px|auto||auto||" global_colors_info="{}" theme_builder_area="post_content"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.16" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}" theme_builder_area="post_content"][et_pb_blurb title="On toys and maturity:" image="https://voxpopcast.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/118_kitty-with-bamf.jpg" _builder_version="4.18.0" _module_preset="default" custom_padding="0px|||||" hover_enabled="0" global_colors_info="{}" theme_builder_area="post_content" title_text="#118_kitty with bamf" sticky_enabled="0"]“Kitty clings to the Bamf doll right after she has a conversation with Nightcrawler about maturity—about whether she wants to be with someone her own age or continue her relationship with Pete Wisdom.” -Anna
[/et_pb_blurb][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.16" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}" theme_builder_area="post_content"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.16" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}" theme_builder_area="post_content"][et_pb_blurb title="On visual storytelling:" image="https://voxpopcast.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/118_humor-and-horror.jpg" _builder_version="4.18.0" _module_preset="default" hover_enabled="0" global_colors_info="{}" theme_builder_area="post_content" title_text="#118_humor and horror" sticky_enabled="0"]“This story’s combination of humor and horror works really well with Mel Rubi’s art style.” -Mav
[/et_pb_blurb][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.16" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}" theme_builder_area="post_content"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.16" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}" theme_builder_area="post_content"][et_pb_blurb title="On callbacks:" image="https://voxpopcast.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/118_guilt-more-than-shame.jpg" _builder_version="4.18.0" _module_preset="default" hover_enabled="0" global_colors_info="{}" theme_builder_area="post_content" title_text="#118_guilt more than shame" sticky_enabled="0"]“When Kurt suggests to Kitty that she might be feeling more guilt than shame—that draws a nice parallel to Piotr breaking up with Kitty back in Uncanny X-Men.” -Andrew
[/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb title="On misogynist trash:" image="https://voxpopcast.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/118_Meggan-and-piotr.jpg" _builder_version="4.18.0" _module_preset="default" hover_enabled="0" global_colors_info="{}" theme_builder_area="post_content" title_text="#118_Meggan and piotr" sticky_enabled="0"]“In theory, Meggan’s flirtation with Colossus should underscore her agency. But everything is from Colossus’ perspective, explaining her emotions to us.” -Anna
[/et_pb_blurb][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.16" _module_preset="default" custom_margin="20px|auto||auto||" global_colors_info="{}" theme_builder_area="post_content"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.16" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}" theme_builder_area="post_content"][et_pb_team_member name="Want more Jonathan Alexandratos?" image_url="https://voxpopcast.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/118_jonathan.jpeg" _builder_version="4.18.0" _module_preset="default" hover_enabled="0" global_colors_info="{}" theme_builder_area="post_content" title_text="#118_jonathan" sticky_enabled="0"]Jonathan Alexandratos (they/them) is a playwright, essayist, professor, and toy historian in NYC. Their first book, Articulating the Action Figure: Essays on the Toys and Their Messages, was an edited collection of scholarly work around action figures and dolls. Their second book is a cultural study of kids meal toys, and is due out in 2024 with McFarland. You can see Jonathan on the big screen as a toy expert in Billion Dollar Babies: The True Story of the Cabbage Patch Kids, opening nationwide this Black Friday. They have also been on PBS in the program Story in the Public Square, discussing the academic textuality of toys. Jonathan’s award-winning plays, many of which incorporate toys into broader narratives about family, both blood and found, have been produced internationally. They teach at Queensborough Community College and Sarah Lawrence College. Jonathan still seeks a good deal on the Fleetwood Ghost Rider.
Find them on TikTok under the handle Dances With Toys.
[/et_pb_team_member][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-107px|||||” custom_padding=”80px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-63px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]And as usual:
You can find Anna on Twitter (@peppard_anna) and at Sequential Scholars (@seqscholars).
You can find Andrew on Twitter (@ClaremontRun) and at Sequential Scholars.
You can find Mav on Twitter (@chrismaverick) and on his podcast, VoxPopcast (@VoxPopcast).
Enjoy!
-GGW Team
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