Excalibur #41
“At Last… The Reunion!”
Writers: Scott Lobdell and Dana Moreshead
Pencils: Dave Hoover
Inks: Christopher Ivy and Harry Candelario
Colours: Glynis Oliver Mike Thomas
Letters: Bill Oakley
Editor: Terry Kavanagh
Original publication date: September 1991
In Excalibur #41, “At Last… The Reunion!” Nightcrawler and not-Wolverine have one on-panel conversation, which is all the excuse Anna, Mav, and Andrew needed to talk about the epic romance—sexual or otherwise—between Logan and his favourite elf with fan, artist, writer, con-organizer, and self-professed Mad Cat Lady Sue Whisterfield! Plus! Tales of the 80s British fandom scene, feat. a certain Mr. Claremont and other familiar faces. We’ve also got words for the issue at hand, bemoaning the hugs, fights, and tears we didn’t get, before looking ahead to Alan Davis’ triumphant return.
On Logan's romantic life:
“Logan’s potential partners present potential life paths. Kurt can be read as what Donna Haraway describes as a ‘promising monster’ – a character who exists outside of clearly defined categories and is therefore emancipatory. Kurt is what Logan wants to be, and that automatically reads as romantic, because that’s how Logan works. That’s how he’s built.” -Andrew
On the appeal of Kurt/Logan:
“There’s a lot of physical appeal between Kurt and Logan. Kurt’s animalistic features and Logan’s animalistic senses is a combustible combination. When I wrote Kurt/Logan slash, I particularly enjoyed writing from Logan’s perspective – imagining Logan’s sensual experience enjoying Kurt.” -Anna
On personal connections:
“In 2019, I was recovering from treatment for cancer. I was tired, and bored, and realized I could read comics digitally. And one of the first comics I ended up reading involved Kurt and Logan declaring their undying love and throwing themselves into the sun together. And I thought, good god, I’ve been shipping these two since 1980. I’m glad to know it’s still going on.” -Sue
On dynamics of objectification:
“The extreme fetishization of Rachel’s body in this issue isn’t always additive. When you use hypersexualized poses in a scene where a female character is supposed to be thoughtful, having complex emotions – that’s when we talk about objectification becoming a distraction. We’re distracted by her fetishistic presentation to the point where we actually have trouble listening to her voice.” -Anna
On anger:
“Kurt and Kitty especially should be pissed. They have every right to be upset. So do the readers.” -Mav
On style:
“I’m most well-versed in art. And when I look at this art, I think – this is an artist who can only draw superheroes. They can only draw superheroes in superhero poses and superhero costumes.” -Sue
On the deferred reunion:
“I’m on team ‘I’m disappointed we didn’t get the reunion.’ Having the fake reunion take up so much of the issue, while the real union is off-panel… I would have liked to see that conversation.” -Andrew
On blue elves:
“I vividly remember, back in 1980, walking into the student union and declaring to my friends that I had a new elf, and this one was blue.” -Sue
Want more Sue Whisterfield?
Want more Sue Whisterfield??
You can find her on Twitter (@suewoodlore), on Tumblr, and on Archive of Our Own under the handle Su_Whisterfield.
You can find Andrew talking about the relationship between Kurt and Logan in a Claremont Run thread here.
And you can find Anna writing about Kurt and Logan in her essay “Choosing Violence: The Complexity of Loving Wolverine,” published by Comic Book Herald.
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