Excalibur #51
“Don’t Drink the Water”
Writer: Alan Davis
Pencils: Dougie Braithwaite
Colours: Glynis Oliver
Inks: Mark McKenna, Jeff Albrecht, Jose Marzan, Jimmy Palmiotti
Editor: Terry Kavanagh
Original publication date: June 1992
New logo… new species?? That right—we’re back to regular episodes and getting weird about dinosaurs with Christi and Chris Eddleman, sauropod enthusiasts and hosts of the Chrises on Infinite Earths podcast, taking a bite out Excalibur #51, “Don’t Drink the Water,” starring Alysdon and Alysaur Stewart, Shadowcompsognathus, Britanicus Rex, Megon, and Nightstrutter in a story that’s not as profound as the ABC sitcom Dinosaurs, but does feature a teacup-sized Zabu, so all is forgiven. We discuss why dinos are cool and why birds are dinos plus create time travel checklists consisting solely of what we’d pay Pepe Larraz to draw for us back when his commissions were cheap.
Perspectives on dinos:
“The idea of this entire world that existed before us changes our perspective on our world and our permanence.” -Christi
On literary dinos:
“There’s a literary link between dinosaurs and the concept of cosmic horror. H.P. Lovecraft based the Cthulhu mythos very directly on the discovery of dinosaurs—these gigantic primordial begins whose existence causes existential crisis.” -Andrew
On possibilities of dinos:
“Because we think about ourselves as the successor to dinosaurs, the idea of dinosaurs among us or replacing us is the ultimate ‘what if.’” -Chris
On genre bending:
“Sometimes Excalibur’s genre bending is wonderful, and sometimes it’s jarring. I don’t think we’ve come up with the perfect explanation of why except—it’s always better when Davis draws it.” -Anna
Revisiting sexy pajamas:
“We have a sexy pajamas scene in this issue, except Kylun and Cerise don’t have sexy pajamas yet. Which is how you know they’re still probationary.” -Andrew
On character development:
“Kurt is upset about Feron (while really being upset about Rachel), and feeling the burdens of leadership, and Brian offers to make him an omelet. This feels wildly out of character, yet it’s definitely on purpose, showing Brian and Kurt’s shifting identities.” -Anna
On fashion:
“These characters are wearing things that they’d wear in an Alan Davis-drawn comic. Yet they are so much less tight and revealing than they’d be in an Alan Davis-drawn comic. It makes you reflect on the sexualized atmosphere Davis cultivates.” -Anna
Want more Christi and Chris?
You can find them on Twitter (@chrisespod) and you can listen to the Chrises on Infinite Earths podcast, where Christi and Chris take you through the strange, wonderful, and often incredibly confusing world of comic book crossovers!
Plus! Find them writing reviews and other awesome things at ComicsXF. They most recently teamed up to cover Devil’s Reign: X-Men!
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