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Excalibur #102
“After the Bomb”
Writer: Warren Ellis
Pencils: Casey Jones
Inks: Jason Martin, Rick Ketcham & Rob Haynes
Colours: Ariane Lenshoek & Malibu Color
Letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Editing: Suzanne Gaffney, Matt Idelson, Jay Gardner & Paul Tutrone
Original publication date: October 1996
Is this VoxPopcast or Gosh Golly Wow? We think it’s probably the latter but it’s hard to tell when Mav is reunited with his VoxPop co-host—comics, pop culture, and fashion scholar Monica Geraffo—to talk a little bit about Excalibur #102, “After the Bomb,” while making a digression or two (or five) into the highs and lows of 90s fashion and what contemporary superhero costumes tell us about the state of our dread and denial amid ongoing climate catastrophes. Plus! Monica reacts to Nightcrawler’s new clothes and everyone makes a dick joke.
On costumes & climate catastrophes:
“Amid doomsday prepping and climate catastrophe, superhero costumes become a conversation about—how could you sustain life somewhere else?… But the impossibility of these garments means we’re performing for an apocalypse we can’t survive.” -Monica
On belated character dev:
“Ellis is starting to build some interesting character dynamics here, but I wish he’d done it earlier—before his second-last issue on the book.” -Andrew
Revisiting Kurt's new stage outfit:
“I feel the same way about Nightcrawler’s new costume as I felt watching David Bowie in Labyrinth—that I’m having some kind of a sexual awakening I was not prepared for.” -Monica
On cozy fashions:
“Carlos Pacheco and Casey Jones both draw those oversized 90s fashions that I remember from that era and—everyone just looks so cozy.” -Anna
On projections:
“I think Pete’s admiration for Kitty Pryde is essentially a flex—look, Kitty Pryde loves me. It’s almost like this author insert character was a misogynistic narcissist…” -Andrew
On Kitty's anger issues:
“When Kurt gets in a fight, he’s like ‘yay I get to use my swords!’ When Kitty gets in a fight, she’s got aggression issues she needs to work out and she’s going to do it on your face.” -Mav
On politics of difference:
“We often don’t have a clear sense in X-Men comics about whether the anti-mutant sentiment that prevails in the US extends globally. This was a chance to comment on that.” -Anna
Want more Monica Geraffo?
Monica is a PhD student in UCLA’s Theater and Performance Studies program. Her research utilizes dress as a site to explore the construction of identity, the spread of subculture and popular culture, and representations of materiality across visual and material culture— especially through superhero comics and their film and television adaptations. Her work as a fashion historian has been published and presented all over the dang place, and her work as a costumer has been a part of productions for Netflix and AMC.
You can find her on Twitter (@monicamarveloux), and every week on VoxPopcast alongside Mav!
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