Important things happening unmentioned off-panel seems to be a running theme in Howard's writing, both here and in Strikeforce.
X OF SWORDS, PART 9
Opposition. Despair. The dark night of the soul.
Rated T+
OverallThis was a fun issue of Excalibur, which used politics and intrigue really well as Saturnine tried to play the Braddocks off against each other in order to try and get Brian to be the main protector of the Citadel and thus guard the various gateways into other universes. Thankfully we didn't get too much of apocalypse's subtle plotting in this issue, but he does get referenced. I loved the descriptions within the book about the history of the various swords as well as the history of the Captain Britain Corps. It is a good way to include new readers into the story. Overall. A really fun issue. Read Full Review
Lush art and a sharp-edged story: what more do you want? Read Full Review
Excalibur #13 is easily the best crossover entry to "X of Swords" thus far. It weaves together a number of notable threads from its core series and, although the story focuses entirely on the Braddock siblings, provides space to move the entire cast's story forward. Read Full Review
I'm definitely on the fence as far as my opinion of Excalibur #13. It's not my favorite issue of “X of Swords”, but it's considerably better than, say Wolverine #6 and X-Force #13. Some highlights are Tini Howard and R.B. Silva's portrayal of the relationship between Betsy, Brian, and Jamie Braddock as well as the legacy of the Captain Britain Corps, and Nolan Woodard's heavy metal color palette. Some not-so-great parts are the battle between the Braddocks and the Excalibur doppelgangers even though the character designs are quite fun. It has all the trappings of a “mandatory fight scene”, and I felt less emotionally connected to it than when Betsy and Brian almost came to blows. With their deep personal connection to Otherworld, I'm interested to see how Captain Britain (Betsy Braddock) and the newly-minted Captain Avalon (Brian Braddock) fare in the “tournament” part of “X of Swords”. Read Full Review
I really enjoy the direction of the books in the last few issues. While Wolverine and Storm felt like heroes who rejected their family; this one felt like an acceptance of one. Hopefully these characters will be adequate foils to each other as the event continues. Read Full Review
This is not a bad comic by any means; it's just not nearly as good as it could be. This may be the first disappointment in all of X of Swords. Read Full Review
Overall this chapter started out bumpy but really stuck the landing. It did get me excited to read this series after the event to find out where they take this story. That being said this chapter falls short when compared to others that have been such standouts in this event. Read Full Review
Excalibur #13 gets us where we need to go by the end, and Tini Howard gives readers a couple of cool things on the way as well. R. B. Silva's art was good throughout, but I did have problems with the pacing, mostly from the heavy use of dialogue. This issue wasn't a deal-breaker by any stretch, but it was my least favorite X of Swords issue so far. Read Full Review
The pace was a little strange, but it was a good issue. Excellent art!
Surprisingly good. This may be the best issue of this series so far. I don't know what this issue did differently, it was just a lot more engaging and fun. The art was really good too.
I really enjoyed this. I like how everything seems to have come together a bit. That makes it clear that there was a plan here.
Enjoyed this quite a bit. The ending did feel a little rushed though, but that's to be expected when each of these issues needs to progress so much of the story forward. I love the design of the swords, it's so awesome. Art was also great. Onwards X of Swords
I felt as though this got a bit confusing at times, but I still enjoyed it overall. That could be because it's been a while since I've read the first twelve issues of this series and/or because my reading of X of Swords has been a bit more sporadic. That said, though, I think the strongest aspects of this came from the dynamic between Betsy and Brian throughout. Silva's art here was nice as well.
All three Braddocks come to Saturnyne's Citadel and spat with her and each other. Some of it is genuine; some of it is a put-on to trick her out of the Starlight Sword. It's a complex story told with annoying prose that is neither as clear nor as poetic as the author thinks it is. Nice art, though! And although there are annoying loose ends, the progress of the plot is interesting.
Tini Howard Comics: Where the Characters' Plans Are None of Your Damn Business™.
Art 4/5
Story 3/5
The Sword of Might is presumed to be from Galador? Oh dear, somebody copy-pasted from last week's Cable datasheet.
Nitpicking aside, Excalibur has always been an... esoteric read, but this was just bordering on confusing.
XOS Ch. 9: I really like the dynamic between the Braddock siblings. Its fun. I was initially confused about the mutant Captain Britain Corps. but I guess Saturnyne captured them off panel and they escaped off panel. I like the idea for that subplot but too much of it is happening off panel or on data pages. This isn't a terrible comic but I'm getting tired of not seeing plot elements in this book actually happen on the page. X Of Swords is proving to be inconsistent in terms of quality.
https://www.nyrdcast.com/2021/01/review-excalibur-13/
This issue was a mess, betsy chaarcter is all over the place
Just not the quality of the other X books