Excalibur's search for Captain Britain is over but how certain are they that what they brought home is the Betsy Braddock that they know and love? Read Full Review

Tini Howard is building the Magical Mythology of the Mutants very adeptly, giving us small snippets of history too big for us to see, as well as slowly sniffing around the basics of how Krakoa even works as it does. Excalibur is a vital book of this new era of X-Men, and issue #18 moves us, very mysteriously, forward. Read Full Review

I am very interested by the threads of mutant magic that Howard has been building towards. With Apocalypse introducing Rictor and the cast to the concept, I am very curious to see how they will continue to incorporate this into future stories. I love seeing Kwannon appear before the end, this sets up questions on what her role will be the next issue. Read Full Review

Overall, the story is interesting, contains elements of mystery, and refreshingly easy to follow. I'm genuinely excited for the next issue of EXCALIBUR and it's been a real long time since I've said that. I highly recommend giving this series another try if you put it down. Read Full Review

"Excalibur" #18 is a dense but compelling exploration of the 'X of Swords' fallout. Read Full Review

Excalibur #18 begins to unravel the mystery of what happened to Betsy during "X of Swords" and...well, that's about it. Read Full Review

What is goin' on with Betsy? Tini's definitely got me hooked. Excalibur has gradually been improving post-X Of Swords. Here's hoping the writer can keep it up.

This issue was maybe a bit overstuffed, but I liked it.

Excalibur slowly works out that the returned Betsy isn't the right Betsy. They have a little outside psychic support at the beginning and end, and Rictor inches his "magic of Apocalypse" sub-plot forward. It's a fair serving of plot development, and the art is good. I don't think the script comes across as mythic as the author hopes, but it's still a smooth, satisfying story.

Excalibur
Volume: 4, Issue: 18
“Mad Women”

Publisher: Marvel @marvel
Writer: Tini Howard @tinihoward
Artist: Marcus To @marcusanthonyto
Colors: Erick Arciniega @erick.arciniega
Letters: Ariana Maher
Cover: Mahmud Asrar @mahmudasrar & Matthew Wilson @colornmatt

Betsy Braddock’s return to reality raises nothing but questions. The team has doubts towards her authenticity and suspects her to not be the true Betsy, a thought shared by twin brother Brian. The Quiet Council has the need of Captain Britain to broker a meeting with Saturnyne, but Betsy refuses communication with all. After Brian mysteriously disappears in the night, the team splits to investigate. Gambit travels to Avalon to meet with Jamie Braddock who is shocked to discover his inactive clone of Betsy has gone missing. Meanwhile, while exploring what magic has to offer them, Rictor and Rogue fall victim to an attack by Betsy until the timely arrival of Revanche, confirming the group's suspicions.

I think it might be all the magic talk, but sometimes I need to read Excalibur issues twice to truly be able to understand and absorb the story. I always end up enjoying it so much more the second time around. But one thing that’s always been evident from the get go is the fantastic work from the artistic team.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5)
Reviewed by: @meanadam of The Comic Book Club of Instagram
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Bleh.

Still just off