Excalibur #2

Nov 1988 · Marvel · 1.50 USD; 2.00 CAD; 0.50 GBP

📊 ~59,793 copies sold its debut month

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“A Warwolf Possessed”

★ 1st appearance — Kylun

About this Issue

Excalibur #2 is the direct continuation of the series' debut and closes the inaugural two-part 'Warwolves of London' story arc that established the tone of the entire Claremont-Davis run — simultaneously harrowing and comedic in a way no other X-book of the era attempted. The issue delivers the debut appearance of Colin McKay, the Scottish mutant boy who would eventually grow up across dimensions and return as the warrior Kylun, one of the most unusual long-burn introductions in 1980s Marvel storytelling. It also marks the first on-panel appearance of the British crimelord Vixen, whose criminal network would thread through the series for years. Taken together with its predecessor, this issue helped cement Excalibur's chart-topping early momentum at a moment when the series was proving that superhero comics could embrace British wit and interdimensional weirdness without losing narrative momentum.

writer Chris Claremont · artist Alan Davis · inker Paul Neary · colorist Glynis Oliver · letterer Tom Orzechowski · cover Alan Davis, Paul Neary

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Flagged key issue — estimate limited by sparse sales.

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More listings for this title

NM- $1.14 Variant $2.69 VF+ $2.99 NM- $2.99 VF $3 NM $3.49 VF $3.98 FN · Newsstand $3.98

Related listings we couldn't confirm as this exact issue · 26 total · seen 26 days ago

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History

The issue was produced by the same creative unit that launched the series: writer Chris Claremont and penciller Alan Davis, with Paul Neary on inks, Glynis Oliver on colors, and Tom Orzechowski on letters, under editor Terry Kavanaugh. The book grew directly out of Claremont's years-long effort to work with Alan Davis — who had built the Captain Britain mythos at Marvel UK alongside Alan Moore and Jamie Delano — and Marvel gave the team significant creative latitude to craft what they conceived as a 'cosmic comedy' to counterbalance the darker register of the other X-titles of the period. The series launched on premium paper stock at a higher cover price than standard Marvel titles, yet still ranked second on Diamond Comic Distributors' sales charts for May 1988, trailing only the debut issue of the concurrent Wolverine solo series.

Trivia · 8 facts

Story title: 'A Warwolf Possessed' — Part 2 of 2 of the opening arc, written by Chris Claremont, pencilled by Alan Davis, inked by Paul Neary, colored by Glynis Oliver, lettered by Tom Orzechowski; editor Terry Kavanaugh.
First appearance of Colin McKay (as a child) — the young Scottish mutant hiding near Loch Daemon who will eventually return from an alternate dimension as the adult warrior Kylun and join Excalibur's roster.
First on-panel appearance of the Vixen, the British crimelord whose criminal organization and pursuit of Colin McKay drives a subplot that persists across years of the series.
Widget appears prominently, using a dimensional portal to spirit Colin McKay to the alternate world of Ee'rath to safety — an early seeding of the cross-dimensional travel that defines the series; Widget's actual debut was in the preceding issue #1.
The Widget/Kate Pryde connection planted here: later issues would reveal that Widget's consciousness is that of Kate Pryde (Earth-811), the alternate-future Kitty from 'Days of Future Past,' whose amnesiac mind is trapped in the robotic body.
Kitty Pryde's phasing power is deployed in a distinctively inventive way — she phases into the body of the Warwolf that attempts to skin her and, with Rachel Summers telepathically anchoring her consciousness, takes control of the creature from within.
The story concludes with Excalibur donating the defeated Warwolves to the London Zoo — a darkly comic resolution that exemplifies the series' signature tonal blend of genuine menace and British absurdist humor.
The issue's back cover features a full-page pin-up of Kitty Pryde and Lockheed by Alan Davis and Paul Neary; the issue is collected in the Excalibur Omnibus Vol. 1 and the Excalibur Classic trade paperback series.