While Claremont’s “method writing” approach is well-known and well-discussed, his partner on Excalibur, Alan Davis, is on record in interview as taking a similar approach to his figure drawing, offering an explanation to the enduring poignancy of their collaboration. #xmen 1/5
“One of the things that I do with any group of characters that I work on is try to get under the skin of every character so that I become so familiar with him or her, that they actually exist in my head when I’m drawing them – so that I’m not drawing just stock figures.” 2/5
This intuitive approach lends itself to a certain naturalness of figure, posture, and expression – one that is only possible with a pre-existing mastery over structural method. The result is characters who speak volumes even when silent, even when standing in the background. 3/5
Pairing this with Claremont’s equally intuitive approach to character voice and consistency may be key to Excalibur’s enduring appeal, despite not really having any iconic storylines (other than Cross-Time Caper, which is very large and somewhat unstructured). 4/5
Instead, readers of Excalibur got a master-class on characterization at both the visual and textual level – a group of supernatural beings (elf, fay, cosmic goddess, Merlin’s champion….and a plucky teen) brought to life with subtlety and nuance beyond all expectation. 5/5
Sidenote: as evidence of Davis’s achieved complexity, all the images in this thread – encompassing a wide range of characters, contexts, and emotions – came from just a single (incredibly well-drawn) issue: Excalibur #3.
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While the academy essentially lost touch with Claremont’s work for a period of about a decade, a wide-ranging (and sometimes networked) community of fan-scholars kept the study of Claremont’s work alive and thriving, thus showcasing the value of blended scholarship. #xmen 1/7
The term “fan-scholar” was first defined by Media Professor Matt Hills in 2002 as “a fan who uses academic methodology and theories in work produced for fandom.” This can include interpretive/analytical work, as well as archival projects. 2/7
As North American comics scholarship took shape in the 1990s, Claremont’s work was very much in the conversation, appearing prominently in key works by traditional scholars such as Richard Reynolds, Roger Sabin and others. 3/7
Milestone acknowledgement: huge thank you to everyone for helping us crack 10K followers, 9,750 more than I had originally aimed for. In honor of that, I thought it might be a good time to reflect, in general, on the things that I’ve learned from this project. #xmen 1/8
The Centrality of Storm: the more I study the series and the character, the clearer it is to me just how much the entire run pivots around Ororo. Wolverine is the most famous (and a wonderful character in his own right) but Storm is the engine that moves the X-Men. 2/8
The Joy of X-Twitter: though afraid to enter a public discourse on social media, I found those fears to be unfounded. I’m sure there’s toxic fandoms out there, but X-Twitter has been, on the whole, delightful – welcoming, kind, thoughtful, generous. Deeply grateful there. 3/8
Though presented as the saner option within Excalibur’s love triangle, Kurt’s infatuation with Meggan – and vice versa – presents a number of symbolic complications that undermine the simplistic nice guy/trophy girl dynamic that we often see in the era. #xmen@GoshGollyWow 1/7
The most commonly discussed complication is the simple fact that Meggan takes on Kurt’s shape when attracted to him. Thus, his attraction to her could be narcissistic in nature, a projection of his desire to be desirable, despite his atypical features. 2/7
We also, of course, have to mention that when Meggan looks like Kurt, she’s incidentally taking on the appearance of Kurt’s biological mother as well. Kurt never knew Mystique in this capacity, as he was abandoned by her as an infant, but still. 3/7
There’s seemingly a fundamental friction between the progressive and inclusive sexual politics of Kurt Wagner as a person and the (arguably) misogynistic sexual politics of some of the established fictional genres that he fantasizes about participating in. #xmen 1/9
Let’s start by framing this more simply: Kurt respects women. Errol Flynn movies and John Carter novels tend to frame women as sexual trophies devoid of agency. I’m not saying these stories are bad or anyone is wrong to like them, just that the female characters are objects. 2/9
There are two ways then to approach this friction: either Kurt is a hypocrite, or there is a layer of irony that we can locate within his participation in these genres, one that might even hold the potential to produce critical insights int the tropes those genres perpetuate. 3/9
Nightcrawler’s fantastic difference can resonate with many kinds of Otherness, including disability, racial difference & gender or sexual deviance. This makes him very identifiable. It also makes his objectification very complicated—and fascinating. #XMen@GoshGollyWow 1/11
Beginning in Claremont-penned comics & continuing thereafter, Kurt’s body often becomes an explicit or commented-upon spectacle. One explanation is: Kurt is a sexy character with an exhibitionist streak. But because his body is also seen as monstrous, we need to dig deeper. 2/11
In Excalibur #1, Kurt is objectified in an intimate domestic space for an implied female gaze, actualized by Meggan. This is unusual for male characters. It would be a stretch to say Kurt's feminized, but scenes like this do place him in a stereotypically feminine role. 3/11
One of the ways that Claremont defines Jean as a 2nd wave feminist superhero is through her simple, consistent reluctance to fall into a domestic relationship against her wishes and to assert, instead, her independence and superheroism. #xmen 1/13
Betty Friedan is a major catalyst of American 2nd wave feminism who speaks to the confining effect of women’s forced domesticity. “Why should women accept this picture of a half-life, instead of a share in the whole of human destiny?” 2/13
We see Jean challenge this half-life early on with her assertion of power and agency in sacrificing herself to save her peers. Though a civilian at this time, she refuses Scott’s attempt to shield her and claims the role of martyr for herself – quite authoritatively. 3/13