Excalibur, aesthetics and an other Britain: from whimsical tradition to tabloid aesthetic

Abstract

ABSTRACT ‘Britain’ has always been an odd entity in American superhero comics: not least in Marvel Comics’ Excalibur. At turns, innocently quirky and wryly cynical, Excalibur’s Britain has been a markedly different place in the hands of different writers (and artists). This article addresses three key runs of Excalibur – those of Chris Claremont, Alan Davis and Warren Ellis – with particular attention to the depiction of Britain not simply as a matter of discourse and representation, but also in terms of tone and theme. Drawing on the political aesthetics of Jacques Rancière, the article explores what it means to talk about a specifically ‘British’ take on superhero comics. Through a critical analysis of how the different eras of Excalibur present different takes on what is ostensibly a British style of representation, the article explores how the form of a comic book, as well as its content, might be though to express assumptions about particular national identities and political communities.