This one-shot is so unlike anything Marvel Comics had ever published (or published since) that I can't help but spotlight it here. Written, drawn, and lettered completely by Jim Mahfood whose style is influenced more by graffiti and hip-hop than traditional comic book illustration, this is a hilarious take on Marvel Comics' then teenage mutants as well as a great exposure for mainstream comic book buyers to Mahfood's immense talent.

The first story is nothing more than Skin obsessing over beating M in a game of Space Invaders on his old Atari 2600 console, while the second story is a hip-hop sci-fi Charlie's Angels riff featuring Skin, Jubilee, and M with X-Man Bishop as their 'charlie'. The third story takes a sudden turn from the comedy and fun of the previous two tales, and is instead a soul-searching look into the horribly scarred Jonothon Chamber.

The cover is printed on an unusual card stock that is usually found only on independent or underground comics, and I have never seen it used on mainstream commercial comics before. Compounded by the flat single colors, one would be hard pressed to think this was released by Marvel Comics were it not for the name of the publisher on the top left corner of the cover.

Despite many criticisms heaped upon the X-Men titles titles throughout the mid-1990s, it was in these years that I started buying these titles and they made me a fan. However, I had quit collecting comics shortly after the Age of Apocalypse event and it would be many years later before I discovered the magic of Warren Ellis' run on Excalibur.

This is not his first issue, he had been assigned on the title for close to a year by the time this issue was released. However, this was the first issue that Ellis truly showed off the talent and potential in him, and is miles ahead of his earlier issues which were standard superhero stories.

Kitty Pryde and Pete Wisdom had hooked up in the previous issue, Wolfsbane and Colossus are new additions to the team, Moira McTaggert has just been infected with the Legacy Virus, and Captain Britain is lost in the timestream. Needless to say, the team was in dire need of some downtime and R&R. And what better way than to get shit-faced drunk in a pub near Muir Island?

I literally laughed out loud while reading this issue, and it opened me to the genius of Warren Ellis and would lead me to spend oodles of money collecting every Ellis-penned trade paperback I could find, culminating in my exposure to StormWatch and The Authority. As such, this issue holds a special place in my heart thanks to it being a stepping stone that would change my taste in comics forever.

The X-Men franchise in the late 1980s and early 1990s was in its creative doldrums with the core X-Men team spending a couple of years missing in action in Australia, Xavier's school was led by Magneto, and X-Factor was... who knows what X-Factor was doing at the time? Excalibur was a shining beacon in this sea of mediocrity, with funny, witty, and entertaining stories by Chris Claremont coupled with some of Alan Davis' finest work.

The England-based mostly mutant team got caught up in a year-long story called The Cross-Time Caper running from issues 12 to 25, which had the team bouncing around from one alternate reality to another as they desperately try to find their way home. The premise is similar to TV series Sliders (which debuted many, many years later) and is an important part of Claremont's current X-series New Exiles.

This issue sees the end of Excalibur's jaunts around the omniverse, when they wind up at Opal Luna Saturnyne's domain, who also happens to be the ruler of the omniverse and is an alternate version of team leader Captain Britain's ex-lover Courtney Ross. Hilarity ensures when Saturnyne's forces attempt to look for Rachel Summers (Phoenix), who is being disguised as Kitty Pryde with a bad wig. Meanwhile back at Earth-616, Kitty Pryde is staying with Courtney Ross who teaches the former on how to dress up and have fun with high society.

This would be Alan Davis' final issue with Claremont, before returning as both writer and artist with issue 42. The issues in between floundered badly with Claremont leaving shortly thereafter, stranding the book with temporary artists and writers who simply could not match the fun and witty genius of the original Claremont/Davis issues.

This issue is collected in the Excalibur Classic vol.4 trade paperback.

Alpha Flight may have gotten a bum deal in recent years after being recast in an unfunny sitcom book at the hands of Scott Lobdell before being killed off (off-panel no less) in New Avengers # 16. However, there was a time when it was one of Marvel's hot properties after a high profile launch and well received two year run by John Byrne. The shine of the book was dulled when Byrne left, even though many (including myself) thought new writer Bill Mantlo was more than an adequate replacement and in many ways better than Byrne.

While John Byrne's run was full of big action, Mantlo decided to focus more on the soap opera aspects of the book. And it was Mantlo that fleshed out the character of Heather McNeil Hudson, the wife of team founder Guardian, when she took over as team leader after her husband's unexpected death.

After going through tragic events such as Shaman sacrificing his humanity to save his daughter, the death of Sasquatch and her family, Puck's near fatal injuries, and Box's descent into madness, Heather (now known as Vindicator) goes back home to touch base with her parents only to land smack dab in a 1950s sci-fi flick.

When children start disappearing mysteriously around the neighborhood, Vindicator investigates only to discover their bodies have been taken over by alien trees. Yep - no typo there, alien trees! It's totally silly, but handled deftly by writer Bill Mantlo who manages to squeeze in some history detailing Heather and the circumstances involving her estrangement from her parents. Plus a Wolverine cameo!

Behind the gorgeous Kevin Nowlan cover is early artwork by Steve Purcell (of Sam & Max fame), Mike Mignola, and Whilce Portacio.