Excalibur Visionaries - Warren Ellis Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, Warren Ellis

Born in whimsy though it was, the British mutant team had its share of dark days - never moreso than under the horrific hands of Warren Ellis Excalibur enters the Genoshan war zone with Peter Wisdom, smoking sardonic spy extraordinaire, as their guide Plus: Nightcrawler's magic girlfriend Daytripper joins the cast when a sorcerous struggle centers on Shadowcat's Soulsword Mutant terrorism, extraterrestrial espionage, and more Guest-starring Wolverine










Romance is in the air for Englands's Premier super-team! Captain Britain loves Meggan, Pete Wisdom has moved in with Kitty Pryde, Nightcrawler and Day Tripper are back together, and Wolfsbane and Douglock are best friends! But things don't stay rosy long as the team faces threats from a group of Brood in the future, an all-powerful X-Man and...Colossus!? Plus: The Starjammers save the Shi'ar Empire! 









I read these two together, so rather than splitting them into the two books that they came as I'll just review them as one.

I was initially drawn to these for two reasons, a fondness for Warren Ellis, and a particular love of Excalibur (or eXcalibur, as it's often titled), the English X-Men. Marvel have had a long history of creating excellent UK titles, most recently in Cornell's Captain Britain books, although the Marvel UK brand is relaunching imminently.

A further draw was that the second book features the appearance of Colossus, although as it turned out that was less positive than I had hoped, as my favourite character basically turns up to be jobbed as a villain.

There's certainly a lot to love, especially in the first volume, but compared to the Claremontian run (which I'll review some of soon, as I've also been reading that) it's not half as fun. It's certainly better, but it's not as enjoyable, especially once we get into the second volume which just gets duller and duller without an overarching plot.

I would reccomend the first volume certainly, it brings a nice Sci-Fi and Spy vibe to English heroics, which is entirely fitting and nicely distinguishes it from the much more clearly super-heroic American set. The second, not so much though, as it all topples over into turbulent boredom.

Also Try:
Warren Ellis, Planetary
Chris Claremont, eXcalibur
Paul Cornell, Knight and Squire

Jesus + Nothing = Everything, Tullian Tchividjian

"It’s so easy to forget what the Christian faith is all about. We struggle so much, work so hard, and fail so often that we frequently sense something in the equation of life must be missing.

Tullian Tchividjian argues that what we are missing is the gospel—a fuller, more powerful understanding of Jesus and what his finished work means for everyday life.

During a year of great turmoil, Pastor Tchividjian discovered the power of the gospel in his own life. Sharing his story of how Jesus became more real to him, Tchividjian delves deeply into the fundamentals of the faith, explaining the implications of Christ’s sufficiency—a revelation that sets us free and keeps us anchored through life’s storms.

Ultimately, Tchividjian reminds us that Jesus is the whole of the equation as he boldly proclaims that Jesus plus nothing really is everything."

I went into this expecting something a little bit daunting from the Grandson of Billy Graham. It actually turned out a whole lot better than that, acting as a sort of guide to Collosians, alongside the experiences of Tchividjian in facing problems at church.

It works best as an exploration of just what it means to live life with Jesus alone, eschewing the world and the things that seem important.

JJ and I read it together, and it was well worth doing it like that - each of us were able to pull out quotes and lessons from each chapter, and it was certainly one of the most helpful books we've gone through like this.

It's nicely accessible, so shouldn't put anyone off - the focus is obviously pretty Christian but it stops to explain unfamiliar concepts and takes a nice, steady tone throughout.

Also Try:
Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz
Rob Bell, My Velvet Elvis