Issue(s): Excalibur #29
Cover Date: Sep 90
Title: "Dream a little dream"
Credits:
Michael Higgins - Script
Michael Higgins & Seth Kruchkow - Plot
Chris Wozniak - Penciler
Josef Rubinstein - Inker
Terry Kavanagh - Editor

Review/plot:
This issue has a guest appearance by Power Pack, although amazingly they don't even get a mention on the cover. I speculated in Power Pack #62 that this might have been intended as the next issue of Power Pack before that series was canceled. That probably wasn't the case. This issue was published before that series ended and it does have more of a focus on Excalibur than Power Pack. But this book did seem to be in a bit of an upheaval and in need of fill-ins. And this issue is written by the regular Power Pack writing team; the credits even include the asterisked note saying "plot assist by Seth Kruchkow" just like the credits on the Power Pack book. So i maintain that there's a possibility that this was originally written as a Power Pack plot and then was given to Chris Wozniak to draw when Marvel realized that a) this book needed a fill-in and b) Power Pack wasn't going to make it to issue #63.

In any event, Power Pack's spaceship Friday shows up and hovers above Excalibur's lighthouse. When Excalibur goes to investigate, Nightcrawler finds the Elan and Horse-Alex, who of course he doesn't recognize at first.

Alex explains that they went to an institution to see if they could get help for their catatonic mother, but instead they were attacked with knockout gas. The rest of the Powers and Franklin Richards have been knocked out. Exaclibur agree to investigate the institution.

One thing about this issue is that Wozniak's Horse-Alex is much more adorable than Tom Morgan's.

Alex is adjusting to his horse form, with Nightcrawler being an inspiration to him like the Things were in the final Power Pack issue. Also note that Alex's new powers include teleportation.

They also include the ability to be in two places at once while he's in cloud form.

The institution turns out to be under the control of Nightmare, so the rest of the issue is, well, nightmares.

I bet all Marvel's mystical villains have a Franklin Richards Ruins Everything tumblr.

Franklin ends Nightmare's attack, and Power Pack (and company) and Excalibur wake up separately and don't even remember the team-up or having fought Nightmare. So this story has all my favorite things: Horse-Alex, Nightmare, and a "it never really happened" ending. Great.

Quality Rating: D+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: This takes place during Power Pack #62. Note that Kitty Pryde is still not back with Excalibur.

References:

• A note at the beginning of this story says it takes place after Power Pack #60, which hadn't been published yet.
  
• Nightcrawler met Power Pack in Power Pack #12.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Either the Elan can regenerate his amputated antenna, or there is an art mistake, or the first scan is showing some sort of mental projection or illusion.

http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/power_pack_56-58.shtml

I think that fnord was being unusually generous when he gave this series a D+. I remember buying this issue when it came out and really groaning the entire time I was reading it. I was definitely missing Claremont & Davis by this point.

Y'know, I do think Chris Wozniak is a pretty good, albeit very unconventional, artist. I wish that he had been given better stories to work on that maybe were more suited to his style. Some of the weird & mystical stuff in this issue that he draws is decent, such as his depiction of Nightmare. Maybe he ought to have been given a try at drawing a Doctor Strange story.