All throughout April and May, we’re crowdsourcing a coronavirus quarantine comics reading list. Each weekday for a month, we’ll post a new recommendation from someone in the comics industry to help folks get through the isolation. This includes writers, artists, letterers, editors, comics journalists, publicists, and more…all paired with a local shop that’s currently selling the books via mail order.

Today’s pick comes from artist Joe Eisma…enjoy!

My recommendation for quarantine reading is Excalibur: The Sword is Drawn Epic Collection by Chris Claremont and Alan Davis. Initially released at a time when the X-Men were at their peak grim and gritty, this series was a breath of fresh air. It was adventurous, fun and optimistic in stark contrast. This was the most absolutely unexpected book at the time it was released, and I was immediately hooked. For me, it's the one run of that time I can go back and reread and never get tired of.

Claremont's scripts were given joyous life from Alan Davis and Paul Neary, making for arguably the best looking X-Book of that time. This was the book that cemented my fandom of Alan Davis — he could draw the most heroic and dynamic figures, but it was with Excalibur that he showed he could really nail humor too. That was a huge influence on my own approach to art. Humor is such an overlooked aspect of comics, and it's hard to really get right — but Davis' work on Excalibur is a masterclass. He and Claremont are making magic on this book — each is bringing out the best in the other.

So if you're looking for some fun, escapist entertainment, this is definitely the book for you! -Joe Eisma

Excalibur: The Sword is Drawn Epic Collection
Writer: Chris Claremont
Artist: Alan Davis & Paul Neary
Publisher: Marvel Comics
A legendary team is born! Meet the United Kingdom's champion, Captain Britain, and his paramour, the metamorphic Meggan! They'll band together with former X-Men Nightcrawler and Kitty Pryde when Gatecrasher and her Technet are sent to capture Rachel "Phoenix" Summers! From their lighthouse base, the heroes of Excalibur will tackle the ferocious Warwolves, the unstoppable Juggernaut and Mojo mayhem! Things get wild with Arcade, the Crazy Gang and the X-Babies — and really heat up as Excalibur is drawn across the Atlantic to an Inferno raging in New York! And don't forget Lightning Squad, the alternate Nazi versions of Excalibur! Plus: Who or what is Widget?

Buy Local Comics: Zeus Comics and Collectibles in Dallas, Texas, is currently open for customers. They are offering curbside pick-up, same-day delivery for a $5 fee within a 10 mile radius, and shipping. Check them out online here and here.

Get it from a local comic shop with this directory from the Comics Industry Collective of stores open and doing mail order!

Click here for the full coronavirus reading list!