An issue-by-issue review of the comics collected in this volume. Note: Chris Claremont is the writer except where noted.
Issues 12 & 13: Art by Alan Davis. The cross-dimensional fun begins! "Cross-Time Caper" may sound better, but the heroes of Excalibur are dimension-hopping, not time-traveling. Anyway, the first dimension is one where science and magic co-exist in Britain, and Kitty becomes wrapped up in royal goings-on. Meanwhile, back on Earth 616, Technet are in town and Jamie Braddock is involved, a nice bit of continuity with the British Captain Britain comics.
Issue 14: Art by Davis. The team lands on a world where all the Marvel heroes and villains are fighting each other. It's mocking Acts of Vengeance but could just as easily be Civil War or Secret Invasion 20 years later. A silly sidetrack, but fun to see Davis draw goofy versions of the Marvel heroes and villains.
Issue 15: Art by Davis. Jamie Braddock is back in a big way in this issue, and we get to see Technet in action, which I always enjoy. Meanwhile, Excalibur hop from dimension to dimension. This issue is a classic.
Issues 16 & 17: Art by Davis. A swashbuckling space opera story, with alien races that look like Nightcrawler and humanoid Lockheeds. Good stuff.
Issue 18: Art by Dennis Jensen. This story is a little off, from the art that ranges from realistic to a very bad "manga" homage, to the "melding" of Meggan and Rachel that causes problems. On the plus side, the team meets an alternative version of Jamie Braddock, who is remarkably similar to the Earth-616 version, giving Excalibur a taste of what they might have to deal with once they're back home.
Issue 19: Art by Rick Leonardi. The story continues from issue 18 and is much better, both in terms of art and writing.
Issue 20: Writing by Michael Higgins, art by Ron Lim. The first filler story for this series and the first not written by Claremont, two strikes. More rehashing of the same Captain Britain-Meggan-Nightcrawler love triangle with CB acting like an ass and Meggan a sobby mess. Three strikes, you're out, skip this issue and you won't have missed a thing. As usual, Lim's art is best on monsters and aliens and just so-so for average folk. ( )