CHUD.com Community › Forums › ARTS & LITERATURE › Comics & Anime › The Return of Alpha Flight
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

The Return of Alpha Flight

post #1 of 33
9/2/06 at 9:39pm
Thread Starter 
http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=82746

Actually, not Alpha Flight...The second-string team, Omega Flight.

If you recall, Alpha was snuffed in an off-panel mauling back in New Avengers 16.

I know most people could give a shit about this news, but I still have my dog-eared copies of Alpha Flight #1-12, circa '83-'84, when it was one of Marvel's best titles, and I yearn for the glory days.

As for the team itself - to be honest, I don't know what to make of the lineup, but it is definitely a mix - appears to include some ex-pat Americans and perhaps Beta Ray Bill.

Glad to see they had the good sense to retain one Native-Canadian on the team.

Teaser:

http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.co...megaflight.jpg
Reply
post #2 of 33
9/3/06 at 9:27am
The woman on the left looks like Shaman's daughter, Talisman.
Reply
post #3 of 33
9/3/06 at 11:31am
So Captain America dodged the draft by going to Canada?
Reply
post #4 of 33
9/3/06 at 11:46am
Is USAgent still alive? That could be him.
Reply
post #5 of 33
9/3/06 at 11:50am
Thread Starter 
Yeah, could be USAgent, and that's definitely Talisman on the left.

I'll miss Puck.
Reply
post #6 of 33
9/3/06 at 1:24pm
I hope that they bring back Box or Madison Jeffries. I like those characters. Hell, The Purple Girl was cool too.

I stopped reading around issue 60, so if they're dead...it's news to me.
Reply
post #7 of 33
9/3/06 at 6:27pm
I live a few blocks away from Alpha Flight.
Reply
post #8 of 33
9/3/06 at 6:35pm
Why is USAgent on a Canadian team?
Reply
post #9 of 33
9/3/06 at 6:37pm
He was never that smart.
Reply
post #10 of 33
9/3/06 at 7:55pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by fabfunk
Why is USAgent on a Canadian team?

He wants to drink some good beer for once in his life.
Reply
post #11 of 33
9/5/06 at 3:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by fabfunk
Why is USAgent on a Canadian team?
Because of Civil War, probably.
Reply
post #12 of 33
9/5/06 at 11:49am
And how do we know that's really Beta Ray Bill? He could be ponytailed Norse crimefighter Thunder Strike.
Reply
post #13 of 33
9/5/06 at 11:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Subotai
Yeah, could be USAgent, and that's definitely Talisman on the left.

I'll miss Puck.
Apparently most of the original team might still be alive, according to Oeming:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Newsarama
NRAMA: Now, assuming this is the line-up – though perhaps minus an addition or two - a lot of characters associated with Alpha Flight in the past aren’t present. What role – if any – will characters line Heather Hudson, Puck, Sasquatch, Northstar, and Aurora, etc… play in this series?

MO: Oh, we will be seeing them again soon enough. I will say this - part of the idea of moving on is that they are done with Flight. Imagine being in an epic rock band, and a few of your members dies. A year later people demand your reunion and the group is being reformed... you might not like that. Your band is gone, young memories lie in the past, for you, its time to move on and hope the new band either falls off a cliff or they carry on and honor the name. We'll see both reactions.
At least they're around, if not a part of the team.
Reply
post #14 of 33
9/5/06 at 3:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobClark
And how do we know that's really Beta Ray Bill? He could be ponytailed Norse crimefighter Thunder Strike.
From the Newsarama interview:
Mike Oeming: Okay, I'll give this one up because I love you and Beta Ray Bill. Plus, 90% of the posts I read already guessed it and the other were thinking it was something like Thunderstrike or a robot Thor, no one fell for it as being Thor himself, however he is returning- so yes, that clearly is Beta Ray Bill!
Reply
post #15 of 33
9/5/06 at 3:54pm
Thread Starter 
Never really followed Beta Ray Bill. Anyone know a good trade or arc to get acquainted with him?
Reply
post #16 of 33
9/5/06 at 5:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Subotai
Never really followed Beta Ray Bill. Anyone know a good trade or arc to get acquainted with him?
Thor Visionaries Vol. 1: Walt Simonson collects the first eleven issues of Simonson's classic Thor run, and the initial appearances of Bill (an alien who, because of his innate nobility, is accidentally imbued with Thor's power after picking up Mjolnir during a fight with Thor). He's a fun character, and the slightly off-kilter Simonson stories show him at his best, as subsequent Thor writers had no idea what to do with him.
Reply
post #17 of 33
9/7/06 at 11:47pm
I like Beta Ray Bill, but...on a Canadian super-team?
Reply
post #18 of 33
9/8/06 at 1:12am
Thread Starter 
Makes as much sense as him signing up with an American or any other earthly superteam, his connection to Thor notwithstanding.
Reply
post #19 of 33
9/8/06 at 10:59am
I have to say that I actually am thinking of giving this version of Alpha/Omega Flight a try. I too dug Byrne's run on the original Alpha flight, but the later versions just seemed flat.

I think the shield-wielding character is actually that Soviet/Russian counterpart to Captain America. Why do I say this? I don't know, but the character is not well established and Oeming could do as he wants.

USAgent is a bit too dull. However, if he brought back Left Winger and Right Winger from his days as Captain America, well, now we're talking!
Reply
post #20 of 33
9/8/06 at 11:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Subotai
Makes as much sense as him signing up with an American or any other earthly superteam, his connection to Thor notwithstanding.
Yes, that's true. And it's true what Napoleon said up above...I haven't come across anyone other than Simonson who had a handle on the character. And even then, Bill's a bit of a cypher.
Reply
post #21 of 33
1/23/07 at 11:04pm
Thread Starter 
So, this has been changed to a 5-issue mini. Could care less, I suppose. The absence of familiar Alpha characters and the general lack of interest w/ CW events has dulled my enthusiasm.
Reply
post #22 of 33
1/24/07 at 12:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Subotai
So, this has been changed to a 5-issue mini. Could care less, I suppose. The absence of familiar Alpha characters and the general lack of interest w/ CW events has dulled my enthusiasm.
I think the problem was mainly was after Byrne left the series, they brought in Bill Mantlo to write it, and it just appeared he was totally fucking mailing it in (issues 29-66, I'm thinking). The artists were a rotating mess - pre-Hellboy Mignola, who I hated, early Jim Lee, etc. For every good idea that occurred during that period, there were 3 ass ones.

There was a decent run by Fabain Nicieza and Michael Bair around issue #100.

I had totally fallen out of comics and missed all of vol 2, and found vol 3 decidedly underwhelming.


Yeah, Alpha has been one of the Marvel properties that has gotten some shoddy treatment. Byrne was the only guy who seemed to give too much of a shit about them, and once he left the 1st series became wildly uneven.
Reply
post #23 of 33
1/24/07 at 12:33am
Oh, and just to add - whatever Byrne's apparent failings as a human being, he DID have a snazzy design sense; I really think the Vindicator/Guardian costume is pretty nifty. The 2nd Aurora yellow and white was an upgrade over the original as well.
Reply
post #24 of 33
1/24/07 at 12:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chavez
The 2nd Aurora yellow and white was an upgrade over the original as well.
Oh no, the matching Aurora and Northstar black and white costumes were some of the best-designed costumes ever.
Reply
post #25 of 33
1/24/07 at 12:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chavez
I think the problem was mainly was after Byrne left the series, they brought in Bill Mantlo to write it, and it just appeared he was totally fucking mailing it in (issues 29-66, I'm thinking). The artists were a rotating mess - pre-Hellboy Mignola, who I hated, early Jim Lee, etc. For every good idea that occurred during that period, there were 3 ass ones.

There was a decent run by Fabain Nicieza and Michael Bair around issue #100.

I had totally fallen out of comics and missed all of vol 2, and found vol 3 decidedly underwhelming.


Yeah, Alpha has been one of the Marvel properties that has gotten some shoddy treatment. Byrne was the only guy who seemed to give too much of a shit about them, and once he left the 1st series became wildly uneven.
You didn't like the Mentlo issues? Hell, Mantlo did some good work with Luke Ross following the Byrne run.

I hated the Nicieza, Bair, Lobdell runs that followed. The 2nd volume by Seagle was something that I dug. But, that went downhill after Seagle kept forcing so many past discoveries in the run.

The third run was such a blip to me, that I didn't even know it had taken place until after the Flight run-in with The Collective over in The New Avengers.

I agree with Marvel's decision to make Omega Flight a five issue mini-series for starters. The market is getting oversaturated with new titles and Oeming needs to prove that there is a stable fanbase to support this title.

The last thing we need is to be jerked around through another "Manhunter" style cancellation fest.
Reply
post #26 of 33
1/24/07 at 1:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Subotai
He wants to drink some good beer for once in his life.

Amen, brother. Eh?

Seriously, the canadians don't have it in them to make a bad beer. Molson, Moosehead, LaBatts, O'keefe, Grizzly, Fin du Monde. . . Yummy.
Reply
post #27 of 33
1/24/07 at 2:10am
Thread Starter 
Yeah, it's fashionable to rail on Byrne these days (and perhaps he deserves it; I haven't ventured over to that website of his to see what all the fuss is about) but he really hit a home run with that early Alpha Flight. To kill Guardian like that took brass balls. But all the characters, from Puck to Shaman, were refreshingly free of stereotypes and very well written. Didn't even check out the later runs. Hell, I didn't even know Hitch drew it for a while, didn't care.

The costumes were excellent - Aurora (w/ the mentioned costume) is one of the 5 hottest women in comicdom.

We'll see what happens, but I'm not optimistic.

As for the beer, yeah, I like it all except Labatts Blue - which, unfortunately, is pretty much all they sell at Toronto sporting events.
Reply
post #28 of 33
1/24/07 at 10:27am
What's wrong with Labatt's blue? I love Labatt's blue.
Reply
post #29 of 33
1/24/07 at 10:33am
The problem with the Mantlo run was that it came right after Byrne's grand-slam opening salvo. The first 28 issues of AF were just gold, and anyone following Byrne would have suffered by comparison. Plus the fact that Mantlo and Mignola were doing Hulk at the time and they basically just swapped creative teams made the move seem a little arbitrary.
Reply
post #30 of 33
1/24/07 at 8:16pm
Mantlo and Mignola was such a small part of that run.

Mantlo and Ross is where it got cooking. Did you read the Mesmero/Sentinels story? Also, there's the whole Snowbird pregnancy arc and the wedding of Namor and Marrina.

Those were decent stories that I felt outranked Byrne's peddling on James Hudson's death and such sore thumbs as Pink Pearl and the Diablo story that went nowhere.
Reply
post #31 of 33
1/26/07 at 12:23am
I always thought Sasquatch was pretty cool for a furry Hulk/Thing knockoff. The cover (#23 maybe?) with Sasquatch fighting Nightbird in her white Sasquatch form is one of my all time favs.

The early forms of the Box robot were pretty cool too.
Reply
post #32 of 33
1/26/07 at 12:47am
Thread Starter 
Yeah, Box and Bochs were pretty cool characters. Having Bochs later flip out over Aurora's rejections was pretty lame.
Reply
post #33 of 33
1/27/07 at 3:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Odd Creature

The early forms of the Box robot were pretty cool too.
When Box first appeared in a cameo in AF #1, I believe the consensus opinion was "who the fuck is that? he/it looks fucking COOL" - again, Byrne had a snazzy sense of character design.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Comics & Anime
CHUD.com Community › Forums › ARTS & LITERATURE › Comics & Anime › The Return of Alpha Flight