Alpha TPB's

[HavokThePowerful]

Is there any Alpha Flight Tpb from the older volumes?

[Phil]

Nope, not a single one :(

The original Uncanny appearances are included in the Essential X-men trades in black and white (Couldn't tell you which ones off hand), and there was an extremely cheap reprint collection of the X-Men/AF:The Gift 2 issue ltd series, but that's as close as we've come so far :(

[Ben]

This would be a perfect time to reprint the first 12 in TPB. I'm sure there are lots of new fans that would appreciate it.

[Nalyd Psycho]

Hello people. New here, thought I'd say hi before continuing with post...


Nope, not a single one :(

The original Uncanny appearances are included in the Essential X-men trades in black and white (Couldn't tell you which ones off hand), and there was an extremely cheap reprint collection of the X-Men/AF:The Gift 2 issue ltd series, but that's as close as we've come so far :(

Essential X-Men Volume 2.

They really should at least do an Essential Alpha Flight with Byrne's run if they don't want to individual trades for it.

[Major Mapleleaf Jr]

What would you all like to see in an Essential Alpha Flight? Personally, I think Byrne's first run up until Guardian's death should be in there, without question. Also, Alpha Flight's first appearance back in UXM, as well as Vindicator's first appearance waaaaaaaay back in UXM #109 (or was it 107?). I'd also be partial to seeing the 'Wrath of the Dreamqueen' saga in there as well. Any other ideas?

[Nalyd Psycho]

The X-Men appearances and up to Mac's death would fill one volume. After that I figure just some random trades, like Dreamqueen and Jim Lee's run.

[beetleblack]

Yeah, pretty much what everyone else has suggested, I would definitely like to see the characters early appearance in X-Men as I've never seen the issues and then the run up to and including Mac's 'death' would be great.

[kozzi24]

Ideally, a trade would reproduce the formative stuff, rather than specific issues: First Flight Special, all the Byrne origin back-ups that were published in the early issues, UXM 109, 120, 121 and the two later Byrne issues, the Machine Man fight (this had profound effect for the behind-the-secenes beginning of the Aurora Sasquatch relationship while Northstar was out cruising the village) the 2 Marvel-Team up issues (team formed independently) and AF Vol 1 #1.
My opinion anyway

[DelBubs]

Welcome Kozzi, I'm probably with you on the comics you mentioned for a TPB. Although in truth, I wouldn't mind seeing something along the lines of further First Flight stories, if only to see what happend to Stitch. Now she is one very underused character.

[Major Mapleleaf Jr]

I've never read the First Flight special... is it worth reading? It looked interesting enough to me, I just couldn't find it here. I might go to Mile High and see if I can find it on there.

[Ben]

I think it would be worth picking up, I rather enjoyed it.

[DelBubs]

Well worth reading, if only for St Elmo and Stitch. I guess Elmo counts as Alphas first ever casualty, or maybe Bedlam?

[beetleblack]

Poor Stitch, such a troubled soul. Was that her one and only appearence btw in the First Flight Special?

[Ben]

I can't remember where or when, but there was a flashback that implied that her innitial injuries (that she stitched up herself) were sustained by an attack by Wildchild.

Ben

[DelBubs]

Poor Stitch, such a troubled soul. Was that her one and only appearence btw in the First Flight Special?

Yup, haven't seen her since, maybe she would have turned up in the unpublished 'The Blooding', thats if it ever actually got written. That would be good in a TPB.

As regards how Stitch got her scars, never heard that before about Wildchild being the culprit.

[beetleblack]

The Blooding? Never heard of this before - was it going to be another special featuring the original original AF?

[DelBubs]

It was mentioned in a letters page, but where or when I don't know. Someone wrote in praise of 'First Flight' and the response was about 'the Blooding' coming in a few months. So whether it was all scripted and ready to go... ???

[Ben]

As regards how Stitch got her scars, never heard that before about Wildchild being the culprit.

Darn, I can't for the life of me find it, I've got comics all over my appartment now from searching for it! It's in the form of a flashback, with a raving wildchild in the forground, and stitch bleeding and cut in a the background...this is gonna bother me!

[beetleblack]

Thanks for that. The name sounds strangely familiar now you come to mention it...

Poor Stitch, maybe it's time for a ressurection? (I know she isn't dead, but you know what I mean.)

[DelBubs]

As regards how Stitch got her scars, never heard that before about Wildchild being the culprit.

Darn, I can't for the life of me find it, I've got comics all over my appartment now from searching for it! It's in the form of a flashback, with a raving wildchild in the forground, and stitch bleeding and cut in a the background...this is gonna bother me!

You sure your not thinking about the 'Building Blocks' arc when Laura Dean cops it in flashback?

[Ben]

nope, that's not it. I thought the pannel I was thinking of was in that arc, but I looked it through and didn't find it there.

[DelBubs]

nope, that's not it. I thought the pannel I was thinking of was in that arc, but I looked it through and didn't find it there.

Okay, going out on a limb here, what about the arc in 'Marvel Comics Presents' when he attacked or was prevented from attacking Heather??

[Ben]

FOUND IT! wohoo! It was in #127, in the mini story at the end, with Wolve and Wildheard duking it out. It flashed back to this:

http://forum.alphaflight.net/album_thumbnail.php?pic_id=48 (http://forum.alphaflight.net/album_pic.php?pic_id=48)
(click for big versioin)

[DelBubs]

Bloody hell Ben, you got a good memory, I recognise it now I've seen it, but I'd completely forgotten about that. :oops:

[Ben]

well, really I have a very poor memory, but it does work kind of...diffently than that of many people. This was just something that managed to stick I guess :)

Ben

[syvalois]

I just never cared for Stitch or most of all St-Elmo, in fact I don't remember finding that special very good. If I remembered correctly, I tought there was hole in the story and did not fit to what we already knew of AF, but I maybe wrong.

[beetleblack]

No, there was something about the special which just seemed quite flat, and I got the sense as I was reading it that they were rewriting history (can I just confirm - Stitch and St Elmo were never actually mentioned as members of Alpha before this were they?). I thought Stitch was an interesting and quite tragic character, but her powers were quite limited and it seems rather cruel to have her on the team when she should have been somewhere where people could look after her and try and heal her shattered psyche. I remember a line by one of the baddies with regards to her, they said something along of the lines of "And what's she going to so, stitch us to death???" Which pretty much sums up what she could do, or at least what her powers in her current catatonic state would allow her to do.

[Phil]

It was mentioned in a letters page, but where or when I don't know. Someone wrote in praise of 'First Flight' and the response was about 'the Blooding' coming in a few months. So whether it was all scripted and ready to go... ???

We'll haveta grab Furman and ask him about it again this year.

[DelBubs]

Stitch and St Elmo where never mentioned as members of Alpha, but then I believe what Mac was doing was working on an ongoing project, where some would fall by the wayside and others would grow as Macs program grew. It say somewhere that Mac would work for 'the next ten years' (after the first appearence of the FF) towards his dream.

We've seen with his treatment towards, Bedlam, Wolvie and his acceptance of the Dept K complex that housed Deadpool, Mac didn't mind stretching the boundries to achieve his aims. Utilising a tragic figure like Stitch wasn't beyond him. This makes the the First Flight story very believable IMHO. In regards to what Stitch could do, not wanna to go to my c*****rd to dig the book out, I vaguely remember Stitch helped incapacitate the Swordsman, which was no mean feat.

Personally I enjoyed First Flight, it opened up a lot of history for Alpha, plus a better understanding of the final Alpha we see in #1 plus it was a damn sight more believeable than that crap about Hull House, which was utter bolloxs IMHO. Puck and Wolvie say in Issue #17 that they had never met, and then we have the silly Hull House thing :-(

[Phil]

Hahahahahaha @ cupboard being censored :lol:

[DelBubs]

Hahahahahaha @ cupboard being censored :lol:

I censored that myself, hoping that no one would noticed, but you couldn't 'LET IT LIE' could you. oh no :P

Although I wouldn't put it past Ben to censure *u*b*a*d. :lol:

[beetleblack]

Personally I enjoyed First Flight, it opened up a lot of history for Alpha, plus a better understanding of the final Alpha we see in #1 plus it was a damn sight more believeable than that crap about Hull House, which was utter bolloxs IMHO. Puck and Wolvie say in Issue #17 that they had never met, and then we have the silly Hull House thing :-(

Oh that reminds me - been reading V.2. and have come across something which suggests I have missed something vital! Was there a one off Alpha Flight Flashback which I missed? It was mentioned - well not sure when - but it was in reference to Puck going to Hull House and pondering if some boys he knew from there had been housed. (Btw, I have 4 issues of v2 left!)

[DelBubs]

Before Vol 2 Issue #1 there was an 'Alpha Flight -1 (Flashback) Issue, which featured Hull House quite a bit. I think the two boys mentioned in that issue were meant to be Flex and Radius. All the comics that were getting a new series got a -1 issue if I remember rightly.

[beetleblack]

Craps - so that's ANOTHER back issue I have to get now!!! :x

lol

Thanks for the info though :)

[Nalyd Psycho]

Before Vol 2 Issue #1 there was an 'Alpha Flight -1 (Flashback) Issue, which featured Hull House quite a bit. I think the two boys mentioned in that issue were meant to be Flex and Radius. All the comics that were getting a new series got a -1 issue if I remember rightly.

Every Marvel comic.

Fortunatly, those Flashback issues are really easy to find.

[Phil]

Every Marvel comic.

Bar Avengers, FF, Iron Man and Captain America which were in the Heroes Reborn universe at the time.

(Although Avengers was supposed to have one that was never made/shipped)

[Nalyd Psycho]

Every Marvel comic.

Bar Avengers, FF, Iron Man and Captain America which were in the Heroes Reborn universe at the time.

(Although Avengers was supposed to have one that was never made/shipped)

Ahhh, mid/late 90's Marvel. Wasn't it great. :twisted:

[Ben]

ohhhh, so tempting!



Hahahahahaha @ cupboard being censored :lol:

I censored that myself, hoping that no one would noticed, but you couldn't 'LET IT LIE' could you. oh no :P

Although I wouldn't put it past Ben to censure *u*b*a*d. :lol:

[kozzi24]

Let me play devil's advocate here--someone who could tolerate Vol. 2 but will have nothing to do with Vol 3.
Look at the credits of the First Flight Special.
So, couldn't Vol 3 have had some real tie to true Alpha if Stitch was one of Sasquatch's recruits rather than 4 characters never seen before??

[Nalyd Psycho]

I can't help but think that who the characters are has nothing to do with quality of the title. And enjoyment of the title has everything to do with quality.

[maniac mike]

My question for vol. 2 is, "What happened to Woodgod?" I thought that maybe it could tie into Snowbirds resurrection somehow, but it didn't happen. :evil:

[bigbloo]

Chiming in late here, but I really liked the First Flight Special and was especially enamoured of Stitch. I think she has great potential both as a character and as a super heroine. She can't move heavy objects with her TK, but I imagine she could be trained to move several small objects at the same time, so the effect could be quite deadly... :twisted: Though shes not really the homicidal maniac type. Wasnt it implied that she and that Bernard guy ended up together at the end?

I do agree that certain aspects of the story bothered me. I didn't like the very human Narya, primarily becuse I feel it undermined the later (earlier?) storyline where she asks Doug Ramsay to teach her how to be human.

Not too happy with Mac as a guy willing to do anything for his science either. I like Mac on the light sid, not the dark (Mantlo-esque) side.

[DelBubs]

I think even before Mantlo did his hatchet job on Mac, the clues were already there. Mac has always come across as the type who would stretch the boundries to achieve his dream. Although he might have done it excessively, Mantlo, IMHO, was only extrapolating on an established theme.

[beetleblack]

I quite liked the fact that Mac wasn't a whiter than white character - it made him more human. Also the fact that we as readers learnt this over time was good too, as we sort of learnt a long with Heather the truth about her husband... of course, it might have been interesting if she'd ever confronted him with her fears just to see how he would react, but sadly it never happened (as far as I can remember).

[kozzi24]

Mac did recruit questionable people for a super-team, including Wild Child, Aurora and Madison, and kept these issues from the other members, as shown when Sasquarch discovers Aurora's personality issues in the 1st Master storyline #'s Byrne also undercut the whiter-than-white with Mac's intention of moving to NYC in 11 - 12.2-4.

[DelBubs]

Mac did recruit questionable people for a super-team, including Wild Child, Aurora and Madison, and kept these issues from the other members, as shown when Sasquarch discovers Aurora's personality issues in the 1st Master storyline #'s Byrne also undercut the whiter-than-white with Mac's intention of moving to NYC in 11 - 12.2-4.

If you also throw into the mix, Bedlam, Stitch, condoning the blackmail of the Detective (who's name I can never remember), who became Groundhog, being aware (if Deadpool-Death 98 is to be believed) of Department K and the facility that housed Deadpool etc etc...

However, all that said, I don't believe Mac to be overtly nasty or evil, just a very driven man who sometimes overstepped the boundries in pursuit of his goal. Kinda makes him very human and a very deep character.

[kozzi24]

However, all that said, I don't believe Mac to be overtly nasty or evil, just a very driven man who sometimes overstepped the boundries in pursuit of his goal. Kinda makes him very human and a very deep character.

I always kind of figured that others overstepped the boundaries more often, and Mac always chose to stay with the program rather than rock the boat. It's reasonable he thought Dept H could help those such as Stich & Aurora, the way Wolverine was helped. His established crossed line is the use of overt weaponry, such as when he stole the protoype battlesuit, and left it unharmed except for taking back the helmet he designed himself. (Supposedly. I also figure that it may be alien tech he found at one point.)

[Richv1]

I think Mac may have brought in some members that could be questionable on the team but most super heroes if you look close enough can be questionable. Even Captain America was a drug user. Superman is an alien. Spider-Man has radiation poisoning. No one is perfect if Mac only had perfect people on the team there would be no team.

[kozzi24]

Having scanned through AF Vol 1 2-4 again recently to fact check Plodex, I can across some interesting dialogue, which, to my limited knowledge, was another first for Alpha. When questioning Marrina's attack on Puck, Sasquatch asked why she wasn't given a standard psych test before being allowed to join. My point with Mac is that he seemed to be administering these psych tests, then ignoring him because he needed the powered people.

[Phil]

Yet Sas himself was guilty of hiding information and with messing with Alphan's powers/physicology without permission, so it's a bit of a pot kettle situation.

[DelBubs]

Yet Sas himself was guilty of hiding information and with messing with Alphan's powers/physicology without permission, so it's a bit of a pot kettle situation.

I know of two ocasions he did that, once when he changed Aurora's mutant status :P (Put your mutant in a bath and boil for twenty minutes, or something) and again when he hid Wildchilds psych report to enssure he got into the Dept H program. So I'm with you Phil, definately a pot/kettle situation.

[Richv1]

Well when you are a super-hero and you work for the government I guess it can happen. You end up doing what you think is best. I think the writers just thought it would make the story more interesting.

[DelBubs]

Purloined from 'Lying In The Gutters' (http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?column=litg)

BOOKS, ETC.

Amazon's advance-listings of graphic novels give us some clue for Marvel's upcoming schedules.

December
"Alpha Flight: You Gotta Be Kiddin' Me"
...etc
===============
Nicked from Amazon

Alpha Flight: You Gotta Be Kiddin' Me (Marvel Heroes)
by Scott Lobdell

List Price: $14.99
Price: $10.49 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. See details.
You Save: $4.50 (30%)
Availability: This item has not yet been released. You may order it now and we will ship it to you when it arrives.

Edition: Paperback
====================

These are often inaccurate, especially when schedule is considered. But there a good guide as to what you might expect to see in the near future.

[ladymako71]

These are often inaccurate, especially when schedule is considered. But there a good guide as to what you might expect to see in the near future.

Considering how fast the TPB's are coming out for X-Men that might not be to off kilter on the release date for AF They only just finished with the 'sleeps with angels' story line in Xmen a couple months back and I have already seen the tpb for it...

[DelBubs]

So just out of interest, who's gonna pick up AF TPB's of the new series and collect individual issues as well ?

[ladymako71]

So just out of interest, who's gonna pick up AF TPB's of the new series and collect individual issues as well ?

probably me. lol I don't get to go to the comic shops when I'm working as often as I'd like and tracking down issues I've missed is a pain. I got two of the newer X-Men TPB's to make up for issues I just could NOT find!

[DelBubs]

I do the same, I pick up TPB's for missed issues, thats why I picked up '30 Days of Night' and 'Dark Days'. I'm getting 'Return to Barrow' as individual copies', but will get the TPB to make a set. I'll probably pick up the AF TPB as well as the individual issues, cos basically I'm a sad person :-)

[ladymako71]

I'll probably pick up the AF TPB as well as the individual issues, cos basically I'm a sad person :-)

ahahaha I was going to say the same about me. As for the AF issues, I have been having a ball trying to track down older ones....not (I even had a dealer at comic con recently tell me that AF wasn't worth collecting.) I only wish they'd make those into TPB's too so I know what I've missed.

[DelBubs]

Funnily enough, the only other AF TPB that I know of 'The GIft' I never picked up. In regards to A, I was lucky that I came aboard with Vol 1, so apart from a few guest appearences I have most AF stuff.

It's all bloody confusing though :-)

[Ben]

So just out of interest, who's gonna pick up AF TPB's of the new series and collect individual issues as well ?

I'll be grabbing it for sure.

[Phil]

It depends.

If it's just the actual issues, it's unlikely I can afford to spend money on it right now.

However if there are additonal extras like sketches, scripts etc, or maybe a dedication to alphaflight.net ( ;) ), I'll pick it up straight away.

[DelBubs]

Talking of dedications, I still have to pick up 'Bullets over Babylon' or whatever the Monarchy TPB was called. I'm gonna pick up the TPB, but a dedication to Ben or the forum would be sweet :-)

[Ben]

Talking of dedications, I still have to pick up 'Bullets over Babylon' or whatever the Monarchy TPB was called. I'm gonna pick up the TPB, but a dedication to Ben or the forum would be sweet :-)

Yah, I'd like that :) I just hope they at least mention the site in the letters page one of these days. Get all those internet noobes out three to join up :)

Ben

[Richv1]

I get all the regular series and any limited series that has them in it, plus some guest appearances if I see it listed in previews but that it. I don't get a trade paperback when I already have all the stories unless they put some extras in it that I really want.