Ben's Bit - Alpha Flight #7 Review

[Ben]

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http://www.alphaflight.net/reviews/af3_7_review_1.jpg[/img:5920f734bf]



Writer: Scott Lobdell
Artist: Dave Ross
Story: Waxing Poetic 1 of 2

OVERVIEW:
[img=left:5920f734bf]http://www.alphaflight.net/reviews/af3_7_review_2.jpg[/img:5920f734bf]Having saved the original Alpha Flight from the clutches of the Plodex ship, Walter Langkowski is about to push the self destruct button. Just as he reaches out to push the button, Nemesis strikes the mechanism with her sword. Explaining her actions, Nemesis says that it could be in the best interest of Alpha Flight to capitalize on the alien technology. The ship had been designed with systems allowing for instant cross-continental teleportation. Should a new Alpha Flight be formed, they could easily defend their large country by being able to teleport anywhere in Canada. Walter agrees with her logic, but the topic sends the heroes into discussing if they are indeed interested in forming a new Alpha Flight or not. Major Mapleleaf states that he has responsibilities with the RCMP. Puck says that she doesn't think there's really need for a team. Yukon Jack claims he would rather attend to the affairs of state for his land. Even Sasquatch says that he would rather be following his first love, of Science. It is the ever clear Centennial who suggests they sleep on the decision, rather than making any commitments one way or the other. Utilizing the Plodex transportation hub, the heroes go their separate ways.

Coming through a hidden door in a brick Wall, Puck and Major Mapleleaf enter a busy street in Montreal. Major Mapleleaf very shyly tries to say goodbye to Zuzha. Having nothing of it, she says she might spend the night with him, she he ask. Lou becomes very flustered and is at a total loss for words. Zuzha does convince him to join her for drinks to discuss it.

[img=right:5920f734bf]http://www.alphaflight.net/reviews/af3_7_review_3.jpg[/img:5920f734bf]Stepping out of a tree in the the middle of the forest, Yukon Jack falls some distance into a large mud puddle. He looks up to see children running and laughing. He seems quite confused about thier "unsanctioned glee". Approaching his village, he finds the entire populace of Kemteron celebrating.

Emerging from a dark alley, in a run down looking neighborhood, Centennial has returned home for the first time in many years. Looking onto his ancestral home, he finds it derelict, and occupied by thugs.

Now inside a bar, a rather drunken Major Mapleleaf laments about the difficulties of living in the shadow of his Father. Zuzha grounds him by telling him his father really isn't very well known, and more people have heard of Pink Pearl than Major Mapleleaf. On the topic of fathers, Zuzha admits that she has never met her father (or at least doesn't realize she has). She considers him a looser for not taking part in raising her. The pair leave the bar, as it seems Lou could use some fresh air.

[img=left:5920f734bf]http://www.alphaflight.net/reviews/af3_7_review_4.jpg[/img:5920f734bf]Back at the Plodex ship, the only heroes left are Sasquatch and Nemesis. We find them in mid conversation. Nemesis is attempting to convince Walter that he should remove the Inhibitor Device and allow her to join Alpha Flight of her own free will. She tells him that she will refrain from killing anyone at, all so that he can keep her out of the government detention center he had borrowed her from. She goes on to explain that though she has lived a long time, she is not immortal, and there is a matter that she must attend to, that she can't take care of while in prison. Removing her Mask, Nemesis reveals her true face to Walter asking him to "please" believe her good intentions.

Once more in the streets of Montreal, the now sobered up Major Mapleleaf is apologizing to Puck for his behaviour. He explains that he is not used to drinking, and that was his first beer ever. Comparing him to the usual drunks she sees in her bar, she admits to finding him "charming". It is then that they stumble across what appears to be The Thing, and Mr. Fantastic. On closer inspection of their surroundings, they discover they are outside [img=right:5920f734bf]http://www.alphaflight.net/reviews/af3_7_review_5.jpg[/img:5920f734bf]Madame Trudeau's Wax Museum. Zuzha takes Lou's hand and leads him inside. While admiring a collection of wax statues of some of the worlds greatest super heroes, we are privy to the plotting of a fellow calling himself "The Manimator", who seems to be the sculptor. He is speaking to himself saying all those who are flesh and blood will fall before his might.

Returning to the western Canadian forests, the people of Yukon Jack's village are partying over, and defacing a statue of him. He then realizes the reason for the celebration, was his absence. From above in a tree, the seemingly forgotten young Plodex child watches.

It being now rather late at night, Major Mapleleaf asks Puck if she is interested in grabbing a bite to eat. She seems to prefer the option of taking him back to her place. They turn to find Thunder standing in the street waiting for them. As they take of into the air, Zuzha makes reference to Lou owning thunder, and refers to him as a flying horse, but the Major explains that they are partners, that he does not own Thunder. Show signs of quite liking Mapleleaf, Zuzha asks him to kiss her. Just as he is leaning in to do so, she is set back by Thor, Storm, and The Human Torch confronting them in the skies.


REVIEW:


This was a great issue. No, there was next to no action, but that's really not what I'm in this for. I was just blown away by the quality of the characterization of this issue. So much happened that I came out of the issue feeling I knew so much more about the characters now than I did before.
[img=left:5920f734bf]http://www.alphaflight.net/reviews/af3_7_review_6.jpg[/img:5920f734bf]
The biggest surprise for me was seeing Nemesis as the most interested member in forming a new Alpha Flight. Her desires to keep the ship intact to aid the team was smart thinking, and she really showed a side of herself we had never seen before. The entire unmasking scene was very well done, it made me really feel a connection with the character. I was a little surprised that none of the other members were championing keeping their team together.

The panel when Zuzha was talking about her bet with Walter was hilarious. Seeing her riding his back, while he was wearing a dress...that girl has a sick mind!

The budding romantic between Lou and Zuzha was very sweet. She seems like the type of woman who goes out and gets what she wants, and she wants Lou! The poor guy has no idea what he's in for! I had the impression with how she clung to him in past issues, that there was something there, now we know for sure.

I'm not shocked at the celebration over Yukon Jack's absence. I'm sure his ego combined with what power he had at the village really made everyone around him miserable. I feel a little sorry for him, as his bubble has been burst, but ultimately that will be the fuel to drive him back to continue as a member of Alpha Flight. I wonder why the Plodex kid followed him instead of staying close to Nemesis.

[img=right:5920f734bf]http://www.alphaflight.net/reviews/af3_7_review_7.jpg[/img:5920f734bf]All along I had assumed that Thunder was a normal horse that Major Mapleleaf was able to use his powers to allow him to ride through the air, however the comments made between Lou and Zuzha suggests the horse himself is indeed able to fly.

This issue, though had many funny moments, and had me laughing out loud, did not shove the humour aspect in your face. It was a lot more gentle, and fit in extremely well, while not detracting from the story in any way. The Manimator seems to bee one of those generic corn-ball villains, and won't be a serous threat for the team, I think his purpose is to show the team there is reason to stay together. Fighting animated Was in the next issue will also really give us a chance to see AF let their powers out.

Ross art in this book was quite good, and I really enjoyed seeing him do Alpha Flight again after so many years. A few of his facial expressions were kind of odd, but we have been spoiled with Clayton Henry's great faces. The background art was very good. I really did enjoy seeing an other artist drawing the characters, as up to this point all we have seen is Clayton. I'm looking forward to Ross's next issue, but well be chomping at the bit for Henry panels by the end I'm sure.

Speaking of Art, I was startled to see the cover, as I had been expecting the Scottie young art we saw in Marvel Previews. I'm guessing we may see this art as next issue's cover, as the preview image for #8 is an other picture of Sasquatch, and it would seem odd to have two of those in a row. I really like the artistic quality to Mizuki Sakakibara's pencils on this cover.

Really a great issue, lots was done as far as building on the characters.

[img]http://www.alphaflight.net/reviews/redleaf.jpghttp://www.alphaflight.net/reviews/redleaf.jpghttp://www.alphaflight.net/reviews/redleaf.jpghttp://www.alphaflight.net/reviews/redleaf.jpghttp://www.alphaflight.net/reviews/redleaf.jpghttp://www.alphaflight.net/reviews/redleaf.jpghttp://www.alphaflight.net/reviews/redleaf.jpghttp://www.alphaflight.net/reviews/redleaf.jpghttp://www.alphaflight.net/reviews/greyleaf.jpghttp://www.alphaflight.net/reviews/greyleaf.jpg

[gorejeja]

I thought it was an ok issue for a few reasons. I enjoyed the scenes with Yukon Jack being emo about his people partying while he's away (seriously, I know I sound like I'm joking around, but I thought that was fab, and added something great to his character) and I liked the interaction between the good Major and Yu. The cover was nice (made me think a little of the new interpretations of the Beast, though, since his secondary mutation) but most importantly of all, because I WROTE IN AND THEY PRINTED MY LETTER! So if any of you were gonna skip it, don't because if you buy it I'll go to the next Canadian Comic Expo and autograph it for you!!! ;) I'm the last letter on the page.

I forgot I buttered Scott Lobdell up at the end there, but hey, it got me printed ;) And I genuinely like Lobdell pretty ok (early Gen X was one of my favorite comics ever), so I'll be able to live with myself having said what I did. Though, they cut out the imortant part of my letter! I made an offer to Scott: us Canadians would write in and help familiarize him with our localaties so that we won't be so disgruntled all the time about trivial things because they won't be there because he'd be an expert.

[Ben]

Hey, congrats, so in that one issue there were two members of the forum that got printed, as Del got printed too! Not bad, 2 out of 3 letters are Alpha Waves members :) Good on both of you!

Ben

[gorejeja]

AHH my brain didn't register when I was scanning the letters page and I saw "Del Robinson"! We're the best posters at a forum EVAR. Well. Me and Del are. I don't see any other af.net peeps published in this issue... ;) OMG now I'm too excited to sleep! I wish my room mate were awake so I could show her.

[Defunct]

I loved the writing in this issue. Welcome change of pace from the "meh" conclusion to 'Kiddin me' last month.

I wasn't thrilled with the art though, which I think is mostly due to the fact that I've been staring at the mastery of Henry for six months now. Did I mention how much I *hate* the way Squatch looks in this issue? He needs to look more like a massive ass-kicker, and less like a pretty pretty pony.

Aaaaaanyway, still great issue overall. Great character developement is worth a thousand pretty ponies.

[StevenPaul]

I really can't explain it but this is my fav issue of the new series. Think that it was sort of down time and the character interactions.

[Mokole]

The art to me was quite good even if Sasquatch, at times, looked a bit small. The character interactions and overall story are quite good. Outside of one problem this is a very good issue.

Still only one problem, same one since issue #3: What can Puck do??? So far she can't fly, isn't strong, isn't invulnerable, can't use energy, ....

Is she simply eye candy? Is she a superhero or not, Mr. Lobdell? If all she can do is floor exercises then maybe her codename will be 'the Anchor'. I really, really hope Mr. Lobdell fixes that problem in #8. Every other AF character has been given a reason for being on the team, except her.

So she could talk before she was born. How does that make her a superhero? So she can avoid falling objects on occasion, and flip and tumble. So can thousands of other people. Mr. Lobdell, why is Puck on the super hero team Alpha Flight??

[Phil]

What can Puck do??? So far she can't fly, isn't strong, isn't invulnerable, can't use energy, ....

Could the original Puck fly?
Was he super strong? Invulnerable?
Could he use energy(whatever was meant by that)?

Can't a hero be defined by their actions rather than their powers?

[Mokole]

My point is that Yu Puck doesn't do anything warranting her having to be on the team.

Judd Puck was strong, could speak 6 languages, pretty invulnerable, had vast weapons experience, was a leader, excellent strategist, and knew a lot about magic. If Judd Puck had only been a short acrobat he would've been an anchor character too, totally unbelievable on a super hero team.

But he had knowledge from all his years of espionage and fighting, he was exceptionally tough, stronger than average (probably Major Mapleleaf strong), and thus could do things the average acrobat couldn't. With his ability to fight magic that makes 3 super human abilities (magic defense, beyond human toughness, exceptional strength) to go with his fighting ability, strategies, and other skills.

So far Zuzha has nothing but acrobatics. If she too can speak any language, or is pretty invulnerable, or immune to magic/psi's, or is near perfect in strategy, then fine. But just an acrobat?? {nemesis}

[Phil]

My point is that Yu Puck doesn't do anything warranting her having to be on the team.
None of them have to be on the team though.
None of them cry out superhero material.
To me that's the point.


Judd Puck was strong, could speak 6 languages, pretty invulnerable, had vast weapons experience, was a leader, excellent strategist, and knew a lot about magic.
How much of that was actually known when Mac recruited him though?
Was he known as a leader before ever having led a team?


If Judd Puck had only been a short acrobat he would've been an anchor character too, totally unbelievable on a super hero team.
When dealing with super hero team everything is unbelievable.
The very concept of a super hero is unbelievable.
That's the point of fiction.


With his ability to fight magic that makes 3 super human abilities (magic defense, beyond human toughness, exceptional strength) to go with his fighting ability, strategies, and other skills.
Again, did Mac know anything about Puck's use of magic when recruiting him?
And aren't beyond human toughness and exceptional strength essentially the same thing?
Who's to say Zuzha hasn't got these skills?


So far Zuzha has nothing but acrobatics. If she too can speak any language, or is pretty invulnerable, or immune to magic/psi's, or is near perfect in strategy, then fine. But just an acrobat??
And what powers, prey tell, did Mac have?
Did Heather have?
Not even acrobatics.

Were they any less of a part of AF for being normal humans?

Heather went from doting lil wife to being a fighting expert.

To me Zuzha is already ahead of her in "superhero skills" as we 've already seen she can hold her own in a fight.

[DelBubs]

If memory serves, Eugene was basically just a tumbler with an indomitable spirit when he first joined the team. Athletically strong maybe, but no enhancements. So pretty much like Puck 2 is at present. It wasn't until the Master condensed his form using the Scramble enzyme that he attained super strength. I believe he is now in the ten ton range with Spiderman et al. Althougn his tumbling and athletic prowess are explored more than his strength.

There are many athletic type heroes out there without any super powers. Daredevil, Hawkeye, Paladin etc, so if Puck 2 has the courage to fight super powered baddies then I can't see any reason why she shouldn't be on the team.

[kozzi24]

But the question still remains why Sasquatch recruited her. He could have found other people with her fighting skills--anyone trained in martial arts who works as a bouncer.
She still lacks a reason for being besides a bet.

[Phil]

Yeah, but what kind of ongoing series wraps up all it's mysterys and fully fleshes out it's characters in one arc?

She doesn't lack a reason, we the readers just don't know it.
As we don't know how Walt found out about Rutherford, Yukon Jack, MMLJ.

I can only speak for myself, but I like the intrigue.

[DelBubs]

But the question still remains why Sasquatch recruited her. He could have found other people with her fighting skills--anyone trained in martial arts who works as a bouncer.
She still lacks a reason for being besides a bet.

Probably because of the family ties. Why look abroad when the item you want is closer to home?

[kozzi24]

You blokes are up late, eh?
Too much intrigue. She's Judd's daughter, but does either of them know that? What's her powers? What's her motivation to join?
Intrigue is a very good thing. This character just isn't developed.

[Phil]

This character just isn't developed.

None of them are though.

[kozzi24]

Mapleleaf is considerably developed for 6 or 7 issues.
Rutherford is well rounded and a solid feel for Yukon was provided with hints and glimpses of his background and situation. With Puck, just about nothing. Successful intrigue needs a hook, and she just doesn't have that. Instead of being intrigued, I think a lot of people ar on the who cares? end of the spectrum.

[Phil]

So why do you want to know what her powers are if you're not intrigued?
Why are you asking questions about her and wanting to know more about her if you're not intrigued?

For me Mapleleaf is the least developed of all of the characters.
All we know is that his father would beat him.
Do we know exactly what his powers are?
Do we know anything more about him than we do about Zuzha?

Yukon has had as many hints as Zuzha has; speaking from the womb, not knowing her father.

Rutherford, while rounded out personality wise, isn't developed either.

They're all developing.

First people complain that there's not enough action, then they complain there's not enough down time for development.

There's only so much you can learn about a character from 22 pages of fight scenes.

[Ottawa Renegade]

Read this issue a little earlier today...

I find this one just sort of went down the middle; nothing great, but nothing terrible either. I enjoyed the sudden look at Nemesis, and that had me scratching my head. I thought Jack's discovery was a neat touch and will help to explain why he'd hang around with the Flight after questioning earlier why he'd risk his life for a world that hates him when he's adored by hiw own people. Nice turn.

I'm among the posters who could care less about action, so the lack of that doesn't really bother me. I thought the guest artist did a nice enough job, no real complaints there besides what's already been mentioned about Sasquatch.

I was a little puzzled about Puck's behaviour. I guess what I thought was a twinkle of affection for Sasquatch a couple of issues ago was actually more like...respect, I guess. That, or she throws herself at every guy under 95 years of age. :P I'm okay with her being all over MML, since I didn't buy the whole scene with Sasquatch anyway. She seemed taken in by his smarts, when in reality he hadn't done anything intelligent at all. In fact, in this issue, Nemesis' suggestion should have been pretty obvious and it had never occured to him. I thought that if they started something there it could have lead to an interesting situation with Puck1 down the road, but seeing as he's in space for the forseeable future, that doesn't seem likely anyway.

Favourite line: "I love air". :lol:

There's got to be a story told some time about how MML and thunder "met".

[Ottawa Renegade]

In a magazine store the other day, I saw...well...oddly enough...a magazine! It was called (I believe) Canadian Bride, and the cover model is at least part Asian. I thought of Puck2 right away when I saw it.

If you happen to be in a book or magazine store, give it a glance; from here on in this is how I will picture puck2. I tried to find a pic of it on the 'net but so far haven't been able to.

[Ben]

I was a little puzzled about Puck's behaviour. I guess what I thought was a twinkle of affection for Sasquatch a couple of issues ago was actually more like...respect, I guess. That, or she throws herself at every guy under 95 years of age. :P I'm okay with her being all over MML, since I didn't buy the whole scene with Sasquatch anyway. She seemed taken in by his smarts, when in reality he hadn't done anything intelligent at all. In fact, in this issue, Nemesis' suggestion should have been pretty obvious and it had never occured to him. I thought that if they started something there it could have lead to an interesting situation with Puck1 down the road, but seeing as he's in space for the forseeable future, that doesn't seem likely anyway.


I think her actual feeling for Walt are more out of respect, and she may deep down see him as a father figure. Walt must be twice her age, has been married, supposively had a kid. He's a vet at the supper hero biz.

Ben

[Ottawa Renegade]

At the time though, didn't you think there was a little more...affection...involved? That was the feeling I got. That's obviously not the case.

Either way, I liked it because it showed a little more characterization (sp?) beyond just getting on each other's nerves. The situation didn't really lend itself to it (she respected his brains, even though he fluked in finding the originals by flipping out) but the result was good, I thought.

[Le Messor]

At the time though, didn't you think there was a little more...affection...involved? That was the feeling I got. That's obviously not the case.

Look at the way she dresses for a second...

Okay, stop drooling!

:wink:

Do you really think affection for one man would stop her pursuing another?

:twisted:

- Le Messor
"As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the building using individual security cards. Pictures will be taken next Wednesday and employees will receive their cards in two weeks."
- Fred Dales at Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, WA.

[cmdrkoenig67]

I actually gave in and bought this issue(darn my curiousity!!).

The negative:

I detest the splashpage recaps.

The story was a bit weak(Rutherford's little side-story just seemed to be forgotten...I know it will be(or may be) addressed next issue, but it seemed like it was just dropped, in favor of paying more attention to Zuzha and Mapleleaf(most of the issue was geared toward them...not that it's a bad thing).

I disliked the art....I didn't like Dave Ross's art in the first volume of AF and I still don't care for it(sorry Dave, just not my taste).

More goof ups with continuity...Zuzha saying that Mapleleaf left his horse at Walter's before they entered the Plodex ship? Didn't Thunder fly Maple and Yukon to the alien ship at the arctic circle?
What's this "Left him at Walter's" stuff?
Also, Nemesis was shown as having red hair in her first appearance, when northstar pulls off her mask(which I think was a coloring mistake, if I'm recalling that correctly...her hair was supposed to be colored grey....I think) ...In her second appearance her hair was indeed shown as grey when she removed her mask, then crumbled to dust. Now she's depicted as a blonde? I guess only her hairdresser knows her real haircolor.

I'm not digging the whole let's use the alien ship as a base, because it has cool gadgets and teleporters...ugh! That part was really like beating a dead comic book cliche horse(Alpha's already used villains' homes/bases as their own, twice now...in the original series....hmmmm, deja vu).

There was more character development in this issue(that's actually a positive), but I still can't stand Zuzha or Yukon(I find them as bland as wet toast). I'm terrified that Zuzha is just only eye candy, as another poster has said.

The villain....The Manimator???? Ugh!

The positive:

More character development....Yay!....I like Mapleleaf a bit more(his admiration of old-school heroes is...well...Admirable. I hope we'll actually see Rutherford in action(next issue) and not be treated to him showing up to help the others and mention in-passing that he took out a crackhouse.

I liked the moment between Walter and Nemesis.

A Letters page.

Dana

BTW: Looking at the X-issues in Sept freaked me out....there's 20 or more X-related books now?! That is absolutely ridiculous! What the heck is Marvel thinking? Hello OvereXposure!

[kozzi24]

So why do you want to know what her powers are if you're not intrigued?Why are you asking questions about her and wanting to know more about her if you're not intrigued?
Mokole raised all this bit, not me.


For me Mapleleaf is the least developed of all of the characters.
All we know is that his father would beat him.
Do we know exactly what his powers are?
Do we know anything more about him than we do about Zuzha?
We've seen he has powers, which is more than we've seen--SEEN, not had a one-line statement about the womb made--than with Yu


Yukon has had as many hints as Zuzha has; speaking from the womb, not knowing her father.
Yukon's even worse, a cliche with a joke for a name.


Rutherford, while rounded out personality wise, isn't developed either.
Attention to his personality and some novelty in his character make him more interesting than Yu, who is yet another ill-defined bad girl.


They're all developing.
Let's hope so.


First people complain that there's not enough action, then they complain there's not enough down time for development.
Different complaints from different people, Mr. Moderator.


There's only so much you can learn about a character from 22 pages of fight scenes. This is true. And in the total 154 pages, we've learned way too little about Yu.

I'm agreeing very much with Dana, although I probably like Dave Ross' work more than he does.
Establishing her as a liberated woman adds a bit to Puck's character, but we still don't see powers,

[Ben]

More goof ups with continuity...Zuzha saying that Mapleleaf left his horse at Walter's before they entered the Plodex ship? Didn't Thunder fly Maple and Yukon to the alien ship at the arctic circle?

What's this "Left him at Walter's" stuff?


I caught this too, then I thought about it, and I also realized that if they left the plodex ship, how is it that Nemesis and Walter were still back there in this issue. I just figured that they returned a short time after they left to destroy the ship. At that point leaving Thunder behind.



Also, Nemesis was shown as having red hair in her first appearance, when northstar pulls off her mask(which I think was a coloring mistake, if I'm recalling that correctly...her hair was supposed to be colored grey....I think) ...In her second appearance her hair was indeed shown as grey when she removed her mask, then crumbled to dust. Now she's depicted as a blonde? I guess only her hairdresser knows her real haircolor.



There's still so much mystery about her, who konws. The red could easily just be coloured by the shadows around, as could the grey. Or the grey could be seen as a prelude to the crumbline, almost aging to dust. Perhaps she has her "true" forum that is old and wrinkled and zombie-like, but can change her visage to look young (to play on Walter's emmotions) who konws. Perhaps Scott just wanted to change it and chose to ignor certain details. Perhaps he made an error. I dunno, time will tell.



I'm not digging the whole let's use the alien ship as a base, because it has cool gadgets and teleporters...ugh! That part was really like beating a dead comic book cliche horse(Alpha's already used villains' homes/bases as their own, twice now...in the original series....hmmmm, deja vu).



I've noticed that Scott likes to tie things into the old series, even though it's basically a brand new group. The whole fighting amongst them selves more than agains the enemy in #6 was pure Alpha Flight. People say they want the old team back, yet they complain with the new team acts that way. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Likewise with this. I had that feeling of reluctantly using something that could help them, much like Bedlam's base, and Guilded Lilly's house. This kind of thing is what helps make this book feel like Alpha Flight to me. Think about the new readers that don't know the history like we do, it's helping to capture that feel that we all know and love.




The villain....The Manimator???? Ugh!


Yah, really corny name eh? This actually reminds me of some of the totally corn-ball villians the FF has had to face in the past, not to mention ones that Alpha Flight has faced. I mean common, Pink Pearl, even Deadly Earnest, pretty darned cornie and silly when you step back and look at it. AF has not always faced the most challanging foes, and this team is still getting it's feet wet.




The positive:

More character development....Yay!....I like Mapleleaf a bit more(his admiration of old-school heroes is...well...Admirable. I hope we'll actually see Rutherford in action(next issue) and not be treated to him showing up to help the others and mention in-passing that he took out a crackhouse.


I hope so too. I wanna see him really kick but tosing those goons out of his house.




A Letters page.


Yah, I missed that last issue. Not just a letters page, but one that was 2/3 letters from members of the forum :D




BTW: Looking at the X-issues in Sept freaked me out....there's 20 or more X-related books now?! That is absolutely ridiculous! What the heck is Marvel thinking? Hello OvereXposure!


the term "putting all thier eggs in one basket" comes to mind. All those x-books, most of which have Wolverine in them :roll:

Ben

[jay042]

I am hoping the side story with Rutherford gets some development. Such as him wanting to use whatever time he has left to try and make his old neighborhood better. I'm wondering if this might lead to some conflict with some local mutant gangs. Be loads of fun to watch them get their butts kicked by an old man.

[Ottawa Renegade]

Do you really think affection for one man would stop her pursuing another?

:twisted:

Well, if she was the least bit developped as a character. I might actually know!

I now expect a joke about how "developped" she is. :P

[Phil]

We've seen he has powers
Have we?



First people complain that there's not enough action, then they complain there's not enough down time for development.
Different complaints from different people, Mr. Moderator.
Hence "people" and not "Kozzi."

[varo]

i really liked this issue.

some interesting plot twists thrown at us as well as some of the best character develpment i have read in a while.

[Sir John A.]

1) WTF are the "Canadian Royal Mounties"?

2) do Walter's pants, shirt and glasses always appear out of nowhere when he turns human?

3) since when can Mr. Fantastic shape his body into objects like a hammer or fly-swatter a-la "Plastic Man"? Technically it isn't the real Mr. Fantastic so that can be forgiven I guess.

4) Centennial being an African-Canadian in the 1920, especially a police officer would make for some interesting stories since he would have been somewhat of a rarity back then. Is he perhaps from Africaville in NS? That would make for some VERY interesting stories. Has Scott even ever heard of Africaville?

[syvalois]

4) Centennial being an African-Canadian in the 1920, especially a police officer would make for some interesting stories since he would have been somewhat of a rarity back then. Is he perhaps from Africaville in NS? That would make for some VERY interesting stories. Has Scott even ever heard of Africaville?

I've never heard about it too. Don't be shy, do tell...[/quote]

[Sir John A.]

Africaville was a town in NS that was founded around 1830 by mostly freed slaves.

In the 1960's Halifax decided it needed to expand so the townspeople were evicted and the whole town was bull-dozed to make room for the Halifax suburbs.

So basically a bunch of white politicians and businessmen erased off the map the most important African-Canadian heritage site in Canada.

Needless to say "race relations" in the area weren't the greatest and such problems still flare up today.

[Mokole]

1) WTF are the "Canadian Royal Mounties"?

2) do Walter's pants, shirt and glasses always appear out of nowhere when he turns human?

Yes. Since what he's doing is channeling into a Sasquatch body and back into a human one, not transforming. Henry had it right, one second he's human, the next Sasquatch.

[Sir John A.]

Ah, ok, that's true.

But if he's not transforming then wouldn't that mean there shouldn't be "an inbetween morphing stage" as presented where he's half-sasq/half Walter?

[Ben]

Byrne and many other artists drew him "morphing" not instantly transforming. To aswer the shirt and pants question: How doe Reed Richards's suite stretch so much? How does Jonny Storm's not catch fire? The joy of Marvel's unstable molecules. It solves may Marvel costume and clothing woes.

Ben

[kozzi24]

Is his entire wardrobe now unstable molecules? In the past he wore unstable orange shorts, and the glasses are another matter entirely.

[Ben]

Is his entire wardrobe now unstable molecules? In the past he wore unstable orange shorts, and the glasses are another matter entirely.

Heck, why not? It's not like he has a uniform to wear while in human mode. I could see how he would be sick of leaving his clothes scattered all over the country. hmmm, wonder what he'd do about his wallet....

Ben

[Le Messor]

I seem to remember Byrne drew him taking off his glasses before he transformed; I don't know how he got them back.

- Le Messor
"Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack's sermons."
- Church bulletin

[kozzi24]

The drawback is that if he takes off his clothes first as Byrne usually showed, it's less melodramatic. He probably gets either a tax cerdit or a clothing voucher when he's working for the government.

My take on Walt is mostly from Byrne and just factors in Furman's religious bits. Aside from Mantlo, his characterization has been fairly consistent all these years and all these writers.

He likes being Sasquatch. He's a former jock. As shown when Jean-Marie objected to his little orange bikini during the 1st Master story, Sasquatch is not embarrassed about his body or being naked.

The solution to his clothes I would like to see is when he reverts to human he's wearing one of the body suits that were the team uniforms at the end of volume 1. Unstable molecules, and protection against elements, and includes booties so he won't be stepping in moose droppings that would squish between his toes. It can have a little pouch that is hidden under his excess fur when he's as Sasquatch. The bodysuit can be worn under his regular clothes.

This still doesn't resolve the nature of unstable molecules and is surely the reason Byrne never depicted Walt as wearing them: when Johnny Storm is on fire, you can still see his uniform. Any unstable molecule uniform would cover his fur, and Sasquatch is really one of the best designed characters in comics, so we cant have that.

[Barnacle13]

After reading the letters page. I got tired of hearing Marvel say tell a friend to buy the book. So I shot another letter out telling them to put their money where their mouth is and start promoting the book. Hopefully it'll see print. Seems to me if they wanted folks to buy the book they'd add it to their subscription offers. We'll see if they agree!

Barnacle

[Ben]

After reading the letters page. I got tired of hearing Marvel say tell a friend to buy the book. So I shot another letter out telling them to put their money where their mouth is and start promoting the book. Hopefully it'll see print. Seems to me if they wanted folks to buy the book they'd add it to their subscription offers. We'll see if they agree!

Barnacle

That's actually the topic of the letter I'm in the process of composing now. That letter ticked me off quite a bit too. The nerve of them saying that it's OUR responsibilty to sell THEIR product! Yes, fans will try and draft new ones, it's the nature of being a fan, but they can't bloodywell blame US for low sales, when they haven't so much as printed a single bloody add, or made subscriptions to AF available! arrrrrghhhh! sorry, getting off my soapbox and going back to said letter.

Ben