alpha flight returns in chaos war!!!

[varo]

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=27862

[Phil]

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/chaos-war-alpha-flight-100817.html

[MistressMerr]

My god, it's full of stars. *_*

[Mokole]

I'm betting Snowbird resurrects them, not Sasquatch.

Who's the 'devil'? Witchfire or Dream Queen I guess.

Who doesn't want to be alive? Shaman, maybe.

Who holds the dead team together? Guardian. The living team, who revile working with a foe? Snowbird.

[mreeez]

Interesting quote...


McCann urges Alpha Flight fans to pick up the "Chaos War: Alpha Flight" one-shot, stating that if there's a strong response to the book, there's a good chance it will lead to more Alpha Flight projects and the writer has by no means told all the stories he'd like to tell with the team. "I would love the chance to spread my wings more with the characters, especially the original Alphans, and see how big things can get. At their heyday, there was Alpha Flight, Beta Flight and Gamma Flight. So it's a fascinating concept that I'm only scratching the surface of in this story," McCann said. "My goal here is to show people why these characters are so cool. That's what I've been trying to do with 'Hawkeye & Mockingbird' since Mockingbird had been gone for so long. Alpha Flight, in this incarnation, has been gone for decades. So 'Chaos War: Alpha Flight' is an introduction to what's great about these characters and I definitely have much more story to tell with them.

[DaVeO]

I still wish Phil was drawing it and I'm leery about them being part of an event, but beggars can't be choosers. This is very close to the dream line-up I wanted, just missing Talisman, Puck and Madison. Contacting my comic shop to add this. Chaos War? Is this the event Hercules was coming back for?

[-K-M-]

Wow glorious day.

[cmdrkoenig67]

Hmmmm....I've very surprised that Talisman isn't there too (since she was technically a part of Byrne's run)....Maybe Mr McCann doesn't like her?

It sounds like he certainly dislikes Michael Pointer, though...LOL! Yay for that!

Dana

[cmdrkoenig67]

I'm guessing being brought back to life would be Mac's "worst nightmare" and maybe the one who's "dream come true" to be alive again, may be Heather....In order to be with her child? I dunno. It's nice to see somebody who cares so much about Alpha working to bring them back.

Dana

BTW...Should we invite Mr McCann here, somehow?....Or at least thank him in some emails or something.

[cmdrkoenig67]

Here's to hoping Mr McCann makes the Q eat his words about Alpha Flight.

I'm wondering if Puck is the member who pays the price to bring the others back to life (hence him not being included)?

Dana

[mreeez]

I'm guessing being brought back to life would be Mac's "worst nightmare" and maybe the one who's "dream come true" to be alive again, may be Heather....In order to be with her child? I dunno. It's nice to see somebody who cares so much about Alpha working to bring them back.

Dana

BTW...Should we invite Mr McCann here, somehow?....Or at least thank him in some emails or something.

I am thinking that it is probably Shaman who is not happy to be back and it is Snowbird who is making the 'deal with the devil' to bring them back.

I also think Puck isn't there because he's in hell in the Wolverine comic.

[cmdrkoenig67]

I'm excited (my multiple postings are probably telling)...It's also nice to see Mr McCann using some of the "hooks" that made the original team line-up interesting (damaged people, inner team conflict, etc...), maybe that combo was all it took to convince the big wigs at Marvel to give Alpha another chance? Whoo-Hooo!

Dana

[rjsboy]

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/chaos-war-alpha-flight-100817.html

and the first thing i did was send an email to my comic shop telling them to save me two copies, the second was to email ben (boardmaster) and third was to jump back onto this page!

theres no OTHER team that gets me all excited to hear about even ONE SHOTS featuring them the way alpha does!

HOPEFULLY it will be done right and the fans will get behind it!

Omega Flight was a joke, and Michael Pointer's powers were just too complicated. (BTW, from the interview i read.. link provided above.. it didnt seem like the new writer doesnt like MICHAEL as much as he doesnt like XORN.. but maybe i read it wrong)

I hope the fans get behind this cause i TRULY LOVE alpha flight and theyve gotten the short end fo the stick in marvel for too long.

[Mokole]

I have too much time on my hands right now ;)

How about this: Puck makes a deal with the Great Beasts, so he's in Hell as 'payment'; or Sasquatch does it (but then I can't guess the 'payment'). Either way living Snowbird is cheesed off, dead Shaman is too. You don't give the Great Beasts a break.

[cmdrkoenig67]

Does anybody know more about a possible Alpha Flight series by Phil Jimenez (maybe just doing the art)? There are possible hints here http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=27830 about it...

In the forum here http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=335012 a fellow claims that's what Brevoort is hinting at (and possibly written by somebody named Wells?...It's not Ben, is it? LOL!).

Dana

[Phil]

The newsarama interview makes me think The Master is involved;


McCann: It’s due to the Chaos King’s actions in Chaos War #3. I can’t say much without giving that away, but those actions attract a lot of attention, including one of Alpha Flight’s greatest foes.

[Phil]

More at:

http://marvel.com/news/comicstories.13657.chaos_war~colon~_alpha_flight (http://marvel.com/news/comicstories.13657.chaos_war%7Ecolon%7E_alpha_flig ht)

[Phil]

And I love the fact we currently have 44 guests reading the site!

Come closet Alpha Fans, join us!

[cmdrkoenig67]

The newsarama interview makes me think The Master is involved;

I thought that too, Phil. When it mentions their worst enemy...The Master has been one of Alpha's biggest big bads for almost all of Volume 1. The Dream Queen was another, but I can't see how she would have the ability to resurrect the dead (since she only really has the powers of illusion).

Dana

BTW: It would be cool if Mr McCann and Mr Jimenez joined us here.

Also BTW: I may have to change my sig.

[cmdrkoenig67]

I also hope that Mr McCann doesn't forget the family angle that was very strong in the original Alpha Flight (Mac and Heather, Shaman and Talisman, Heather and Talisman, Shaman and Snowbird and of course...Northstar and Aurora). That's a very hard angle to forget, but many past writers seemed to ignore it or just didn't get it.

Dana

[varo]

i think there may be a alpha series that they may have greenlighted as long as the one shot pulls respectable numbers. just to may hints at a mccann/jimenez alpha series to ignore, including breevort himself.

[MistressMerr]

I also hope that Mr McCann doesn't forget the family angle that was very strong in the original Alpha Flight (Mac and Heather, Shaman and Talisman, Heather and Talisman, Shaman and Snowbird and of course...Northstar and Aurora). That's a very hard angle to forget, but many past writers seemed to ignore it or just didn't get it.

Dana
One thing that I always liked was how much of the classic lineup wound up having kids over the years. Mac and Heather had their unnamed daughter, Shaman had Talisman, Sasquatch had his unnamed son, Puck had Zuzha, Northstar had Joanne, Marrina had her three with Namor, Snowbird had her son. Aurora's the only one who never became a parent (even if none of them were particularly good at it), and I've always wondered if someone would ever touch on this.

[Flightpath07]

Good news indeed.

That cover art looks a little scary, though, a bit too close to manga for my tastes.

Anyhow, i will be as interested to see how this one-shot concludes as to how the story itself reads. I mean, do they go back to being dead or do they stay alive?

Also, one article seems to say it comes out in October, the other November; which is it?

Back to the cover - now that I have looked at it a littler closer...[shudder]...thast is one of the worst Sasquatch's i have ever seen! And the twins look horrible, too, their bodies look all misshapen and Aurora looks practically 'flat', her brother has almost a bigger chest than she does!

On the good side, Alpha Flight returns! Yay!

And, i see that the interior artist is NOT the same as the one who did the cover - good!

[-K-M-]

Thinking Llan is the devil.

[Legerd]

YES!!! I am going to buy my first Marvel comic book in about four years and it feels great!

[MistressMerr]

Here's a blog post about it on McCann's site: http://www.jimmccannonline.com/wordpress/?p=299

Not much new info, but I'm looking forward to this more and more!

[Mokole]

Well, if this isn't a clear enough signal:

ANYONE GOING TO FANEXPO GET AFTER MARVEL AND ASK, PROMOTE, SELL ALPHA FLIGHT.

Booths, panels, in the hall or bathroom, get on it! we in western Canada are behind you!

[Alpha Fan]

Wow!!!

I wasn't expecting this but it's the best Marvel news of the year! And it's the return I wanted to see: the original line-up together once again!!!

Now give us a new regular series with McCann writing and Phil Jiménez (my favourite artist next to George Pérez) drawing and it'll be heaven :)

[Ahab]

Here's a blog post about it on McCann's site: http://www.jimmccannonline.com/wordpress/?p=299

Not much new info, but I'm looking forward to this more and more!

Ben should invite him to this site since you can post a comment on his blog. I thought about doing it, but Ben deserves the credit for all of his hard work...

[Phil]

Ben should invite him to this site since you can post a comment on his blog. I thought about doing it, but Ben deserves the credit for all of his hard work...

As Ben's #2 I can safely say the wheels are in motion while Ben is away.

Stay tuned True Believer!

[rplass]

HEAD EXPLODE

My head just exploded.

Love,
rplass

[-K-M-]

haha wow, much can change in just one day.

[jay042]

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c73/PRV5/drooling-bouncy-smileys.gif

[Wildcard]

Happy day indeed!

[Mokole]

You know, I haven't bought any thing Marvel since OF. Now, sure, at least this one shot. I had a look and see my kids have Teen Titans, Transformers, Green Lantern, no Marvel either. Guess now maybe they'll see what's what.

[sengsterooney]

Absolutely over the moon about this bit of news. It's really the best bit of Alpha news since... the announcement of Volume 2 back in the 90s.

Hopefully, this will return the "dead" Alphans to the living Marvel Universe. From what I've read of the McCann interviews, it's a case of the dead being returned to life (ie. not as zombies, Black Lanterns and what not)... perhaps more in line with the resurrections at the end of the Blackest Night. If so, then it'll be good to have the original Alphans back in the Marvel Universe, even if they are not featuring in their own ongoing title.

[Mrfurious87]

great to see a writer who loves alpha flight maybe he'll conjure a way to resurrect poor bochsie and marrina :) if not oh well, heres to hoping the one shot leads to an ongoing :)

[Flightpath07]

Here's a blog post about it on McCann's site: http://www.jimmccannonline.com/wordpress/?p=299

Not much new info, but I'm looking forward to this more and more!

This looks VERY promising.

Getting goosie bumps already.

Seriously though, McCann mentioning the "alphans in space"...whoa! NOBODY at Marvel has mentioned them; I mean NOBODY. And the reason being, the Alphans in space supposedly were killed in NA16. Now, with that one simple line, McCann has me thinking, "or were they?" In fact, that might also lead me to ask the question, "if the Alphans who died in NA16 were not the Alphans from space, then who exactly is it that is being resurrected?"

Ohhh, my aching head...

On another note, wouldn't it be totally righteous to have a McCann interview done here for AF.net?

:)

Personally, I think that at one point or another, McCann has visited this site already. He knows too much, too much about what it is we really want. Anybody else get that feeling as well? Perhaps he is reading this... right... now...

[MistressMerr]

Personally, I think that at one point or another, McCann has visited this site already. He knows too much, too much about what it is we really want. Anybody else get that feeling as well? Perhaps he is reading this... right... now...
The walls have ears. >_>

But I think that's just what happens when you get a writer who is genuinely passionate about a character/team, who's just as much a fan as anything. This is such fantastic news. XD

I could do with a different artist, but this guy's certainly not the worst thing ever to touch AF.

[Sypes]

I've never actually purchased a new comic before.. I just got second hand version. But THIS I will buy bran spanking new!

[DIGGER]

Here's a thought, what if it is Talismans wish to have Alpha (and her dad) back. She makes the deal, sacrfices herself for their return and Shaman upon his return to the land of the living and realizing what her daughter (the binder of spirits) has done tries to undo it against everyone else in Alpha's wishes. That could explain the absence of Talisman in the Chaos War art.

DIGGER

[Mokole]

Hmmmm, you have something there.

[mreeez]

Here's a thought, what if it is Talismans wish to have Alpha (and her dad) back. She makes the deal, sacrfices herself for their return and Shaman upon his return to the land of the living and realizing what her daughter (the binder of spirits) has done tries to undo it against everyone else in Alpha's wishes. That could explain the absence of Talisman in the Chaos War art.

DIGGER

From what I've read, this is supposed to reunite the original team and since Talisman is not an original team member, I take it that is why she's not in this.

[cmdrkoenig67]

One thing that I always liked was how much of the classic lineup wound up having kids over the years. Mac and Heather had their unnamed daughter, Shaman had Talisman, Sasquatch had his unnamed son, Puck had Zuzha, Northstar had Joanne, Marrina had her three with Namor, Snowbird had her son. Aurora's the only one who never became a parent (even if none of them were particularly good at it), and I've always wondered if someone would ever touch on this.

That's true...I'm guessing Walter's son would have to be a teen (at least I'd like to see him as a teen....It would be interesting to see a resentful teen son and Walter interact)...It seemed like Walt and Veronica had been divorced for a while before Volume One Started, probably even before he got involved with Alpha Flight? Were all of Marrina's "kids" killed? I know at least one of them was terminated by Namor.

I don't know how to take Mapleleaf and Puck II's supposed child, though....Many of the closing stories at the end of Lobdell's volume 3 seemed to be just tying up loose ends and didn't they all indicate that they were future events?...Such as The Major and Zuzha went on to get married and had a child, Centennial and Nemesis died at a later date. I'm thinking that not all of these things happened.

Dana

[cmdrkoenig67]

Thinking Llan is the devil.

I'm now doubting that it will be Llan or the Dreamqueen...McCann seems rather fond of the Byrne line-up...I'm guessing he's going to use a Byrne villain (which would indicate the Master or Somon/Great Beasts).

Dana

[cmdrkoenig67]

As Ben's #2 I can safely say the wheels are in motion while Ben is away.

Stay tuned True Believer!

Go Phil!

[mreeez]

Since dead Alpha Flight characters are coming back, wouldn't it be grand if they came up against Jaxon again?

[cmdrkoenig67]

great to see a writer who loves alpha flight maybe he'll conjure a way to resurrect poor bochsie and marrina :) if not oh well, heres to hoping the one shot leads to an ongoing :)

Marrina is already included with the resurrectees, Mr F. I too would have liked to have seen other dead Alphans returned (mostly, Bochs and Diamond Lil). I guess Mr McCann only wanted the Alpha Flight Vol.1 Issue 1 Byrne team back. There's always the possibility that Diamond Lil and Bochs would also be booted from the afterlife as well, due to the Chaos War (even if their resurrections aren't shown). Maybe they could be used in later stories? You never know.

Dana

[cmdrkoenig67]

Since dead Alpha Flight characters are coming back, wouldn't it be grand if they came up against Jaxon again?

Yes, Indeed....I always felt Jerry Jaxon was a great, messed-up villain.

I still think Delphine was lying about him being dead, though. He was apparently still alive (but his brain may have been fried or maybe he was comatose?) when she escaped with him at the end of issue #12 (their escape was mentioned in #13, I think)...Why would she take his body, if he was actually dead?

Dana

[cmdrkoenig67]

I've never actually purchased a new comic before.. I just got second hand version. But THIS I will buy bran spanking new!

Cool...I hear bran is good for the digestion. ;)

Dana

[cmdrkoenig67]

Here's a thought, what if it is Talismans wish to have Alpha (and her dad) back. She makes the deal, sacrfices herself for their return and Shaman upon his return to the land of the living and realizing what her daughter (the binder of spirits) has done tries to undo it against everyone else in Alpha's wishes. That could explain the absence of Talisman in the Chaos War art.

DIGGER

Not Elizabeth! NOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooo! I hope not....She's such a great character.

Dana

[Mrfurious87]

well heres hoping McCaan finally ditches heather of her costume like she was intended :) starting to look very hopeful, october couldnt come sooner

[cmdrkoenig67]

Oh!....Another thing....Heather looks to be in her original Guardian uniform (on the cover of the Chaos War one shot)....YAY! I was never a big fan of the green Geo suit. I think seeing both Heather and Mac in the red and whites would be awesome!

Dana

[Sypes]

At least I'll have something good to read while I'm on the .... ;)


Cool...I hear bran is good for the digestion. ;)

Dana

[Mrfurious87]

Im hoping McCaan ditches the suit for heather I prefered her the way byrne wanted her, no suit.

[cmdrkoenig67]

at least i'll have something good to read while i'm on the .... ;)

lol!

[cmdrkoenig67]

Im hoping McCaan ditches the suit for heather I prefered her the way byrne wanted her, no suit.

If she is to be in a power suit, though....I'd prefer the red and white. If she never put on the suit, that's one thing...but she did (after Byrne left the book, of course)...The power would be a hard thing for a person to give up. Never to be able to fly again, never to be able to fight super beings on their on level.

Dana

[Flightpath07]

Not Elizabeth! NOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooo! I hope not....She's such a great character.

Dana

I dunno. I think that perhaps Puck is the one that makes the sacrifice to return them to the land of the living, thus Puck stays in hell. And i agree that Talisman would definitely be the one most against these resurrections. Her, or Walter...after the stress he went thru at the beginning of Omega Flight...and then having to work with Pointer...i could imagine him snapping a few synapses and going completely stark-raving-nuts over this.

[Ahab]

I dunno. I think that perhaps Puck is the one that makes the sacrifice to return them to the land of the living, thus Puck stays in hell. And i agree that Talisman would definitely be the one most against these resurrections. Her, or Walter...after the stress he went thru at the beginning of Omega Flight...and then having to work with Pointer...i could imagine him snapping a few synapses and going completely stark-raving-nuts over this.

Much as I hate to think that again, she will be portrayed as a villain, anyone else think the one not thrilled to be back will be Marrina? She hasn't exactly had a very happy life. And she wasn't on the cover that Jimenez drew. If there is ANY connection between the two, that could be why she wasn't included - but of course it is just speculation...

[cmdrkoenig67]

I don't know if McCann will take into account (or even if he knows about it) In Namor's past series, The Sub-Mariner released Marrina's trapped soul from the Black Knight's ebony blade (Namor discovered that when he "killed" her with it, it ate her soul, as it eats all the souls of those killed by it)....But I believe she said as her spirit dissipated , that she was at peace...or something to that effect (I could be recalling it inaccurately). So yes, she may not be happy in returning to life.

My thought was it may be Mac, since he's been jerked back and forth so much by death.

Now do you mean, you think Elizabeth will be portrayed as a villain or Marrina?

Dana

[mos_def]

If the AF team does come back, then wouldnt you think Madison would be mad cuz the others came back and Lil died...or at least so far she is unless she is making an appearance but just not on the cover.

I wouldnt want it, but I would be more at peace if they came back to save Canada/world and then their spirits disappeared.

Im thinking cloning by the Master. Maybe the Master needs ALpha Flight for something he did wrong

[DIGGER]

I don't think Talisman is going to turn evil. I just think with her being the binder of spirits she may believe that she has the best chance to save herself after the others are alive. After all she can command spirits so why not her own. And please don't let the Alphans be brought back as clones. If it is the Master (gotta be) perhaps he just repaired the Flight after their runin with X!?n like what happened to him in his origin story from Vol.1. I DON'T WANT TO SEE ANOTHER CLONE OF MAC OR ANYONE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER. And Sypes, might I suggest taking in with you some issues of The Avengers so that you won't be confronted with a dilemma when you haven't got a square to spare.

DIGGER

[-K-M-]

Thinking the "Devil" is Llan.

[Ahab]

I don't know if McCann will take into account (or even if he knows about it) In Namor's past series, The Sub-Mariner released Marrina's trapped soul from the Black Knight's ebony blade (Namor discovered that when he "killed" her with it, it ate her soul, as it eats all the souls of those killed by it)....But I believe she said as her spirit dissipated , that she was at peace...or something to that effect (I could be recalling it inaccurately). So yes, she may not be happy in returning to life.

My thought was it may be Mac, since he's been jerked back and forth so much by death.

Now do you mean, you think Elizabeth will be portrayed as a villain or Marrina?

Dana

I meant Marrina. It's hard to say who we were seeing after the ebony blade scenario. I always wanted Marrina to come back, so I assumed that her soul returned to her body, which we saw the Master keeping in stasis. Of course, it could be argued that her soul didn't return and that was why it was so easy to change her to the raging beast that Namor ended up killing. But then that doesn't explain him "reaching" her when he held her and dragged her to the trenches to kill her.
Ugh. Why couldn't they have left her alone until someone wanted to use her in a positive way? Hopefully McCann can restore her to her former sweet glory...

[suzene]

Here's the DA gallery of Reilly Brown, the fellow doing interior art for the Chaos War: Alpha Flight one-shot.

http://reillybrown.deviantart.com/gallery/

Not bad. Slightly cartoony (which I do not count as a bad thing) and very expressive. I think this could be a good fit.

[Flightpath07]

Again, needing to post these thoughts.

First, a quote from Mr McCann - "What about the Alphans in Space? Repeat that question 5 times and you’ll reach the appropriate answer. Seriously, though, you’ll want to read it to see where exactly Shaman, Vindicator, and Guardian have been and how Marrina has joined them."

Yes, where HAVE Shaman, Vindicator, and Guardian been? If in space, then how did Marrina join them? If NOT in space, then why mention it...?...?

Second, this is Chaos War - it is a GOD War, folks. Wrap your heads around it, the Great Beasts will be back, and AF is gonna lay the smack-down on them! Either that, or Alpha Flight is gonna JOIN with the Great Beasts (wow! wouldn't that tick off Snowbird?) to lay the ultimate, beyond-death smackdown on this Chaos dude...

Or...maybe they weren't dead after all. Only some of them are, the rest were the temporal copies. Maybe the Marrina promised is really Mar, all grown up! Maybe Alpha returns from space, just in time to help save the Earth!

[varo]

I have read plenty of interviews with McCann, he is a die hard fan of the original team. I fully expect this return to be done the right way, no clones, no cyborgs, no men in womens bodies. Just a return of the originals the way Byrne had them.

[Sypes]

I am clearly a novice at the whole Comics love, compared to most of you here! But I'm getting there... avengers = no good?


I don't think Talisman is going to turn evil. I just think with her being the binder of spirits she may believe that she has the best chance to save herself after the others are alive. After all she can command spirits so why not her own. And please don't let the Alphans be brought back as clones. If it is the Master (gotta be) perhaps he just repaired the Flight after their runin with X!?n like what happened to him in his origin story from Vol.1. I DON'T WANT TO SEE ANOTHER CLONE OF MAC OR ANYONE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER. And Sypes, might I suggest taking in with you some issues of The Avengers so that you won't be confronted with a dilemma when you haven't got a square to spare.

DIGGER

[cmdrkoenig67]

Thinking the "Devil" is Llan.

I doubt it (since McCann seems to be such a big fan of the Byrne years), but one never knows.

Dana

[cmdrkoenig67]

Here's the DA gallery of Reilly Brown, the fellow doing interior art for the Chaos War: Alpha Flight one-shot.

http://reillybrown.deviantart.com/gallery/

Not bad. Slightly cartoony (which I do not count as a bad thing) and very expressive. I think this could be a good fit.

I like it...He's very good.

Dana

[MistressMerr]

Yes, where HAVE Shaman, Vindicator, and Guardian been? If in space, then how did Marrina join them? If NOT in space, then why mention it...?...?
He only mentioned it because people bring up the temporal copies every time resurrecting Alpha is talked about and he wanted to discount it as a possibility since it's pretty ridiculous and convoluted.

[DaVeO]

Here's the DA gallery of Reilly Brown, the fellow doing interior art for the Chaos War: Alpha Flight one-shot.

http://reillybrown.deviantart.com/gallery/

Not bad. Slightly cartoony (which I do not count as a bad thing) and very expressive. I think this could be a good fit.

Ohhhh, NOW I know his work. He did some Agents of Atlas back-ups in Herc as well as the hilarious Prince of Power mini starring Amadeus Cho. And one of my fave Herc arcs too! Alpha Flight is in great hands. :D

564

[The Irredeemable Shag]

After reading the articles on Comic Book Resources and Newsarama, anyone else beginning to suspect the villain of the comic will be Puck? While I think Puck as a hero-turned-villain doesn't work, it seems like that is what the interview is hinting. The author made it clear that Alpha Flight creates it's own villains. Add to that the fact that Puck won't be on the team. Finally think about an original Alpha Flight reunion without Puck.

Seems like that's what he's going for to me. I don't like the idea of Puck as a villain, so I hope I'm wrong.

Thoughts?

The Irredeemable Shag
http://onceuponageek.com (http://onceuponageek.com/)
http://firestormfan.com (http://firestormfan.com/)

[Mokole]

I don't think Puck will be the villain. I figure he's in Hell as he killed a few people before joining AF (what mercenary and secret service agent in comics wouldn't?). Remember, Puck is likely helping Wolverine in his book in Hell. I doubt they'll take Puck out of Hell to fight him. Likely he's not on the team as he's the only one in Hell and can't be reached by the 'devil'.

If Jimenez/Wells/McCann is doing an AF ongoing Puck can return from Hell with Wolverine. In a week we just may find out a bit more about Puck, Talisman, Marrina, all of those favorites. I don't want too big of a team but who survives the Chaos War event is unknown.

Wouldn't it be nice if at FanEXpo we got an image of the new AF post-Chaos War, in shadow, just so we can speculate until true images are released? Ah, to dream.... ;)

[Flightpath07]

"Wouldn't it be nice if at FanEXpo we got an image of the new AF post-Chaos War, in shadow, just so we can speculate until true images are released?"

Shadows of Omega Flight past?

[Ahab]

Speaking of how fans will react to certain things put out by Marvel, after last week's column when you'd spoken on Alpha Flight being dead, there were more than a few people who felt kind of burned on the boards only to have you announce the expected "Alpha Flight" book as a Chaos War tie-in by Jim McCann and Reilly Brown (http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=27862).
Brevoort: We like to keep our readers on their toes here at T & A.
As was revealed earlier this week, the Alpha Flight project that we're doing is "Dead Alpha Flight" much like the "Dead Avengers" series we announced previously, both of which connect to the Chaos War storyline that Mark Paniccia and his group are heading up. So the fact that they're dead has not stopped them from having a book and appearing in print to baffle and befuddle us. [Laughs] The idea came from Mark and the creators who've been working on the "Chaos War" event – Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente and the rest – finding an opportunity where an Alpha Flight project would make sense within the context of what was going on. It gives us a chance to test the waters. If the teeming throngs of Alpha Flight fans that were ready to string us up last week go out and support this little project, maybe that will grease the wheels a little bit for a larger Alpha Flight series of one sort or another.

[suzene]

Hey, rplass...


Obviously I was going to give Northstar pointy ears-- I love little character details like that (and Angel should have the chin-dimple, not Cyclops!). Thanks for pointing out that Aurora has them too-- I can't say for sure that I've ever noticed her ears, but since they're twins that kind of makes sense.

I think I like this guy. ;)

[Raja]

Wow. Just wow.

[DIGGER]

Looking at the portfolio, I have no problem with the artist chosen.

DIGGER

[Phil]

I think I like this guy. ;)

Where's the Reilly Brown quote from Suzene?

[suzene]

Where's the Reilly Brown quote from Suzene?

The comment section of his DA journal. I went over, fangirled a bit, and asked about the possibility of pointy ears. Because they are important, dammit!

[Bill P]

I sense a presence. A presence I haven't felt since 1994.

[cmdrkoenig67]

Wow..Mr Brevoort really knows how to irritate me.

Dana


Speaking of how fans will react to certain things put out by Marvel, after last week's column when you'd spoken on Alpha Flight being dead, there were more than a few people who felt kind of burned on the boards only to have you announce the expected "Alpha Flight" book as a Chaos War tie-in by Jim McCann and Reilly Brown (http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=27862).
Brevoort: We like to keep our readers on their toes here at T & A.
As was revealed earlier this week, the Alpha Flight project that we're doing is "Dead Alpha Flight" much like the "Dead Avengers" series we announced previously, both of which connect to the Chaos War storyline that Mark Paniccia and his group are heading up. So the fact that they're dead has not stopped them from having a book and appearing in print to baffle and befuddle us. [Laughs] The idea came from Mark and the creators who've been working on the "Chaos War" event – Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente and the rest – finding an opportunity where an Alpha Flight project would make sense within the context of what was going on. It gives us a chance to test the waters. If the teeming throngs of Alpha Flight fans that were ready to string us up last week go out and support this little project, maybe that will grease the wheels a little bit for a larger Alpha Flight series of one sort or another.

[Flightpath07]

Wow..Mr Brevoort really knows how to irritate me.

Dana

He practices. :)

[Ahab]

Wow..Mr Brevoort really knows how to irritate me.

Dana

I heard that he has a "I heart irritating Dana" mug in his office but no one at Marvel knows who this "Dana" is...;)

[cmdrkoenig67]

Where's the fuming mad smiley?!

[cmdrkoenig67]

;)

[mreeez]

Speaking of how fans will react to certain things put out by Marvel, after last week's column when you'd spoken on Alpha Flight being dead, there were more than a few people who felt kind of burned on the boards only to have you announce the expected "Alpha Flight" book as a Chaos War tie-in by Jim McCann and Reilly Brown (http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=27862).
Brevoort: We like to keep our readers on their toes here at T & A.
As was revealed earlier this week, the Alpha Flight project that we're doing is "Dead Alpha Flight" much like the "Dead Avengers" series we announced previously, both of which connect to the Chaos War storyline that Mark Paniccia and his group are heading up. So the fact that they're dead has not stopped them from having a book and appearing in print to baffle and befuddle us. [Laughs] The idea came from Mark and the creators who've been working on the "Chaos War" event – Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente and the rest – finding an opportunity where an Alpha Flight project would make sense within the context of what was going on. It gives us a chance to test the waters. If the teeming throngs of Alpha Flight fans that were ready to string us up last week go out and support this little project, maybe that will grease the wheels a little bit for a larger Alpha Flight series of one sort or another.

Here is the next question/quote which I think is relevant.


One of the things you both spoke about during our first T&A call was the idea that when you both started working together to look at the entire Marvel line, you had a selection of properties that had fallen a bit by the wayside that you wanted to try and reinvigorate. I don't know if it's too early to get into some of that, but I wanted to ask after where you're at in that process. Are there some things that have come closer to fruition in that discussion because it feels to me that there's not an awful lot from Marvel history that's entirely off the table these days?
Alonso: While we've talked about a few beloved B and C-list characters, we're also hunting bigger fish.
Brevoort: This is going to be an ongoing process. Part of that process is that we don't want to rush things. If we think there's a concept that has some genuine potential in it, and that over the years, it's not quite caught on or has been allowed to tarnish or been mishandled, or just not come together in the proper way, we want to give those ideas the best possible kickoff that we can. We need to make sure that the project we launch with is the right pitch, the right approach and the right creative team – the right everything!
We're having another creative retreat in a week, and we'll be talking about a couple of these properties fairly extensively there to see if the groundwork we've laid down will bear fruit over the next year. Or we may back away from certain things momentarily, much as we did with Thor when we couldn't get the creative team that we wanted. It was better to wait for the point that we did have a team and a situation we were comfortable with, and that really paid off. So we're following that same approach with the other three, four or five characters Axel and I have earmarked as potentially perennial parts of the Marvel publishing plan or the Marvel Universe in general. We're going to get to them all when the time is right. It's just not going to be machine gun fast.

[PWalk]

This is going to kick a lot of ass. Nuff said.

[marvelboy74]

The walls have ears. >_>

But I think that's just what happens when you get a writer who is genuinely passionate about a character/team, who's just as much a fan as anything. This is such fantastic news. XD


alphaflight.net is a comprehensive and well polished website. If McCann needed help on characters, he could find it here.

[Le Messor]

Good news everybody!
... but you know already. This does look good for our heroes.

The artist is a little cartoony for my tastes, but not so much I'll automatically hate it.

Marvel, lately, have been taking all the character development and interaction moments, and what all, and shoving them into mini-serieses like Nation X and one-shots like Firestar and Dazzler, and calling them tie-ins to crossovers. Y'know, the stuff that should make up the main series?
They don't usually have much to do with the crossover, but I'd far rather read them.
I was very impressed by the Dazzler one-shot.

So, the same guy who wrote Dazzler, doing an Alpha Flight one-shot?
I want to withhold judgement until I've read it, but my hopes are high on this one.

Except he made one terrible mistake that Marvel will slay him for. It's an Alpha Flight title... so why are Alpha Flight in it? I thought that was banned?

Yay him for doing it!

btw... you shouldn't spank people when they've just had bran. It can get very messy.

- Mik
"He who knows does not speak. He who speaks does not know."
~ Lao Tzu

[Flightpath07]

I heard that he has a "I heart irritating Dana" mug in his office but no one at Marvel knows who this "Dana" is...;)

Ahab, you get a gold star for hilariousness! That`s frickin`awesome!


This is going to kick a lot of ass. Nuff said.

PWalk, i don`t think we allow donkey-abuse at this site...

[Flightpath07]

- Mik
"He who knows does not speak. He who speaks does not know."
~ Lao Tzu

What about he who types...

[Le Messor]

I dunno.

[Flightpath07]

So, typing and speaking are eerily similar...

[PWalk]

Like I've said before I don't really read comics anymore only returning when there is something Alpha related. This is the first I'm hearing of the Chaos War line and if its being used simply as a vehicle for Marvel to do a couple of resurrections then I'm all for it. But at the same time I was getting kind of used to having everyone minus Walt, Snowbird, and Talisman dead. For me I had always envisioned a new Alpha book as being something new with a couple of former members driving headlong into the future on a new course. Now I love the original team as anyone here and would love to see them all in action again but at thesame time I was hoping for a new twist or direction with the team.

I'll buy this without a doubt, hell I'll probably buy three copies to bump the numbers but I'm also going in with a little bit of doubt as we've been through this all before judt for the last couple of pages to end up completely mucking the whole thing up again.

[DIGGER]

I guess one of the things that always bothered me about Alpha Flight is that instead of the characters just taking a leave of absence from the team the writers tried to shoch us with killing them off (to the point that they could not be brought back at a later date). Other group titles (Avengers, F.F.,Justice League, etc.) have always had a revolving stable of members to draw upon over the years and I always wondered why ALPHA seemed to be treated differently.

DIGGER

[Le Messor]

PWalk - that's what's always been done before; an Alpha Flight book with a 'new twist or direction'. I can see your point about why you want that, but it isn't what I want. I want an Alpha Flight book with a recognisable Alpha Flight in it.

Digger - I think this was on the letters page, from an editor or writer: 'This is Alpha Flight, the least survivable book since Strikeforce: Morituri.'
So yeah.

- Le Messor
Ian Malcolm: "At some point, we are going to see dinosaurs on this dinosaur tour, right?"
John Hammond: "I hate that man."
- Jurassic Park

[bluebeetle73]

I guess the chaos war is Marvel's Blackest Night. As long as AF is back I don't really care, I won't be reading anything but the AF one-shot anyway.

[cmdrkoenig67]

Hmmm...I thought was Nekrosha was Marvel's Blackest Night? Has anybody noticed how many Marvel "events" involve dead folks, lately? Nekrosha, Curse of The Mutants and now Chaos War...Am I missing any?

Dana

EDIT: Marvel Zombies? Or does that even count, as it's dragged on so long?

[MistressMerr]

Hmmm...I thought was Nekrosha was Marvel's Blackest Night? Has anybody noticed how many Marvel "events" involve dead folks, lately? Nekrosha, Curse of The Mutants and now Chaos War...Am I missing any?

Dana

EDIT: Marvel Zombies? Or does that even count, as it's dragged on so long?
Necrosha was just the X-Men instead of all Marvel, and most of the zombies went back to being dead afterwards (not that I know if the Chaos Reign resurrections will stick or not, but hey, it's worth noting.) That is a whole lot of undead overload for one year, though.

[DIGGER]

Maybe M. Knight Shamallan (don't know if it is spelled right, don't really care) is now employed by Marvel.

DIGGER

[Corvus]

Very glad to see some form of Alpha Flight coming out. However, the "buy lots and we might make a series" line from Marvel is a little tired. Didn't they say the same thing about Omega Flight, but instead cut it down from an ongoing to a limited before it even came out, and despite it selling well?

[Le Messor]

Corvus, yes, you are right.

Also, didn't your avatar used to actually be a corvid? Or is the new one an albino?
(For future generations reading after Corvus's sig has changed, the new sig is a flying white bird.)

- Le Messor
"He who requires much from himself and little from others will be secure from hatred."
~ K’ung Fu-tse

[Flightpath07]

Marvel Zombies? Or does that even count, as it's dragged on so long?

I am imagining a zombie, lurching along, dragging one leg behind itself...

[Le Messor]

You're lucky you're only imagining one...

[Flightpath07]

I liked Marvel Zombies. Okay, okay, i only bought one issue, but it was entertaining.

[DaVeO]

The Fred Van Lente MZ books were quite entertaining actually. Aaron aka Machine Man with his Nextwave personality vs hordes of Zombies.

[DIGGER]

You're lucky you're only imagining one...

I see dead people!

DIGGER

[Flightpath07]

I see dead people!

DIGGER

Well, with a name like Digger...I'd guess so!

"Hello, I am Paul; Paul Bearer."

[Corvus]

Corvus, yes, you are right.

Also, didn't your avatar used to actually be a corvid? Or is the new one an albino?
(For future generations reading after Corvus's sig has changed, the new sig is a flying white bird.)

- Le Messor
"He who requires much from himself and little from others will be secure from hatred."
~ K’ung Fu-tse

It is a White (but not albino, no red eyes) Raven that was spotted a few years ago on Vancouver Island.

[cmdrkoenig67]

I posted this on another board, but I thought I should here too....We all know Fred Van Lent is a big fan of Alpha Flight, right? Wouldn't it be cool (if Alpha comes back for good), if Fred and Jim (McCann) did a cross-over with Alpha Flight and Fred's Avengers team? I think it would be awesome!

Dana :)

[Flightpath07]

I posted this on another board, but I thought I should here too....We all know Fred Van Lent is a big fan of Alpha Flight, right? Wouldn't it be cool (if Alpha comes back for good), if Fred and Jim (McCann) did a cross-over with Alpha Flight and Fred's Avengers team? I think it would be awesome!

Dana :)

I'd go for that.

[Le Messor]

It is a White (but not albino, no red eyes) Raven that was spotted a few years ago on Vancouver Island.

Cool! Like my dog - white German shepherd.

Van Lente wouldn't be my first choice, but I'd get the series.

- Le Messor
"All I see is one white crow."
- Was (Not Was)

[Legerd]

I checked the solicits for November and found the Chaos War:Alpha Flight blurb (http://marvel.com/catalog/?id=17158). Marrina's named is misspelled :mad: but it sounds like the team may play a major role:
As CHAOS KING and his army cut a path of destruction across the Marvel Universe, the return of Alpha Flight may just be what the heroes need to turn the tide. So why does one team member want to put Alpha Flight back in the grave?I thought the teammate who turns "bad" would do it to bring the team back, but it turns out he or she wants to kill the returning members again! :o Now I'm really intrigued about what the story is going to be.

[cmdrkoenig67]

Hmmmm....Could it be Mac? Shaman? Marrina? I doubt it would be Heather.

Dana

[suzene]

Hmmmm....Could it be Mac? Shaman? Marrina? I doubt it would be Heather.

If it's a new and insane Jeanne-Marie personality, me and Mr. McCann may need to have words. ;)

[Le Messor]

As long as those words don't include 'semprini'.
Because this isn't that kind of comic.

- Le Messor
"Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever."
~ Unknown

[Flightpath07]

Maybe its Wild Child that wants to kill them all? Hey, a guy can hope, can't he?

Speaking of 'semprini' (another 'Circus' reference, I see!), I cannot spell "aardvark" or "diarrhea"; wait, scratch that, I might be wrong...

and when i say "scratch that", i do not mean the boil on my (see LM's word above)

[suzene]

As long as those words don't include 'semprini'.
Because this isn't that kind of comic.

Or "temporal copies."

[Mokole]

It could be Marrina, after her latest death just doesn't want to go through it again; or Shaman, who wants to stay out of Talisman's way; or a Hudson, who resents how they were brought back.

[Legerd]

Maybe it's Snowbird. She's killed Sasquatch in the past on orders from her family. It could be the gods aren't happy with how AF is brought back and feel they should remain dead.

[Flightpath07]

It's the Purple Girl (hey, they didn't say a CURRENT member of AF was unhappy with the resurrections...); she is still mad at Whitman for dumping her, so she wants all of AF dead, dead, dead. lol.

[Garry/Al-Fan]

Someone from Alpha Flight wants the (dead) members of Alpha Flight to stay dead? I wish I were above saying "I told you not to get your hopes up too high," but this doesn't sound promising, to me. I hope I'm wrong.

[Legerd]

Someone from Alpha Flight wants the (dead) members of Alpha Flight to stay dead? I wish I were above saying "I told you not to get your hopes up too high," but this doesn't sound promising, to me. I hope I'm wrong.

Maybe it's just me being overly optimistic, but with comic book sales slipping I can't believe even Joe Q would be dumb enough to kill off a new source of sales. We've literally spent years telling Marvel what we want and it sounds like we're finally going to get it (well at least a one-shot of it). But if this is a "one and you're done" then all they will have accomplished with this is to piss off and alienate a hardcore group of customers, and I for one will wash my hands of Marvel comics once and for all.
However, this one-shot, IMO, is just a way to bring back AF so that, if sales warrant it, there can be an ongoing. Unless they're lying (yes, I know their track record) they've even said as much, so I don't think AF will be killed off at the end. More than likely the team will end up at a crossroads where they have to decide what they do with their new lives, setting everything up for an ongoing or at least leaving it off that the characters are back in the rotation.

[Flightpath07]

I agree, Legerd. But at the same time, I never count my Canadian chickens until the Marvel execs have gotten their feathered butts off of them! "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

[suzene]

It's probably too optimistic to hope that AF's going to get an ongoing out of this. But if the response is good, Marvel might go the "series of mini-series" route with it, like they did for GLA, Prince of Power, Power Pack, etc. That'd suit me just fine.

[mos_def]

i agree. the ghost rider mini and winter guard mini were good reads ( though I dont know what happened to Vostok and Perun) A mini here and there is better then no AF

[DaVeO]

Definitely would be a start. I just put up a new post concerning The Enigma Force in the Other Comics section. The reason I mention it is because the Enigma Force is made up of most of the core team of The Micronauts. Remember them? This will be their second mini-series both tied to but easily read separately from the Hulk books. Seems like a gradual build up to a possible ongoing to me and if they take this road with Alpha Flight it's fine with me also.

[cmdrkoenig67]

I'm having to reign myself in too...I'd hate to get too excited about Alpha coming back (and I was really getting excited about it), only to have Marvel yank them away again (if such a thing happens). I'm going to try and just face things as they come (good or bad) and enjoy what I can from it.

Dana

[Le Messor]

I'm having to reign myself in too...

But is it... a Dark Reign?

No, I didn't just say that. Really.

- Le Messor
Calvin: Oh, you'd rather blow the evening cooking and washing dishes than spend a few bucks?
Dad: It seems like we go out for pizza a lot these days.
Mum: If you'd rather fix a dish of cereal at home, be my guest.

[cmdrkoenig67]

HA!

[Flightpath07]

But is it... a Dark Reign?

I have a poster of that.

And now I AM a poster about that!

[SNOWCHILD]

I'm having to reign myself in too...I'd hate to get too excited about Alpha coming back (and I was really getting excited about it), only to have Marvel yank them away again (if such a thing happens). I'm going to try and just face things as they come (good or bad) and enjoy what I can from it.

Dana

Dana, please update me. Hopefully, they are coming back for good.

[Flightpath07]

Nobody knows for sure. Not yet.

[Mokole]

I don't know if anyone ever posted this, but I'm tired and I bet they did, from Formspring 5 months ago. Jim McCann. A refresher of what might be.

Who is your favorite international superhero? (http://www.formspring.me/JimMcCann/q/731336500)

Blacksad. If you mean Marvel- almost all of Alpha Flight.

[Flightpath07]

All but Puck?

[Tawmis]

Wow! 10 pages is hard to get through... But early on people were suspecting THE MASTER to be the villain for the one shot... But I suspect it's Dream Queen, since we see in Chaos War, that Nightmare is killed... and if I remember correctly, Dream Queen is either the daughter or something to Nightmare?

[-K-M-]

Wow! 10 pages is hard to get through... But early on people were suspecting THE MASTER to be the villain for the one shot... But I suspect it's Dream Queen, since we see in Chaos War, that Nightmare is killed... and if I remember correctly, Dream Queen is either the daughter or something to Nightmare?

Yep, Dreamqueen is Nightmare's daughter...and also technically she is her own mother.

Perhaps it's Llan, as they said it's the canadian version of the Devil.

[Tawmis]

Perhaps it's Llan, as they said it's the canadian version of the Devil.

I sincerely hope not.
That was - by far - the worse story of Alpha Flight history. Bad story. Bad art. Bad everything.

[cmdrkoenig67]

I doubt it's either, really...I'm still thinking it's the Master, since Jim seems to have a fondness for the Byrne original team.

Dana

[Le Messor]

The Great Beasts?

The Good Beasts?

The okay beasts?

- Le Messor
"Self-pity is a terrible first course. Why don't you try the soup instead?"
- Christine Chappel

[cmdrkoenig67]

Yeah...It could be Somon, perhaps? What other villain is their "devil"?...Caliber (LOL)? Pink Pearl (Ha!)?

Dana

[Le Messor]

Oh yeah, and I remember I saw the Beasts (including, specifically, Somon) in that picture of Reilly Brown's desk!

- Le Messor
"How long a minute is depends on which side of the bathroom door you’re on."

[Tawmis]

I doubt it's either, really...I'm still thinking it's the Master, since Jim seems to have a fondness for the Byrne original team.
Dana

I wouldn't consider The Master Alpha Flight's "Devil." I would consider Master more what Magneto is to the X-Men. So while he does seem to favor the original Alpha Flight, I have a feeling with a story like this Master wouldn't fit in - it would need to be something bigger - and since it begins with Nightmare's death, I could see how he would use DreamQueen to tie her in (and perhaps even elevate her power level and threat level to essentially replace Nightmare).

[Garry/Al-Fan]

I wouldn't consider The Master Alpha Flight's "Devil." I would consider Master more what Magneto is to the X-Men. So while he does seem to favor the original Alpha Flight, I have a feeling with a story like this Master wouldn't fit in - it would need to be something bigger - and since it begins with Nightmare's death, I could see how he would use DreamQueen to tie her in (and perhaps even elevate her power level and threat level to essentially replace Nightmare).

Ah...Nightmare dies? When and where did this happen?

BTW, you thought Llan was the worst? How about Puck going from long pants to short pants in the middle of a story? Or Aurora fighting the Sentinels in her (Byrne) summer suit, but the books before and after have her in Ross's purple suit? Or Vindicator killing Narya with technologically-based weapons (and failing to save her son)? Or...

[Tawmis]

Ah...Nightmare dies? When and where did this happen?

BTW, you thought Llan was the worst? How about Puck going from long pants to short pants in the middle of a story? Or Aurora fighting the Sentinels in her (Byrne) summer suit, but the books before and after have her in Ross's purple suit? Or Vindicator killing Narya with technologically-based weapons (and failing to save her son)? Or...

Well he "dies" as much as anyone "dies" in comics (right). I believe this happens in Chaos War #1 or so? It's in the CHAOS WAR issues anyway. Might be the wrong issue.

As for Puck's pants... bad editing... Aurora's fight... bad editing... Vindicator killing Narya... admittedly, probably the second worse moment in Alpha Flight history (as Snowbird and Shaman were always my favorites)... but I knew, if anyone would/could come back - being a half-goddess, that she WOULD come back. But the Llan story? The writing was something I would have written when I was like 14 and like thinking of like the worse "Satanic" type story I could think of... with people everywhere dying and dead... but it was so bland... so VERY bland... and to top it off... I thought the art was absolutely weak... And it could be, because by the time this happen, Alpha Flight, as a team and comic, was pretty severely damaged... (I didn't care for the World Tour arc either...)

[Flightpath07]

To be fair, the Llan story arc suffered for the same reasons Omega Flight suffered. It was going to be a much longer story arc, then the writer got told, after the first issue of the arc was published, that he was being replaced on the series and he had to wrap everything up in three issues or some nonsense like that.

Again, interference from on high ruined everything.

[Tawmis]

To be fair, the Llan story arc suffered for the same reasons Omega Flight suffered. It was going to be a much longer story arc, then the writer got told, after the first issue of the arc was published, that he was being replaced on the series and he had to wrap everything up in three issues or some nonsense like that.


I will freely admit, a part of my problem was how Llan looked. The whole mohawk thing... and his costume... I would have hoped someone who was demonic was going to be all out demonic... the potential to make the next Mephisto was there (and if you think of Mephisto, he's a pretty simple looking character) - but it works. I think with Llan, the mohawk, the silly blue/red outfit... I was like the only thing this guy is killing is someone dying of laughter. I think it was a mixture that he was so damaging (his origin story - started good, with the people finding the statue thing, if I remember correctly)... So the fact that it may have got nixed early on might explain why the rest of the story seemed to falter so horribly... the artist (if responsible for the design) also failed though, in making Llan as fearsome in appearance as he could have been.

Am I the only one who thinks Llan looked down right silly?
606

[maniac mike]

I'll be the first to admit Llan's costume was terrible but it was James Hudnall's AF run that brought me back! As for John Calimee's artwork on the series it too wasn't the best but I'll take it over Michael Bair's run any day!

[Tawmis]

I'll be the first to admit Llan's costume was terrible but it was James Hudnall's AF run that brought me back! As for John Calimee's artwork on the series it too wasn't the best but I'll take it over Michael Bair's run any day!

Which arc was Bair's?

[Le Messor]

What we're talking about is Executive Meddling. I think there's, like, one example in the history of ever where it's worked out for the best.
I didn't much care for the Llan story either, but I don't know if I'd call it the worst in AF history. I'm not sure what I would, though.

Best was #s 7 and 8, first series.


Which arc was Bair's?

That would be where everybody constantly looked constipated. The twisted, contorted poses, the expressions... ugh.

I still like Calimee's art back then less than his. (Calimee's art now is good.)

- Le Messor
Buffy: How long do you think that he can stay angry at me anyway?
Willow: The emotional marathon man?

[Flightpath07]

I'll be the first to admit Llan's costume was terrible but it was James Hudnall's AF run that brought me back! As for John Calimee's artwork on the series it too wasn't the best but I'll take it over Michael Bair's run any day!

For me, Calimee was one of the worst. Definitely made my top-ten list of worst AF artists ever. And, when i say "worst", I mean 'worst artists', not as in 'he is a bad person'.

[Ben]

Calimee was also my least favorite AF artist. John is a great guy, and is the first to admit that his work on AF was not good:

From John Calimee's interview with Del for AlphaFlight.net (http://www.alphaflight.net/content.php?137-John-Calimee-Interview):

I finished all six pages. I would never have gotten work otherwise. The drawing was awful but I have a feel for clear story telling. That was my saving grace. Out of the kindness of their hearts, I got work. Including my notorious, much vilified run on Alpha-Flight. What can I say? Yes, my run on Alpha-Flight was awful. Bad. Bad. Bad. When they shipped the pages back to me, I destroyed them as fast as I could.

[suzene]

What we're talking about is Executive Meddling. I think there's, like, one example in the history of ever where it's worked out for the best.

As heinous as it was on multiple levels, I'd say Jim "there are no homosexual characters at Marvel comics" Shooter's 11th-hour veto of Mantlo's plan to kill Northstar off inadvertently worked in the character's favor. It's a lot easier to retcon away a hastily slapped-together bit of storytelling than it is your company's first gay character dying of AIDS. Also, I was relieved when Chuck Austen said his plans to give Northstar a boyfriend had been nixed. In principle, I approved of Northstar finally getting a homosexual romantic interest, but Austen's handling of the character was so dire, I was glad he wasn't going to get his grubby mitts on him more than he had already. And, as much as I generally adore their writing, I'm glad Weir and DeFillipis weren't allowed to kill off Northstar's protege over in New Mutants (even, again, if it was a case of Marvel's editors being skittish rather than progressive).

And agreed on issues #7 & 8; those are tied for X-Men/Alpha Flight: The Gift for best AF story in my book.

[kozzi24]

Another good flipside of editorial meddling is that the properties being used are given higher regard than the writers' egos. Nowadays, there's new costumes every issue writers are allowed to back characters into a corner and kill them willy-nilly. The development of the Marvel Universe as a whole was much better under shooter. I know he was a dictator and had some questionable views, but I miss Powers-that-be with long term vision.

[cmdrkoenig67]

I will freely admit, a part of my problem was how Llan looked. The whole mohawk thing... and his costume... I would have hoped someone who was demonic was going to be all out demonic... the potential to make the next Mephisto was there (and if you think of Mephisto, he's a pretty simple looking character) - but it works. I think with Llan, the mohawk, the silly blue/red outfit... I was like the only thing this guy is killing is someone dying of laughter. I think it was a mixture that he was so damaging (his origin story - started good, with the people finding the statue thing, if I remember correctly)... So the fact that it may have got nixed early on might explain why the rest of the story seemed to falter so horribly... the artist (if responsible for the design) also failed though, in making Llan as fearsome in appearance as he could have been.

Am I the only one who thinks Llan looked down right silly?
606

Ugh...The black speedo and itty bitty booties is part of the awful too (for me, at least). I felt the art was pretty bad and I really didn't like Hudnall's writing either...I didn't like Bair's work too...Blargh! BTW: Seeing Calimee's artwork now, I'm very happy to see he has improved so much.

Dana

[DIGGER]

That would be where everybody constantly looked constipated. The twisted, contorted poses, the expressions... ugh.

I still like Calimee's art back then less than his. (Calimee's art now is good.)

- Le Messor
Buffy: How long do you think that he can stay angry at me anyway?
Willow: The emotional marathon man?

I can honestly say that I have yet to see anymore of those "unique" flying poses like Bair's, or big toes on costumes for that matter either.

[Ahab]

I couldn't stand the fact that they looked like they were wearing costumes made of leotard material and no shoes! There was nothing durable-looking about those costumes as Bair drew them. As much as I like the shape of a woman, he even drew them somewhat obscenely in those costumes. Thankfully we weren't treated with more graphic details of what men in that material really would have looked like from the waist down...

[Flightpath07]

Another good flipside of editorial meddling is that the properties being used are given higher regard than the writers' egos. Nowadays, there's new costumes every issue writers are allowed to back characters into a corner and kill them willy-nilly. The development of the Marvel Universe as a whole was much better under shooter. I know he was a dictator and had some questionable views, but I miss Powers-that-be with long term vision.

Totally agree.

[Tawmis]

So to veer it back to CHAOS WAR...

Is anyone else reading it? Picking up any of the other titles that tie to it/spin from it?

I read CHAOS WAR: THOR #1 and was VERY impressed.

I am hopeful that ALPHA FLIGHT will be treated right.

[Garry/Al-Fan]

Only a couple more weeks until the Alpha Flight book comes out!
I am very late to the entire first volume and commend those who were able to stick it out in real-time. The Mantlo era---and I call it "the Mantlo era" because, as many of you have stated, decisions by other people were incorporated into the books even though Bill Mantlo is credited as the writer during his tenure---was IMO the absolute worst dreck I have ever read. I could not take any more when Box blew up a HUGE Tundra!---and there was no (little) resulting damage to Canada!

I agree that Llan's costume and look needs a serious makeover. On the other hand, James Hudnall deserves a lot of credit for bringing back the original characters. He did not run from the *#@%-up continuity, he didn't try to re-write it, or wish it away (what I would like to do)---he dealt with it! A long storyline, sure. Let's also remember that Calimee and Hudnall were putting out 28 pages of material in two weeks during a stretch of their tenure!

Mantlo said he had nothing but love for Byrne's Alpha Flight in the interviews leading up to the crossover, but the actual books---starting with ROM---prove that Mantlo was the last person who should've been considered for the writing chores.

[cmdrkoenig67]

Only a couple more weeks until the Alpha Flight book comes out!
I am very late to the entire first volume and commend those who were able to stick it out in real-time. The Mantlo era---and I call it "the Mantlo era" because, as many of you have stated, decisions by other people were incorporated into the books even though Bill Mantlo is credited as the writer during his tenure---was IMO the absolute worst dreck I have ever read. I could not take any more when Box blew up a HUGE Tundra!---and there was no (little) resulting damage to Canada!

I agree....That scene made absolutely no sense. John Byrne established that the only safe way to truly destroy Tundra's earthly form is through the forces of natural erosion (water, wind, etc...).


I agree that Llan's costume and look needs a serious makeover. On the other hand, James Hudnall deserves a lot of credit for bringing back the original characters. He did not run from the *#@%-up continuity, he didn't try to re-write it, or wish it away (what I would like to do)---he dealt with it! A long storyline, sure. Let's also remember that Calimee and Hudnall were putting out 28 pages of material in two weeks during a stretch of their tenure!

Well....Let's hope we don't see Llan for (at least) ten thousand years...I'm good with that.


Mantlo said he had nothing but love for Byrne's Alpha Flight in the interviews leading up to the crossover, but the actual books---starting with ROM---prove that Mantlo was the last person who should've been considered for the writing chores.

I find it odd that he claimed he liked Byrne's work on Alpha Flight, yet when he took over Alpha, it's like he didn't know their history and just winged it (and soon trashed the team and brought in his own characters). It's too bad, I loved his work on the Micronauts book.

Dana

[suzene]

I find it odd that he claimed he liked Byrne's work on Alpha Flight, yet when he took over Alpha, it's like he didn't know their history and just winged it (and soon trashed the team and brought in his own characters).

It was pretty dire, wasn't it? I was flipping through his run the other day and Mantlo had a hard time even keeping characters' names straight. The twins were Jean-Paul and Jeanne-Marie Baptiste in their last appearance, and Northstar once had a mentor named Raymonde St. Jaques (and was apparently a skiing champion by the time he was 14 years old).

I also wasn't keen on the powersuit, but more than that, I disliked how Heather went from a kickass normal to a whiny, self-doubting character I started referring to as Shut Up!Heather. Very different person from the Byrne character.

[mreeez]

New Guardian piece from Reilly Brown.

http://reillybrown.deviantart.com/art/Gaurdian-186271069

[Flightpath07]

New Guardian piece from Reilly Brown.

http://reillybrown.deviantart.com/art/Gaurdian-186271069

Not meaning to pick...but does the head look a little too small for the body?

[rplass]

Funny how you picked up on the head smallness but ignored the misspelling of the guy's name G-U-A- not G-A-U-
Love,
rplass

[Ben]

Reily Brown Northstar (http://reillybrown.deviantart.com/art/Northstar-186380305?q=sort%3Atime+gallery%3Areillybrown&qo=0) is up

[Tawmis]

Reily Brown Northstar (http://reillybrown.deviantart.com/art/Northstar-186380305?q=sort%3Atime+gallery%3Areillybrown&qo=0) is up

His Guardian is awesome. I even like his Northstar... a lot... despite the heavy ANIME influence that comes across on that piece...

[Legerd]

I like his little blurb to go with the pic:

Northstar's best know for being the first gay superhero, which they officially stated in the 90's, but John Byrne made it very clear what was going on with Northstar in early issues of Alpha Flight in the 80's (I think it was issue 7 and 8 ). There's something about dealing with heavy subject matter subtly that can make it really interesting and powerful, as opposed to being blatant about it which can frequently just make it seem crass.especially the highlighted part. This is one of the reasons I don't read any Marvel books right now.
The more AF artwork I see from Mr. Brown the harder it is to wait for the book.

[Flightpath07]

Funny how you picked up on the head smallness but ignored the misspelling of the guy's name G-U-A- not G-A-U-
Love,
rplass

LOL. Good eye! (or should that be "good eey!"?)

[Ben]

Shaman is up (http://reillybrown.deviantart.com/art/Northstar-186380305?q=sort%3Atime+gallery%3Areillybrown&qo=0#/d3314lh)

[Tawmis]

Shaman is up (http://reillybrown.deviantart.com/art/Northstar-186380305?q=sort%3Atime+gallery%3Areillybrown&qo=0#/d3314lh)

Digging it. Though... wow, Shaman is quite barrel chested!

[Tawmis]

The team is definitely shaping up...

618

[Legerd]

Looking good. I like his Shaman.

[Flightpath07]

Shaman is up (http://reillybrown.deviantart.com/art/Northstar-186380305?q=sort%3Atime+gallery%3Areillybrown&qo=0#/d3314lh)

Now that one I like!

[mreeez]

Vindicator (http://reillybrown.deviantart.com/#/d333c1g), complete with butt shot.

[Tawmis]

vindicator (http://reillybrown.deviantart.com/#/d333c1g), complete with butt shot.

rawr! :-d

625

[Legerd]

Here's the coloured page (http://www.comicbookresources.com/prev_img.php?pid=7049&pg=1) from Chaos War #4 that has the panel with AF. Sad to say there hasn't been a preview of the one-shot. Seems like Marvel is staying true to form.

[Ben]

Aurora sketch added (http://reillybrown.deviantart.com/#/d335ju2)

[Tawmis]

Aurora sketch added (http://reillybrown.deviantart.com/#/d335ju2)

Beautifully done.

635

[Le Messor]

The preview page does not look good. Reminds me of the worst aspects of Bair and Calimee rolled into one.

I don't think Reilly Brown has captured Northstar's face very well - a little too boyish.
As for the rest? Costumes and characters?
YES!!!
I'm liking what I see. Original costumes. Good capture of the characters. I'm all for it.

The Gaurdian's (sic) head being too small - that's the Marvel style. Okay, it's a little extreme here...

Now I gaurdedly want to see his Sasquatch. That's the real test of an Alpha artist; does it look like he's ever seen Byrne's design?

- Le Messor
"How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it."
~ Marcus Aurelius

[Flightpath07]

The preview page does not look good. Reminds me of the worst aspects of Bair and Calimee rolled into one.

I don't think Reilly Brown has captured Northstar's face very well - a little too boyish.
As for the rest? Costumes and characters?
YES!!!
I'm liking what I see. Original costumes. Good capture of the characters. I'm all for it.

The Gaurdian's (sic) head being too small - that's the Marvel style. Okay, it's a little extreme here...

Now I gaurdedly want to see his Sasquatch. That's the real test of an Alpha artist; does it look like he's ever seen Byrne's design?

- Le Messor
"How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it."
~ Marcus Aurelius

I have to agree with you on everything, Mik. I have been trying to say little, as it doesn't seem fair to bash on an artist who is drawing the comeback of our heroes. But...here's to hoping he gets better with lots of practise?

[Legerd]

The preview page does not look good. Reminds me of the worst aspects of Bair and Calimee rolled into one.

I don't think Reilly Brown has captured Northstar's face very well - a little too boyish.
As for the rest? Costumes and characters?
YES!!!
I'm liking what I see. Original costumes. Good capture of the characters. I'm all for it.

The Gaurdian's (sic) head being too small - that's the Marvel style. Okay, it's a little extreme here...

Now I gaurdedly want to see his Sasquatch. That's the real test of an Alpha artist; does it look like he's ever seen Byrne's design?

- Le Messor
"How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it."
~ Marcus Aurelius

Not sure if I need this here but...

Spoiler







Space

While Brown's style is different than what I'm use to, it is still head and shoulders above many past AF artists. His characters aren't stiff or standing on their toes nor are their bodies wildly/weirdly out of proportion. He has done them justice. As for his Sasquatch, well it's a bit hit and miss IMO. He gets the face right, and Sas' height seems to match what it would be compared to the other characters, but his arms are too short (more like the length of what a human's arms would be) instead of the longer simian-like arms we've seen before and his body isn't as broad (seems more fluffy than furry) therefore he doesn't look as strong, at least not to my eyes. That said, he does stay true to the characters' classic look and the art overall is strong. And he does Kirby Dots beautifully!

[Le Messor]

Spoiler







Space

... he does stay true to the characters' classic look ...

That's all I ask for.
(After seeing him drawn as a giant Ewok, etc... I know I can't expect much more...)

- Le Messor
"How much deeper would the ocean be if sponges didn’t live there?"
- Steve Wright

[Garry/Al-Fan]

Today is a good day for Alpha Flight, Alpha Flight fans, and Marvel.

I've read CHAOS WAR: ALPHA FLIGHT, and MARVEL has done right and done well with Alpha Flight's resurrection. The story is straight-forward and concise, yet the plot, characterizations, and storytelling are solid, consistent, and plausible.

Admittedly, I would've like to have seen a bit of Tanaraq-Sasquatch mayhem, but all-in-all I think everyone had their moment to shine. I am particularly impressed with Snowbird and Northstar's somber and realistic assessments of their situation.

For those who have never seen Alpha Flight, this is a very good introduction. For those who know Alpha Flight's history, this is a very respectful representation of the team.

This is a very good Thanksgiving present, and (at last) MARVEL can be proud of the way they have presented Canada's premiere supergroup.

[Le Messor]

If this is a Thanksgiving present, maybe we should find a way to thank Marvel for it?

- Le Messor
"They kept telling me to act my age, so I changed my age."

[Phil]

As many of us as possible need to PHYSICALLY write in to Marvel and say how much we loved the oneshot and want more.
Message boards and E-mails only go so far, and only sales in the US/Canada count.

[suzene]

As many of us as possible need to PHYSICALLY write in to Marvel and say how much we loved the oneshot and want more.
Message boards and E-mails only go so far, and only sales in the US/Canada count.

Got an address handy?

[Legerd]

Got an address handy?


Marvel Entertainment, LLC
135 W. 50th Street, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10020

As taken from their contact page (http://marvel.com/corporate/about).

Also, there is their general feedback emails (http://marvel.com/help/category/17/topic/28).

Do we direct it to the X office, or would it be the Heroes office?

[Tawmis]

Also, there is their general feedback emails (http://marvel.com/help/category/17/topic/28).
Do we direct it to the X office, or would it be the Heroes office?

For emails, why not both in the same email?

[Le Messor]

So I was minding my own business at work today, when I got a call from the foyer.
"You'll gave to come down, somebody's left something for you."

When I made it down, there was nobody around...
But there, on a low table, was a copy of Chaos Wars: Alpha Flight!

Woot!
A week before I next planned a standing order day!

- Le Messor
"I am more bored than you could ever possibly be. Go back to work."

[Legerd]

For emails, why not both in the same email?
Well, the last time people sent AF related emails to the wrong office Tom Brevoort got a bit cranky.

[Ben]

in regards to emails. I've asked their head of marketing what email department to send to. I should hear after the holiday.

[suzene]

Well, the last time people sent AF related emails to the wrong office Tom Brevoort got a bit cranky.

Must...not...take...cheap shot!

[mreeez]

If you have a Twitter account, send that you want more AF to @Marvel.

[Le Messor]

mreez - I'd like to see us sending a 'thank you, this is great' first (if you think so, of course).

I think a lot of the time, a big problem people have is that people keep saying 'I want! I want! I want!' but never acknowledging when they get. And I think relations between Marvel and Alpha fanhood are... shall we say 'strained'.
I'd like to think a lot of thank yous from Alpha fanhood would help there.

Of course, a 'CW:AF was great, more! More!' I'm sure wouldn't go too far astray.

- LM
"I am Procrastitron. I will destroy you, eventually."

[cmdrkoenig67]

Do we have any idea what sales may have been for the one-shot? Perhaps it's too early to know?

Dana

[DaVeO]

It was good. Not great but promising. Although did Marrina need to be there? All she did was get ugly real fast. ;) I think Talisman would have been a better fit (I admit I'm biased) or if you wanted a dead Alphan then Diamond Lil. But yeah, I'd like to have another special or perhaps mini-series to better ascertain this creative team.

[Ben]

Do we have any idea what sales may have been for the one-shot? Perhaps it's too early to know?

Dana

way too early to tell

[Ahab]

It was good. Not great but promising. Although did Marrina need to be there? All she did was get ugly real fast. ;) I think Talisman would have been a better fit (I admit I'm biased) or if you wanted a dead Alphan then Diamond Lil. But yeah, I'd like to have another special or perhaps mini-series to better ascertain this creative team.

The purpose was to capture the spirit of the original team. I missed Talisman too, but she came later.

[DaVeO]

Hmm, did I sound too harsh? Didn't mean to as I did really enjoy the issue and found it to be a very organic tie-in to Chaos War. But with any tie-in to a main event you're limited in what you can tell. But Jim nailed the relationships down, I greatly enjoyed that and Reily's Great Beasts were stunning. Everyone catch what I think Shaman said. That their powers were augmented? I guess that explains Marrina's water cyclones and Heather's Vindicator suit having what I think were her old geo-thermal powers from Vol 2. I also loved when Aurora said they belonged here and not with the X-Men. :)

[Legerd]

Everyone catch what I think Shaman said. That their powers were augmented? I guess that explains Marrina's water cyclones and Heather's Vindicator suit having what I think were her old geo-thermal powers from Vol 2.
Yeah, I figured that was why mere mortals were able to curb-stomp alien gods with such ease too.

Shaman also said the Chaos King had destroyed the various realms of death... does that mean all the dead heroes that don't show up in Chaos War have been wiped out of existence, or have they been spat out somewhere on Earth and we just haven't seen them yet?

[-K-M-]

Only the AF members that returned from the grave were augmented, and really I didn't see anything they did that they couldn't do themselves. I loved Snowbird's blast, but was that somehow created with Shaman?

It makes sense the Great Beasts were taking it to the Chaos King, as one Great Beast in Hercules was taking on the entire army and was doing incredibly well.

[Garry/Al-Fan]

Sending a snail-mail letter to Marvel telling them the one-shot is well-done, and more would be even better.

Not much could've been improved, IMO. Sure, there is one misspelling of "Tanaraq", but what is an Alpha Flight book without one misspelling (this is consistent from the old series, too, though MARVEL doesn't have to make it a habit ;)).

Mention of Mac and Heather's baby? BIG check
Didn't forget Puck? check
Didn't forget the others whom Shaman wasn't able to bring back? big check (and cleverly didn't mention anyone by name)
Snowbird and Shaman have a warm, close connection? BIG check
Snowbird and Northstar really understand what their situation is? very BIG check
Ranaq not there and the Great Beasts trying to save their realm for....what? BIG, BIG check
No Talisman? Maybe next time

[Tawmis]

Yeah, I figured that was why mere mortals were able to curb-stomp alien gods with such ease too.

Shaman also said the Chaos King had destroyed the various realms of death... does that mean all the dead heroes that don't show up in Chaos War have been wiped out of existence, or have they been spat out somewhere on Earth and we just haven't seen them yet?

AF is only "awake" because of Sasquatch's deal with the Great Beasts. Everyone else is in a "slumber" between Dream/Nightmare/Death.
To see more on that see my thread in the "Other Comics" section for "CHAOS WAR: DEAD AVENGERS" (http://www.alphaflight.net/showthread.php?5403-CHAOS-WAR-DEAD-AVENGERS-1-%28of-3%29-SPOILERS-WITHIN%21).

So even the "Dead Heroes" (and people) are caught in this Dream/Nightmare/Death realm that the Chaos King has created. So no one else would pop up "alive" suddenly on Earth where AF (or anyone else) would see them.

[Le Messor]

Not much could've been improved, IMO. Sure, there is one misspelling of "Tanaraq", but what is an Alpha Flight book without one misspelling (this is consistent from the old series, too, though MARVEL doesn't have to make it a habit ;)).

Aww, they're just paying homage to the Byrne days. "You've never faced the true test of your powers! Fool it now!"


Didn't forget the others whom Shaman wasn't able to bring back? big check (and cleverly didn't mention anyone by name)

Good point, I hadn't thought of that. (the no-name thing.)


Snowbird and Northstar really understand what their situation is? very BIG check

Um, now you're putting a bad taste in my mouth. I'm suddenly remembering the Infinity crossover, where you read all the sub-books, and every single one has a character who is the "only one" who knows "what's really going on". In Alpha, I think it was Karkass, the villain?

After a while, I stopped feeling warm and fuzzy because our characters were special for knowing that and started feeling like it was a marketing ploy designed to make me feel warm and fuzzy because our characters were special for knowing that.

- Le Messor
"I believe that our Heavenly Father invented man because he was dissapointed in the monkey."
~ Mark Twain

[Garry/Al-Fan]

...

Um, now you're putting a bad taste in my mouth. I'm suddenly remembering the Infinity crossover, where you read all the sub-books, and every single one has a character who is the "only one" who knows "what's really going on". In Alpha, I think it was Karkass, the villain?

After a while, I stopped feeling warm and fuzzy because our characters were special for knowing that and started feeling like it was a marketing ploy designed to make me feel warm and fuzzy because our characters were special for knowing that.

- Le Messor

I wasn't as clear as I meant to be (again): Snowbird and Northstar aren't knowing in an omniscient way, just that they are aware that the consequences of the conflict are dire. The Beasts' strategy is as brilliant as it is vile: Alpha Flight fights the Chaos Kings' minions surrounded by cannibalistic Wendigos as the Great Beasts manifest to their ultimate on Earth. Talk about getting the short end of the stick all the way around.

[Le Messor]

I wasn't as clear as I meant to be (again): Snowbird and Northstar aren't knowing in an omniscient way, just that they are aware that the consequences of the conflict are dire...

Ohhh... That's much better than what I got.

- Le Messor
"You can tell me, I'm a doctor."
~ Leslie Nielsen (RIP). :(