Alpha Flight (Vol.4) #1 Review Compilation Thread

[Phil]

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/best-shots-advance-reviews-110614.html
http://uk.comics.ign.com/articles/117/1176240p1.html
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=3599

[SmurfInABlender]

I love that Newsarama and CBR list the same reasons for why the issue was awesome and why it was unremarkable respectively. Just interesting to see how one person can hate that it is a "superhero" book and the other can love that it is.

[DelBubs]

Not saying it is, but am wondering if Alpha's past is having an effect. Not got #1 yet, but it sounds awesome, yet...

[varo]

ign: http://comics.ign.com/articles/117/1176240p1.html

[varo]

http://weeklycomicbookreview.com/2011/06/15/alpha-flight-1-review/

[Phil]

http://www.biffbampop.com/2011/06/wednesday-run-june-15-2011.html

[Phil]

http://uncannyderek.com/2011/06/16/alpha-flight-returns-x-factor-wins/
http://www.brokenfrontier.com/reviews/p/detail/alpha-flight-1

[varo]

not bad. only 1 sub par one thus far.

[Phil]

Review at the bottom of http://www.comicvine.com/alpha-flight-fear-itself-tie-in/37-274228/

[Phil]

No a review per se, but a nice touch: http://www.ifanboy.com/content/articles/The_Best_of_the_Week_in_Panels_-_06_15_2011

[Phil]

http://www.pinkkryptonite.com/2011/06/review_alpha_flight_1.html#more

[Phil]

http://comicoftheday.blogspot.com/2011/06/alpha-flight-1-of-8.html

[suzene]

http://comicoftheday.blogspot.com/2011/06/alpha-flight-1-of-8.html

Glad he liked the book, but I really could not disagree with that first paragraph more.

[Phil]

I dunno... with Volume 3 I can see what he's saying. Although y'know just competant writing, ala Chaos War & this Volume so far, rather than a killing spree would have worked too.

[DelBubs]

I gotta agree with the first paragraph, being the non creative type, I honestly can't see what else you could have done with Alpha to get it where it is now.

[suzene]

I dunno... with Volume 3 I can see what he's saying. Although y'know just competant writing, ala Chaos War & this Volume so far, rather than a killing spree would have worked too.

There was nothing about v.3 so messed up that it inherently required a complete deck-clearing exercise of the original team, though. Killing off the team did nothing to correct the continuity headache of Marvel Has Two Alpha Flights -- Bendis intended it to be the real Flight that was killed and no one cared about the spares. All it accomplished was to give Wolverine three panels of angst (and that's counting the Dark Avengers/X-Men crossover), tick off a lot of Alpha Flight fans (and all seven fans of Puck II and Major Maple Leaf II), and still necessitated someone else cleaning up Lobdell's loose ends. And even after all of that, it's not like Chaos War or v.4 took pains to address the issue. All that was needed to solve the problem was pretty much the handwave that was given: the real team came back from space, the xeroxes are no more, let us never speak of this again. Not nuking the team would have meant we wouldn't have needed the Chaos War one-shot to undo Bendis' (and Fraction's, to be fair) killing spree among the Flight, and that Pak and Van Lente wouldn't have to fish Puck out of Hell, while not killing off the team would have presented very few roadblocks as to their portrayal in v.4 -- even without Heather and Mac dying, given their history up to this point, making a case for them as unfit parents/an unstable home environment wouldn't have been difficult, Marinna would still have 1001 reasons to be messed up after being cracked out of a test tube, etc.

TL;DR: Killing off the team solved none of the existing complications associated with Alpha Flight, it just presented a really big new one.

[mreeez]

To be honest, the reason Bendis killed off AF was to give his buddy, Oeming, cart blanche to put whatever roster he wanted to in Omega Flight.

[suzene]

http://littleyellowboxes.tumblr.com/post/6700352498/this-weeks-comics-marvel-dc-and-image-15-6-11

[DelBubs]

Alpha Flight (http://www.theprovince.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Alpha+Flight+just+Canada+superheroes/4973762/story.html) just can't be Canada's top superheroes. From 'The Province'

[varo]

http://mrcomicbookafterschool.blogspot.com/2011/06/reviews-for-alpha-flight-1-morning.html

[varo]

http://networkedblogs.com/jyr9U

[suzene]

http://cosmostreats.tumblr.com/post/6901943639/ajs-buy-pile-22nd-june-2011

[Phil]

http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/130913648973551.htm

[varo]

i read that one too phil, and i was going to link it, but it just seemed like they were trying to outwit one another rather than give a actual review.

[suzene]

http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/130913648973551.htm

I don't know whether to laugh or headdesk over their criticisms of the artist's research.

[Wolfie]

I don't know whether to laugh or headdesk over their criticisms of the artist's research.

Same here, Suzene! I saw that one and thought they were really unprofessional. Dale actually called him out on it on Twitter, saying that the script called specifically for the area around the Harbour Centre Lookout. It's not "all glass" around there! It's, well, exactly the way Dale showed it.

GARR, these people make me angry sometimes. The whole section on Vancouver (including the other comment that "Eaglesham does what most comic artists do: draw Generic Stand-In City for whatever city that writer's decided to set the story in.") should have been removed from the review once he was corrected publicly. Leaving it in just spreads lies to people who don't know any better. Besides, Dale always does thorough research on the locations being used, with Google Earth and Street View, etc. AND he does this even though he has 8 issues to draw in 8 months! You would think people would appreciate that kind of dedication and attention to detail.

What strikes me most is just how hard so-called "reviewers" try to dig for things to pick on, rather than giving props for the strong elements. It's so rare to see an educated review that doesn't come off as a bunch of fan-boys (no offense intended, we love our geeks!) trying to feel important by tearing people down.

Okay, I'm done now... :-?

[cmdrkoenig67]

Oh, they're idiots anyway...They don't even know who Cody's "poster boy" was that the book was referring to (believing it could be Puck), did they not even really read the issue?...The person in question was revealed at the end....And they think that Box is controlling Cody....LOLOLOLOLOLOL!

The comments about Vancouver being inaccurate are just stupid...I even recognized the building Attuma smashes as a Vancouver building (and I'm not Canadian, not have I visited Vancouver)...Harbour Centre, as Wolfie points out.

Dana

Here's the building...I've been seeing pictures of it for years...

http://www.1st-vancouver.com/images/TowerWCruiseship_lg.jpg

[Wolfie]

The tower actually has a pretty cool website where you can get a 360-degree view. Nifty! http://www.vancouverlookout.com/

[Phil]

http://siskoid.blogspot.com/2011/06/alpha-flight-1-canadian-perspective.html

[Le Messor]

Glad he liked the book, but I really could not disagree with that first paragraph more.

I couldn't disagree with his spelling of 'Marianna' more.


Same here, Suzene! I saw that one and thought they were really unprofessional.

I'm noticing that we're saying anybody who disses the issues are unprofessional or bad reviewers...

Also, the 'generic city' art... worst I've ever seen was in a JLI annual. They showed my home city (Canberra), which in real life looks nothing like Generic City (that's on the west coast). The Simpsons got it more right!

- Le Messor
"Kant's principle of universalisability in ethics is often alluded to by the common question: "What if everybody did it?" But to this, there is a common rejoinder: "They don't."
~ T.V. Morris, Bluffer's Guide to Philosophy

[Wolfie]

I couldn't disagree with his spelling of 'Marianna' more.

I'm noticing that we're saying anybody who disses the issues are unprofessional or bad reviewers...



I can't speak for others, but in my case (and it's my quote you used), I say they're unprofessional if they make inaccurate statements. These guys, for example, criticized elements of the art where they were just plain factually wrong. I call them unprofessional because they criticize Dale for not portraying Vancouver correctly, and for using generic cityscapes, when in fact the script called for a very specific area of Vancouver and his rendition was spot-on. If you're going to make public statements, I think you need to make sure you're not talking out of your derrière first.

Nowadays, anyone with access to the Internet can call themselves reviewers, but honestly, I'd say only about 1 in 10 "reviews" I read are TRUE, professional reviews. I was chatting with a Marvel exec the other day, and he was remembering how he reviewed some comics of Dale's many years ago. He said just how embarrassed he was about those old reviews, and how unprofessional they were. And those reviews of his, in my opinion, were leagues ahead of what we read these days. Most reviewers today don't even seem to know who does what, for Pete's sake!! They'll blame or credit one member of the creative team for something that had nothing to do with them, and vice-versa.

As for the word serviceable (re: your comment on another thread), it bothers me because of its dismissive nature. What if I said "Michael Jackson's music is serviceable," for example? Is that accurate? No, of course not. I think we can agree that he is recognized as being talented and has proven himself over a span of many years. I can say "I've never enjoyed that type of music, so this song doesn't do it for me." AH! Now that's fine. So when someone who obviously likes more cartoony art says that someone more realistic "sucks," yep, I have a problem with that. A reviewer should be well-versed in all types of art and be able to recognize an artist's strengths and weaknesses WITHIN that genre.

If you look more closely, by the way, you'll see there are many reviews on which I don't comment. They can be negative reviews, as long as their criticisms are legitimate and supported by evidence.

[Le Messor]

I can't speak for others, but in my case (and it's my quote you used), I say they're unprofessional if they make inaccurate statements.

That's fair.
On the other side, I've read professional reviews with wildly inaccurate statements. :) My favourite being (spoilers for a 1994 movie here) a review of Star Trek: Generations in a local paper that included the phrase 'You know how this ends; the galaxy is saved, Kirk lives...'
I thought they'd be expected to watch the movie before reviewing it.


As for the word serviceable (re: your comment on another thread), it bothers me because of its dismissive nature.

Again, that's fair. My comments weren't based on you being bothered by it being dismissive, but I got the impression that (note my usual state of confusion) you didn't think it was deliberately so - hence why my answer. That it was.
I do think Dale's art is much better than serviceable, btw.


If you look more closely, by the way, you'll see there are many reviews on which I don't comment. They can be negative reviews, as long as their criticisms are legitimate and supported by evidence.

I just got back after a month to find sixty threads I hadn't read.
Let's just say I haven't read all those reviews, and I'm now an unprofessional reviewer of your reviews of their reviews...
Wow, how meta can we get?

Also, I've long thought we do need professional review reviewers.

- Le Messor
"Two rights don’t make a wrong, they make an airplane."

[Ben]

I just got back after a month to find sixty threads I hadn't read.
Let's just say I haven't read all those reviews, and I'm now an unprofessional reviewer of your reviews of their reviews...
Wow, how meta can we get?

Also, I've long thought we do need professional review reviewers.
[/FONT]

so, that being said, lets look at the nature of this site. It is the ultimate expression of opinions of Alpha Flight fans. That being said, we will always be skewed towards support of the title. That being said, no opinion, review, or commentary will ever be dismissed here, unless it violates site protocols (which are very liberal, but are limited by site regulations on slander, and anti-family-friendly content). Should a review be written that gives negative view on any matterial, it will be published, as long as it does not violate site regulations.

[DelBubs]

More of the Delusional Honesty (http://www.delusionalhonesty.com/2011/07/better-late-than-never-reviews-alpha.html)

[Le Messor]

More of the Delusional Honesty (http://www.delusionalhonesty.com/2011/07/better-late-than-never-reviews-alpha.html)

That url needs fixin'...

Good review, though.

- Le Messor
"What we are selling are hopes and dreams, not frozen peas."

[DelBubs]

Which url, I'm very confused, which is understandable :-)

[Le Messor]

The one in post #34 has a " before the 'www', which means it doesn't link. Not without a bit of fiddling.

Confusion is a normal state after dealing with me.
But you knew that.
before you got confused.

[Flightpath07]

Confusion is a normal state after dealing with me.
But you knew that.
before you got confused.

I'm lost. Does Autralia even have states? I'd look it up on the internet, cuz everybody knows that everything you read on the internet is always completely 100% factual, but the link to the 'net appears to be broken.

[Le Messor]

Does Autralia even have states?

Yes, but we only have six of them, and they're all upside-down. The hot tropical ones are on top, and the cold ones on bottom. Beware the devils!

- Le Messor
Groucho: That's in every contract, that's what you call a sanity clause.
Chico: You can't a fool a me there ain't no sanity clause!

[Flightpath07]

The hot tropical ones are on top, and the cold ones on bottom.

That actually makes sense.


Beware the devils

I take it they'd be in the warmer areas, then?

[Le Messor]

I take it they'd be in the warmer areas, then?

Ironically, no. Tasmania (home of Tasmanian devils) is one of the coldest.

[Flightpath07]

Sigh...so much for the making of the sense, then!

Ah well, it was fun while it lasted. I hear sanity is over-rated.