The title of this thread actually has two meanings.

Love it or hate it, most everyone agrees that Bill Mantlo's run on Alpha Flight was a bit...erratic. In fact, you could say his most consistent trait during this run was its inconsistency.

Now, I know it is a bit of a running joke here on the board, but it got me thinking about Mr. Mantlo's other work through the years. His Incredible Hulk run was really tight, his Rom stuff even more so, and what little of his Micronauts I read seemed consistent in terms of characterization and storytelling. Heck, his run on Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man is one of my five favorite runs for the character.

So I guess my question to the Flight Crew here is...wha' hoppen? Why did Bill Mantlo, a very consistent creator, become so inconsistent on Alpha Flight?