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https://www.cbr.com/alpha-flight-ed-brisson-interview/
The country of Canada spans 3,855,000 square miles, giving its premier super team, Alpha Flight, a lot of ground to cover in its mission to protect the country. In the wake of the Fall of X event, that mission will become infinitely harder because the past and present members of Alpha Flight will no longer agree on what it means to keep their country safe. That disagreement will quickly turn bitter and cause a team of former Alphans to band together to defy their former comrades and the governmental edict that binds them.
That clash kicks off in August's Alpha Flight #1, the first issue of a five-part miniseries by writer Ed Brisson and artist Scott Godlewski. The struggle starts as a battle between the two teams. CBR spoke with Brisson about the rival teams, their ranks, what they're fighting for, and the characters that become part of their struggles. Marvel also shared an exclusive look at some of Godlewski and colorist Matt Milla's pages from Alpha Flight #1, Leonard Kirk's cover for Issue #2, and the solicitation for Issue #2, which reads, "REBEL ALLIANCE! NORTHSTAR, AURORA, NEMESIS, and FANG must be stopped! But what are these former ALPHA FLIGHT heroes up to that's unleashed the fury of DEPARTMENT H and their all-new weapon: the BOX SENTINELS?!"
CBR: Alpha Flight launches out of the aftermath of Fall of X -- an event that is still wrapped in secrecy. What can you tell us about the climate in Canada's political and superhero circles when this series begins?
Ed Brisson: In Alpha Flight, or I guess, in Canada, the government has sided with Orchis and have banned mutants. There are a multitude of reasons that will be playing out across all of the Fall of X books. There's a deadline for mutants to be gone to Arakko or wherever they need to go that isn't Canada, and once that deadline has passed, any mutant found on Canadian soil will be arrested. It's an ugly stance and not without its detractors, but there are those who believe it's for the best of the country.
In a world full of superheroes, one of the most difficult parts of writing Alpha Flight is defining their mission and helping them stand out. It feels like you're addressing that head-on with a story structure that involves two warring teams of classic members. What can you tell us about the clash between the government-affiliated Alpha team and the mutant-affiliated one?
Following the above, we've split the team into two factions. There are the non-mutant members of the team, who've signed on with the government, or specifically Department H, to track down and arrest any mutants who've remained after the deadline -- no matter their reason for doing so. This team, the official Alpha Flight Team in the book, is made up of Guardian, Snowbird, Shaman, and Puck.
On the other side of the aisle, we have Northstar, Aurora, Fang, and Nemesis, who're in a race against their old teammates to track down and rescue these same mutants. I think they probably consider themselves to be the "true" Alpha Flight, even if they don't have the official designation. They're the team that is most closely aligned with Alpha Flight's core values and beliefs.
Which of the government-affiliated Alpha Flight members are you especially enjoying writing and why?
I like them all, truthfully, but Puck has always been my guy. He's just a fun dude to write. I've had the opportunity a few times in the past, and I'm always looking for ways to insert him into books I'm working on. He's the eternal optimist. He always knows that things can be better. He's been to hell, been stuck there for years, yet doesn't let that drag him down. It brings me so much joy to write that sort of character. I tend to gravitate to characters who can be overly serious or serious bummers, so it's nice to mix it up once in a while.
The mutant team includes classic Alpha Flight members Northstar and Aurora. What's it like for the Beaubier twins to be facing off with their former teammates?
They're pissed. There's not really any other way to put it. Alpha Flight becoming government shills and hunting mutants goes against what Alpha Flight has fought for in the past.
But, for Northstar especially, this is a competition, and he loves competition. Well, he loves to win. Going into #1, we get the impression that he and his team are ahead on the scoreboard.
The mutant team also features a lesser-known Alpha Flight character, Nemesis. What do you want readers to know about her? What made you want to bring her into the book?
She's a character who [has] always fascinated me. She debuted in one of the first Alpha Flight issues I picked up from a back issue bin. So there's always been a fondness since hers was the first Alpha Flight origin/debut I read as a kid.
For those unfamiliar, there have been three different people who've carried the Nemesis mantle in the past. They were all either dead or had their lives extended by absorbing the life force of their victims via The Scell (Onyx Blade). Separated from the sword, they begin to decompose.
Initially, I wanted to bring Nemesis in primarily because she's a character I've always wanted to write. But ultimately, we kept her onboard because her power set -- particularly her rarely used ability to teleport -- made her an invaluable member [of] the pro-Mutant side of Alpha Flight.
Fang is part of this book because he's in a romantic relationship with Aurora, but I feel like he's also here because of his dad's past connection to Alpha Flight. What's it like for Fang to become embroiled in the dynamics and history of a team his father, Wolverine, was meant to be a part of?
Similar to Nemesis, Fang was initially on the team just because I wanted them to be. He and Aurora have been romantically involved in Marauders, and we didn't want to ignore that. I think Steve Orlando has done wonderful things in that book, especially with their budding romance, and it only felt right to carry that over into this book. So, if I'm being honest, that's why he was initially cast -- though, we needed to give him something more than being the love interest.
As we developed the story, I realized that his relationship with the Shi'ar Empire, where he was given the title of Fang -- which was also something developed over in Marauders, in case folks were wondering why he goes by Fang and not Daken now --was key to the story we needed to tell.
Bringing your cast to life is Scott Godlewski, an artist who's done a lot of great work for DC and the cool sci-fi/ western from Image Comics, Copperhead. What's it like working with Scott? What do you enjoy most about the work he's done so far?
Jay Faerber, who wrote Copperhead, is a good friend of mine. He's someone who did a lot for me when I was starting out, and I'll always be appreciative of that. Because of that relationship, I had the opportunity to see Copperhead early, well before it was released, and it was apparent, even back then, that Scott Godlewski was an artist to watch. I've put his name forward for a couple of projects in the past, but the timing never seemed to work. So when Mark Basso suggested him for Alpha Flight, I was thrilled.
The collaborative process has been great. Pretty much every morning when I open my email, there's art from Scott, and it's better than a cup of coffee to get me pumped up. His action scenes are incredible, big and splashy, and perfectly staged. He's equally adept at the small moments in the book, the human moments, where we're left to linger on a look or a gesture that's ripe with meaning.
What else can you tell us about the action and drama of the series? Will both teams get equal time in the spotlight?
We're trying! It's tough with eight main characters and a half dozen secondary characters, but I think we've found a pretty good balance. It certainly shifts, issue-to-issue, but by the time we wrap out on issue five, everyone will have had their moments, and each team will have had equal time taking center stage.
Alpha Flight's ranks have included a lot of mutant and non-mutant characters. Will we see more former members returning as this series unfolds?
You absolutely will. By the end of the first issue, we'll have met a couple of characters who we haven't seen for a long time. I don't want to spoil who they are just yet. I think that longtime readers will have a lot of fun being surprised by who we drudge up.
Both of them are fairly deep-cut characters. One who hasn't been in an Alpha Flight book since the '90s -- a later addition to the team and someone I always hoped would have had a bigger role when I was reading the book as a teen. The other has never, as far as I know, appeared in an Alpha Flight book, but has a very close connection to an Alpha Flight member of the past.
Alpha Flight #1 is due out on August 16.
That clash kicks off in August's Alpha Flight #1, the first issue of a five-part miniseries by writer Ed Brisson and artist Scott Godlewski. The struggle starts as a battle between the two teams. CBR spoke with Brisson about the rival teams, their ranks, what they're fighting for, and the characters that become part of their struggles. Marvel also shared an exclusive look at some of Godlewski and colorist Matt Milla's pages from Alpha Flight #1, Leonard Kirk's cover for Issue #2, and the solicitation for Issue #2, which reads, "REBEL ALLIANCE! NORTHSTAR, AURORA, NEMESIS, and FANG must be stopped! But what are these former ALPHA FLIGHT heroes up to that's unleashed the fury of DEPARTMENT H and their all-new weapon: the BOX SENTINELS?!"
CBR: Alpha Flight launches out of the aftermath of Fall of X -- an event that is still wrapped in secrecy. What can you tell us about the climate in Canada's political and superhero circles when this series begins?
Ed Brisson: In Alpha Flight, or I guess, in Canada, the government has sided with Orchis and have banned mutants. There are a multitude of reasons that will be playing out across all of the Fall of X books. There's a deadline for mutants to be gone to Arakko or wherever they need to go that isn't Canada, and once that deadline has passed, any mutant found on Canadian soil will be arrested. It's an ugly stance and not without its detractors, but there are those who believe it's for the best of the country.
In a world full of superheroes, one of the most difficult parts of writing Alpha Flight is defining their mission and helping them stand out. It feels like you're addressing that head-on with a story structure that involves two warring teams of classic members. What can you tell us about the clash between the government-affiliated Alpha team and the mutant-affiliated one?
Following the above, we've split the team into two factions. There are the non-mutant members of the team, who've signed on with the government, or specifically Department H, to track down and arrest any mutants who've remained after the deadline -- no matter their reason for doing so. This team, the official Alpha Flight Team in the book, is made up of Guardian, Snowbird, Shaman, and Puck.
On the other side of the aisle, we have Northstar, Aurora, Fang, and Nemesis, who're in a race against their old teammates to track down and rescue these same mutants. I think they probably consider themselves to be the "true" Alpha Flight, even if they don't have the official designation. They're the team that is most closely aligned with Alpha Flight's core values and beliefs.
Which of the government-affiliated Alpha Flight members are you especially enjoying writing and why?
I like them all, truthfully, but Puck has always been my guy. He's just a fun dude to write. I've had the opportunity a few times in the past, and I'm always looking for ways to insert him into books I'm working on. He's the eternal optimist. He always knows that things can be better. He's been to hell, been stuck there for years, yet doesn't let that drag him down. It brings me so much joy to write that sort of character. I tend to gravitate to characters who can be overly serious or serious bummers, so it's nice to mix it up once in a while.
The mutant team includes classic Alpha Flight members Northstar and Aurora. What's it like for the Beaubier twins to be facing off with their former teammates?
They're pissed. There's not really any other way to put it. Alpha Flight becoming government shills and hunting mutants goes against what Alpha Flight has fought for in the past.
But, for Northstar especially, this is a competition, and he loves competition. Well, he loves to win. Going into #1, we get the impression that he and his team are ahead on the scoreboard.
The mutant team also features a lesser-known Alpha Flight character, Nemesis. What do you want readers to know about her? What made you want to bring her into the book?
She's a character who [has] always fascinated me. She debuted in one of the first Alpha Flight issues I picked up from a back issue bin. So there's always been a fondness since hers was the first Alpha Flight origin/debut I read as a kid.
For those unfamiliar, there have been three different people who've carried the Nemesis mantle in the past. They were all either dead or had their lives extended by absorbing the life force of their victims via The Scell (Onyx Blade). Separated from the sword, they begin to decompose.
Initially, I wanted to bring Nemesis in primarily because she's a character I've always wanted to write. But ultimately, we kept her onboard because her power set -- particularly her rarely used ability to teleport -- made her an invaluable member [of] the pro-Mutant side of Alpha Flight.
Fang is part of this book because he's in a romantic relationship with Aurora, but I feel like he's also here because of his dad's past connection to Alpha Flight. What's it like for Fang to become embroiled in the dynamics and history of a team his father, Wolverine, was meant to be a part of?
Similar to Nemesis, Fang was initially on the team just because I wanted them to be. He and Aurora have been romantically involved in Marauders, and we didn't want to ignore that. I think Steve Orlando has done wonderful things in that book, especially with their budding romance, and it only felt right to carry that over into this book. So, if I'm being honest, that's why he was initially cast -- though, we needed to give him something more than being the love interest.
As we developed the story, I realized that his relationship with the Shi'ar Empire, where he was given the title of Fang -- which was also something developed over in Marauders, in case folks were wondering why he goes by Fang and not Daken now --was key to the story we needed to tell.
Bringing your cast to life is Scott Godlewski, an artist who's done a lot of great work for DC and the cool sci-fi/ western from Image Comics, Copperhead. What's it like working with Scott? What do you enjoy most about the work he's done so far?
Jay Faerber, who wrote Copperhead, is a good friend of mine. He's someone who did a lot for me when I was starting out, and I'll always be appreciative of that. Because of that relationship, I had the opportunity to see Copperhead early, well before it was released, and it was apparent, even back then, that Scott Godlewski was an artist to watch. I've put his name forward for a couple of projects in the past, but the timing never seemed to work. So when Mark Basso suggested him for Alpha Flight, I was thrilled.
The collaborative process has been great. Pretty much every morning when I open my email, there's art from Scott, and it's better than a cup of coffee to get me pumped up. His action scenes are incredible, big and splashy, and perfectly staged. He's equally adept at the small moments in the book, the human moments, where we're left to linger on a look or a gesture that's ripe with meaning.
What else can you tell us about the action and drama of the series? Will both teams get equal time in the spotlight?
We're trying! It's tough with eight main characters and a half dozen secondary characters, but I think we've found a pretty good balance. It certainly shifts, issue-to-issue, but by the time we wrap out on issue five, everyone will have had their moments, and each team will have had equal time taking center stage.
Alpha Flight's ranks have included a lot of mutant and non-mutant characters. Will we see more former members returning as this series unfolds?
You absolutely will. By the end of the first issue, we'll have met a couple of characters who we haven't seen for a long time. I don't want to spoil who they are just yet. I think that longtime readers will have a lot of fun being surprised by who we drudge up.
Both of them are fairly deep-cut characters. One who hasn't been in an Alpha Flight book since the '90s -- a later addition to the team and someone I always hoped would have had a bigger role when I was reading the book as a teen. The other has never, as far as I know, appeared in an Alpha Flight book, but has a very close connection to an Alpha Flight member of the past.
Alpha Flight #1 is due out on August 16.
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