Alpha Flight Returns to Marvel

[NightBeetle]

Marvel announced today that Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente, and Dale Eaglesham will be welcoming back the classic superhero team book Alpha Flight, spinning out of the events of Chaos War.

"You don't have to have read anything to jump on board," said Pak. "Old time Alpha Flight fans will have a lot of fun seeing this referenced."

The series picks up right after Chaos War, but the team emphasized that reading that the mini-series is not a prerequisite for Alpha Flight. In light of Chaos War and in the midst of Fear Itself, Canada turns into a fascist regime and suddenly, the Alpha Flight team find themselves traitors to their country.

Van Lente said that the comic was his favorite growing up, claiming that he's a "walking encyclopedia of Alpha Flight" and mentioned that working on this series is a dream come true.

Dale Eaglesham chimed in saying that he's proud to work on the series, being Canadian and happy to bring solid Canadian heroes to the comic book world.

"What happens to a superhero when the government you work for starts doing things you don't like?" asked Van Lente. He said that this is the type of thing that this new Alpha Flight series would be exploring.

The team underlined the fact that the Alpha Flight series would be integral to the entire Marvel Universe. It was also confirmed that this Alpha Flight is the original team from Uncanny X-Men #120, which marks the first time the entire team has been together since the late 1970's.

It was pointed out that Puck was not featured in Chaos War, but the team was mum on how soon Puck would be appearing. Northstar was also brought up as currently being a member of the X-Men, but the creative team confirmed that he would be leaving the X-Men to return to his Canadian roots. Van Lente said, "Kyle, Northstar's boyfriend, is a major character in the series. So, he has a committed relationship in Canada... the primary appearance of Northstar will be in Alpha Flight."

In terms of villains, the series will feature a central villain but one of the primary aspects of the series is uncovering who the big bad is.

As far as issue length, it was confirmed that Alpha Flight would be an 8 issue series with a special .1 issue, drawn by Ben Oliver, coming in May. Van Lente said there was always potential for more if the book sold well.

"If John Byrne didn't come up with it, then we're throwing it out," said Van Lente of this new Alpha Flight's continuity. "Longtime Alpha Flight fans will see a resurrection of a lot of stuff. It's a ground-level, but still in continuity, reboot."

"We're not ignoring everything, but we're not going to refer to a character's multiple resurrections." added Pak.

Van Lente said that this new Alpha Flight was planned all through Chaos War, but they had to get approval before they could run with it. The writing duo came up with the idea at a Marvel summit when discussing the Dead Avengers.

"It's more powerful if the classic characters are the ones whose status quo has been overturned and are now on the run from the government," said Pak, referencing how it's been done with characters like Captain America. The team emphasized how important they felt the original Alpha Flight characters are and that they thought it was time for them to get their due.

"The American heroes are largely left to fight the threat in Fear Itself, and the Canadian Heroes will be left to their own devices." said Van Lente, of how Alpha Flight relates to Marvel's coming event.

One concern that was raised was bringing the Alpha Flight team to the 21st century, after being so fondly remembered as an iconic 80's team. Van Lente said, "I think we can retain some of that magic just but going back to the basic team members by going back to what made them so great in the first place."

"The book will have a modern feel and will be compelling to readers today. It's not a spoof book, it's a big action/adventure thriller with a big campus of a world turned on its ear. Anybody who gets excited for big superhero stories like this, come on board. We're going to have a lot of fun."

Alpha Flight #1 starts in June, with the .1 issue coming in May.

 

[runawayboulder]

This reeks............of .

It will be loved and cherished by members of this board (myself included) but unfortunately no one will buy it and Marvel will cancel it after 12 issues because they have zero patience. At least it will be 2.99....I hope.

 

[Jennifer Walters]

God damn it. They didn't even use Northstar in the X-Men. He has SO much potential as a member there. And they wasted it so he can be in a series that will get cancelled in 6 issues.

 

[iloveclones]

"If John Byrne didn't come up with it, then we're throwing it out," said Van Lente of this new Alpha Flight's continuity.

That initial run was the only good one, so I'm glad they're starting there. Aurora and Northstar have the best costume tandem ever. They should keep it like that.

Northstar can be a really good character when used properly.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I've never really been into Alpha Flight, but does the idea of Canada adopting a fascist regime seem... odd... to anyone else? Canada?

That said, I'll pick it up solely on the basis of the creative team. Good bunch there.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Hmm... I'll have to skim the first issue of this one. I've always liked the team without ever having read the comic. I do like a lot of the characters individually though.

 

[Dread]

And all this after Tom Brevoort once claimed ALPHA FLIGHT will never be published again. What a huckster. And Marvel wonders why nobody believes them.

Anyway, anything Van Lente and Greg Pak do together has to be worth a look, and Dale Eaglesham is a hot artist to attach to this project. Didn't Jim Lee once draw AF once upon a time? He usually needs a fill-in artist about every 4 issues though, much as Mike McKone does.

I've always had some passing fondness for Alpha Flight, or at least certain members. It is odd that their most notable member, Puck, has to remain dead because Jason Aaron needed him in "WOLVERINE GOES TO HELL". He did have a daughter, as did Shaman (Talisman), who I wonder if they will appear.

To be honest, I have yet to see Fred Van Lente write a bad comic. While Greg Pak has (PHOENIX: WARSONG, MARVEL NEMESIS: THE IMPERFECTS), he usually hasn't alongside Van Lente (and when Pak is hot, he's very good). The pedigree alone almost ensures I will try out the debut issue.

 

[Themanofbat]

I've never really been into Alpha Flight, but does the idea of Canada adopting a fascist regime seem... odd... to anyone else? Canada?

We still have the Canadian version of George Bush Jr. running the show here, so that particular thought doesn't surprise me one bit...

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Really? I always thought of Canada as significantly more left-leaning overall than the US, given how much better your social programs are than ours.

 

[Themanofbat]

Really? I always thought of Canada as significantly more left-leaning overall than the US, given how much better your social programs are than ours.

Canada has a very diverse set of left wing parties... three in fact... The Liberal Party, which would be akin to your Democrats, and they win the elections every time people are pissed off at the right wing party... we also have the New Democratic Party (or the NDP for short), and they are way more left than the Liberals, with more common man/union worker rights party lines, and they garnish about 10% of the votes every election, never ever winning anything but a few insignificant seats in the House, and then we have the Green Party, which would be the extreme left full of enviro type of party lines... and they get about 3% to 5% of the votes, though never having won a seat.

A few years back, the right had two parties... the Progressive Conservatives (an oxymoron if I've ever heard one), which is akin to your Republicans, as well as the Reform Party, which was a more cowboy radical right wing party that would have wanted to shove any and all social reform up a buffalo's butt and beat it like a piñata... during the 90's, when the Liberals kept on winning elections (due to the fact that the right vote was split in two), the got together and created one Right Wing party simply named the Conservative Party (this was circa the end of 2003), and have since won 2 consecutive minority Governmments... mostly because all the right wing people have one voice to vote for, albeit a ****ed up voice, and all the left wing people divy their votes into 3, and we have a reverse of what was happening to the right vote a decade ago...

Finally, we also have the Party Québecois, which is a party that simply represents the best interests of Québec, and could care less about the rest of Canada... they are still considered a seperatist party, and when they get the majority of the Québec seats, they can represent about 15% to 20% of the House... they do not run anywhere outside of Québec.

Having said all that, we do have a more socialist lifestyle than the capatalistic american lifestyle... free medicare at our hospitals and such... and lil'Bush Jr. hasn't really had much opportunity in 6 years to do anything crazy because he has only won minority governments (the total number of Conservatives in the House do not outnumber the total number of all the other parties)... so when he wants certain bills passed, he has to appease the other parties... in a typical majority government, he could do whatever the **** he wants... which ultimately, really scares the crap outta me because he's an old school cowboy from out West that basically hates everything and anything outside of the "norm"...

<phew>

Tell when you stopped reading...

 

[BillPardy]

Canada has a very diverse set of left wing parties... three in fact... The Liberal Party, which would be akin to your Democrats, and they win the elections every time people are pissed off at the right wing party... we also have the New Democratic Party (or the NDP for short), and they are way more left than the Liberals, with more common man/union worker rights party lines, and they garnish about 10% of the votes every election, never ever winning anything but a few insignificant seats in the House, and then we have the Green Party, which would be the extreme left full of enviro type of party lines... and they get about 3% to 5% of the votes, though never having won a seat.

A few years back, the right had two parties... the Progressive Conservatives (an oxymoron if I've ever heard one), which is akin to your Republicans, as well as the Reform Party, which was a more cowboy radical right wing party that would have wanted to shove any and all social reform up a buffalo's butt and beat it like a piñata... during the 90's, when the Liberals kept on winning elections (due to the fact that the right vote was split in two), the got together and created one Right Wing party simply named the Conservative Party (this was circa the end of 2003), and have since won 2 consecutive minority Governmments... mostly because all the right wing people have one voice to vote for, albeit a ****ed up voice, and all the left wing people divy their votes into 3, and we have a reverse of what was happening to the right vote a decade ago...

Finally, we also have the Party Québecois, which is a party that simply represents the best interests of Québec, and could care less about the rest of Canada... they are still considered a seperatist party, and when they get the majority of the Québec seats, they can represent about 15% to 20% of the House... they do not run anywhere outside of Québec.

Having said all that, we do have a more socialist lifestyle than the capatalistic american lifestyle... free medicare at our hospitals and such... and lil'Bush Jr. hasn't really had much opportunity in 6 years to do anything crazy because he has only won minority governments (the total number of Conservatives in the House do not outnumber the total number of all the other parties)... so when he wants certain bills passed, he has to appease the other parties... in a typical majority government, he could do whatever the **** he wants... which ultimately, really scares the crap outta me because he's an old school cowboy from out West that basically hates everything and anything outside of the "norm"...

<phew>

Tell when you stopped reading...

Everything you just said, I feel could have been explained in one picture.


Regarding the topic. I'm very excited for this.

 

[JewishHobbit]

I stopped reading at

 

[Franklin Richards]

Where's Puck?

 

[Colossal Spoons]

I wonder what happened to Talisman and Arachne from Omega Flight

 

[chamber-music]

I wonder if Aurora is still crazy in this.

 

[RockSP]

unfortunately no one will buy it and Marvel will cancel it after 12 issues

a series that will get cancelled in 6 issues.

It's a mini series.

 

[Franklin Richards]

Did the Marrina / Namor love affair ever get wrapped up after she rose from the dead?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Tell when you stopped reading...

I read the whole thing. I'm interested in other countries' politics, partly because I'm pretty much totally ignorant of them and partly because the US' politics depress me so much. Thanks for the spiel.

 

[Specter313]

Did the Marrina / Namor love affair ever get wrapped up after she rose from the dead?

Well, he's the one who killed her, so I think it's settled.

 

[Specter313]

God damn it. They didn't even use Northstar in the X-Men. He has SO much potential as a member there. And they wasted it so he can be in a series that will get cancelled in 6 issues.

He's being used in the current Uncanny arc. Him and Dazzler have a bit of a gay guy and his hag relationship going on. And in the conference call where this was announced, one of the editors said that the X-writers were still free to use him, so it's not like he's gonna get pulled from it as well.

I wonder what happened to Talisman and Arachne from Omega Flight

I think Arachne was in a Spider-man arc where all the spider characters were being hunted by the Kravens. I'm not sure, but I think Arachne is now the new Madame Web.

 

[Dread]

That is currect; Julia Carpenter/Arachne is the new Madam Web, who died during the end of THE GAUNTLET with all of the Kravinoff family involved. Arana took over her costume and eventually went by Spider-Girl after everyone started assuming that was her name. Funny thing, Marvel insists that was the story in which Arana lost her powers, but it never clearly occurs on panel. It is a case in which editorial clearly wanted something to happen and the writer forgot to actually put it in! Thus, at what point Arana lost all her mystical powers literally changes from one recap page or saga to the next. Moderators of message boards literally do a better job of keeping **** together than well paid Marvel editors.

Talisman is off in limbo. I haven't seen her beyond to many Omega Flight stock poses back in 2006 or so.

Where's Puck?

Puck is in Hell, circa Jason Aaron's "WOLVERINE GOES TO HELL" story. He was the one Alpha Flight veteran who apparently didn't get revived. Given that he is probably their most popular member, it is a bit daft. It's like all of the X-Men are killed and the only one who isn't resurrected is Wolverine. There's no heavenly way that would ever occur.

 

[Kevin]

I thought puck was in x-factor?

 

[runawayboulder]

Puck is in Hell, circa Jason Aaron's "WOLVERINE GOES TO HELL" story. He was the one Alpha Flight veteran who apparently didn't get revived. Given that he is probably their most popular member, it is a bit daft. It's like all of the X-Men are killed and the only one who isn't resurrected is Wolverine. There's no heavenly way that would ever occur.

Aaron pretty much left it at Puck was the ruler of Hell and in possession of the Soul Sword so he can get out. I'll bet he returns before the mini/maxi series ends.

 

[Specter313]

I thought puck was in x-factor?

That's Pip.

 

[roach]

this is the first solicit from marvel that didnt make me go WTF...sounds awesome