COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK


Hey, guys!  Welcome back!  Hope you have all been safe and sound, and have been able to endure during this difficult time with the stay-in quarantine (unless you're one of them rebels that wanna buck the Governors of your state's orders, and are outside trying to do "normal" stuff), and taking care of yourselves.  So, to help out a little, we are back with yet another comic book to shine the spotlight on, and this week---we have one of MY favorite superhero teams, and one of the more interesting books Marvel has published in its history:  ALPHA FLIGHT



ALPHA FLIGHT #1


COVER: John Byrne, Terry Austin
WRITER: John Byrne
ARTIST: John Byrne
INKS: John Byrne
LETTERS: Joe Rosen
COLORS: Andy Yanchus
EDITOR: Denny O'Neil, Linda Grant
COVER DATE: August 1983
PUBLISHER: Marvel Comics


STORY TITLE:  "Tundra!"


TAGLINE:  "First Dynamic Double-Sized 1st Issue!"

QUOTE:  Vindicator:  "One side, super heroes...this is a job only WE can handle!"


Alpha Flight #1 was created from the mind of former X-Men artist, John Byrne.  He originally created the Vindicator (later Guardian) character back in the pages of The Uncanny X-Men #109, where Vindicator, then known as Weapon Alpha, was sent to retrieve Wolverine from the US, and bring him back home (since the Canadian Government still considered Logan "Their property", and that he was still a member of Department H - the superhero agency connected to the Canadian Government).  Wolverine was supposed to lead this team of Canadian heroes known as "Alpha Flight", but he took a better offer from Professor X, and joined the X-Men, thus pissing off the Canadian Government.  James Hudson, Logan's best friend, and Weapon Alpha, took Alpha Flight into America, and a battle ensued.  Hudson manage to accidently hit a civilian during the battle, and his guilt made him rename himself Vindicator.  After all things were settled, Hudson became the official leader of Alpha, and their adventures not only took them across Canada, but the world eventually.  Hudson would die in issue #12, and his wife Heather would take over his role and lead the team until his return.  The original run of the series lasted 130 issues, and featured many different writers and artists once Byrne left the series (of which he later explained he wasn't really thrilled with to begin with), and was the beginning platform for a new artist to shine, and who ended up become one of the most sought after artists in the industry, and is now the current Publisher of DC Comics:  Jim Lee.  


THE STORY:  After failing to return Wolverine to the team, and dealing with the threat of a beast called the Wendigo, the Canadian Government shuts down Department H, and effectively kills Alpha Flight and the training groups:  Beta & Gamma Flight.  James Hudson, Vindicator, is crestfallen, and is unsure of what his next role is.  However, the rise of the Canadian Great Beast called Tundra is revived, and it is up to Alpha Flight to end the threat, along with two new members - Marrina and Puck.  The team then decides to act independently from the government, and operate as a superhero team on its own.


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This series caught my attention immediately.  I LOVE the characters, and had initially missed their appearances in The X-Men.  But John Byrne crafts the backstory beautifully and swiftly to get the readers up to date in a hurry.  We get to see the emotions and lives of each of the team members, as they wonder about Alpha's future.  We get a good intro to them.  Byrne also masterfully illustrates the various cities and Provinces of his native Canada, to give us a visual contrast and entry into a country many readers may not have been too.  I think I learned more about Canada reading Alpha Flight, than I did in any research at the time.  The characters are so well rounded, and have their own set of problems and flaws.  It's also here that I got my introduction to Marvel's first gay character in Northstar (which wasn't revealed until later on, but Byrne was skillful in putting the clues in there), his twin sister Aurora, who was the first character I met who suffered from split personality syndrome.  Hudson was moody at best in this issue, but Heather was the bright spot, as she kept an upbeat attitude.  Shaman was very wise, and Snowbird an enigma.  Puck was just Wolverine light, but fun to read, and Marrina was the alien looking one, but seemed to fit right in.  And Sasquatch was a beast of a man, but a scientist underneath...the team's resident Hulk.  It's a ragtag type of team that went through a WHOLESALE of changes in 130 issues...and I think after awhile, Marvel wasn't sure what to do with them...and we really haven't seen them since.