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Topic: The Alpha Flight ’blueprint’ Post Reply | Post New Topic
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Craig Earl
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 13 July 2019
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 1415
Posted: 14 September 2023 at 6:28pm | IP Logged | 1 post reply

I've been re-reading the Alpha Flight omnibus and really enjoying the series 'vibe' all over again.

It's made me realise how much I loved the dynamic of the book itself -although I probably didn't appreciate it at the time. I'm talking about the fact that our heroes rarely featured as a team, yet as readers we didn't miss out. We were instead given stories where individual characters were allowed to blossom away from the constraints of the group (Snowbird was never my favourite member of the team, but I yearned for more of her after #6!).

For me, looking back, this was the perfect way to handle a team book, and I wish other titles had been handled this way.  
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John Byrne

Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133688
Posted: 14 September 2023 at 7:03pm | IP Logged | 2 post reply

When ALPHA FLIGHT was announced, there were cries of “Not ANOTHER group book!!” Which in part informed my handling of the title.

Which inspired yelps of “They never work as a TEAM!”

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Harry Bauer
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 28 September 2020
Location: United States
Posts: 111
Posted: 14 September 2023 at 7:19pm | IP Logged | 3 post reply

I was not one of those yelps. I always thought that the format was great. Adored those 28 issues and still do. And I think keeping them apart made it all that more powerful when they came together.
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Craig Earl
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 13 July 2019
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 1415
Posted: 14 September 2023 at 8:08pm | IP Logged | 4 post reply

And logically, it made sense that the team had their own lives outside of the group; something which some other team books seemed to forget (why would off-duty members of a super-team always be under the same roof, in costume, masks and all?).
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Craig Earl
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 13 July 2019
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 1415
Posted: 14 September 2023 at 8:11pm | IP Logged | 5 post reply

Whoa - just noticed that I've gone over the 1K post benchmark. 

How time flies!!
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Jim Petersman
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 26 June 2012
Location: United States
Posts: 654
Posted: 14 September 2023 at 9:43pm | IP Logged | 6 post reply

Ah, Alpha Flight. It should have been the #1 selling Marvel book just for Heather and Puck alone. JB laid down the perfect foundation, only to have a porta potty built on it.

I want to visit the universe where JB did 100 issues of Alpha Flight.
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James Woodcock
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 21 September 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 7879
Posted: 14 September 2023 at 9:46pm | IP Logged | 7 post reply

Having the focus be on non-team stories really made the team ups special.
They were events & I loved that
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Harry Bauer
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 28 September 2020
Location: United States
Posts: 111
Posted: 14 September 2023 at 10:29pm | IP Logged | 8 post reply

Jim Petersman, I would happily go to the same universe!
Or at least a 5-year, 60 issue run. 
Or just 12-15 more issues... 
(Ah... the wish fulfillment bargaining with the universe ever continues...)
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Harry Dounis
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 06 October 2022
Location: United States
Posts: 113
Posted: 18 September 2023 at 1:13pm | IP Logged | 9 post reply

Alpha Flight... THE most maligned, mishandled and misunderstood superteam in all of the Marvel universe.
  I firmly believe they were treated this way and summarily dismantled as a "snub" to their shaking up of the hierarchy of things. I found that team more compelling than the X-Men while JB was in charge and could see them stalemate the Avengers. 
Those were some really, really good days. I too wish JB stayed on longer, much longer...



Edited by Harry Dounis on 18 September 2023 at 1:14pm
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John Byrne

Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133688
Posted: 18 September 2023 at 1:31pm | IP Logged | 10 post reply

I don’t think it’s paranoid to suggest much of what was done to Alpha was out of some assumption it would bug me. But it doesn’t. I DON’T CARE.

I gave them a gold mine. If they want to fill it with 5h17, it’s their loss.

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Craig Earl
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 13 July 2019
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 1415
Posted: 18 September 2023 at 5:30pm | IP Logged | 11 post reply


I don’t think it’s paranoid to suggest much of what was done to Alpha was out of some assumption it would bug me. But it doesn’t. I DON’T CARE.

I gave them a gold mine. If they want to fill it with 5h17, it’s their loss.

-----------------------------------

I'm aware of Marvel's control over characters created under their banner. Having said that, I would be majorly pissed off if any characters that I created were as badly mismanaged as Alpha Flight.
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Harry Dounis
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 06 October 2022
Location: United States
Posts: 113
Posted: 19 September 2023 at 4:56am | IP Logged | 12 post reply

I don’t think it’s paranoid to suggest much of what was done to Alpha was out of some assumption it would bug me.

 It certainly felt that way to me JB... In retrospect, the book went off the rails and became unrecognizable. I would love to have known what you meant when you indicated weeks ago that you had some kind of plan/path for Walter to have made it back. I wonder what would have become of that team had you stayed longer. Redux anyone?
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