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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
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Posted: 31 July 2016 at 5:35pm | IP Logged | 1  

Yes, let's just imagine the gremlins in production "fixing" the flying figures so there's room for a logo!
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Greg Kirkman
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Posted: 31 July 2016 at 10:27pm | IP Logged | 2  

The reason I love AF #1-28 so much IS the perfect art AND writing. 
+++++++

Yep. SO much brilliant stuff in ALPHA FLIGHT. So many subtle little story/character the ads carefully interwoven throughout the run, and all without being spoon-fed to the readers. You have to pay attention, and pick up on a lot of stuff that isn't said outright (Northstar's orientation being the most famous example, of course)--things like Snowbird's father being the guy who summoned Tundra, Northstar's quiet jealousy of Sasquatch and Aurora's relationship, and the latter pair basically starting out their relationship as f*** buddies.


I see ALPHA FLIGHT as very much a spiritual precursor to NEXT MEN, in terms of the subtle complexities of the characters and stories. Brilliant stuff. 
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Brian Miller
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Posted: 01 August 2016 at 5:18am | IP Logged | 3  

...things like Snowbird's father being the guy who summoned Tundra...

********

What's this, now?
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Greg Kirkman
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Posted: 01 August 2016 at 10:31am | IP Logged | 4  

Take another look. We see Tundra summoned by a crazy human in AF # 1. A few issues later, Snowbird's origin backup presents us with Richard Easton, the archeologist who was chosen by Nelvanna to conceive Snowbird, and resembles a younger version of the man who summoned Tundra.

Clearly, Easton became obsessed with the Great Beasts and the whole mythology behind Nelvanna after his, er, encounter with latter, and went insane, leading to his calling upon Tundra, a few years later. And dying in the process.
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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

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Posted: 01 August 2016 at 10:34am | IP Logged | 5  

See, I sometimes really DO write between the lines! ;-)
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Greg Kirkman
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Posted: 01 August 2016 at 11:20am | IP Logged | 6  

Indeed. In that same vein, let us not forget the extremely subtle reveal that Julie Angel (from FANTASTIC FOUR) was actually the daughter of August D'Angelo, head of Roxxon!
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John Byrne
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Posted: 01 August 2016 at 11:40am | IP Logged | 7  

That's a classic example of a subplot that evaporated as other things kept sliding in front of it!
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Andrew Bitner
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Posted: 01 August 2016 at 12:55pm | IP Logged | 8  

...Greg Kirkman is a wizard.
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Ted Pugliese
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Posted: 01 August 2016 at 8:00pm | IP Logged | 9  

This is a great thread. Keep up the good work!
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Joe Smith
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Posted: 01 August 2016 at 8:07pm | IP Logged | 10  

I'm tellin' ya, it's #StickyWorthy
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Greg Kirkman
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Posted: 01 August 2016 at 10:13pm | IP Logged | 11  

...Greg Kirkman is a wizard.
+++++++++


Selena Gomez is a wizard. This is just stuff I noticed when I was, like, 12.

Well, except for the Northstar thing. That went over my young head!


Anyway, I really should give ALPHA FLIGHT a re-read. It was a Big Deal book during my prime reading years...which came about a decade after the original run. I was seeking out AF in back issue bins whilst dealing with such dreck as the Clone Saga and other 90s-era stunts.

If I recall correctly, I believe I came to know AF by way of Guardian's entry in the OHOTMU Book of The Dead. And, I think # 12 was the very first issue I found. It, er, blew me away, and remains one of my all-time-favorite comic books. I quickly began seeking out the rest of the run, after that. Along with some of the post-JB stories, which didn't exactly tickle my fancy.

Amazingly, before completing my collection of JB's run, I snagged one of the series' later issues, which revealed how Guardian had survived--the whole bit with the aliens and Mac becoming a cyborg. Even as a kid, I thought it was utter poppycock, and that they were dumping on a great story in the most lamebrained way possible.

Not too long after, I picked up AF # 25-28, and had a big "Ah-ha!" moment. I thought that JB's fake Guardian resurrection was a ****ing brilliant twist of the knife, and was simultaneously appalled that subsequent creative teams had turned around and made it "real". Sigh.

For my money, Guardian's death is still one of the very best and most memorable/horrifying in all of comics, and his false resurrection of of the most brilliant twists on the now-cliche of comic book resurrections. Right up there with Gerry Conway taking Stan Lee's order to bring back Gwen Stacy and instead telling a story about the Jackal using Gwen's clone as a psychological weapon against Spider-Man.


Edited by Greg Kirkman on 01 August 2016 at 10:15pm
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Greg Kirkman
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Posted: 01 August 2016 at 10:25pm | IP Logged | 12  

...by the way, here's a tiny bit of insight into my twisted brain: 

To this day, on occasions when I'm performing a delicate, time-sensitive task, I often find myself thinking, "But it's still overheating. I may not...".
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