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Topic: Puck’s Cauliflower Ear Post ReplyPost New Topic
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Joseph Gauthier
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Joined: 11 March 2009
Posts: 1435
Posted: 04 January 2026 at 9:33pm | IP Logged | 1 post reply
I've really enjoyed Puck over the years, going all the way back to the moment I first "met" him; his cauliflower ear being one of the most evocative, and suggestive aspects of the character. As a teen-age reader, that characteristic invited an unbelievable amount of imaginative speculation, but now, years later, I'm amazed at how much narrative and character load that one single trait carries. JB, what can you tell us about the decision to give puck cauliflower ear? 
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John Byrne
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Joined: 11 May 2005
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Posted: 04 January 2026 at 10:40pm | IP Logged | 2 post reply
It was spontaneous. Somehow he didn’t look right without it.
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Joseph Gauthier
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Joined: 11 March 2009
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Posted: 04 January 2026 at 11:42pm | IP Logged | 3 post reply
I love that! Thanks for the reply!
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Wallace Sellars
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Joined: 01 May 2004
Location: United States
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Posted: 05 January 2026 at 1:50pm | IP Logged | 4 post reply
Speaking of Puck…

His solo issue of ALPHA FLIGHT remains a series highlight for me.
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Craig Earl
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Joined: 13 July 2019
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 1646
Posted: 05 January 2026 at 3:41pm | IP Logged | 5 post reply
My first issue of AF was #3, which I loved, but the next one that I could get hold of was Puck's solo outing in #5.

He became an instant favourite. 

Such a shame that he was handled so poorly after JB's tenure.
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John Byrne
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Posted: 05 January 2026 at 4:41pm | IP Logged | 6 post reply
When Bill Mantlo took over the writing he told me he’d gotten a complete set of AF and was cutting them up to create a kind of quick reference for who and what the characters were all about.

When I saw his treatment of Puck I wondered if he was using his notebook as reference on what to IGNORE.

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Trevor Smith
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Joined: 21 September 2006
Location: Canada
Posts: 3632
Posted: 05 January 2026 at 5:14pm | IP Logged | 7 post reply
Here's a question that's not occurred to me before JB - did
you make a habit of reading titles you'd vacated (assuming
the parting wasn't sour and the characters weren't
immediately ravaged)?
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John Byrne
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Posted: 05 January 2026 at 6:23pm | IP Logged | 8 post reply
I’d usually take a look at the first three or four issues after my departure.
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Trevor Smith
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Posted: 05 January 2026 at 6:44pm | IP Logged | 9 post reply
Thanks for the reply and for indulging my curiosity, JB.
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