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Luke Smyth
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: Ireland
Posts: 791
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| Posted: 01 March 2006 at 8:26am | IP Logged | 1
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Well colour me crazy, Alpha was indeed new and different. If you take the art and the writing separately maybe it does fall down somewhat but when you take them together you get a rollercoaster ride of a book where you never knew what was going to happen next because literally anything could, it was not a safe book.
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Andrew Bitner
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 01 June 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 7526
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| Posted: 01 March 2006 at 8:39am | IP Logged | 2
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JB: Grant Morrison + JB = Eighth sign of the Apocalypse.
*****
It's all there in Revelations, people! Another interpretation of those passages might suggest JB + Joey da Q = Armageddon (not a warning but it's actually here).
And I liked Alpha Flight because:
- I liked the characters, especially Guardian (he seemed like a decent guy who wanted more than anything to do the right thing) and Sasquatch (a guy who can turn into a monster at will and likes it! wow!)
- The stories were good old-fashioned superhero storytelling, from Snowbird's fight in the blizzard to Sasquatch and Aurora fighting Gilded Lily to Marrina's struggle with her alien nature
- Characters could get killed off and it meant something-- unlike other books before and since, death here felt pretty damn permanent (at least, while JB was on the book)
- Although Alpha Flight's Canada was definitely within the Marvel Universe, JB created enough stuff in Canada itself that there was no need for the team to stray into the US to find trouble. Who knew there was so much wacky stuff above the 49th parallel, from Inuit legend to a pack of Great Beasts to the Master of the World and more?
- Forgot to add: Aurora, sexiest woman in comics? You betcha!! (Okay, maybe a close second to JB's She-Hulk, but still...)
But that's just me. Your mileage may vary.
Edited by Andrew Bitner on 01 March 2006 at 8:40am
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David Blot
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 22 August 2005
Location: France
Posts: 858
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| Posted: 01 March 2006 at 9:52am | IP Logged | 3
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I would never have thought about a Morrison/Byrne team up, but since JB
says that it would be the 'Eighth sign of the Apocalypse.' now I WANT
IT !!!
I said Millar because of : 1 - his recents comments about Byrne's work
(well not that recent in fact, he always said he liked it, but he rereads the
stuff now for his 1985 project and he is writing the next Alpha Flight). 2 -
because Millar's scripts are full of super heros and colorfoul characters. 3
- and even if Millar is somehow considered as a 'traditional super hero
killer' around here, at the end of the day, his stuff is as fun as a good old
school comic - ask John Romita jr about it.
But Morrison/Byrne. Ahem.
Why not Harvey Pekar / John Byrne, while we're at it :)
Or Joe Matt / John Byrne. Matt doing the writings of course.
(there may be a delay problem, tough, Joe Matt takes 3 years to do a
single issue of Peepshow, I'm afraid Jb is a bit quicker).
Well now that we already had a Liefeld / Alan Moore project, I guess
anything is possible.
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James C. Taylor
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 4705
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| Posted: 01 March 2006 at 5:03pm | IP Logged | 4
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I'd rather see JB work with a retarded chimpanzee than Grant Morrison, but that's me.
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Bill Lukash
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 1762
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| Posted: 01 March 2006 at 5:38pm | IP Logged | 5
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Alpha Flight came out at a time when there were really no 'new' team
booksat Marvel, so it was really cool, IMO at the time. I think
FF, Avengers, X-Men were all between 150 and 250. Heck, Power Man
and Iron Fist were approaching 100. For a kid like me it was easy
to own the whole series.
Around that same time DC started ASS, Batman and the Outsiders and the
New Teen Titans, and I bought those up for the same reason. I
felt included and I didn't need to know the history of every character
- which was possibly a sign that comics were too complicated even back
in the early '80s..
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James Wright
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 1062
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| Posted: 01 March 2006 at 6:45pm | IP Logged | 6
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I loved Alpha Flight, but JB's new stuff is better.
The characters just plain kicked arse, though.
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Ian Carroll
Byrne Robotics Member
King Of Pain
Joined: 01 May 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 526
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| Posted: 01 March 2006 at 10:44pm | IP Logged | 7
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Part of the appeal of Alpha Flight for me today is that they are the Next
Men of the Marvel Universe, in the sense of being JB's babies.
I love how JB plays with the toys left in the proverbial sandbox by the
older kids, but it's fun to occasionally see him do his own thing,
unchained. Or to pick another analogy, to see JB build a house from the
ground up, instead of remodeling.
Alpha Flight is pure Byrne, and as Andrew says above, it was a wild,
unpredictable ride (which JB's own unhappiness with the book--and its
characters?-- may have fueled).
Edited by Ian Carroll on 01 March 2006 at 10:45pm
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Guest Account0
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 20 January 2006
Location: Ireland
Posts: 434
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| Posted: 02 March 2006 at 3:46am | IP Logged | 8
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Alpha Flight was the 1st spin off full time book from the X-Men and I would have been quite happy with it, New Mutants and Uncanny as the X universe, with mini-series as required.
JB, although you look at this work and cringe, I think it is amazing(and you must realise this) that you crafted characters like Eugene, Heather, Michael, Walt and the gang that the fans still are loyal to and will follow today. YOU made these individuals 3 dimensional and real to readers. To achieve this with a relatively unknown group, on the same scale as you did with the FF and their associated and rich history, is to my mind amazing.
So,please,please, take a bow, accept for once and for all that the fans LOVE these characaters that you imbued with spirit and character and personality, and let that be that. And much as I love Alpha, sure, I'm still here for the long run. As long as you produce books, the fans will be there, because they know they are getting a quality product.
And that is the end of my sychophantic ravings.
Edited by Sean Paul Teeling on 02 March 2006 at 3:49am
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Brian Miller
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 28 July 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 31230
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| Posted: 02 March 2006 at 8:32am | IP Logged | 9
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Alpha Flight was the 1st spin off full time book from the X-Men
***********************
No, it wasn't. The New Mutants Graphic novel was released in 1982 followed by the regular series number 1 in March 1983. The first issue of Alpha Flight was in August 1983.
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Guest Account0
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 20 January 2006
Location: Ireland
Posts: 434
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| Posted: 02 March 2006 at 9:12am | IP Logged | 10
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I stand corrected Teach!!
Wow!! Didn't troll my back issues just off the top of my head. I seem to remember that Alpha was 1st. Those were good times(sigh).
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Brian Miller
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 28 July 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 31230
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| Posted: 02 March 2006 at 9:19am | IP Logged | 11
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Yes, they were.
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Chris Hutton
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 11667
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| Posted: 02 March 2006 at 4:06pm | IP Logged | 12
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I think I can explain why I love JB's Alpha so much. It was my 1st experience with a "new" team, with "previously unseen" characters.* It was a great ride.
*to ME.
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