Alpha flight: True north #1

[spirit2011]

And—brace yourselves, committed connoisseurs of the Commonwealth—the entire creative team is composed of cunning and cuddly Canucks! Written by clever creatives Jim Zub, Jed MacKay, and Ed Brisson⁠, the comic has art crafted by co-conspirators Max Dunbar, Djibril Morissette-Phan, and Scott Hepburn with a kinetic cover by compatriot Nick Bradshaw!

So... Grab your hat and come travel light because adventure lies just around the bend! Featuring three brand-new tales no one has ever told before, ALPHA FLIGHT: TRUE NORTH #1 sees Canada's greatest creators unearth the secret history of squad stalwarts Puck, Snow-bird, Talisman, Northstar, Marrina, Guardian, and Vindicator!

"To celebrate the Toronto Raptors winning the NBA Championship," notes comical comic editor Chris Robinson (sadly, not Canadian), "we’re bringing back the greatest of the Great White North, Canada’s premiere super-team Alpha Flight! And we’ve assembled a super-team of Canadian talent behind the scenes for extra authenticity. Trust me, these guys are going deep into the Deparment H files to tie-up those loose Alpha Flight story threads that have been keeping you all up at night. You wanted dip with the chips? Here it is!"

[Personamanx]

That is an impressive line-up of Canadian creators. I don't usually like Alpha Flight, but it's nice that some Canadians in the Atlantic provinces are working on this one-shot. I'll probably give it a buy when Strange Adventures has an inevitable signing with Ed 'n' Jed.

[Snoop Dogg]

The year is 2019. Alpha Flight, the Agents of Atlas, and Ka-Zar are more relevant to Marvel Comics than Sam Wilson. Jim Zub emerges from his syrup pool knowing that the Maple Leaf-agenda is working. At the bottom of the pool is Chip Zdarsky, tied to several weights. On the Byrne Robotics forum, John uses his telepathy to scan and find out what the microbrains will do with his characters. In the office, editorial agrees that these aren't X-Characters, but that's their biggest thing so they give it to Robinson anyway. From his cave, Snoop Dogg picks up his club to go out and whack some sabretooth tigers so he can trade their teeth and furs for comics. From his playbox, Lasagna the Cat knows that his herald Brisson is writing Alpha Flight, and he calls the other monsters to watch their emissary work. Let the Trudeau go. For the moose is loose. Unleash the universal healthcare wave on the helpless American shops!

[Beetle]

Heather and Talisman aren't on the cover

[Master of Sound]

Heather and Talisman aren't on the cover

Shaman and Aurora are on the cover and ain't getting mentioned in the solicitation

[Tycon]

Zub, please put Snowguard in this somewhere. PLEASE idc if it’s already written.

[MYCMTSC]

Zub, please put Snowguard in this somewhere. PLEASE idc if it’s already written.

LOL agreed.

AF seems like a perfect fit for Zub.

[Digifiend]

Zub, please put Snowguard in this somewhere. PLEASE idc if it’s already written.

This one shot is set in the past, so Amka won't be featuring. If Zub was to write a new series featuring the team though, he absolutely should include her, at least as a guest star. It's a known fact that she's a Guardian and Snowbird fan, she named herself after those two. And in her origin, they did try to recruit her... she chose the Champions instead, partly because AF wanted her to join a training program instead of actually join the team.

[RachelGrey]

Heather and Talisman aren't on the cover

I really hope they bring Heather back, I really miss her. My favorite Alpha Flight period was with Heather as Guardian.

[JudicatorPrime]

"To celebrate the Toronto Raptors winning the NBA Championship," notes comical comic editor Chris Robinson (sadly, not Canadian), "we’re bringing back the greatest of the Great White North, Canada’s premiere super-team Alpha Flight!

So to celebrate the Raptors win, they reintroduce the classic team that doesn't have a single impactful African Canadian in its starting 5? Got it. Drake and the Claw would be disappointed.

[Shadowcat]

So to celebrate the Raptors win, they reintroduce the classic team that doesn't have a single impactful African Canadian in its starting 5? Got it. Drake and the Claw would be disappointed.

You realize if they get a new ongoing, and Zub is holding the reigns, there will more than likely be getting lots of diversity in this book?

I personally hope to see Talisman, Murmur, Winshear, and other diverse Alphans in their lineup.

[Uncanny X-Man]

I'm always there for more Alpha Flight, and both Zub and Brisson are very solid writers and some of the best from Marvel's most recent crop.

[Sutekh]

You realize if they get a new ongoing, and Zub is holding the reigns, there will more than likely be getting lots of diversity in this book?

I personally hope to see Talisman, Murmur, Winshear, and other diverse Alphans in their lineup.

Ooh, I'd love to see Windshear back!

Pathway/Laura Dean (and Goblyn) as well, for that matter, although in my head, she's spent the last few years in 'Live World,' living on her own jungle island paradise, surrounded by an entire race of Goblyns that have sprung up to keep her sister company, and looks like a less fish-netty version of Machiko Noguchi, the colony leader who, in the Dark Horse comics, became an 'honorary' Predator. She warps into fights with a spear and armor cobbled together out of monster parts and cast-offs she's repurposed from her extra-dimensional travels, with a *horde* of Goblyns. That'll show 'em!

Manikin can stay gone, 'though. His power was neat, but weird...

[Anduinel]

You realize if they get a new ongoing, and Zub is holding the reigns, there will more than likely be getting lots of diversity in this book?

I personally hope to see Talisman, Murmur, Winshear, and other diverse Alphans in their lineup.

It also depends on what kind of diversity we're talking about. Even if we just break down the Byrne-era roster we get:

- a membership that ranged from about 40-50% female
- a gay hero
- a non-neurotypical hero
- two First Nations heroes
- two heroes with physical disabilities (and who were not defined or embittered by them until Mantlo came along; Puck was the personification of the larger-than-life, manly explorer and Bochs was a sweetheart genius mecha-pilot!)

So not a bad start right there, especially once Mac shuffled off.

[Personamanx]

With at least two of the writers located in Atlantic Canada I hope that if Marrina has much of a focus in their stories they highlight the regional differences between Newfoundland, and the Maritime provinces. Sure Cape Breton is more Newfie than most of Newfoundland, but in general Nova Scotia/Prince Edward Island/New Brunswick/Newfoundland are all fairly distinct from one another. If the goal is to have different members of Alpha Flight be representations of provinces Marrina shouldn't be the catch all for everything East of Quebec.