Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 21
  1. #1
    Extraordinary Member Mike_Murdock's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Posts
    7,855

    Default Should I read Alpha Flight past Byrne?

    I've been re-reading Claremont's X-Men in context of books that seemed relevant. For the most part, that means Thor in the era I'm in, but I also read all of Dazzler (or close to it) for the first time. One of the books I've read is Alpha Flight. It's not the most riveting of books, but I appreciated that it seemed to break the formula quite a bit and the character work is fairly strong.

    I just finished John Byrne's run (and Mantlo's first issue that wraps it up). I now have the option to continue or to stop. Everything I've seen says it's nowhere near as good after. Given how much Marvel content there is, right now is pretty much the only excuse I'll have to continue. If I stop, I'll probably never finish it. So the question is, should I continue or should I stop?
    Matt Murdock's cooler twin brother

    I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
    Thomas More - A Man for All Seasons

    Interested in reading Daredevil? Not sure what to read next? Why not check out the Daredevil Book Club for some ideas?

  2. #2

    Default

    I'd say stop. Mantlo's run has a couple of interesting ideas, but the characters largely become caricatures of who they were previously and there aren't a lot of stand out stories. And past Mantlo, things get very 90s.

  3. #3
    Amazing Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Posts
    91

    Default

    Wow, I would love to tell you to keep reading because the characters are cool, but the stories are..."interesting." There are some stories that aren't bad, but then, around the 40s, the stories get crazy and the members are killed off or taken off of the board in stupid ways (Fairies!). I say keep reading until you feel you can't go any further. Then, skip to issue 67. It gets much better. The art is whack but the stories are my personal favorite.

  4. #4
    Astonishing Member mugiwara's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    3,029

    Default

    The Jim Lee issues with Box, Purple Girl, Goblyn/Laura and Manikin are worth reading, IMO.
    Bringing back the old, killing the young: that's the Marvel way

  5. #5
    Extraordinary Member Mike_Murdock's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Posts
    7,855

    Default

    Thanks. I'll see how my endurance holds up and then skip to #67. When does Jim Lee start?
    Matt Murdock's cooler twin brother

    I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
    Thomas More - A Man for All Seasons

    Interested in reading Daredevil? Not sure what to read next? Why not check out the Daredevil Book Club for some ideas?

  6. #6
    Astonishing Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Posts
    2,170

    Default

    Building Blocks around #86

  7. #7
    Astonishing Member
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    3,771

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by mugiwara View Post
    The Jim Lee issues with Box, Purple Girl, Goblyn/Laura and Manikin are worth reading, IMO.
    I agree. That's where I started collecting the series again after a long pause. I particularly enjoyed the Dream Queen saga.

  8. #8
    Incredible Member Alphaxman's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    797

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by kcekada View Post
    I agree. That's where I started collecting the series again after a long pause. I particularly enjoyed the Dream Queen saga.
    It's a shame she's never used. Her look was killer, too.

  9. #9
    Extraordinary Member From The Shadows's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    NYC rooftops
    Posts
    6,747

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by kcekada View Post
    I agree. That's where I started collecting the series again after a long pause. I particularly enjoyed the Dream Queen saga.
    SPOILERS...





















    The Dream Queen Saga did a number on the AF's and Puck particularly. Though, comics were very dark in this period. And yes to the Jim Lee art.

  10. #10
    Mighty Member witchboy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Posts
    1,494

    Default

    I gave up shortly after Byrne left, the quality just really dropped off, and nothing I heard encouraged me to come back to it.
    I did really enjoy Alpha Flight vol 2 though https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Alpha_Flight_Vol_2_1

  11. #11
    Incredible Member Lady Midnight's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2020
    Posts
    973

    Default

    There was some pretty good Wild Child stuff later on, as well as the twins.
    My flag is bacon.

  12. #12
    Extraordinary Member Uncanny X-Man's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Krakoa
    Posts
    5,898

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by witchboy View Post
    I gave up shortly after Byrne left, the quality just really dropped off, and nothing I heard encouraged me to come back to it.
    I did really enjoy Alpha Flight vol 2 though https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Alpha_Flight_Vol_2_1
    I think Steve Seagle's Alpha Flight is very underrated. If there's ever an Af movie or show, I wouldn't mind if it took inspiration from that run.

  13. #13
    Ultimate Member
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    10,182

    Default

    The art threw me, as well as the characterization. Byrne made a big deal of putting Heather on the cover holding an old costume of her husbands, only to reveal that it was literally just the cloth that went over the battlesuit, the tech itself was lost with Mac (and she didn't want to be a costumed superhero anyway, but considered herself more useful to the team in a 'man in the chair' capacity).

    Flash forward to the new writing team and bam, she's in the costume, complete with functioning battlesuit!, and also mysteriously gone through a transformation from a five-foot-nothing hundred pound waif with the figure of a 12 year old girl, to a six-plus foot amazon with boobs individually the size of her head! And she was at least as out of character, as she was out of body. It was kind of jarring. I could see, perhaps, if the writer wanted another strong female presence on the book, but he had Snowbird, Aurora, Marrina and Talisman right there, and, IMO, kind of fell down with all of them, so it didn't seem to be a 'better representation' thing at all. (To be fair she's not the only one to get prettied up when she became less of a supporting cast member. Madison Jeffries and Wild Child both changed radically in appearance from Byrne to 'post-Byrne' and got much better looking! I'm not actually sure if Jim Lee can even draw fugly people, like Madison used to be. )

  14. #14
    Extraordinary Member Mike_Murdock's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Posts
    7,855

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by witchboy View Post
    I gave up shortly after Byrne left, the quality just really dropped off, and nothing I heard encouraged me to come back to it.
    I did really enjoy Alpha Flight vol 2 though https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Alpha_Flight_Vol_2_1
    Is it all jarring continuity-wise given the gap?
    Matt Murdock's cooler twin brother

    I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
    Thomas More - A Man for All Seasons

    Interested in reading Daredevil? Not sure what to read next? Why not check out the Daredevil Book Club for some ideas?

  15. #15
    Mighty Member witchboy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Posts
    1,494

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike_Murdock View Post
    Is it all jarring continuity-wise given the gap?
    It's been a long time since I read it, but I don't recall it being difficult to jump into.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •