Alpha Flight!!! Marvel Comics.. (was For you Canadians! ;-))

[Tawmis]

Support your country (and one of my favorite comics!) in the ALPHA FLIGHT one shot!

Mostly because increased sales may lead to an ongoing series!

http://www.alphaflight.net/content.php? ... pha-Flight

[DeadPoolX]

I never liked Alpha Flight. Aside from the ridiculous stereotyping, the characters just weren't that interesting.

The only two Canadian super heroes I've liked are Wolverine and Deadpool. Of course, it's often hard to tell who's what in comics, especially since retcons happen all the time.

While we're on the subject of comic books, I need to shout this out: Superman is not Canadian!

Amazingly enough, that seems to be a common belief in Canada. I've seen people write in different places, like websites and message boards, books and, oddly enough, a chalkboard at a pub.

I think this idea stems from the fact that one of Superman's creators was a Canadian artist named Joe Shuster. The other half of the team was Jerry Siegel, an American writer.

The really funny thing is that Shuster's family moved to the US (Cleveland of all places) when he was 10. He grew up in the US and although Canadian by birth, he was culturally and socially American.

So claiming that Superman is Canadian (by way of Shuster) is, at best, half correct. However, to claim that Superman is fully Canadian -- as many Canadians will say -- is absolutely wrong.

[MusicallyInspired]

Ah yes. I remember that A Part Of Our Heritage commercial about Superman. Never thought Superman as a character was Canadian, though. In fact, he's about as American as you can get without being Captain America.

[Tawmis]

Ah yes. I remember that A Part Of Our Heritage commercial about Superman. Never thought Superman as a character was Canadian, though. In fact, he's about as American as you can get without being Captain America.

Yes. He's almost the stereotypical all American Good Boy Super Hero. To the max...

I never liked Alpha Flight. Aside from the ridiculous stereotyping, the characters just weren't that interesting.

Stereotyping?

I think the only one who suffered some kind of "stereotype" was Puck. And that's just because he said "eh" at the end of every sentence.

Vindicator/Mac - Seemed to me to be the Canadian Captain America. Big flag symbol on the outfit, leader of the team, etc.

Shaman - Was an Indian.

Sasquatch - Was a Canadian, but obviously lore based off Big Foot, Sasquatch, Yeti. I didn't see anything too stereotypical of him. He just reminded me of a Canadian version of Bruce Banner/Hulk.

Aurora - She had the French persona, sure. But didn't seem too stereotypical (especially since she suffered from MPD).

Northstar - A homosexual gay hero. Not too stereotypical there.

Snowbird - Demi Goddess. Don't find too many of those around!

The only two Canadian super heroes I've liked are Wolverine and Deadpool. Of course, it's often hard to tell who's what in comics, especially since retcons happen all the time.

You like Deadpool?

[Tawmis]

I never liked Alpha Flight. Aside from the ridiculous stereotyping, the characters just weren't that interesting.

It would seem some agree with you (while other AF fans, strongly disagree with someone who said that AF was chalk full of stereotypes)! I haven't heard the PodCast myself (am currently at work), but certainly seems to have stirred some convo on the AF forum.

[Rath Darkblade]

You like Deadpool?

Isn't it kind of obvious?

[Tawmis]

You like Deadpool?

Isn't it kind of obvious?

Yeah, that was me being just a little sarcastic.

[Tawmis]

I am pooping my pants... I can't believe it's true!


http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page ... e&id=30845


Marvel Comics was playing mum on the topic of their latest "Next Big Thing" call up until this afternoon when they sent out an image promising the return of "Alpha Flight," and CBR News was on the call for all the news.

Marvel's James Viscardi started the ball rolling by announcing that the series will be a maxi-series in conjunction with the "Fear Itself" event, written by Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente and drawn by Dale Eaglesham, who all joined in on the call. The series will be eight issues starting in June with a prelude "Point 1" issue drawn by Ben Oliver shipping in May.

"You don't have to have read anything to jump on board here," Pak said at the start. "Old time Alpha Flight fans will have a lot of fun seeing everything references, but you don't even have to have read an 'Alpha Flight' book before."

He added that for those looking to place this series into the context of the Marvel U, the book will pick up with a reestablished Alpha Flight in the wake of the recent "Chaos War" series, and with issue #1 "All hell breaks loose."

Van Lente noted that while traditional team benefactors Department H will play a role, "As a result of 'Fear Itself' there is a change in the government not unlike when you see a government go from democracy to a facist state." Alpha Flight will be seen by the new Canadian government as the country's greatest traitors.

The book was described as a dream project for Van Lente, and although Pak said he had multiple copies of the "Alpha Flight" relaunch by John Byrne in polybags that his writing partner was the true team expert. "I love these characters, and it's a total blast to be punching into it," he added.

As an honest to goodness Canadian, Eaglesham said "I'm pretty excited to build a Canadian superteam into a force in the mainstream...there's a lot of depth to these characters and a lot of potential. If there's anything different in my approach at all, it'll be an authenticity to the locales because this is where I live."

Asked why "Alpha Flight" seems to stay so strongly with fans, Pak said, "John Byrne, who created them, often said that they were created solely to survive a fight with the X-Men...but they're such interesting and flawed personalities," Van Lente said, noting that Northstar would struggle to live up to the idea that he wears a flag on his chest while Heather Hudson stuggles not to be overshadowed by her husband. "It's like a team of Captain Americas in a way." Pak added. "At the same time that they're protectors of their nation, they're kind of underdogs in a way...both within the position they've held in the Marvel Universe and their individual characters...there's also something that's exciting about Alpha Flight. The character design and the diversity of the team is incredible." He noted that several native characters, the famously early openly gay character Northstar helped make the team stand out.

Over the past few years, the most oft-repeated comment from Marvel Editorial has been that they were waiting for the right pitch to make the fan favorite team work in the modern Marvel U. What was the element of this pitch that made this series ge the green light? The hard right fascist government story hook didn't hurt, the writers explained. "We're going to play this on a huge scale, and it fits right in with the 'Fear Itself' story line," said Pak while Van Lente noted that doing such a twist in Canada opened them up for some more story latitude. "We can do this right and in the most intense way possible.

"The other aspect to is that this is the original team," Van Lente said, noting that this will be the first appearance of the original team working together as one force on the page maybe ever – a situation brought about by many of the members return from the dead in "Chaos War."

Pak added that the fascist takeover of the Canadian government was hinted at in the end of the original, long-running "Alpha Flight" monthly. "Stories often come out of unexpected contrasts. The stereotype of Canada is not one you'd automatically associate with booming fascism," said Pak.

As for which characters will or won't be appearing and how, the team heavily hinted that Puck will appear in the series, and asked whether Northstar would continue his role in the X-Men line, they said that elements from those stories will make it in – including Kyle, Northstar's boyfriend from "Nation X" – but overall he will become a full-time Canadian again. "Greg and I aren't all that protective of our turf," Van Lente added, saying that if the X-Men writers want to use him, they're welcome although "Alpha Flight" will be the place he appears most often from here on out.

"Basically, if John Byrne didn't come up with it, we're throwing it out," said Van Lente who noted that through no intentional malice, the team had been subjected to a lot of bad continuity over the years. "I wouldn't say we're ignoring everything that came later, but we're not going to be referring to an individual character's multiple resurrections over the years...this is one of those stories that wants to start with a clean slate," Pak added.

Eaglesham said "I prefer a team dynamic because I like to have a lot of characters to work with...the greatest challenge in comics for me is designing different personalities." After some time working on solo heroes including Steve Rogers, he was ready to return to a large cast.

Asked whether the book will feel a bit dated, Van Lente argued that the book's initial audience numbered at half a million issues sold as the book was created by a very popular creator in Byrne. "Alpha Flight" was in many ways the first X-Men spinoff, so the writers expect that the original fan interest in the concept and characters will carry over to their modern take on the team.

"It's not a spoof book. It's a big, crazy action-adventure thriller with a big canvass and the world turned on its ear," concluded Pak.

"Alpha Flight" #1 will ship in June with a special "Point-1" lead-in issue shipping in May.

[Tawmis]

http://www.multiversitycomics.com/2011/ ... d-van.html


Multiversity Comics Presents: Fred Van Lente and THE RETURN OF ALPHA FLIGHT!
- Posted by Matthew Meylikhov on Tuesday, February 15, 2011
In 2006, Canada's premiere superhero team met a gruesome end at the hands of the Collective, aka all the mutant powers that had disappeared at the end of House of M now resurgent in a single being. Since then, fans have continually asked - When is Alpha Flight coming back? Despite most fans actively not wanting dead heroes to come back, it seems that this is one team that fans just do NOT want to stay dead. It is then appropriate that at the end of Chaos War, the team stood alive on the shores of Montauk in the shadow of New Olympus, next to a now de-powered Hercules and just as confused as to how they managed to make it out alive as we were.

"The story reason I am telling anyone is just that Hercules - the very very non-omniscent Hercules - put the multiverse back together, and he did the best he could," said Fred Van Lente in a chat with Multiversity. "He did 99.999999% right of putting the dead people back to being dead, the living people brought back to life again… you saw Nightmare obviously at the end of Chaos War. The original idea for Chaos War was that he was simply going to put everything back to how the world was before Chaos War #1 started, so you have that plus the exception of Alpha Flight." And now the news is officially out - Alpha Flight has returned! These are not robots, aliens, time traveling clones - this is the real deal. And on top of all that, they're back for their own series, just in time for Fear Itself!

Spinning out of the events of Chaos War and straight into Fear Itself, Alpha Flight will be launching in May with a brand new .1 issue, with the series launching in June. Fred Van Lente will be writing it along with Herc partner Greg Pak, with art by the wonderful (and Canadian!) Dale Eaglesham, as well as featuring covers by Phil Jimenez, which Van Lente notes are ready to knock your socks off. "Marvel has probably gotten a pitch per week for Alpha Flight since the last time they got canceled, so it's great that this is the one they chose, and that they'll do this and launch it out of Fear Itself which is really exciting." Guardian, Vindicator, Shaman and Marina have all been resurrected and along with fellow team founders Northstar, Aurora, Sasquatch and Snowbird, they will be returning to their beloved Canada to find their way back into the world. Van Lente also notes that for all intents and purposes, this will be an in-continuity reboot. "You don't have to have read Chaos War, you don't have to have read any Alpha Flight to enjoy this book. The characters aren't going to be standing around saying, 'Hey! Remember that time we were dead? That sucked.' I've seen superheroes do that a lot! There's gonna be none of that in this book."

As Alpha Flight returns, it seems that the Canadian government - driven mad by the new God of Choas, who is causing fear to spread through the Marvel U in Matt Fraction and Stuart Immonen's summer event Fear Itself - have been swayed against Alpha Flight, branding the group as traitors and calling for their arrest, causing the government-run superhero team to go on the run. "It's a superhero political allegory and it's very special and very exciting and to me," Van Lente notes. "To me, (in the real world) you see all these interesting upheavals like in Egypt and we're going through interesting political times here in America (too) and I hope the Canadians don't feel like we're beating up on them, but if you change the government of the United States, that changes the entire Marvel line (Note: See Civil War)… whereas if you go outside the United States you can actually do something catastrophic like this and only have it affect that one book. So you have a nice little pitri dish you can play in and tell lots of interesting superhero stories." Van Lente promises lots of surprises, including "possible traitors" in the midst of the story to work against the team from inside. He also notes that while Northstar will be with the team, it shouldn't effect his appearance in the X-Men books (although he will be technically a fugitive from justice, so any sharing the character gets between books will be appropriately coordinated if need be).

Van Lente and Pak are also hoping to give Alpha Flight back a fair amount of prominence in their upcoming story. "It's the metaphor for national service and the changing politics of the time and facing fascism growing in one's own country," said Van Lente. "The difficulty I think people who weren't already in love with Alpha Flight have with Alpha Flight is that the pitch they get is the Canadian Avengers… which I'm not sure works. I don't think you can even pitch the Avengers as the American Alpha Flight, or even the American Super Hero Team. So we're trying to change the script and have people look at it differently and say what's interesting about these characters. It's not just the fact that they're wonderful characters in their own right with their own dreams and personalities and aspirations, but you also have this added element of them being the national superhero team whose government turns against them and is trying to hunt them down, and they have to deal with it. They have to deal with being these beloved figures in their own country to becoming reviled people who fight for the very people who despise them and are persecuting them. And you also have that added twist of, what does it mean to be involved in politics?'What does it mean to be involved in a society as well as be a symbol of that society?"

The team have put in a lot of research into the title as their bromance of a writing duo continues to expand now that they've been working together for quite some time. "It's hilarious, it's awesome, and some great stuff is coming out of it particularly because we're trying to understand the Canadian political system, which has many interesting quirks." Van Lente also insists that the book will be a great place for new fans to come in to the book as well as old fans due to the polar opposite nature of the writer's mutual understanding and appreciate of the characters. "What's hilarious is - I hope I'm not outing him here, but Greg knows nothing about Alpha Flight, so it's kind of hilarious because he knows nothing about the characters and I'm the world's biggest Alpha Flight nerd. So hopefully what comes out of that is something somewhere in between. We'll have a book everyone can enjoy because it's not written by someone who is totally ignorant of the characters, but it's also not being written by someone who is an Alpha Flight cartesian either."

As of right now, the book is slated for 8 issues as a maxi-series according to Van Lente with the first 4 issues featuring the Fear Itself branding, but there is certainly the possibility to have it go beyond that if sales permit ("So buy 20 copies!"). For more of our chat with Fred Van Lente, be sure to look for a next week's episode of Multiversity's very own podcast Spoiler Alert, in which we talk Power Man and Iron Fist, more Alpha Flight as well as the upcoming Herc book and a few other things!

[DeadPoolX]

I am pooping my pants... I can't believe it's true!

I can believe it and that's why you need this to help out.

[Rath Darkblade]

Or this.

[Tawmis]

In an era where an Australian is playing Canadian Wolverine, and Brits
are playing Batman and Superman, it's nice to know that at least the
artist drawing the upcoming Alpha Flight mini-series will be a
Canadian.

Dale Eaglesham, a Canadian artist who's celebrating 25 years in the
comic book business this year, will draw an eight-issue Alpha Flight
mini-series by writers Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente. Alpha Flight will
spin out of Marvel's event, "Fear Itself," and will launch in June
with a "Point 1" issue designed as a jumping-on point for new readers.

Alpha Flight is one of the few Canadian superhero teams in popular
comics. Its members were recently resurrected and reunited during Van
Lente and Pak's Chaos War.

Eaglesham is getting to draw the Canadian superhero team as the latest
project in his Marvel exclusive contract, which most recently had him
drawing Pak's Incredible Hulks in a storyline that starts this week.
Eaglesham has also worked on high-profile Marvel comics like Steve
Rogers: Super Soldier and Fantastic Four. Before that, the artist
worked for DC on series like Justice Society of America and Villains
United.

In the second installment of our two-part interview with the artist,
Newsarama talked with Eaglesham about his 25 years in the comics
business and what he's expecting from his work on Alpha Flight.

Nrama: You've been back as a Marvel exclusive for a couple years now.
What's been your favorite project so far? Or have they all had their
highlights?

Eaglesham: Like I said earlier, there have been several highlights,
but I’d say my two favorites have been Hulk and What If – Hulk because
it’s so much fun drawing that character, and What If because I got to
work with Stan Lee.

Nrama: You recently launched a website and a Facebook page. Is that
because you want to keep in touch with the people who love your art?
What role does the fandom play in your career?

Eaglesham: The website has actually been around since 2006, but my
wife and our friend Sylvain redesigned it, modernized it and
relaunched it in October at www.daleeaglesham.com. They added a bunch
of great new features, including Facebook compatibility, so that’s why
I decided to also launch a Facebook page. And then I figured I might
as well go all the way and do the Twitter thing too.

I have to admit that this stuff – the promo – doesn’t come naturally
to me, though. A lot of folks in the biz seem to embrace it and have
fun with it, and for sure it’s a great way to promote your work. Maybe
I’m too reserved, or just not used to it yet, but every time I post, I
feel like I’m saying “hey, look at me!” and I find that really
awkward.

So you’re right, for me it’s more about staying in touch with fans.
They’re the reason I’m in this line of work – when I draw a page, it’s
for them. And when I meet them at a con or they contact me on my
website, and they tell me they love my stuff, that’s my reward for the
14-hour days. Knowing that I managed to help them escape and took them
on an adventure, that makes it all worth it for me.

Nrama: You also recently celebrated 25 years in the comic book
business. Looking back, what were a few of the highlights for you?

Eaglesham: I don’t remember the exact date when my first piece was
published, but it was sometime in 1986, so that makes 2011 my 25th
year in the biz. A quarter century... It blows my mind when I think of
it that way.

Highlights... I’ll try to be selective here. Well, I have to include
my first published story, a Chuck Dixon story entitled "Traitor's
Gold." I think any creator would have to include his or her first
publication, because so often it’s the culmination of years spent
trying to get a gig. I actually did the inks too for that Kull story.

I’ll also include my Conan swan song, a 50-pager called “Masque of the
Demon.” Conan was the reason I got into comics: That’s all I ever
dreamed of drawing at the time. I never got to draw him again after
that, so it remains special to me.

Then I’d include a Punisher story called “Hurt So Good,” because I had
the honor of being inked by comic book legend Al Williamson for it. I
loved Al’s Flash Gordon work, so having him ink my work was a great
career highlight. In that same vein, I’d add the What If #200 back-up
I recently did, because it allowed me to work with Stan Lee, which was
also a huge honor.

Then I would include a mini-series I did with John Arcudi. It was a
detective series called The Creep, and it was such a unique
experience. I’ve rarely had the opportunity to do non-superhero work,
and this was with my friend John, a tremendous writer and one of the
sharpest minds I know. I’m proud to have done that work.

I would also say getting my first monthly book was a highlight. It was
Green Lantern, and I did 18 issues of that book during my two-year
run. I remember how excited I was to get that job!

As far as recognition goes, I’d include two things: The first is the
fact that I was one of the artists personally selected by James
Cameron to draw the comic book version of the Spider-Man movie he was
going to make (and ultimately never did). I was such a huge fan of
Cameron’s at the time, too, so I was blown away by the fact that I was
one of the pencilers he selected. And the second was winning the
Shuster award for Outstanding Comic Book Penciller of the Year in
2008.

Nrama: In what areas of your artwork do you think you've grown the
most over those years?

Eaglesham: Maybe the readers would be better placed to say how they
feel I’ve grown. For my part, I always strive to improve with every
single issue. I still study art and art history on an almost-daily
basis. I sometimes hear comments saying that I get better with every
book, and that’s hugely gratifying for me to hear. I don’t want to get
jaded or lazy, so I always push harder.

I also always put the story first – the storytelling has to be clear.
I’ll never let style take precedence over clear storytelling. If that
means I don’t have a flashy style that wins critical accolades, so be
it. What matters to me is that readers will never feel they were
cheated out of their hard-earned money. I always aim to give them more
than their money’s worth, and based on their comments in e-mails and
at shows, I think a lot of them really appreciate that. To that end, I
try and build depth into the pages, going deeper into background
details, composition, panel and scene transitions, dialogue placement,
expanding my grasp of character affectation — in other words, all of
the invisible arts.

Nrama: Assuming you know what you're doing after these three issues of
Incredible Hulks, can you give us a vague hint about what it will be?

Eaglesham: I’ve known for a while now what my next project would be,
but I was sworn to secrecy and couldn’t talk about it, which was hard.
But now the comic book community knows it too, as it was finally
announced yesterday: Alpha Flight!

The excitement at Marvel about this book is just a joy to behold, and
the fans have been so passionate about the book and bringing it back.

On my end, I’ve been thinking about creating a Canadian superhero team
for years now, putzing around with ideas that I could propose, but I
always came back to Alpha Flight. I thought that was such a great
team, but didn’t think the book would be revived.

Meanwhile, the "powers-that-be" were concocting a plan behind the
scenes. They picked their writers and then had a meeting about who
would be the artist, and then apparently my name came up and everyone
got super excited at the suggestion.

Nrama: Do you think that's because you're Canadian?

Eaglesham: I don’t know if the fact that I’m Canadian had anything to
do with it! Maybe! I think a strong contingent of my fan-base is right
here in Canada. They’re a passionate, dedicated group; they’re really
awesome.

Nrama: You've already worked with Greg on Hulk. What are you expecting
from the rest of the creative team?

Eaglesham: I already love working with Greg, and everything I’ve seen,
read and heard about the Pak/Van Lente team is utterly, glowingly
positive.

I’ve already been interacting with Fred and we’re having a blast. The
guy cracks me up.

I get to keep Drew Hennessy, who just inked my three-issue Hulk arc,
so that’s excellent news. I’m thrilled to have him on board for this
next project as well.

And since we last chatted for part one of this interview, my colorist
has been confirmed: It’s going to be Morry Hollowell, one of the best
colorists in the biz. He just colored a Fear Itself piece of mine, and
he seriously knocked my socks off. This is going to be a killer team,
I feel honored and so excited to be part of it. I’m giddy over here.

I’m all about Alpha Flight right now!! I’ve been doing sketches for it
in my free time, and doing research to get ready. Can’t wait to get
started on it, which should be in early March.