Alpha Flight (comic book)

Publication history

Created by John Byrne, the team first appeared in X-Men #120 (April 1979). The team was originally merely a part of the backstory of the X-Men’s Wolverine but, in 1983, Marvel launched an eponymous series featuring the group, which continued until 1994, lasting 130 issues as well as annuals and miniseries. Three short-lived revivals have been attempted since, most recently an eight-issue limited series in 2011-12, after the resurrection of the team in the one shot comic Chaos War: Alpha Flight during the Chaos War event.

Volume 1

Though reluctant to take the job, John Byrne wrote and drew the series for 28 issues before handing it off to another creative team. During that time, the series storylines generally dealt with the personal problems of one or two characters at a time, seldom bringing all the members together or confronting problems outside of the team itself, an approach which drew some criticism.

Byrne left, trading titles with then-"Incredible Hulk" scribe Bill Mantlo, who stepped in to become the series's longest-running writer. Later writers on Alpha Flight include James Hudnall, Fabian Nicieza, Scott Lobdell & Simon Furman. Byrne's successor as penciler was Mike Mignola, and subsequently Dave Ross, another Canadian, though he claims that his nationality was not a factor in his being chosen for the series, and that Marvel even sent him a box full of Canadian reference material after he was given the assignment.

In Alpha Flight #106 (1992), writer Scott Lobdell was given permission to have the character Northstar state, "I am gay." As the first major, openly gay character created by Marvel Comics, Northstar generated significant publicity in the mainstream press and Alpha Flight #106 sold out in a week, despite the fact that the series was not a very popular title. It is the only comic book issue to have been inducted into the Gaylactic Hall of Fame. The event was also controversial, and almost no mention was made of his sexual orientation for the remainder of the first Alpha Flight series.

Alpha Flight continued for 130 issues, and introduced dozens of characters and villains. The series ended in 1994.

Volume 2

In 1997, Marvel relaunched the series with different characters. The series was written by Steven Seagle, then known mainly for his work for DC Comics' Vertigo line, with art mostly by Scott Clark and Duncan Rouleau. One issue, #13, featured guest art by Ashley Wood in an unusually conventional style for him, but still very distinctive for a Marvel superhero comic. This series ended in 1999 after only twenty issues and an annual.

The focus of this series was on Department H's consistently hidden agenda and Alpha Flight's reluctance to comply thereto.

Despite initial positive buzz, the series never took off and the conspiracy plotlines were downplayed for the remaining six issues of the series. The series ended with issue #20 with most of the major storylines unresolved.

Volume 3: "All-New, All-Different" Alpha Flight

In 2004, Marvel started a new volume of Alpha Flight, with the "All-New, All-Different" prefix.

The first six-issue story arc, which shows Sasquatch attempting to construct the new team, is called "You Gotta Be Kiddin' Me".

The second six-issue story arc, entitled "Waxing Poetic", saw the return of some original team members as both the original versions visited in the past, and temporal copies brought to the present.

The series was canceled with issue #12.

Volume 4

In 2011, the team appeared in a series tied to the crossover storyline Fear Itself, with the newly alive team to be joined by Puck.