Alpha Flight by John Byrne Omnibus

Alpha Flight (1983) #1-29

by John Byrne, Chris Claremont, Roger Stern

Legendary writer/artist John Byrne steers one of his greatest creations to glory! Exploding from the pages of the X-Men, Canada's premier super-team Alpha Flight takes the Marvel Universe by storm before starring in their own Byrne-helmed series! Guardian, Shaman, Snowbird, Sasquatch, Aurora, Northstar, Puck and Marrina fi ght to protect Canada from injustice and evil - including the Master of the World, maniacal alchemist Diablo, and the terrifying Great Beasts! But they'll face their darkest defeat at the hands of rival Omega Flight. An Alphan will fall...but can the team fight on?

COLLECTING: X-MEN (1963) 109, 120-121, 139-140; INCREDIBLE HULK ANNUAL 8; MACHINE MAN (1978) 18; MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE (1974) 83-84; INCREDIBLE HULK (1968) 272, 313; ALPHA FLIGHT (1983) 1-29; X-MEN AND ALPHA FLIGHT (1985) 1-2; X-MEN/ALPHA FLIGHT (1998) 1-2; MATERIAL FROM MARVEL TEAM-UP ANNUAL 7

Genres: Comics, Marvel, X Men, Graphic Novels, Canada, Fiction, Superheroes

1144 pages, Hardcover

First published October 8, 1985

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

John Lindley Byrne is a British-born Canadian-American author and artist of comic books. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on nearly every major American superhero.

Byrne's better-known work has been on Marvel Comics' X-Men and Fantastic Four and the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics’ Superman franchise. Coming into the comics profession exclusively as a penciler, Byrne began co-plotting the X-Men comics during his tenure on them, and launched his writing career in earnest with Fantastic Four (where he also started inking his own pencils). During the 1990s he produced a number of creator-owned works, including Next Men and Danger Unlimited. He also wrote the first issues of Mike Mignola's Hellboy series and produced a number of Star Trek comics for IDW Publishing.

Reviews

[Sean Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deeply controversial opinion alert: Canada is great. And so are Canadians.

Okay, so, that’s actually not even remotely controversial, but, well, people are touchy these days.

Maybe it’s simply a geographic proximity thing—growing up in Michigan and being a deeply devoted Red Wings fan, I couldn’t help but be influenced by our neighbors in the Great White North as a youth, including, but not limited to, the inadvertent slipping of “yeah, eh?” into my vernacular whenever the Stanley Cup playoffs started up.

Whatever the case, I make it a point each day to pay homage to Canada by consuming one of its five great exports (TimBits, the music of Rush, the comedy stylings of Rick Moranis, Steve Yzerman’s sweat, and Ryan Reynolds’ abs), and I have a favorable predisposition toward anything with a maple leaf on it.

Despite that, and despite the fact that they debuted in the pages of one of my all-time favorite comic book series (Uncanny X-Men), I’ve never really cottoned to Alpha Flight, the Canadian equivalent of the Avengers.

It’s funny—I often chide people for using the phrase “acquired taste.” I most often hear this phrase when discussing beer. To wit:

Friend: “Here, Sean—try this beer.”

Me: “I’m good with my Scotch, man—beer tastes like someone peed into a bucket of wheat and then set it on fire.”

Friend: “You just haven’t had good beer.”

Me: “I’ve tried numerous kinds.”

Friend: “Well, it’s an acquired taste—you have to keep drinking it until you like it.”

Me: “So, let me get this straight—if I don’t like something, I just need to try it enough times and I’ll like it?”

Friend: “Yeah, exactly.”

Me: “I don’t enjoy being punched the balls. Are you telling me that if I punch myself in the balls enough times, I might start to like it?”

Friend: “Um…no.”

Me: “Stop trying to get me to like beer or I will punch you in the balls until you like it.”

Friend (to waiter): “Can we get him another Scotch?”

The notion of acquired taste is ridiculous. How, then, to explain me wading through 1,200 PAGES of a book about a team whose most interesting member’s superpower appears to be the ability to withstand the attendant physical aches and pains of dwarfism and the jokes that come with it to a sort of okay degree?

I’m afraid I don’t have a good answer for that, but, well, it’s an acquired taste.

There is something appealing about writer/artist John Byrne’s Alpha Flight oeuvre, enough so that I wanted to keep plowing through it. Though British by birth, Byrne immigrated to Canada at age 8, and his love for his adopted homeland shines through this entire omnibus, which includes not only the core Alpha Flight series he worked on, but several other appearances in X-Men and the Incredible Hulk. So, perhaps Byrne’s passion for Canada, combined with my own affinity, played a role, but I suspect the fact that the bulk of the work was produced in the 1980s—a time that contrasts sharply with the insanity of the year 2018—played a larger role (we’ll come back to that in a moment).

It certainly wasn’t the characters, who are, perhaps, the lamest collection of superheroes this side of the Great Lakes Avengers. Founder and nominal leader Vindicator/Guardian, who can’t even settle on a heroic nom de plume, is just a regular dude in a fancy, high-tech suit, and Sasquatch is, by his own admission, a cheap Hulk knockoff. Shaman toes the line between ridiculous and offensive (though, to be fair, it was the 80s), and Snowbird is about as compelling as a Jim Carrey one-man show (sorry, Canada—not everything you export is bound to be a winner). And don’t even get me started on Northstar and Aurora, who are the only comic book siblings capable of dethroning the Wonder Twins for lamest brother/sister combo...

(Side note: Byrne does a pretty masterful job of intimating Northstar’s sexuality during a time when the mainstream comics world would not have tolerated an openly gay character; that’s the one aspect of his character that was extremely well done.)

Nostalgia for the comics of my youth cannot, in and of itself, explain why I slogged through all 1,200 pages—to be fair, Byrne’s art is wonderful, and there are moments of momentum here and there where the sum achieves a greater level of excellence than the parts.

That said, I confess that the biggest reason I churned through this collection over the course of a few months was a desire to retreat to a simpler time and take solace in a world that no longer exists, where a band of civic-minded Canucks could take to the streets in garish uniforms and fight weird elder gods and a few two-bit hoods while engaging in the character building (if occasionally soap operaish) bonding that characterized the best Marvel comics of that era. By the end, I was left wanting more, but also wanting better—that is, to sit down with a long run of the Claremont/Byrne X-Men book that informed Byrne’s work on Alpha Flight.

And so 2018 shall, I think, involve a lot of getting reacquainted with my favorite mutants, rereading beloved stories from yesteryear and filling in gaps with issues I’ve never read. If the best thing I can say about this door-stopping tome is that it has encouraged me to find some time in the insanity that is life right now to hang out with Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, and Kitty Pryde, well, that’s not a bad outcome.

We'll call it just south of 3.5 stars.

(You know, it would have been nice if this book came with some TimBits. On the plus side, I’m pretty sure it’s printed on Wayne Gretzky’s skin. Little known fact—Gretzky actually died in a tragic slapshot accident in 1998; he was replaced by an animatronic replica and his skin was saved for use on this book. Sometimes Canadians are a little weird.)

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the John Byrne comics covered by this collection including Alpha Flight season one, issues 1 to 28 which feature John Byrne's quality writing AND art, work that laid down the foundations for the Alpha Flight franchise forever. Creating the likes of Marrina, Puck, Box, Jeffries, Omega Flight, Wild Child, Diamond Lil and more! Creating the off-on stability of a Government sanctioned team of misfits. 7 out of 12.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Byrne's Alpha Flight! It was a team that could have been the next X-Men or New Teen Titans, since it shares much of the style, focusing on the team as people, not just as action heroes. And, it managed to last for about 10 years in its first incarnation, but it was never as much of a hit as the others. Still, it's a lovely, dense, well-characterized comic. (My only issue with it was how infrequently the team was together under Byrne.)

Preludes. The first two hundred pages of this omnibus are a really mixed bag. They're all the early appearances of Alpha Flight, and despite the name of the Omnibus, they're not all by John Byrne. The five issues of the X-Men are the best. They introduce Vindicator, then the rest of the early Flighters (minus Puck and Marrina). They're good X-Men stories, full of interesting subplots, but they just barely reveal who Alpha Flight is. The rest of the early issues, covering Hulk, Machine Man, and Marvel Two-in-One are lower quality; they're mostly fights. All told, we manage to get some impression of who the first six Flighters (and Heather) are, and it's wonderful to have all these issues collected, but they're clearly not the heart of this volume. [5/10]

Origins (1+). At last, the real story! The Origin of Alpha Flight spreads across a series of shorts and this extra-sized first issue. They reveal a deeply characterized comic that feels very much a descendent of X-Men, focused on soap opera and continuing growth, not just on fights. There's an interesting focus on Canadian Indian mythology in several of the origins, and that dovetails right into the fight against Tundra in the first issue. Overall, these origins reveal a very unique and interesting team. [7+/10].

The Master (2-4). Alpha Flight's first major arc shows its two priorities. On the one hand, we get a great new villain in the Master, one of AF's most notable. On the other hand, we get the continued exploration of who Marrina is and what dark secrets might be in her past. Overall, this shows both how vibrant the early Alpha Flight was and how character-based it would be. [7/10].

Solo (5-10). It's interesting for Byrne to take half-a-year to depict the solo adventures of Puck, Snowbird, Northstar, Aurora, and Sasquatch. There's no way a modern comic comic would give a creator this sort of time to lay the foundation for his characters. The stories are not nearly as enthralling as the group stories, but they do a great job of introducing who these people actually are. Puck and Aurora get particularly good detailing in their appearances, while Northstar gets some very coded characterization, since Byrne couldn't say he was gay outright in the bigoted '80s. The plots are more forgettable, though we do get the first appearances of another Great Beast, Deadly Earnest, and Nemesis. [6/10].

Guardian (11-13). Alpha Flight #12 was the first issue I ever read, and it's part of an absolutely amazing storyline. On the one hand we get the creation of Omega Flight, a team every bit as interesting as Alpha Flight itself. On the other time, we get an event that's utterly momentous, of the sort not seen at Marvel at the time, as a cast member is lost. Both the depiction and the repercussions are shocking [9/10].

Marvel Team-Up Annual (7). Superficially, this isn't a bad Alpha Flight story, as Simonson does a good job of presenting them with all their blemishes and warts. The use of the Plodex is also a nice tie-in. But, the story is pretty dull beyond that, and (as it turns out) the use of the Plodex totally undercuts the next Alpha Flight arc [4/10].

The Plodex (14-16). It's pretty amazing that Byrne continues to tell very small tales of the individuals that make up Alpha Flight, not the team. So, this is essentially a Marinna and Puck story (with a great scene with Heather in the first issue). It makes much better use of the Plodex than the Marvel Team-Up Annual because it presents them as a true, scary horror and because it better presents Marinna's reaction [7+/10].

History (17). It's interesting to see Alpha Flight's history with Wolverine from Heather and Mac's point of view, but there's too much known flashback for this to be great [5/10].

Talisman (18-19). A fun return to the Beasts and a great introduction for Talisman that makes you very curious about what comes next [7/10].

Aurora's Adventures (20-22). A couple of stories that depict Aurora's evolution. They're an interesting character study. They also introduce two new foes. Golden Lily is pretty intriguing, both for her relationship to El Diablo and for her ... status. [7/10] Pink Pearl is pretty stupid. [4/10]

X-Men & Alpha Flight: The Gift. This has always been a superb X-Men story, with its unique foundation in facing the X-Men off against Loki. The wish fulfillment of the story is also great, because it gives us insight into many characters. Finally, the first chance to see Scott and Rachel together is wonderful, even if it's all a big tease. It's a much less good Alpha Flight story. They're kind of on the periphery, and some of their characterization is pretty iffy. There's also no way to properly fit it into the Alpha Flight continuity. So call it an [8/10], unless you're only concerned about Alpha Flight in which case it's more like a [4/10].

The Great Beasts (23-24). A rather shocking story about Sasquatch, that in retrospect was entirely obvious. Then we get a return to the Great Beasts, always one of the best parts of the Alpha Flight mythology. This leads to an actual finale to Snowbird's major character arc, which is a really terrific bit of closure in an era when things didn't change. But everything changes here, as Byrne shows us that he continues to be willing to revamp the team. Overall, that makes this the strongest story ... since the end of Alpha Flight's first year [8/10].

Omega Flight (25-28). Byrne's final arc begins with a rather delightful send-up of the hero-escaped-from-death trope, then moves on to a return confrontation with Omega Flight. Though it runs a bit long, it's overall a strong story, especially when Jeffries enters the stories and shows us what he can do [7/10].

The Hulk (Hulk, 29). Marvel is kind-enough to follow-up on Byrne's cliffhanger with Mantlo's Hulk crossover. The Hulk parts of it are good enough, but when he returns to Alpha Flight, his writing seems really ham-handed, not respecting the characters much. It's a bit painful to read their sudden reuniting and the sudden status change in the team [4/10].

X-Men/Alpha Flight. The volume ends on an X-Men/Alpha Flight teamup that's set during Alpha Flight's early issues, but wasn't by Byrne and wasn't written at the time. It seems to do a good job of capturing the characters of both teams, and builds on a few plot points from the time, but is otherwise mediocre [4/10].

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. The humble beginnings of Alpha Flight. We get their first appearances mixing it up with the X-Men and we get a little backstory on the all the characters showing how they came to be. Then we get into some of their adventures. At 1100 and some odd pages, there were several of them. We see the Alphans tangle with the Hulk on more than one occasion, take on the great beasts that Snowbird was created to take down. We get some action with Submariner and also The Master, who was a caveman from 40,000 years ago. We see Shaman’s daughter become Talisman and the b-list old members that never made the team form Omega Flight and come after the main Alpha Flight group. It just goes on and on. Some stories better than others. But John Byrne’s art shines throughout. Tragically, two characters don’t make to the end of this book. Wonder if Marvel will make a vol 2 as I’m curious if the ever come back. Throughout this book, Puck is always talking about his past and all kinds of wild situations he’s been in. Hell, if Byrne ever showed these tales probably could have been another omnibus. 😂😂

[Shadowdenizen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

I confess, I miss the glory days of John Byrne! Having recently re-read his runs on Fantastic Four and She-Hulk, I came to my reread of Alpha Flight with great expectations.

And I was not disappointed. Wisely, Bryne spends the first 12 issues or so (re)acquainting us with the team and their backgrounds/personalities before getting the team together as a whole.

And the characters are bright and lively enough to carry the book: the backgrounds of all the characters are given their moment to shine. (Northstar, in particular, is handled very well, with allusions to his sexuality, but nothing explicitly offered (homophobia being much revelant in the 80's than it is now!)

While it IS a bit wordy and slow-paced at times, I find that that style of comics tends to work well for me.

[Blindzider · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been wanting to read this for quite awhile (decades), really only experiencing Alpha Flight from their brief appearances in X-Men. Finally reading this, I was quite satisfied to finally know and understand the team members. Byrne spends a surprisingly long time and page count on simply developing the characters. Each has an issue (or two) and they are all very distinct. It's a wonder they are able to work and stay together at all. Most of those issues are resolved, but not all, resulting in a team that organically evolves over the span of 25 issues, making for an intriguing team with a history.

There are actually very few super-villains in these stories, with most of the conflict being inter-team drama, or some nemesis from one of the heroes' past. Interestingly, most of the enemies where mystical in nature, all of which eventually come together in the finale of Byrne's run.

Art-wise, Byrne attempted to do it all at first, and at some point brought on Bob Wiacek to ink. It took a few issues but eventually his work really began to embellish Byrne's pencils. It's a shame that didn't happen until the end of the volume.

A solid read, and while I know many have tried, it's too bad this team hasn't been able to maintain a presence in the Marvel Universe with an ongoing series.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I clearly remember the day I picked up the first issue of Alpha Flight from Coulson's Pharmacy in Lewiston NY (on the Canadian border) and fell in love with the crazy diverse characters. This was a golden age of sorts for Marvel when instead of finding 10-12 books with the same two characters you could get a real variety. Unfortunately, the Alpha characters are now relegated either to supporting cast in other stories or sacrificial lambs in big crossovers. Very sad.

[Devero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scritte e disegnate da John Byrne agli inizi degli anni '80 queste storie le ho lette diverse volte nel corso dei decenni. Periodicamente, diciamo ogni 4 o 5 anni, le riprendo e mi accorgo ogni volta di quanto stiano invecchiando bene, come un ottimo barolo che con lo scorrere dei lustri migliora sempre più.
I disegni di Byrne restano ottimi, le storie ancora valide, anzi, alla luce della qualità media delle storie seriali Marvel di oggi, brillano come un faro nella tempesta.
Quindi l'ostacolo maggiore alla lettura di questo omnibus è la sua voluminosità, per il resto è proprio come sorseggiare un buon vino ben invecchiato.

[OmniBen · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review) 3.5/5
It may not rise to the heights of 80s X-Men, but then again, what does? An enjoyable, if slightly inconsistent ride. The art doesn't truly get going until Byrne hands over inking duties to Bob Wisack. But then again, the man was probably writing and drawing at least two books a month around this time, so I can cut him a little slack. It kept getting better and better, although unfortunately it does fall away in the last few issues. A very worthwhile read nonetheless. 3.5/5


OmniBen.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This contains John Byrne’s whole run with the team. Apparently, he wasn’t fond of them, but I like the blend of classic Science Fiction and mystical zaniness. While this does contain some weaker extra material, most of this is a ton of fun!

Uncanny X-Men #109 ⧫ 4.5 Stars "Home are the Heroes!"
This comes as more of a downtime interlude between some major X-Men arcs. I think the Vindicator fight is good as previously Logan just ditched the Canadian government.

Uncanny X-Men #120 ⧫ 4 Stars "Wanted: Wolverine! Dead or Alive!"
Alpha Flight proper is much more formidable than just Vindicator, though they aren’t quite a team yet. I like them, and it’s another good issue with a mix of downtime and action.

Uncanny X-Men #121 ⧫ 4 Stars "Shoot-Out at the Stampede!"
The conclusion is great with some fantastic Wolverine snark at the end. While not all of Alpha Flight is fleshed out yet, they’re on their way. I’d strongly recommend reading the version of this alongside the X-Men Classic #28 additions as they help sort out the story and generally add some more fun to the proceedings.

Incredible Hulk Annual #8 ⧫ 3 Stars "Sasquatch!”
Sasquatch is an asshole, and I kind of like that. Teams of purely like-minded people are boring, so this is a good showcase, both of the character and a somewhat different Hulk story.

2 pages of Fantastic Four #220, a Vindicator cameo, are included.

Uncanny X-Men #139 ⧫ 4.5 Stars "...Something Wicked This Way Comes!"
Logan heads north to fix things with the Canadian government. I do question how poor the Hudsons are given their jobs, but whatever. The interactions between the Alpha Flight members and Wolverine and Nightcrawler are fun. Also, a fantastic cliffhanger!

Uncanny X-Men #140 ⧫ 4.5 Stars "Rage!"
The second half involves a pretty intense fight with a Hulk-level foe. However, it still has time for teamwork and character moments.

Machine Man #18 ⧫ 2 Stars "Alone Against Alpha Flight!"
I know this series is really popular, but Ditko’s later art doesn’t look good, and the story is really basic. Sasquatch, Aurora, and Northstar have very little personality.

Marvel Two-in-One #83 ⧫ 3 Stars "Where Stalks the Sasquatch!"
It’s a decent issue with some good pathos and a great reason to involve Sasquatch who is actually getting more sympathetic. The fight is a little silly, and the enemy is uncomfortable, so that’s why it’s not higher, but it’s better than Machine Man.

Marvel Two-in-One #84 ⧫ 3 Stars "Cry for Beloved Canada!"
A good follow-up with more team action. It’s nice seeing some of Northstar’s famous arrogance. I dig it.

Incredible Hulk #272 ⧫ 2 Stars "Weirdsong of the Wen-Di-Go!"
This is basically a weaker version of Hulk This also includes 4 pages of #273 that basically involve a misunderstanding, so Hulk leaves.

Alpha Flight #1 ⧫ 4 Stars “Tundra!”
The first Alpha Flight book and the team is disbanded, which is a nice change of pace. There’re also some new members to keep it fresh, and it has a solid big first issue threat.

Alpha Flight Backup Stories ⧫ 4 Stars “The Origin of Alpha Flight”
“In the Beginning…” “Purpose” “Guardian First of Alpha” “Flight! Deathwatch” “The Old Ways” “Let a Child Be Born” “Genesis” “A Stranger in My Mirror” “Family Ties” “Unleash the Beast!”
It’s an interesting choice to group these stories from the end of roughly the first dozen issues here, but I actually think it works. These are the full origins of the team, and they’re pretty good. Shaman’s has been done, but I think it’s pretty solid. Snowbird’s origin is really weird, but fitting for folklore. I’ll have to see about Aurora as split personalities are tough, but her introduction definitely gives her some character. I also love how she encounters Wolverine. That Sasquatch initial transformation is awesome, and his origin is kept short as he’s the member outside of Guardian who’s been featured the most. The connections to the wider Marvel Universe are pretty great as well with Hulk, Wolverine, and Doctor Strange being good touchstones for this team. I do question Heather’s age in this, like the Reed and Sue age gap was decided before Byrne took over, but this is him deciding on his own… The 80s were a weird time.

Alpha Flight #2 ⧫ 4 Stars “Shadows of the Past”
Focusing on the backstory of one of the new members is a good continuation as the team realizes they may not be as ready as they think.

Alpha Flight #4 ⧫ 4 Stars “Yesterday Man”
This features the lead-in from Fantastic Four #260 with Namor going to get Sue prior to this issue, which kind of spoils the surprise of the ending, but I’m glad to have it. There’s some great John Byrne art with a classic Science Fiction plot.

Alpha Flight #4 ⧫ 4 Stars “Resolutions!”
The team needs to work together as they’re challenged both within and without. The resolution is a little underwhelming, but I think Byrne is setting some things up for the future. This issue ends with the pages of Marrina and Namor from Fantastic Four #261, which is a little bit of nice context.

Alpha Flight #5 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “What Fools These Mortals Be...”
This Puck story is fun and provides a solid look at the Alpha Flight member who’s gotten the least page time.

Alpha Flight #6 ⧫ 4.5 Stars “Snowblind”
This issue is famous for the middle pages that take place in a blizzard. It’s experimental, and others’ mileage may vary, but I love it. The fact that the panels aren’t lazy and the dialogue clearly indicates action really sells this little stunt. Also, some foreboding stuff for Snowbird.

Alpha Flight #7 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “The Importance of Being Deadly”
Some pretty good stuff for Northstar, though it seems like an issue that could’ve been handled more easily given the twins’ power sets.

Alpha Flight #8 ⧫ 4 Stars “Cold Hands Cold Heart”
I like everything except the weird double twist that reminded me too much of the better handled Puck story from issue #5. The ending character interactions bring this back up.

Sections of Fantastic Four #266-267 ⧫ 5 Stars “A Small Loss”
Walter Langkowski appears in these issues, and they are dark. He tries to help Reed and Sue and reveals a connection to Doctor Octopus. This is a superb look at Byrne’s Fantastic Four, and these crossovers are really making me want to read those again.

Alpha Flight #9 ⧫ 4 Stars “Things Aren't Always What They Seem”
This is a pretty cool issue despite it being kind of predictable for someone who knows the Marvel Universe. I like the foreboding atmosphere Byrne creates, and the battle is pretty intense.

Alpha Flight #10 ⧫ 4 Stars “Blood Battle!”
The battle ends with some lasting consequences to Sasquatch who has somehow become my favorite member of Alpha Flight. I thought the Sasquatch-Aurora fling was going to be a humorous mention, but it returns here, and I think they’re a pretty good couple.

Alpha Flight #11 ⧫ 4 Stars “Set-Up”
This focuses back on Guardian and Heather and their move to New York. Heather’s job with Roxxon is already suspicious, and the plan unfolds amidst some beautiful landscape art. The end is pretty gripping.

Alpha Flight #12 ⧫ 4.5 Stars “...And One Shall Surely Die”
The team is finally back together after seven issues, and it’s for a good fight. The team shows its weaknesses, and that leads to a pretty intense death. I have to say the build up was worth it.

Alpha Flight #13 ⧫ 4.5 Stars “Nightmare!”
The start to this is awesome. I often find that type of intro to be bad, but this establishes Heather’s mindset, hints at the future, and is generally just really cool. The rest of the issue is less impressive, but it sets up some long-running storylines.

Marvel Team-Up Annual #7 Spider-Man & Alpha Flight ⧫ 3 Stars “The Hunters and the Hunted!”
This is a very fine issue with some good pathos for Marrina, though issues 14-16 of Alpha Flight do a better job. The Spider-Man and Black Cat relationship stuff is also pretty cute.

Alpha Flight #14 ⧫ 4 Stars “Biology Class”
Some dark tidings as several storylines continue. I have to admit I was not expecting horrific injury to be such a frequent part of the series.

Alpha Flight #15 ⧫ 4 Stars “Blind Date”
Another tense issue that feeds into the next several arcs of the series.

Alpha Flight #16 ⧫ 4 Stars “...And Forsaking All Others...”
The Marrina storyline comes to a head, and I feel like the Master of the World is a lame villain who makes Marrina more interesting. This also complicates Marrina’s relationship with Namor, so I really enjoyed the continuation of that storyline. Also, Puck is stealing this book. He’s just a damn good character, especially for playing the steady character for the last several arcs.

Alpha Flight #17 ⧫ 4 Stars “Dreams Die Hard...”
Much of this is the recap of the first appearance of Guardian/Vindicator with Heather and Logan just chatting for most of the issue. Puck and Wolverine meet and have a hilarious exchange. I also want to see them sit down in a bar and shoot the shit. Their conversations with Heather bring some emotional weight to what could easily be skippable filler.

Alpha Flight #18 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “How Long Will a Man Lie in the Earth `Ere He Rot?”
Okay, the scrambled egg monster was funny, and Shaman dealing with his daughter is cool, but it all seems a little easy. Making magic meaningful is tough.

Alpha Flight #19 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “Turn Again, Turn Again, Time in Thy Flight...”
A time travel episode that’s just a little quick for me. I feel like it’s used rather haphazardly, but it certainly looks cool.

Alpha Flight #20 ⧫ 4 Stars “Gold and Love Affairs!”
This one starts promisingly with a weird house and a mysterious past. This is all brough together by Aurora’s own issues with hints that bad things happened.

Alpha Flight #21 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “Love Wrought New Alchemy...”
I was definitely more mixed here. The connection to Diablo is hilarious, but the story seemed a little too coincidental.

Alpha Flight #22 ⧫ 3 Stars “Rub-Out”
It’s another more awkward issue. The Canada-centric pot is interesting, but I wasn’t a fan of the execution.

X-Men and Alpha Flight #1 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “The Gift” Part 1
The first half sets up the main internal conflict with Rachel and Heather’s leadership issues as well as some of the personal flaws of the various teams. The mystery is fairly compelling, though I feel like the Loki reveal could have waited until issue 2.

X-Men and Alpha Flight #2 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “The Gift” Part 2
The resolution is fairly good, though the issue of having too many characters strikes the hardest here. There’s two teams and new people, so it’s a lot. The resolution is right out of Thor; thus, not terribly satisfying. However, the emotional beats make up for it somewhat.

Alpha Flight #23 ⧫ 4 Stars “Night of the Beast”
Byrne elegantly weaves together several plots into a pretty cool scenario. Also, the end is pretty ice cold!

Alpha Flight #24 ⧫ 4 Stars “Final Conflict Chapter One: The Gathering”
A pretty cool weird issue with some great color work and world craft by Byrne.

Alpha Flight #25 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “Chapter One: ...And Graves Give Up Their Dead...”
This sets up a mystery and then provides a very comic-book explanation. The end just doesn’t quite have the necessary impact.

Alpha Flight #26 ⧫ 4 Stars “If at First You Don't Succeed...”
This actually delivers on a better version of Guardian’s return.

Alpha Flight #27 ⧫ 4 Stars “Betrayal”
A big fight issue with an actual good betrayal at the end. This feels more like the climax Byrne intended. After this issue, it has a few pages from Secret Wars II #4 where the Beyonder just effortlessly resolves the cliffhanger. I’d feel more down about it if I didn’t know Byrne was leaving the title as I’ve been enjoying the weird rescue issues of this series.

Alpha Flight #28 ⧫ 5 Stars “Cross-Over”
This is a weird transitional issue as Byrne resolves the issues, then sets stuff up for Mantlo to cross over. There’s another Secret Wars II #4 section here that is also silly.

Incredible Hulk #313 ⧫ 3.5 Stars "Hook, Line & Sinker!"
Some cool art by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, but the story is just kind of a weird excuse for the imagery.

Alpha Flight #29 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “Cut Bait & Run!”
Kind of a weird way to end the arc. Though the team is reestablished for the start of the next run, it feels very haphazard, which it probably was. Ah well, it could be worse.

X-Men/Alpha Flight #1 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “Blast from the Past Part 1: Survivors”
Essentially a cool early X-Men story with some hints at Alpha Flight.

X-Men/Alpha Flight #2 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “Blast from the Past Part 2: Should Old Acquaintance be Forgot...”
Wait… Puck and Wolverine don’t meet until later… Oh well, this is a fun if somewhat unsatisfying conclusion.

Other Comics Reviews
X-Men Omnibus #1
X-Men Omnibus #2
Epic Collection Volume 4: It's Always Darkest Before the Dawn
Champions Classic Complete Collection
Uncanny X-Men Omnibus #1
Uncanny X-Men Omnibus #2
X-Men Classic Omnibus
Uncanny X-Men Omnibus #3
Uncanny X-Men Omnibus #4
Defenders Epic Collection Vol. 8: The New Defenders
Defenders Epic Collection Vol. 9: The End of All Songs

[Julio · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic collection of the early days of Alpha Flight from their debut in the pages of the X-Men to through their first few years in their own book. It was great to revisit the team, and delve into some of their earliest appearances in the Marvel Universe. Byrne's storytelling has always appealed to me, from his X-Men work through his stellar run on the Fantastic Four, so this was a treat indeed!

[Emilie]

I requested this as an interlibrary loan book, and was told that it was sent as a read-in-library-only book. I went to the library, and discovered that this book is enormous and heavy. I don't think I would have wanted to carry it around much.

I had thought that I had all of the issues of Alpha Flight, but when I looked a couple of months ago, I didn't. And while I had the Classic X-Men reprints and the later X-Men issues that Alpha Flight appeared in, I didn't have other crossover appearances, like the appearance of Alpha Flight members in the Machine Man comic that's frequently referenced in early Alpha Flight issues. I couldn't remember even hearing of Machine Man as a comic. It must have been fairly obscure.

I couldn't remember reading the two X-Men/Alpha Flight books that weren't a crossover of one team into another's book, but entities of their own. I was a little disturbed that Kitty Pryde, perhaps fourteen years old at the time, was going on a date in a part of Manhattan that was wild in the 1970s with Colossus. Colossus was established as being a few years older than Kitty. Those few years matter more when one person is 13 1/2 or 14 and one is 20 or so than they would matter once Kitty was aged up into her 20s. I didn't find this disturbing in that way when I first read the X-Men issues of the 1970s and 1980s in the 1980s, but decades later it doesn't seem okay.

I had Alpha Flight issues 1 -25, which I'd just reread, and I read the digital versions of 26-29 very recently, too. I'm pretty sure I'd read 26-30 years ago, in print. They seemed very familiar. (This book does not include # 30, but I remembered the character Scramble.) So I wasn't sitting in the library trying to read the bulk of this massive tome all at once. I still have crossovers into Incredible Hulk issues to go back and look at before the interlibrary loan book needs to go back, but one way or another, I've read the majority of the 1000+ pages of comic books in this volume. I've read enough that I'm filing it in the "read" category.

I believe I noted in my individual review of # 7 of Alpha Flight that it was pretty obvious to me reading it now that Raymonde Belmonde and Northstar had had a relationship. It was a decade later and only allowed after the departure of editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, who would have none of that, that Northstar would come out. I would have missed that in the 1980s, but I learned that coded way of speaking used by Belmonde and Northstar in that issue while I was in college, and still remember it well. Decoding it came easily to me.

There's some brilliance to the run, particularly in Byrne's art, some things not so brilliant, and some things that just haven't aged well. But it's certainly worth reading in my opinion, especially for those completists who have read the majority of these comics, but not some of the more obscure crossovers. I will note that the individual comic books are orders of magnitude lighter than this book.

[Rex Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

The omnibus collects Alpha Flight 1 - 29; X-Men 109, 120-121, 139-140; ; X-men and Alpha Flight 1-2; X-men/Alpha Flight 1-2 -which is a retro story fitting between issues 6 and 7 of the original series. Incredible Hulk 272, 313, and Annual 8; Marvel Two-In-One 83 - 84; Machine Man 18; Materials from Marvel Team-Up Annual 7 and Secret Wars II # 4. Quite a lot and all of it presented in chronological order as per the Shooter style, except for the last two issues.
While the art is amazing, the writing is of its time. As the comics progressed over the years, less and less written material, fewer and fewer captions, appeared on the page. John Byrne is old-school and there are descriptions galore. This isn’t bad, in fact I found it damn refreshing, but buckle up those who just like to look at the pictures.

Alpha Flight was a Canadian government sponsored superhero team, founded by James Hudson and Department H, to protect Canada’s interests. They are introduced in the pages of X-Men and expand to their own series after the funding is pulled by the government, and Hudson decided to go rogue, continuing the group independently. Strangely, the first ten issues are more of an anthology of the various characters' solo (or near-solo) adventures, than a team book. Alpha Flight rarely appears all together in a cohesive unit. Not that the stories are bad, but it’s not exactly what I expected.

The series does not pull any punches. Characters are killed- a lot more than you remember. It’s obvious from the start that Northstar is gay. Aurora constantly grapples with mental illness. However, apart from those on Omega Flight, most of the villains are forgettable. Does anyone remember Deadly Ernest, Gilded Lily, or Master of the World? I’m sure if you read the comic back in the day, these villains slip your mind. Still, I’m glad I have this volume.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alpha Flight is a team that is a hard sell for most people. Originally created as a one-off antagonist group for the X-Men, none of the character's immediately standout as interesting. They lack the immediate appeal of teams such as the X-Men or the Avengers. Despite this, John Byrne turns the group into an extremely fun read, giving great depth to the members of the team, and introducing new great characters such as Puck (my personal favorite of the team).

The structure of the book keeps it from getting boring. Most of the issues involve the team scattered out across Canada, each pursuing their own objectives, only occasionally coming together as a full team. In this way, it's reminiscent of the "no team" era of Uncanny X-Men post-Inferno. This allows things to move quickly, as we're only ever focusing on a couple characters at a time, changing focus each issue to keep things fresh. This gives the comic a strong soap opera feel, giving you time to truly get to know each character. Because this was nestled off in its own corner of the universe, Alpha Flight is also allowed to have more serious and more permanent consequences than other books of the era. Characters die or go through major transformations without being reversed just a few issues later.

I was caught off-guard by how much I enjoyed this series, and would recommend it to anyone who wants a strong character-focused team book.

[Nate Deprey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of John Byrne's artwork, like a lot of these characters and love to hate Northstar but reading this I kept waiting for this team to pull together. Even the Defenders, whose whole schtick is that they are a non-team are more on the same page as this squad. Every conflict across these 29 issues sees characters flung to the far corners of Canada and almost never together as a team. I understand that Byrne wanted to represent the different providences and regions of Canada but by moving his characters all over the country apart from one another after removing the government affiliation that held them together as a team AND having as much in fighting as there is here, Alpha Flight is more like a family who only sees each other to argue at Thanksgiving rather than have team adventures. All that said, when the gang does ocassionally get together it can be a lot of fun even if Alpha Flight is a little like the Commodores after Lionel Richie, in this case Wolverine, left the band.

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was honestly surprised by how much I enjoyed this series. From their introduction in the early issues of Uncanny X-Men to their own series, this is a wonderful tale of the growing pains of a team.

I love that this is where Marvel really went all in on the diversity bandwagon too. While some depictions have not aged particularly well, I do appreciate that they were even trying. And this choice gives the stories here a down to Earth feeling that I didn't expect in a superhero book. There might be battles, but there are so many great interpersonal moments that show that knack Marvel writers had for making their character feel like real people.

The only shame I can deliver for this omni is the fact that there are no official collections of issues beyond this. Thankfully, the original comics are mostly cheap so I've been slowly picking up back issues so I can continue reading this wonderful title. I need to know what happens next.

[Trevor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this to my boys after reading the classic Claremont / Byrne X-Men run and while the artwork was good and Byrne tried to make a few artistic statements (i.e. white panels with only the dialogue and sound effects for a snow storm) what the series was really lacking was the sense of the team as a group. Where the X-Men were very much a family of misfits every character in Alpha Flight was spread across different cities and (aside from Puck who is basically Wolverine as a dwarf without claws or powers) has some form of neurosis or crisis. The disfunction just went on and on until the issue after Byrne left when, I imagine, the editors started to suffer from the same crisis fatigue that I was feeling.

[Marco Antonio di Forelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

La obra que más me ha gustado, y con diferencia, de John Byrne. Enamorado de todo el grupo, de sus relaciones interpersonales, de los experimentos visuales del autor y de los pintorescos villanos. De acuerdo, al principio el dibujo no es tan excelente como otros trabajos de la época, pero tengamos en cuenta que Byrne aceptó la serie a regañadientes y ya tenía un par de series más a su cargo, más portadas y otros asuntos. Igualmente, es un trabajo excelente para haberlo hecho sin ganas. Sigo esperando una serie actual del grupo que mínimamente me transmita lo mismo que hizo esta.

[Chris Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a prime example of not being able to go home again. If I were to rate it solely on art it would get a 4 star rating but, sadly, the storytelling, overall, is disjointed. In a letter column published at the time these came out, Byrne admits he had, at best, 12 issues worth of stories to tell. There are over 30 co trained in this volume. He was right. I recommend this just for the brilliant art and how Byrne sets up the 1st Gay superhero. For Byrne fans only.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly pretty good, there are some great stories in this collection that hold up pretty well today. They kind of let John Byrne do his own thing so he's not restricted with what he can do with the characters in the series at all, though I feel like it ended pretty abruptly.

[Chris Miskimins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this series when they were first released and it has stayed with me. It was a well constructed melodrama then and stayed true overtime. Some of the foreshadowing used would impact major storylines within the broader Marvel universe to come. And no one ever wrote Heather or Puck as well.

[Shaun Phelps · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was fun returning to some of the comics I read as a young teenager. decent story overall.

[Lance Grabmiller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Collects X-Men #109, 120-121 and 139-140 (February 1978, April - May 1979 and November - December 1980), Incredible Hulk #272 and 313 (June 1982 and November 1985), Incredible Hulk Annual #8 (December 1979), Machine Man #18 (December 1980), Marvel Two-in-One #83-84 (January - February 1982), Alpha Flight #1-29 (August 1983 - December 1985), X-Men and Alpha Flight #1-2 (December 1985 - January 1986) and X-Men/Alpha Flight #1-2 (May - June 1998) and tons and tons of supplementary material.

Alpha Flight was a beloved offshoot of the X-Men from my childhood. Never quite as great as the X-Men, but it still had a similar spirit and feeling. The forced and over the top "Canadianism" of some if it is a little silly now. The early non-X-Men and Alpha Flight titles here are all pretty bad, especially sitting alongside the superior X-Men material and it really highlights how great the X-Men were compared to their contemporaries in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Really, really hate the size of these omnibus editions (around 1200 pages). They are a real pain to read when they get to this size. Considering the first volume of Alpha Flight went on to #130, a good quarter of this collection should have been cut out and saved for a subsequent volume.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great writing, art, and a nice addition to my collection!

[Jean-nicolas Gagnon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't like Claremont style at the beginning of the book, but when Byrne's takes control everything comes together. The style of Byrne, really aged well in that book and I was really surprised by the depth he put in each characters . As a french canadian I was kinda shocked of the poor research he put in his french words and names but considering it was written 30 years ago I can understand that .