• Alpha Flight Returns in Chaos War:Alpha Flight

    October sees Marvel's 'Chaos War' where Hercules creates an all new God-Squad to face the forces of the Chaos King.

    Alpha Flight fans were saddened when Snowbird appeared to not be included in the squad despite her being an integral part of the last one (during the Incredible Hercules: Sacred Invasion storyline), but now we know why!

    Spinning out of the events of November's Chaos War #3 comes the 'Chaos War:Alpha Flight' One Shot by Jim McCann and Reilly Brown.




    Comments 47 Comments
    1. bluebeetle73's Avatar
      bluebeetle73 -
      Quote Originally Posted by cmdrkoenig67 View Post
      Yeah...I'm also just picking up the Alpha One shot.

      Dana
      Me too.
    1. cmdrkoenig67's Avatar
      cmdrkoenig67 -
      I don't mind the cover art, really...But I am looking forward to the interior art. I enjoyed Reilly Brown's work on Hercules.

      Dana
    1. mos_def's Avatar
      mos_def -
      Marvel one shots are good. The last 6 part Ghost Rider with Hellstorm was good. Winter Guard was also good, splitting the paths of the new and old members.

      As for who wants Alpha Flight back, I think its Snowbird now that I think about it. SHe and SNowbird where on the God Squad, as mentioned, in Secret Invasion and they did leave her in nowhere
    1. MistressMerr's Avatar
      MistressMerr -
      Quote Originally Posted by Legerd View Post
      OF sold better than a lot of the ongoing titles at the time.
      Yeah, and none of those ongoings were making piles of cash, either.

      I'm actually interested in Chaos War, but I've had to scale down my comic buying to pretty nothing recently because of life getting in the way. Stupid life.
    1. Legerd's Avatar
      Legerd -
      Quote Originally Posted by MistressMerr View Post
      Yeah, and none of those ongoings were making piles of cash, either.
      OF 1 & 2 sold out and most of the titles the mini outperformed were ones involving A & B list characters that Marvel was pushing hard. My point is OF was a viable property that the company could have and should have backed but didn't. Joe Q had promised they'd turn it back into an ongoing if there was enough support for the book, which there was (more so than books like Runaways and Ms. Marvel) yet they choose not to.
      So, should we believe Brevoort when he says the same thing about the AF one-shot?
    1. MistressMerr's Avatar
      MistressMerr -
      Quote Originally Posted by Legerd View Post
      OF 1 & 2 sold out and most of the titles the mini outperformed were ones involving A & B list characters that Marvel was pushing hard. My point is OF was a viable property that the company could have and should have backed but didn't. Joe Q had promised they'd turn it back into an ongoing if there was enough support for the book, which there was (more so than books like Runaways and Ms. Marvel) yet they choose not to.
      So, should we believe Brevoort when he says the same thing about the AF one-shot?
      It was also bleeding readers with every single issue, dropping every month. The lower selling titles like Runaways had established fan bases and proved that they could hold steady with figures they had. The numbers simply did not show that OF would be viable as an ongoing.

      So yes, we should believe him, but it takes a LOT of sales to prove to them that something is worth taking a bigger chance on, especially in today's market where whenever they DO take a chance on something unproven, it generally tanks. I'm not holding my breath that this will sell nearly enough, but more one-shots and minis could definitely be possible if it does well (see: the Hulk and the Winter Guard one-shot leading to a three-issue mini).
    1. Legerd's Avatar
      Legerd -
      Quote Originally Posted by MistressMerr View Post
      It was also bleeding readers with every single issue, dropping every month. The lower selling titles like Runaways had established fan bases and proved that they could hold steady with figures they had. The numbers simply did not show that OF would be viable as an ongoing.

      So yes, we should believe him, but it takes a LOT of sales to prove to them that something is worth taking a bigger chance on, especially in today's market where whenever they DO take a chance on something unproven, it generally tanks. I'm not holding my breath that this will sell nearly enough, but more one-shots and minis could definitely be possible if it does well (see: the Hulk and the Winter Guard one-shot leading to a three-issue mini).
      It was bleeding sales because Marvel reduced it from an ongoing to a mini which forced Oeming to rewrite issues 2-5. As a result the story suffered and the readers (many of whom didn't know the poor writing was due the change in the books status) left. Who knows what could have been had it remained an ongoing and Oeming had told the story he planned. AFter all, the first issue sold around 71 000 books including the 2nd printing. That was the book that was untouched by the decision to reduce the series to a mini.
      And AF is a proven product, at least it was before years of crap treatment left the team a joke in most readers' eyes. As far as I'm concerned, Brevoort is just using the pat industry line to hype up sales with no intention of following through on it just like with OF. I guess we'll have to wait and see though.
    1. cmdrkoenig67's Avatar
      cmdrkoenig67 -
      Didn't they do second printings for the first two issues of Omega or am I misremembering that?

      Dana
    1. Mokole's Avatar
      Mokole -
      I think you're right, Dana.
    1. MistressMerr's Avatar
      MistressMerr -
      Quote Originally Posted by Legerd View Post
      It was bleeding sales because Marvel reduced it from an ongoing to a mini which forced Oeming to rewrite issues 2-5. As a result the story suffered and the readers (many of whom didn't know the poor writing was due the change in the books status) left. Who knows what could have been had it remained an ongoing and Oeming had told the story he planned. AFter all, the first issue sold around 71 000 books including the 2nd printing. That was the book that was untouched by the decision to reduce the series to a mini.
      And AF is a proven product, at least it was before years of crap treatment left the team a joke in most readers' eyes. As far as I'm concerned, Brevoort is just using the pat industry line to hype up sales with no intention of following through on it just like with OF. I guess we'll have to wait and see though.
      I agree that Marvel's decision to hack it down to a mini was a ripoff, but that's a whole different matter entirely. What matters in the end is how much got sold, and how much likely would have continued to sell had they put out further OF projects and going by what got sold, the answer was 'not enough'. AF hasn't been a proven product in decades.

      If the AF one-shot does spectacularly, of course they'll put out more. History shows, however, that it probably won't.
    1. Legerd's Avatar
      Legerd -
      Quote Originally Posted by MistressMerr View Post
      I agree that Marvel's decision to hack it down to a mini was a ripoff, but that's a whole different matter entirely. What matters in the end is how much got sold, and how much likely would have continued to sell had they put out further OF projects and going by what got sold, the answer was 'not enough'. AF hasn't been a proven product in decades.

      If the AF one-shot does spectacularly, of course they'll put out more. History shows, however, that it probably won't.
      You're right that the reduction to a mini was a ripoff, but that's beside the point. I'm not complaining that I'm upset about it (which I was/am) but trying to say it definitely had a negative effect on the sales of the subsequent issues. Issues 1 & 2 sold out and had second printings, but the story suffered due to the last second rewrite which (and rightly so) caused readers to abandon the book later on. It had nothing to do with whether or not the idea or the team were viable but rather the story (the heart of all successful AF books) wasn't up to snuff due to editorial interference.
      And you're also right that AF hasn't been a proven product in the last twenty years, but it has nothing to do with the characters. They are who they have always been, what changed was the writing. Don't blame the art if the artist(s) don't do a good job. History may show the last couple of decades (when the title said Alpha Flight, but they weren't in it) sucked for AF, but before that (Vol. 1) they were gold. If McCann can bottle that lightning then the one-shot should do well.
      I think readers are ready for good stories again after all the "event fatigue" and "fanwank" writing that has been going on for the last ten years.
    1. MistressMerr's Avatar
      MistressMerr -
      Quote Originally Posted by Legerd View Post
      You're right that the reduction to a mini was a ripoff, but that's beside the point. I'm not complaining that I'm upset about it (which I was/am) but trying to say it definitely had a negative effect on the sales of the subsequent issues. Issues 1 & 2 sold out and had second printings, but the story suffered due to the last second rewrite which (and rightly so) caused readers to abandon the book later on. It had nothing to do with whether or not the idea or the team were viable but rather the story (the heart of all successful AF books) wasn't up to snuff due to editorial interference.
      I'm not sure I entirely agree (that's probably just because I actually liked Omega Flight, though), but it's still not the point. It doesn't matter WHY the book didn't sell enough, all that matters to the people running the show is that it didn't. Excuses can be made until hell freezes over for every title that's ever been cancelled, that doesn't mean all of them are going to get second/third/fourth chances to prove themselves.

      Quote Originally Posted by Legerd View Post
      And you're also right that AF hasn't been a proven product in the last twenty years, but it has nothing to do with the characters. They are who they have always been, what changed was the writing. Don't blame the art if the artist(s) don't do a good job. History may show the last couple of decades (when the title said Alpha Flight, but they weren't in it) sucked for AF, but before that (Vol. 1) they were gold. If McCann can bottle that lightning then the one-shot should do well.
      I think readers are ready for good stories again after all the "event fatigue" and "fanwank" writing that has been going on for the last ten years.
      This sounds overly optimistic with a bit too much faith in the general reading public (Wolverine: Origins did manage to last for 50 horrible issues and Uncanny is still the best-selling X-title, after all), but in this, I hope to heck you're right because I do have a lot of faith in McCann's ability to tell a good, relatable story with the essence of what made AF solid gold way back in the day.
    1. cmdrkoenig67's Avatar
      cmdrkoenig67 -
      So...Check it out, Jean Paul is wearing the uniform from the cover of the Chaos War one-shot here in the battle against the vampires in the Curse of The Mutants: Storm and Gambit one-shot...

      http://i37.tinypic.com/vreqn7.jpg

      Maybe that's why he later has it on during the Chaos War?

      Dana
    1. MistressMerr's Avatar
      MistressMerr -
      Quote Originally Posted by cmdrkoenig67 View Post
      So...Check it out, Jean Paul is wearing the uniform from the cover of the Chaos War one-shot here in the battle against the vampires in the Curse of The Mutants: Storm and Gambit one-shot...

      http://i37.tinypic.com/vreqn7.jpg

      Maybe that's why he later has it on during the Chaos War?

      Dana
      Ooh, good catch! Looks like Bachalo put him back in the costume he designed back in Supernovas and then they just ran with it for his next appearance.
    1. Le Messor's Avatar
      Le Messor -
      Quote Originally Posted by MistressMerr View Post
      Looks like Bachalo put him back in the costume he designed...
      Credit where it's due... It's more a costume he re-designed.

      I suspect the problem Legerd is talking about isn't so much that Omega was cancelled as that the editors made a bad decision, and when that decision caused the series to tank, they used it as an excuse to shut it down, and blamed the team instead of themselves.

      - Le Messor
      "He who looks like his passport photo is not well enough to travel."
    1. sylum69's Avatar
      sylum69 -
      Quote Originally Posted by Le Messor View Post
      Oh, and my interest level in the rest of this crossover is holding steady at zero.

      I thought I was the only one who felt this way. Civil War was the last crossover I was excited for and ultimately I felt that Marvel dropped the ball with it.

      Also, I thought I read somewhere that SIEGE was supposed to mark an end, or a drastic reduction in company wide crossovers. Anyone else hear that?
    1. Le Messor's Avatar
      Le Messor -
      Quote Originally Posted by sylum69 View Post
      Also, I thought I read somewhere that SIEGE was supposed to mark an end, or a drastic reduction in company wide crossovers. Anyone else hear that?
      For reasons unknown, I believe they still sell comics. So, there probably won't be much of a drop.
      SIEGE is supposed to end the decade-long story arc* that was Civil War - Secret Invasion - Dark Reign - Siege. Am I forgetting anything?
      (Oh, and all that leads into the Heroic Age now.)

      * Your length may vary.
      - Le Messor
      "He who receives a benefit with gratitude repays the first installment on his debt."
      ~ Seneca, Moral Essays
    1. Flightpath07's Avatar
      Flightpath07 -
      It doesn't matter WHY the book didn't sell enough, all that matters to the people running the show is that it didn't.
      Which is exactly why most things Marvel, suck. They have no interest in fixing what is broken, so they just go on and break more things as they go. They do not learn from their past mistakes, and so are doomed to repeat them.

      How many successful companies are run this way? I can only think of one - the government. All private businesses that are run in this manner, eventually fail.
    1. Sasquatch17's Avatar
      Sasquatch17 -
      I'll be picking up this issue.

      But, I agree with you that Marvel has really dropped the ball on Alpha Flight for decades.
    1. Legerd's Avatar
      Legerd -
      Quote Originally Posted by MistressMerr View Post
      I'm not sure I entirely agree (that's probably just because I actually liked Omega Flight, though), but it's still not the point. It doesn't matter WHY the book didn't sell enough, all that matters to the people running the show is that it didn't. Excuses can be made until hell freezes over for every title that's ever been cancelled, that doesn't mean all of them are going to get second/third/fourth chances to prove themselves.
      Of course it matters why a book doesn't sell. If you don't learn what went wrong you can't fix the problem. Marvel is a company that publishes comic books, if they're constantly failing with one or more titles then there's a problem. A company won't last if it doesn't fix problems with its product.
      Of course if Marvel was simply looking for an excuse to not make OF an ongoing they would have had it and wouldn't have cared beyond that. But so many people were hyped for OF which was reflected in the first two issues selling power, it was a major mistake on Marvel's part to downgrade the title before it even came out. One they have never admitted to and refuse to believe impacted the title. Remember, the characters are only as good as the creators choose to make them. If a title tanks, then it shouldn't be a reflection on the fictional characters but on the real, flesh-and-blood people producing the comic.

      Quote Originally Posted by MistressMerr View Post
      This sounds overly optimistic with a bit too much faith in the general reading public (Wolverine: Origins did manage to last for 50 horrible issues and Uncanny is still the best-selling X-title, after all), but in this, I hope to heck you're right because I do have a lot of faith in McCann's ability to tell a good, relatable story with the essence of what made AF solid gold way back in the day.
      I'm not going on faith, but on what I read on various sites and hear in my LCS. People want well written stories again and are tired of events. Even Bendis is losing his shine in some people's eyes, and he's the golden boy of Marvel who can do no wrong.
      Yes, hopefully McCann can dazzle not just us with his AF one-shot, but other readers, some of whom may have little knowledge of the team. I have faith too that he is capable of doing that.