You Gotta Be Kidding Me : Or Are We Kidding Ourselves ?

[Legerd]

How about we try a little experiment then to see if they listen to us? Why don't we flood them with letters requesting a new book titled: Beta Flight. It will star Windshear and Wyre, both of whom are connected to the old Beta team. They search for missing members Pathway, Goblyn, Persuasion, Manikin and Feedback. It would be written in a more serious vein and would provide answers and back story for the characters who have simply fallen off the face of the Earth.
What do you say, anyone want to give it a shot?

[Cliff]

Hey all, first post 'round here.

Unfortunately I was looking for someone to convince me I was wrong about the new series and it actually turns out that pretty well all of us have the same general opinion: It says ALPHA FLIGHT on the cover, but it's nothing but creamy nougat on the inside.

Lobdell doesn't seem to actually have the "emotional investment" in these characters his initial letter to us all claimed back in V3#1. He said that catching AF each month was such a strong memory and he wanted to do them justice - well, I think he's fallen way short. Sasquatch is back, but he's an idiot. When did this happen? Is it carry over from when he was savage or is it just using the only returning character as a catalyst for the new series and for cheap "hairy" jokes? New Puck is a nice attempt but she's still just a rehash of a character that was already good and didn't need reinventing. Walter has the kid we haven't seen since the early days, not Eugene. (sigh) Yukon Jack (?) Is this guy "verily" a joke? Not nearly as much as Major Mapleleaf is. Sheesh that guy is a discrace to Canada, as far as I'm concerned, much less the legacy of the AF team. The only interesting new character is Centenial but he's wasted as being a snotty jerk to everyone. I like what's being done with Nemesis, but it actually seems like the entire series thus far has been to facilitate her rehabilitation into a normal human being instead of a villainous killing machine.

I'm sad that I have to keep buying this garbage in order to give Marvel the impression that we all like it enough for it to continue. Seriously, I've considered a submission for writing specifically for AF just to get things back to the way it should be, but wonder at how rational Marvel management actually is considering the direction the title is being allowed to travel. I can't imagine this being pitched and anyone agreeing it was a good idea for marketing AF anew.

Glad I found you folks too - gives me a real place to vent...

[kozzi24]

There's some agreement--a lot, actually--but many of us regulars around here found ourselves liking Major Mapleleaf in spite of ourselves. And considering the American election, maybe a highly moral character is quietly connecting with more readers than we'd realize.

My dissatisfaction with the series thus far is tied to Scott Lobdell, but I cut the man some slack because he had given to pitches to Marvel, one Alpha Flight and one a different, new title. He was told to combine both, so this title not being a recognizable "Alpha Flight" may not be his fault at all. He's doing what he has to to make a living by following editorial madate. The success of Formerly Known as Justice League may have only skewed those mandates more. Scott humor in his brief run of Volume 1 was character centric of ALPHA FLIGHT, while in V3 it has been plot driven and just plain too much.

The last arc was an improvement, and for the first time since V3 launched, I am looking forward to sampling the next issue, even more than I anticipated V3#1.

[Cliff]

I still find it far too "jokey" and hope that a toning down can still equal a successful book. Personally, a relaunch isn't an option but what I'd prefer.

[Northcott]

I suppose I'm one of the exceptions among old-timers. The other characters I don't mind so much, and I rather like the idea behind mini-Puck (Judd was bound to have offspring somewhere)... but man, I LOATHE Major Maple Leaf. It started out as a one-liner making a friendly poke at Captain Canuck in an X-Men issue, and grew into a perpetual joke. A bad one (imo) no less.

Even worse, he's just another blonde-haired, blue-eyed "Ultimate Aryan" type. It just doesn't resonate for this nation. Guardian made a much better national super-hero in terms of being representative, though the entire team was required to really get a feel for "the big picture".

[Cliff]

I agree, and I'm from Texas. (lol)

He's far too charicature and not enough substance and the flying horse thing is ...erm... a flying horse. Gack. He shoul dat least be speaking some French and be a little more resourceful.

Frankly, what I'd like to see is somewher around issue #11 (if we can stand it that long) have a complete switch of tone and make this all po-culture record in comic book form of the actual deeds of AF. Write in some fall-out between the core members and "how this refelcts on thier ability to serve Cananda" and get the title back to a more mature tone. I dont' mean sex, drugs and blood mature, just get it back to "grown-up" and lose the self-aware jokiness of the book. These characters deserve better IMO.

Old timer here too, Northcott.

[Garry/Al-Fan]

Do you actually think Marvel listens to fans? It listens to $ale$, nothing else. [When MARVEL does something that really doesn't make sense, then nobody has to buy it. That's why I won't be supporting the gutting of Northstar and turning him into a zombie. If MARVEL gets rewarded financially for doing this, other characters will get the same treatment. GRJ]

Most Marvel comics these days are dumping the idea of thought balloons, and captions, to make them more movie-ish...Alpha Flight, under Lobdell, still does it the old-fashioned way. To me, this is a good. [Me, too. Scott and Clayton deserve a lot of credit for what they did. GRJ]