Tom Brevoort-Alpha Flight news (or lack there of)

[-K-M-]

I just asked him, "Any plans for Alpha Flight for The Heroic Age or any plans for them in general? "

Tom: "Boy, I wish somebody would come up with the new take or new approach that licks ALPHA FLIGHT, but we really haven't found it yet, despite the fact that a number of people have tried over the years. I think this is largely the result of the fact that, initially, Alpha Flight was created to be cool, colorful antagonists to the X-Men, and in that role they were incredibly fascinating. But when they became headliners, a lot of their mystique evaporated away, despite their long run. They really do suffer as a concept for having their core concept tied so much to geography. It's tough to be the "Avengers of Canada" when the Avengers are the Avengers of Canada and everywhere else as well."

and yet look who is getting a new mini....

http://marvel.com/blogs/Agent_M/entry/1746

[Le Messor]

Tom Brevoort? He was pretty high up in Marvel for a while.
Shouldn't he have read some of Alpha Flight at some point? 'Coz according to his talk above, he didn't!

- Le Messor
"The world was here before you; why, therefore, should it owe you a living?"
- WGP

[-K-M-]

Nice guy for answering all those questions, as Im sure he gets countless ones every day

Q. Thanks for answering the Alpha Flight question, but I just saw Winter Guard is getting their own mini and they have prob gone through more reboots then Alpha Flight. Also why was the successful Omega Flight ultimately ignored? (that was a new take)

A. It's not about the number of rethinks, though, it's about having a core concept and a take that people think might work. in teh case of the Winter Guard, while they've changed a lot over the years they've never really been headliners, so if there's an approach that sems to have some merit, why not give them a try? In the case of Alpha Flight, though, nobody's as-yet quite cracked that. And as for Omega Flight, it wasn't as successful as you might think.

Omega Flight wasn't a success?
----
Also did he just say Hulk is faster then Northstar?

EDIT: Just so people know I didn't ask this question

Q. lol. Now one of your "official ratings approvers" on your web site has given Hulk more speed than Northstar! And more fighting skills than Taskmaster. Hulkites are taking over your company!

A. Those Power Ratings, while fun, have always been flawed in that the range they need to cover in 7 increments is too great. I haven't looked at their stats, but just as an example, if Northstar can run really fast but can't cover great distances at speed, and the Hulk can leap far enough and fast enough to span continents, then it's possible that he would wind up with a greater speed rating. Not saying that's what's happened here, but that's the kind of thing that crops up from time to time.

[MistressMerr]

Omega Flight wasn't a success?

It sold well, not well enough to justify an ongoing, though. And that was with the boost of being an Initiative tie-in.

[-K-M-]

It actually beat a lot of on-goings though.

At the very least another mini wouldn't be stretch.

[Mokole]

Well, at least you got him to answer. I think my story ideas are pretty, excuse me for being bold, "kick-a**", and would gain a new audience while keeping the old pretty well.

And OF selling 50000+ as a mini is awfully successful. But who cares now, we want an AF series back. Time for my part 2, I think.

[MistressMerr]

It actually beat a lot of on-goings though.

At the very least another mini wouldn't be stretch.

Yes, but it was also bleeding thousands of readers with every issue. The ongoings that subsist on the numbers it was pulling by the end (which are few) are the ones that have really solid fanbases to keep that low number steady. Omega likely would have just kept falling, especially without the Initiative boost.

I do agree that another mini wouldn't kill them, especially with guaranteed non-starters like the Winter Guard getting their days in the limelight, but given that most of the team is dead or otherwise scattered to the winds, it would need another legitimate reason to exist, like Omega did after the Civil War.

[mreeez]

I just asked him, "Any plans for Alpha Flight for The Heroic Age or any plans for them in general? "

Tom: "Boy, I wish somebody would come up with the new take or new approach that licks ALPHA FLIGHT, but we really haven't found it yet, despite the fact that a number of people have tried over the years. I think this is largely the result of the fact that, initially, Alpha Flight was created to be cool, colorful antagonists to the X-Men, and in that role they were incredibly fascinating. But when they became headliners, a lot of their mystique evaporated away, despite their long run. They really do suffer as a concept for having their core concept tied so much to geography. It's tough to be the "Avengers of Canada" when the Avengers are the Avengers of Canada and everywhere else as well."

and yet look who is getting a new mini....

http://marvel.com/blogs/Agent_M/entry/1746

He says as they put out three new Avengers books.

[MistressMerr]

He says as they put out three new Avengers books.

UGH, I feel like I'm not shutting up in this thread, but aaaaaah that frustrates me so much. They cancelled three mediocre titles that were selling great and one great title that was selling decently in order to streamline the franchise. Way to go, Marvel, that's a great idea based on creative integrity instead of $$$$ with the Avengers currently being all over the map.

Then they negate it completely. I just don't get the thinking here. Like, at all.

Heck, I'd take an Alpha Flight book if they called it Avengers Canada, and it makes more sense than some of the other ones they're randomly churning out.

[-K-M-]

Technically there's 4 Avengers books now: Seret Avengers, New Avengers, Avengers and Avengers Academy. Also there is Avengers Prime but that might just be a one-shot or the very max a mini.

[mreeez]

Technically there's 4 Avengers books now: Seret Avengers, New Avengers, and Avengers Academy. Also there is Avengers Prime but that might just be a one-shot or the very max a mini.

Yeah, I forgot about Secret Avengers. Avengers Academy looks fairly weak so far, from what they've previewed. I wonder how long they'll give that book.

[Phil]

To be fair they've replaced rather than put out;

Mighty Avengers > Avengers
New Avengers > New Avengers
Dark Avengers > Secret Avengers
Avengers:The Initiative > Avengers Academy

Not saying that one becomes the other, but they still haven't flooded the market per se. It's less than X team titles now, and definitely less than in the 90's.

Not saying they deserve to stay, but people are buying them.

[jay042]

The problem in the 90's that Alpha Flight got pushed aside for X-Books, and now it's Avengers books.

[Ben]

So does it have to fit into one of the big groupings to survive in today's Marvel? Should it be Alpha Flight with a subtitle "Avengers North"? What will this do to old-school fans? Future Fans? Has this book suffered from lack of direct integration with the rest of the Marvel Universe? Or is that what has set it apart, giving it past success, and such a loyal fan-base?

[Phil]

I think that the problem lies in the fact that if you talk to anyone about Alpha Flight they instantly think back to the Byrne era.
If you ask a fan what their favourite aspect of AF is, chances are they'll say the disfunctional family-esque aspect of the Byrne era.
If a creator is a fan of AF and is asked what they liked about AF they tend to mention the Byrne era with much love and misty memories.

That bottled lightning just hasn't been reproduced.