Or - “I’m Not Sure How I Feel About The Overall Effect Of This Series…”

Alpha Flight, as an entity, has had a difficult run. The original series wasn’t really effective when they were doing standard-issue superheroics, but didn’t quite gel when they went another direction. The second run was marred (in my opinion) by trying to turn it into an X-Men riff, and the third series’ tongue-in-cheek tone didn’t seem to go over with the readers, leading to the team being fed to a villain to up the ante for the New Avengers. Given the fact that most of their members were eviscerated in that story, I expected a return to drama this time around. What I DIDN’T expect, given the solicitations, was the experimental nature of the plot and characters…

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Yes it’s going to be another huge week for Marvel titles hitting the news stands (something like 22 titles!), so we are once again breaking the weekend sneaks into two parts.

In this installment MARVEL ILLUSTRATED: THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK 2, NEW AVENGERS 33, NEW AVENGERS/TRANSFORMERS 2, NEW EXCALIBUR 22, NOVA 5, OMEGA FLIGHT 5, POWERS 25, PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL 10, ULTIMATE X-MEN 85, WORLD WAR HULK: FRONT LINE 3, X-FACTOR 22

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Or - “Finally Looks Like We’re Gettin’ Somewhere Now…”

I’ve been whining about this particular series since the first issue, complaining about the name, about the pacing, about what I consider the almost-criminal misuse of Beta Ray Bill and Sasquatch… Recent discussions at the store (Gatekeeper Hobbies, Huntoon & Gage, Topeka! Ask us about Proxy Jason’s terrible demise in the chipper-shredder!) have convinced me that I may have been a bit too harsh. Rather than being bothered by what the characters are DOING, I’ve been focused on what they’re NOT doing that I think they should. So! Today, we have a clean slate, I’m going to set aside my contentiousness and look at this book from a fresh, new perspective… A whoooole neeewww woooorld! A wooorld that something something blaaaah…

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Or - “Would It Kill Marvel To Have A Hero Who Aren’t Emotionally Scarred For Life?”

Three words: BETA RAY MOTHA#&$ING BILL! I’ve said for two months now that Oeming has written these issues with the intent that it would be the first arc of an ongoing series. Since the series has been switched over to limited status, this is doubly frustrating. Not only does it feel like we’re watching yet another Marvel title that’s being written for the eventual trade, it seems like a foregone conclusion that Omega Flight itself won’t be assembled until the last issue, by which point I fear the audience will be gone…

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Or - “When Did The Wrecking Crew Turn Into Psychopathic Serial Killer Types?”

Talisman is not happy, and with good reason. Look at it from her perspective: American superheroes have a problem with one of their OWN, The Scarlet Witch. She snaps, changes reality, then when it changes back, her stupidity causes a mailman to be empowered and kill Talisman’s father (AND nearly the entirety of Canadia’s superhuman defenders.) America has ANOTHER problem, and suddenly super-villains are flooding Canadia’s borders, Sasquatch (her last link to Alpha Flight, and one of the last links to her lost family) disappears while engaging said super-villains, and the Americans are suddenly sending up “their people” to handle the problem. Adding insult to injury, both of the people they’ve sent are third-string ex-Force Works members with serious behavioral problems. It would seem that SHIELD Director Stark wants them out of his hair, but since they’re his pals, he won’t torture, depower, exile, or illegally imprison them (like he’s been doing for everybody else.) You can’t blame her for having her eyes burst into flame and her costume nearly split at the seams…

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Or - “We Really Do Have A Limited Understanding Of Canadia And It’s Bacon.”

Alpha Flight is one of those concepts that never really gelled for anyone but the original creator. John Byrne had a feel for the characters that no one else has ever really managed to recreate, and the fact that this was a Canadian team seemed to make the writers try and treat them differently than a “normal” superhero group. From the revelation that Northstar and Aurora were actually descended from fairies (irony, indeed), to the fake resurrection of Guardian to the real resurrection of Guardian to the second death and second resurrection of Guardian, as well as Guardian and Vindicator switching names back and forth, nobody ever seemed to really get a creative hold on the concept. Marvel is going back to the well one more time, but they’ve already done two things that make me wonder about their commitment: changed the name, and demoted the book from ongoing to limited series.

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Marvel Comics has announced Omega Flight #1 has sold out at Diamond and will go back to print with a variant cover by Scott Kolins.

In the wake of Civil War, Canada has put together its own super-team called Omega Flight, the last line of defense for the Great White North against super villain insurgents from abroad. Unfortunately for the Canadians, before Omega Flight can band together, a powerful team of villains have decided to turn their northern neighbor into a playground for plundering.

The new printing will be available May 9, 2007 for $2.99.

via Marvel Comics

Omega Flight made its debut in Civil War: The Initiative, now the Canucks get their own title with Omega Flight #1. Marvel Comics dropped off a sneak peek of the first issue by writer Mike Oeming and artist Scott Kolins.

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