Alpha Flight Classic, Vol. 1 (Uncanny X-Men) (v. 1) Review

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(More customer reviews)So reads the beginning caption to issue #3 in Byrne's unique, 28-issue stint with a distinctly Canadian team...
Quick: how many Canadian super-teams can you currently name off the top of your head? My guess is: not many. Credit Byrne with bringing Canada back into the mainstream in 1983 with Alpha Flight #1- the biggest selling comic of its day- 500,000 copies! While Byrne was born in England, he lived in Canada between the ages of 8 and 30 before moving to the States in 1980. Who better, then, to write & draw a distinctly Canadian team?
His most popular works may be X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Superman, but I *equally* love his lesser-known efforts: his 6+1-issue run on the Incredible Hulk (in '85-'86... a personal favorite!); his great '80s covers for the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition; his distinctly Canadian Alpha Flight; and even his quirky & fun run on She-Hulk (which is also deserving of its new TPB!). And today, it's Alpha Flight that gets the spotlight again in this new & high-quality collection. It really contains: Issues 1-8; an '80s Marvel Age preview article; and even a few '80s entries from the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe(!). Thankfully, Marvel treats Byrne's paperbacks right with a decent grade of paper, something the Distinguished Competition (Man of Steel maybe?) could learn a little something about.
While Byrne has gone on record as saying Alpha Flight never really gelled for him artistically or story-wise, I still think quite highly of it. Maybe the writing is at times a little stiff & forced, but this series still strikes me as being one of the most original *feeling* of all time. Even today, few titles manage to capture the overall grandeur of Canada while staying distinctly & wonderfully contemporary. John Byrne pulls it off!
It's no wonder Walt Simonson has called Byrne the 1st modern super-star of mainstream American comics (see his intro to Modern Masters, Vol. 7: John Byrne (Modern Masters interview series)). Few artists/writers in the industry have had such a popular & long-lasting appeal! 5 Stars!
P.S. And check out The Art of John Byrne (Marvel Masters), an interesting career collection. It's also available here on Amazon.

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Guardian! Shaman! Snowbird! Aurora! Northstar! Puck! Marrina! Sasquatch! Exploding from the pages of X-Men, Alpha Flight goes solo! Canada's premiere super human strike force, Alpha Flight was brought together by Department H for the greater good of humankind, to battle injustice and evil forces across the globe - including the Master of the World, Tundra, Kolomaq, Deadly Ernest and Delphine Courtney! Featuring cameos by the Sub-Mariner, Invisible Woman, Wolverine and Nightcrawler! Collects Alpha Flight #1-8.

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