Review: Alpha Flight Issues 7-12
Written and drawn by John Byrne
Yeesh, that cover, right? Intense.
I'm back, after a poverty/apathy-induced hiatus. These things happen. I thought I'd return to Alpha Flight, and conclude my review of the first year's worth of stories.
Art-wise, most of the positives from my review of the first six issues hold fast. Byrne's costume designs are really well done. When he draws sci-fi technology, it's beautifully detailed. The faces are still a little funny, but 12 issues in, I can say the positives of Byrne's art far outweigh the negatives. These six issues culminate in the introduction of Omega Flight, the eponymous team's antithesis, and Byrne creates some really excellent characters here. The costumes are flamboyant and flashy, but appropriate to the characters. Smart Aleck (yeah, that's really his name) is a huge nerd, so it makes sense that his costume is clunky and weighed down with computer equipment. The designs don't just look cool, they make sense for the characters wearing them.
Story-wise, things are a bit choppier. Byrne divides the stories into two-issue arcs, and some are clearly better than others. Issues 9-10 are a Sasquatch solo story, and it's a solid her-versus-villain tale, a simple dichotomy of good against evil with a clever twist thrown in. The story is straightforward, but it's the character study of Sasquatch himself that's the heart of this story. He's a man of science who struggles to accept that there are some things (namely his alter ego) that he can't control.
Issues 7-8 are the low point in the series so far, centering around Northstar and Aurora's very weird sibling relationship. I think my main problem here is just how Aurora is written on a fundamental level. She has dissociative identity disorder, fluctuating between a submissive "civilian" identity, and her more aggressive "Aurora" personality. As depictions of mental illness go, I have to say, hers is pretty... insulting. Her illness is a soap opera plot point, not a real illness, which is very frustrating. A lesser complaint is that the villain is really lame. But the story does introduce a new character, Nemesis, who will eventually play a bigger role in Alpha Flight. That's the high point amid a large crop of low points.
Issues 11-12 are top notch. On every level. Art-wise, Byrne really outdoes himself (remember those Omega Flight characters? This is where they shine). This is also the first time since issue...3? 4 maybe? That we see the whole team together. The story draws on a number of plot threads Byrne peppered throughout earlier issues for a really gratifying payoff. Also, that ending. Wow. It's what some folks might call a pyrrhic victory. I don't want to spoil anything, but for a comic that's not very dark, the first year of stories ends on such a down note.
Byrne really finishes this first year with his best foot forward, and it's really a thing of beauty.
Editor's note: at this point, the writer finished his bottle of wine and realized he was too drunk to write articulately. We want to assure the readership that he has been laid out on the couch, where he shall remain until sober.
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