The Flight Stuff

Welcome to The Flight Stuff: a podcast about Canada’s premiere superhero team!

In 1983, comic book writer and artist John Byrne lifted his original team, Alpha Flight, from the pages of Uncanny X-Men and dropped them into their own, eponymous series. Over the course of 11 years, the Canadian super team — Guardian, Sasquatch, Puck, Snowbird, Shaman, Aurora, Northstar, and others along the way — battled foes large and small, with adventures steeped in social commentary and uniquely Canadian issues and themes.

Join comic book enthusiasts Liam, Adrianna and Doug as they make their way through the original series issue by issue, character by character, Byrnism by Byrnism, with occasional detours through Canadian cultural history. So sit back, listen up and get right with the Flight!

 

We've got an action-packed episode today as the team pages through THREE issues of Alpha Flight: #22, 23 and the double-sized, perilous issue #24!

We discover more about Northstar's mysterious past, Sasquatch isn't all what he seems, and the Flight take a journey to the center of the Realm of the Great Beasts! We had our work cut out for us this time around, with a lot to tackle, from plot twists to surprising character development, and as usual, fabulously detailed art. Two out of three hosts (boo, Liam!) agree: the arc that plays out across issues #23-24 is one of the best of the series so far. Join us and find out why in this episode of The Flight Stuff!

As always, thank you for listening!

 

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, please drop us a line at [email protected].

Follow us on Twitter: @flightstuffpod

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Welcome to The Flight Stuff: a podcast about Canada’s premiere superhero team!

In 1983, comic book writer and artist John Byrne lifted his original team, Alpha Flight, from the pages of Uncanny X-Men and dropped them into their own, eponymous series. Over the course of 11 years, the Canadian super team — Guardian, Sasquatch, Puck, Snowbird, Shaman, Aurora, Northstar, and others along the way — battled foes large and small, with adventures steeped in social commentary and uniquely Canadian issues and themes.

Join comic book enthusiasts Liam, Adrianna and Doug as they make their way through the original series issue by issue, character by character, Byrnism by Byrnism, with occasional detours through Canadian cultural history. So sit back, listen up and get right with the Flight!

 

Episode 9 starts off with some fun speculation as the team ponders the possibility of an Alpha Flight movie making its way into Phase 4 or 5 of the MCU. Which actors would land a role? And should they (or the creative team) be Canadian? A spirited discussion ensues before the team shifts focus to Alpha Flight #20 and 21.

An Aurora and Sasquatch-focused story plays out across both issues in one of the strangest, most horror-influenced arcs we've seen from Byrne so far in this series. All three hosts are in agreement: these issues rule. There's tragedy, intrigue, and some wild plot twists, all bolstered by some of the strongest and most consistent art the book has to offer up to this point.

PLUS: Puck and Shaman's heart-to-heart! Aurora like we've never seen her before! And just how do these issues further tie the Flight to the Fantastic Four? Find out in this episode of The Flight Stuff!

 

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, please drop us a line at [email protected].

Follow us on Twitter: @flightstuffpod

iTunes

RSS

Welcome to The Flight Stuff: a podcast about Canada’s premiere superhero team!

In 1983, comic book writer and artist John Byrne lifted his original team, Alpha Flight, from the pages of Uncanny X-Men and dropped them into their own, eponymous series. Over the course of 11 years, the Canadian super team — Guardian, Sasquatch, Puck, Snowbird, Shaman, Aurora, Northstar, and others along the way — battled foes large and small, with adventures steeped in social commentary and uniquely Canadian issues and themes.

Join comic book enthusiasts Liam, Adrianna and Doug as they make their way through the original series issue by issue, character by character, Byrnism by Byrnism, with occasional detours through Canadian cultural history. So sit back, listen up and get right with the Flight!

 

Episode 8 kicks off with some listener correspondence before things take a somewhat somber turn, as Doug and Adrianna address the recent Bill Mantlo news and his brother's GoFundMe efforts to continue to fund his medical care. We then get into the meat of the episode: Alpha Flight issues #18 and 19! Both issues heavily feature Elizabeth Twoyoungmen, daughter of Shaman, and herald a very important development for her and for the series at large. There's a lot of discussion about Byrne's interiors for both issues, especially his return to some horror elements, as well as his handling of indigenous mysticism, a topic that keeps cropping up again and again on this show.

PLUS: the logistics of time travel, scrambled egg monsters, romantic drama for Snowbird and MORE!

 

Bill and Michael Mantlo GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/embarassed-to-admit-this-but-i-need-help

The Hero Initiative: https://www.heroinitiative.org/ 

 

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, please drop us a line at [email protected].

Follow us on Twitter: @flightstuffpod

iTunes

RSS

Welcome to The Flight Stuff: a podcast about Canada’s premiere superhero team!

In 1983, comic book writer and artist John Byrne lifted his original team, Alpha Flight, from the pages of Uncanny X-Men and dropped them into their own, eponymous series. Over the course of 11 years, the Canadian super team — Guardian, Sasquatch, Puck, Snowbird, Shaman, Aurora, Northstar, and others along the way — battled foes large and small, with adventures steeped in social commentary and uniquely Canadian issues and themes.

Join comic book enthusiasts Liam, Adrianna and Doug as they make their way through the original series issue by issue, character by character, Byrnism by Byrnism, with occasional detours through Canadian cultural history. So sit back, listen up and get right with the Flight!

 

NOTE: The team spends the first half of this episode laboring under the misapprehension that John Byrne drew the cover art for Uncanny X-Men #109. The true artist is, of course, Dave Cockrum! Fortunately, we caught ourselves mid-episode and gave credit where it's due. When you're so entrenched in Byrneland...

 

In Episode 7, Liam, Adrianna and Doug try something a little different! First, the gang discusses issue #17, which sees Heather take up the mantle of Guardian to honor her fallen husband and former Alpha Flight leader, James Hudson. The majority of this issue, however, is flashbacks to adventures of Alpha Flight past, which gets a lukewarm reception from all three hosts.

For the second half of the episode, our usual format gets tossed as the team dives into Marvel Age #2 to discuss an interview with John Byrne published just prior to the launch of Alpha Flight. There's a lot to unpack: he lays out his plan for the team and gives brief descriptions of each team member --- but how much of it actually made it onto the page? It's a fascinating insight into his creative process, and of course, we've got lots of opinions on it!

 

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, please drop us a line at [email protected].

Follow us on Twitter: @flightstuffpod

iTunes

RSS

Welcome to The Flight Stuff: a podcast about Canada’s premiere superhero team!

In 1983, comic book writer and artist John Byrne lifted his original team, Alpha Flight, from the pages of Uncanny X-Men and dropped them into their own, eponymous series. Over the course of 11 years, the Canadian super team — Guardian, Sasquatch, Puck, Snowbird, Shaman, Aurora, Northstar, and others along the way — battled foes large and small, with adventures steeped in social commentary and uniquely Canadian issues and themes.

Join comic book enthusiasts Liam, Adrianna and Doug as they make their way through the original series issue by issue, character by character, Byrnism by Byrnism, with occasional detours through Canadian cultural history. So sit back, listen up and get right with the Flight!

 

In Episode 6, Liam, Adrianna and Doug unpack the post-Guardian world of issues #14, 15 and 16 of Alpha Flight. How does Byrne handle this transition? What's going on with Namor and Marrina? Who will step up to fill Guardian's formidable role as leader of Alpha Flight? Plus: inker Bob Wiacek's triumphant Alpha Flight debut!

 

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, please drop us a line at [email protected].

Follow us on Twitter: @flightstuffpod

iTunes

RSS

Welcome to The Flight Stuff: a podcast about Canada’s premiere superhero team!

In 1983, comic book writer and artist John Byrne lifted his original team, Alpha Flight, from the pages of Uncanny X-Men and dropped them into their own, eponymous series. Over the course of 11 years, the Canadian super team — Guardian, Sasquatch, Puck, Snowbird, Shaman, Aurora, Northstar, and others along the way — battled foes large and small, with adventures steeped in social commentary and uniquely Canadian issues and themes.

Join comic book enthusiasts Liam, Adrianna and Doug as they make their way through the original series issue by issue, character by character, Byrnism by Byrnism, with occasional detours through Canadian cultural history. So sit back, listen up and get right with the Flight!

 

In Episode 5, Liam, Adrianna and Doug take on issues #11, 12 and 13 of Alpha Flight! A LOT of ground gets covered this time around, including the formation of Omega Flight and the very shocking conclusion of a key character's story arc that may or may not end in terrible tragedy.

As always, thank you for listening!

 

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, please drop us a line at [email protected].

Follow us on Twitter: @flightstuffpod

iTunes

RSS

Welcome to The Flight Stuff: a podcast about Canada’s premiere superhero team!

In 1983, comic book writer and artist John Byrne lifted his original team, Alpha Flight, from the pages of Uncanny X-Men and dropped them into their own, eponymous series. Over the course of 11 years, the Canadian super team — Guardian, Sasquatch, Puck, Snowbird, Shaman, Aurora, Northstar, and others along the way — battled foes large and small, with adventures steeped in social commentary and uniquely Canadian issues and themes.

Join comic book enthusiasts Liam, Adrianna and Doug as they make their way through the original series issue by issue, character by character, Byrnism by Byrnism, with occasional detours through Canadian cultural history. So sit back, listen up and get right with the Flight!

 

Things get off to a playful start in Episode Four as the team speculates about the possibility of an Alpha Flight feature film (1:38) and ponder the tricky task of casting before jumping into Alpha Flight #9 (5:05). Discussion of the issue kicks off with the usual dissection of Byrne’s cover art. Adrianna and Liam share their misgivings about Walter Langkowski (but not Sasquatch!) with Doug (10:02), which leads to a lengthy back-and-forth about Byrne’s characterization of Sasquatch in this issue, as well as some of the wonky fake science at play. The conversation then shifts to Byrne’s interior art (18:44) and all three hosts agree that it’s a fairly strong issue on this front. The tragic, emotionally-charged backup story exploring Aurora’s origin story (26:08) is also a big hit with the hosts, though Liam does have some reservations once again about how the issue of mental health is handled throughout the series.

The team then jumps into issue #10 (38:43), a continuation of the Sasquatch story from issue #9. We get another home run from Byrne on the cover art, but the team is more divided on the contents of the issue, especially the development in Guardian’s storyline (45:00) and the fact that the leader of a Canadian superhero team would move to New York to work for Big Oil. The team then shifts focus onto the Sasquatch vs. Super Skull aspect of the story (52:37), in particular the bizarre twist regarding Super Skrull’s health and the introduction of more muddled scientific logic. Doug, Liam and Adrianna all agree that the conclusion to this face-off seems rushed and anticlimactic. The Northstar backup story (1:05:02) gets a much warmer reception, with the team unpacking more coded references to his sexuality as well as James Hudson’s method of recruiting Northstar to the team. There is some debate about the nature of his intentions. All three hosts agree that Northstar and Aurora seem like the most developed, textured characters in the series so far, which makes it easy to invest in their storylines compared to some of the other members of Alpha Flight.

And that’s a wrap! Thank you for listening!

 

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, please drop us a line at [email protected].

Follow us on Twitter: @flightstuffpod

iTunes

RSS

Welcome to The Flight Stuff: a podcast about Canada’s premiere superhero team!

In 1983, comic book writer and artist John Byrne lifted his original team, Alpha Flight, from the pages of Uncanny X-Men and dropped them into their own, eponymous series. Over the course of 11 years, the Canadian super team — Guardian, Sasquatch, Puck, Snowbird, Shaman, Aurora, Northstar, and others along the way — battled foes large and small, with adventures steeped in social commentary and uniquely Canadian issues and themes.

Join comic book enthusiasts Liam, Adrianna and Doug as they make their way through the original series issue by issue, character by character, Byrnism by Byrnism, with occasional detours through Canadian cultural history. So sit back, listen up and get right with the Flight!

 

Doug kicks off Episode Three with some musings on how comic book writing has changed over the years, before the team jumps into it with an extended discussion on Alpha Flight #6: the infamous“Snowblind” (2:38). Adrianna provides some context for the issue’s publication (4:01) before each host gives their general impressions of Byrne’s cover art (13:43) and the issue in general. A few key plot points are discussed before the team arrives at the most controversial aspect of the issue: the five pages of “blank” panels during Snowbird’s snowstorm battle with Kolomaq (23:45). After a lengthy debate about the merit and motivations behind Byrne’s art stunt, the team briefly weighs in on the Shaman backup story (32:34) before moving on to Alpha Flight #7, a very Northstar-centric issue (37:22).

Byrne’s cover art and interiors are discussed, but the majority of the conversation focuses on Northstar’s connection to Raymonde Belmonde and the arguable gay subtext coded into the issue (44:56). Doug and Liam get a lot of mileage out of some “Deadly Earnest” jokes. They also share their mixed feelings about the way indigenous issues are handled as the Snowbird backup story is discussed (55:16), and Adrianna tosses off some trivia about a previous iteration of Snowbird in an old John Byrne comic strip. The team then arrives at issue #8 (59:03), and after sharing some general impressions, Liam has some reservations about the art and the issue’s big plot twist. The team discusses Deadly Earnest’s unique death-defying backstory as well as the character design of Nemesis. Finally, the backup story with Shaman, Snowbird, James and Heather gets a lukewarm reception from all three hosts (1:09:44) despite some typically strong art from Byrne. And that’s a wrap!

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, please drop us a line at [email protected].

Follow us on Twitter: @flightstuffpod

iTunes

RSS

iTunes

RSS

Welcome to The Flight Stuff: a podcast about Canada’s premiere superhero team!

In 1983, comic book writer and artist John Byrne lifted his original team, Alpha Flight, from the pages of Uncanny X-Men and dropped them into their own, eponymous series. Over the course of 11 years, the Canadian super team — Guardian, Sasquatch, Puck, Snowbird, Shaman, Aurora, Northstar, and others along the way — battled foes large and small, with adventures steeped in social commentary and uniquely Canadian issues and themes.

Join comic book enthusiasts Liam, Adrianna and Doug as they make their way through the original series issue by issue, character by character, Byrnism by Byrnism, with occasional detours through Canadian cultural history. So sit back, listen up and get right with the Flight!

 

Episode Two kicks off with a heartfelt “thank you” to all those who supported the show launch. Adrianna gives a shout-out to fellow Alpha Flight podcaster Gareth A. Hopkins and his show Alpha Pod Flight (2:41) while Liam has high praise for the hosts of the Super Gay! podcast and their Northstar appreciation. The team then jumps into discussion of Alpha Flight #3 (4:55) with complicated thoughts on the storyline, some of Byrne's artistic choices and the surprise appearance at the end of the issue. The issue's backup story detailing the beginning of James and Heather's relationship raises curious ethical questions when viewed through the lens of 2019, which all three hosts attempt to unpack (19:46). The team's thoughts on issue #4 (32:01) are equally complicated, with Doug and Liam expressing their frustrations regarding Marrina's character arc among other things. Puck cartwheels in to save the day, though, as the hosts have near unanimous praise for the very Puck-centric issue #5 (49:02). Liam and Doug debate Byrne's handling of indigenous issues as they relate to Shaman's character arc before Doug leads the team through another installment of Canada Facts (1:09:53). Finally, the gang gives some closing remarks, thus concluding the second episode of The Flight Stuff. Thanks for listening!

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, please drop us a line at [email protected].

Follow us on Twitter: @flightstuffpod

Welcome to The Flight Stuff: a podcast about Canada’s premiere superhero team!

In 1983, comic book writer and artist John Byrne lifted his original team, Alpha Flight, from the pages of Uncanny X-Men and dropped them into their own, eponymous series. Over the course of 11 years, the Canadian super team — Guardian, Sasquatch, Puck, Snowbird, Shaman, Aurora, Northstar, and others along the way — battled foes large and small, with adventures steeped in social commentary and uniquely Canadian issues and themes.

Join comic book enthusiasts Liam, Adrianna and Doug as they make their way through the original series issue by issue, character by character, Byrnism by Byrnism, with occasional detours through Canadian cultural history. So sit back, listen up and get right with the Flight!

In Episode One, the team takes turns sharing their personal connections to Alpha Flight and what inspired them to embark on this project (1:38), before delving into The Who, What, When, Where and Why of the Alpha Flight’s origins (14:33). From there, discussion shifts to the earliest appearances of the Alpha Flight within the pages of Claremont and Byrne’s Uncanny X-Men (19:40) before finally arriving at Alpha Flight #1 and 2 (34:26).

Then, Doug leads the team through the first installment of what will be a recurring segment on the show, Canada Facts!, providing insight into the many culturally-specific details Byrne often injected into the series. Finally, the gang gives some closing remarks, thus concluding the inaugural episode of The Flight Stuff. Thanks for listening!

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, please drop us a line at [email protected].

Follow us on Twitter: @flightstuffpod