16. Alpha Flight ... vol 1 # 1 ...

When this series first hit the stands, there were not like new titles every single month. So it was a big thing and hey it's by then hot creator John Byrne and it's a teambook. I remembered that it was so popular I couldn't even get a copy off my newsstands. I hit every single newsstand and bookstore that is within biking distance and found none. In fact, I didn't get a single issue until like after first year run is over! It was that popular

So now that I have it in my greasy pizza and KFC fingers, what do I think of it?

AWESOME!

For those who actually have no idea who is Alpha Flight, these are characters introduced in the pages of X-Men which at that time is on top of sales charts and would go on to dominate for years to come! And X was done by John Byrne with Chris Claremont. Basically with all superheroes generally in USA (and specifically USA), Flight is Canada's answer to USA. However, to make them different, unlike the Avengers/ Defenders/ Champions/ FF, here we have a team who actually embodies the culture and what-not of their countries and on top of that, their govt dept that are their sponsors/ handlers have so many agendas up its sleeves to make you wonder who is the ultimate baddie! But hey, that's the fun, right?

Roll call time:

Guardian - leader and guy who designed his own battle suit that allows him to fly, shoot beams, protective shield and super strength

Sasquatch - brainy scientist type who can transform into a shaggy abominable snowman

Shaman - doctor who embraced his tribal roots and become a mystical magician

Puck - short acrobatic guy ... and that's pretty much it actually!

Marrina - odd looking lady who can live and breath under water. Swims fast, strong, sharp claws and can do wonders with water though not controlling it like others

Snowbird - lady RCMP (read that as policewoman y'all!) who is half human and half child of the ancient Canadian "gods". She is generally flying about using her shapeshifting powers

Aurora and Northstar - twins - flight - Aurora has a split personality between sexy slut and ultra conservative school teacher while Northstar is arrogant with a temper kinda like Quicksilver

And in this first issue, we do not waste time seeing them formed as that is told in bits and pieces since they have already appeared in other comics as guest stars. Basically one of the ancient demons of the northern lands is making a comeback and one by one our disassembled heroes are being caught up and called back to duty to protect Canada. And when the villain named Tundra grows larger than whole mountain ranges, you are sort of left gaping what can the team do, right?

Well for once they used brains here to defeat the demon!

And it is all done in one extra-pages issue not 6. And though perhaps a little more could have been done for the action scenes ... it still reads as excellent and one of the best number 1 ever!

Ratings: (10/10)