Alpha Flight "Homage Variant" by Dan Jurgens

Marvel's August solicitations were revealed earlier today, including that of the first issue of the upcoming Alpha Flight mini-series. The solicitation text was included in last month's release announcing the book, but we'll throw it down here again to keep everything in one place. 

ALPHA FLIGHT #1 (OF 5)

ED BRISSON (W) • SCOTT GODLEWSKI (A) • Cover by LEONARD KIRK
HOMAGE VARIANT COVER BY DAN JURGENS
MARVEL ICON VARIANT COVER BY JAVIER GARRÓN
MISS MINUTES VARIANT COVER BY RON LIM • VARIANT COVER BY Arthur Adams

SAVING CANADA…FROM THE MUTANT MENACE?!

GUARDIAN, PUCK, SNOWBIRD and SHAMAN return, as a terrestrial ALPHA FLIGHT bursts onto the scene! But what schism will pit these heroes against their former teammates AURORA, NORTHSTAR and NEMESIS, as well as Aurora’s beau, FANG? The FALL OF X has changed the game, and will Alpha Flight soar to new heights…or be crushed under the weight of an impossible mission?

Among the covers listed above, only the Homage variant includes Guardian. The Icon one features Fang and the Miss Minutes one by Ron Lim displays Snowbird.

I can't seem to track down the Arthur Adams variant but if I do and it includes Guardian, I'll be sure to add it to this post!

In September, "Return to the Great White North with 'Alpha Flight'"

It's a day short of a year since my last post but this is a wonderful way to break the silent streak.

Marvel.com - Brace yourselves, committed connoisseurs of the Commonwealth—the entire creative team is composed of cunning and cuddly Canucks! Written by clever creatives Jim Zub, Jed MacKay, and Ed Brisson⁠, the comic has art crafted by co-conspirators Max Dunbar, Djibril Morissette-Phan, and Scott Hepburn with a kinetic cover by compatriot Nick Bradshaw! 

So... Grab your hat and come travel light because adventure lies just around the bend! Featuring three brand-new tales no one has ever told before, ALPHA FLIGHT: TRUE NORTH #1 sees Canada's greatest creators unearth the secret history of squad stalwarts Puck, Snow-bird, Talisman, Northstar, Marrina, Guardian, and Vindicator! 

"To celebrate the Toronto Raptors winning the NBA Championship," notes comical comic editor Chris Robinson (sadly, not Canadian), "we’re bringing back the greatest of the Great White North, Canada’s premiere super-team Alpha Flight! And we’ve assembled a super-team of Canadian talent behind the scenes for extra authenticity. Trust me, these guys are going deep into the Deparment H files to tie-up those loose Alpha Flight story threads that have been keeping you all up at night. You wanted dip with the chips? Here it is!"

Unless I'm mistaken, it will have been five years since Guardian had a significant appearance in any book (and that was in an X-Men book at the time and it sucked). I was initially concerned about the "secret history" stuff but I'm not sure I would trust any other writing team to do right by these guys.

Double Dose of Guardian in September

Marvel revealed their September 2014 solicitations this morning.

To begin, World War Wendigo continues in Amazing X-Men #11 (part four of five) and finally the members of Alpha Flight that are involved get a little cover love, Guardian included.

Mild love, mind you, but love nonetheless.

Something that was a bit more surprising was a mention of Alpha Flight in the solicitation for Deadpool #34.

DEADPOOL #34
BRIAN POSEHN & GERRY DUGGAN (W) • SCOTT KOBLISH (A)
Cover by MARK BROOKS
SPECIAL 3D Motion VARIANT COVER BY MARK BROOKS
• Flashback to the 90’s as we learn the darkest secret of Deadpool’s past!
• See the events Deadpool’s friends learned about it Original Sin FIRST HAND!
• Guest-Starring 90’s Sabretooth, 90’s Alpha Flight, and 90’s artwork!
40 PGS./Parental Advisory …$4.99

Argh...I hate Deadpool...

This does beg the question though...Which Alpha Flight's appearance and if so, which Guardian will we see?

We should get some Guardian content.  Despite his many absences from the Marvel Universe over the years, odds are pretty good if it's 90's Alpha Flight.

Guardian wasn't around much early in that decade.  The android version of the character died (or something) in 1991 but he returned ('cause that's what he does) in the series' final story arc, entitled "No Future" in the summer of 1994.

Team members popped up in other books from time to time until a second volume of Alpha Flight hit shelves in the summer of 1997.  And that one looked designed to fit in with what was considered hot at the time.

Gadzooks...You younger readers may not believe this, but at one time, that was actually considered pretty cool...

Now that's the cloned, or de-aged, version of Guardian.  "Mac Classic" didn't return until the following year.

But the story of Guardian being cloned, de-aged and shot into space to be later miraculously, randomly found by Sasquatch in the North Pole is so ludicrous that I can't imagine a comedic book like Deadpool avoiding it.  And because Alpha Flight resembled the typical 90's book most in that series, I'm guessing that that's the version we'll get.

I may not care for Deadpool, but the book will have my curiosity come September.