New Eye Candy

I've added an "art" page at top right, something I've been meaning to do for some time.  I won't dwell on it much here since the content is explained at the top of the page itself.  I should, however, take the opportunity to point out that the saluting Guardian at the bottom of the right section of the page is by Ken Steacy, if the distinctive style wasn't enough of a giveaway.

It has, however, reminded me to make another addition to the blog roll at right with Phil's Alpha Flight Sketches.  Pretty self-explanatory; Phil posts scans and pictures of commissioned sketches that he's acquired of Alpha Flight characters.  The bulk of the art on display on the blog is of Sasquatch, but there are a few Guardian ones as well.  It wouldn't be right to copy them here so I'll link to that page instead.

And while we're talking about graphics and updates, a couple of trading cards have been added at the bottom of the Collectibles page, including the rather awesome Weapon Alpha one (with that Wolverine guy) at right which I just stumbled across today.  What can I tell you, I've never been a trading card guy where comic characters are concerned!  But I'll have to get my hands on that one for certain.

To this point, that page had only displayed busts and action figures and I wanted to add another aspect.  Other types of collectibles and merchandise will be added soon, such as Heroclix piece(s) and mini-mates (even though I personally find them hideous. To each his own.).

"I Strike for Earth!"

Shortly after stating that I would only include "significant" (in my estimation) Guardian involvement on the Appearances page (above right), I'm changing gears a little bit.

I stumbled into Super Mega Monkey's Comics Chronology page recently and was reminded of a couple of cameo appearances by Guardian / Alpha Flight from the early 80's.  They were, looking back, my first exposure to Guardian (Vindicator at the time).

It could be argued that they helped him and the Alpha cement their place in the Marvel Universe. They established that Alpha Flight didn't just happen to be present when the X-Men had business in Canada.

The following actually trigger some fond memories for me.  French is my first language.  I used comics to help me learn the English language.  I did buy some X-Men books at the time, but began to do so only shortly after Alpha Flight had made their debut.

I do recall getting Contest of Champions in 1982, one of the series that SMMCC fits into continuity.  In this 3-part book, all of Earth's heroes, Alpha Flight included, are gathered to basically act as gladiators for the Grandmaster and his mystery opponent.  Sasquatch is actually the most prominent Alpha Flight team member throughout the 3-issue series, but Guardian shows up in a couple of panels (one of which is at right).

Later that same year Guardian (still Vindicator) and Alpha Flight appeared in three Incredible Hulk issues, numbers 277 to 279.

In that story, the U-Foes make a very public attempt to kill the Hulk.  After managing to escape and defeat the U-Foes, the Banner-brained behemoth asks for help from his fellow heroes to petition for a presidential pardon.  And wouldn't you know it, the collection of heroes is attacked by aliens (or they appear to be) right on the White House lawn!  And that collection includes Guardian (although you may need to squint to see him in some panels).

Mac appears in other group shots and in a "diplomatic greeting" in the final issue with Alpha Flight behind him.

A selection of his early appearances is included on this page of the Comics Chronology.  Again for the sake of giving proper credit, the images above are cropped from scans that are displayed on the SMMCC pages.

They are only brief appearances, but potentially of interest to some.  Therefore, they (as well as an even earlier one from Fantastic Four #220) are now included on the Appearances page for the sake of being thorough, but are simply identified as cameos.

His Finest Hour

On November 20th, I wrote about what I thought was one of the most putrid Guardian appearances in the character's rather colourful history. It made me stop to consider which might be my favourite.  It didn't take me long to settle on the book below.

The two-part story came out in 1998, but in terms of continuity it takes place after the fourth issue of the first Alpha flight book.  Most of the team's adventures to this point had revolved around conflict with the X-Men as a result of attempting to bring Wolverine back to Canada.

The first issue is rather X-Men heavy, though the premise revolves around Guardian's back story.  The terrorist organization known as Hydra has swindled hundreds of suits of Guardian's original armour prototype from Department-H and uses them to apprehend the mutant team. Professor-X calls upon Guardian, and therefore Alpha Flight, to rescue his team.

Admittedly, there's an undertone that Alpha Flight is not on the same level as the X-Men.  Guardian is said to have the same leadership "potential" as Cyclops.  Guardian admits that without freeing the X-Men, getting out of the facility that they're about to infiltrate is near impossible.  And in battle, Alpha Flight is becoming overwhelmed right at the point that the now-freed X-Men join the battle and basically save the day.

Setting biases aside however, it is true that the X-Men were a far more experienced bunch at that point.  And ultimately, Alpha Flight is given some much-needed (and rare) respect.  Additionally, the team's relationship with the X-Men (and Wolverine specifically) is solidified.

There are a couple of odd moments. Strucker uses Guardian's suit-based ability to not be affected by the rotation of the Earth to "teleport" away.  I'm not convinced that making use of such a tool would be particularly wise indoors.  There are also a few pages in the beginning of Alpha Flight taking time to train in the X-Men's danger room.  Sure, what's the rush, with six members of the X-Men kidnapped by a terrorist group?  Just send out for pizza too while you're at it.

But those are relatively minor complaints in an otherwise entertaining story.  The books were written by Ben Raab and John Cassaday, the latter also handling art duties.  Steve Oliff did the colours on the 2nd issue (Jason Wright did the first).

The Alpha Flight Collector (Guardian tag)

Just a brief update today to draw attention to a link that has been added on the right side of the page.

I tend to keep my blog posts and Appearances page entries (see above) specific to what I consider to be significant involvements in books.  For example, I did not include Mac's attendance at Northstar's wedding among the appearances because he's really just crowd shot filler.

The Alpha Flight Collector blog, for those who may have not come across it, is pretty much the exact opposite.  It records cameos and rarities involving the various Alpha Flight cast members.  I have added it as part of the blog roll, but using the Guardian tag specifically (and therefore directing folks only to posts involving our man of the hour).

Credit where it's due, the panel scan of a devastated Alpha Flight in the previous post was actually from the Collector blog (though located through Google search and not lifted directly).

Hulk-Buster Guardian

Over the past few months I've been working on acquiring the Guardian appearances that are missing from my collection.

The difficult part is knowing when an appearance is actually worthwhile.  I don't want to buy a book if Guardian and/or Alpha Flight only appears in the background in one panel.  Or as corpses.

So confession time: On occasion I obtain "free" version of digital books to see if they're worth adding to the pile.

Now I was fully prepared to get the "Rules of Engagement" and "The Draco" storylines from the X-Men books in 2003 and 2004 respectively.  From what I could gather from reviews, Alpha Flight was prominent enough in them that they would be worth the expense.

I could also gather that the books, written by Chuck Austen, sucked.  It seemed like a near consensus among X-Men fans that this was a terrible period in that team's history.  Whatever.  It was just a couple of issues anyway and it's not as though all of the Alpha Flight books are gold, either.

Even approaching these books with that mentality however, it's difficult to conclude that these books are anything but crap.

Let's start with the atrocity at right.  You'd be excused if you didn't recognize him, but that is our Guardian in his appearance in X-Men #432 (2004).

We are meant to believe that, fully expecting to encounter Juggernaut, the team (Guardian, Heather as Vindicator and Sasquatch...where was everyone else??) wore specially-designed armour for the occasion.

The only thing dumber than Sasquatch wearing armour is Guardian wearing (traditional) armour, since his usual suit allows him to create a force field anyway.  So what is the point?

Well, there may have been one (does Marvel still award no-prizes for fixing their mistakes?).  In the team's earlier appearance (#422) Northstar completely punks Guardian.  He (Northstar) uses his familiarity with his former teammate to disable and strip Guardian's standard armour.

Let's give the benefit of the doubt, assume that Guardian reacted accordingly (which even if true, wouldn't explain why Sasquatch would wear armour too) and replaced his usual attire with an outfit that Northstar knows nothing about.  How did that work out?

Not so great then. In the previous page, Guardian gets a few solid shots in, but then a suit of armour supposedly designed to combat Hulk-type characters actually makes it easier for Juggernaut to whoop on Guardian.  "Convenient hand-grip" indeed.

Ah well.  I got to read this book for free and I got my money's worth.  Maybe I'll patiently wait to find it in a dollar bin one day.