Why I'm Happy, Northstar mini-series, and Sojourn

So, I am happy. I now have the full spectrum of the official Alpha Flight. That is to say, I now own all of the issues that deal with them, at least the ones that have them by name in the title. Just yesterday I received the 4 issue Northstar mini-series in the mail, and today I read through them. I also own, AF Vol 1, all 130 issues, plus annuals and X-Men/AF crossover one-shots, plus that comic that I cannot remember its name at the moment but it shows the beginnings of Department H pre-AF Volume 1. Also, I own AF Vol 2, all 20 issues, plus I own the two trade paperbacks of AF Volume 3. Now I also have the Northstar mini-series, so now I have all the “official” AF issues (plus the Omega Flight mini-series, and the MCP 12-issue storyline with Mad U.S. Mailman Mikey Pointer). Oh, and I also own the two Trade Paperbacks of the reprinting of John Byrne’s run on Alpha Flight.

This makes me happy. It has been a long time coming. It took me almost three years to collect all of those issues. Since I lost all of the childhood issues I once had, I had to start at nothing and work my way up. It has been expensive, but well worth it.

Now, on to the Northstar mini-series that I completed reading just moments ago…

For the most part, the writing was okay. The story-line was so-so at best. The art…never been a huge fan of Dario Carrasco Jr.’s pencils, and I also do not like the colouring style used in these issues by “Chi & Ovi”, so the less said about the art, the better.

I find it a shame that this is the only member of AF to have been given their own mini-series. I also hate the way Northstar is currently being used by Marvel comics, with his character not being developed or explored at all. That sucks. I was never a huge Northstar fan, but this mini-series has not made me respect him any less as a character; it is decent enough for what it is. I did, at leats, appreciate that they set Jean-Paul up, in that they established that there are limits to his powers, and they ran him up against those limits to see how he would fare as a man without powers – that was a good concept to use, and I appreciate that. Also, it was good to see Weapon P.R.I.M.E. making some important appearances in these pages, too.

Not liking the art, I think I will forgo posting any pictures from it here. By the way, what is with the lame-o cover art on these 4 issues? Did they feel the need to remind us, every issue, just who Northstar was, in case comic buyers were not sure? Lame!

Now, onto something else…

I have always been a fan of a good hack-and-slash fantasy adventure story, so it is no surprise that I have enjoyed every back issue of Cross-Gen’s Sojourn title that I have read.

Below, I present a few images from Sojourn Issue # 18; pencils by Greg Land, Inks by Jay Leisten, Colour by Justin Ponsor.

Click on the images to see them enlarged.












See ya next time!