20 ALPHA FLIGHT
Th e Wizard, along with Flash’s foe, Th e Th inker, and Green Lantern’s villains Vandal
Savage and Th e Gambler.
Even while building a rogues’ gallery, the team’s roster continued to change. In #24,
Wildcat and Mr. Terrifi c both guest-star. Wildcat appears as a member in #27, while
Mr. Terrifi c doesn’t return at all. Both, however, are treated as longtime members in the
1970s All-Star revival. Issue #27 sees Flash and Green Lantern return to active status,
replacing Starman and Th e Spectre. A second female hero, Black Canary, guest stars
in #38 and is added as a full member by #41. She takes the place of Johnny Th under
with no explanation. From that point on, the line-up is stable. It should be noted that
#36 is the only story to feature Superman and Batman as active members of the team.
With cast changes behind it, the series returned once more to the socially conscious
stories that had been a hallmark of the war years. Issue #40 (April–May 1948) shows
the team battling juvenile delinquency. As the 1950s begins, the series heavily features
science fi ction tales, with aliens invading in #49, #55, and #56.
In 1951, with the popularity of superheroes fading, the plug was pulled on All-Star
Comics. Th e numbering was taken over by All-Star Western with issue #58; but that
was not the end of All-Star Comics. Following the JSA’s successful team-ups with the
Justice League in the 1960s and 1970s, All-Star Comics was revived in 1976, beginning
with #58. Th e series was written fi rst by Gerry Conway and later Paul Levitz. Wally
Wood initially handled the art chores, which were later taken over by Joe Staton and
Bob Layton.
Th e new team consisted mostly of Golden Age members, but several younger heroes
are introduced—the formerly lost-in-time Star-Spangled Kid, an adult Robin, Bat-
man’s daughter Huntress, and Superman’s cousin Power Girl. Several classic villains
return, including Brainwave, Vandal Savage, and Solomon Grundy. Th e series ended
permanently with issue #74.
Anthony Strand
ALPHA FLIGHT. Th ough they are one of the minor superhero teams in the Marvel
universe, the Alpha Flight team of Canadian heroes has been around in various
incarnations for over 30 years. Th ey are technically a spin-off of X - Men , but they have
interacted less with that team than other spin-off groups, and they include far fewer
mutants. As a team, Alpha Flight has made only between 200 and 300 appearances,
with less than 200 appearances in their own titles. After various appearances in X-Men
titles and elsewhere, the team fi nally got their own self-titled book in 1983. Th e series
would run for 130 issues, fi nally ending in 1994. John Byrne was the initial writer and
artist and the early issues included origin stories of the team’s members. Also of note
in the series’ fi rst year was #6 ( January 1984) in which the characters fought in a bliz-
zard; many panels were all white except for dialogue and sound eff ects. Other creators
include Bill Mantlo, James Hudnall, Mike Mignola , and Fabian Nicieza. Th e most
famous issue of the rest of the series was #106 (1992) when the character of North-
star was revealed to be gay. During the run of the series there were also two annuals,
