Episode 56: “Requiem Flight”

…in which we cover another crossover, this time in the pages of Avengers as Alpha teams up with that little-known team and the genuinely little-know People’s Protectorate to stop the Peace Corpse (we know) from blowing up the whole world! And as insane as that description sounds, it’s a pretty fun arc. We also touch on Requiem for a Dream (hence the title), the political/economic situation in the Soviet Union as it careened towards its end, Tom Clancy (more on that on the Patreon soon), and more!

Issues covered:
Avengers #319 - “The Waterwind Interdiction “ - cover date late July 1990
Written by Fabian Nicieza
Pencils by Rik Levins
Inks by Chris Ivy
Letters by Bill Oakley
Colors by Christie Sheele
Edited by Howard Mackie
and Tom Defalco is credited as Chief

(All of the following issues are written by Nicieza and edited by Mackie and Defalco, so we’re not going to keep typing that…)

Avengers #320 - “Underlying Currents” - cover date early August 1990
Pencils by Paul Ryan
Embellished by Tom Palmer
Letters by Jack Morelli
Colors by Renee Witterstaetter

Avengers #321 - “Missing Links” - cover date late August 1990
Pencils by Rik Levins
Inks by Chris Ivy
Letters by Bill Oakley
Colors by Christie Sheele

Avengers #322 - “Bombs Away” - cover date early September 1990
Pencils by Paul Ryan
Inks by Chris Ivy
Letters by Jack Morelli
Colors by Renee Witterstaetter

Avengers #323 - “One World’s Not Enough for All of Us” - cover date late September 1990
Breakdowns by Rik Levins
Finishes by Tom Palmer
Letters by Bill Oakley
Colors by Nel Yomtov

Avengers #324 - “Imaginary Borders” - cover date early October 1990
Pencils by Paul Ryan
Inks by Tom Palmer
Letters by Bill Oakley
Colors by Max Sheele

Written, produced, and edited by Chris Baker and Tom Flynn
Music:"Oh, Canada" by Five Iron Frenzy

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Episode 55: “Fantastic Flight!”

We continue Nicieza’s run this episode with a really solid-to-excellent two issue arc featuring possibly one of the worst (as in creepy/evil/bad-in-so-many-ways) villains Alpha has encountered…so far. Headlok is…unpleasant and we dig into the content warning we offered last issue right from jump. Thankfully there are adults in the room, courtesy of the Fantastic Four!

But! It’s a really effective arc and, frankly, really nice to just have a contained two-parter that tells its story while pushing the larger narratives forward. Who knew competence could feel this good?!

Issues discussed:
Alpha Flight #93 - “Playgrounds of the Mind” - cover date February 1991
Written by Fabian Nicieza
Penciled by Michael Bair
Inked by Mike Manley
Lettered by Rick Parker
Colored by Bob Sharen
Edited by Danny Fingeroth
and Tom DeFalco is Editor-in-Chief

Alpha Flight #94 - “Mind Over Matter” - cover date March 1991
Written by Fabian Nicieza
Penciled by Michael Bair
Inked by Mike Manley
Lettered by Janice Chiang
Colored by Bob Sharen
Edited by Danny Fingeroth
and Tom DeFalco is Editor-in-Chief

Why Not?! Read Alpha Flight w/ Chris & Tom is brought to you by listeners like you, who subscribe to our Patreon. And by the Excelsior Embroidery Company, part of the Roxxon family of corporations. This week Excelsior is featuring a neat hat design with the classic Bishop style X-Men icon. If you missed it before it sold out at Uncanny Experience, now’s the time to grab it before the Christmas rush. See this and hundreds more designs at excelsiorembroidery.etsy.com, where listeners of Why Not?! can use the coupon code WN503 to get 50 percent off any 3 items in the store.

Written, produced, and edited by Chris Baker and Tom Flynn
Music:"Oh, Canada" by Five Iron Frenzy

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Episode 54: “Sex, Lies, and Dept H”

We’re in the thick of it now with Fabian & Co (mayhaps “Fabs and the Crew” as a band name?) as the re-formed Alpha Flight gets assigned to a protection detail for…Dr. Doom?! Maybe?! It’s possible Doom’s storyline at this moment is more convoluted than Alpha’s, which feels impossible but here we are!

We also go a bit backwards in time so JMH and Heather can move forward… Honestly, the soap operatic elements haven’t been this bubbly in a minute and we couldn’t be happier.

Issues discussed:
Alpha Flight #91 - “A Thirst For Power” - cover date December 1990
Written by Fabian Nicieza
Penciled by Michael Bair
Inked by Mike Manley
Lettered by Janice Chiang
Colored by Bob Sharen
Edited by Danny Fingeroth
and Tom DeFalco is credited as A Thirst For Beer

Alpha Flight #92 - “Compromising Positions” - cover date January 1991
Written by Fabian Nicieza
Penciled by Dan Reed
Inked by Richard Bennet
Colored by Bob Sharen
Lettered by Rick Parker
Cover by Jackson Guice
and edited by Danny Fingeroth and Tom DeFalco

Why Not?! Read Alpha Flight with Chris & Tom is brought to you by listeners like you, who subscribe to our Patreon and by the Excelsior Embroidery Company. This week Excelsior is pleased to announce a whole slew of Gambit and Rogue themed patches. They seem to be the hot thing lately [Tom’s note: LATELY?!?!] so Excelsior is proud to jump on the bandwagon and offer patches in their faces, logos and icons in their colors, and all sorts of other goodies. See this and hundreds more designs at excelsiorembroidery.etsy.com, where listeners of Why Not?! can use the coupon code WN503 to get 50 percent off any 3 items in the store.

Written, produced, and edited by Chris Baker and Tom Flynn
Music:"Oh, Canada" by Five Iron Frenzy

Follow us on these platforms:
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