John Byrne's Techniques and a Visit to Canada - Comic Tropes (Episode 12)

This week I visited Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. So I cover Canadian writer/artist John Byrne and his work on Alpha Flight, a Canadian superhero team. Includes a visit to Comicshop and I eat a Canadian snack for each trope I come across!
/ comictropes
/ comictropesshow

[@ComicTropes]

Important correction: when I list John Byrne’s trope of dense crowd shots, I incorrectly used an image drawn by Dave Cockrum.

[@johnminehan1148]

I remember being disappointed when Byrne took over Uncanny X-Men . . . .

[@Shiznaft1]

I remember being excited that he took over Uncanny X-Men ...

[@Mitsuraga]

You are absolutely right that the ads make up some of the best parts of old comics. About the foods... ketchup chips have been available in the States, but I haven't seen them in many years. We do have cream soda, but not Crush brand. You absolutely can find Kinder eggs and similar products with toys embedded in chocolate, but it's very uncommon, usually only sold in specialty import stores and novelty shops.

[@KTF0]

You should burn that Spider-Man Chapter One issue. Terrible.

[@jamesburke3413]

Thanks for covering John Byrne and Alpha Flight. It'd be really killer to see a video on a limited series he did entitled Next Men and a related graphic novel (I think) entitled 2112. Keep up the great work, Comic Tropes.

[@LanceAnderson77]

"There's never gonna be an Alpha Flight movie, I can tell you that!" -- I'm bookmarking this video to see what you have to say in a few years. :)

[@jeetkuneluke]

If Guardians of the Galaxy got two (soon 3) movies and the Inhumans and Agents of SHIELD got TV shows, why not an Alpha Flight movie?

[@catwhowalks99]

@@jeetkuneluke I just hope that if they make an Alpha Flight movie, they at least feature the original members from the John Byrne run, and don't remix the team.

[@marqosmarqos1201]

@Steve Funderburg absolutely because all heroes should be Caucasian and male.

[@albertagibinik8883]

Gamma flight?

[@conjugationsm8528]

@@catwhowalks99 worked for Guardians. Trust me, I was a "Those aren't MY Guardians of the Galaxy" old man until I saw the first movie. Sometimes remixes work better than the original in today's world.

[@rbiznezz2]

Byrne is unquestionably one of the greatest ever. Disregard his wack attitude, lets celebrate the work.

[@nohvarr13]

I love John Byrne. His art style is solid and pleasing to look at and he had great runs on the Fantastic Four and Superman.

[@RobinDale50]

Fun fact: in an interview back in the day, Byrne stated that his paycheck bonus for Alpha Flight #1 (based on sales over a certain amount of issues) was $29 GRAND (US).

[@misterrea861]

Another John Byrne trope is big square jaw lines with warm smiles. I'm convinced half his popularity as an artist is because all the characters seem so happy to see you

[@theamericanwordsmith2670]

Going back and watching older ComicTropes videos. Chris makes the best comic content on KZbin.

[@Tang-qi6zw]

Insects and bugs are animals, though very small types of animals. They certainly aren't plants, plankton, fungi, or Protozoa. They aren't mammals or reptiles, but bugs are still animals.

[@bencamp79]

Yeah, I couldn't let that one slide when I heard it. You prevented me from making my own comment though. Lol

[@richpotter]

That bugged me (heh) too. I've corrected a number of people on this over many years. I don't know if anyone actually cares.

[@juliaeaves8306]

There are only 3 kingdoms: plant,animal , and fungal.

[@illwill1991]

@@juliaeaves8306 are there really? I'm not a biologists so I'm not trying to correct you but then how would you categories single cell organisms? Or wat about like microscopic life like viruses and such? Are viruses animals?!?!?!

[@juliaeaves8306]

@@illwill1991 if its not a plant or fungus then it belongs in the animal kingdom.

[@HCC788]

Here's something weird. Shaman, as John Byrne drew him in this issue, looks a *lot* like Spirit from G.I. Joe. Alpha Flight's Shaman first appeared in 1979 (according to Wikipedia). John Byrne drew a few covers for the G.I. Joe comic book. In Canada, the code name for Spirit was "Shaman." Coincidence? Almost certainly.

[@ComicTropes]

Unfortunately, the truth may simply be that fictional Native Americans weren't always that diverse. Because I think you could also argue that Apache Chief from Superfriends looks the same too.

[@neanderthalsnavel7411]

Watch the G.I. Joe Netflix episode of The Toys that Made Us. Those white guy designers were probably thinking cowboys vs. indians.

[@brianfleetwood9742]

I like Alpha Flight precisely because it was hanging out off by itself.

[@fearlessskrull8286]

I love John Byrne's work on She-Hulk. It's funny that he and Dan Slott are both notoriously cranky, yet they brought a lot of humor and joy to that series.

[@____2080_____]

John Byrne is one of the best for me.

[@burkeharris9699]

I grabbed xmen 108 off the newsstand when i was a kid and it kindled my love of Bryne's work and comics.

[@steve_bal4]

As a Canadian kid back in the day when Alpha Flight hit the stands I was overjoyed to see a team of heroes representing our country, and having John Byrne, the hugest comic book creater of the day doing it, was sheer bliss. I loved his run on the book and it's disheartening to hear it wasn't something he enjoyed because I never got that from his work. I suppose the title never took off simply because they were somewhat removed from the US, where 98% of stories and characters hail from (even the DC universe feels very American, despite the fictional city names). Unfortunately, I don't think anyone ever did the team or book justice again precisely because they weren't Canadian writers or artists (that I know of). With each re-launch of Alpha Flight it just got worse, imo. I'd love to see someone who cared deeply for the team to pick up the torch and run with it again one-day.

[@wdcain1]

John Byrne's run on _Fantastic Four_ still remains in my top favorite comic series of all time. It's the true definition of Marvel's first family.

[@docsamson198]

I love John Byrne. But I would die for John Byrne when Terry Austin inks him.

[@marqosmarqos1201]

Terry Austin made his art look magical.

[@comicbookninja5268]

I also think Joe Ruebenstein was a pretty decent inker for John Byrne . Their run on Captain America is pretty classic.

[@marqosmarqos1201]

@@comicbookninja5268 what year was that? Id like to pick up those issues

[@comicbookninja5268]

@@marqosmarqos1201 Captain America #247- #255

[@YujiUedaFan]

Weird coincidence! I'm actually reading some of Byrne's comics now! I went to Wikipedia and looked what he did and saw he did the Champions 11-15 and 17!

[@plismdp]

So hard on Alpha Flight! If You told me 10 years ago that Ant Man or Guardians of the Galaxy would have stand alone movies I would have laughed in your face, yet I think they did a good job with the films. And the Alpha Flight characters are pretty interesting. If they did a wolverine reboot I wouldnt be against including alpha flight as an introduction to a stand alone

[@Rometiklan]

Love this vid. I was a huge Byrne fan, and collected Alpha Flight until Byrne left the book. Still a fan of his art but in recent years, Byrne has been like the grumpy old guy down the street who is always talking about the good ol' days and telling you "to get a haircut, ya hippy!" Love his diatribes though...definitely has an ego, lol.

[@montygatwick1829]

I’m glad to see you’re embracing Canadian culture! This video made me quite happy as a proud Canadian 🇨🇦

[@EGA83]

Don't really understand why AF never got the love. I thought it was great.

[@Myrdden71]

The X-Men/Alpha Flight crossover (2 issues) with Loki was awesome!

[@kevinconnor3187]

Thanks!

[@Cantonavader]

The old man is from the Occupy Tundra Movement. Last holdout.

[@ganjjabarsmedium2347]

I feel like not enough people appreciate his Next Men run. Some of my favorite art of his and story!

[@RWSCOTT]

Alpha Flight is the Firefly of Marvel comics. Wonderful quirky characters & situations. If DC could pull off a Doom Patrol TV series, Marvel could definitely do Alpha Flight.

[@aldi404]

This was one of the first Marvel Comics I read like 30+ Years ago :-)

[@Rometiklan]

Always wanted to get a John Byrne commission done. Huge, huge fan. He was one of my favourite artists growing up, and heavily influenced my own art. I've seen some original pages of Byrne's from X-Men and Fantastic Four pop up on eBay every now and again going for astronomical bids.

[@kgmlb2]

Hey Chris! I really like your channel. I was just looking through stuff about Rob Liefiled and came across you. Then I looked at your other episodes. Good stuff man. I'm on board.

[@ComicTropes]

Ken Givens Thanks!

[@TheLili1598]

7:10 I love those old ads. I think it was in an early X-Men annual where I came across one for a compressed air rifle for kids. Ah, America...

[@ComicTropes]

The old ads are the best part of reading old issues for these reviews. But they can sometimes be a real distraction from me when I need to focus on writing a new episode's script!

[@CrashLanden]

16:16 A lot of artists aren't John Byrne, they're just influenced by him (like Dale Keown, Todd McFarlane, Ethan Van Sciver, among others).

[@philv2529]

7:44 that kid's shirt is another trope of Byrne, reviving old Kirby stuff. Notice the directional drop shadow. Kirby used to do that and change where if falls based on the lighting. No other artist did that until Byrne revived it intentionally referencing Kirby. Ultimately nobody noticed either time.

[@pulsarstargrave256]

I agreed with John Byrne on that particular issue. Work for hire means precisely that. Having said this, without getting into a long harangue, I also think treating creators like travelling hobos (journey men and women) and not offering at least a fraction of benefits that the secretaries and printers get, is also problematic. BTW The character "Aurora" was a split personality who bounced back and forth between a Stern teacher and a flirty vixen!

[@terrorzilla]

Exactly and not only that, I seem to recall the other key point made was when Kirby has his own imprint he didn't treat anyone working for him differently--work for hire was work for hire under him as well.

[@CelestialWoodway]

Nah he was an ignorant dickhead.

[@paulheap1982]

@@CelestialWoodway no. He was being realistic. Kirby and others were well aware of the industry and the contracts they were entering into.

[@ThatCreepyReading]

I know this video is old but I rewatch videos a lot from creators I love. Oddly enough I never subbed since I google the channel alot. Anywho, @ComicTropes mentions "Flying cross legged is a weird way to fly" There is actually a bit of a dark history behind that. Flying while cross legged is associated with various "Spiritual" and *religious* connotations outside of jeudaochirsitan mythology. In fact the Aum Shinriko "That weird Japanese cult that did the serine bombings" was started by Shoko Asahara who depicted himself flying in a very similar manner which is how he got people to join the cult in the first place. The stance is short hand for "Spiritual" but over the years has a bit more of an ominous culty vibe to it.

[@naysmith5272]

this is a great video - out and about on location, lol. The chips and gravy and cheese is also good which I need to recreate in the UK tomorrow for lunch,.

[@Kal_g]

Hey! I didn't know you were a fan of Chris's work! Great to see you, Creepy!!

[@SamGuthrie1977]

Good video. As a writer, Byrne only has one trope: time travel!

[@sirperybLakeney]

I would think the most glaring Byrne authorial trope would be'fixing' older stories to make them more believable or to attempt to rationalize continuity.

[@chrisw6164]

I don’t care if John Byrne is cantankerous. Byrne Fantastic Four, Superman, and X-Men rule. I loved just about everything he did through Next Men.

[@petitio_principii]

I had never heard Byrne was "controversial." I'd think he's almost the opposite, generally approved by large majorities.

[@travisralph5284]

controversial in his views on creator's rights, after fighting with Kirby(somewhat famously) Kirby skewered him in his new book, Destroyer Duck, right after he left marvel.

[@uncannyzee7391]

LOL. I discovered and joined the John Byrne Forum about 15 years ago, so excited to be able to speak to my idol. I asked my first question about the industry, telling Byrne how highly I thought of him. His response to my question about comic art was (paraphrasing)"Do we really have to have this discussion again? Bored already with you."

[@Bonzulac]

He's so cantankerous on his forum, they sell t-shirts at comic conventions that read, "John Byrne thinks I'm an asshole."

[@rockinrecords4081]

Uncanny Zee what a Scrooge. If he felt that way, he shouldn’t have even bothered responding. Why would you say something so rude to a person who just praised your work?

[@jeffh8094]

@@uncannyzee7391 Yep. That's Bryne to a "T". I've seen him do that to many commenters on his forum over the years who were there simply to compliment him. Why do that? He also never misses an opportunity to toss dirt on Chris Claremont, 40 years after they worked together, for meaningless and nonsensically petty things. I find that when Byrne does this to Claremont it lowers him (Byrne) in my eyes and not Claremont. It is unprofessional at best for him to being doing this and outright childish, and petty at worst. He's still my favorite artist, though--just not my favorite person in comics.

[@electrojones]

"It's odd. Artists don't use cross-hatched speed lines these days." (Holds up a 35 year old comic book).

[@louiscyfear878]

I ordered the Marvel app for my phone found out that they had no John Byrnes Comics from west Coast Avengers to Fantastic Four or even the X-Men. Threw up- deleted the app and wrote a scathing review.

[@ComicTropes]

I could have sworn they had a bunch of the FF and X-Men stuff but it's been a while since I had the app. I wonder if Marvel will start pushing that stuff more, now that Disney has acquired the movie rights.

[@louiscyfear878]

skunkape last year, they didn't & I need my John Byrnes. His _"Overpowered drop-dead gorgeous women leading to the destruction of team unity"_ tropes were instrumental in turning me into the socially inept nomadic recluse that I am today.😏

[@NickBartolo]

Byrne's X-Men run remains one of the greatest achievements in comic art history.

[@sbyrstall]

I don't know if you read more of the AF, but Aurora has a split personality. Couple other non-comic notes: you can get Kinder Surprise in Michigan with no problem. I think we are the only state in the union. I don't know exactly when you made this but the most popular flavor is Fully Dressed. It's an awesome taste. It's not quite the same in the US.

[@theunironicboomerang]

John Byrne is responsible for so many Comics that I loved as a kid. Iron fist, Captain America, I bought fantastic four just because he was drawing it, and of course his run on the X-Men is by far my favorite

[@anthonynyman167]

I loved the mention of Mr Byrne's dislike of nic names. Brings me back to an 80's FF issue where Spider-man feels he has to correct little Franklin for calling him "Spidey-Man!" Something about regretting allowing the old show "The Electric Company" refer to him as Spidey.

[@IanBrown-qo1dv]

dude... you are slowly becoming my favorite youtuber

[@johnburwood6692]

Alpha Flight was a top seller for Marvel through out Byrnes time making it. Issue 22 for example was 3rd in direct market sales behind X-Men 193 and Web of Spidey 2.

[@aznsketcher]

you totally forgot his NAMOR run! how can you forget his awesome run on Namor as the 90s rolled around.....

[@CelestialWoodway]

Can't mention everything.

[@dabigdikdangler]

It was good until he lost me with the Head Hunter reveal, a ruthless corporate raider apparently murders and mounts the heads of her enemies in her office, but they're really drugged and still alive with their bodies hidden behind the wall...weak sauce

[@nr-dx4zz]

Its namor

[@colechung7806]

John Byrne is one of those artists whose art is the most recognizable to me the way he draws his females , Batman , Wolverine and Iron Man , I'll know it's his work

[@astrocitizen]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the weirdo was supposed to be this archaeologist that an Inuit goddess kidnapped from a dig site, and produced Snowbird with him. Unfortunately, this experience, plus finding that years had passed during the night in "god-land", caused him to go crazy, hence his summoning of Goz -- er, uh, I mean, Tundra. The two characters were drawn very much alike but the people who compiled OHOTMU did not pick up on this, writing that Snowbird's father ran away in hysterics never to be seen again, while leaving Tundra's summoner as an unidentified man.

[@jimcat68]

It was one of those things that they left for the readers to figure out for themselves

[@johnrussellpelt9091]

@@jimcat68 I can understand leaving it unsaid in the AF series, but OHOTMU is supposed to compile and explain as much as it can.

[@bobbyhulll8737]

as a Canadian I was stoked when this cam out in the 80's still have the collection of the first run...i haven't checked but Bill bill Senkiewicz was a big fav as well for his run on Moonknight kind of the opposite of Byrne much more complex.and sketch like .and Michel Golden on Micronauts was mind blowing very original comic book style could always tell a Golden cover like a Norman Rockwellesque style to me

[@christianninsananda9626]

John Byrne and Terry Austin were my peanut butter and jelly growing up.

[@marqosmarqos1201]

They were Gods among men. I also enjoyed George Perez's art on the new teen titans

[@davelanciani-dimaensionx]

Terry's inks were so critical to John's pencils. They cleaned up the images, which I think his art needed.

[@victorherron2767]

As always, Chris, you've done a great job. I have no comments on Alpha Flight - about 4 decades ago I lived in Canada for a couple of years, but wasn't reading comics at that point in my life. But on the the topic of Canadian treats in the USofA, I remember finding Lay's Ketchup Potato Chips at my local Krogers Supermarket maybe 20 years ago, but even tho I continue to look for them, I haven't found them in recent years. They can be ordered from Amazon, but I'm not willing to pay what they want for them. Now Poutine -- Ahhh, Poutine -- in my city in East Tennessee, for about 5 years we had a guy from Quebec who had a food truck that did little else than variations of Poutine, but it went away with the Covid lockdown & never came back (as far as I know). Too bad. I see Kinder Eggs in the local Dollar Stores sometimes. I think they still contain the little *choking hazard* toys, so I don't know how they get around the US ban on them. Anyway, best wishes to all. VH

[@TrevorKeenAnimation]

Canadian here: the Prime Minister pictured in the comic at 6:19 is obviously Pierre Trudeau, father of Justin. He was PM from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1980 to 1984. And a great Canadian snack Americans haven't heard of yet: Butter Tarts! I've always been a fan of butter tarts.

[@JetBlakNinja]

Actually, Byrne never wanted to do the book since AF was only created to survive a fight with the X-Men. But Marvel begged him to do it and he did. However you can tell, especially n the first twelve issues, that his heart wasn't in it - like he was with his runs on FF and Superman.

[@jonbodhi]

I’m one of those fans. I LOVED Alpha Flight, especially when they broke up at the start of their series, then we followed individual meme bets over the next year (or something like that )

[@comicbookninja5268]

The original Alpha Flight run ran from 1983 to 1994 for 130 issues so I don't really understand why you say they never "caught on". They weren't super popular but they were certainly popular enough to be published for 11 years. That's a pretty good run.

[@stefanavic6630]

14:35 I think it's actually pronounced Samsquamch.

[@Waldenpunk]

John Byrne was THE artist. Love him and his art.

[@dragonlordthekingofdragons6373]

I can imagine John Bryne sounding like a grumpy old man and blickering

[@dragonlordthekingofdragons6373]

Like "Eh give me my money and jack kirby stop wanting moar money

[@dragonlordthekingofdragons6373]

Though seeing the old comic ads are funny

[@SoftwareAgentsTV]

Byrne did the artwork for a comic book adaption of I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. The metal panels were there! But it made sense in context, because the story takes place inside a computer complex!

[@ComicTropes]

Interesting. I haven't read that one. Thanks for the info.

[@albertagibinik8883]

Met harlan at tower books(Seattle) funny sense of humour, talked about his comics for Africa

[@ARMIV4]

Absolutely love Byrne's work. It has been an influence on me ever since I first saw it as a kid. Cannot say the same about his...strong...opinions on things.

[@DaiAtlus79]

22:35 so we have regional flavors of Crush here in Canada - here in NL, the flavors you would find in a store would be Orange, Grape, Lime, Pineapple, Cream Soda (but in this province it is colorless), and Birch Beer (which is red). If you were in a Mary Browns out that way, you would have found them.

[@antoniojr6666]

i love this chanel. i spent one month once at toronto, it was one of the happiest moment of my life

[@AlohaBlade]

I wonder which other “edibles” were harmed during the making of this one. Great show!

[@BalthusWW]

Love John Byrne. What a pleasure to be narrated through his gorgeous images. Love watching Chris eat. So cute!

[@TheDungeonDive]

I LOVED Alpha Flight back in the 80s. Alpha Flight and Excalibur were my favorite comic books in the 80s. What can I say? I guess I’ve always liked the underdogs.

[@Shiznaft1]

@ComicTropes It's odd that you mentioned he doesn't like to kill characters, he kills Vindicator in issue 12 of Alpha Flight. 17:59 You mentioned that Snow Birds observation is not grounded in anything. In the panel above it we see the land erupting and splitting apart as a result of Vindicator blasting Tundra.

[@cgvapors963]

I really love that Alpha Flight #3 cover art. So cool. I was a huge fan of John Byrne back then. His art was my fav style. Super detailed and realistic, with photo backgrounds. Great stuff. Never much cared for how he drew faces. All his faces on characters looked the same, but his detail was unparalleled back then.

[@whokilledlaura1404]

Good piece and it was fun to look at this issue again. Poor Dan Smallwood, she ain't coming back. One thing: "Aurora and Northstar's costumes have a 'maple leaf thing going on'? Dude, they're stars. As for other stylistic tropes, he loves the overhead establishing shot, and has frequently drawn male characters with upper lips to indicate they're gay.

[@Shinmsl]

Disney may not have been able to even use Alpha Flight due to their connections to mutants and Wolverine, but now they're getting the mutants back from Fox we may see them pop up in tv form in the near future...

[@robertvolpe5859]

You missed two tropes, and they were right on the cover. A dense crowd shot and super hero cameos. I say that you need to head back to Canada, and find two more snacks to nosh on. On a side note, I love John Byrne’s art and stories. I grew up reading comics in the 80’s, and John Byrne was a staple back then. I wish there was a modern day John Byrne in today’s comic industry. I am not saying that today’s creators aren’t talented or fun, but they lack that certain something, that je ne sais quoi, that John Byrne has. Anyways, I love the channel, even episodes from three years ago. Keep up the excellent content.

[@mkaleborn]

As an 80s kid and especially an 80’s Mutant kid: Byrne = Comic Art how it should be done. There was none other in my world. And that ad: Star Frontiers! I still have the Ruleset, Campaign book and maps (the box is long gone, sadly). As well as the Dragon magazine that created an entire Vehicle combat ruleset (aka Car Wars with sci-of weapons). Ah 80s comic books. So much nostalgia! And cool to see Chris hanging out in my neck of the woods for an episode! Go Alpha Flight!

[@CrookerComic]

Oh wow, I visited ComicShop when i went to visit my uncle out in Vancouver last year. Great shop, got a lot of good books there!

[@hulksmash1357]

Byrne created Alpha Flight initially

[@AmedeeBoulette]

X-Men 120/121.

[@Cantonavader]

X-Men 109....Weapon Alpha AKA Vindicator, AKA Guardian. The First Alpha Flight. Why is he a dick? Well intelligent people are scientifically known to have fewer friends. Who wants to argue with the stupid? John, you were my childhood hero and at 47 you still are. Thanks for all you did.

[@MrSafior]

So for you, people who are dick to other people are genius?

[@Shiznaft1]

I think what he was saying is that genius is often accompanied by an inability to cope with ignorance. (Geniuses are dicks, but not all dicks are geniuses.)

[@rudrikdunholt9980]

if i were there at that moment, (at that price...) i would have purchased every John L. Byrne comicbook in the store.

[@KillerElitist]

Byrne didn't want to do an Alpha Flight book. He never put much thought into them beyond costumes and powers. He said they were just created to fight the X-Men. That's why he left so soon. He wasn't feeling it.

[@Snailbarf]

Here's some you missed: Characters at 3/4 angle with their bottom jaw jutting out. Usually talking. Action scenes with no background but a solid color. Disembodied heads on a splash page or flashback to tell you who else is/was involved. Still great shit.

[@Snailbarf]

More: on side view every character looks like they forgot their dentures. At times characters look suddenly Asian. Characters that make one appearance are drawn with more care than the main cast.

[@jC-kc4si]

That's how he was able to get 4 pages of artwork done per day or 4 issues a month.

[@MrSeanPiggott]

‘It never really caught on’? If 130 issues over 11 years, 83-94, on its first run = ‘never really caught on’ I’d love to see your reaction when the Guardians of the Galaxy movie was first rumoured.

[@Girthon1]

Another great detailed effort.

[@anttmann6123]

Loved Alpha Flight as a kid. And agreed the Maple donut is amazing.

[@davidgantenbein9362]

Ahh John Byrne ... always liked his stuff (specially this Alpha Flight run) ... that’s the stuff to get me in the mood to return to comics.

[@robertbrenner610]

I always loved Byrne's art - I liked his slimming down of heroes bodies. I collected AlphaFlight back when it came out - kept up with it for a little over two years if I remember correctly. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

[@timmeyer9191]

It is too bad we won't see alpha flight on the big screen. A really diverse team. Puck would be awesome. Well, if Guardians of the Galaxy can get a movie, why not alpha flight?

[@CIkler]

His FF covers are legendary, that one you had in the background of Galactus half face with Death is one of my all time favs.

[@jalderink]

John Byrne is my absolute favorite! The Dark Phoenix saga, in my opinion, is Marvels greatest tale. Marv Wolfman and George Perez, forged DC's greatest, The Judas Contract. Both tales are sublime!

[@pmg585]

Big Red is a popular brand of red cream soda in texas.

[@ComicTropes]

Never heard of that one. I'll remember it in case I visit Austin some time.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

Big Red is sold in WA, too.

[@UnlimitedProduction1]

Maybe that's why I was surprised he never heard of it. It's everywhere here in TX

[@SciFiFan2012]

UnlimitedProduction1 I've had Big Red in Arkansas but, it was a long time ago.

[@davidhanson4909]

We have Barq's Red Cream here in Louisiana. Used to have Big Shot too, but I haven't seen one of those in years. I've also had Dad's Blue Cream...somewhere (AK maybe). Looks like Windex.

[@dirkjently]

To correct you, Claremont and Byrne created Alpha Flight in the pages of the Unanny X-Men. They were nothing more but supporting characters in Wolverine's story. But Alpha Flight was NEVER a book until John started it in 1983. To me, the premise of a "reboot" is taking a BOOK and rebooting it. The characters had already been fleshed out, and were NOT rebooted. So, that's NOT a trope. So, you'll have to explain that more to me.

[@atarikid6719]

Perhaps The Reason Sasquatch Reminds You Of A Hairy Hulk Is Because His Powers Are Also Gamma Ray Related.

[@CT68]

I respect what Dave Cockrum did, but when I think of X-Men, I think of the Claremont/Byrne era.

[@marqosmarqos1201]

Can you do a video on George Perez and his run on the new teen titans one of my favorite books of the early to mud 1980's?

[@tomhubbard22]

16:25 Way, way back in the 1950s, Walt Kelly drew the comic strip "Pogo." He used to have Albert Alligator light his see-gars by striking a match on the panel border.

[@misternobody3481]

I wonder if Mile High Comics had an ad in that issue. They frequently had 2 page spreads in the middle advertising collectible issues. They're still around here in Denver.

[@marioozzie]

What do you mean, no Alpha Flight movie? They just cast Peter Dinklage to play Puck and Melanie Laurent from Inglorious Bastards to play Aurora for the Falcon and Winter Soldier show... :)

[@SkotNealey]

Ketchup chips are sold in NC. Also, Pickle flavored chips.

[@ericthemovieguy]

There was a Alpha Flight Easter egg in Deadpool 2 an advertisement on top of the cab.

[@MalkWilliams]

Glad I clicked on this. I remember that issue of Alpha Flight serialised as a backup strip in a Marvel UK comic back in the day (probably Secret Wars, possibly Transformers). I have to admit, I really liked it. American comics were really difficult to get hold of reliably in the UK at the time, so I never really found out more about them, but I was always slightly disappointed by that. Perhaps one days I'll hunt down the back issues! Anyway, it was good to revisit that story here, nice blast of nostalgia!

[@333darthste]

That's how I discovered Alpha Flight too. Was probably via the UK Secret Wars or Transformers comics, or could have been the UK run of Uncanny X-Men comics, which I also collected. I would check, but my Mum threw out a load of my old comics back when I was a kid & still at home, which was hugely disappointing. I made sure she was aware afterwards that was NOT cool and to be fair, she never did it again. As a postscript, I found a US copy of Alpha Flight issue 3 (the cover of which is on the wall on this video), at a car boot sale a couple of years ago, which made me very happy. Although it was just that issue and the seller had no other comics, I just had to buy it.

[@lunarmodule6419]

Quebeker here. I was so excited about the Alpha thing back in the 80 lol. It was about us! Merci.

[@silverbeernuts4229]

Hi Chris/Comic Tropes, I'm new to your channel so I apologize if my next question covers an earlier video you've made. Have you ever thought about doing a review of an inker that made John Byrne's X-Men unique especially when you compare inking by Byrne? Terry Austin, has always had a low profile in his career but his work speaks volumes. I wonder if Austin has retired. I don't see much of his work anymore. Love to hear your comments. Thank you

[@scottanderson8167]

We didn’t see the Byrne Hold, where a villain holds a good guy or hostage up in the air by the neck. We didn’t see She-Hulk in a cheesecake pose.

[@wendigo1619]

I don't have to look for alpha flight issue number one, because i own it since my older cousins gave me all their comics spanning from 1975-2001 and i still have them

[@marioozzie]

Poutine is the food of the gods. I've been living in Asia for the last 4 years, but I flew home for a short visit early in the summer. As soon as I got picked up at the airport, i asked my family members to stop and get a poutine to eat. I gobbled it down so fast!! I seem to remember seeing poutine available at a Los Angeles McDonald's many years ago. I guess it was like the McRib, only available for a limited time

[@timmeyer9191]

I know this video was made a few years ago, but there are kinder eggs in Nebraska, but they have separated the candy from the toy, one for each half of the egg.

[@dfcsons]

Funnily enough, I remember seeing a version of poutine in NYC at a diner called 'disco fries'.....it was fries, gravy and melted velvetta. YIKES.....no greater basratdization could there be.... And you're not the only one who has sought out back issues of Alpha Flight, kind sir..!

[@GRNDZA108]

Fun episode. Alpha Flight was a big deal up here during its initial run, I can't believe how cheap you got that first issue for. It used to go for several times that in the 80s. Another big one was issue #50, which was Jim Lee's Marvel debut. Next time you're north of the border, check out all dressed chips. They're like every flavour in one.