Official Handbook Updates

[suzene]

It's not really a handbook but deserves a mention: Alpha Flight members appear in the Super Heroes file-book for Heroic Age:



The characters have 1/3 page entries in files-format as narrated by Steve Rogers:
Aurora, Sasquatch, Northstar, Talisman and Snowbird have entries, with little head shots as images. Their power stats are replaced with creepy new-age stats like 'altruism' and 'courage', whatever, they all get high scores and it was nice to have them included.

Love,
rplass

"Altruism"? Northstar? Our Northstar? Jean-Paul Beaubier? Well, all right, I suppose his stint teaching and the fact that he's still hanging about with the X-Men both count, but still...doesn't sound quite right.

[cmdrkoenig67]

Four words...Adopted. Baby. With. AIDS. Jean Paul has a big heart, even if he does hide it most of the time.

Dana

[Le Messor]

As Stephen King put it: "I have the heart of a four-year-old boy. I keep it in a jar on my desk."

- Le Messor
"My doctor says I have the body of a seventeen-year-old."
"Well give it back, you're getting it wrinkled."
- You Can't Do That On Television

[cmdrkoenig67]

Eeeeew...LOL!

Dana

[suzene]

Four words...Adopted. Baby. With. AIDS. Jean Paul has a big heart, even if he does hide it most of the time.

Ah, true. I did forget about Joanne.

There's a less-than-complementary, somewhat tongue-in-cheek article on Steve's assessments over at iFanboy, along with Northstar's entry.

[Loki]

Ah, true. I did forget about Joanne.

There's a less-than-complementary, somewhat tongue-in-cheek article on Steve's assessments over at iFanboy, along with Northstar's entry.

While to be fair the article is fairly funny, it does take some of Steve's comments out of context (understandable when the cons are such brief summaries, I guess). He's not commenting on Black Cat's dating history, but her criminal past; he is commenting on Songbird and Hellcat's love lifes, but that's because one dated his foe Baron Zemo and the other the devil's own son, which are pretty big dating mistakes in hindsight. He mentions people's loyalty to foreign countries because it might lead to conflicts of interest - he speaks in glowing terms about Captain Britain, but CB is nevertheless tied to a foreign security service. And he's definitely not homophobic, as anyone who remembers his friendship with Arnie Roth would know (Cap #296, Arnie is brainwashed by the Red Skull and forced to deliver a cabaret routine denigrating his sexual preference, complete with the introduction, "that lovable pansy-- ARNOLD ROTH!" After the song, Arnie monologues: "A funny song, isn't it, Steve? A funny song-- about a funny little man, a pot-bellied, bald-headed wretch-- who doesn't know a thing about real, human love [...] Most people hate men like me... yet you always treated me w-with respect. C-compassion. Why? Is it because... YOU'RE ONE OF US? Is it because, deep inside, under all that macho bravado you're really a sorry excuse for a man... like me? Wh-what kind of man are you hiding underneath that chain mail? You st-stupid... silly... [begins to break the programming]") Cap's response?, "They can't corrupt your love for Michael with their lies any more than they can corrupt my love for Bernie!" - Bernie being Bernadette Rosenthal.) However, Northstar has courted a lot of media controversy, between his coming out and accusations of cheating in competition, and while Cap himself wouldn't have a problem with either, he knows public perception might be detrimental.

[maniac mike]

I don't know if anyone saw this...

OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE A TO Z UPDATE #5
Written by VARIOUS
Select Character Artwork by GUS VaZquez
Cover by KALMAN ANDRASOFSZKY
2010’s A-Z update concludes with this amazing final issue! All-new profiles for heroes like Ricochet, the Twelve's Witness, and Prince of Orphans; cosmic characters like the Universal Church of Truth, Mentor of Titan, the Fraternity of Raptor's Talon, and the Quist/Arcane; with an extra-large serving of villains: Boomerang, Quicksand, the Intelligencia, Mesmero, Blackout (Daniels), Icemaster, and Scramble! All this plus Mort the Dead Teenager, the Creatures from Kosmos, and Marvel Apes, too! Featuring brand-new art by Gus Vazquez!
64 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

[maniac mike]

Just got the OHOTMU A-Z Update issue #4 today and Saint Elmo got a half-page entry!

[Phil]

Now THAT is most unexpected...

[rplass]

Now THAT is most unexpected...

Hmm.. Stitch and Groundhog ought to be getting entries then too. They were equal level members of First Flight. Maybe issue #5??

[Phil]

Like Manbot, she had never had an entry before, so this is awesome. New artwork too and some minor changes in her official stats.

Just realised where I recognise Vasquez's artwork from; Alpha Flight Volume 2 Issue 17!

[rplass]

Just realised where I recognise Vasquez's artwork from; Alpha Flight Volume 2 Issue 17!

Then you've got a sharp, sharp eye for Vazquez's credited pencil assist from that issue. I'm having trouble finding his work in that book. What pages/panels from that issue can you find, and which ones reminded you of his work on the new OHOTMU pages?

You might have been triggered by the little cameo in Sunfire & Big Hero 6 #1, where he actually drew Murmur (in the top middle of the page):



Love,
rplass

[rplass]

Jeffries appears in this files-type handbook, which is part of a trilogy among Heroic Age: Heroes, Heroic Age: Villians and Heroic Age: X-Men:

HEROIC AGE: X-MEN #1

Cover by JAE LEE

As mutantkind begins to pull back from the brink of extinction, Steve Rogers joins the fight! Appraising the state of mutants today, Steve assesses the X-Men, X-Factor, the New Mutants, the Five Lights and more from the mutant community! This 64-page Heroic Age files book also includes considerations for the humans who have sympathized with the mutant condition and takes aim at the worst of anti-mutant bigotry! See the world of mutants from Steve Rogers' vantage point, featuring everyone from Apocalypse to X-23! 64 PGS./Handbook/Rated T+ …$3.99

This info from Michael Hoskins, the lead writer for the Heroic Age: Heroes book, who left me a note about it. The release date was solicited as 12/29, but I don't see it now over at Marvel's site, so who knows the exact date?

Love,
rplass

[rplass]

Ah, Witchfire appears as a villian in the Heroic Age: Villians book that came out today. No other Alpha Flight villians appear, except for common foes among others such as The Owl. Witchfire's entry is pretty good, as was expected based on the really excellent writing seen in the "Heroes" issue.

In the entry for Zombies, Zombie Guardian can be seen (remember this?) and very tiny, almost imperceptible, a few small dots which might be Zombie Aurora and Northstar.

Love,
rplass

[Le Messor]

Ah, Witchfire appears... No other Alpha Flight villians appear, except for common foes among others such as The Owl.

< pedant > Technically, she's not an Alpha villain. In Alpha, she was a hero. < / pedant >
We need... The owl exterminators!

In the entry for Zombies, Zombie Guardian can be seen (remember this?) and very tiny, almost imperceptible, a few small dots which might be Zombie Aurora and Northstar.

Must I be the one to make the 'Sweet Zombie Jesus' joke? Must I? Because I don't wanna.

(And they say I don't make enough Futurama references...)

- Le Messor
How many software engineers does it take to change a light bulb?
None, its a hardware problem.