There has been a large outcry from fans new and old for Alpha Flight to begin their transition back into the mainstream of Marvel. With the recent trends of superhero teams and mutants coming into the MCU; it's hard to ignore this very vibrant and popular Canadian crew.
That being said, we are also seeing large upticks in the popularity of 80's comics, which brings us into a very perfect little storm. Should we even start to see rumors of the entrance of Alpha Flight, we will see many of their key issues begin to soar. So beyond looking at their very first appearances (Uncanny X-Men #120, and #121), let's go over some of the self-titled keys that Alpha Flight has.
Alpha Flight #1
Always a great candidate for Alpha Flight keys. The first issue is really a gold mine as far as keys go. First, we'll talk about the cover. Not only do we have the entire Alpha Flight crew on the cover, but we have other huge names as well, Spider-Man, Cyclops, The Fantastic Four, Cap, and even Thor and Daredevil are noticeable and clean in the hero cluster going on.
Even with all that going on, all I can ever see is that yellow background. Being the bright and beautiful eye-catcher it is. Second is the fact that this first issue is the first appearance of Marrina and Puck, and is also the first cameo appearance of Tundra. This puts the first issue in line with other multi-keys at this point.
Not to mention there is a Newsstand Edition of this issue as well. So be on the lookout for barcodes on those pristine copies. Also, there is a Canadian pricing variant for this issue; stating a $1.25 with a globe print instead of the normal $1.00! Make sure you check your long box for those prices and barcodes!
At the moment 9.8 slabs can run you near $200 for the original. The Newsstand is sitting just above that at $300. While you can pick up raw copies from $15 - $100 depending on the quality. Should Alpha Flight get any kind of serious media attention, these prices could run up as long as they wanted really.
Alpha Flight #11
Alpha Flight #11 is another issue I could see getting big if Alpha Flight were to take a leap into the new phase. This is due to this issue being the first appearance of Omega Flight, the villainous counterpart to Alpha Flight. This is actually the first for the characters Box, Diamond Lil', Wildchild, Flashback, and Jerome Jaxon, the leader of the nefarious crew. All of those firsts could make it a great long-term pick for this team.
Another reason is the all-black cover. With black backgrounds like this, there is often some color swiping, flecking, and fading on the cover. So pristine covers are even harder to come by, and a 9.8 could be very scarce. That being said, you should also look for the Newsstand Edition for this issue as it's going to be much rarer than the Direct Edition.
Current pricing for a 9.8 slab is around $100. Raw books again are a little scattered price-wise, but they tend to be near $20 for a solid copy. This is a great time to get in on these titles if you are an old or new fan of either team.
Alpha Flight #32
A nice honorable mention for this series is #32. Not only do we have another great cover with that blue and pink clashing and coalescing; but this is the first appearance of Heather Hudson as Vindicator. Taking on the mantle for the first time on her own. This would be a great issue to have seen some attention should Heather make a splash in media alongside James.
I found one of these at my LCS the other day marked for $6. So they are absolutely still around, and they tend to be on the cheap. The copy I found wasn't as great as the one I already had. However, it was nice to see a smaller price tag on a book that was in pretty good shape overall.
Final Remarks:
Hopefully, the fans will be heard, and we will see some gears starting to move for Alpha Flight. Being as iconic as they are, once they move into the mainstream we could see a new string of Avengers-like titles for them. In many ways these early issues of Alpha Flight are strong. Make sure you keep your eyes peeled for those overlooked issues!
