Alpha Flight: True North #1 by Marvel Comics gives readers three great stories revolving around some of the Canadian superteams most beloved and classic characters.
Grab your hat and come travel light – adventure lies just around the bend! Three brand-new tales no one has ever told – until now! Join the greatest creators the Great White North has to offer as we unearth the secret history of the classic Alpha Flight stalwarts: Puck! Snowbird! Talisman! Northstar! Marrina! Guardian! Vindicator!
‘Mired in the Past’
Written by: Jim Zub
Art by: Max Dunbar
Colors by: Jim Charalampidis
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‘Monsters’
Written by: Jed MacKay
Art by: Djibril Morisette-Phan
Colors by: Ian Herring
‘Illegal Guardians’
Written by: Ed Brisson
Art by: Scott Hepburn
Colors by: Jim Charalampidis
Alpha Flight: True North is telling three stories and each is it’s own thing and can be read as a stand-alone.
Mired in the Past’ by Jim Zub, Max Dunbar and Jim Charalampidis is the first of the bunch and focuses on Snowbird and Talisman. Zub crafts a quick yet emotional story that highlights the characters’ powers and places on the team (great for newbie readers) but also opens up the origin of Snowbird a bit. Not easy to do with limited pages, but Zub nails it. Max Dunbar’s art is slick and energetic, with a nice amount of detail and some great creature and monster designs. It has a slight Greg Capullo vibe (that’s a compliment!). Jim Charalampidis’s colors add a ton of weight and atmosphere, creating a complete package.
‘Monsters’ by Jed MacKay, Djibril Morisette-Phan and Ian Herring is the best of the bunch and tells a quick backstory starring Alpha Flight fan-fave Puck. ‘Monsters’ includes Fat Cobra (from Iron Fist lore) and cult character Ulysses Bloodstone; both a welcome sight. The narration by MacKay is gritty and heavy on an almost noir feel, which is great for a story about a dark moment in Puck’s past. The linework by Djibril Morisette-Phan is sketchy and dark; when you add the weight and volume of Ian Herring’s colors, you get immersed in the atmosphere. 
The last story, ‘Illegal Guardians’ by Ed Brisson, Scott Hepburn and Jim Charalampidis features former team leaders Vindicator and Guardian and their daughter. This short does a solid job of making sense of the convoluted story of the Hudson family while setting up an interesting and dark twist at the end that brings the character of Guardian into a new light. Hepburn and Charalampidis together create some energetic superhero art that propels the story forward with some great action scenes. 
Conclusion
Alpha Flight: True North is telling three stories, and as such, each is segment is different in tone and style. Yet ultimately they all have something in common: a strong emotional core about dealing with the past. They all also succeed in execution and make great use of the shorter format as well.
Alpha Flight: True North is available at your local comic book store on Wednesday, September 4th, 2019.
