A new novel is about to be released on an often overlooked super team, Alpha Flight. Delving deep into the intricacies of one of Canada’s most beloved superhero teams, Daryl Lawrence emerges as a thought-provoking and fully informative voice in True North: A Complete Reference Guide and Analysis of Alpha Flight’s First Volume.
In his book, which encompasses 130 regular issues, two annuals, and numerous related issues, Lawrence provides a comprehensive examination of the characters, themes, and cultural significance that have shaped Alpha Flight’s unique place in the Marvel Universe.
This interview explores the motivations behind his analysis, the challenges of dissecting a team with such a rich history, and the insights he hopes readers will gain from his work. The novel is available for pre-order on Barnes & Noble.
Courtesy Daryl Lawrence
Unearthing Alpha Flight: The Origins of True North
AIPT: Daryl, what inspired you to write this book, and why is it important that it be published now?
Daryl Lawrence: The inspiration came from a session I put on at The Uncanny Experience 2024; it was all about Alpha Flight’s heroes and villains from the first volume. The response I received from attendees of the Experience was amazing- it seemed like everyone had questions about Alpha Flight. Logically, I thought to myself, “Well, I know the answers to those questions, and I can give these folks something to refer to!” So a few weeks after the Experience, I sat down with my short box of Alpha Flight and just started writing.
AIPT: What are some of the important lessons learned throughout the Alpha Flight comic books that you wanted to highlight?
DL: Drama makes the book work! The best issues and arcs deal with the characters and how they are motivated to do what they do. When Alpha Flight reverts to (what I refer to as) “one big battle” for an entire issue, the magic is lost. Luckily, most of the first volume leans heavily into character development and the interplay between the different characters, both heroes and villains. The thing to keep in mind is that Alpha Flight began alongside the rise of primetime soaps such as Dallas and Dynasty, and the culture at the time was eating that sort of storytelling up (and, in my opinion, still hungers for it).
If we’re talking storylines, acceptance of others is an important facet of the series. The characters in the volume are wildly different from one another and, in some cases, change a lot throughout the run. These changes are rarely remarked upon negatively by other characters. A prime example I love is when Sasquatch comes back not as Walter Langkowski, but Wanda Langkowski. There are changes made in how people interact with Wanda (such as Aurora realizing she is not interested in a romantic relationship with a woman), but there’s absolutely no judgment, and people use the correct pronouns for her immediately.
Courtesy Daryl Lawrence
Behind the Pages: Research, Structure, and Representation
AIPT: When it comes to chronicling a comic book series, what are some of the tools used to collect data and organize it into book form?
DL: The first thing I had to solidify was the scope. I was originally going to write about all five volumes of Alpha Flight, but realized that might be too much- and I was extremely correct! After looking at the 130 issues of the first volume, alongside two annuals, I knew there was more than enough material to write about. However, what took place in the main story wasn’t everything the team encountered. So my revised scope was everything leading up to the first volume and ending with issue 130. That gave me an additional thirty or so issues to consume, ranging from X-Men to Machine Man to Power Pack.
In terms of organization, the book is organized roughly in in-universe chronological order. That means that sometimes, those extra stories (which were published at different times) appear alongside issues of the main series where they make the most sense. A good example is a What If… issue penned by Simon Furman, which was published in 1994, but takes place during the Dark Phoenix saga. Due to when it happened in the Marvel Universe, it appears before Issue 1 of the main series.
The other thing I drew upon is prior scholarship and interviews to help give context to some of the issues, stories, and characters. This involved digging into traditional published interviews from the 1980s, but also ones that were published digitally since then. I also tapped into academic articles covering Alpha Flight and some of the themes in the book, which help enrich the reader’s experience. I also conducted my own original interviews with members of the various creative teams to round out the book and make it a go-to resource for everything Alpha Flight
AIPT: When did you first decide to become a writer, and what lessons did you learn leading up to this book launch that you carry with you?
DL: I always told myself I wasn’t a writer- I was a reader. But during the pandemic, that changed. I had been doing research on my family history and came across some really fascinating stuff about two of my ancestors. I researched it, and it promptly sat in a box for a couple of years —until the world shut down. I thought to myself, “Well, there’s no time like the present,” and I just started writing. That book, On The Go All The Time: The Unusually Usual Lives of Two Midwestern Women, came out almost three years ago.
The biggest thing I learned is that you need a strong editor who knows your voice and can work with you to make a better book. My editor for that book, Laura Grevas, is actually back as my editor for True North. The advantage Laura brought to the table for this project, especially, is that she had never read a comic and had never heard of Alpha Flight. She was able to ask really good questions that helped me explain things a lot better, meaning True North is accessible both for longtime fans of the series and those who may be totally new to it.
AIPT: What is one of your favorite letters you read from the Letters Page in the comics?
DL: It comes in Issue 39 from Brian Nelson of Los Angeles, California. His whole letter is actually worth reading, but the statement that stuck out to me is, “Admit that Northstar is gay.” The thing is…the editorial staff chose to run this letter way back in 1986. Northstar wouldn’t actually come out in the comic until Issue 106. As you can read in the book, Northstar was always written as gay, with the exception of James Hudnall, everyone who wrote the book prior to that issue acknowledged he was gay and wrote him as such. By printing this letter, it was an editorial coming as close to blatantly admitting the fact as they could.
AIPT: When offering Alpha Analysis, what are you hoping readers take away from your words?
DL: I included an analysis of each issue to draw my own conclusions and reflect on the issue and its impact. This section of each issue description is where I can dig into information presented outside the storyline- be it interviews, secondary sources, etc. I really mean for it to be a springboard for others to think critically about the issue and reflect on how it makes them feel. The thing about the whole book is that it is a framework and reference book- it’s a place where people can start or land during their journey for Alpha Flight, but it should not be where they stop.
What are your hopes for the continuation of Alpha Flight’s story in current-day comics?
What a fortuitous question- as I actually just had a letter printed in this month’s X-Men issue mentioning my desire to see more Alpha Flight! Ed Brisson did a wonderful job with his fifth volume of the book in 2023, which was limited to five issues. There are things out there that still need resolution from that series, and the needle is moving ever-so-slowly. I think some of the characters have been written beautifully in the past few years- Leah Williams’ work with Aurora, for example, is a masterclass on how to leave some really sticky points of character continuity behind and give that character a fresh start. The team is back together, and those characters aren’t in play in current books- I want to see where they go from here.
Courtesy Daryl Lawrence
AIPT: Would you ever consider writing Alpha Flight for Marvel Comics?
DL: I would! Give me an Unlimited series where we can start building a character-driven story and then flesh out the world in which they live. C’mon, Marvel, it’s low stakes- you have my e-mail address. Let’s chat.
AIPT: What’s on the horizon that we can expect from you as a writer?
DL: I have a book about the albums and songs of Stevie Nicks coming out later this year! Previously, I wrote a similar book about Linda Ronstadt, and it was so much fun. The difference with this one? It’s entirely within my creative control, and as of now, it’s already 90% complete. Taken together, that book and True North took about a year (combined) to produce, so I’m going to enjoy a little time away from writing hundreds of pages on one subject. Do I have ideas for the future? I do! But those ideas will entail a lot of research (can you tell I like that aspect of the writing process?), so they are at least a couple of years out.
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