Two posts by Jim Zub, about Alpha Flight and New York

Canadian comics writer Zub said the following about Alpha Flight at a convention:

3am fervent argument about Alpha Flight's squandered potential?

Must be Comic Con weekend.

— Jim Zub 🎲 (@JimZub) October 14, 2023

We were all in agreement that it had been squandered, the argument was about how to make the book work and the idea of being 'Canadian'

— Jim Zub 🎲 (@JimZub) October 14, 2023

And for the record, even Fabian Nicieza chimed in:

this tweet really made me glad I don't socialize much at cons anymore.
;)

— FabianNicieza (@FabianNicieza) October 14, 2023

Where've they been for many years? Some could argue the potential was squandered, if anything, via the botched outing of Northstar as homosexual, in a badly written story by Scott Lobdell over 30 years ago, who's not considered the best writer of the times. Not many stories of that sort back in the day were as heavy handed as Lobdell's scripting of Northstar turned out to be. If Bill Mantlo had received the task of spotlighting Northstar's homosexuality, as he was once said to have wanted to do, would it have been better scripted? Maybe, even though Mantlo was quite a leftist for his time, and did turn out at least a few questionable tales, including the Hulk's journey to Israel in 1981. And maybe if Nicieza had the assignment, it'd be easier to read through as well. So why Lobdell would get such assignments is mysterious, especially recalling he didn't script Aurora very well either. Maybe Zub should consider what happened historically, and ask whether such heavy-handedness on Lobdell's part was what led to Alpha Flight's downfall years later as a series set in Canada.

Zub also posted the following about New York City:

Oh, New York~
One minute you're offbeat and charming, the next you are gut-wrenchingly depressing and a bit scary.

Highs and lows.
It'a helluva town.

— Jim Zub 🎲 (@JimZub) October 15, 2023

Wow, has he noticed how bad things have become in just a few years in the Big Rotting Apple? Well it won't do much good to overlook where things are going now, and one can only wonder whether it'll still be worth it to hold any conventions there by the end of the decade, let alone publish comics there (and as I recall, DC moved to California in the past decade, where things aren't doing any better, and Marvel probably did too, for all the good it's bound to do in the end). Of course, no guarantees writers like Zub will ever address the New York situation in their comics writing, and that's what really makes this all such a sad affair.