Today, Thor vs. Elvis. (Or not.)

And that's just one of the many lies from today's book! From 1989, Alpha Flight #75, "Tigers in the Rain" Written by James D. Hudnall, pencils by John Calimee, inks by Mike Manley.

The cover blurb exclaims, "All-out war in the Marvel Universe!" which isn't necessarily accurate. Lost between dimensions, the Canadian super-team Alpha Flight has been trying to get home; and has arrived in a dimension where the traditional Marvel heroes have taken over America and turned it into a fascist state. (It's also a weird mix of heroes, mostly Avengers, but some X-Men and Fantastic Four members too.) Although things are looking grim, AF gets two surprises in their favor: the return of their old teammate Puck (no longer the dwarf he was) and this wasn't an alternate reality at all. Instead, it's the dimension of the Dreamqueen, an old Alpha Flight foe; and the team was trapped there by another, Llan the Sorceror.

Puck explains that the matter of that dimension was "shadow substance," and could be molded to their will. To help defeat the false heroes, Puck conjures up a gun-toting Santa and a guitar-smashing Elvis. Once Alpha Flight was back together, they leave for earth. Presumably to beat Llan's ass when they get back...

I read a bit of Alpha Flight here and there, although I picked up a batch recently--some of the double-sized issues and annuals, and a few with Mike Mignola art. I'm not sure I've found a great one yet, though.