Wednesday, September 29, 2004

A Broken Frame



The best part is, the list on this cover was continued in the back of the issue, and they actually continued to print names in the letters pages for many issues after.

I actually liked Alf. Looking back, having seen a few of the original episodes on TV Land recently, there was a rather mordant streak to the series that I didn't really get the first time around. The fact that Alf was the last survivor of his home planet was an element that crept into the series every now and again, and also helped account for Alf's strangely infantile worldview. It's not like Superman, who (at least post-Crisis) never knew a Kryptonian until many years after his arrival. Gordon Shumway, like the Martian Manhunter, is the last survivor of his race, and he carries this burden through his adventures on earth. It only makes sense that he is pathologically committed to bad jokes and strange childish non-sequitors. He's got the biggest load of survivor's guilt/PTSD on the planet. He's trying to stay sane the only way he can, considering he's kept virtual prisoner in the Tanner's house.

Of course, this did not stop him from participating in some of the notable events of the day, such as the Evolutionary War:



Which means, of course, for those of you paying attention, that Alf is officially as much a part of the Marvel Universe as Godzilla, the Transformers, the Micronauts, ROM and Co. Meaning, he could very well be featured in Brian Michael Bendis' New Avengers.



I'd buy it.

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