Saving Alaska

It wouldn't be helpful for spider-man to reside in Juneau while big-city criminals wreak injustice across the nation.

A new marvel limited series titled "patsy walker: hellcat" by Kathryn Immonen puts Alaska on the map in comic books. The first comic in a series of five adventures came out in July; the second is expected in stores this week.

Patsy walker isn't quite the popular name like Peter Parker or Bruce Banner, but the hellcat character has been intertwined into Marvel Comics mythology since 1976. Recently, after a huge comic event known as "civil war," the popular character of iron man promises an initiative for superheroes in all 50 states.

In the year 2002, though, Alaska made its first mainstream mark in the comic world with the limited series "30 Days of Night," pitching the citizens of barrow against bloodthirsty vampires.

While the concepts were original and many praised the writing of Steve Niles, the series wasn't as popularized as the superhero comics of the major comic companies like marvel. Alaska, however, has been seeping into the pages of marvel comics in the last few years. Writer Mark Millar took the x-man wolverine to the Kenai peninsula to fight evil mutants in 2005, and in 2006 the ongoing series "new avengers," written by Brian Michael Bendis, featured an alien force destroying the city of north pole in what might be the most accurate interpretation of Alaska in comics yet.

Whether Alaska's new role in comics is just a short-lived trend or something more prominent in the future, it certainly has made its mark in the world of comic books. For a great read that's close to home, look for "Patsy Walker: Hellcat" at your local comic bookstore.

Immonen, who recently revamped hellcat, revealed her motives behind the new limited series in an e-mail interview.

Q. Of all the possible states for this series to take place, why Alaska?

A. After i finished the four-part hellcat story in "marvel comics presents," editor Nick Lowe asked me to think about pitching something else for a miniseries. I hadn't given it any solid consideration prior to that and so instead of hammering away at details or banging my head against continuity, i thought about what would be my real fantasy project with patsy.

And to be honest, on my private planet, the next hellcat book would have been a monster-size patsy walker hellcat christmas special. So i had that as a starting point as well as a lot of reading that i'd been doing about extreme car rallies, mostly in mongolia and siberia. I was all about the snow and the cold and patsy's horrible driving skills. Hellcat had already been pegged for the initiative; alaska was not on anybody else's radar and, in discussions with nick, it became a happy marriage.

Q. How much did you research on Alaska prior to writing this series?

A. Honestly, hellcat's Alaska is not the one you're going to find on any map. And she's not headed for anchorage or any place with buildings or, you know, let's say, uh, vampires. Having said that, though, group editor axel alonso provided some invaluable personal insight based on some pretty alarming work experience he had in the state as a young man, and none of it is fit to print.

You know ... I've never been to Alaska but i've been on enough flights out of calgary with miners coming off of four months of camp who totally redefine stir-crazy. You talk to people, you pay attention, you piece together what's interesting to you. And it makes for a different story than one set in, say, Maine. Hellcat versus the giant crustacean. Which is, of course, a cliche. ... But they don't come from nowhere, and lobsters do come from maine. I know Alaska's not buried in snow, but it is in this story.

Q. In issue no. 1 we see mystical powers at work. What was the inspiration of having magical qualities in alaska as opposed to regular super villains or monsters?

A. Hellcat is, by her very nature and character, going to be connected with magic. If she doesn't find it, it'll find her. It's her superpower, it's her continuity history. So, i spent a lot of time at the university library reading a lot of material, most of which was thesis research, about northern shamanism from Alaska to Siberia to Finland, trying to sort out a world view for the magic that hellcat encounters. I read a lot of traditional stories as well as early, i guess you'd call them, survivalist accounts.

Q. Alaska has made several notable appearances in marvel titles ("wolverine," "new avengers," etc.) In the last few years, why do you think alaska is having a more prominent role in comics?

A. Because stories set in canada are boring. I don't know, actually. I guess i would say that for all we talk about the world getting smaller or the global village, there are still places and ideas that are very far away in some fundamental ways. My sister-in-law taught high school via shortwave radio in northern ontario for a number of years, and someone is still doing that job.

Those kids are having a radically different experience growing up than did anyone i know, and that's in my own province! Granted it's a province that would hold all of europe and then some, but still. I guess what i'm trying to say is that the mystery is still alive, and we're all differently invested in various aspects of its perpetuation. It makes for good stories. I hope.

Q. Any final word to youthful readers of Alaska?

A. I guess it's the same thing i would say to any young person. To claim a difference, you've got to make a difference. So make stuff. It's never been easier, and we've all got something important to make or say or do ... Except when we don't and then we should listen, but that's still doing something."

Brett Scruton is a senior at West High School.