|
Old
Soliders Never Die:
Alien Legion: Force Nomad
Checker Book Publishing Group
Graphic Novel
Review
by : Troy
Brownfield
Creator:
Carl
Potts
Writer: Chuck Dixon
Artist: Larry Stroman
More
info : www.sevenhillsbooks.com
|
If you
collected comics back in the '80s, you might remember the
Alien Legion. First appearing in 1984 under Marvel's creator-owned
Epic aegis, this military-flavored science fiction classic
hailed from the mind of writer/editor Carl Potts. Popular
enough to warrant a second series, Alien Legion came back
in 1987 with Alien Legion: Force Nomad, plotted by Potts,
with scripting by Chuck Dixon and art by Larry Stroman. Long
out of print, the first eleven issues of Force Nomad have
resurfaced by agreement with Potts in this terrific new collection
from the Checker Book Publishing Group.
Checker
is making a concerted effort to publish "collections of comics
that have never been collected into the graphic novel format".
Alien Legion is simply one of those series that Marvel has
neglected; thankfully, Checker has made it available for a
new wave of readers to discover. I would hope that familiarity
with Dixon (up till very recently the writer on DCs Robin,
Nightwing, and Birds of Prey, and now writer of books like
Crux at CrossGen) will draw readers to this previously overlooked
tale of high-adventure in space.
Alien
Legion plays like "The Dirty Dozen" mixed with (a good version
of) "Starship Troopers". Our "heroes" are often dregs, cast-offs,
and sentients ducking jail-time by taking a stint in the military.
These misfits get the joy of pitched combat on unforgiving
alien worlds with almost no support from a corrupt government
willing to leave their expendable carcasses behind at a second's
notice. This does not necessarily make for happy soldiers.
The
genius of Potts's creation is that it plays on the familiar
while simultaneously incorporating fantastic elements, like
a Lee Marvin-esque major with a serpentine lower body, a British-accented
green-skinned reprobate, and a woman who can jack into computer
systems with cybernetically enhanced fingernails. My favorite
character of the bunch is the aforementioned green-skinner
Jugger Grimrod; cut from '80s anti-hero cloth, his bad attitude
and cheerful disobedience make him an immediate stand-out.
Of course, the scripting by beloved tough-guy writer Dixon
helps immeasurably; he writes the political machinations,
the tense action scenes, the behind-the-scenes agony of command
and the hard sci-fi environs with a confident flow and intensity.
All of these disparate elements might bring down a lesser
artist, but Stroman (noted for his own Tribe and work like
X-Factor and Wildcats) handles every element, every backroom
meeting, every gritty battle scene, beautifully.
This
is high-quality work from a gifted group of creators. I don't
know what's better: that Checker managed to collect this series
in such a handsomely done volume (very high quality paper
with solid attention paid to the coloring), or that the liner
notes indicated that there's more Alien Legion to come. Fans
of Potts, Dixon, Stroman and accessible hardcore science fiction
and action just definitely seek this out. Available at bookstores
and your local comics shop, it's once again easy for you to
join the Alien Legion.
Note
on Checker: The liner notes of the volume specifically
mention Epic, First, Eclipse and Pacific among those companies
that published creator-owned material in the '80s. Checker
has already announced that a collection of Clive Barker's
Hellraiser, released in the '80s and '90s from Epic, will
be arriving in June. Watch ShotgunReviews.com for more info
on that when it arrives.
Note
to Checker: My big hope is that perhaps Checker will
be able to shake loose the utterly brilliant Elementals from
the long-extinct Comico. Despite the fact that creator Bill
Willingham sold his interest to Comico a few years back, perhaps
the company's apparent dead state would allow Checker to bring
it out. I can think of few series that would deserve such
a sharp treatment from a group of people that obviously have
a respect and affinity for classic comics work.
Troy
Brownfield is the Editor-in-Chief of Shotgun Reviews. Honestly,
he's really excited about the prospect of more Alien Legion.
You WILL dig this book. Email Troy at psikotyk@aol.com
|
