| Alien Legion | |
|---|---|
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Epic Comics |
| Format | Limited series |
| Genre | Military science fiction |
| Publication date | April 1984 – August 1990 |
| Number of issues | 38 |
| Creative team | |
| Creator(s) | Carl Potts Alan Zelenetz Frank Cirocco |
| Collected editions | |
| Alien Legion: Slaughterworld | ISBN 0871357631 |
| Omnibus Volume 1 | ISBN 1595823948 |
Alien Legion is a science-fiction comic-book series and associated titles created by Carl Potts, Alan Zelenetz, and Frank Cirocco for Marvel Comics; Epic Comics imprint in 1983. It features a military unit, Force Nomad, similar to the French Foreign Legion.
Contents |
Alien Legion — cover-titled The Alien Legion for its first series and initial graphic novel — features a military unit, Force Nomad, similar to the French Foreign Legion. Its characters include leader Sarigar, whose lower half is serpentine; the fully humanoid Torie Montroc; and an alien of the Thraxian race, Jugger Grimrod.
Primary creator Carl Potts and co-creators Alan Zelenetz (writer) and Frank Cirocco (penciler) developed the concept, and in 1984 Marvel Comics' Epic Comics imprint launched the first of several Alien Legion miniseries and one-shots. Potts said in 2000,
The original concept was the 'Foreign Legion in space' and all the legionnaires were human. ... Then I created the humanoid/serpentine design that later became Sarigar and decided that the Legion should include a wide variety of species. This was in the early '70s. By the time I got around to developing the idea further in the early '80s, Star Wars obviously became an influence. The Alien Legion universe is a giant extrapolation of the American democratic melting-pot society where different races and cultures work together for the common good while dealing with the pluses and problems that the nation's diversity creates.[1]
The franchise debuted with Marvel/Epic Comics' The Alien Legion #1-20 (cover-dated April 1984 - June 1987).[2] The 18-issue Alien Legion (Oct. 1987 - Aug. 1990), minus the "The", followed, generally scripted by Chuck Dixon and penciled by Larry Stroman.[3] Afterward came the three-issue Dixon-Stroman miniseries Alien Legion: On The Edge (Nov. 1990 - Jan. 1991);[4] the two-issue Dixon-Stroman Alien Legion: Tenants of Hell (1991);[5] the one-shot cover-titled Alien Legion: Grimrod and copyrighted Alien Legion: Jugger Grimrod (Aug. 1992), by Dixon and artist Mike McMahon;[6] the single-issue Alien Legion: Binary Deep (Sept. 1993), by Dixon and the monomial artist [Enrique] Alcatena;[7] and the three-issue miniseries Alien Legion: One Planet at a Time (April-July 1993), by Dixon and penciler Hoang Nguyen.[8]
Additionally, Marvel/Epic published two spinoffs: Marvel Graphic Novel #25 (cover-titled Marvel Graphic Novel: The Alien Legion),[9] released in 1986 and containing the story "A Grey Day To Die" by writers Potts and Zelenetz, penciler Cirocco, and the first series' regular inker, Terry Austin;[10] and the one-shot crossover with another series Law Dog and Grimrod: Terror at the Crossroads (1993).[11][12]
As well, two short stories appeared: the 10-page “Tough Enough”, by writer Dixon and penciler Douglas Braithwaite, in the Marvel/Epic magazine Epic (cover-titled Epic: An Anthology) #3 (1992);[12][13] and the 12-page “Altered State”, by writer Potts and artist Alcatena, in Heavy Hitters Annual #1 (1993).[12][14]
Dark Horse Comics announced it is publishing a new Alien Legion series in 2010.[15]
Some of the stories have been published in trade paperback form. Alien Legion: Slaughterworld (1991; ISBN 0871357631), collects The Alien Legion #7-11.[16][17]
Checker Book Publishing released the books Force Nomad and Piecemaker, collecting the second series, and Footsloggers, collecting the first six issues of the first volume. Titan Books published trade paperbacks of the On the Edge and Tenants of Hell miniseries.
Dark Horse Comics published the Alien Legion Omnibus Volume 1 in December 2009 (ISBN 1-59582-394-8), collecting the first seven story arcs of the series; and Alien Legion Omnibus Volume 2 in May 2010 (ISBN 978-1-59582-494-3), rounding out the first series including the graphic novel.
In 2003, Potts was working with Mainframe Entertainment on a possible computer-animated Alien Legion television series but this was abandoned once Mainframe was sold.
In the mid- to late 2000s, Alien Legion was optioned by producer Jerry Bruckheimer and The Walt Disney Company, with screenwriters Derek Haas and Michael Brandt collaborating on a live-action film script.[15]