Alien Legion

Infobox comic book title
title = Alien Legion


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publisher = Epic Comics
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creators = Carl Potts
Alan Zelenetz
Frank Cirocco
TPB = Slaughter World
ISBN = 0871357631
subcat = Epic Comics
sort = PAGENAME

"Alien Legion" was an early Epic Comics title about the members of a military unit called Force Nomad, comprised of the "dregs of the universe" and similar to the French Foreign Legion. The cast includes leader Sarigar, whose lower half is serpentine, fully humanoid Torie Montroc, and probably the most popular character, Jugger Grimrod, a Thraxian.

Primary creator Carl Potts and co-creators Alan Zelenetz and Frank Cirocco developed the concept, and in 1983 Epic launched the first of several "Alien Legion" mini-series and one-shots. Collaborators have included writers Chuck Dixon and Larry Stroman and artists Terry Austin, Whilce Portacio, and Scott Hanna, among others.

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.

Early issues used the fuller title "The Alien Legion" in its logo.

Publications

* "The Alien Legion" Vol. 1 (20 issues)
* "The Alien Legion" Vol. 2 (18 issues)
* "The Alien Legion: A Grey Day To Die" (graphic novel)
* "Alien Legion: On The Edge" (3 issues, bookshelf format)
* "Alien Legion: Tenants Of Hell" (2 issues, bookshelf format)
* "Alien Legion: One Planet At A Time" (3 issues, bookshelf format)
* "Alien Legion: Grimrod" (one-shot, bookshelf format)
* "Law Dog - Grimrod: Terror at the Crossroads" (one-shot, bookshelf format)
* "Alien Legion "Binary Deep" (one-shot, bookshelf format)
* "The Alien Legion: Slaughterworld" (trade paperback collection)
* "Epic: An Anthology" #3
* "Heavy Hitters Annual"

Collected editions

All of Volume 2 and the first 6 issues of Volume 1 have been published in trade paperback form. Checker Book Publishing released the books "Force Nomad" and "Piecemaker" that collect Volume 2, and "Footsloggers", which collects the first 6 issues of Volume 1. Titan Books published trades of the "On the Edge" and "Tenants of Hell" storylines.

Awards

The graphic album, "Alien Legion: A Grey Day to Die", received the Squiddy Award for Favorite Graphic Album in 1988.

Quotes

Carl Potts: [http://www.popimage.com/may00/interviews/pottsinter.html] "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."

References

* [http://www.lambiek.net/artists/p/potts_carl.htm Lambiek Comiclopedia: Carl Potts]
* [http://www.popimage.com/may00/interviews/pottsinter.html "PopImage", May 2000: Carl Potts interview]
* [http://cpotts1.home.netcom.com/index.htm/ "Alien Legion" official site]
* [http://www.comics2film.com/ProjectFrame.php?f_id=303 "Comics2Film": "Alien Legion" ]
* [http://users.rcn.com/aardy/comics/awards/index.html Comic Book Awards Almanac]