Alien Legion Omnibus, New Series, and Movie
“Footsloggers and soldiers of fortune, priests, poets, killers and cads — they fight for a future Galarchy, for cash, for a cause, for the thrill of adventure. Culled from the forgotten and unwanted of three galaxies, they are trained to be the most elite, and expendable, of fighting forces. Sometimes peacekeepers, sometimes shock troops, the Legion is sent into the Galarchy’s most desperate internal and external conflicts. Legionnaires live rough and they die hard, tough as tungsten and loyal to the dirty end.” 25 years ago this opening was presented to comic book readers who opened Alien Legion.
Alien Legion was published by Epic Comics, a creator-owned imprint under Marvel Comics. The book was launched in 1984 as the pet project of series creator Carl Potts. The dirty dozen type team of aliens traveling through space, and having sci-fi/war adventures has developed a cult following over the years. With tales of war and space exploration, the series redefined the military science-fiction genre. The comic was popular with the readers who helped make it the longest continuously running series to come out of Epic Comics.
“I think what registered with readers is that idea of America’s melting pot in space,” offered Potts. “Different cultures, religions, races, all working together. These differences are a source of strength but also cause problems. I extrapolated on that and thought ‘what would happen if you put that idea into a military unit?’ I wanted to put it in a pressure cooker to test the theory.”
Chris Warner, one of the artist on the series, is amazed that the comic has remained popular after all these years. “I’m always surprised at how many die-hard Legion fans are still out there. The book really was ahead of its time, and those original readers recognize that and still carry the flag for the series.” Potts agreed that the series was ahead of it’s time. “One of the things we did that was ahead of our time was that we weren’t afraid to kill off major characters if the storyline dictated. We didn’t have any Star Trek ‘red shirts.’ There was no cannon fodder among the story characters. To maintain a level of realism, the idea was to occasionally have characters you’ve grown to know get killed or maimed.”
And now Dark Horse Comics is calling the Alien Legion to service one again. This week Dark Horse will release Alien Legion: Omnibus Volume 1. The collection is reprint over 300 pages of the original series in paper back format for $24.95. However, Legion fans aren’t regulated to only reliving war stories from the past. Dark Horse will bring a new four-issue limited series to the front lines in 2010. The new comic series calls some former service men back to duty. Writer Chuck Dixon and artist Larry Stroman return to Legion in the lead creative roles and Carl Potts will handle the inking duties.
The release of the compilations and the new comics is fueling new hope that there will be movement on an Alien Legion movie. ”Alien Legion has been optioned for some time,” says creator Carl Potts. “The script is currently in its third rewrite.” The writing team of Derek Haas and Michael Brandt (Wanted, 3:10 to Yuma) are reworking the script for producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney. Potts is enthusiastic about this collaboration. ”The success they’ve had with blending CGI and live-action characters in The Pirates of the Caribbean series could translate easily to an Alien Legion film.”
“Legion is painted on an immense canvas,” he continued, “and today’s effects can really carry that off. The themes and characters have a lot of depth and resonance, and ultimately that’s what storytelling is about. Good stories are always good stories.”
And if the creator has his way, we could see much more of Alien Legion. “I really see this as having franchise potential,” he says. “Films, books, TV and video games – Legion‘s one of those properties that would work well in any medium.”
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