by Randy Lander

ALIEN LEGION: FORCE NOMAD TP Recommended (7/10) Checker Books Publishing Writers: Chuck Dixon, Carl Potts & Alan Zelenetz Pencils: Larry Stroman Inks: Randy Emberlin, Mark Farmer & Larry Stroman Colors: John Wellington & Janet Jackson Letters: Phil Felix Editors: Margaret Clark, Steve Buccellato & Archie Goodwin Price: $24.95 US/$38.95 CAN Since I came into comics in the mid-1980s, and I was a Marvel/DC kid for the most part, I missed a lot of really good comics, including most of what companies like First and imprints like Epic produced. Checker Books seems to have taken on the mission statement of getting this type of classic work back in print, and they've begun with a series I've only heard about but never read, Alien Legion. The book is a straightforward action story, exactly what you'd expect from action writer Chuck Dixon, and though it doesn't strike me as particularly innovative now, it probably was then. At any rate, though, the stories here are a fun read, and the creators provide a solid plot structure and some great characters. If Checker publishes more, I'll definitely be on board. Force Nomad is a concept that has been done many times before, the idea of the worst dregs of the military being formed into an expendable but exceptional unit. The back cover of the trade calls the Legion a "foreign legion in space" but it's more like The Dirty Dozen in space. At any rate, the central concept allows for fatalities among the unit and a more realistic depiction of warfare than you generally get in science fiction comics. The tradeoff is that we don't get to know all the characters very well, and in fact there are a lot of characters defined solely by visuals. This isn't to say there aren't some standout characters here. Though I wish Dixon had made use of his eleven issues to flesh out more of the characters, some of the characters are terrific. Particularly likable is rough-and-tumble soldier Jugger Grimrod, who speaks in a low-class English accent and serves as both the muscle and the comedy relief. Perhaps my favorite story in this volume is when the decidedly rank-and-file Jugger winds up a Captain, in control of his own unit, which features a rather efficient method of getting busted down in rank. There are other characters who get some screen time. The commanders of the unit, Major Sarigar and Lieutenant Torie Montroc, are given a fair bit of development early on. Sarigar's guilt over the loss of his crew seems to come and go, which is an unfortunate bit of weak characterization, but at his best he's the definition of a good leader who looks out for his troops. Montroc, on the other hand, gets a fair bit of characterization through his relationship to his father, a civilian who has some business influence. Montroc is often field commander, which means we get to see a lot of him being the motivator and the leader of the team. Though the coloring is not what I've come to expect on modern comics, it is fairly nice work by John Wellington and Janet Jackson, a little unsophisticated but clear enough and thankfully lacking the dot-matrix that was so prevalent in comics from this era. The artwork in general is fairly strong, early work from Larry Stroman before he had really broken out into his own style, which he used on X-Factor and Tribe. His work here is reminiscent of the straight-forward art done by M.D. Bright or Pat Broderick, with a heavy influence from Walt Simonson evident as well. In the course of the eleven issues in this book, the team is rescued from their seeming deaths (presumably established in #1-10, which aren't reprinted yet), reformed into a new unit and taken on a variety of missions. A continuing plot thread develops involving a conspiracy of one race that supports the Legion secretly dealing with the enemy Harkilons, and that is nicely wrapped up with a trial in the final issue. This makes for a solid package, and I can see why Checker Publishing decided to publish this chunk. I'll confess to a little confusion as to why Checker decided to start with #11-18 rather than #1-10, but they clearly know what they're doing. The production values on this book, from paper quality to the text pieces on the inside front and back covers to the painted cover, are very solid, and for those who have an interest in this type of material, this is well worth the price they're asking. Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.