expatNERD

Category: Blog

  • L.E.G.I.O.N.

    This week’s recommendation is something very dear to my heart. As you can tell from the title it’s L.E.G.I.O.N. which launched in 1989. And this thing literally has everything. Walk with me.

    Beautiful covers by Kevin Maguire.

    Initially plotted by Keith Giffen and scripted by Alan Grant.

    Alan Grant takes over plotting.

    Barry Kitson takes over from him, with co-plotter Mark frickin’ Waid.

    It’s a prequel, of sorts, to the Legion of Super-Heroes.

    And it has Lobo who is FORCED to work in a team. Ha, yeah right.

    In short, it’s probably one of my favorite comic book series of all time and each storyline, all the way up to its final issue of #58, takes you through such an epic and beautiful sci-fi journey, that you scream at the moon that this thing has not, and I repeat, HAS NOT, been collected.

    So you do have to hunt down the single issues.

    Luckily, you can find them from time to time in the dollar bins. And it is worth every minute and second to hunt these down because if you are a fan of comics, great art and storytelling, L.E.G.I.O.N. just has to be in your collection.

    Or you’re not a real human being.

    And speaking of not being a real human being. By far the greatest pleasure in the series is Vril Dox, who is a descendent of Brainiac Five and the leader of the L.E.G.I.O.N. Dox is severely hated and everyone, throughout its 58 issue run, is trying to either kill him or at least find a way to force him out of the leadership position. It leads to a lot of comedic moments and this week’s fan-art is dedicated to that. Both Lobo and Garryn Bek really just want to kill this guy. But Vox is always one step ahead and comes out on top. Much to the universe’s annoyance.

    Enjoy.

    Bis bald,

    -Franka

    Lobo and Garryn Bek really want to kill Vril Dox. And can you blame them?

  • Ms. Tree

    Interestingly, I’ve been reading a lot of independent comics from the 80’s. I’m not sure why but I saw a few in a dollar bin and I had no idea what they were. It’s mainly stuff from Eclipse and one of the series that grabbed me was Ms. Tree, or rather Ms. Tree’s Thrilling Detective Adventures from Max Collins and Terry Beatty.

    Ms. Tree is beautiful comic book storytelling. The stories and art are not simple by any means although when you first look at it you might think that way. But then you get into it and you realize damn…this is why the comic book medium can be so powerful.

    Ms. Tree starts off with a bang and we join her after her husband was recently murdered. She’s a private eye and has to take up the effort and run the business while also figure out who was responsible for his murder. That is the basic premise and of course things become complicated and very shocking.

    I don’t want to say it’s a slow burn, because each issue does have a purpose and it helps move the overall story-arc along. What really makes the book stand out is not only Beatty’s beautiful artwork, but also Max Collins’ storytelling. Collins created some really interesting and intriguing supporting characters and the world feels real. What’s also great about this series is you can easily find them and they will not burn a hole in your wallet. Plus, right in the beginning the issues moved to a deluxe format and they preserved quite well.

    I do want to say Ms. Tree is probably one of my favorite characters. Not just because she is a strong female lead, navigating very much a man’s world in the 1980’s, but also because she is just so damn interesting and vulnerable. This forces you to be firmly on her side and you don’t want to see any harm done to her. So when it happens or is about to happen, you literally gasp.

    Here’s some Ms. Tree fan-art. I can’t help but wonder if she actually looks like me!

    Bis bald,

    -Franka