expatNERD

Tag: Alan Grant

  • 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?

  • Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon

    As you may have noticed, our Curt storyline is also a Garth Ennis tribute. And we cannot mention Garth Ennis without also mentioning the late legendary artist that will never be forgotten, Steve Dillon. So with that I thought I would give some recommendations from their work.

    Now I could do the obvious like Preacher, John Constantine Hellblazer, the Boys, Demon, and Hitman. I think if you know your way around comics you probably already know of these. So I thought I would go off the beaten track and focus my recs on things that you may have missed, especially if you are an American audience, and some of Ennis’ most recent stuff. Because yes, the magician is still producing magic.

    First off, is Ennis’ run on Judge Dredd that also features a lot of Steve Dillon. This run cannot be understated because he basically followed in the footsteps of both John Wagner and Alan Grant who were writing ole stoney face as a team. And he was young, and that took some Eier. He also collaborated with the likes of Judge Dredd co-creator Carlos Ezquerra. So one could say these stories are ‘the beginnings.’

    Interestingly, Ennis doesn’t seem to be too fond of his writing of Dredd, at least he said as much during his conversation with Mark Millar on Millar’s YouTube video series, Millar Time. I included the embeded video below and the whole thing is definitely worth a watch.

    But I, for one, loved Ennis’ run on Dredd. In particular, his and Steve Dillon’s Emerald Isle storyline. Now if you are a Judge Dredd fan and are reading this, you are going to either love or hate me from now on. But I just cannot help it. It introduces Judge Joyce, created by Ennis and Dillon, who has to accommodate the hard-ass Judge Dredd, and Joyce is just charming as hell. Plus, it’s just full of comedy and Irish stereotypes. And because Ennis is Irish, he nails the little accents and what not.

    Emerald Isle can be found in 2000 AD Progs #727–734 and is also collected in Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files – Volume 15. It’s worth hunting down, especially if you want a glimpse of Ennis and Dillon before they became Ennis and Dillon. Which is not entirely true because if you look at Dillon’s Dredd, he seems to always have been good.

    Next week I’ll have another recommendation. Is this Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon month? It doesn’t exist. But it damn well should.

    Tschüss,

    -Franka