Written by guest contributor Brian Roe
“ So the odds are against us and our lives already spent sir?”
“ We all spent our lives the day we joined Nomad.”
The third book in the four issue Alien Legion: Uncivil War mini-series begins with a Harkilon ultimatum and ramps up the threat level from there. Force Nomad finds itself trapped between a refugee fleet it has been ordered to protect and a Harkilon fleet of massive size and untold destructive potential that wants to do what it wants to said refugee fleet. Just another day in The Legion.
Chuck Dixon builds the story to a level of cosmic proportions all the while supplying his characters with snappy dialogue and grim certainty. Something big is happening and every member of Force Nomad stands to be affected, some far more than others. But even when they know that they’re most likely walking into a killing trap they do their jobs and the grim knowledge that they’re part of the single most effective military body in the universe.
The art by Larry Stroman and Carl Potts is kinetic and bold, characters appear to leap from the pages and the constant, insistent movement gives a strong sense of urgency and danger. From the massive biological grace of the various warships to the cramped cockpits of fighter craft the space battle begins to tip into all out annihilation. This is going to be a fight that few will survive.
But of course there are some Grimrod shenanigans to lighten things up a bit. Grimrod is one of those characters who shirks duty at every opportunity but often becomes a leader and hero if for no other reason than to save himself and his few friends. Part of the character’s charm is his absolute fatalism combined with a total “can do” attitude that often pulls everyone’s fat out of the fire. Grimrod is the hard-core heart and soul of Force Nomad.
The final issue of this arc promises to have some big-time action and possibly a good amount of heartbreak. Dixon and company have done a really solid job of building up this storyline and it’s going to be interesting to see how everything falls into place. And who is going to be broken at the end.
Score: 4/5
Writer: Chuck Dixon Artist: Larry Stroman Inker & Soul: Carl Potts Publisher: Titan Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 8/27/14 Format: Print/Digital