NEAR MYTHS: LEGION OF MONSTERS (2011)

 

One positive aspect of having retired from regular reading of Marvel Comics is that long after the comics have come out, one can pick and choose from old projects completed a decade ago and evaluate them, apart from the ongoing continuity. One such project was a revival of the concept "Legion of Monsters." The phrase was first used as an umbrella-title for one issue of a black-and-white collection of unrelated monster-stories. Then one issue of MARVEL PREMIERE in 1976 was devoted to an ad hoc teamup of four Marvel creature features-- Morbius, the Werewolf, the Man-Thing and the Ghost Rider-- though this wasn't meant to be even a pilot for an ongoing series.                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Apparently such an ongoing series was conceived in 2010, resulting in a four-issue LEGION OF MONSTERS series from 2011, written by Dennis Hopeless and penciled by Juan Doe. The concept was that a variety of Marvel monsters took refuge in the Morlock tunnels beneath New York City, and a new Legion arises to protect the "Monster Metropolis," comprised of Morbius, the Werewolf By Night, the Manphibian (a gill-man introduced in the b&w LEGION magazine), and the Living Mummy. These "monster cops" (given a waggish likeness to HILL STREET BLUES, given that the first issue is titled "Hell Street Blues") have their existence threatened by a "monster virus." They receive help from a creature-slayer who would normally be their enemy, Elsa Bloodstone (intro'd back in 2001). There's no depth to this romp, but it's a fun monster mash, including short appearances of such characters as the Son of Satan, Satannish (a road company Satan), and Helleyes, an old foe from the MORBIUS feature, who doesn't even cross paths with the Living Vampire.