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Legion #1
Legion #1
A mind-bending X-Men tale from the brains of Peter Milligan (X-Statix, Shade the Changing Man) and Wilfredo Torres (Moon Knight, Black Panther)! David Haller, the son of Professor Charles Xavier, has always had trouble containing the multiple personalities in his mind. And with each personality, comes a wild and dangerous mutant power. But now, a terrifying new personality is threatening to absorb these powers and take over David's mind and body. In a desperate attempt to save himself, David seeks out the help of renowned young psychotherapist Hannah Jones to delve into his fractured mind and fight back this dark personality. But unknown to Legion….Dr Jones brings her own demons with her...
- GenresComicsMarvelComic Book
23 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 24, 2018
11 people want to read
About the author
Peter Milligan
1,303 books391 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Peter Milligan is a British writer, best known for his work on X-Force / X-Statix, the X-Men, & the Vertigo series Human Target. He is also a scriptwriter.
He has been writing comics for some time and he has somewhat of a reputation for writing material that is highly outlandish, bizarre and/or absurd.
His highest profile projects to date include a run on X-Men, and his X-Force revamp that relaunched as X-Statix.
Many of Milligan's best works have been from DC Vertigo. These include: The Extremist (4 issues with artist Ted McKeever) The Minx (8 issues with artist Sean Phillips) Face (Prestige one-shot with artist Duncan Fegredo) The Eaters (Prestige one-shot with artist Dean Ormston) Vertigo Pop London (4 issues with artist Philip Bond) Enigma (8 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo) and Girl (3 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo).
Series:
* Human Target
* Greek Street
* X-Force / X-Statix
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Peter Milligan is a British writer, best known for his work on X-Force / X-Statix, the X-Men, & the Vertigo series Human Target. He is also a scriptwriter.
He has been writing comics for some time and he has somewhat of a reputation for writing material that is highly outlandish, bizarre and/or absurd.
His highest profile projects to date include a run on X-Men, and his X-Force revamp that relaunched as X-Statix.
Many of Milligan's best works have been from DC Vertigo. These include: The Extremist (4 issues with artist Ted McKeever) The Minx (8 issues with artist Sean Phillips) Face (Prestige one-shot with artist Duncan Fegredo) The Eaters (Prestige one-shot with artist Dean Ormston) Vertigo Pop London (4 issues with artist Philip Bond) Enigma (8 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo) and Girl (3 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo).
Series:
* Human Target
* Greek Street
* X-Force / X-Statix
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 27, 2018
The story in this reminds me a lot of Bug! The Adventures of Forager from Young Animal, but instead of Forager Crazy Jane (circa Morrison's run of the Doom Patrol) is the main character. This was by no means a bad first issue, but I think I'm glad it's a miniseries and not an on-going because I can see this title getting old really quickly. But only time will tell I guess. I really like the art tho!
January 29, 2018
Intriguing set up, but mostly very expected and unoriginal. So far this just seems to be a grab at getting viewers of the show into comics. I hope I'm wrong and that they make it something awesome. The potential is there.
November 24, 2021
I know there is a television show based on the main character (David Haller), but I haven't seen it. For those of you that have... is it any good? The comic was meh for me--no love or hate for the story. It was my first time reading about David, so his abilities and issues were new to me. The first comic in this series was promising, but in the end I was left feeling disconnected from what was going on.
Let's start with the ending... that would be a hard no from me. It was unexpected, I'll give you that, but not in a good way. David doesn't really give Hannah a choice when he comes to her for help, so I thought his carefree attitude at the end was obnoxious and cruel. I don't want to say too much in case someone decides to read it for themselves, but the ending ruined everything else for me.
I probably wouldn't have continued this series if it hadn't been a mini. There were only five issues, so it wasn't a long commitment, but instead of being fascinated by David and his mindfuck of personalities/alters, I was frustrated and disappointed with how everything played out. The guy has a Legion of alternate personalities residing in his mind, yet very few are mentioned and none are fleshed out. They were just there to advance the story.
Also, I thought this was supposed to be a series about David Haller, but we mostly view the story from Hannah's perspective.
The synopsis says, "And with each personality, comes a wild and dangerous mutant power. But now, a terrifying new personality is threatening to absorb these powers and take over David's mind and body," yet we don't see David or the terrifying new personality using very many powers. I think they maybe use one each at different times during the story, so why include that information within the synopsis? It's misleading. His alters don't use any powers (that I can remember), nor does David tap into them for personal use. When the baddie starts absorbing alters, he doesn't seem to gain any abilities from it either.
Overall, Legion was a decent comic with an interesting concept. I just wish it had been delivered a little differently. Maybe David could have been more of a focal point? Can he not get inside his own head? Technically, he would be his alters, but that gets too confusing. They all have different identities within his head, so I viewed them as separate individuals. In the end, this wasn't a comic for me.
Let's start with the ending... that would be a hard no from me. It was unexpected, I'll give you that, but not in a good way. David doesn't really give Hannah a choice when he comes to her for help, so I thought his carefree attitude at the end was obnoxious and cruel. I don't want to say too much in case someone decides to read it for themselves, but the ending ruined everything else for me.
I probably wouldn't have continued this series if it hadn't been a mini. There were only five issues, so it wasn't a long commitment, but instead of being fascinated by David and his mindfuck of personalities/alters, I was frustrated and disappointed with how everything played out. The guy has a Legion of alternate personalities residing in his mind, yet very few are mentioned and none are fleshed out. They were just there to advance the story.
Also, I thought this was supposed to be a series about David Haller, but we mostly view the story from Hannah's perspective.
The synopsis says, "And with each personality, comes a wild and dangerous mutant power. But now, a terrifying new personality is threatening to absorb these powers and take over David's mind and body," yet we don't see David or the terrifying new personality using very many powers. I think they maybe use one each at different times during the story, so why include that information within the synopsis? It's misleading. His alters don't use any powers (that I can remember), nor does David tap into them for personal use. When the baddie starts absorbing alters, he doesn't seem to gain any abilities from it either.
Overall, Legion was a decent comic with an interesting concept. I just wish it had been delivered a little differently. Maybe David could have been more of a focal point? Can he not get inside his own head? Technically, he would be his alters, but that gets too confusing. They all have different identities within his head, so I viewed them as separate individuals. In the end, this wasn't a comic for me.
September 11, 2018
Tiene un inicio bastante bueno, considerando que el guionista ha confeccionado imágenes mentales de cada emoción que siente Legión, podemos viajar a través de la mente del protagonista mientras que el guión se confecciona en esta. Se usa algo como los traumas para recrear escenarios y dibujar monstruos. Una idea original que espero que siga adelante y con la misma tónica en los siguientes números. 4/5.
March 4, 2018
Don’t Mind the Mental Health
You have to hand it to writers who steer away from the norm and tackle stories that most people would instinctively avoid. Let’s take a moment to appraise Peter Milligan for his work on Legion and highlighting, in some way, mental health and its grave implications.
Before we say anything else, it’s only fair to say big ups to the writer for taking on the Herculean task of trying to write this story in a way that could be monetised. This is meant to be an entertaining story in a comic book, not Time magazine, or the New York Times. At the same time, he’s writing a story that poses several challenges for anyone in the writer’s seat. If you take a moment to look at it, there’s actually plenty to help him along the way though. For instance, it would be logical to assume that the world’s greatest mind would be the ideal candidate to solve David’s mental issues. But with Professor X ‘dead’ in this reality, where does he turn? Why is he convinced that celebrity psychotherapist Dr Hannah Jones has what it takes to cure him?
Sure, a less gifted writer could put together a scenario where all the action of the story reveals in its final moments to have all been the product of an addled, troubled mind, or maybe in a brain that’s in a state of physical disrepair. But Milligan has other plans, and we, the readership are the luckier for it. Then again, could that actually be where the crux of David Haller’s troubles lay? Are all the happenings, voices and thoughts caused by a physical imperfection that has created all what we see depicted as some kind of coping mechanism? It makes me wonder about the correlation between madness and creativity and the whole concept of the mad scientist persona.
If you’re anything like me, you might wonder about how deliberate the choices were when it came to choosing the book’s various colour schemes and overall visual tone. Maybe you’re thinking the lifelike renditions of Esad Ribic would’ve been a more suitable fit for subject matter that’s as heavy and humourless as Legion. But then again, gentle reader, we both know that the overriding decision was that the finished product had to be one that appealed to the greatest common denominator as possible to make the most cash. This is why Wilfredo Torres and Dan Brown were chosen to visually represent Milligan’s script – and their task was clearly an uphill battle.
The cover of issue 2 continues to convey the idea of the untamed and unpredictable nature of Haller’s mind, with a number of jungle animals aggressively scowling and brandishing their teeth, while the upper portion of David’s head is visible above a pool of water. If the creative team was using the analogy of the iceberg then they ought to pat themselves on the back, because even despite what little we know about David’s problems, we can agree that what’s on the surface is symptomatic of the deep and murky chaos and pain that troubles him. It’s the little things like that that’ll make me want to pick up this comic when it comes out in trade.
You have to hand it to writers who steer away from the norm and tackle stories that most people would instinctively avoid. Let’s take a moment to appraise Peter Milligan for his work on Legion and highlighting, in some way, mental health and its grave implications.
Before we say anything else, it’s only fair to say big ups to the writer for taking on the Herculean task of trying to write this story in a way that could be monetised. This is meant to be an entertaining story in a comic book, not Time magazine, or the New York Times. At the same time, he’s writing a story that poses several challenges for anyone in the writer’s seat. If you take a moment to look at it, there’s actually plenty to help him along the way though. For instance, it would be logical to assume that the world’s greatest mind would be the ideal candidate to solve David’s mental issues. But with Professor X ‘dead’ in this reality, where does he turn? Why is he convinced that celebrity psychotherapist Dr Hannah Jones has what it takes to cure him?
Sure, a less gifted writer could put together a scenario where all the action of the story reveals in its final moments to have all been the product of an addled, troubled mind, or maybe in a brain that’s in a state of physical disrepair. But Milligan has other plans, and we, the readership are the luckier for it. Then again, could that actually be where the crux of David Haller’s troubles lay? Are all the happenings, voices and thoughts caused by a physical imperfection that has created all what we see depicted as some kind of coping mechanism? It makes me wonder about the correlation between madness and creativity and the whole concept of the mad scientist persona.
If you’re anything like me, you might wonder about how deliberate the choices were when it came to choosing the book’s various colour schemes and overall visual tone. Maybe you’re thinking the lifelike renditions of Esad Ribic would’ve been a more suitable fit for subject matter that’s as heavy and humourless as Legion. But then again, gentle reader, we both know that the overriding decision was that the finished product had to be one that appealed to the greatest common denominator as possible to make the most cash. This is why Wilfredo Torres and Dan Brown were chosen to visually represent Milligan’s script – and their task was clearly an uphill battle.
The cover of issue 2 continues to convey the idea of the untamed and unpredictable nature of Haller’s mind, with a number of jungle animals aggressively scowling and brandishing their teeth, while the upper portion of David’s head is visible above a pool of water. If the creative team was using the analogy of the iceberg then they ought to pat themselves on the back, because even despite what little we know about David’s problems, we can agree that what’s on the surface is symptomatic of the deep and murky chaos and pain that troubles him. It’s the little things like that that’ll make me want to pick up this comic when it comes out in trade.
February 24, 2018
David Haller is funny, but his condition isn't. I liked this novel for it's humor and pleasant artwork.
I haven't watched the TV show, so this is a good introduction to the character, who is the son of Charles Xavier!!
I haven't watched the TV show, so this is a good introduction to the character, who is the son of Charles Xavier!!
January 25, 2018
Love that Marvel gave this series to a crazy writer like Grant but with a little more sanity, the art it is a little flat with no shadows but the writing has got me hook on the series.
December 3, 2020
Quick, random read. Pretty interesting, though not as wild and out-there as the tv show. It's ok, but not sure if I'll read more of the series.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews