By: Peter J Mellini

Morbius the living vampire, Werewolf by night, Manphiban, The Living Mummy, classic Marvel Comics monsters, together again in this weeks LEGION OF MONSTERS #1

In issue one, we find the Legion of Monsters; lead by Morbius, attempting to police their own kind. The first step in what Morbius believes will lead these monsters to be more civilized and help remove the negative “stigma” they have on the human race. This new society of monsters is hidden under ground and only reachable through the “Finest Monster Science.”

Topside, monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone is hunting down a giant hairy beast that has killed four teenagers in the past three days. Hunting the monster through the sewers, Bloodstone accidently follows the creature though one of the portals and into the monster haven. Once there, Bloodstone is apprehended for the murder of one of their citizens.

Moribus performs an autopsy, proving Elsa’s innocents but reveals something much more sinister. Something or someone is messing with the monsters minds, transforming them in their blood trusty movie counterparts.

The addition of Elsa Bloodstone to the Legion Monsters has the potential for so many odd couple moments. Rarely used since her time with the NEXTWAVE Squad, the wise creaking, British monster hunter is a strong female lead and an awesome action heroine that deserves her own title.

Reminiscent of comedies like Ghostbusters, writer Dennis Hopeless puts the Legion of Monsters into wacky adventures will not sacrificing the seriousness of the threat our heroes are facing. His balance of pop culture reference comedy along with the supernatural makes for an extremely fun read.

Juan Doe’s style gives Legion of Monsters a classic pulp comic feel. Doe’s detailed expressions in the characters really ‘humanizes’ this gang of monsters. Doe’s redesigns on such classic as Morbius the living Vampire and Werewolf by night, completely updates the characters for a new generation of comic fans to discover.