Wings of the Legion

When it comes to tall tales of the French Foreign Legion the United Kingdom has produced an oversized share particularly in their comic books and story papers. On this blog I’ve posted several stories featuring Grit Gregson “Fighter in the Foreign Legion” which appeared in several 1950’s issues of the comic book Lion. I’ve also noted “Luck of the Legion” which appeared in Eagle (1952-1961) and “Legionnaire Terry” which appeared in the story paper The Champion. Unlike the Grit textual stories, Luck and Terry were serialized graphic panels (that Americans are used to seeing in their comic books) but the frustrating thing is that it takes several issues to complete a story. In most U.K. comic books the readers only get two or three pages of each serial and not complete stories. So it is hard to assemble complete serials if you don’t have access to multiple comics. However, I’m always keeping my eyes out for fills and I’m working my way slowly through what is available online. I’m certainly aware of several other Foreign Legion stories that exist in UK comics but it might take some time to uncover these and post them here. One recently discovered is “Wings of the Legion” which appeared in Victory Book for Boys. It features Captain Mike Talbot of the Escadrille Cherifienne, a squadron of foreign volunteers fighting alongside the French Foreign Legion. Here is a good website for reference and where this three page story comes from.