In Review: The Vigilant – Legacy

The Vigilant - Maelstrom - CoverThe Vigilant – Legacy
Writer: Simon Furman
Artists: Will Sliney (Opening Pages) and Simon Coleby
Colour: Len O’Grady
Lettering: Simon Bowland

“Doctor Sin – Tribunal”
Writer: Simon Furman
Art: Jake Lynch
Colour: john Charles
Letters: Oz

Includes character background features by David McDonald and others

The Book: The Vigilant return in a story following directly from events in The Vigilant: Maelstrom, resurrecting the greatest home-grown superheroes Britain has to offer – a team unlike any other, a challenge none have faced before!

Many years ago, a team of strange, super-powered beings were brought together by the original Dr. Sin in order to stop a reality-spanning apocalyptic event known as “The Blood Rapture.”

That incarnation of The Vigilant was successful in their mission, but it came at a great cost. Years later, the evil Nazi genius Von Hoffman is now searching for dangerous artifacts which will enable him to kick-start Armageddon once again.

While the new Dr. Sin and his fresh team of ragtag heroes are tested by new threats and interpersonal conflicts, Hoffman creeps closer to achieving his diabolical goal. With the complete unraveling of all reality on the line, the stakes have never been higher for The Vigilant!

The Vigilant - Maelstrom - Sample Art

The Review: Rebellion’s super-team is back, with an adventure that once again throws readers head first not only into an evolving story that has been told so far over several disparate titles – the Scream and Misty Specials and last year’s The Vigilant – Maelstrom – but in this issue, we even get a reference to a daring robbery told in “Dr. Mesmer’s Revenge” an issue of Britain’s weekly Lion comic published in October 1971. (Don’t worry, there’s no need to scurry to eBay to find a copy – simply pre-order the collection of Dr. Mesmer’s Revenge, out 3rd October…)

Luckily for readers who might be a bit worried at the thought of yet another comics continuity to keep track of, you’ll be pleased to hear that The Vigilant: Legacy is a fast-paced and action packed tale that’s a lot easier to digest than Maelstrom, last year, which had to introduce a lot of characters and plot lines for the first time. Legacy progresses at much less of a break neck speed than the first full -length tale that re-introduced us to many a British comic hero and villain, and introduced some new ones, too.

This time out, alongside set piece battles that feature 1960s heroes (albeit, all too briefly) like Robot Archie and Tim Kelly (“The Invincible Man”), and the ‘modern’ team battling the Sludge in downtown Birmingham, we also get a couple of quiet moments, revealing some of the life of the hero and heroines’ secret identity lives.

Overall, though, The Vigilant: Legacy leads with action, as a disparate team battle the evil geniuses Doctors Hoffman and Mesmer. not without cost on both sides, all building to “The Blood Rapture” and an attempt to rewrite world order, that will, presumably, see its climax in the next full-length story.

Without giving too much away it won’t, it seems, be what anyone is actually expecting…

The Vigilant - Maelstrom - Sample Art

The Vigilant - Maelstrom - Sample Art

Personally, I just hope this finale comes sooner rather than later, because if spreading the telling of a “Crisis on Infinite Earths” type tale over three years of publication stretches the patience of someone like myself, I have to say I’m not quite sure how with series is maintaining its audience out there in US comic shop land, where you’d expect the bulk of sales to be.

Simons Furman and Coleby weave a great tale, that’s peppered with the return of many a terrific hero, unhampered to a degree by the need to also introduce the bulk of the cast (achieved quickly in this release with caption boxes and back up features). I still think the project is very much like a tale told as if the creators have been a box of chocolates and shove every treat into the mouths of expectant readers as quickly as possible, but against the background of Legacy and supporting stories this “middle story” lays out both past and things yet to come with a firmer pacing and bravado, setting the scene for what looks to be a very satisfying denouement.

Right now, I’m itching to know what’s going to happen next; whether some characters in a bit of a jam after this story are going to get out of the predicament they’re in (no spoilers here!), and how; and, more than anything, I’m hoping The Vigilant: Maelstrom paves the way for a regular Treasury of British Comics adventure title. An ongoing series, that will give even more of Rebellion’s creators the opportunity to build on this new but now established “Vigilant” setting, and give us a range of stories that this “crossover event” has surely whet appetites for.

The Vigilant – Legacy is available in all good comic shops and selected newsagents from Wednesday 14th August 2019 | Order a copy here from the Treasury of British Comics web site

• The latest issue of ComicScene (featuring Death Wish on the cover) features more on the new Vigilant story – on sale in newsagents, comic shops and digitally |

ALSO ON DOWNTHETUBES

Dr Mesmer's Revenge - CoverRead our review of The Vigilant: Maelstrom

Who’s Who in The Vigilant – Introducing some of the series characters – and who created them

WEB LINKS

2000AD – Official Site – including the Treasury of British Comics titles

Pre-order Dr. Mesmer’s Revenge from Amazon (Affiliate Link)

After several artefacts are stolen from his home, the mysterious Egyptologist Dr. Mesmer resurrects a five-thousand-year-old mummy called Angor, a Pharaoh possessed with great mystical power. Together, they set out to retrieve the missing items, bringing terror and destruction in their wake!

Can anybody stop them? Both the army and constabulary will need to work together in order to stop Dr. Mesmer and his unearthly ally!,



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