''Luck of the Legion'' was a British adventure comics series, published in the magazine ''

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

'', written by

Geoffrey Bond Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095–c. 1155), clergyman and one of the m ...

and illustrated by

Martin Aitchison Martin Henry Hugh Aitchison (21 November 1919 – 22 October 2016) was an illustrator for the ''Eagle'' comic from 1952 to 1963, and then one of the main illustrators for Ladybird Books from 1963 to 1990. Aitchison was born in Kings Norton ...

. It ran from 1952 to 1961. The series followed the exploits of the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...

in North Africa (then largely French-colonised or controlled) and focused mainly on the chisel-jawed British hero Sergeant "Tough" Luck and his faithful companions, Belgian Corporal Trenet and Italian Legionnaire Bimberg. Bimberg was the comic relief, short and fat and perpetually dishevelled, with a battered kepi. The strip was set in a vaguely pre - World War I period of colourful uniforms and unquestioned imperial values. Sergeant Luck and his companions also saw service elsewhere in the French colonial empire - such as Indo-China or

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

. However their adventures were normally focussed around isolated forts located in the Sahara. Adversaries were generally tribesmen whose dress was inexplicably Saudi Arabian rather than Algerian or Moroccan. However, on occasion Sergeant Luck found himself in conflict with unbalanced or traitorous senior officers.

Novels

Because of the success of the ''Eagle'' comic strip, writer Geoffrey Bond wrote a series of novels based on the characters. These were: * Luck of the Legion (Hutchinson - 195?) * Sergeant Luck Takes Over (Hutchinson - 195?) * Carry On, Sergeant Luck! (Hutchinson - 195?) * Sergeant Luck's Secret Mission ( Hulton Press - 1956) * Sergeant Luck's Desert Adventure (Hulton Press - 1958) * The Return of Sergeant Luck (Max Parrish - 1964) Two of the above novels were also published in France under the Collection Signe de Piste (by Alsatia), with artwork by French artist Pierre Joubert. These novels were simultaneously published in both soft and hard covers: * Les Tigres de Chaï-Fang (Sergeant Luck Takes Over) - 1968 * La Garnison Fantôme (Carry On, Sergeant Luck!) - 1969

References

Martin Aitcheson at DanDare.org
Eagle Times, 8 January 2008

Eagle Times, 31 December 2009

Eagle comic strips British comic strips 1952 comics debuts 1961 comics endings Adventure comics Military comics Comics set in deserts Eagle (comic) characters Comics adapted into novels Comics set in the Middle East Comics set in Africa Comics set in the 19th century Comics set in the 1900s Comics set in the 1910s French Foreign Legion in popular culture {{UK-comics-stub