Wednesday Comics: Octus and the Legion of Executive Familiars
The Legion of Executive Familiars ©DC Comics
This is Octus, an alien cephalopod from the oceans of Neptune that exists in eight dimensions. He (it?) is a member of the Legion of Executive Familiars, a team of super-powered, sentient animals operating in the 853rd century. (Also pictured are Phaethon, Savitar, Wormhole, and Krypto-9.) Octus’ abilities are impossible for three-dimensional beings such as ourselves to fully comprehend, but it is known that this purple space octopus can produce “limpet grenades” seemingly out of thin air. Octus first and only appearance was DC One Million 80-Page Giant (August, 1999), an anthology of eight pieces each by different creative teams. “Tales of the Legion of Executive Familiars in the Age of Solaris’ Heroic Rebirth!” was written by Mark Schultz with art by Georges Jeanty, and the story focuses on the Legion as it interviews prospective members.
DC One Million was a DC Comics crossover event from 1998-99. Basically, it presented a possible future of the DC Universe set in the 853rd century—which is when the first DC title would hit issue #1,000,000 (assuming a regular and continuous publication schedule). The core of the event was a four issue mini-series written by Grant Morrison, but just about every DC title at the time had tie-in issues. Characters from this far-flung future timeline still show up from time to time, usually in other books written by Morrison.
Tags: DC Comics, Octus, space octopus, Wednesday Comics
