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Alpha Team Set Comic Revisions


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The Alpha Team sets all had comics in the instructions. But it seems in the first line of sets, at least one comic was altered, and another removed entirely, apparently due to 9/11.

 

First, the comic that was removed - the one in the instructions of 6775 Alpha Team Bomb Squad. All instruction scans I've been able to find online are the version without the comic, but Pereki has the original print and grabbed some quick pics: http://imgur.com/a/uLrxn

 

Now the comic that was altered - 6776 Ogel Control Center. Here's the version you can find in online scans: http://lego.brickinstructions.com/lego_instructions/set/6776/Ogel_Control_Center_

 

But, in this Eurobricks review of the set, the reviewer points out it was altered:

 

Quote

The comic is different from the comic in the instructions inventory on Peeron. I think it was changed after 9/11.
 

dsc06756.jpg

 

That page isn't in the scans you can find online. Sadly they didn't say exactly what the changes were. It's possible it was simply the removal of that page (though there'd probably have to be at least two pages removed or altered, because it's a physical booklet), but we don't know.
 

Quote

 

[8:45:32 PM] Pereki: unfortunately my copy of the instruction manual is the revised one, too
[8:48:18 PM] Pereki: so from the one pic we have, we can see that the bombing panel is preceded by this one

http://lego.brickinstructions.com/06000/6776/067.jpg
[8:48:55 PM] Pereki: I think its actually fairly possible that that one page is the only one that was removed
[8:49:01 PM] Terrev: hm
[8:49:12 PM] Pereki: because the plot goes on and then
http://lego.brickinstructions.com/06000/6776/070.jpg
boom
[8:49:18 PM] Pereki: those are the people from the city arriving

 

 

So: Does anybody have an original print of the Ogel Control Center instructions with the comic intact, and if so could you provide more info on it? Thanks.

 

Also, while I don't think any other comics were altered, you can find scans of them all here if you want to compare them with your physical copies:

http://lego.brickinstructions.com/en/lego_instructions/theme/lego_alpha_team/2

 

It seems most of the instructions on LEGO.com have been stripped of the comics, even front and/or back covers with alternate builds, etc...

https://wwwsecure.us.lego.com/en-us/service/buildinginstructions/search#?search&combined=10000-20085%3B2001

So probably best to stick to fan sites hosting instructions.

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Oh my goodness.  It's that dang Rock Raiders commercial all over again!

 

While I don't own the Ogel Control Center set or instructions, but I've got a friend who did (still does?).  Years and years ago, I read those instructions at his house and I remembered the comic, and the page where Bloggle Blocket drops a ton of Mind-Control Orbs on an unsuspecting crowd of civilians, turning them into Skeleton Drones.  That was the last time I ever saw that page, since all online instructions skip right over it (just like you said, so I'm just being redundant for the sake of storytelling).

 

Of course, this was so long ago that it's probably not worth contacting said friend to ask if he still has the instructions.  Heck, I can barely remember where I put my own stuff from two minutes ago, let alone an enclosed instruction booklet from 15 years ago!  But, I just wanted to say "thanks" for validating my memories and confirming yet again that I'm not that crazy.

 

Anyways, on a more positive note, I got the Bomb Squad set back in 2004 and it actually came with the comic.  If Pereki hadn't already got pics for you, then I would've been happy to scan them myself.  I had no idea this comic was supposedly "missing" from online sources.

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2 hours ago, PeabodySam said:

Years and years ago, I read those instructions at his house and I remembered the comic, and the page where Bloggle Blocket drops a ton of Mind-Control Orbs on an unsuspecting crowd of civilians, turning them into Skeleton Drones.

So just to clarify, does your memory consist of the page we've already seen, or was there another part where you actually see them becoming drones?

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46 minutes ago, Pereki said:

So just to clarify, does your memory consist of the page we've already seen, or was there another part where you actually see them becoming drones?

 

Yes, my wording may have been vague, but unfortunately so is my memory.  What I thought I remembered was the comic going directly from the missing page to this page, which is the last page of the comic.  It even makes sense stylistically, since both panels (the civilians getting orbed and the drones gathering) are drawn in circular shapes and feature an unhealthy dose of green smoke/mist.  It feels like a very natural progression; in the online version of the comic, the scene with the drones almost seems to come out of nowhere.

 

However, the reason why I put the word "thought" in italics is because, if my memory is true, then the two pages where Dash intercepts Ogel's rocket... wouldn't be there?  It's clear from the one image we have of this missing page that it comes after this page, but if the very next page with the drones is the last page of the comic, then we're skipping over those Dash pages.  For the record, I have no memory of Dash being in the comic... but, as I said, take my memory with a grain (or boatload) of salt because it was so long ago that I read this comic.  Maybe he was in the comic, but I don't remember it.

 

So, random hypothesis time?  If 9/11 or whatever is to blame for the comic being revised, then perhaps the revision extends beyond merely removing a page.  Perhaps the Dash pages were added in as a substitute.  This changes the comic's tone from "I AM OGEL AND I CANNOT BE STOPPED" to "the good guys win and foil Ogel's evil plans again, but he'll be back for more".  Feels like a more optimistic ending that LEGO would want to promote in the wake of a tragedy.

 

But hey, that's just a hypothesis.  A toy hypothesis!  Thanks for subscribing to random half-baked crap I pull out of nowhere to steal your "likes"!

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1 hour ago, PeabodySam said:

So, random hypothesis time?  If 9/11 or whatever is to blame for the comic being revised, then perhaps the revision extends beyond merely removing a page.  Perhaps the Dash pages were added in as a substitute.  This changes the comic's tone from "I AM OGEL AND I CANNOT BE STOPPED" to "the good guys win and foil Ogel's evil plans again, but he'll be back for more".  Feels like a more optimistic ending that LEGO would want to promote in the wake of a tragedy.

This had actually crossed my mind, so cool that it's a possibility. As a kid the flow of it really bothered me, going abruptly from "Ogel is defeated and stranded in the ocean" to "now he's rallying his forces!"

 

This line of thought led me to checking the page count for the comics and, sure enough, they're all 10. Considering the revised version of the Control Center comic is 10 pages too, it's actually a pretty safe bet that the Dash pages were created as replacements. So that'd mean, in addition to the pic from Eurobricks, the panel on the left here would be different, and there's also another page out there.

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  • 9 months later...

 

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By pure luck, I got the original version of the instructions in my set I got as an early birthday present. Sorry I couldn't get better pictures. It seems the Alpha Team isn't present at all here. Do we know what order the comics go in including this one?

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Thanks for the pictures! This actually helps the comics make a lot more sense together. The revised comic has an encounter between Dash and Ogel that didn't fit in with the rest of the story - I guess because it wasn't really supposed to be a part of the story! Best as I can figure, this is the reading order:

 

Ogel Control Center

AT Cruiser

Ogel Command Striker

AT ATV

AT Bomb Squad

AT Helicopter

 

So the story goes: Ogel bombs a city for drones -> Radia goes to scope out his island but is captured -> Flex and Cam rescue her -> Charge and Crunch come in and just f****ing blow up the entire base, but cant find Ogel -> Dash flies in and catches Ogel

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  • lol username unfeatured this topic
  • 3 years later...

I have the original unaltered instructions for set Alpha Team 6776. 
The subsequent comics were altered due to 9/11/01. 
As a matter of fact the man who was responsible for the comic was fired. 
Insider information due to my employment at Lego Enfield CT. USA

I am offering it for sale if anyone is interested. 

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On 1/14/2021 at 6:03 PM, Robert said:

I have the original unaltered instructions for set Alpha Team 6776. 
The subsequent comics were altered due to 9/11/01. 
As a matter of fact the man who was responsible for the comic was fired. 
Insider information due to my employment at Lego Enfield CT. USA

I am offering it for sale if anyone is interested. 

Do you have evidence that you have it? I'd be interested

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