The legendary crew of Maine comic book publisher, Alpha Productions, is celebrating more than 25 years since they started producing comic books here in Maine.

On Sunday October 29, at the Portland Comics Expo the crew will release the 100-page super spectacular: Task Force Alpha: Forged in Fire, drawn by comics legend Paul Pelletier (The Hulk, Justice League, Guardians of the Galaxy) and written by Christopher Mills ( Femme Noir, Gravedigger ), with input and content from Leni Gronros and Bob Cram Jr. The book presents an Alpha project long thought lost – the creation of a new superhero universe! The Alpha gang will be signing books all day and invite fans to join them for a special discussion panel at noon, where they will answer questions about how it all started and what it was like to produce comics in the state of Maine.

History of Alpha Productions

The four core members of Alpha, Leni Gronros, Paul Pelletier, Christopher Mills and Bob Cram. Jr., all met while working for another independent comics publisher. When that publisher folded they banded together to form a new company - Alpha Productions - and went on to produce more than 60 fun and innovative projects over the next several years.

Alpha was lucky enough to work with many talented writers and artists. Some even joined the masthead - including Ron Fortier, Rick Lowell, and Greg Hyland. All have become lifelong friends.

The great comics crash of the mid 1990s saw the end of many independent comic book publishers and, sadly, Alpha was no exception. A few titles were released as the bubble burst, but in the end the uphill struggle proved too much and Alpha ceased publishing. The old gang moved on to school, marriage, families, careers (some in comics, some further afield), and hopefully some maturity (but not too much!).

2016 saw the 25th Anniversary of the formation of Alpha Productions and Leni, Paul, Chris and Bob started talking and reminiscing. One of the last Alpha projects they had all worked on was Task Force Alpha - a book intended to launch a new superhero universe. Long believed lost in a fire, it turned out that Paul Pelletier had all of the original artwork still squirreled away in storage. They could think of no better way to commemorate that momentous time in their lives than to publish this long lost tome and celebrate their humble beginnings. What will happen in the future remains to be seen.

Alpha Productions is headquartered in Rockport.