The Legion Goes It Alone!

LSH(v2) #259...the very FIRST issue!

In December 1979, the Legion had been co-stars with Superboy in his own title for six years (ever since they got bumped up in Superboy #197), when the unbelievable happened. Superboy as a title was renamed; from issue #259 the book was now just plain old The Legion of Super-Heroes. This became LSH volume 2, as there had been a four-issue reprint series with that title already. That didn't matter to all the fans, though. The series that had started the decade as an unwanted back-up series in Action Comics now, FINALLY, had its own book!

the debut of the second Legion logo

And what a book it was! This is the era that saw the inclusion and banishment of Tyroc, the origin and inclusion of Blok, the final fate of Tharok, the debut of Reflecto, the banishment and return of Superboy, the inclusion of White Witch and Invisible Kid II, the legendary 300th issue, and, of course, The Great Darkness Saga. Sure, there are some silly stories in there, too, but most of them are out-and-out awesome! 

At the time of its independence LSH(v2) was under the creative control of Gerry Conway. The art was being handled by such talents as Joe Staton, James Sherman, Ric Estrada, and Steve Ditko before Jimmy Janes became the regular artist with #269. After Gerry left the writing was taken over by some guy named Roy Thomas, who stayed long enough to confound us with The Reflecto Saga. And then, Paul Levitz returned to the title, bringing with him Pat Broderick and, more famously, Keith Giffen.

the awesome follow-up to the original Adult Legion stories...

The Legion of Super-Heroes (v2) lasted until issue #313. After that it became Tales Of The Legion of Super-Heroes, as the "main" book became a direct market-only book, printed on better "Baxter" paper. But for four years, Legion of Super-Heroes kept the fun and adventure of the 31st Century alive. This banner will feature this era of stories, and we can't wait to get to them!

LSH(v2) #313, the last issue of the run...