Happy Birthday Keith Giffen!

Happy Birthday Keith Giffen!

Giffen has been a major creative force with the Legion for the last three decades and I have appreciated all he has done for the team throughout the years. One of the things that amazes me is that Giffen has been around long enough and I have been a fan long enough to see first hand his art change over the years.

5YL: Legion of Super-Heroes #61

Recap: DC Comics was in the midst of Zero Hour, another company wide crossover to clean up continuity gaffes. The Legion wasn't exempt from these sweeping changes. Their timeline was as effected as any. Within the book, the Legion and the Legionnaires were teamed up battling Mordru and Glorith as these two villains joined forced to gain control of the entire universe. But with timelines shifting, no one is safe from changing radically or simply disappearing.

Well True Believers ... this is it.

My last issue of the Five Years Later run.

My last review of this series.

Happy Thanksgiving 2015

Happy Thanksgiving 2015!

by Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage
This marks the second year for the Legion of Super-Bloggers. We started in September 2014, and now here we are still going strong in November 2015. As we barrel forward, it's always good to have a clear understanding of the past. So here is our 2nd Annual Thanksgiving Day LSB post!

For those of you who may not be from the United States, Thanksgiving Day is the fourth Thursday of November. It is set aside to get together with family and friends to take stock of all of our blessings over the past year. It was originally created by our first immigrants, the Pilgrims, after they survived a horrific first year in their New World.

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. As an adult living abroad (I lived in Japan for 14 years) I always tried to take the Thanksgiving weekend and have "family time." Now that I am back in the United States, it is the one time of year that I take time off and visit my family. Last year I hit upon the idea of making up a Legion of Super-Heroes version of Norman Rockwell's famous "Freedom From Want" painting and posting it on Thanksgiving Day. To me, the Legion is all about Family. They may not all get along all the time, but they would literally die for each other. Doesn't that sound like Family?

"Freedom From Want" by Norman Rockwell

Click HERE to read last year's essay, which was mostly about who I chose to be in the picture, and why. I ended up calling it "Giving Thanks Day 2986."

This year has been a bittersweet one. On the good side we held an open call for new members in June and ended up adding Condo Arlik, Myk-El, and Continuity Kid. On the very bad side, we lost one of our brothers when David Sopko passed away on November 11. I actually got to meet David on one of my trips to Detroit. We met at a famous pizzeria named The Green Lantern (seriously!) He was a great conversationalist. He seemed like a very nice man who loved his children very much and looked forward to continue to pass on his love of comics to them. We will miss him.

So what am I thankful for? First of all, I must thank my fellow Bloggers! Thank you for making this blog so much fun. We are happily a part of The Fire and Water Nation, and I *literally* could not do this without you. I love working with all of you guys.

And almost as importantly, here's a big THANK YOU to our fans. I am humbled to think that there are so many other people looking at our page and enjoying (?) what we do. We would probably still do this without you, but knowing you are there makes it even more fun.

Have a safe and happy (Thanksgiving) weekend...

and Long Live the Legion!

Who's Who: Kono

Kono
by Siskoid

Real Name: Brita An'Nan

Super-Power(s): Shift mass between herself and other people and objects to increase her density or become immaterial.
Planet of Origin: Sklar

Legion Seniority: Kono was the first new recruit following the Legion's reformation after the Five-Year Gap.

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #42

The Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #42 (Jan, 1988)
title: "To Sleep A Thousand Years"

writer: Paul Levitz

penciller: Greg LaRocque
inker: Mike DeCarlo
ink assist: Arne Starr
lettering: John Costanza
colorist: Carl Gafford

editor: Karen Berger 

cover: Steve Lightle
reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Mission Monitor Board:  
Polar Boy, Tellus, Sun Boy, Shadow Lass, Invisible Kid, Chameleon Boy, Brainiac 5, Element Lad, Shrinking Violet, Timber Wolf, Dream Girl, Colossal Boy

Opponents: 
Laurel Kent, who reveals herself to be a member of the Manhunters

TOS: Adventure Comics #300 Group Review

featuring
The Legion of Super Bloggers Round-Table Discussion on
Adventure Comics #300 (September, 1962)
title: The Face Behind the Lead Mask!
writer: Jerry Siegel
penciller: John Forte w/Al Plastino
inker: John Forte w/Al Plastino
letterer: Milton Snapinn
editor: Mort Weisinger
cover: Curt Swan and George Klein

Mission Monitor Board: 
Superboy, Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Sun Boy, Mon-El (and statues of Bouncing Boy, Chameleon Boy, Invisible Kid I, and Shrinking Violet)

Guests:
Unnamed Science (actually World-Wide) Police officer


Opponents:
Urthlo, (young) Lex Luthor

Synopsis:
At a regular meeting of the Legion of Super-Heroes, the Legionnaires lose control of their powers. Urthlo arrives and announces that he now controls the Legionnaires' powers and there is nothing they can do about it. But Saturn Girl comes up with a serum to temporarily cure Mon-El and immunize him against lead, and Superboy releases him from the Phantom Zone to knock out Urthlo, who turns out to be an automaton created by Lex Luthor sent into the future to destroy the Legion.

Timber Wolf: Hot or Not?

Our group of candid women with no real Legion knowledge have been devouring each and every Legionnaire, telling is which are the most delectable...

Participants
Our honorary Legion members are...
Art-Girl - Swears she's never air-brushed a wolf on the side of a van or on black t-shirt.
DJ Nath - Hungry like the Wolf.
Havana Nights - Don't mind the wolfish grin.
Lip-Bomb - Deep down, knows werewolves aren't real. Deep down. Co-star of Mind Linked, on You-Tube, with her sister DJ Nath.
Science Girl - Has petted a leopard and buckets of eels. Not sure where she's at with the wolf situation.
Shotgun - Her irrational fear of wolves may come into it.
Moderator: Siskoid - Figured out what Bad Wolf meant on Doctor Who before everyone else. (No he didn't.)

5YL: Legion of Super-Heroes #60

Recap: It is the end of an era. Zero Hour is around the corner. The two Legions are trying to thwart the wrinkles in time, battling Glorith and Mordru. But things are unraveling around them. Things are changing ... sometimes noticed. Sometimes unnoticed.

Let's open up this review with an apology.

This arc, End of an Era, rewrote the Legion, rebooting it. As a result, it ran in all three Legion-related books that were out at the time, Legion of Super-Heroes, Legionnaires, and Valor. But my faith in the Legion as a property and in DC in general at this time was wavering a bit. I was only getting the main Legion book. And as a result, I cannot cover all the parts of this arc. You'll only get the 3rd and final 6th chapter of the story. So you'll only see 1/3 of this tale which changed things for years.

Superboy & The Legion #242

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #242 (Aug, 1978)
title: "Startarget: Earth"

writer: Paul Levitz

penciller: Jim Sherman

inker: Bob McLeod
letterer: Bob Oda
colorist: Cory Adams

editor: Al Milgrom
cover: Jim Sherman & Joe Rubinstein (signed)

reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Mission Monitor Board:  
Wildfire, Mon-El, Ultra Boy, Dawnstar, Sun Boy, Superboy, Element Lad, Colossal Boy, Brainiac 5

Opponents: 
Khund Invasion force, the Dark Circle actually behind it, possibly the Dominators

Who's Who: Calamity King

Calamity King
by Siskoid

Real Name: E. Davis Ester

Super-Power(s): Create spontaneous stress fractures (physical and mental) in people and objects
Planet of Origin: Touston

Legion Seniority: Calamity King was the fifteenth and last recruit to join the Legion in the mostly-unchronicled era known as the Five-Year Gap.

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #41

The Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #41 (Dec, 1987)
title: ",,,Shall Ne'er Burn So Bright..."

writer: Paul Levitz

penciller: Greg LaRocque
inker: Mike DeCarlo
ink assist: Arne Starr
lettering: John Costanza
colorist: Carl Gafford

editor: Karen Berger 

cover: Steve Lightle
reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Mission Monitor Board:  
Colossal Boy, Element Lad, Sensor Girl, Mon-El, Polar Boy, White Witch, Sun Boy, Timber Wolf, Light Lass, Wildfire, Chameleon Boy, Shrinking Violet, Dawnstar, Dream Girl, Brainiac 5

Opponents: 
Starfinger and his lackeys Starlight, Starbright, and The Arranger

Keeping up to date with the Legion

    Full 12-month calendars in their own right issued by comic book companies are nothing new these days, even if some may appear to be only released at the publisher’s whim. But as recently as the dawn of the 70s, such items were non-existent, appearing only occasionally as novelty pieces within the pages of comic books.

   The first DC Comics calendar which has any sort of Legion connection appeared in DC COMICS’ LIMITED COLLECTOR’S EDITION C-34 (Christmas With The Super-Heroes), which featured a standard 12-month listing of dates for 1975, embellished on the periphery with images of various DC characters, including the Legion. This Murphy Anderson illustration was also used on the covers of the four-issue LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES series, which reprinted various stories from the ADVENTURE COMICS era.

5YL: Legion of Super-Heroes #59

Recap: The Legion is on the run from the UP having been labeled as allies as the Khunds and therefore traitors. However, the team is also rushing to Weber's World to stop the Khunds from destroying the planetoid headquarters of the UP. The team is also dealing with the ramifications of a battle with Glorith, their ages and bodies tampered with. And on top of all that, the time stream seems to be unraveling. 

Legion of Super-Heroes #59 continues to speed towards the continuity-bomb of Zero Hour. Things are about to change ... again. And writer Tom McCraw takes this issue to pause briefly, take stock of the characters, and check in on everyone.

Superboy & The Legion #241

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #241 (July, 1978)
title: "Prologue to Earthwar"

writer: Paul Levitz

penciller: Jim Sherman

inker: Bob McLeod
letterer: Ben Oda
colorist: Cory Adams

editor: Al Milgrom
cover: Jim Sherman & Joe Rubinstein (signed)

reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Mission Monitor Board:  
Wildfire, Dawnstar, Ultra Boy, Mon-El, Sun Boy, Brainiac 5, Element Lad, Shrinking Violet, Phantom Girl, Colossal Boy, Superboy

Opponents: 
Resource Raiders, their leader The Brain, unknown terrorists

Who's Who: Storm Boy

Storm Boy
by Siskoid

Real Name: Myke Chypurz

Super-Power(s): Control weather systems
Planet of Origin: Earth

Legion Seniority: Storm Boy was the fourteenth recruit to join the Legion in the mostly-unchronicled era known as the Five-Year Gap.

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #40

The Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #40 (Nov, 1987)
title: "What Starfinger Touches..."

writer: Paul Levitz

pencillers: Greg LaRocque & Dan Jurgens
inker: Mike DeCarlo
ink assist: Arne Starr
lettering: John Costanza
colorist: Carl Gafford

editor: Karen Berger 

cover: Steve Lightle
reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Mission Monitor Board:  
Dream Girl, Element Lad, Timber Wolf, Dawnstar, Mon-El, Polar Boy, White Witch, Sun Boy, Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Invisible Kid, Tellus, Wildfire, Quislet, Sensor Girl, Shadow Lass, Lightning Lass

Guests: 
Star Boy, Laurel Kent

Opponents: 
Starfinger and his organization

The Lightning Saga (chapter 3): JLA (v2) # 9

Justice League of America (v2) # 9
Title: The Lightning Saga, Part Three: Suicide
Writer: Brad Meltzer
Artist: Ed Benes
Colorist: Alex Sinclair
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Assistant Editor: Adam Schlagman

Hi, this is Myk-El again, continuing to look at the return of the classic, Pre-Crisis Legion, often referred to as the Geoff Johns "Retro-boot."

In Part One of the Lighting Saga, the Justice League discovers that seven Legionnaires have come back from the future on a mission so secret even they don't know what it is. In Part Two, the Justice League teams up with the Justice Society in order to locate the missing Legionnaires, finding Dream Girl in Arkham Asylum, and Wildfire in the Fortress of Solitude.

Chemical King: Hot or Not?

A group of candid women with no real Legion knowledge tell us which Legionnaires they have chemistry with.

Participants
Our honorary Legion members are...
Art-Girl - Knows how to mix paints.
DJ Nath - Knows how to mix tunes.
Havana Nights - Knows how to mix a mean goulash.
Lip-Bomb - Knows how to mix and match cool clothes. Co-star of Mind Linked, on You-Tube, with her sister DJ Nath.
Science Girl - The only actual scientist in the gang, and quick to tell Siskoid the above examples aren't great examples of chemistry.
Shotgun - Not a biochemist, but studied maths. Counts for something. Probably.
Moderator: Siskoid - Disappointed his paternal unit by not going into the sciences.

5YL: Legion of Super-Heroes #58

Recap: The Legion has adopted new codenames and a new life as outlaws. Branded as traitors by the UP, they are being attacked from all sides. Despite being on the run, they have uncovered a plot where the Khunds are once again mobilizing a strike against the UP. Learning that the Khunds are planning to bomb the UP headquarters Weber's World, they streak to try to save the day.

Three weeks from now, I will be reviewing my last issue of the 5YL run on this blog.

And I am feel sluggish.

These last few issues have been crazy, action-packed brawls with the 'new' Legion punching in all directions. And in some ways that has been a lot of fun. It's been fun in the way that a Michael Bay movie can sometimes be fun. Who doesn't like over the top super-hero action?

Superboy & The Legion #240

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #240 (June, 1978)
title: "The Man Who Manacled The Legion"

plot:Paul Levitz
dialogue: Jack C. Harris

penciller: Howard Chaykin

inker: Bob Wiacek
letterer: Shelly Leferman
colorist: Cory Adams

editor: Al Milgrom
cover: Mike Grell & Joe Rubinstein (signed)

reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Mission Monitor Board:  
Superboy, Sun Boy, Colossal Boy, Phantom Girl, Cosmic Boy

Opponents: 
Grimbor

Synopsis: 
Somewhere on Earth, Grimbor contemplates chaining up Superboy and the rest of the Legion. He reads that Superboy is currently in the 30th Century, so he decides to strike.

Who's Who: Color Kid

Color Kid
by Siskoid

Real Name: Ulu Vakk

Super-Power(s): Change the color of things
Planet of Origin: Lupra

Legion Seniority: Color Kid was the thirteenth recruit to join the Legion in the mostly-unchronicled era known as the Five-Year Gap.

Legion Annual #3 (1987)

The Legion of Super-Heroes Annual (v2) #3 (1987)
title: "There's No Substitute For The Real Thing"

writer: Paul Levitz

penciller: Greg LaRocque
inker: Mike DeCarlo
ink assist: Arne Starr
lettering: John Costanza
colorist: Carl Gafford

editor: Karen Berger 

cover: Ken Steacy
reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Mission Monitor Board:  
This story features cameo appearances by Dawnstar, Mon-El, Wildfire, Polar Boy, Timber Wolf, Blok, and Shrinking Violet.

Guests: 
This story features Reserve Members and Legion Academy members Cosmic Boy, Night Girl, Bouncing Boy, Comet Queen, Karate Kid (II), Visi-Lad, Duo Damsel, and cameos of several others including Laurel Kent, Power Boy, Shadow Kid, Lamprey, and Nightwind.

Opponents: 
The Dominators

Legion of Super Heroes S01 E02: Timber Wolf

"Timber Wolf" was written by Matt Wayne and directed by Lauren Montgomery, original airdate: September 30, 2006.

Mission Monitor Board: Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Brainiac 5, Bouncing Boy, Young Superman, Timber Wolf, with non-speaking cameos by Element Lad, Phantom Girl, Colossal Boy, Triplicate Girl, Blok, Cosmic Boy, Dream Girl, Sun Boy, Tyroc, and Shrinking Violet.

Opponents: Dr. Mar Londo

Now Timber Wolf is my jam, one of my favorite Legionnaires, and if you saw my piece on the Legion over at Biff Bam Pop! you also know he was my gateway to new Legion stories, Superboy #197 being the first is read that wasn't a reprint from days gone by. I always liked that his powers were much the same as other Legionnaires (strength, agility, endurance, fighting), but he just utilized them in a different way than say, Ultra Boy or Karate Kid. Add in that pre-Wolverine ferocity and mystery, and Timber Wolf just rocks.

Happy Birthday, Tyroc!

According to the  2995 Legion of Super-Heroes Sourcebook, today will be the birthday of Legion of Super-Heroes member Tyroc.
Tyroc was the hero of the island of Marzal when he met the Legion in its ninth year. Originally he held the Legion in disdain, but when he saw for himself their honesty and bravery, he realized that his suspicions were based on antiquated ideas. When the Legion asked him to join, he accepted, becoming Legionnaire #21. However he had served less than two years before Marzal shifted back to its original dimension, and he decided to return with it.

Tyroc is a Sagittarius. Once he establishes his standards, he will live up to them...and so will those around him. Each choice he makes to improve his health and vitality will greatly enhance his  personal life.

As an extra bonus, here's the final appearance of Tyroc in Legion continuity, as he says good-bye to Dawnstar and Shadow Lass as he sends them back to "our" dimensional world.
(Legion of Super-Heroes (v2) #265 with art by Jimmy Janes & Dave Hunt)