Christmas with the Legion

Art by Gary Frank.

It's that time of the year again! As has been chronicled in the comics, Christmas is still celebrated in the Legion's time. Which, arguably, is a hard sell because with the known galaxy consisting of so many different lifeforms and races, it's odd that this observance of the holiday period should continue to hold such prominence, secular or otherwise. 
    But let's not let that spoil our festive fun. You've seen the great Denise Zhang commission in the previous post. In this special yuletide edition of the blog, we feature several more pieces of art and commissions commemorating Christmas with the Legionnaires!

Here's a great piece by former Legion artist Chris Batista. When it snows during Christmas, Polar Boy is course the Legionnaire most associated with the weather. And note little Proty in the picture!

Chris did actually draw an official Legion story with a Christmas holiday theme. it appeared in the DCUniverse Holiday Special of 2010. Here's the last panel of the story!

Here's a lovely whimsical look at how Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel would celebrate Christmas, drawn by artist Colin Fawcett. As the couple kiss under the mistletoe, they are surrounded by their son who has inherited Luornu's original triplicate powers, and some of his dad's bouncing potion.

Melchor, Gaspar and Baltazar were the names of the three wise men who brought gifts to the baby Jesus. In this homage to the cover of Adventure Comics #247, Daniel Maine shows the the Legion of Super-Kings refuse membership to Santa. 

In 1980, Christmas wrapping paper licensed from DC Comics was released, featuring artwork by Dick Giordano. An assortment of characters were shown celebrating Christmas, including members of the Legion.

Fred Hembeck LOVES Christmas. Between the covers he's done for COMIC SHOP NEWS and plenty of sketches he's drawn over the years, he's illustrated many Legionnaires enjoying the holiday season. Here are a few:

Fred is always happy to accept commissions, and his rates are extremely cheap! You can contact him here. 

Another prolific artist is Gene Gonzales. He's probably drawn more Legion-related sketches than any other of his peers. In this piece, he uses Antennae Boy to illustrate the carol "Do You Hear What I Hear?"

Inspired by the Christmas covers of the Saturday Evening Post, Gene Gonzales drew this beautiful rendering of Ivy receiving a tree from her mentor Kent Shakespeare. Ivy was one of the children on the world of Quarantine and had the power to communicate with plant forms. At one stage she was destined to be a bona fide Legionnaire, even being included on a Legion poster.

Meet Kid Christmas! If Santa was a super-Hero, would he qualify for Legion membership? Gene Gonzales thinks he would.

This piece originally ran in the now defunct WIZARD magazine. It's a great take on the FINAL CRISIS series by Brian Douglas Ahern, in a clever play on the 12 Days of Christmas. "Legionnaires" shown include Milking Maid, leaping Lord, Prince Piper and Dancing Damsel.

The 1978 DC Comics Calendar featured the Legion for the month of December.  A glorious Jim Sherman spread detailed the Legion's battle against the Toyman, disguised as Santa,  amid Christmas decorations in the city.

Jeff Moy is best known for his long run on the Legion series. In these commissions by Jude Deluca,e he draws two fan favorites enjoying the festive season: Monstress and Kinetix. 

Laura Duffie draws the speedster XS having a grand time on the ice. The character has of course appeared on the CW show The Flash recently. Again, this was commissioned by Jude Deluca.

And here's XS again, representing the Legion in this montage of carolling heroes by Sergio Aragones.

Speaking of the CW shows, here's Luca Fantasia's sketch of Supergirl giving Mon-El a Christmas gift. The show has so far featured several Legionnaires and there is reason to believe the whole team will show up in a future season.

Steve Lightle is fondly considered one of the Legion's best pencillers. This whimsical piece shows Bouncing Boy dressed up as Santa while evading pointy Christmas stars.

Boop boop be doop! Steve Lightle also helped create Quislet, the energy being which could animate objects. Here, Levy Rasputin shows the character putting some life into a snowman.

Former Legion scribes Tom and Mary Bierbaum used to send out personal Christmas cards in the form of illustrated Legion tales with a Christmas theme. This one (above and below) shows how Christmas is spent on Matter-Eater Lad's home of Bismoll.

The Bierbaums sent another Legion card in 1990, spanning four pages. It was based on the 5YL Legion and you can see them here.

The piece above is by talented artist Agnes Garbowska. She gives the seasonal scene a charm that has become the trademark of her work. Click on it to view it in greater detail.

Have you checked out Greg Fox's Legion blog? Best known for the syndicated comic strip Kyle's Bed and Breakfast, Greg also includes amusing strips about Legion life on the site. He drew Ultra Boy in a yuletide greeting because his costume bore the colors of Christmas.

And that's it for this year. I hope you enjoyed that visual look at Christmas and the Legion, which is a timely opportunity for me to wish all blog readers Season's Greetings and Happy Holidays. I'll be back in 2019 with more musings and articles of interest to the Legion collector, and I hope to have you with me.

I'll leave you with another gorgeous Christmas gift from Gene Gonzales.

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Bits Boy runs the comprehensive Legion completists’ site Bits of Legionnaire Business.