Reboot: The Legion #3

The Legion #3 (February 2002)
title: "Legion World"

writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning

penciller: Olivier Coipel
inker: Andy Lanning
lettering: Comicraft
colorist: Tom McCraw
seps: Digital Chameleon
seps for Guide: Richard and Tanya Horie

editor: Mike McAvennie

cover: Olivier Coipel and Andy Lanning
reviewers: Siskoid & Shotgun

Mission Monitor Board:  
Brainiac 5, Chameleon, Cosmic Boy, Gear, Kid Quantum, Invisible Kid, M'Onel, Saturn Girl, Sensor, Shikari, Spark, Triad, Ultra Boy, Umbra, Violet, Wildfire; in Guide to the DC Universe 2001-2002 Secret Files and Origins only: Star Boy, XS; cameos in both: Apparition, Ferro, Gates, Karate Kid

Guests: 
Chuck Taine, R.J. Brande; in Guide only: Trudy Trusoe

Opponents: 
Interdimensional wyrms, Leland McCauley/Ra's al Ghul, Lightning Lord, Mr. Venge; in Guide only: Abyss, Brainstorm, Repulse, Robotica, Twine

Who's Who: Ambassador Yeasmir

Ambassador Yeasmir
by Russell & Siskoid

Real Name: Yeasmir

Super-Power(s): Teleportation, Super-negotiations
Planet of Origin: Gil'Dishpan

Relationship to Legion: Ally

L.E.G.I.O.N. '90 #13

L.E.G.I.O.N. '90 #13 (March 1990)
title: "Deceptions"
script: Alan Grant/Barry Kitson (Co-plot)
penciller: Barry Kitson
inker: Mark McKenna
letterer: Gasper Saladino
colorist: Lovern Kindzierski
editor: Art Young
cover art: Kevin Maguire and Al Gordon
review by: Mike "Nostalgic Kid" Lane


Recap: After being raped and murdered by Stealth, Vril Dox was successfully cloned with his original memories intact. Upon seeing how well Lyrissa had been doing in organizing and strengthening L.E.G.I.O.N., he told her he planned to let her maintain control. He was also confronted by Stealth, who had returned to normal and been accepted back on the team by everyone. When she told him that she was pregnant, he insisted that the only logical option was for her to have an abortion, which she angrily rejected. Meanwhile, Garryn Beck was leading a mission into deep space and encountered a strange emerald eye. It somehow imprinted itself onto Bek's mind and reacted instinctively to his thoughts, even when he was sleeping. The situation spiraled out of control until every crewman that had accompanied him was dead.

Karate Kid #13

Karate Kid #13 
"Tomorrow's Battle....Yesterday!"
script by Bob Rozakis
art by Juan Ortiz and Bob McLeod
lettered by Milt Snapinn
colored by Anthony Tollin
edited by Al Milgrom
cover by Rich Buckler (penciller) and Bob McLeod (inker)
cover date: Apr/May 1978
review by Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage
dedicated affectionately to Glenn "Continuity Kid" Walker

This issue picks up directly from where we ended last issue, which if you are paying attention means that poor old Karate Kid hasn't had a break in three issues! If you recall, *last* issue picked up directly from where #11 ended, and that was when Karate Kid time-bubbled himself back to 1977 and was promptly snatched up by Major Disaster and his secret ally! So Karate Kid's current adventure has been continuing for more than three issues without a break!

If you're just now joining us in the time stream, though, Karate Kid has somehow found himself back in Superboy's Smallville. Although he is confused about the whys and wherefores, he believes that he is facing off against a fake Superboy. As the victim of Major Disaster's manipulations more times than we care to count, the Kid thinks that the Superboy he faced last issue and is currently wrestling with when this issue opens is either a. a robot or b. a replica of some sort. (What, no thought that he might be an alternate universe Superboy?) Suddenly added to the mix: a Legion of Super-Heroes mission team who does not recognize Karate Kid as a member! He therefore thinks that they, too, are fakes. And that is all you need to know....!

Who Drew It Better: Tales vs Baxter #11-15

By Siskoid and Russell
Continuing our series comparing the covers of the Baxter version of The Legion of Super-Heroes (volume 3) and their reprints approximately one year later in Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes. The stories inside were exactly the same, but each issue had a unique cover.

So we bring up the age-old question: Who drew the better cover?

Reboot: The Legion #2

The Legion #2 (January 2002)
title: "Fight or Flight"

writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning

penciller: Olivier Coipel
inker: Andy Lanning
lettering: Comicraft
colorist: Tom McCraw
seps: Digital Chameleon

editor: Mike McAvennie

cover: Olivier Coipel and Andy Lanning
reviewers: Siskoid & Shotgun

Mission Monitor Board:  
Brainiac 5, Chameleon, Cosmic Boy (silhouette, presumably), Kid Quantum, Invisible Kid (behind the scenes), M'Onel, Saturn Girl, Shikari, Triad, Ultra Boy, Umbra, Wildfire

Guests: 
Chuck Taine (behind the scenes), Science Police

Opponents: 
Abyss, Amelia Crugg (corpse), Brainstorm, Leland McCauley (corpse and impostor), Mr. Venge, Repulse, Twine

Who's Who: U.P. Ambassador Relnic

U.P. Ambassador Relnic
by Russell & Siskoid

Real Name: Anton Relnic

Super-Power(s): None
Planet of Origin: Earth

Relationship to Legion: Ally

L.E.G.I.O.N. '90 #12

L.E.G.I.O.N. '90 #12 (February 1990)
title: "Alone Again, or..."
plot/breakdowns: Keith Giffen
script: Alan Grant
penciller: Barry Kitson
inker: Mark McKenna
letterer: Gasper Saladino
colorist: Lovern Kindzierski
editor: Art Young
cover art: Kevin Maguire and Al Gordon
review by: Mike "Nostalgic Kid" Lane


Recap: Vril Dox successfully conquered the Planet Cairn, overthrowing the drug lords that ruled it, and uniting the police force into his own army, before being murdered by Stealth. She was apparently "in heat" as is typical of her race. Meanwhile, Garryn Bek and his wife successfully cloned Dox and brought him back to life with his memories intact. After he defeated an angry Lobo, he resumed control of l.E.G.I.O.N. but left most of its day-to-day handling up to Lyrissa.

LEGION TOYS: Lightning Lad (DC Direct 2001)

One of the 3 founding members of the Legion of Super-Heroes, instrumental in helping two other super powered teenagers foil the assassination of philanthropist R.J. Brande! Born on the agricultural world of Winath! Empowered with the electrical energy of the lightning beasts of planet Korbal!  The man who fought the Super Moby-Dick of space and lived to tell the tale, Garth Ranzz a.k.a. Lightning Lad!

'Fridays With Anj' Sabbatical

Since the inception of this blog, I have manned Fridays.

From 5YL to the Threeboot to the New 52 titles to the later newsstand Levitz/Giffen issues to mini-series and now the rebooted Adventure Comics, I have been there doing my breakdowns and reviews.

And throughout I have had a truly fantastic time. It has been great to reread these books and put together critiques. It has been great to interact with so many Legion fans.

I truly believe, despite blogging for over ten years about comics, I honestly feel that my breakdowns of the 5YL issues is my high point of reviews.

Unfortunately, every so often, life comes at you hard and fast.

I am in a sort of tumultuous time in my life and I need to sort of pare down on stuff so I can concentrate on keeping myself together.

So, for the time being, I am going to have to step away from this blog for a little bit.

NOT FOREVER!

I have made too many friends and love doing this too much to walk away for good.

But until things calm down a bit, I'll be here as a reader and not a writer.

Thanks to everyone who read my long reviews and left a comment.

And with a new book around the corner, there is no better time to be a Legion fan.

Long Live The Legion!

Talk to you all soon!

Reboot: The Legion #1

The Legion #1 (December 2001)
title: "No Place Like Home"

writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning

penciller: Olivier Coipel
inker: Andy Lanning
lettering: Comicraft
colorist: Tom McCraw
seps: Digital Chameleon

editor: Mike McAvennie

cover: Olivier Coipel and Andy Lanning
reviewers: Siskoid & Shotgun

Mission Monitor Board:  
Brainiac 5, Chameleon, Element Lad (statue),  Gates (statue), Kid Quantum, Live Wire (statue), M'Onel, Monstress (statue), Saturn Girl, Shikari, Triad, Ultra Boy, Umbra, Wildfire

Guests: 
Abyss, Brainstorm, Repulse, Twine; citizens of Metropolis (named: Dnya Brynden, Tam Pammeer, Urla Doyal), media (named: Trudy, Vigo), Science Police

Opponents: 
Corvan IV terrorists (named: Izzard, Kreance, Vanquo), Leland McCauley, Mr. Venge

Who's Who: U.P. Ambassador Jeryl

U.P. Ambassador Jeryl
by Russell & Siskoid

Real Name: Aplynn Jeryl

Super-Power(s): None
Planet of Origin: Arctoraan

Relationship to Legion: Ally

L.E.G.I.O.N. '90 #11

L.E.G.I.O.N. '90 #11 (January 1990)
title: "Power Play"
plot/breakdowns: Keith Giffen
script: Alan Grant
penciller: Barry Kitson
inker: Mark McKenna
letterer: Gasper Saladino
colorist: Lovern Kindzierski
editor: Art Young
cover art: Kevin Maguire and Al Gordon
review by: Mike "Nostalgic Kid" Lane

Recap: After Vril Dox successfully conquered the Planet Cairn, overthrowing the drug lords that ruled it, Stealth began exhibiting increasingly bizarre behavior that culminated in her raping and murdering Dox. Lyrissa stepped up to take over the army he had united to direct it to noble goals. She also had Garryn Bek and his estranged wife clone Dox, who awoke with his memories intact to find an angry Lobo. After a long battle, Dox is able to defeat Lobo


The Computer Tyrants of Colu stand before the sun of Talok VIII in their humanoid form, using the solar energy to restore themselves to full power. They return to the planet with every expectation that the people will eventually need them and bow before them. Meanwhile Garryh Beck is leading a mission to the planet Rishta, which has never had extracharasterial contact before. He fears they could damage it culturally but Dox thought such a planet could use their help more than any advanced world. Bek has discovered a mysterious ship above the planet Rishta and his crew go to investigate. Back on Cairn, Stealth is watching Phase exercise when Dox surprises her.

At the same time, Bek has had an interesting encounter on the abandoned ship with a strange eye that longtime Legion fans may recognize.

A Khunds ship orbits Talok VIII and is surprised to find they have been targeted by the Tyrants. They try evasive maneuvers but it does not work. Because they have a nonaggression pact, they do not expect the Computer Tyrants' attack.

The Tyrants return to Talok and their chief pawn is excited to see their planet had been defended. But the Tyrants tell him that the Khunds came in peace and that he murdered them. He finally realizes the Tyrants are not the hero he believed them to be.

Sarcasm Kid's NYCC 2019 Legion Sketches and Commissions

Another year, another New York Comic Con has come and gone. Only this time I actually have commissions to share with Super Bloggers. Last year I chose to do a DC hiatus at the end of the convention, simply because Heroes in Crisis #1 left me so disgusted I didn't have the energy to even look at anything DC related.

The first day of this year's con didn't start out well for me. It was miserable and raining, and one of my bags broke on the way to the Javits Center so I had to carry it around in my arms. I brought too much reference material with me so I had a hard time deciding which artist to visit first and got immediately overwhelmed. One highlight at least was me snagging a bunch of the new Legion flight rings they gave away at the Retailers Breakfast thing I had to attend for my boss at the comic store.

The second day was much more enjoyable and less stressful. I got plenty of signatures and was able to meet up with some people to talk and chat, including Colleen Doran and Gail Simone.

The last day was fun too, and I finally got to meet my friend Ariel from tumblr (though we only hung for a few minutes). The one downside was Joe Prado telling me my three commissions weren't finished yet, and I'll have to wait til January when he gets free time to work on them. However, Joe did offer to do something extra for me as a gift so that's cool.

With that said, let's finally move on to the commissions!

"The Alien Among Us!"

In the early Seventies DC Comics self-published a bi-monthly "fan magazine" called The Amazing World of DC Comics. It featured histories and interviews, similar to The Comics Journal or Wizard but with a distinct DC "house" slant. Issues were dedicated to the Justice League, Shazam, Wonder Woman, and perhaps most famously, the Legion of Super-Heroes. 

TAWoDCC #12, dated August 1976, was a follow-up to the Legion-centric issue, this time about all of DC's "future" and science fiction series. As part of the theme, an eleven paged sci-fi horror story by Mike Grell was published. In the interview with Grell in that same issue (which we re-published here) Mike says that the story was the second work assignment ever given him by DC (the first was an Aquaman back-up that appeared in Adventure Comics #435) and that this story was originally intended for Weird War Tales (a series that DC published from 1971 to 1983). No reason was given for why it was not published in that book at that time. Oddly enough, it was eventually published in that book two years later (!) in Weird War Tales #67 (Sept 1978). 

I recently found my copy of The Amazing World of DC Comics #12 and re-read this story. I thought other Mike Grell fans would get a kick out of it, so here it is in all its 1974 black and white goodness. Enjoy! 

Reboot: Legion Worlds #6

Legion Worlds #6 (November 2001)
title: "You Are Here: Rimbor"

writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning

artist: Kilian Plunkett
title: "A Moment Here"

writers: Dan Abnet

penciller: Mike McKone
inker: Marlo Alquiza
lettering: Comicraft
colorist: Tom McCraw
seps: Digital Chameleon

editor: Mike McAvennie

cover: John Cassaday
reviewers: Siskoid & Shotgun

Mission Monitor Board:  
Apparition, Cosmic Boy, Ferro, Invisible Kid, Karate Kid, Kinetix, M'Onel, Sensor, Spark, Triad, Violet, XS; statue: Brainiac 5.1, Chameleon, Element Lad, ERG-1, Gates, Kid Quantum II, Live Wire, Monstress, Saturn Girl, Ultra Boy (also as flashback/voice), Umbra

Guests: 
Apparition's child, Emerald Dragon Gang, Magno, R.J. Brande, Shvaughn Erin, Timber Wolf, Wolf Gang (named: Crody, Hubble, Mash, Race, Rn'drr)

Opponents: 
Jinx-Dog, Jo Nah's mother, Kuga, Leland McCauley, Mr. Venge, Swool, Venom Gang, Wimena Wazzo, Xoth

Who's Who: The Unkillables

The Unkillables
by Russell & Siskoid

Real Name: Various; see below

Super-Power(s): Advanced strength
Planet of Origin: Earth

Relationship to Legion: Adversaries

L.E.G.I.O.N. '89 #10

L.E.G.I.O.N. '89 #9 (December 1989)
title: "Internal Affairs"
plot/breakdowns: Keith Giffen
script: Alan Grant
penciller: Barry Kitson
inker: Mark McKenna
letterer: Gasper Saladino
colorist: Lovern Kindzierski
editor: Art Young
cover art: Kevin Maguire and Al Gordon
review by: Mike "Nostalgic Kid" Lane

Recap: Vril Dox successfully conquered the Planet Cairn, overthrowing the drug lords that ruled it, but then Stealth began exhibiting increasingly bizarre behavior that culminated in her raping and murdering Dox. Lyrissa steps up to take over the army he had united and tries to direct it to noble goals. While Garryn Bek works with his estranged wife, Marij'n Bek, to clone Vril Dox, the Durlan disappears and is replaced by a mysterious woman who can phase through walls. Bek tries to capture her but he mistakenly frees Lobo, who then tries to destroy Dox's cloning chamber.

Millenium: Legion of Super-Heroes #2

Legion of Super-Heroes: Millenium #2 (Dec 2019)
title: "...And Then"
writer: Brian Michael Bendis
credited on the cover (but not in the issue): 
Scott, Cheung, Dekal, Sook, Morey, Bellaire
covers: Ryan Sook (main); Ivan Reis/Joe Prado (variant)

reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Mission Monitor Board: 
Thirty-two members if I counted correctly (not counting the triplets individually). I didn't notice a Dr. Fate type character appearing before. And there is a Dr. Phosphorus type character in the rear on the left as well. And Invisible Kid seems to be a member, although we don't (ahem) see him.
Opponent:
Time-travel glitches, stupid human decisions that lead to Great Disasters, stupid corporate decisions that lead to $4.99 comic books not being worth the price of admission

Summary: 
Rose and the Thorn, a Bronze Age Superman Family character, is jumping through different time periods until she arrives on the day the Legion of Super-Heroes has formed. She asks for their help. The end. 

Review: Adventure Comics #523

Adventure Comics #523 is a turning point in the Adventure Comics Legion relaunch. After months of New Krypton crossovers then months of flashbacks and then months of adjunct storytelling to the main book, the title morphs into a Legion Academy book. 

The Academy had always been, for me, an untapped Legion aspect. We occasionally would get an issue looking at the school (Legion of Super-Heroes #304 one of my favorite issues ever). But what happens on a day to day basis there? What classes do they take? Do they have down time? So having Adventure really scrutinize the Academy and the students thrilled me.

It also helps that writer Paul Levitz gets Phil Jimenez to come on board as a co-creator on the book. Jimenez is a well-known Legion fan so my guess is this was something of a dream project. I especially like that Jimenez got to play with some of the older Legion characters again, Night Girl, Duo Damsel, and Bouncing Boy.

But the draw here are the Academy students. These are, for the most part, new characters. Additions to the expansive Legion continuity is always welcomed!

On to the book.

Reboot: Legion Worlds #5

Legion Worlds #5 (October 2001)
title: "You Are Here: Steeple"

writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning

penciller: Steve Dillon
inkers: Klaus Janson & John Stanisei
title: "Executive Action"

writers: Dan Abnett

artist: Jamie Tolagson
lettering: Comicraft
colorist: Tom McCraw
seps: Digital Chameleon

editor: Mike McAvennie

cover: John Cassaday
reviewers: Siskoid & Shotgun

Mission Monitor Board:  
Ferro, Karate Kid, M'Onel

Guests: 
Abyss, Brainstorm, Pashassi-Master Sorcsis, Repulse, Twine; Halpashar, space-port crew

Opponents: 
Bronto, Cortex, Emerita, Gangster, Mr. Venge, Nadir, Pollen, Razorsoul

Who's Who: Uli Algor

Uli Algor
by Russell & Siskoid

Real Name: Uli Algor

Super-Power(s): None; advanced technological weapons
Planet of Origin: Skor

Relationship to Legion: Adversary

L.E.G.I.O.N. '89 #9

L.E.G.I.O.N. '89 #9 (October 1989)
title: "Second Chances"
plot/breakdowns: Keith Giffen
script: Alan Grant
penciller: Barry Kitson
inker: Mark McKenna
letterer: Gasper Saladino
colorist: Glenn Whitmore
assistant editor: Art Young
editor: Karen Berger
cover art: Kevin Maguire and Al Gordon
review by: Mike "Nostalgic Kid" Lane

L.E.G.I.O.N.airres: The Durlan, Garryn Bek, Lobo, Lyrissa Mallor, Phase, Stealth, Strata, Vril Dox.

Recap: Vril Dox successfully conquered the Planet Cairn, overthrowing the drug lords that ruled it and uniting its police force into his new Army. Stealth began exhibiting increasingly bizarre and violent behavior that culminated in her raping and murdering Dox. Strata convinces Lyrissa that despite their differences from Dox, his goal was a good one and his new army could be used for good. She steps up and assumes leadership in Dox's place. Meanwhile, she has Garryn Bek working with his estranged wife, Mari'n Bek, to clone Vril Dox.