LEGION TOYS: Supergirl (DC Universe Classics)

A thousand years from now, a team of teenagers - - all from vastly different worlds, all with different abilities - - have been inspired by ancient legends to create a "Super-Hero Team." Together as the Legion of Super-Heroes, they represent the single most fervent hope and dream of underagers galaxywide - - a chance to show the adults who's boss.

Sent in a rocket from the remains of Krypton as a teenager, Kara Zor-El was trapped in suspended animation before she arrived on Earth years after her cousin, Superman. Now living in the 31 Century with the Legion of Super-Heroes, Kara fights for truth, justice and the Kryptonian Way as Supergirl!

Reboot: Teen Titans/Legion of Superheroes Special #1

Teen Titans/Legion of Super-Heroes Special #1 (November 2004)
title: "Superboy and the Legion, Part Two" / "Teenage Wonderland"

writers: Mark Waid and Geoff Johns / Mark Waid

pencillers: Ivan Reis and Joe Prado / Barry Kitson
inkers: Marc Campos / Barry Kitson
lettering: Rob Leigh
colorists: Sno-Cone / Chris Blythe
assistant editor: Jeanine Schaefer

editors: Eddie Berganza and Stephen Wacker / Stephen Wacker

cover: Phil Jimenez and Andy Lanning

reviewers: Siskoid & Shotgun

Mission Monitor Board:  
Andromeda, Apparition, Brainiac 5, Chameleon, Cosmic Boy, Dreamer, Ferro, Gear, Invisible Kid, Karate Kid, Kid Quantum II, Live Wire, M'Onel, Saturn Girl, Shikari, Spark, Star Boy, Superboy II, Timber Wolf, Triad, Ultra Boy, Umbra, Violet, Wildfire, XS / Threeboot Atom Girl, Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy, Chameleon, Dream Girl, Element Lad, Invisible Kid, Karate Kid, Light Lass, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Princess Projectra, Saturn Girl, Shadow Lass,  Star Boy, Sun Boy, Triplicate Girl, Ultra Boy

Guests: 
Aquawoman, Batman (Tim Drake), Beast Boy, Cyborg, Kid Flash II, Meloni Thawne Allen, Raven, Robin III, Science Police, Starfire II, Superman (Kon-El), Wonder Girl II; visions: Nightwing, Speedy (Mia Deardon) / Threeboot timeline kids and their parents, talk show host (Waru) and guest (a governor), Bilis and Thola, Invisible Kid's parents, Supergirl (poster), Superman (comic and poster)

Opponents: 
Fatal Five-Hundred (Emerald Empress, Mano, Persuader, Tharok, Validus); visions: Dr. Light I

Fridays With Anj ... Rankings

Okay all.

This will be a quick post as I am formulating a longer one that will require YOUR input.

I have been manning this spot on the blog for four years and I have been reviewing all sorts of runs and titles of various quality and quantity.

Maybe with the end of the year and 'best of' lists in my mind, I have been sort of ranking them in my mind. I wanted to put that list here.

But then I thought wouldn't it be even better to ask you all what you thought was the best and what was the worst of the particular runs I have reviewed here.

SO THAT IS YOUR MISSION!

Look at the runs below (with a quick blurb from me) and then just put in a comment. Which of these runs did you think was the BEST.

And which did you think was the WORST.

And if you have the gumption, rank them all.

We'll start with the most recent run, the Retroboot. Brought in after Geoff Johns' wildly popular Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes arc in Action Comics, this run swept the Threeboot under the rug. Paul Levitz had some good ideas (a Durlan infiltration, a new LSV) but in my mind, never quite pulled it off.

JIm Shooter at Rhode Island Comic Con

My con season always ends in early November with the Rhode Island Comic Con. This year, the comic guest list was a bit more robust than usual (although the con tends to be more of a celebrity convention with a dash of comics). 

I was thrilled to see Chris Bachalo as a guest as I loved Shade the Changing Man and his subsequent work. I was also very happy to see Rags Morales as a guest as I loved the New 52 Action Comics with Grant Morrison.

But the big draw was Jim Shooter. 

This was my first opportunity to meet Shooter and as a long-standing Legion fan I couldn't wait to bring him a bunch of my old issues to get signed. What you will see in the pics are the actual issues from my collection, in the bag with my obsessive signature label on the bag. What you can see is that these issues are not in very good condition but who cares.

And Shooter himself was a great guy, engaging with the fans and telling stories about his work. 

What's next for 'Fridays With Anj'?

Hey everyone, it's Anj.

I recently celebrated my nine year anniversary of blogging over on Supergirl Comic Box Commentary.

And it is hard for me to believe but we are coming up on my three year anniversary of blogging here on the Legion of Super-Bloggers. I remember the day that the Irredeemable Shag called me and asked if I wanted to join. And I jumped at the chance.

And over the course of those three years, I have covered some diverse takes on the team.

So what is next on the docket? Well ... let's look at what has come before first....

The Threeboot: A Requiem

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.

I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.

The evil that men do lives after them;

The good is oft interrèd with their bones. 

Mark Antony from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

Friends, Legionnaires, UP residents, lend me your ears.

Because after 15 months of reviews, my look at that Threeboot Legion has come to a close.

It is hard for me to believe that I have come to the end. But in some ways I am happy it has as the last several months of reviewing the Shooter run hasn't been easy.

More than any run, it seems like this volume has both good and evil. I unlike Mark Antony, I don't want the bad portion of this run to live on. And I don't want to bury the good. I want to take a broad look at the Threeboot one last time. And really, what I want to hear most is from everyone out there. What did you think of this run of the Legion? Did you love it? Or hate it? Are there moments that stick out? What do you think?

And unlike many versions of the Legion, despite the Threeboots' short run, there are definitely  discrete and distinct runs within the 50 issues. So let's dip our toes one more time.

Threeboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #50

Recap: A hard-light world and its army has been invading the United Planets. The actual world exists only in the ether, an 'internet database' that exists only on a virtual level. The Legion is the last line of defense to keep this other culture from erasing reality from existence.

Meanwhile, Princess Projectra is planning her own coup, armed with the power of all Orando magic. A nasty aspect of Brainiac 5's persona has gained corporeal existence and is running around. Cosmic Boy and others have been recruited by mystery heroes from the 41st century. Saturn Girl has had a tryst with Lightning Lad, breaking up the Legion's power couple. And Brainy has proposed to Dreamy.

But none of this really matters.

Legion of Super-Heroes #50 was the last issue of this threeboot run. The book was canceled.

In many ways, I'm thankful.

Jim Shooter has had something of a rough run on the book. His issues have been somewhat scattershot in their approach. There were too many plotlines and far too much sexism and cheesecake for my taste. And while I would have a hard time overlooking those flaws, the biggest in my mind has just been the nasty feel to the book and characters. No one seems to like each other. No one gets along. There is a lot of pseudo-swearing and intersquad battles. It would be hard to believe this group coming together and shouting 'Long Live the Legion'.

I feel that DC may have pulled the plug abruptly on the book. Shooter uses a pseudonym on this book, Justin Thyme. I am sure this is explained somewhere on his blog. And art is not by Francis Manapul here but the serviceable if less polished Ramon Bachs. But with the book canceled, we get almost no closure on everything that had been simmering away.

How sad that I was happy the book was ending.

Threeboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #49

Recap: A giant planet has entered our solar system, harboring technoconstruct 'emulations' which have been attacking United Planets for some time. And the UP has welcomed diplomats from this planet, allowing them to scan much of Earth and even drain the life essence from a UP official. Meanwhile, Princess Projectra has been supplementing her powers and preparing to wreak her revenge on the UP for allowing Orando to be destroyed by Praetor Lemnos. And there is the standard internal strife of this team during this run, sexual infidelity, and personality clashes.

My first set of reviews on this site was the 5 Years Later run by Giffen and the Bierbaums. I loved that book. But as I was reviewing the later issues, I was struck with ennui. There was a brilliance to the first three years of the 5YL run, especially the first year. As it rolled on, I was just more and more disappointed. The book was a fine super-hero book. But it wasn't the heady brew of those early issues. I was bored.

Now I am reviewing the Threeboot. And I am suffering in a different way in the later issues. These later issues don't bore me. They irritate me. Because this just doesn't read like a Legion book. Every issue seems to have problems. Whether the gratuitous sexual innuendo and cheesecake or Legionnaires acting horribly out of character or the meandering plots, nothing seems to be right about this book.

Don't get me wrong, the early Threeboot book had its issues as well. That wasn't 5YL either.

But this book ... I'm sort of done with it.

And thankfully I am almost done with it. One more issue.

Threeboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #48

Recap: An alien planet is parked in our solar system, encased in a gravitational field to stop it from wreaking havoc on the galaxy. An alien technoconstruct army has been attacking the UP for some time. The UP has tried to hem in the Legion but is currently working with them. Brainy has married Dream Girl in his mind after having a physical fling with a medium channeling Nura. Dream Girl was unfortunately psychically blinded within Brainy's mind. And Projectra is planning an overthrow. So what else can happen?

For those who have been following these reviews of the Jim Shooter/Francis Manapul run on Legion of Super-Heroes, I thank you. I have been pretty harsh in my reviews of these books. I know we aren't supposed to curse the darkness. We should light a candle. But I haven't found much to like in this run, especially these issues nearing the end.

Legion of Super-Heroes #48 doesn't break the trend. With so many plot lines being juggled, Shooter decides to add another. I am unclear when Shooter knew this title was going to be canceled (two issues from now) but you would think that if he knew we were that close to the end line he would be shoring things up not adding more.

At the very least, we are merging two of the storylines into one. In this issue we learn the flying planet is the source of the technoconstructs. Hurrah for that. And I was happy to see Sun Boy back in the fold. Shooter closes off a plot from the Waid run.

As for the complaint of casual sexism and unnecessary cheesecake in this run, we do get one superfluous scene which fits the bill. At least it didn't reach the wretchedness of last issues treatment of Meander and Dreamy.

And, as is typical of this run, Manapul brings a nice feel to the art here.

On to the book.

Threeboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #47

Recap: Princess Projectra and the remaining living Orando citizens are planning a vengeful attack on the United Planets from within. There is a massive planet which has invaded Earth's solar system, parked outside Saturn. The Legion is being torn apart from within by infidelity, insecurities, and impatience. But at least their financial and political problems have been solved. But all the dangers are piling up. How will the Legionnaires solve the problem?

Throughout the Jim Shooter run on the Threeboot run, I have complained that he has been dealing with too many plots and too much sophomoric sexual politics. Subplots about technoconstructs, Gazelle, financial woes, political prejudice, and invading planets have sort of limped along. It feels like there are too many storylines being juggled here. And, to make matters worse, those plots are often left simmering so Shooter can insert needless cheesecake, sex in pantries, and other adolescent heterosexual male innuendo into the mix. This hasn't been an easy run to read.

Legion of Super-Heroes #47 is unfortunately par for the course. We have very little plot progression here. Instead the whole issue is devoted to Brainy figuring out a way to have sex with the ghost of Dream Girl. Now you might say that Dreamy has been a leftover plotline from the Waid run that needed to be dealt with. But this issue once again has me wondering about Shooter's feelings towards women in general. Dreamy is both a sex object in this issue and physically tortured to spur the male character forward.

The cover is done by regular artist Francis Manapul and is a lovely montage cover with Brainy and Dreamy front and center. Rick Leonardi does interior art. I like Leonardi and he does fine with this issue's proceedings.

But I have been drained by this run. Three more issues. I might need a couple of weeks off of reviewing after this to regain my mental capacities.

Threeboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #46

Recap: After squabbling with the UP for some time, the Legion has been given diplomatic immunity and the members who have issues with the law have been pardoned. After struggling with finances for some time, the team is now flush with cash since merchandising their symbol. But the team is still fighting a many front war. The threat of beamed in techno-constructs is in the background. A planet has been working its way through the solar system. And there has been plenty of internal squabbles. Projectra is leaning towards totalitarianism. And Saturn Girl succumbed to Ultra Boy's closet and had sex in the pantry. Hooray bright future!

Threeboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #45

Recap: The Legion has been in turmoil. Their funds are dry. They are infighting.Princess Projectra is in jail. They are battling weird, monstrous,exceedingly powerful technocreatures. The UP seems to be their enemy. And they recently just got into a significant brawl with intergalactic pirates. And just when things couldn't get worse or busier, a moving planet is flying through the solar system heading to Earth.

Legion of Super-Heroes #44 continues the Jim Shooter/Francis Manapul run of the Threeboot team. I have not enjoyed it much finding it a mix of too many subplots (both boring and action filled) , rampant sexism, and bitter teammates. The bottom line is that it has felt too much like a book trying desperately to be overly edgy and extreme and as a result it simply doesn't read like a Legion book.

And yet, I have to admit, this issue is an interesting one for me. And that is because I find that there are some bright spots in this book, some scenes that I think are really fantastic and reminded me of a Legion book I might like to read. But surrounded by that are more instances of things I find completely odious.

On the bright side, we see the team actually come up with some pretty ingenious solutions to some of the problems facing them. I like that aspect.

But as has become routine for this book, there is a fair amount of cheesecake and sexiness to the proceedings, much of which feels gratuitous and out of character for those involved. In particular, I just find the way Shooter writes Saturn Girl to be off-putting. At this point there were decades of characterization that Imra was built on that Shooter seemed to be ignoring.

And, as what is also routine for this run, the art is wonderful. Manapul does seem to love these characters and the future atmosphere.

Threeboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #44

Recap: An unknown enemy is coordinating a galactic invasion of evolving technoconstructs, ripping into planets one at a time. The United Planets is basically at war against the Legion- withholding funds, forming a more compliant young group of heroes, and now invading the headquarters. Karate Kid and Triad have telported away with unknown allies. The team is fractured with a lot of internal griping. Now a group of Legionnaires is avoiding arrest on Rimbor. And another is has been defeated by space pirates.
Is anyone having fun yet?

Legion of Super-Heroes #44 was another interesting issue in this Jim Shooter run in that it continues to ignore several long building plots to focus on new ones. We are now 8 issues into this run.

Threeboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #43

Recap: This series is a bit all over the place right now. The Legion (and in particular leader Lightning Lad) is under duress from the UP for both overspending and flaunting authority. The galaxy is under attack from evolving techno-beasts working for an unknown threat. Princess Projectra is turning evil. Applicant M'Rissey seems to have sold out flight ring technology. The UP has formed their own mini-Legion, the United Planets Young Heroes, a more controlled band of super-powered teens. And now pirates are raiding worlds. Worst of all, none of the Legionnaires seem to particularly like each other a lot. Tell me again why I am reading this?

When Jim Shooter came on this book, it felt like a little bit like a Hail Mary pass by DC, hoping to lure the older Legion readers back to a book that they never seemed to embrace. Shooter hadn't written the Legion in decades and even I was a bit intrigued about what the book would be like. Half a year into his run, I realized that it was something of a mess. There are too many plots moving along giving the book a jumbled feel. The characters seem to be irritated with each other. There are gratuitous scenes for female characters in either undress or submissive poses. It isn't fun.

Francis Manapul's art is dynamic and engaging. But it isn't enough to clear up the story issues I have been having with this section of this Threeboot run.

This issue continues the same sort of troubling pattern of this run. New plots are added to the already overstuffed list of story lines. There is some off characterization for a couple of the team members. And the art is gorgeous.

I don't think we knew what we had with the Waid run until it was gone.

Threeboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #42

Legion of Super-Heroes #42 continues the Jim Shooter run and pushes the bubbling plot lines forward a little bit. There isn't much that happens in this issue that makes us know more or understand motivations in any different way than where we were at the end of issue #41. And if you are like me, wondering just what the heck Shooter is trying to do, this felt like a little bit of a waste of pages.

That isn't to say there aren't interesting moments. Maybe I am looking with a sharper eye given the proceedings of prior issues but there is the usual amount of unnecessary sexiness and sexism woven into the story. There is a moment with Invisible Kid which is an emotional beat that also hearkens back to an early Legion hypothesis. And we have new costumes (I presume designed by artist Francis Manapul)!

But for the most part this is more of the same that we have seen before. And I am ready for a little more.

The art is the usual fantastic work by Francis Manapul and Livesay. The fight scenes are appropriately kinetic and muddy. And the quiet scenes are composed well.

Is this what DC wanted for the Legion at this point?

Threeboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #41

Legion of Super-Heroes #41 continues the rather dark and somewhat depressing Jim Shooter run of the Threeboot team. But this issue sort of ratchets up the energy. This is the first issue in this run where I feel that the team is actually pro-active rather than re-active. They are tired of being hemmed in by rules and culture and decide to take some matters into their own hands.

To be honest, I haven't reread this run since it came out.And this critical reread hadn't made me regret that. It has been pretty rough to this point. But I will admit after reading this issue, I was almost tempted to pick up the next one and see where it is going. With the unknown threat of the constructs looming and the UP handcuffing the Legion in red tape, the team skirts the rules and does their thing. Hurrah!

That doesn't mean I am thrilled. The Projectra story still bothers me. To see the Princess become so vile a character just irks me. And Shooter still oddly injects some weird sexual moments into the story. Please don't think that I am a prude. Remember, I am a Howard Chaykin fan. But what Shooter adds just feels off or insulting or superfluous.

Francis Manapul, the main artist of the run, provides the cover. But the inside art is done by Aaron Lopresti. I am a big Lopresti fan and so seeing him drawing the Legion made me very happy.

Onto the book.

Threeboot: Legion of Supr-Heroes #40

Legion of Super-Heroes #40 continues Jim Shooter and Francis Manapul's run on the title, a sort of darker peek into a team in disarray. There is an unknown and significant threat descending on the galaxy. The UP is micromanaging the team. The Legion is broke financially. And they are broken in morale. It is clear that the team isn't united in any way. There is infighting. And a villain in the making in their midst.

Much of that stems from Lightning Lad's ineffective leadership so far. Garth is still dealing with the Legion being part of the UP structure and all the red tape that goes along with that. And while he might be a fantastic Legion Leader he is hardly a politician.

This issue turns the heat up on all these plots, having them go from simmer to full boil. It pushes things along.  And while I thought there were a few interesting moments within the issue, the overall tone of this book just isn't what I was looking for at the time. It is very dramatic. It is somewhat depressing. It is could be called 'extreme' in the 90s sense of the word. And I was just looking for something more Legion.

The art by Francis Manapul continues to sizzle here. There is a lot of conversation in this issue and not too much fighting but Manapul brings a strong energy to the proceedings. The scenes are heated and the emotion is evident.

On to the book.

Threeboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #39

Legion of Super-Heroes #39 continued the new direction by writer Jim Shooter and artist Francis Manapul. In rereading these issues now I am struck by just how depressing this book and the characters are. After the brighter, political tone of the early issues of this title, Shooter really decided to bring the misery.

No one necessarily seems happy here. Shooter concentrates on three main storylines. One is the away team on Triton recovering from the monster construct attacks. The other is an away team in Beijing working on a rodent problem. And the last storyline is the slow descent into evil by Projectra. And that sort of lack of happiness seems to veer into anger. I guess after writing a sticky sweet, silly Silver Age team, Shooter probably wanted to make it more 'real'.

But who wants a depressing, angry future? And even if the world as a whole is dark, I would want the team to sort of rise above.

Francis Manapul and Livesay continue to bring a sharp, beautiful look to the book which is definitely the upside. But I can't help but notice that there is another semi-needless cheesecake scene in the book. Was that writer's choice? Editorial edict? Artistic choice? Hmmm ...

Threeboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #38

Legion of Super-Heroes #38 represented the second issue of the new Jim Shooter/Francis Manapul and continued to cement the major plots of this run. There is an alien invasion happening, with brutal monsters overrunning planets. And the Legion is handcuffed, mummified by red tape which is limiting the team's effectiveness. These elements were introduced last issue but played up even more here.

Shooter also decided to maybe take a break from the bleaker storylines to bring in a tried and true humor element of Legion mythos - Legion tryouts. As a group, these might be the most ridiculous applicants I have ever seen. But this amusing subplot is actually a natural extension of the bureaucratic main plot. These are handpicked members from the UP, often the result of some favor or nepotism.

This aspect of the book is sort of the opposite of Waid's earlier 'revolution' theme of the Legion. Instead of rebelling and pushing things forward, this Legion instead is crushed by the system. One interesting wrinkle to this plot is how it is effecting Legion leader Lightning Lad. Historically, he has never been the most stable character. Here we see how the weight of this pressure is weighing on him.

The art on this book by Francis Manapul is just spectacular. There is a mild sense of anime here, not necessarily in the art style but in the kinetic feel of the fight sequences. The brawls on Triton are amazingly rendered. If there is a true positive to this run, it is the art.

On to the book!

Threeboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #37

When is a reboot not a reboot?

When does something go from a simple 'continuation' and become a 'bold new direction'?

Legion of Super-Heroes #37 was the first issue for the new creative team of Legion and Comic legend writer Jim Shooter and (then) new talent artist Francis Manapul. The Mark Waid/Barry Kitson were in the rear view mirror. The Tony Bedard/Dennis Calero issues seemed like a pause. But their last issue definitely felt like a coda of sorts, ending with a splash of the team. The theme of those runs, of youthful political progression pushing on the establishment, was gone. Readers seemed to be clamoring for something more 'classic'. And what could be more classic than Shooter.

But this run feels hardly classic. Not that I want retreads or retellings. I don't mind good innovation. Remember, I actually praised the Waid/Kitson run. Instead, Shooter seems to be trying to infuse some of the 'extreme' nature of the  perhaps a more mature comic market to try to bring a gritty feel to the team. And Shooter also decides to bring in new characters very early on. You would think that a 'set up' arc to re-establish the team, would make more sense.

As for the art, I am a Manapul fan. This is relatively early in his work and lacks the sort of breathy, pencil-y feel of his current style. It has a nice, sort of Image feel it which seems at home with the story Shooter is telling.

If you can't tell, I am not a big fan of this run and this might be more difficult for me to cover than the end of the 5YL issues I did way back when. So bear with me.

Thanks to Russell for adding this poster, the complete image of the cover above. It is a nice showcase of his work on the book and the new costumes for some of the characters. Chameleon Boy's has a sort of classic Silver Age vibe to it.

And as a lover of Ayla, I like Light Lass's new look.

On to the book.