Art Institute of Zwen: George Perez

If you have read comics for any length of time, you know who George Perez is. He has worked at both Marvel and DC, and while there he probably has drawn *every* single character either company has ever published!

So of course he has also drawn the Legion of Super-Heroes. When he moved from Marvel to DC one of the first things he did was draw covers for books he was not working on. This included Legion of Super-Heroes #s 268, 277, 278, 279, 280, and 281. And of course, he drew the Legion as guest-stars in the recent Brave And The Bold series, and also some minor mini-series called Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds. If you have never read this series, you should. You can find the trade paperback on-sale here.

Before he even moved to DC, in 1977, Omnibus Publishers put out a collection of original sketches in a book called Perez: Accent On the First "E." In that portfolio was THIS gem:

Dare I say it....these women are HOT! Bravo, George Perez, you have *always* had IT!

If you are lucky to find George at a comic convention he will sell you an autographed print, or possibly draw you a requested sketch for $100. Or you can find original George Perez art for sale at The Artist's Choice.

LEGION TOYS: Saturn Girl (Mattel 12-Pack)

Mattel 12-Pack Saturn Girl 
by David Weter

It was long-believed that female figures don't sell as well as male figures, and they were harder to make.

The second half seemed to be true for comic-based toys for most of the 80's and 90's. Teela never quite seemed shaped like a human, thanks to the ball-jointed legs. The Super Powers Wonder Woman looked a bit disproportionate while the Toy Biz Wonder Woman barely tried to get her curves right.

Lest I sound misogynistic- let me clarify that I am speaking of a natural, organic shape to a female figure, and not about the toy looking like it belongs on the cover of Maxim.

With all of that said, we come to the lone female figure in the Mattel 12 pack: Ms. Imra Ardeen.

It is a shame that there wasn't a second round of figures to diversify the boys' club feeling of the offerings. But, as one of the founding members, Saturn Girl was a must for this collection in my opinion.

5YL Legion of Super-Heroes #6

Legion Reviewer: Anj
Super-power: 'Super-spit take' when seeing unknown Supergirl-like characters

Let's say you are the Legion creative team of Keith Giffen, Tom and Mary Bierbaum, and Al Gordon. You have been told by DC Comics that changes are around the bend. The DCU timeline will be changed such that much of the chiseled-in-marble continuity of the Legion will suddenly no longer make sense. Things need to adapt.

And yet here you are, just three issues into a completely different take on the Legion as it is. The history of the Legion was the foundation for this new take. Now there are cracks in the foundation.

So you decide that a nuclear option is needed. You completely destroy the Legion timeline in Legion of Super-Heroes #4. You set up and proceed to destroy a new timeline in Legion of Super-Heroes #5. Things will be similar, just not the same. The approach gives you an automatic explanation for any continuity kerfuffle that raises its ugly head.

You have done the impossible ... tweaked Legion history.

Surely you will use Legion of Super-Heroes #6 as an expository issue, explaining away the big changes and letting the established fandom catch their collective breath. Right? Right??

Nope. Instead you pick up the storyline you left back in Legion of Super-Heroes #3 as if nothing happened. Yes, you tantalize with a big change in this issue. But you act as if nothing happened.

Incredible.

This volume continues to stun with its new direction, its artistic decisions, its varying approaches to stories issue to issue, it's willingness to blow things up and rebuild things in 2 issues, and then the confidence to move forward.

And it all starts with the cover, a classic cover trope of the villain playing with the heroes like puppets, most classically seen on Justice League of America #10 . Mordru is playing with our newly formed tiny Legion.


Remember, Legion of Super-Heroes #3 ended with two major plots bubbling. The first is that Roxxas was let loose by the Dominators to try to quietly squelch the Legion from reforming. Unfortunately for the Dominators, he did it loudly and sent out a clarion call to the Legion.

Here, Sun Boy, the insipid mouth piece for the hidden Dominator regime, woos a private detective ... Celest Rockfish ... to track Roxxas down. A connection between Earthgov and Roxxas' release has been discovered and Sun Boy wants him caught (for his Dominator bosses of course). And he sure knows how to turn on the charm, to the point where even someone as polished as Celest swoons a bit.

Celeste Rockfish becomes a recurring character in the book and eventually a member of the Legion. Her power is simply her detective skills. It's great that the Legion has room for someone like this. (On a side note, her name is a play on the character Jim Rockford, of  the TV show The Rockford Files, a favorite of Al Gordon.)

The other plot is the mini-Legion of Reep, Rokk, Jo, and Kono readying to confront Mordru and free Mysa (the White Witch) from his clutches. The Legion are welcomed on Tharn, the new Sorcerors' World, and are set up in nice accommodations. This is a civil Mordru ... at least for now ... readying for discussion about Mysa and where she belongs. Amazingly, Chameleon Boy thinks he is simply going to waltz in and charm Mysa away from Mordru.

We do see a little down time as they prep for the meeting. I love Kono and her irreverent attitude, phasing in and out of rooms, not following the rules, and sassing Reep. You can see that this is going to be a fun relationship, made even better by Jo's hysteria.

And if diplomacy doesn't work, the Legion will attack.

Unfortunately, Mordru is eavesdropping. And when he hears that the Legion would have the audacity to attack him, trying to strip his wife Mysa away from him, and generally showing no respect, he decides that he needs to act.

Mordru makes the Legionnaires relive their worst moments and even warps them to make them more psychologically damaging.

We see some of Kono's back story which may explain her disdain towards men. It looks as though, as a child, she was almost assaulted by Rimborian soldiers. At the time she had no control over her power and she lashed out, killing them.

I don't always like rape or attempted rape being the impetus for women becoming heroes. But in this horrible universe, I can see this happening. And I applaud Kono's strength for turning things around.


Chameleon Boy needs to relive him killing his brother in some Durlan traditional battle.
Jo relives being swallowed by the Space Dragon but then Phantom Girl's corpse is in the beast's belly as well.

And Rokk, he relives Venado Bay, the horrible battle in the Braal/Imsk war where the Imskians unleashed an experimental weapon. To make things worse, it seems as if Pol (Magnetic Kid) is dead in the rubble.

But here is where we see the power of Cosmic Boy, even if he doesn't wield magnetism. He realizes Pol wasn't there, that this is a Mordru trick, and shakes it off. Of all the Legionnaires, he's the only one.

And then, in a doozy of a revelation, we learn that 'Furball', the giant Tasmanian Devil looking beast that was hanging out with Jo on Rimbor and joined up with the Legion there ... Furball is Timber Wolf. He relives the moment when the doctors told him that he has deteriorated into this creature.

Suddenly, another Legionnaire, albeit in monstrous form, is in the fold.

Paralyzed by this psychic attack, the Legionnaires ... except Rokk ... are dragged to Mordru's dungeon.

Remember this is all about 'rescuing' Mysa. We finally see her and it isn't nice.

I remember the chaste, shy, innocent, naive young woman, resplendent in white. In this new universe, things are different.

Here she is naked, in Mordru's harem, shunned by the other wives, and in mental anguish. She most likely has suffered all forms of abuse here. She needs to be removed from here.

I feel for Mysa. This is horrible.

Now please remember that this book came out in 1989. That the universe's history was basically rewritten twice over in the two last months. That things can be slightly different.

And remember I am a Supergirl fan who was shaking his head at the time over the 'Matrix' Supergirl. That Supergirl went mad and fled into space. We are two years away from that Supergirl returning to Earth as a dupe of Brainiac. It wasn't a good time to be a Supergirl fan.

So what was I going to do about this page ... the first concrete example that the new timeline was indeed different.

Above Tharn, a blond, head-banded woman with vision powers and flight, streaks in to save her old teammates. She says Mordru has the one power which can threaten her. And she seems downright sure of herself as she streaks down to challenge the wizard.

Blond, head banded, super-powered ex-Legionnaire afraid of magic?? In a book edited by Mark Waid???

My jaw hit the ground back then. I truly thought this was Supergirl.

We learn more about her and who she is next month. No 25yr old spoilers here.

As for Celeste, she and her partner ... a bounty hunter called Bounty ... decide the best way to track down Roxxas is to head to their only lead. That one lead is Jan Arrah (Element Lad) on Trom.

They head to the planet by way of Devlin O'Shea, a cub reporter with delusions of grandeur. Devlin also becomes a recurring character here ... a mix of Jimmy Olsen and Snapper Carr. And they are heading there in a decommissioned Legion cruiser. There is a lot of universal serendipity here as more and more Legion gear and Legionnaires are coming together.

There is more to Bounty than appears. We'll learn soon.

And then this happens ... a splash page, our first break from the 9 panel breakdown. And there is Element Lad, dressed like a shaman/survivalist, presiding over the planetary cemetery.

Another Legionnaire!

The text page at the end of this issue reviews 'The Last Days of Daxam'. With the universe re-written, I had questions about Mon-El. I am sure everyone did. Was he a Legionnaire? Did he exist? While we know the plan was for him to be Valor in the 20th century, did the 1000 years in the Zone happen?

I thought Valor would remain in the 20th century and Mon-El would not have been a 30th century hero. Turns out I was wrong. Mon-El was a hero and was currently alive! But Giffen and Bierbaum weren't going to touch him or Shady. This text ends with them 'deep in uncharted space adventuring'. Explaining Mon-El again would be too perplexing.

Whew ...

I love this issue. And I love this series. Think about this particular book, in the context of this series.

1) Basically ignored the universal upheaval and re-upheaval of the two prior issues, picking up where #3 ended.

2) Gave us insight into several new characters like Kono and Furball. Introduced us to Celeste, Devlin, and Bounty.

3) Showed us, in a brilliant manner, the strength of Rokk

4) Re-introduced ex-Legionnaires Mysa and Jan

5) And then tantalized us with another Supergirl variant.

And that's just the story!

As for the art, if you want a splash page to 'matter' ... show one after 6 months of static 9 panel breakdowns!

We are half a year into this new Legion. What do you think so far??

Milestones:
First appearance of Celeste Rockfish, Bounty, Devlin O'Shea, and that blond head-banded woman superhero (okay, I'll say it) Laurel Gand!

Hot: Violet Dresses Colossal Boy

Colossal Boy spends the vast majority of this story buck naked, captured and tortured by Starfinger (ii). Scenes like this one abound...no pun intended. 

The hottest scene, however, is when Shrinking Violet and Invisible Kid come to the rescue. They blast him free of his constraints, and then in the next panel...he has pants on. Check it out! 

So...she dressed him.
Unless you think it was Invisible Kid, who was just regaining consciousness himself.
More likely it was Violet, ironically, a long-time "crush" of Colossal Boy's who got to help him out while reminding him that he had helped rescue her in a similar situation (from when she was kidnapped by Imskian rebels).

And as they escape, Violet isn't too busy to give the guard a bit of a flash herself.

(Legion of Super-Heroes Annual 4 (1988), art by Barry Kitson and Romeo Tanghal)

Superboy #190

Superboy #190 (Sept 1972)
A review by Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

title: "Follow Murder The Leader!"

writer: Cary Bates

penciller: Dave Cockrum

inker: Murphy Anderson

letterer: Ben Oda

editor: Murray Boltinoff
cover: Nick Cardy

Mission Monitor Board:  
Saturn Girl, Mon-El; cameos by Shadow Lass, Lightning Lad, Karate Kid, Colossal Boy, Ultra Boy, Phantom Girl, Invisible Kid, Bouncing Boy, Dream Girl, and Duo Damsel

Opponents: 
Tharok and Validus

Who's Who: Colossal Boy

Colossal Boy
by Russell & Siskoid

Real Name: Gim Allon

Super-Power(s): Ability to grow to colossal height, with proportionate strength 
Planet of Origin: Earth

Legion Seniority: Colossal Boy joined at the same time as Chameleon Boy, but they were admitted  alphabetically, making him Member #7.

Legion Log 
Colossal Boy made his debut appearance as a guest-star in a Supergirl story in Action Comics #267. At this time he was already shown to be a member, along with Chameleon Boy and Invisible Kid. It was also later shown that he had been one of the members at the time Superboy was inducted. 

At the time he joined he was incorrectly described as having a hereditary power. It was later established that he had received his super-power while on vacation on Mars when a stray meteor crash landed near him and the radiation affected him. Up until that time Colossal Boy had intended to join the Science Police, but after discussing his options with his mother and father (a university professor and an admiral in the UP Fleet) he decided to try to join the Legion. When he joined he became the first Legionnaire from Earth. 

Although the religious beliefs of most Legionnaires are not established, Colossal Boy has been shown to be Jewish.

Colossal Boy served with distinction for six years before a group of criminals black-mailed him into betraying the Legion by threatening to kill his parents. He played a lone-hand on that case, instead of trusting his team-mates, and learned a valuable lesson about trust and honor. He served with the Legion for another seven years, up through The Magic Wars.

Colossal Boy's best friends in the Legion are Chameleon Boy and Sun Boy. However, Colossal Boy is neither as paranoid, analytical, or intense as Cham, nor as flamboyant or hedonistic as Sun Boy. He showed how much he loved Cham first by volunteering to be a part of the rescue mission following his ill-fated Khund mission, and a few years later by following him in his attempts to track down Starfinger.  

For many years Colossal Boy had an unrequited crush on fellow member Shrinking Violet. During the aforementioned rescue mission to the Khund homeworld, Colossal Boy admitted his feelings to her and was surprised to see that they were reciprocated. Later, it was revealed that the woman he thought was Shrinking Violet was in fact a Durlan spy named Yera paid to impersonate Violet. By the time Colossal Boy found out her true identity, they had already married. Instead of annulling their marriage, however, they both decided to make an attempt to stay together.

During and after the five-year gap following the Magic Wars, Colossal Boy, wracked with pain after his torture at the hands of Starfinger II, returned to the Science Police, quickly achieving the rank of Captain.

Colossal Boy was also one of the members of the SW6 Legionnaires, and appeared in Legionnaires when it was spun-off into its own series, taking the name Leviathan. This version of Gim had a crush on SW6's Lightning Lass AKA Gossamer. He is aged to dust by Glorith at the end of the original continuity. This made the adult Gim Allon fade away, revealing the time paradox nature of the SW6 Legionnaires.

After the Reboot, Leviathan is from Mars, not Earth, but still a Science Police officer who gained powers after grazing a meteor. He was the team's first official leader, assigned by Earthgov, but quit after a single mission, in which Kid Quantum was killed. He became Cosmic Boy's deputy. He was in love with Kinetix, though Violet was in love with him. He ended up dying a heroic death at the hands of Doctor Regulus, a death engineered by the Emerald Eye of Ekron because it was Gim's "heart's desire".

After the Threeboot, Gim Allon is part of a race of giants who live in Antarctica, descendents of a people enlarged by Bizarro-Brainiac, with a particular mutation: He can shrink down to a size of about 6 feet. Calling himself Micro Lad, he joins the Legion, though they tended to call him Colossal Boy instead. He was bit dim, but loyal to his friends, with a romantic interest in Atom Girl AKA Shrinking Violet. In this continuity he had a younger brother, where previously he had always been an only child.

After Infinite Crisis, Colossal Boy's original history has more or less been reestablished. He is still a member of the Legion, along with his wife Yera, now known as Chameleon Girl.

Colossal Boy has had a cameo in Justice League Unlimited, and appears as a semi-regular character in The Legion of Super-Heroes animated series, voiced by Adam Wylie.

Important Colossal Boy Stories: 

Action Comics  #267

(reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 1)

Colossal Boy's debut appearance, already a Legionnaire

Adventure Comics  #323

(reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 3)

Cameo appearance in the flashback shows Colossal Boy
was already a member when Superboy joined

Adventure Comics  #341

(reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 5)

Colossal Boy leads the fight against Computo

Adventure Comics #371-372 

(reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 8)

Legion of Super-Villains kidnaps Gim's parents, blackmailing him into 
betraying the Legion

Superboy/Legion  #195

(reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 10)

Colossal Boy wears the first of his new uniforms; 
it lasts one issue and is retconned out of existence in #201

Superboy/Legion  #201

(reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 10)

Colossal Boy in his more famous Dave Cockrum uniform

Superboy/Legion  #215

(reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 11)

Mike Grell re-designs a top-heavy Colossal Boy uniform

DC Special #21 Super-Star Holiday Special

Colossal Boy is revealed to be Jewish

Legion of Super-Heroes (v2)  #298

Colossal Boy secretly marries the woman he thinks is Shrinking Violet

Legion of Super-Heroes(v2)  #301

Colossal Boy wears his first Keith Giffen designed uniform
(miscolored here)

Legion of Super-Heroes (v2)  #305

Shrinking Violet is revealed to be a Durlan named Yera...
AND to be Colossal Boy's wife!

Legion of Super-Heroes (v2) #308

 
Colossal Boys' parents meet his wife, Yera,

welcoming her into the family

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3)  #14

Colossal Boy returns to his 2nd Dave Cockrum uniform

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3)  #26

Colossal Boy stands up to the Emerald Empress' new Fatal Five

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3)  #39

Flashback "origin" story of how Gim was about to join the
Science Police at the time he gained his growing powers

LSH(v3) 48 thru Legion Of Super-Heroes Annual #4 (1988)

Colossal Boy goes undercover to help Chameleon Boy capture Starfinger

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #13

Gim Allon still acts heroically as a Science Police Captain (Five Years Later)

Legionnaires #3

SW6 Gim now calls himself Leviathan and proves his mettle facing a new Fatal Five

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #60

Leviathan is aged to death by Glorith, proving SW6 Legionnaires are temporal clones

Legionnaires #0

Reboot Gim gets his invitation not just to the Legion, but to become its Earthgov-appointed leader

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #62

When Kid Quantum dies, Leviathan quits as leader

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) Annual #3

The secret origin of (Reboot era) Leviathan

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #83

Leviathan is killed by Dr. Regulus, though the responsibility is shared by Violet and the Emerald Eye

Legion of Super-Heroes (v5) #1

Gim Allon serves in the Threeboot Legion as Micro Lad through the course of the entire era

Legion: Secret Origin #4

Colossal Boy joins the Legion, as told post-Infinite Crisis

Legion of Super-Heroes cartoon (2007)

Colossal Boy, voiced by Adam Wylie

Happy Birthday, Star Boy!

According to the 1976 DC Calendar, today will be the birthday of Thom Kallor, better known throughout the galaxy as Star Boy. 
Star Boy was the thirteenth member to join the Legion of Super-Heroes. He was the first to be expelled for killing during the line of duty, and the first to be re-admitted after the Legion Constitution was revised on that point.
Star Boy is a Libra. He feels ready to expand, take educated risks, and move forward. However, he should consider simplifying instead. There is a good chance that progress will involve contracting.

Tales Of the Legion of Super-Heroes #316

Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #316 (Oct, 1984)

title: "Meanwhile..."

writer/plotter: Paul Levitz

plotter: Keith Giffen

penciller: Terry Shoemaker

inker: Karl Kesel

letterer: Adam Kubert

colorist: Carl Gafford

editor: Karen Berger
cover: Terry Shoemaker & Larry Mahlstedt (signed)

Mission Monitor Board:  
Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, Bouncing Boy, Invisible Kid, Wildfire, Dawnstar, Mon-El

Guests: 
Legion of Substitute Heroes: Polar Boy, Night Girl, Stone Boy
Legion Academy Students: Magnetic Kid, Laurel Kent, Comet Queen
Opponents: 
unnamed smugglers at Metropolis Spaceport 

The Legion Constitution: Articles 1 and 2

Calling this meeting to Order! 
A review of the Legion Constitution by Siskoid

To embrace the Legion, one must understand the team is, first and foremost, a club, such as you might find at a college or high school. And like any student committee, it has rules. To be a Legionnaire is to wrestle with BUREAUCRACY. Never mind the Fatal Five, this stuff is a lot more terrifying! 

Over the course of this series of essays, we'll be looking at Legion rules as codified in the oft-invoked Legion Constitution, as compiled by researcher Barbara Randall in Who's Who in the Legion issues two through six. And let's start with mission and membership issues:So far so good.
That last little clause looks like trouble. "...and such authorities as they may from time to time designate." Like this time:
Looks like the exchequer's cronie isn't as free with the money as previous administrations.

Hm. How's that system working out these days then?
And wasn't the later-era Threeboot Legion disobeying its Constitution by having Bill-Gates Lad handle its finances?
But some codes, you don't break easily:
Even on Johns-Earth, where the Legion was ousted in favor of a racist, all-human Justice League, the LSH didn't leave this old mudball.
They just moved the clubhouse underground.

Moving on to Article 2...
The Fantastic Four, this isn't. Hey, it's a big galaxy.
If the Legion was inspired by Superboy, they still have to pay a debt to the Justice Society/League for coming up with the whole team idea. More than that, they owe that debt to Fire & Water favorite Aquaman (much respect to the podcast network that fathered this blog; it's OUR Superboy), who based his Justice League Detroit around the idea of a live-in team of always alert heroes. The Legion even accepted a bunch of losers over the years, just like the JLD did!
Here we go. The first of several articles that give Superboy a free pass. A reminder on how he managed it:
By being a big baby about everything. Ok Superboy, you don't HAVE to spend all your time in our century.
Honorary members include Pete Ross, Jimmy "Elastic Lad" Olsen and Green Lantern Rond Vidar, all guys who don't meet membership criteria under Article 3 (as we'll see).

Reserve members include Kid Psycho and Lana "Insect Queen" Lang, though I doubt the latter is a legal choice (her powers weren't inherent). Kid Psycho was, of course, known for two things: Being called to duty as cannon fodder during the Crisis, and not being psycho at all. In reality, this is the All-Star Squadron clause, giving the Legion the possibility of drafting any hero in the 30th-31st century into its ranks. Except those filthy Heroes of Lallor.

We table this meeting for now, but when we pick things up again: Admission to Membership. Who can make it in, and who cannot?

Based on material originally published in some form on Siskoid's Blog of Geekery.