Legion Mini-Series and Specials!

Of the few non-reprint DC Specials was #28, which featured "Earth Shattering Disasters" starring Batman, Aquaman, and the Legion of Super-Heroes. Unfortunately, not all in one extraordinary story, but, gosh, how cool would *that* have been? No, this was three stand-alone stories featuring those three stars battling mad-made disasters. In the era of films such as Earthquake and The Towering Inferno, disasters were big. I mean, really huge.

A few years later, in 1981, one of the first mini-series DC ever published was a 3-issue melodrama called Secrets of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Following in the path of The Phantom Zone and The World of Krypton, all must have done okay, because DC continued to produce mini-series for years. And the Legion has been the stars of various mini-series and specials ever since.

In the Eighties there were Legionnaires Three and Cosmic Boy. In the Nineties there was Timber Wolf, Legion Lost, and Legion Worlds. More recently there has been Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds and Legion: Secret Origins. And those are just the mini-series. If you factor in the Legion appearances in DC Holiday books, the late great Secret Origins book, Secret Files, an appearance in Adventure Comics 80-page Giant, and the aforementioned DC Special story, there is definitely a wealth of Legion material out there! And of course, one of the few non-reprint Limited Collectors' Edition featured the wedding of Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad! 

We here at Legion of Super-Bloggers intend to cover all of these series and stories. We have embraced the idea of the mini-series and one-shots as being "special," however, so we will review them, out of chronological order, whenever the mood strikes us! Perhaps we'll stumble across one of them at a comic con. Or maybe we'll come across one in our collection while looking for something else. Coming up this week, the Substitute Blogger will review Cosmic Boy, from 1985. After that...we will have to see what the future holds. We promise it will be....special.

Long Live the Legion!

Legion of Super-Heroes (v5) aka "The Threeboot"

The Legion of Super-Heroes once again returned to their own self-titled series in 2005 with Volume 5 of Legion of Super-Heroes. The series was launched under the creative team of writer Mark Waid and artist Barry Kitson, who together had previously struck gold at DC with their acclaimed run on The Flash. They were tasked with redefining the Legion of Super-Heroes for the 21st Century (31st Century within their book). Mark Waid was no stranger to the Legion, having been the long time editor of the post-Crisis series. Despite a name change to the series with issue #16 to Supergirl and the Legion of Super-heroes, Waid & Kitson remained the main creative team on the book, save for a few fill-in artist issues, through the first 19 issues of the series. With issue #20, the series took on a new format, featuring two new stories an issue. One was by Waid & Kitson, and the other was by writer Tony Bedard and artist Adam DeKraker (who had been the primary fill-in artist for Kitson earlier on in the run). With issue #23 the series would be back to the mostly one story per issue format with Waid and Kitson again at the helm until the conclusion of their great run with issue #30.  With issue #31 Tony Bedard took over as the sole writer of the series where he was joined by artist Dennis Calero in telling "The Quest for Cosmic Boy” story which concluded in issue #36 of Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes.

It was now late 2007 (cover date 2008) and issue #37 hit the stands in December with another creative team change. The title of the series was also changed back to the original name it was launched under, The Legion of Super-Heroes. The new creative team featured legendary Legion writer Jim Shooter, who had written tales of the heroes from the 30th Century in the pages of Adventure Comics back in the late 1960’s through the late 70’s. He was joined by the young up-and-coming artist Francis Manapul, who after half a decade working on various Image Comics’ titles, made his DC debut on this series. They continued on the series until its conclusion with issue #50, save for a few issues that featured a fill-in artist (#47 pencils by Rick Leonardi, #50 Ramon Bachs).  It would be revealed during The Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds mini-series that the Legion depicted in this Legion of the Super-Heroes series (volume 5) were actually the Legion of Earth Prime, which is the Earth in the DC Multiverse that represents our own world. This is the same Multiverse that was destroyed in Crisis on Infinite Earths, which returned due to the events of Infinite Crisis, as revealed by the weekly series “52” that began in 2006. The other two Legion teams that took part in the Legion of Three Worlds mini-series were the original Pre-Crisis Legion, which made its return to the DCU in "The Lightning Saga" that ran through the pages of Justice League of America and JSA, and the Zero Hour Legion team from Earth-247.


Volume 5 of Legion of Super-Heroes is available in the following collected editions:

Legion of Super-Heroes
Teenage Revolution (HC/TPB)
Collects Legion of Super-Heroes Volume 6 Issues #1-6 & Teen Titans/Legion Special #1
Cover by Barry Kitson

Legion of Super-Heroes
Death of a Dream (HC/TPB)
Collects Legion of Super-Heroes Volume 6 Issues #7-13
Cover by Barry Kitson

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes

Strange Visitor from Another Century (HC/TPB)
Collects Legion of Super-Heroes Volume 6 Issues #14-15 and Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes Issues #16-19
Cover by Barry Kitson

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes
Adult Education (HC/TPB)
Collects Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #20-25
Cover by Barry Kitson

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes
The Dominator War (HC/TPB)
Collects Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #26-30
Cover by Barry Kitson

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes
The Quest for Cosmic Boy (HC/TPB)
Collects Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #31-36
Cover by Barry Kitson


Legion of Super-Heroes
Enemy Rising (HC/TPB)
Collects Legion of Super-Heroes Volume 6 Issues #37-44
Cover by Francis Manapul & John Livesay


Legion of Super-Heroes 
Enemy Manifest (HC/TPB)
Collects Legion of Super-Heroes Volume 6 Issues #45-50
Cover by Francis Manapul & John Livesay

Adventure Comics (v2) #1 (#504)

Adventure Comics (v2) #1
Long Live the Legion Part One
Written by Geoff Johns
Pencils & Inks by Clayton Henry
Colors by Brian Reber
Letters by Sal Cipriano
Standard & Variant Covers both by Francis Manapul
Cover Date October 2009
On Sale August 12th, 2009

Following the #0 introduction issue that reprinted the classic tale of the Legion of Super-Heroes first appearance from Adventure Comics #247, Volume Two of Adventure Comics launched with a new issue #1, which also carried a gray translucent 504 on the cover, continuing the numbering from Adventure Comics volume one (which had ended in 1983). The variant cover utilized more of the classic Silver Age DC panel design depicting multiple separate panels or “windows” into the story contents inside; this cover also featured the 504 numbering much more prominently. Issue #1 had two stories, the main story, a 22 page adventure starring the recently resurrected Superboy (Conner Kent) and the back-up feature, which ran 8 pages, and starred the Legion of Super-Heroes.

The first page gives a brief history of the Legion, emphasizing that Earth-One Clark Kent, Superman in the current DCU of the time, did in fact spend his younger years patrolling Smallville as Superboy and occasionally teamed up with the Legion of Super-Heroes. This was would be re-established and further elaborated on in Superman: Secret Origin #2, which would hit shelves two months later in October 2009. The third panel of this first page summarizes how the Legion was formed when Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad (Boy), and Saturn Girl came together and saved the life of R.J. Brande. The next panel then revisits the tale of the Legion’s first appearance in Adventure #247, which once again validated that the classic tale reprinted in Adventure Comics #0 was in the current Legion History continuity for Earth-One (the main DCU Earth). Pages two and three consist of a double page splash which starred Superboy (Clark Kent), Brainiac 5, Timber Wolf, Lightning Lass, Phantom Girl, Polar Boy, Sun Boy, Duplicate Damsel, Cosmic Boy, Wildfire, Dawnstar, Invisible Kid (not shown), Bouncing Boy, Lightning Lad, Ultra-Boy, Shrinking Violet, Night Girl, Saturn Girl, Chameleon Girl, Shadow Lass, & Colossal Boy.

Page four features the story title and credits, and we learn that the narrator on how the Legion formed is Starman (Thom Kallor) in present day, explaining the Legion history to three pigeons. This is our first hint that Starman is a currently a little off in the head. As he continues, he states that he is part of the Legion Espionage Squad and played a hand in resurrecting Conner Kent in the Legion of Three Worlds mini-series. While lost in his discussion with the pigeons, Starman crashes into a bowling alley where he terrifies the locals, before completely destroying the bowling alley and flying off to meet up with Tellus in a swamp. Tellus notes that Starman’s brain is suffering from a degenerative disease, and he attempts to use his telepathic abilities to stabilize Thom’s condition. It is too much for Tellus to handle, but he does restore temporary sanity to Starman. Thom cries out for Dream Girl, and shouts a warning that war is coming in the 31st Century and to be wary of the Black Witch. Starman pleads with Tellus to help him before his mind is completely gone, and the future of the 31st Century with it.

The final page serves as a teaser for six new story threads that will be picked up and continued in future issues of the run. First we see Element Lad as a chemistry teacher in the 21st Century. The next panel shows Superboy (Conner Kent) busting through a wall to save a hostage Dream Girl. The third panel depicts Morgan Edge making a deal with Despero. Fourth we see Brainiac 5 telling Blok that his wounds have healed, but there is a complication. The fifth panel shows a desperate X5 running on the Cosmic Treadmill, saying she has to get back and warn someone as she is getting sucked into the speed force. And finally the last panel teases that a Legionnaire will be joining the ranks of the Green Lantern Corps.

This story was collected/reprinted in the DC Comics Presents: Legion of Super-Heroes 100-Page Spectacular #2 prestige format book that hit stands December 28, 2011. 

Read Legion Comics In Public Day 8/28/14

August 28 is Jack Kirby's birthday. He would be 97 years old. We were never lucky enough to get any Jack Kirby work on The Legion of Super-Heroes...how cool would that have been? The closest we ever got was him illustrating Legion Reserve member Jimmy Olsen, along with Superman, of course, in the pages of Jimmy Olsen (#s 133-148).

Oh, and his greatest DC creation ever rocked the Legion world in The Great Darkness Saga.
So there is that.

If you have never read this awesome story, here's the gist of it: Darkseid wakes from a millenium-long slumber and gathers his strength to take over the entire universe. If you think Darkseid is a major problem in current continuity, just imagine a Darkseid without any Highfather or New Gods to keep him in check...and then imagine he has an army of super-powered slaves at his command. Sound exciting? Oh, yeah.

Read Comics In Public Day was started in 2010 to help honor Jack Kirby's birthday. This is supposed to be the one day when all comic book fans could take what is basically a private act between you and your book, and showcase it in public. The hope was that we would slowly lay waste to the notion that comics are for kids or for anti-social "nerds;" the notion that comics are bought and then kept in plastic, but never read. In its place, we want to support the notion that comics can actually be enjoyed by (relatively) ordinary people.

So to help celebrate Jack Kirby's birthday AND Read Comics In Public Day, how about stopping by a brick and mortar store on your way home tonight and picking up a Legion collection? Even if you have not ready many Legion stories, may I respectfully suggest The Great Darkness Saga? The story is available in both Trade Paperback and Deluxe Hardcover editions. The story is by Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen, doing arguably their greatest Legion work.

If The Great Darkness Saga is not available at your bookstore or comic-book store, how about trying another of the numerous Legion of Super-Heroes collections? At a recent visit to my local Barnes & Noble I found copies of Legion/Star Trek, An Eye For An Eye, and The Choice. Give one a try! Buy one, and then don't be an Invisible Kid or an Invisible Woman...show your habit proudly!

If we can't tempt you to read an actual Legion comic on August 28, how about one of the numerous books out there *about* the Legion? The Best of The Legion Outpost, The Legion Companion, and Teenagers From The Future are all fun books teeming with facts about the Legion of Super-Heroes and the people who love them.

This banner will link us to reviews of books and collected editions. We want to spotlight these accessible works, to introduce you to many entertaining stories and characters in the future.

So grab a Legion of Super-Heroes book and read it in public, thank Jack Kirby in spirit for being awesome, and Long Live the Legion! 

The Legion Returns... But, They Weren't Gone?!?!

The era we are calling "Superman And The Legion of Super-Heroes"  or "The Adult Legion" kicked off with a stealth reboot in the pages of a Justice League of America and Justice Society of America crossover "The Lightning Saga" which had no indication that The Legion would even be involved.

The Lightning Saga

This caused confusion, since Supergirl was hanging out with the Legion in an ongoing series. In fact, these Legionnaires looked nothing like their ongoing counterparts.  But, that confusion would quickly be compounded.

Action Comics, "Superman and the Legion of Superheroes"

Geoff Johns wrote Action Comics #858, which teamed The Legion up with an adult Superman to face the xenophobic villain Earth Man. The Legion in Action still didn't jive with The Legion in the ongoing, causing many fans to pull their hair out.

Thankfully (?!?!) the mini-series Legion of Three Worlds streamlined the continuity so that only the retro-Legion re-introduced in "The Lightning Saga" remained as the one, true Legion. This led to a new ongoing series.

The Legion revived for 2010

Paul Levitz returned to chronicle The Legion of Superheroes, in a series that took it's cues from the Pre-Crisis continuity, and pushed the ball forward from there. But, one series just wasn't quite enough for the rejuvenated Legion.

Adventure Comics #518

Adventure Comics had been relaunched as a vehicle for the recently resurrected Conner Kent Superboy, but The Legion wasn't content to let their old home go quietly, so the book shifted to cover The Legion Academy. New recruit characters were featured, expanding the universe even further.

Then, the universe ended. DC rebooted their entire line, but The Legion still had a place. In fact, they had two slots. 

Legion Lost #1 

Legion of Superheroes #1

The New 52 Legion of Super-Heroes launched in an all-new volume, picking up right where the previous volume left off (more or less) and a new title, Legion Lost, chronicled a group of Legionnaires who... well, were lost in time. 

Sadly, both series came to an end, leading to a period in which The Legion was not in continuous publication. A dark time for the team's fans. Hopefully, by the time we finish reviewing this series, they will be back...!

Long Live the Legion!

The Legion Goes It Alone!

LSH(v2) #259...the very FIRST issue!

In December 1979, the Legion had been co-stars with Superboy in his own title for six years (ever since they got bumped up in Superboy #197), when the unbelievable happened. Superboy as a title was renamed; from issue #259 the book was now just plain old The Legion of Super-Heroes. This became LSH volume 2, as there had been a four-issue reprint series with that title already. That didn't matter to all the fans, though. The series that had started the decade as an unwanted back-up series in Action Comics now, FINALLY, had its own book!

the debut of the second Legion logo

And what a book it was! This is the era that saw the inclusion and banishment of Tyroc, the origin and inclusion of Blok, the final fate of Tharok, the debut of Reflecto, the banishment and return of Superboy, the inclusion of White Witch and Invisible Kid II, the legendary 300th issue, and, of course, The Great Darkness Saga. Sure, there are some silly stories in there, too, but most of them are out-and-out awesome! 

At the time of its independence LSH(v2) was under the creative control of Gerry Conway. The art was being handled by such talents as Joe Staton, James Sherman, Ric Estrada, and Steve Ditko before Jimmy Janes became the regular artist with #269. After Gerry left the writing was taken over by some guy named Roy Thomas, who stayed long enough to confound us with The Reflecto Saga. And then, Paul Levitz returned to the title, bringing with him Pat Broderick and, more famously, Keith Giffen.

the awesome follow-up to the original Adult Legion stories...

The Legion of Super-Heroes (v2) lasted until issue #313. After that it became Tales Of The Legion of Super-Heroes, as the "main" book became a direct market-only book, printed on better "Baxter" paper. But for four years, Legion of Super-Heroes kept the fun and adventure of the 31st Century alive. This banner will feature this era of stories, and we can't wait to get to them!

LSH(v2) #313, the last issue of the run...

  

About Our LSB Banners....

What's What At The Legion of Super-Bloggers!
Today we would like to explain our current Table of Contents border on the far right of the page. We call these our Banners. The Legion of Super-Bloggers is a group effort, so we have plenty of topics we want to cover. And because we are a group effort, this should be fun....we get to create our own pieces, and then enjoy our fellow bloggers' efforts, too!

To help keep the topics somewhat ON TOPIC, however, we have created the current list of Banners. There may be more in the future ("future", haha, get it?) but for now we are going to be writing under these topics and themes. Some may be clear and easy to understand; some may be a bit more unclear. We figured we might as well write this essay up and post it as much for us, the bloggers, as for you, the readers!

Who's Who

Our great Legion of Super-Heroes collage was done by the Great Legion Hater himself, Rob Kelly. Click this banner and you will eventually find all of The Original Series' Legionnaires' Who's Who entries from WHO'S WHO: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe.
This is because, 1) these profiles are great introductions to the main Legion characters; 2) these profiles are great pieces of art; and 3) this blog got our start because Shag taunted us to start this blog during an episode of The Who's Who Podcast...he taunted us like The Time Trapper taunted Brainiac Five, and we couldn't resist....! So we are honoring our roots here.

Member Profiles & Group Shots

Under this banner you will find such things as "Lore of the Legion" by Dave Cockrum, Legion profiles by James Sherman and Jack Abel, and pin-ups by such greats as Curt Swan and George Perez.

Legion of Substitute Heroes

This banner will feature any and every appearance by the Subs! This banner will NOT be chronological, so we anticipate the entertainment level to veer wildly between the hilarity of Keith Giffen and the uber-seriousness of Edmund Hamilton!

The LSH Universes

This banner is where we will present articles, essays, and stories about the various time-lines of the Future. We will also highlight actual history that is presented in the comic stories themselves.

Essays About The Legion

These are what the title says, our opinions about various things Legion-related, such as this article you are reading right now. 

 The Original Series

This is the chronological review of all the Legion appearances from 1958-1969, covering their first appearance in Adventure Comics #247 through Adventure Comics #380.

The Back-Up Era

This is the chronological review of all of the Legion appearances  from 1969-1970 in the back of Action Comics, from #378 through #392.

The 70s Legion (Superboy & The Legion)

This is the chronological review of all of the Legion of Super-Heroes appearances from 1971-1979, from when they went from the back of Superboy (#172) through the issue right before they threw him out, Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #258.

The 80s Legion (Legion Vol 2)

This is the chronological review of all of the Legion appearances from 1980-1984, from when they went from their own title Legion of Super-Heroes (volume 2) #259 until they branched off into two separate titles after Legion (v2) #313.

The Baxter Series (Legion Vol 3)
 
This is the chronological review of all of the Legion of Super-Heroes appearances from Legion of Super-Heroes (volume 3) #1-63 from 1984-1989. This banner will include Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #s 314-325, as theses stories were woven into the Baxter Series' continuity.

Five Years Later  (Legion Vol 4)

This is the chronological review of all of the Legion appearances in the "Five Years Later" continuity from 1989-1994. This includes Legion of Super-Heroes (vol 4) #1 through the Zero Hour reboot in #61, plus Legionnaires #1-18.

The Reboot (Legion Vol 4) 

This is the chronological review of all of the Legion of Super-Heroes appearances in the post-Zero Hour universe from 1994-2005. This includes Legion of Super-Heroes (vol 4) #62-125, Legionnaires #19-81, Legion Lost #1-12, and The Legion #1-38.

The Threeboot (Legion Vol 5)

This is the chronological review of all of the Legion appearances from 2005-2009. This includes Legion of Super-Heroes (vol 5) which ran for 50 issues. Originally by Mark Waid and Barry Kitson, this iteration famously featured SuperGIRL instead of Superboy.

Retroboot or Post-Infinite Crisis Legion (Legion Vols 6 & 7)

This is the chronological review of all of the Legion of Super-Heroes appearances from 2007-2013, after they returned in "The Lightning Saga" (JLA #8-10, JSA #5-6). This will include both Legion of Super-Heroes volume 6 and volume 7, as there was no particular re-booting between them. Also included will be the Legion stories in Adventure Comics #504-522 and The Legion Academy stories from Adventure Comics #523-529.

Books/Collections

This banner will feature reviews of trade paperbacks, Archive editions, and books about the Legion of Super-Heroes, such as The Best of the Legion Outpost, Teenagers From the Future, and The Legion Companion.  

Guests

Besides head-lining their own series for more than 50 years, the Legion appeared as guest-stars in books like JLA, DC Comics Presents, Brave & The Bold, Action Comics, JSA Classified, and many others. This banner will feature these non-chronological guest-shots. 

Specials (Stand Alones)

The Legion of Super-Heroes often appears in stand-alone stories in such titles as DC Special, DC Super-Stars, or Secret Origins,  or as part of the "variety show" line-up of heroes in series like DC Holiday Special or Adventure Comics 80-Page Giant. This banner will feature these one-and-done stories in non-chronological order.

Mini-Series

The Legion or Legionnaires have been the stars of various mini-series, such as Cosmic Boy, Timber Wolf, Legion Worlds, and Legion of Three Worlds. These series will be reviewed here.  

Toys

Nothing is cooler than owning your own Wildfire, or Matter-Eater Lad, so this banner looks at the Legionnaires in plastic (or PVC) form, with close looks at action figures and toys of The Legion.

Hot

 

This banner is just what you think it is. With more than thirty good-looking young people as the main characters, you know we'll get you some cheesecake...AND beefcake! 

Birthdays

Help us celebrate the birthdays of the Legionnaires and the Legion of Substitute Heroes, supplied to us by the 1976 DC Calendar.

And lastly....
Various Other Labels
Besides the above Banners we will also have labels for each decade: Fifties, Sixties, Seventies, Eighties, Nineties, 2000s, and 2010s. These are to link different series in the same era (for example,  Cosmic Boy and the Baxter Series). These will also include ads, toys, books, merchandise, and other various non-series work. We will also have labels for all of the creative people involved in the Legion; you may have noticed Dave Cockrum, Paul Levitz, and Curt Swan are already here, with many, MANY more to come.

What The Future Holds....
That's it for now, but we are already thinking about what else we might do, especially if 1. somebody asks for it or b. we get more members! We will be adding labels for major bad guys so you can see all of their appearances in one "spot." Mordru, Lighting Lord, and the LSV are a few that will be in the first wave when it comes. When we start profiling the LSH cartoon and other media appearances we will add another banner or label for those topics. When we start reviewing "spin-off" series like Karate Kid, L.E.G.I.O.N., and Valor we'll add Banners for them, too. The Legion Universe is a vast, fun place, and we can't wait to show it all to you!

So pick a banner and start your journey into the Future!