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.