Mark Waid and Barry Kitson Autographs (and more)!

I'm continuing my look at Legion issues I have been lucky enough to get autographed.

I have a soft spot in my heart for the Threeboot Legion, specifically the Mark Waid/Barry Kitson section of that run. I liked it enough to review the run here on the site, including the ending bit by Jim Shooter and Francis Manapul.

Whether it was the youthful energy of this counterculture team, the amazing art by Barry Kitson, or the later inclusion of Supergirl, I think I like this version of the team more than most.



I have been lucky enough to run into Mark Waid and Barry Kitson a couple of times over my con-attending years. And over the course of that time, I have picked a number of Legion issues to get signed by them.

I will also say that one of the times I met Mark Waid counts as one of my favorite con moments ever. More on that later.

But let's start with what I think is the crown jewel of the signed issues, the Supergirl variant cover for Legion of Super-Heroes #23, drawn by Adam Hughes.

As a Legion and Supergirl fan, this was a no-brainer to get signed. And, as luck would have it, Waid, Kitson, and Hughes all attended the Baltimore Comic-Con in 2010, one of the few cons I have been to outside New England.

This is a relatively sought after issue and I think the addition of the signatures only adds to my love of it.

But what else have I got signed?

I ran into the Waid and Kitson together the first time way back in 2007, again at Baltimore Comic-Con. Back then I was a newbie to the con-going business and said nary a word to either. And, as I wasn't sure if I would see either of them again, I brought books outside the Legion to get signed.

For Waid, there were Kingdom Come issues and some from his Flash run.
For Kitson, there were Azrael issues.

But for Legion, I got #1, #16, and #18 signed. Of course, you have to bring the first issue. But the other two prominently display Supergirl, so those were easy picks.

I do like that Kitson mirrored the cover of the first issue a couple of times during his run.

Back in 2016, Waid came to the Boston Comic-Con so I had the opportunity to bring some more books for signatures. I also was a little more con-savvy and had a bit of an on-line presence.

I brought the 'other' Supergirl cover I wanted to get signed, Legion of Super-Heroes #17. I was in the midst of my review series here at this blog at that time. I would tweet out a link to each review and always included Waid in them (back when he was on Twitter).  He looked up and said 'You're that guy? I love those reviews!'

The fact that the creator who I loved even looked at stuff I had written made my day. One of my favorite con moments ever. You can read more of that interaction right here on this blog.

I ran into Barry Kitson the next year at Terrificon and had him sign the issue as well. This is a nice little group of signed issues for this run.