Sarcasm Kid's NYCC 2021 Legion Sketch Post

Wow. So. It's been two years since my last comic con and... a lot's happened.

Like a LOT.

It hasn't been a good two years.

I was only able to go to New York Comic Con on Thursday and Sunday due to my boss going on vacation. Because this was my first convention since 2019 and with everything that's gone on since then, I decided to really splurge. I've dealt with being threatened working the Census, my grandpa dying, getting COVID, my mom being diagnosed with cancer, and that hurricane flooding my boiler room.

I EARNED THIS.

That said, here are the Legion-themed sketches I picked up at the convention. As usual, my sketches range from actual Legionnaires to supporting characters to Legion homages, as well heavyset-related stuff in my special sketchbook. I've met some new artists while also commissioning a few familiar faces.

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!

Sarcasm Kid's East Coast ComiCon 2019 Legion Sketches

I lucked out and acquired free Sunday passes to the East Coast Comic Con in New Jersey this year. My boss at the comic book store received five tickets, so I kept three for myself, my dad, and my friend Andreas as a birthday gift. We went on May 19th, 2019.

Now keep in mind this isn't a very big haul. It was only one day at an out-of-state comic show, plus I don't have as many sketchbooks available as I usually do. And then we ended up leaving earlier than I planned when I noticed my book bag was starting to tear at the bottom and I was afraid it would fall apart. It's a good thing we left when we did, as an accident on the George Washington Bridge made the trip back to the Bronx TWO HOURS LONG when it took a half hour to get to the convention.

It was still a nice trip. I did some back issue shopping and was able to find the penultimate Sandman Mystery Theater arc I've spent years tracking down, and I got to meet Diane Pershing who did the voice of Poison Ivy in Batman: The Animated Series. Miss Pershing was really sweet, and was so touched I had one of her romance novels with me she signed it for free. I had her autograph a print out of one of my Multiverse designs.

I acquired six Legion pieces at this show. Three head sketches and a small full body sketch in my smaller book, a full body sketch in my bigger book, and a design commission I set up before the convention.

You may recognize a Legion veteran among the artists in this post.

Jose Luis Garcia Lopez Autograph

Welcome to the last of my Legion Autograph posts.

I feel both elated and a little upset with myself about this signature story.

One of my comic book gods is Jose Luis Garcia Lopez. We in the comic internet don't say 'Praised be his name' when we talk about him for nothing.

His work spans comics and companies. But his work on anything Legion of Super-Heroes is almost non-existent.

Garcia-Lopez was a guest at Boston Comic Con a few years ago and I brought him Legion of Super-Heroes #55 , I believe his only Legion work, to get signed.

The issue is a classic 'catch up' issue by Paul Levitz. We get four separate brief stories catching us up on some of the Legionnaires personal lives. Garcia-Lopez drew the Dream Girl story. So I had him sign on her 'square of the cover'.

I have to admit, I talked almost exclusively about Superman during my brief time at his table. (The rest of the talk was gushing over his work on Howard Chaykin's Twilight'.) So I didn't take advantage of the opportunity to talk Legion with him.

More Keith Giffen Autographs

 Last week I talked about meeting Keith Giffen and bringing him some 5YL books to get signed.

As I have said, one of the new things I need to calculate when I attend cons is the cost of autographs. With more and more creators charging for their autograph, I need to decide how much money I want to spend on signatures and therefore how to rank issues.

For Giffen, as a lifelong fan, I had in my mind 10 signatures or $50 maximum. If Giffen was charging $10 a sig, I would only get 5 books signed.

Incredibly, Giffen wasn't charging. In fact, at Terrificon that year, only a couple of creators were charging. Most had a Heroes Initiative charity jar on their table instead. I definitely threw a lot of money into those jars that weekend.

Meanwhile, with Giffen signing whatever you brought to him and with (shockingly) never a long line at his table, I was able to bring books to him each day. And with the 5YL books signed, I dove into the earlier years.

So now, with that out of the way, the question I ask you is which issues would you bring from your collection to be signed.

I think most would bring some (if not all) of the Great Darkness Saga. Let's face it, that story sort of out Levitz/Giffen on the map. And it still holds up today. I opted to bring the first and last issue, #290 and #294. My guess is Giffen has signed a ton of these.

Keith Giffen Autographs

Keith Giffen was a guest at Terrificon a couple of years ago and I knew that I was going to have to meet him and thank him for his impact on my comic life. Given his work on multiple eras of the Legion, there is no doubt that he is one of the most impactful creators in my comic fandom. Toss in JLA, the Doom Patrol, the Heckler, etc, his work is all over my collection.

But one of the things I wanted these autograph posts to be about is the hard decision of what comics to get signed. And had Giffen been charging for signatures, which comics would make the cut. (Luckily, Giffen wasn't charging at all so I was able to double dip on the second day of the con.)

I brought a smattering of his early '80s Legion (see next week's post) given that run is still considered by many as the high water mark for the team.

But let's face it, I am a 5YL guy. And I wanted to thank him for 5YL. And I wanted to get his signature on key 5YL issues. So if that was the goal, what issues would you bring?

It is easy to pick Legion of Super-Heroes #1.

And I thanked him for the run as I put this issue in front of him. As I have said here, I feel my reviews of the early 5YL issues on this site are my own personal high water mark of blogging/social media.

On to the other books.

Colleen Doran Autographs

After a week off, I am back with another post of my meeting great Legion creators. Today I talk about my brief interaction with Colleen Doran.

It was many years ago in Boston. And I was still in the mode of being a little nervous around creators and trying to be brief in my interactions. Nowadays, assuming no line of people behind me, I try to talk to creators a bit more.

I saw that Doran was a guest. I knew she loved the Legion and Element Lad. And I knew that I had books to get signed by her. I also knew I would love to talk Legion stuff with her.

But remember I wasn't in that mode back then. So instead I just thanked her for coming and put the books down. The cool thing is that Doran saw they were mostly Legion books and seemed happy to see them. She asked if I was a Legion fan and I said I was a lifelong fanatic.

She signed all my books 'To Andrew, Long Live the Legion, Colleen Doran'.

Here is Legion of Super-Heroes #27 .This book was one of those rest issues in the Baxter run. 4 short stories were in this issue drawn by Greg LaRocque and Mike DeCarlo, Gene Colan, Shawn McManus, and Colleen Doran. Doran's story was appropriately Element Lad bringing Schvaughn Erin to Trom.

(You may notice Mike DeCarlo's signature on the cover as well.)

Mike Grell Autographs and More!

 Back in 2015 I was pretty pumped to learn that Mike Grell was going to be at the Rhode Island Comic Con.

Many know that I consider the Mike Grell Legion books as my first comics ever and hold Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #211 as my first comic. Grell holds a special place in my fandom for that reason. And that was going to be my first time having the opportunity to meet him.

As a sort of lifelong fan of Grell's I knew I would have a bunch of comics to bring to him to sign, Legion and otherwise. I also knew that most of my Grell Legion books are well-read and well-loved. So trying to decide which books to bring for autographs was a little tricky.

One book I knew I would definitely be bringing was Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #204. That has the infamous 'Brainy builds a Supergirl fembot' story that put a pause on the Supergirl/Brainy romance for about a decade! For any Supergirl fan, this is a can't miss.

Grell was one of the bigger names at the con so I didn't have much time to chat with him. Interestingly enough, almost all the people in line with me were there to get Green Arrow and Jon Sable things signed. I seemed to be the only Legion fan there!

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.

Greg Larocque Autographs (and more!)

It was many moons ago and I was heading to my first big convention in Baltimore. This was many years before the Boston Comic Con was even created.

And despite my advanced age even then, I considered myself a sort of convention newbie. I had little idea about autographs and commissions etiquette. And it didn't help that I had to fly down to Baltimore. I mean how many comic books do you want to pack to bring to a convention? Those things are heavy.

Anyways, I saw Greg LaRocque was going to be there and I knew I had to get books signed by him. I was very strict with my book counts then so I decided to only bring a handful of books per creator at that show.

Jim Shooter Autographs

Today I start my look back at Legion comics I have had autographed at conventions.

I feel pretty blessed that here in New England there are a number of very good conventions annually that have allowed me to meet so many of my comic heroes over the years. From Boston Comic-Con (now Boston Fan Expo), Terrificon, Rhode Island Comic Con, and Granite State Comic Con, I have a bunch of shows to attend in the summer and fall.

A couple of years ago, Jim Shooter was announced as a guest at Rhode Island Comic Con. Given his long history in comics and his particular history with the Silver Age of the Legion, I knew that I was going to get stuff signed by him.

Shooter was very amiable at his table and was very easy to talk to. RICC is one of those comic-cons more focused on celebrities. The comic creators often seem lonely as most patrons are lining up to meet the TV and movie stars. Shooter was at a small  table with no line. I was able to talk to him for some time and he was very amiable, telling me stories about the issues.

I don't believe Shooter was charging for signatures so I was able to get my whole stack signed by him. But I had prioritized the issues. You'll hear that list and reasoning below. I can say, these are semi-ragged books and Shooter commented on how they were 'well-loved'.

Of all of the books I brought, I was going to get Adventure Comics 352 and 353 signed, the first appearance of the Fatal Five and the death of Ferro Lad. Shooter said he was got the idea for this after watching 'The Dirty Dozen'.



But wait, there's more!

Sarcasm Kid's NYCC 2017 Legion Sketch Collection

This being my first year as a contributor for Super-Bloggers means I also have the opportunity to show off all the Legion sketches and commissions I get at comic shows throughout the year, starting off with New York Comic Con 2017.

This year I did not get as many sketches as I'd hoped. My time was more restricted than it usually is during the convention, which only meant I was able to focus more on quality instead of quantity, as I tend to try and commission as many artists as I can at these shows. Let me just say how glad I am I decided to set up several pieces in advance.

I'll be starting from the smaller pieces to the more detailed commissions.

Terrificon and Keith Giffen

Hey all!

I know everyone is eager to read my review of Legion of Super-Heroes #313, the last issue before the commencement of the Baxter run. But life here is busy and I haven't had a chance to write that review because I have been prepping for TerrifiCon this weekend.

While I did go to Boston Comic Con this year, I am considering TerrifiCon my 'big' convention, going all three days and really stuffing by bag with issues to get signed.

If you peruse the guest list, you'll see a great mix of both current and legendary creators. Many of these creators I have never run into before at a convention and many are huge presences in my comic book life. Marty Pasko. Steve Englehart. Peter David. Paul Kupperberg. Jerry Ordway. Marv Wolfman. Roy Thomas. Etc etc. It is an amazing list.

Oh, and there is this creator...

Joe Prado and Lightning Lad

In last week's review post I mentioned that I was extremely fond of Joe Prado’s rendition of Lightning Lad from Action Comics #864. Today I'm going to go into details about this fondness. 

Ask Mark Waid?!?!

The Threeboot Friday reviews will go on hiatus this week. If you are looking for a review of Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #28 come back next week.

Instead I am opening up the blog space for you readers to give me some homework!

This weekend (in fact, probably right now as you read this) I will be at the Boston Comic Con. One of the guests there is none other than Mark Waid!

My plan was to tell Waid about the blog and my reviews and ask a couple of questions about the book.

But now your homework!

What questions would you like me to ask Waid about the Legion?

Did you wonder about the inclusion of Supergirl? The deliberate pace of the opening arc? The difficulty of  satisfying old fans while bringing in new fans?

I am here for you. I will do my best to ask Waid all the questions without tying him up from other fans. But I'll be there all three days and will be checking the blog for new questions and comments. Given the three day commitment, I can keep going back to Waid's table ... like a bad penny!

So fire away!

Tales from the Convention Floor (1995)

The year was 1995. The location was Novi, Michigan. The event was The bi-annual Motor City Comicon.

San Diego Comic Con special

San Diego Comic-Con just finished last week, and those Legion fans lucky enough to attend might have come across a Legion-related collectible or two. As we know, many comic book conventions are now mega-events, getting bigger each year like a sun-eater spreading its tendrils across the galaxy. And as the gatherings grow in size and popularity, so too does the quality of the souvenir programs that get published in conjunction with them. These books often contain information about the convention, bios on the guests, explanations of the panels and booths, comic book previews, and more often than not, specially-commissioned pieces and original art from participating comic book artists. For Legion fans, coming across programs with Legion-related art in them can be quite a treasure find.

One of the earliest examples of Legion artwork appeared in the souvenir booklet for the 1978 Women in Comics expo, organized by the Delaware Valley Comicart Consortium, and which ran for three days in Philadelphia.  Inside the publication, adorned by a Marie Severin cover, are articles on many of the convention guests, including Joe Staton, the Legion artist at the time. To accompany the article, Joe provided a great sketch of the female Legionnaires.

Dragon Con 2014 - Legion of Super Cosplayers

Howdy Legionnaires! The Irredeemable Shag here to share my latest adventure! Last week I attended Dragon Con, the largest multi-media, popular culture convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film in the universe! That's quite a mouthful. To simplify, we call it, "Geek Mardi Gras"!

Over the years Dragon Con has earned the reputation as the premier cosplay convention. Among the 65,000+ attendees, you can't throw a Flight Ring without hitting a cosplayer. This year was no exception! 

Today a number of blogs across the interwebs will be featuring various cosplayers from Dragon Con 2014. Here at the Legion of Super Bloggers, we're thrilled to be part of our first multi-blog crossover!

Throughout the convention, I kept my eyes peeled for Legion cosplayers. While at one of the Superhero Costuming Forum photoshoots, I bumped into Brek Bannin (Polar Boy) and Rokk Krinn (Cosmic Boy)! Great costumes and really nice attention to detail!

I was really bummed as I didn't see any additional Legionnaires all weekend. Then when I got home, we stumbled across these next photos on Facebook!! There was a Legion cosplay meet-up, and I missed it?!?! Such a bummer. Check out this fantastic group shot found via Reading with a Flight Ring Facebook group.

When I dug a little deeper, I came across this next funny shot of Superboy being a jerk! Ha! Found via Badger Studios. For more pics from the Legion meet-up, check out Badger Studio's album from August 29. Wildfire even showed up for a few photos!

While at the convention, I also had the good fortune to meet legendary Legion artist, Mike Grell! Such a nice guy! Below is a photo of Mike and I, along with a print I purchased of Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, and Cosmic Boy. Really enjoyed chatting with Mike! Excellent artist, great writer, and all around swell dude! 

While my Dragon Con experience was exceptional this year, the rest of my convention adventure was sadly Legion free. Fingers-crossed next year for even more Legion cosplay!

Dragon Con Cosplay Crossover Links

As mentioned, several different blogs have teamed-up today to cover some of the amazing cosplayers at Dragon Con 2014! Visit these other character-specific blogs to see how they spotlight their own favorite heroes today. Visit them now, visit them later, and visit them often!

• Aquaman & Mera @ The Aquaman Shrine
• Black Canary & Arrow @ Flowers & Fishnets
• Blue Beetle @ Kord Industries
• Captain Carrot @ Captain Carrot’s Burrow
• DC Heroes & Villains @ Firestorm Fan
• Flash @ Speed Force
• Hawkman/Hawkgirl @ Being Carter Hall

Long Live the Legion!