Retroboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #16

The Retroboot Legion rushes to its finish line with Legion of Super-Heroes #16. The Legion of Super-Villains/Blue Entity story-line needed to end so the jumping on of the New 52 Legion of Super-Heroes #1 could happen. 

I didn't like this issue back then and I have the same complaints now. This whole arc has felt disjointed. And this 'hurry up and end it' vibe killed any redemption. Things are said. Things happen. Things end. But not in a satisfactory way. 

I would love to ask Paul Levitz his opinion of this run (and the New 52 run) because it seemed to limp along without cashing in on the fire of this Legion's reappearance in the Geoff Johns' Superman book. 

So this series is over. And I have to say, looking back at the arcs/runs I have covered on this site, it is certainly a mixed bag. There are some highs. And there are lows like this. Perhaps there is a blog post in that.

On to the review.

Retroboot Legion of Super-Heroes #11

Hey folks, Anj here.

At some point over on my Supergirl blog, I began reviewing this run of Legion of Super-Heroes. So much like I did with the New 52 Legion and the New 52 Legion Lost books, I will be doing retro-reviews of the Retroboot book. What I mean by this is I will post my review from 2011 here. And then after, I will post what my current thoughts are after a re-read.

What strikes me immediately about this old review of Legion of Super-Heroes #11 is that I am far more forgiving of this book. When I re-read the issue, my enthusiasm was tepid. And yet in the first like of the older review I am glad the book is 'firing on all cylinders'. Different times and different hopes for an LSH book make these retro-reviews interesting time capsules. Let's see what 2011 Anj thought!

Legion of Super-Heroes #11 came out last week and picked up right where the Legion of Super-Villains One Shot ended. I have to say that I think this title is finally clicking on all cylinders. This just feels like the Legion I want to be reading. And as a long time Legion fan who has picked up some of the reboots and ignored others, I am happy to be enjoying the Legion again.

Of course, one the beauties of the Legion is the deep continuity of the characters and the series. In fact, in some ways I think that continuity might be a double edged sword. For old-timers like me, the history and legend of the Legion is really one of the draws. I think many long-time Legion fans pride themselves on a deep understanding of Legion lore. But that same deep history might make it difficult for a brand new reader to pick up the book. But if you reboot and lose that history, you probably will lose the core foundation of the Legion fanbase. It can't be easy for the folks at DC to figure out what to do.

In this issue, for example, there is great characterization throughout, as events hearken back to some personal moments in the Legionnaires lives. Writer Paul Levitz knows that adding that depth to the characters is what makes this book so special. And I know exactly what he's talking about. But do new readers? Does it frustrate them?