I Wouldn't Play D&D with the Legion

by Siskoid

 I won't deny it was fun to see Sun Boy and Star Boy (are they paired because they essentially have the same name?) playing Dungeons & Dragons whenever they had some downtime in the '80s Legion books. However, I just can't get into the way the role-playing game hobby morphed between then and the 29th Century. You might think it's cool that there's an impressive holographic display, but it's got more in common with the chess set aboard the Millennium Falcon than it does table top role-playing.

Click Read More (below) to read my specific complaints. 

Bronze Age Legion Writers

 

The Legion of Super Writers Part 2

by Emsley Wyatt

As we profiled in the first part of this article, the Legion of Super-Heroes had a group of talented men guiding their destinies from their very beginning: Otto Binder, Jerry Siegel, Edmond Hamilton, and Jim Shooter. After the Legion of Super-Heroes were unceremoniously kicked out of Adventure Comics in 1969, then-writer Jim Shooter left the series. He has said that economically he needed to write 17-page stories, and that he could literally not afford to write the 8-page back-ups. 

Although it is said that the Bronze Age begins a few years after this, with the decommissioning of the Legion from Adventure Comics and the near simultaneous loss of Jim Shooter, this seemed like a good breaking off point.  

From Beyond the Unknown Giant #1

From Beyond the Unknown Giant #1 (March 2020)
title: "Stealth Mode"

writer: Dan Jurgens

art: Dan Jurgens & Norm Rapmund
lettering: Ryan Christy
colorist: Hi-Fi 

editor: Katie Kubert

cover: Jose Luis Garcia Lopez
review by Michael "Nostalgic Kid" Lane

A few years ago, DC began an initiative with Walmart to produce exclusive comics. Their format matched the 100-Page Super-Spectaculars of the 1970s. The general pattern was one new story with several reprints, and those reprints were generally from the Modern Age of comics, i.e., post-2000. In 2019, the deal was no longer exclusive and DC also produced them for the Direct Market. My understanding is that the issues would first be released at Walmart and then become available in the Direct Market with different covers. This issue is one of their recent releases and one of the original stories features the Legion of Super-Heroes.

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.

Review: Adventure Comics #522

In late 2010, the Legion of Super-Heroes had 2 books on the shelves.

Adventure Comics had been resurrected into an interesting Legion side book. I recently reviewed the initial part of the run which was a sort of flashback book, updating some important pieces of the earliest days of the Legion. Coming up the book will become a Legion Academy book.

Adventure Comics #522 was, like last issue, an adjunct book for the main Legion title. So events there are bolstered or replayed here. It is interesting. While the main book was dealing with a Durlan secret invasion, here we are concentrating on Saturn Queen and her impending LSV.

Paul Levitz does a decent job of making this feel like its own book while referencing enough of the other events to make it feel like a unified property. Geraldo Borges is again on art and brings his solid work the the proceedings. The most striking art is the cover by Scott Clark, a cheesecake cover of some of the female Legionnaires. They all seem a bit too thin for bendy ... but I suppose that is what much of cheesecake is.

For me, this whole LSV plotline with the blue baby Dharma never really clicked. But this whole book around this time was pretty rough going.

Onto the book.

Review: Adventure Comics #521

Hey everyone!

After a couple of weeks away Fridays with Anj continues on what may be my last review run here on the site.

Adventure Comics #521 starts a new direction for the title. Prior issues presented a bit of revisionist history, looking back at the very early days of the Legion. Starting in this issue, the book becomes a adjunct book to the main retroboot Legion of Super-Heroes book which was just hitting the stands.

I suppose, in retrospect, I should have reviewed this book when I was reviewing that book. But the best laid plans. To put this in some chronological sense, this book hit the shelves when Legion of Super-Heroes #8 came out.

This is in the midst of Earth Man being on the team. Saturn Queen is just starting to form her Legion of Super-Villains, seduced by the blue dharma. Harmonia Li has just refused the Green Lantern ring, and the Oan spirit Dyogene is looking for a replacement.

Paul Levitz is on as writer and, not surprisingly, there are some nice character moments amidst the action. In particular, we get some nice Wildfire/Dawnstar moments. I love those two.

Artist Geraldo Borges is on art and works in what felt like the DC House Style back then. His female Legionnaires are some of the curviest and bustiest I have seen in the book. I usually don't comment on that stuff but it is too obvious not to mention.

But overall, much like the Retroboot, I don't think this is a memorable run. Let's dive in.

Review: Adventure Comics #520

I am sort of sad to see this run of Legion of Super-Heroes come to an end in Adventure Comics #520. I don't need a primer on the Legion but it certainly has been fun to see the Legionnaires in their youth, in their Silver Age costumes, and learning hard lessons on being heroes in the 30th century.

Much of this run has been focused on the Legion 'growing up' ... moving from curiosity, to questionable ally of the Science Police, to adjunct to the SciPo, to finally mourners as one of their own has fallen in battle. And, I have liked how we have seen those changes through the eyes of Saturn Girl who has had to do some growing of her own. She has gone from shy girl with low confidence to weary warrior in a short time and doing that while making some dubious decisions about the use of her powers. Imra has always been a rock in the foundation of the LSH, certainly a perfect counter-balance to Lightning Lad's irascible nature.

Paul Levitz shines here, building on definite moments in the Legion's history without leaving new readers behind. And Kevin Sharpe's art works well, showcasing a young Legion. Onwards!

Review: Adventure Comics #519

Adventure Comics #519 continued the title's retrospective love-fest of all things Legion. It has been a lot of fun to go back and read these stories and see a very young Legion in their earliest adventures. You can really sense how they are unsure of just who they are and what their role is in the galaxy. They are learning on the job as they jump into one dangerous situation after another; they are struggling a bit, stretching their capabilities as they try to do what's right. For someone who started reading these characters way back in the Grell days, it is refreshing to see them in these greener days. They haven't been scarred yet by death or deception or danger; they are fresh-faced.

One thing that I like about this title, and this issue, is the running theme on these young heroes making checklists of things they hope to accomplish. From (in this run of Adventure's earlier Superboy stories) Conner's 'what did Superman do?' list to Clark's list of things he never has been able to do like play baseball  without holding back to here - Brainiac 5's list of what to do in the 20th century. It is such a tradition ... adolescents making lists as they try to figure out who they are. To see that activity from the viewpoint of these young heroes is a nice little literary hook.

It is also pretty cool to be revisiting these 'early adventures' when a new Legion book is right around the corner.

On to the story by Paul Levitz and Eddie Pansica.

Review: Adventure Comics #518

Adventure Comics #518, written by Paul Levitz with art by Kevin Sharpe, continues to turn back the clock and look at the earliest stories of  Superboy and the Legion.

As I have said in prior reviews of the title, it is an interesting concept for a number of reasons. I think one of the major problems with any Legion reboot is the fear of isolating or offending the continuity-rabid older fan base of the characters. This title's concept is probably heaven-sent for that crowd, allowing the more seasoned Legion lovers to enjoy a look backwards. But this title also allows Paul Levitz to further define and refine this early period of the team while, in essence, teaching any new Legion fans what the team was all about back in the day. We haven't seen any frank re-telling of Legion stories but we have danced around some of the big events in Legion Lore. And outside of, in my opinion, one major gaffe (having Saturn Girl sleep with Cos and then mind wipe him in #517), it has accomplished those goals nicely.

For newer fans, this book also helps to build a foundation for the team which has a lot of history to cover. And it allows the reader the ability to look at a character closely from where they have been (in Adventure) and where they are now (in the Legion main book). Certainly the Saturn Girl in the main book is different than the one here, so contrasting those portrayals helps the reader see just how much these characters have grown.

My one concern as an older fan as I read this book is that I may not appreciate the context of the story if indeed it is meant to embellish a sliver of the Silver Age. I consider myself a huge Legion fan but my knowledge of their earliest history is okay ... not encyclopedic. And as a result, newer fans might be struggling more.

On to the story!

Review: Adventure Comics #517

I wish I had a better sense for the overall response to the Adventure Comics reboot back in 2010. The comic had become a sort of flashback title for the Legion, looking back at the earliest days of the team, trying to rebuild and refine the group's history.

Who was this title's demographic? Old timers like me, hoping to rekindle our passion for the team, while updating the early part of their timeline? New Legion readers, who may be having a hard time grasping the current title and might need this book to build up a back story? Both?

The comic market has barely been able to sustain any Legion book for the better part of 2 decades. Could it sustain 2 books? And did having two titles at two different points in time make it more confusing for new readers? I suppose there are a ton of X-books out there at different times so maybe I am overthinking things.

As for me, I am enjoying this reread more than I thought I would. I feared that this book might end up reading like straight reprints of stories I had already read. What Paul Levitz was doing was adding nuance to well traveled Legion stories and themes, bringing new perspective for the older Legion readers while building a history for the newer readers. In some ways it reminds me of Geoff Johns and his ability to reintroduce Silver Age elements to the Superman mythos while updating them enough to feel fresh.

Adventure Comics # 517 continues that 'best of both worlds' feel, bringing us one of the earliest Legion adventures back when the team consisted of only the original three, but adding some characterization to Saturn Girl.

Review: Adventure Comics #516

The year was 2010 and DC had just put out a new Legion of Super-Heroes title, one picking up on Geoff Johns' restructuring and reverting the team's history to the Baxter series continuity. No 5YL. No Archie book. No Threeboot. We were back to old times. And as such, it made sense that DC would want to put out a comic that would review some of the team's history ... something to get the new readers up to speed to the old timeline. Writer Paul Levitz said that he was picking up the team's continuity after his 'Magic Wars' arc from way back in 1989.That was 20 year old history he was dusting off.

Adventure Comics felt like that recap book, a way for Levitz to make sure key historical points were reviewed and retold.

Adventure Comics #516 tells R.J. Brande's story which intertwines with Legion history pretty closely. There is a lot of exposition here, Brande appearing after his death as a holographic story-teller, retelling his life story to the Legionnaires present. Of course, they all know this story or most of it.

In fact, that was one of my own selfish concerns here. I know most of this story too. Would this issue be worth my time? Luckily Levitz throws in some new flourishes that I enjoyed. And the overall theme, that Brande is as big a hero as any Legion because of the changes he brought to the universe, is a nice one.

Review: Adventure Comics #12

Like many old school Legion fans, I was very excited to hear that Paul Levitz was coming back to the title after being away for so long. But I have to say that there was a tinge of trepidation mixed in as well. Any time a beloved creator comes back to a title that they starred on, I always fear that the outcome will be a pale shadow of the initial run. Throw out whatever platitude you want ... maybe 'you can't go home again'? But as excited I was to see Levitz writing these characters again, I wondered what sort of Legion we would see from him in 2010.

I have to say I had mixed emotions about Legion of Super-heroes #1, a comic I meant to review here but never got up to doing. That issue just felt heavy to me, heavy on drama, heavy on dialogue, heavy on angst. It seemed like so much time was spent on Earth-Man that I didn't get enough of the Legion. My reaction to that issue was 'meh'.

I had the exact opposite response to Adventure Comics #12 where Levitz goes way back in time to one of the first interactions between Superboy and the Legion. Yes it was nostalgic and hearkened back to a simpler time ... but at least it was the Legion. Much like the new Legion comic picked up from Johns' Legion story in Action Comics, this book picks up after Johns' Legion issue of Superman Secret Origin. Frankly, for a cranky old fan like me, it was great to see the Legionnaires in their classic early outfits acting like heroes and generally being happy. I know that a comic like this could never last long term in the current comic market, but for one month, it was like a breath of fresh air.

The cover by Scott Clark shows a nice group shot with the Legionnaires striking heroic poses that nicely highlight their personality. Cos with the classic hands on hips. Garth with his arms cockily crossed. Invisible Boy small and in the background. That said, Phantom Girl looks way too skinny, especially her legs. But I love that outfit with the big P.

Who's Who: Science Police - Gigi Cusimano

Gigi Cusimano
by Russell & Siskoid

Real Name: Gigi Cusimano

Super-Power(s): None
Planet of Origin: Earth

Relationship to Legion: Science Police liaison

The Write Stuff: Back to the Future Pt 2

BACK ISSUE! 22 (Jun 2007)

Following on from the article in BACK ISSUE! 15 which featured both Dave Cockrum and Mike Grell, this issue turns the spotlight on scribe Paul Levitz and artist/writer Keith Giffen.

    At the time of the joint interview, Paul was president and publisher at DC Comics, while Keith was handling Countdown for DC and Starlord for Marvel.

    Paul's love for the Legion is well-known, as is evidenced by his three separate tenures as the writer of a title which he acknowledges would be “a pain in the ass” unless you really loved it.

    “You'd literally have to write the Legion with a scorecard and notes. If you didn't know them and love them, it was a lot of hard work,” he said.

    Keith was more direct. “If you didn't care for these characters, it would be agony,” he said.

   

Reboot: Legends of the DC Universe 80-Page Giant #2

Legends of the DC Universe 80-Page Giant #2 (January 2000)
title: "Bedtime Story"

writer: Paul Levitz

penciller: Stuart Immonen

inker: George Freeman
lettering: Bill Oakley
colorist: Tom McCraw

advice: Mike McAvennie
editor: Mike Carlin

reviewers: Siskoid & Shotgun

Mission Monitor Board:  
Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy, Live Wire, Saturn Girl, Spark, Violet, XS

Guests: 
Dawn Allen, Dayla Ranzz, Jeven Ognats, Lady Mysa, Ma and Pa Kent (flashback), Pol Krinn, Superman (flashback); two unnamed archaeologists, Coluan children

Opponents: 
Granny Goodness, Lightning Lord; Hunger Dogs

Fridays With Anj ... Rankings

Okay all.

This will be a quick post as I am formulating a longer one that will require YOUR input.

I have been manning this spot on the blog for four years and I have been reviewing all sorts of runs and titles of various quality and quantity.

Maybe with the end of the year and 'best of' lists in my mind, I have been sort of ranking them in my mind. I wanted to put that list here.

But then I thought wouldn't it be even better to ask you all what you thought was the best and what was the worst of the particular runs I have reviewed here.

SO THAT IS YOUR MISSION!

Look at the runs below (with a quick blurb from me) and then just put in a comment. Which of these runs did you think was the BEST.

And which did you think was the WORST.

And if you have the gumption, rank them all.

We'll start with the most recent run, the Retroboot. Brought in after Geoff Johns' wildly popular Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes arc in Action Comics, this run swept the Threeboot under the rug. Paul Levitz had some good ideas (a Durlan infiltration, a new LSV) but in my mind, never quite pulled it off.

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 #15

Happy Thanksgiving to all those who celebrate!

As you read this I am hopefully still nestled in a tryptophan coma!

Legion of Super-Heroes #15 from the Retroboot series is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. How can you both want a story to not end, to end, and to be aware that it is being forced to end? Well, Holy New52, we knew this arc was coming to an end as the wall of reboot was fast approaching.

In rereading this arc I realize that it isn't as tight as I would like it to be. Usually writer Paul Levitz is able to wrap up a story neatly. He often plants hints and threads early on that come to fruition later. Once the arc nears a wrap up, Levitz will reveal the cards so that all the plot points make sense. But we haven't seen that here. There are too many elements just happening here without any 'why' being attached to them. I feel like there are more details that needed to be embedded here for me to truly appreciate everything that has been happening.

And yet, despite more story, I am wanting this arc to be done. I feel if after this long ... multiple issues and a LSV special ... if I haven't loved the plotline, I am not going to love it. It is time to pull the plug.

Add to that the understanding (when this came out) that the New 52 was 2 months away. And I feel like this was undermined by the universal reboot decision. Despite the fact that the Legion continuiy was staying intact post New 52, I am sure everyone at DC wanted all number one issues to be a potential jumping on point. Levitz had to finish this.

This issue is dominated by action sequences and that is usually a good thing in a LSH vs LSV story. Yildiray Cinar lights up the pages with bold seqyences. 

But with so many plot threads still dangling, I was aching for exposition.

On to the book!

Retroboot Legion of Super-Heroes #14

How can you be a critic when you are biased? 
How can you write objective looks at something when you are clearly subjective?
Or is the very nature of reviews subjective?

As I look back at these Retroboot Legion issues, I feel like I am so desperate to get a good Legion book that I am willing to give mediocre Legion books good grades. I love the Legion. I'll always try to see the best in the material. 

But this Retroboot book isn't very good. And when it came out I gave it a B/B+ grade. 

I think the biggest thing for me is the inconsistent characterization. We are over a year of this book seeing Harmonia Li being all serene wisdom. So seeing her enraged and aggressive seems way off. Had it been building, I might think differently. But suddenly acting different seems off.

And overall this plot of a maniacal Saturn Queen looking to destroy the 'World of Wisdom', a place we never heard of before? It just isn't clicking this reread.

But what did I think then?

Retroboot Legion of Super-Heroes Annual #1

Hey all,
I think with the posting of this review of Legion of Super-Heroes Annual #1 from the retroboot Legion that I am finally caught up with my reviews. While my reviews have gone all the way up to Legion of Super-Heroes #13, this annual should have been snuggled up after LSH #8.  After all, this story picks up right after Ayla and Vi announce that they are heading off on vacation.

So, thankfully, moving forward, I think the timeline is now reset.

On to the book!