Fridays With Anj: Legion Lost and Legion found?

My re-reviews of the New 52 Legion Lost comic has come to an end which means it is time for some sort of wrap-up post as well as a look to the future.

 It is hard to believe that we haven't had a Legion book on the shelf since the New 52 titles went belly up. And I think that wish to see these characters again, that desire to hold a Legion book in my hand, may have colored my reviews a little bit.

Let's face it, this is a flawed book.

The initial writer, Fabian Nicieza, started out with a story of these 7 Legionnaires stuck in our present, here to try and stop a history-changing mutagenic plague from sweeping over the planet. It had a number of problems. Why wouldn't they approach the current super-heroes to explain their mission? Why leave Superman in the dark? How did they acclimate themselves so easily to our crude world when they were used to 31st century living?

The writing must have been on the wall because shortly after coming on the book, Nicieza was shown the door. The Hypertaxis Plague story basically disappeared. And the suddenly we had a new direction.

New 52 Legion Lost #16

Reviews of last issues of flawed series are often difficult to write. 

Re-reviewing them?? Even more so.

Legion Lost #16 ends the title. The current plot is expunged with little explanation. The subplots that have been brewing aren't resolved. The main problem of the team being in the past isn't taken care of. The villains motives are unexplained.

Yep. Sounds like the death of a New 52 title.

And it is a shame because the first couple of issues by writer Tom DeFalco actually had a little promise to them. The idea of a lost Legion, lost in time, lost to their own problems, lost to each other is kind of a good hook. 

But in the end, this book needed to have life support cut. The time was right to end. 

As I said then, at least I got Dawny hugging Wildfire.

New 52 Legion Lost #15

Legion Lost is running on fumes and so are my reviews.

In Legion Lost #15, the penultimate issue of the run, writer Tom DeFalco keeps things moving forward. He tries to inject important character moments into the meaningless fight that is happening around the team. But there isn't much else to report here.

After rereading this, I still love Wildfire's subtle goodbye and Dawny's tears. But the rest seems loud and unnecessary. The main villains are still unknowns. The fact that the all-powerful villains are using a robot dinosaur makes little sense. And why we need Superboy to be mistreated like this makes no sense.

Andres Guinaldo steps in on art with Pete Woods heading to Vibe (at the time). His work is workmanlike. Fine but nothing spectacular.

One more issue for all this to be wrapped up. I don't have high hopes.

New 52 Legion Lost #14

What do you do when you are a creator and your book is about to be cancelled?
Well, in theory you should reward the readers with a decent closure to all the arcs that have been percolating.
What you shouldn't do is add too much new stuff such that old stuff can't be resolved. What you shouldn't do is have a guest star dominate the issue.

Welcome to Legion Lost #14. There are two more books in the series. Each character has hinted at a dark secret they have been harboring. We have been learning about them, finally. But instead of spending time to wrap them up, writer Tom DeFalco brings in some 'Galactus Herald' type baddies from out of nowhere and then has Harvest, Superboy, and the Ravagers all come in and take up page space.

This is basically a brawl issue with a huge fight taking up almost all the space. We don't learn much more about secrets or move closer to resolutions. And it is presented with so many artists I can't list them here (I will below).

There is a panel in the middle which makes me happy. But outside of that, this issue made me sad. There was some potential in this book, ultimately wasted. How many New 52 original titles can we say that about? Too many.

New 52 Legion Lost #0

It's amazing what 6 years will do in revisiting a comic.

In the review below, from 2012, I bemoan the fact that Legion Lost #0 didn't have the impact that the Zero Month of the New 52 had otherwise brought. If you asked me now 'what impact did the Zero Month of the New 52 have?' I would reply none. It is funny, I remember the cape story of Action Comics. I remember the Supergirl/Robin adventure (with slick Maguire art) from Worlds' Finest. I even remember the revelations of Supergirl #0. But I don't think I would say that it was an event with merit.

In rereading this now, I like this issue very much as an updated Timber Wolf story. And that is what Zero Month was supposed to do, introduce readers who might be trying a book. Should it have been a look at the team as a whole to entice people to stay? Yes. Is the crime lord at the end of the book stupid? Yes. But to see Brin go from meek child to feral street fighter to hero in the span of one issue is pretty good. 

And, as always, Pete Woods brings it. On to the book. 

New 52 Legion Lost #12

Legion Lost #12 ended the first year of the book and essentially ended the premise that opened the book. The Hypertaxis plague storyline is ended. Finally.

The book has been changing with Tom DeFalco now writing. He has been switching the main thrust from this plague to one of the Legionnaires each harboring a secret. This new theme finally bubbles over in this issue with many of the secrets revealed to the rest of the team. 

Things happen fast. And secrets are revealed in the midst of battle. You could sense this was DeFalco trying to put his stamp on the book while removing all the old bits. The end heroic team shot feels like the ending of something with a bold new beginning about to happen.

I will say, again, that Pete Woods on art elevates everything that happens in the book. How I would love to see Woods on a Chameleon Boy or Chameleon Girl mini-series! He definitely brings out the creature in these shape-shifters.

New 52 Legion Lost #11

When I was first asked to reformat and reprint my New 52 Legion and Legion Lost reviews for the site, I sort of sighed. I hadn't revisited these runs since they were on the shelves. I had no real burning desire to reread them. I had labeled them as 'lousy' but kept them in my collection because ... well ... they're the Legion.

In particular, I thought the Legion Lost run would be the more onerous of the two to revisit. Between the vague memories of displaced Legionnaires, plagues, The Harvest, and creative upheavals, I remembered the book being an absolute mess.

And yet, somehow, I am enjoying this Legion Lost reread.

New 52 Legion Lost #10

Legion Lost #10 is an interesting turn in the road for the team. Fabian Nicieza is gone and his story with him. Tom DeFalco has tied all that off and is past The Culling crossover. So for me, this is DeFalco's first book when left to his own devices. And for that, it is a pretty decent issue. This team is lost both internally and temporally. The time bubble they stumbled on doesn't bring them home but to a new and sadder future. They all are dealing with secrets. And this includes Wildfire, someone I thought wasn't hiding anything. 

This issue is basically a 'done in one' cementing the idea that the team is going to remain stuck in the past. With so much secrecy, there could be enough plot to last several years ... had the book lasted.

One thing I do like, despite the fact it came out of The Culling, is the matching white color scheme of the team's uniforms, each unique but all linked. Gives the group a sort of team feel.

Onto the book.

New 52 Legion Lost #9

Legion Lost #9 is the third part of the 4 part arc called 'The Culling' which wove through the Superboy and Teen Titans books at the time.

We were 3/4 of the way through the first year of The New 52 and the stench was already everywhere. As I have said, at the time I was perplexed by what I was seeing in the DCU. So many books were already being canceled, incredibly altered, or simply awful. It seemed like the foundation of a continuity rewrite was made of sand.

We already knew that DC had a hard time trying to figure out what to do with the Legion in general. Throw them into a New 52 universe which was a disaster and ...well ... you can guess the outcome.

I have to give writer Tom DeFalco some credit for trying to salvage this book. He turns Legion Lost from them being lost in time to being lost in team unity. Everyone has a secret backstory now. The team is lost. Only Wildfire and Dawnstar seem to have nothing to hide. That said, it wipes out the first arc of the story completely. The Hypertaxis arc is swept away, no longer a threat. And I don't know if I need to read a book where secret plots are simply hinted at month after month.

Pete Woods comes back as artist here and continues to shine. I like his work tremendously. I thought Caitlyn and Rose were two of the only redeeming characters in the lousy Superboy book of the time so I was glad to see them again here. 

But The Culling in general isn't a good story. And the Legion deserves better.

New 52 Legion Lost #8

The New 52 was an incredible experiment which, for the most part, failed. 

For me, I have to lay the blame at the feet of the highest up in DC. Because if you are going to blow up the entire continuity of a comic universe, renumbering books from your origins, and giving people a point to jump on or off your properties, you better have a solid lineup of books with bullet proof directions.

And we know that the line didn't have that. 

We know it because early on in many books, creative teams were cast off. Books got bold new directions after only half a year. Others were near immediately cancelled. And the whole thing seemed built on sand. 

Now I could point to Hawk and Dove, or Perez's Superman as examples of books blown up because editors decided things needed a shake-up a handful of issues in. But you guys are here for Legion stuff. 

So here is Legion Lost #8, a New 52 book which undergoes a complete change in direction just 2/3 of a year into the run. Fabian Nicieza and his Hypertaxis virus mega-plot are gone. In comes Tom DeFalco who decides to double down on the nonsensical gritty tone of the New 52 by folding in the Legion book into a dreadful and incomprehensible  'Hunger Games' plot which was in both Superboy Titans. Add to that DeFalco eliminating the Hypertaxis plot and instead giving each Legionnaire a personal plot we haven't heard about in the prior 7 issues. 

Shouldn't DC have either trusted Nicieza to proceed? Or not pick this plot for a new book if they had such low confidence in it? This book seems lost, pun intended.

All that said, this is early Aaron Kuder work. I love Kuder's art style. His stuff on Greg Pak's Action Comics is stunning. And one thing I did like about the New 52 was the new take on Ravager. On to the book.

New 52 Legion Lost #7

Legion Lost #7 was the first issue under writer Tom DeFalco and the book definitely has a different feel to it.

I think DeFalco was trying to bring a sort of hip, 90s feel to the book, reaching out to a new audience. But in the end, it pales to the earlier issues of the book and doesn't feel like a Legion book after all.

Here is a Legion squad, using telepathic trickery to find food and shelter and still trying to find the villain of the first arc. They learned that they can't return. It is time to find Superman and reveal themselves.

Instead, DeFalco has them move to New York. He 'dresses' them in hip clothes. He has them steal drug dealers' money to fund their lives. And he delivers a special message about texting and driving. He also adds a 'cool thief' to the cast, Oz.

The book also moves away from the rotating narrator motif which I thought worked well in earlier issues.

All in all, this was not a change for the better. We aren't getting a bold, new direction. Instead, this feels all so 90s. And that is a complaint I had about a lot of the New 52.

Pete Woods still shines on art here, giving us great expressive work and a nice wander through a telepathic dreamscape. But this book is turning for the worst.

On to the details.

New 52 Legion Lost #6

This reread has been an interesting exercise for me.

Heading in, I can remember not liking the book that much. Rereading I am finding more here than I remember liking although most of it is around character interaction and less about plot.

Perhaps it is the upcoming 'Harvest' storyline that eventually leads me to dislike the book. 

This issue is a mix of original team Fabian Nicieza and Peter Woods with new writer Tom DeFalco and guest artist Matt Camp. It reads very much like the first issues which makes me think Niceieza did most of the heavy lifting. 

And it is great that Tyroc is in the spotlight here, a Legionnaire who has never quite gotten his due. He is the leader of this team, by default. And he is learning the ropes.

The art remains delicious, the highpoint of the series. And a panel you'll see soon of Wildfire and Dawnstar is stunning. It is a shame Matt Camp didn't get a lot to do in comics. His stuff is crisp.

On to the book.