Colossal Boy: Hot or Not?

It's their first Earthman! We let a group of candid women with no real Legion knowledge deliver their first impressions of Colossal Boy. May the Luck Lords be kind to us.

Participants
Our honorary Legion members are...
Art Girl - Painting and costuming is her thing. One day she'll make her own boy.
DJ Nath - If you can't tell, she's into music. But are there Legionnaires she would like to make beautiful music with?
Lip-Bomb - Tells me she's only in it for the free access to Brainy's Time Bubble. With Nath, operates the You-Tube channel Mind Linked for the telepathically gifted.
Shotgun - Has her own car so doesn't need to call her own code name, which would just seem awkward.
Moderator: Siskoid, 6'4" and empathizing.

5YL Legion of Super-Heroes #34

Recap: The Dominators, who have secretly been controlling Earth for the last several years, find themselves suddenly fighting a two-front war. Their domination of Earth, as well as the atrocities they have committed, have been revealed to the universe. Rebel forces on the planet as well as the United Planets fleet in orbit above the planet are fighting to free Earth. With a bulk of the Dominion military near Earth to defend their position there, the Dominion homeworld of Elia is vulnerable and the Khunds have taken advantage and started a war there. The main Legion has been sitting out this war, but the SW6 Legion on Earth have been getting more and more involved. Something has to give.

After last issue's side trip where we met Kid Quantum, Legion of Super-Heroes #34 brings us back to the war on Earth and it is clear that the slow burn of this Terra Mosaic storyline has finally reached a boil. There are multiple factions who have been circling this confrontation with the Dominators. The Rebels led by the Substitute Legion, the SW6 Legion, the United Planets, Universo, the Dark Circle, even the Khunds in their own way, have all been getting more and more involved.

Superboy starring The Legion #218

Superboy starring The Legion of Super-Heroes #218 (July, 1976)
title: "The Secret Villain the World Never Knew!"

writer: Cary Bates

penciller: Mike Grell
editor: Murray Boltinoff 

cover: Mike Grell (signed)
reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Mission Monitor Board:  
Tyroc, Superboy, Cosmic Boy, Dream Girl, Colossal Boy, Brainiac 5, Element Lad, Light Lass, Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy, Star Boy; flashbacks of Shadow Lass & Karate Kid, cameos of various other Legionnaires

Opponents: 
Zoraz, Absorbancy Boy

Synopsis: 
At Legion HQ, Tyroc arrives just as three rejected applicants walk away. Inside, Brainiac 5 is explaining about Tyroc to Colossal Boy, Light Lass, and Element Lad, who were off planet when Tyroc met the Legion so do not know him yet. With a shout of "OYUUUUUU!" Tyroc joins them. Just as they are all being introduced, Zoraz attacks, quickly knocking out the five before turning his attention to Tyroc. Tyroc uses an explosive yell that Zoraz absorbs, then Zoraz blasts the alarm and escapes as Tyroc is distracted.

Super-Blog Team Up: Legion Who's Who Top Ten!

Usually Wednesdays here on The Legion of Super-Bloggers is Who's Who Day. However, today's we're participating in the latest SUPER-BLOG TEAM UP! This time out the blog crossover celebrates top ten lists! So we decided to look at the original Who's Who profile pages for the Legionnaires and pick our Top Ten "Best" profiles. Our judging criteria was simple: artistic merit (was the art good?), artistic design (was the page layout good?), coloring (were the surprint color and the main figure color coordinated?), and the character's pose (was s/he just standing there?). After that, it was mostly a free-for-all about which characters we all liked better....!

Happy Birthday, Chemical King!

According to the 1976 DC Calendar, today will be the birthday of Condo Arlik, better known throughout the galaxy as Chemical King.

Chemical King was the 26th member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, and served with distinction for nearly three years. He made the ultimate sacrifice to save Earth when the power-mad dictator named Deregon started the detonation of a nuclear power sphere. Chemical King used his powers to slow the reaction and to absorb the remaining radiation into his own body.

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #18

The Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #18 (Jan, 1986)
title: "Has Any One Noticed A Crisis Going On?"

writer: Paul Levitz

penciller: Greg LaRocque
inker: Larry Mahlstedt
colorist: John Costanza
lettering: Carl Gafford

editor: Karen Berger 

cover: Greg LaRocque & Larry Mahlstedt (signed)
reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Mission Monitor Board:  
Brainiac 5, Element Lad, Mon-El, Shadow Lass, Dawnstar, Ultra Boy, Star Boy, Tellus, Lighting Lass, Magnetic Kid, Sun Boy, Wildfire, Polar Boy, Blok, Invisible Kid, Dream Girl, White Witch, Quislet

Guest-Stars: 
Rond Vidar, Circadius Senius

Opponents: 
The Infinite Man; members of the Legion of Super-Villains, Persuader, Validus, Darkseid

Convergence: Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #1

By Anj

Convergence: Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #1 was one of the books I was most looking forward to when the Convergence mini-series were announced. I am a lifelong Legion fan. I cut my teeth on the Bates/Grell books. And I remember a Legion that was optimistic and a future that was bright. So of course I would want to revisit this time.

Legion Fact Files: Greg LaRocque

In the back of Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #17 Greg LaRocque and Mike DeCarlo drew profiles of the then-current membership. All twenty-five members get "fun facts" of official name, real name, and power. Some poses are very static, but others are quite fun. Oddly enough, there is no particular order for the members, which makes it difficult to find someone you are looking for. 

Hot: Saturn Woman

Grant Morrison helped launch DC's The New 52 by writing one of the flagship titles, Action Comics. These stories chronicled the early days of Superman's career in this new universe. Wow, that series came out of the gate swinging! I loved the first handful of issues. Superman kicking butt while wearing a t-shirt, jeans, boots, and a towel-sized cape. Even though the storytelling was modern, it evoked the spirit of the Golden Age Superman.

Then we got to issue #6. Whoa. What happened here?!?! This issue was packed full of psuedo-science, time travel, multiple Supermen, the adult Legion, and much, much more. This issue was so densely-packed and confusing, I'm not sure if it was brilliant or a train-wreck.

Regardless what you thought of the story, this issue most definitely had one shining beacon of joy... smokin' hot adult Saturn Woman! Yup, Imra is all grown up and looks gorgeous!

5YL Legion of Super-Heroes #33

Recap: The Dominators are losing control of Earth and may be losing control of their home world, Elia. The UP and the rebels on Earth are gearing up for all out war. The Khunds are invading Dominator space. And while the older Legion seem to be sitting this war out, the young SW6 Legionnaires are in the thick of it, active in the rebellion and paying the price. Meanwhile, the older Chameleon Boy leaves to try to track down his father R.J. Brande.

I don't know how many people come here to read these 5YL reviews I write. But for those who do, I must sound like a broken record, bringing up the creative risks this book takes and admiring the creators for taking those risks. Legion of Super-Heroes #33 is another example.