It's a confusing time to be a Legion of Super Heroes fan. Or maybe I'm not a real fan.
I got bored during the "Quest for Cosmic Boy" storyline and gave up. Thought about checking it out again during Jim Shooter's recent stint, but by then various other versions of the Legion were turning up in Justice League of America and Countdown to Infinite Mess and maybe some of the Superman books? Having lost track of the storyline, I couldn't figure out how to get my arms around it again. Then there was Legion of Three Worlds (is that finished yet?) that promised to make this all a lot more confusing before it was simplified. All of these different versions of the Legion co-existing... just tell me when the dust clears and it's safe to start reading again.
That day may be coming with the return of Adventure Comics to DC's publishing schedule. Adventure was the original home of Legion of Super Heroes stories and DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio has hinted that the new volume will be their home again. Further encouraging that thinking is Adventure Comics #0 coming out in February. It's a reprint of the Legion's first appearance.
Teenagers from the Future
If you're as confused as I am about the Legion, but still really interested in trying to figure it all out, you might want to consider this book.
Here's the press release I got about it:
Sequart Research & Literacy Organization's Teenagers from the Future: Essays on the Legion of Super-Heroes is now available for order through comic shops. (The order code is NOV084474.)Notice that one of the essays is by Invincible Super-Blogger Chris Sims. That's reason enough to get it right there.
The book, edited by Timothy Callahan (Grant Morrison: The Early Years), is currently listed in November's Previews catalog. Sequart is also pleased to announce that Teenagers from the Future was chosen as the top Featured Item in the books section of the catalog. You can see the online Previews listing here.
Teenagers, sporting a foreword by Matt Fraction and an afterword by Barry Lyga, has a wide array of essays, including:
"The Death and Resurrection of Lightning Lad," by Richard Bensam
"The (Often Arbitrary) Rules of the Legion," by Chris Sims
"The Legion's Super-Science," by James Kakalios
"Architecture and Utopia," by Sara K. Ellis
"Thomas, Altman, Levitz, and the 30th Century," by Timothy Callahan
"Revisionism, Experimentation, and Dystopia in Giffen's Legion," by Julian Darius
"Gender Identity and Homosexuality in the Legion," by Alan Williams
"The Racial Politics of the Legion of Super-Heroes," by Jae Bryson
…and ten more, covering the whole of Legion history.
This collection (softcover, 6"x9", 344 pgs, B&W, $26.95 cover price), written by fans and scholars alike, is as diverse as Legion history. No Legion fan or comics scholar should go without this critical celebration of the Legion.
But please don't count on your store to order copies -- most stores won't. The best thing you can do is to order copies in advance by telling your local retailer that you want them to get a copy for you. Because we're buried in the catalog, it might help to give your local retailer the book's order code, which is NOV084474.
Legal Disclaimer: the Legion of Super-Heroes and related characters are trademarks of DC Comics. This book is not endorsed by DC Comics.
Meet your new Saturn Girl
It was only a matter of time before the Legion showed up on Smallville. That time has come and Saturn Girl will be played by Canadian pop singer/actress Alexz Johnson.
I'm still not gonna watch it though. Well, maybe if she wears this costume.
5 comments:
I've seen a lot of people in the web going bonkers over the new turn Action Comics / Adventure Comics is going to take. Me? I couldn't be happier and I really hope this experiment works. I'm a big Legion fan and have been disappointed for the lack of excitement in the book since quite a while. Not even Jim Shooter could bring it back for me, since this current incarnation is just another version of the Legion, and one I keep having trouble to relate with.
If you're skipping Legion of Three Worlds, you should at least give it a glance. George Pérez is involved so it couldn't be better. It is supposed to re-define the Legion, which I think, is bringing it back to its roots. Yes, there are three Legions in the book, but it doesn't feel overwhelming. It does focus just on some characters which is just good.
Oh, and having the Legion on Smallville is just the cherry on the top :D Geeky me is jumping in joy, lol.
Even though folks seem to be enjoying Legion of Three Worlds, I get this "making it up as they go along" vibe from it. I don't really think that's what they're doing, but things have been so discombobulated lately that I've lost all confidence in DC to shepherd the property.
When it's done, if the fans seem generally satisfied with the ending, I'm planning to read it in tpb.
Fair enough. When the mini-series is done, I'll be bugging you some more, lol.
Sounds like a plan. :)
I am sooooooo tired of spending my money on the legion, and worse, investing in the stories and characters, only to have them rebooted after 3-4 years.
This book in any form is radioactive to me. I'll browse it on the shelf, but that's it.
I am not an anal-retentive continuity freak, but a lot less volatility would be nice.
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