The Legion #32

April 24, 2004

Quick Rating: Great
Title: Notorious

A victim of Element Lad’s rampage has come to take his revenge, and only one Legionnaire has what they want.

Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Pencils: Chris Batista
Inks: Chip Wallace & Jay Leisten
Colors: Sno Cone
Letters: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Stephen Wacker
Cover Art: Eric Wight
Publisher: DC Comics

Legion continues to be one of the best comics you’re not reading month after month – although if you haven’t been reading this isn’t a great place to jump on. Back in the Legion Worlds miniseries, the hero named Element Lad lost his mind and nearly laid waste to an entire universe. Founding member Live Wire seemingly gave his life to defeat his former teammate, but was recently reborn in Element Lad’s body. This issue, an army of survivors of Element Lad’s rampage come to the Legion’s territory, giving a good thrashing to Mon-El in the process. Since he’s potentially more powerful than Superboy, this is something that makes our heroes kind of nervous.

Ever since his return, Live Wire as been forced to sit on the sidelines. He finally gets a spotlight this issue, showing what makes him a real hero in the faces of some very heavy odds. The rest of the team isn’t ignored either – Kid Quantum and Superboy each get many good moments… just none as good as Live Wire.

Chris Batista is one of the finest artists in Legion history. He is a fantastic artist, giving each character distinctive faces so that even without their trademark costumes you could pick each of them out easily. He does the costumes well, though, as well as the costumes of our villains. He has to share credit with our ink and color team, though, as Live Wire’s crystalline form looks really impressive – cold, crystalline but human all at the same time.

I love this title, month in and month out. The Legion is one of the longest-running teams in comics, and if you can’t tell why by reading this issue, you just aren’t paying attention.

Rating: 9/10

Superboy (2010 Series) #1

November 18, 2010

Title: Smallville Attacks Part One

Writer: Jeff Lemire
Art: Pier Gallo
Colorist: Jamie Grant
Letterer: John J. Hill
Cover: Rafael Albuquerque
Editor: Matt Idelson
Publisher: DC Comics

Superboy celebrates the return of his own ongoing the way characters have done for years – with the Phantom Stranger showing up and warning him about the future in very cryptic terms that may have huge repercussions for Conner Kent and for Smallville itself. Jeff Lemire has, until now, been content to work on low-key books like his indy work and his Vertigo title, Sweet Tooth, but this is his first time helming a superhero title from one of the big two. Well, unless you count his Atom second feature from Adventure Comics. But I digress, this issue takes us into what he does best – portraying small town life gone awry.

As Superboy tries to keep up with ordinary smalltown life again, things are tossed into chaos when the Parasite attacks. His real goal, of course, is a feast of Superman, but he’ll gobble up Superboy’s power as an appetizer if he has a chance. The battle sequence is pretty good, although it’s a little unclear just how the final attack of the battle works, considering the power sets of the two characters. To be fair, though, the action isn’t nearly as important to this story as the character stuff, and that’s where Lemire shines. He’s got a take on Superboy that works very well – the big city boy trying to get along in the small town, an odd supporting cast including a potential love interest that happens to be Lex Luthor’s niece (although now that I think about it, doesn’t that kinda make her Conner’s first cousin?) and plenty of fun with Krypto. Lemire’s work with these characters is impeccable.

We also get nice interior artwork by Pier Gallo, who manages to capture the rustic feel of Smallville and inject it with the superhero action that gets the asses in the seats. Rafael Albuquerque tops things off with a wonderful cover, one of the best we’ve ever had of Conner (and, to be frank, a far superior cover to the variant by John Cassaday).

I really enjoyed this book – a nice step towards expanding the Superman corner of the DC Universe.

Rating: 8/10

Teen Titans (2003 Series) #9

March 13, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: First Blood

Rule of the Road #1: Don’t let Kid Flash behind the wheel!

Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Mike McKone
Inks: Marlo Alquiza & Norm Rapmund
Colors: Jeromy Cox
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Cover Art: Mike McKone
Publisher: DC Comics

When the Titans get a distress call from the doctor that saved Kid Flash, four of them head out to save the day – and the best way to get around San Francisco? With the west coast Batmobile, of course. Back at the tower, Superboy has stayed behind to take care of his homework, but taking care of Krypto sends him headlong into a discovery about one of his teammates.

Geoff Johns runs three storylines throughout this issue – the main storyline is mainly played for laughs, but also shows how Kid Flash’s transformation is an ongoing process, not an instantaneous ones. It also gives us a real understanding of his estimation of some of his teammates, especially Wonder Girl. Superboy’s storyline has some chuckles as well, but mainly gives us a chance to follow him as he interacts with a Titan he hasn’t really bonded with as of yet.

The third storyline follows our villains, Deathstroke and Ravager as well as the lost Titan Raven. This storyline builds during the issue, ultimately setting up the cliffhanger at the end very well and charging into the main story very well. Johns has as great a handle on these characters as I’ve seen, and each issue is a treat.

Mike McKone returns to the pencils this issue after a couple of wonderful issues from Tom Grummett, and he returns in style. He handles the nighttime scenes (along with Jeromy Cox’s colors) very well, and has a good handle on some light physical comedy and tech drawing. He even handles one of the toughest tasks in comics with true aplomb – he draws Krypto without making him look silly.

Teen Titans is one of those books I look forward to every month and with good reason: a great writer, a great artist and great characters. It all adds up to a great read.

Rating: 8/10

The Legion #30

February 23, 2004

Quick Rating: Excellent
Title: Foundations: The Final Chapter

Darkseid has destroyed the universe – and only the Legion of Super-Heroes can bring it back!

Writer: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Pencils: Chris Batista
Inks: Chip Wallace
Colors: Sno Cone
Letters: Ken Lopez
Editor: Stephen Wacker
Cover Art: Tom Feister & Tony Harris
Publisher: DC Comics

Abnett and Lanning cap off their greatest Legion epic in true style. Darkseid’s true plan stands revealed – he kidnapped some of the most powerful beings of the past and is using them in his scheme to usurp his own youthful, more powerful body, then replace the universe with a new universe where he stands as the sole god. At the end of last chapter, the young Darkseid killed his own older counterpart to take his scheme as his own – but a flaw in that plan will destroy everything unless the Legion and a young, brainwashed Clark Kent can stop him.

This is high-flying science fiction superhero action at its finest. A battle royale across the stars, the stakes as high as they can possibly get and real courage and heroism goes on display. There’s not a lot of talking heads or characterization in this issue, because that has all been dealt with in the last five issues. This is the power-packed, action-charged finale that will please anyone who has ever loved the Legion.

Before his assignment on this title, Chris Batista wasn’t a high-profile artist. The only place I remember seeing his artwork before is on the defunct Steel title. He has made this series his own. He has great costume designs and a suitably cocky smirk on Superboy’s face. He also makes Superboy and the young, time-lost Clark Kent look appreciably different while keeping the resemblance. The writers also work in a particularly good moment between these two characters – the past and the (presumed) future of the world’s greatest hero, amidst the greatest heroes of the far future.

If you haven’t been reading this title, you have been cheating yourself for a very long time. As the last issue in a storyline, this may not be the best place to jump on board, but if you can find the first five issues, read ‘em. Then read this. You won’t be disappointed.

Rating: 10/10

Legion Secret Files 3003

November 18, 2003

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: The Earth Spins Presents: The Legion Secret Files 3003

A Daily Planet reporter takes you along to meet the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Pencils: Leonard Kirk
Inks: Robin Riggs
Colors: Sno Cone
Art (Profiles): Tony Harris & Tom Feister
Letters: Nick J. Napolitano
Editor: Ivan Cohen & Stephen Wacker
Cover Art: Tony Harris & Tom Feister
Publisher: DC Comics

From the very beginning of the Secret Files program, the individual issues have been hit and miss. This may be the biggest hit yet, and it gets there by completely eschewing the standard Secret Files format and embracing the purpose of the book. Abnett and Lanning, rather than giving us a couple of fill-in-the-blank stories and a scattering of profile pages, instead work the profiles into the story itself, telling a nice tale that gives us insight into every member of the Legion of Super-Heroes and the world they live in.

We see how Cosmic Boy is dealing with Superboy’s sudden appearance in the 31st century, how Sensor is failing to deal with her transformation into a more humanoid form – beautiful to her teammates but hideous in her own culture – and how Live Wire is trying to deal with his resurrection in the crystalline body of Element Lad. (This is a particularly good segment, although it does call to mind the perfectly reasonable question of, “If the Legion can’t trust Live Wire because he looks like a member that went crazy and killed several of them, why doesn’t he at least stop wearing Element Lad’s uniform? The obvious questions are the most frustrating, aren’t they?)

We are also treated to a prologue and epilogue that tie in to the current “Foundations” storyline running in the regular Legion title, in which dark (but frighteningly familiar) beings are working for the resurrection of the greatest evil the DC Universe has ever known — Darkseid. Any longtime Legion fan who remembers the epic “Great Darkness Saga” should be getting chills at this point.

It’s always nice to see Leonard Kirk’s pencils – I was very sorry to see him leave JSA, and the Harris/Feister team continues to impress for the most part, although the double-page spread featuring Brainiac 5, Spark, Violet and Invisible Kid looks kind of sloppy – a couple of the characters look like they could have fallen out of a Hanna-Barbera cartoon.

If you’re interested in reading Legion and didn’t learn all you wanted from the fantastic Legion #25, this should answer any questions you have left. It’s one of the best Secret Files ever put out.

Rating: 8/10

Superman (1987 Series) #201

January 1, 2004

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Strange New Visitor Part Three

With Superman missing, will the dimension-tossed Mr. Majestic save Metropolis… or destroy it?

Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Pencils: Karl Kerschl
Colors: Tanya & Richard Horie
Letters: Nick J. Leighpez
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Cover Art: Ed McGuinness & Dexter Vines
Publisher: DC Comics

A quick recap for those who came in late: last issue, Superman was lost in time. Over this month’s issues of Action Comics and Adventures of Superman, Metropolis has been under assault by a time storm as Superboy, Steel, John Henry Irons and the Eradicator try to stop it — when Wildstorm’s Mr. Majestic comes tumbling out of the time storm and starts picking up Big Blue’s slack.

This issue — Majestic is convinced that the plan concocted to save the city will only make things worse, so to get him out of the way, the Eradicator has tossed him into the Phantom Zone. Now it’s a race against time to save Metropolis — but who’s going about it the right way?

This isn’t a Superman story, you’ve got to understand that, this is a story about how his allies and his city cope without him, and taken in that context, it’s quite good. I suppose it was only a matter of time before one of Wildstorm’s characters came tumbling over to the DC Universe, and not reading Wildcats I really don’t know if Majestic has been used much lately or if his presence here disturbs anything. What I do know is that he works — dropping a Superman surrogate into Metropolis gives the other characters a great chance to flex their respective personalities, treating him with hope or skepticism as is appropriate, and it’s far more effective to use an established character than it would be to just whip up a new Superman clone and drop him in instead.

Two things about the ending surprised me, neither of which I can really discuss without spoiling it, but I will say this much — the explanation of the time storm and the resolution of that story arc left me very satisfied, and where the characters wind up at the end could lead to some very interesting stories in the future if done correctly.

Karl Kerschel has outdone himself on the artwork for this story arc. Granted, he probably worked on this for months in advance, but in an era where it seems most artists can’t even turn out one quality comic in a month, it’s great to see a man who did three. He’s got a great look to all of his characters — the men are strong, the women are beautiful, the Eradicator is imposing and Mr. Majestic is… well… majestic. If this man doesn’t have any regular art assignments at the moment, Eddie Berganza should try to get him on a regular Superman book as soon as possible.

Overall, this was a very entertaining arc, but the absence of our main character made it feel very much like a fill-in… an enjoyable fill-in, but a fill-in nonetheless. In the next Action Comics, it will be time to begin unravelling the mystery of what happened to Superman, and for fans of the character, that can’t come soon enough.

Rating: 7/10

The Legion #25

October 25, 2003

Quick Rating: Excellent
Title: Foundations

On the anniversary of its founding, members of the Legion of Super-Heroes take time to remember their past, even as several elements that will play into their future are set into motion.

Writer: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Pencils: Chris Batista
Inks: Robin Riggs, Chip Wallace and Doug Hazlewood
Colors: Sno Cone
Additional Art: Eric Wight, Tony Harris, Tom Feister, Dave Cockrum, Al Milgrom and Paul Rivoche
Letters: Jared Fletcher
Editor: Stephen Wacker
Cover Art: Tony Harris and Tom Feister
Publisher: DC Comics

As a longtime Legion fan, this issue was like a visit with old friends to me. It is Founder’s Day, the Legion’s anniversary, and this issue follows several segments of the team as different storylines unfold. Saturn Girl takes a group of new Legion cadets through a retelling of the team’s past (a lot of fun for those of us who remember the old-fashioned tales of “Legion Auditions”), while other members make startling discoveries about some of their fallen teammates, and a team exploring deep space makes the most startling discovery of all.

Abnett and Lanning have been doing a spectacular job on this title for several years now, pruning a lot of the dense elements that may have scared people off. In this issue, it almost feels as though they’ve finished setting up the pieces just the way they want them and now they’re ready to really cut loose and tell their own tales. This is a perfect jumping-on point for anyone who has never read a Legion comic before – the story fills you in on all the historical points of the team you need to know, and several new elements are introduced in this issue that will certainly set the stage for the Legion for the foreseeable future.

Chris Batista has really come into his own on this title, and some of the additional art is also quite nice, particularly Tony Harris and Tom Feister’s outer space sequences. The only weak point, artistically, is Dave Cockrum’s segment, which tells the history of the fallen Legion founder, Livewire. The layouts and anatomy are a little clunky at times, and it looks a bit off.

Overall, if you’ve ever wanted to try Legion, this is the time to do it.

Rating: 9/10