Legion of Super-Heroes Appreciation 2019 [Long Live the Legion!]

[Lee Stone]

Great post - I really liked Shoemaker on the Legion and felt he could have been one of the All-time greats on the title if he'd had a more lengthy run. (was that Kesel as the inker? They worked really well together)

Yeah, that would be Kesel.
I agree, their art was fantastic!

[Zero Hunter]

Gotta give a little love to the Reboot era with what I thought were some great takes on classic characters. For me the Reboot version of Ferro and Invisible Kid are hands down better that the classic versions. Better looks, personality, and back stories.

[Scott Taylor]

Timber Wolf always struck a cord with me, as well as Jo Nah.

[Comic-Reader Lad]

Timber Wolf always struck a cord with me, as well as Jo Nah.

I really preferred Dave Cockrum's redesign of Timber Wolf from 1973. Didn't find it necessary to revert him back to a more human appearance.

[Comic-Reader Lad]

Let's talk Legion artists!

The Legion has had a lot of great artists over the years, but they've also had disappointing ones.

For me, I will always have a soft spot for Mike Grell because that's who was drawing the series when I first started reading. My first Legion issue was Superboy 203, and that was Grell's first issue as penciler.

Of course, I also love Dave Cockrum, who really modernized -- and even sexed up -- the Legionnaires. It made the series quite different artistically at the time.

Keith Giffen revitalized the Legion in all respects after a few disappointing and uneven post-Grell years. Giffen's character art and his overall vision of the future set the standard that no artist since has been able to surpass. Everything since Giffen gets compared to Giffen.

On the other had, Giffen is also one of the artistic disappointments when he changed his art style to mimic Jose Munoz for some reason. It was quite a shock to open the first part of the Omen/Prophet saga and see what his art had become. It only got worse from there until he changed his art style again a few years later into the one that he's basically used since. Better than the Munoz homage, but still not as good as pre-Omen/Prophet.

However, one of my favorite post-Giffen artists is Steve Lightle! He really came on board just when the title needed it and took the art back to a high point for the franchise. Lightle is probably my favorite post-Giffen-slide artist. I really wish he would do art for DC again.

[Lee Stone]

For me, it would be

Back when Legion was being published-
1. Jurgens
2. Shoemaker
3. Lightle

Lightle was good but as we had no comic shop, I missed out on a lot of his work until Doom Patrol.

However, years later... after I discovered comic shops and ebay (oh, the wonderful early days of ebay...)-
1. Lightle
2. Jurgens
3. Shoemaker

[madmodpoetgod]

Early Giffen is my favorite artist of Legion but sadly modern reprints doesn't justice his work.

Also, do you guys think we would see The Legion by DnA V3 anytime soon? Recently finished the second volume, the famous Legion Lost, and really enjoyed it. I would love to hear some thoughts on "the Legion" monthly by DnA. I am planning to get the full run because I am not really positive about v3.

[Zero Hunter]

I keep hoping for a 3rd DnA collection. Read the 6 issue Legion Worlds mini series before jumping into "The Legion" though since it tells you what was going on with the rest of the team while the others were over in Lost, and leads right into The Legion. Each issue focuses on one or two members of the team.

1 - M'Onel and Triad
2 - Spark
3 - Cosmic Boy, Invisible Kid, and Violet
4 - Star Boy and Dreamer
5 - Ferro and Karate Kid
6 - Apparition and Timber Wolf

[Lee Stone]

The DnA Legion was the best revival of the Legion IMHO.

It kept the core of the characters close to their originals.
It introduced the Legion Mythos to new readers in a natural way.
It attempted to break new ground.
The art was very appropriate for the futuristic setting.
And the new members were not only interesting, but also visually dynamic: Kid Quantum, Shikari and Gates were perfect additions.

The only thing I wasn't too happy about was the lack of Dawnstar, as Shikari was her replacement.
But while Shikari was a great new character for Legion, it also removed one of the more diverse members of the team.

Unfortunately, DC didn't react too well to losing Coipel, who surprisingly jumped ship to go to Marvel (they no doubt fished him out of DC's grasp by offering him higher profile work). And then, DnA (along with Giffen, no less) reinvented the Guardians of the Galaxy (and pretty much all of Marvel's cosmic playground). (Somebody at Marvel must have really liked the DnA Legion!)

So, obviously, DC didn't want that version to exist any longer. And I'm pretty sure, the whole reason why it took over a decade for their run to get collected.
Some may say 'conspiracy theory', but I'm sticking with 'office politics'.

[Lee Stone]

[Lee Stone]

Saturn Girl appearances:
Pre-Crisis
Post-Crisis

[signalman112]

1st LSH story I ever read was in The Brave and The Bold #179.

B&B179.jpg

[Lee Stone]

Nice. That's from around the time my Legion collection starts.
Although I first started reading with #316, my collection eventually stretched as far back as Great Darkness Saga.

I originally went back to #283 (the Wildfire origin issue and a January cover-date, for my mild ocd), then I chose to go back a few more issues to #280 (the first new logo issue and return of Superboy). But I've recently expanded it back to #259 (when the Legion and Superboy split into two titles).

[Lee Stone]

Another subscription ad:

[WestPhillyPunisher]

My second favorite male member of the Legion: Mon-El!