Legion of Super Heroes #1 preview

[Green Goblin of Sector 2814]

In the last image posted above, I forgot Giffen slipped in both Batman & Spider-man.

Oh my god, he did. I totally missed that.

[Lee Stone]

Yep. The way Levitz wrote the Legion was so detailed and specific that even Hickman uses it in his own writing.

I suspected that he does.
I may have to read more Hickman stuff.

[Jon-El]

Yeah he first appeared in 1970

I totally forgot about him!! Ok Tyroc is third! Plus he had a the bonus of a funky 70’s costume.

[Somecrazyaussie]

I suspected that he does.
I may have to read more Hickman stuff.

Levitz used to use highly detailed charts and graphs to map out his storylines and keep track of which character was doing what etc. There are photos out there taken during Hickmans run on Fantastic Four and it was revealed he was incorporating the method in his work on the title. He has used it in all his works. Not surprising since he has gone on record as being an ardent fan of Levitz run on the Legion.

[Somecrazyaussie]

So, Nostalgia Fanatics won't give a chance to a book because it isn't exactly what they want, which is a new series exactly as the series which already failed.

In other news, water wets.

That's your opinion and it's cool if you believe that. But I have to respectfully disagree. The Legion, especially during the late 70s and early 80s when Levitz and Giffen were on it, sold gangbusters. Both it and New Teen Titans were the only franchises from DC that truly gave Marvel a run for their money. They were so strong they actually rivalled Uncanny X-Men.

The Legion have only really suffered since Crisis when Superboy was retconned as never having existed. Geoff Johns had successfully "fixed" that prior to the New 52. Then, once the New 52 hit, the Legion got screwed over again.

Its like breaking a priceless vase and spending countless hours gluing it back together again. Except in DC's case they've immediately turned around after its dried and proceeded to smash it again. Its total insanity.

[Jim Kelly]

It was no coincidence in the early '80s that DC selected the Titans and the Legion for their new Baxter books (direct sales, comic shop editions), in what Levitz called a hardcover/softcover strategy--with the Baxter paper stock stories being reprinted in the regular format (newsstand, newsprint) the following year. For the gap year the two series made up the difference in the regular format TALES OF comics by doing all-new stories in addition to what was appearing in the Baxter format. DC chose those two team titles because they had the highest sales in the comic shop market. Their success led the way for many other DC titles to follow in the higher quality format.

[Sutekh]

It was no coincidence in the early '80s that DC selected the Titans and the Legion for their new Baxter books (direct sales, comic shop editions), in what Levitz called a hardcover/softcover strategy--with the Baxter paper stock stories being reprinted in the regular format (newsstand, newsprint) the following year. For the gap year the two series made up the difference in the regular format TALES OF comics by doing all-new stories in addition to what was appearing in the Baxter format. DC chose those two team titles because they had the highest sales in the comic shop market. Their success led the way for many other DC titles to follow in the higher quality format.

Those were the days. Wolfman/Perez were coming off a stellar run on the Teen Titans, and the Legion team (Levitz and some combination of Giffen, Laroque and Lightle, IIRC) was at the top of their game. Some innovative new characters were introduced, like Sensor Girl and Tellus, and some I was less thrilled with, like Quislet (but then again, not every character has to be *my* favorite, and the little guy has his fans!).

I feel like neither title or team has really ever fully recaptured the magic of those runs, although there've been some good stories along the way.

(My favorite post-Baxter-era Legion story being the AU Superboy's Legion, at present.)

[Lee Stone]

Levitz used to use highly detailed charts and graphs to map out his storylines and keep track of which character was doing what etc. There are photos out there taken during Hickmans run on Fantastic Four and it was revealed he was incorporating the method in his work on the title. He has used it in all his works. Not surprising since he has gone on record as being an ardent fan of Levitz run on the Legion.

I found this.
It's amazing how the Levitz Paradigm has reached out beyond comics.
I think Dennis O'Neil and Stan Lee's book on writing comics really helped spread the word to more modern readers.

[Jim Kelly]

This plot structure--where you have a main plot in one issue and several subplots, then in the next issue one subplot becomes the main plot and so on--is something I admired in the seventies Marvel books. Although the first comic I saw it was Mike Friedrich's JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, in 1971. where he'd keep one subplot going for a couple of issue before it took over as the main plot. It becomes harder to keep this going if a book keeps changing writers.

[Lee Stone]

This plot structure--where you have a main plot in one issue and several subplots, then in the next issue one subplot becomes the main plot and so on--is something I admired in the seventies Marvel books. Although the first comic I saw it was Mike Friedrich's JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, in 1971. where he'd keep one subplot going for a couple of issue before it took over as the main plot. It becomes harder to keep this going if a book keeps changing writers.

I think Levitz's handling it in Legion was really good.
He would find a way to touch on every member in some way. It was very much like a soap opera.

[Frontier]

I think Levitz's handling it in Legion was really good.
He would find a way to touch on every member in some way. It was very much like a soap opera.

This is probably what I am most worried about for Bendis' run. I'm not confident in his ability to juggle or develop such a sprawling cast of characters.

[CaptCleghorn]

This is probably what I am most worried about for Bendis' run. I'm not confident in his ability to juggle or develop such a sprawling cast of characters.

The reliance on Jon, Rose, and Damien in the first few issues makes a strong showing from the traditional cast seem less likely. Plus the Aquaman trident and New Gotham plots scream 21st century focus.

[Lee Stone]

The reliance on Jon, Rose, and Damien in the first few issues makes a strong showing from the traditional cast seem less likely. Plus the Aquaman trident and New Gotham plots scream 21st century focus.

Yeah, sounds gimmicky which makes it appear very temporary and probably a stealth setup for Crisis.

[Jackalope89]

The reliance on Jon, Rose, and Damien in the first few issues makes a strong showing from the traditional cast seem less likely. Plus the Aquaman trident and New Gotham plots scream 21st century focus.

It's Damian.

[Somecrazyaussie]

It was no coincidence in the early '80s that DC selected the Titans and the Legion for their new Baxter books (direct sales, comic shop editions), in what Levitz called a hardcover/softcover strategy--with the Baxter paper stock stories being reprinted in the regular format (newsstand, newsprint) the following year. For the gap year the two series made up the difference in the regular format TALES OF comics by doing all-new stories in addition to what was appearing in the Baxter format. DC chose those two team titles because they had the highest sales in the comic shop market. Their success led the way for many other DC titles to follow in the higher quality format.

I love the Baxter titles. Purely because that paper has stood the test of time.