Early Adventure Comics
Superboy & the Legion
Paul Levitz/Keith Giffen plus Baxter book
Five Years Later Legion
Zero Hour Reboot
Mark Waid Threeboot
Post Infinite Crisis
New 52 Legion
Current Bendis Legion
Other
My first issue of ADVENTURE COMICS featuring Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes. Except it actually featured Superman and the Adult Legion.
My first issue where the Legion of Super-Heroes was a back-up feature in SUPERBOY.
My first Baxter book starring THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES.
The thing about the Baxter books was you were supposed to get these big star artists (Perez, Ordway, Giffen), which justified the deluxe printing and the higher cover price. Yet none of those mega-stars stuck around for very long. However, I think this Baxter run was very consistent as far as the writing from Levitz.
Levitz/Keith Giffen is pretty much the gold standard for the Legion of Super Heroes.
Timeline reboots killed the Legion. I remember being furious when they rebooted them as young pre teens. I can't remember when that was, but I haven't followed the Legion since.
Definitely the Levitz/Giffen LoS. That’s one of my favorite teams of all time. I have a really hard time getting into other versions. Though I loved what Johns did with that lineup in Superman and the Legion of Superheroes.
I actually voted for the Zero Hour reboot.
Now Levitz and Giffen are obviously the benchmark, but I thought the Zero Hour reboot was really well done.
While not perfect, it was FAR superior to anything that came after and when at it's best was up there with the best of 'em.
"My name is Wally West. I'm the fastest man alive!"
I'll try being nicer if you try being smarter.
Last edited by caj; 07-30-2020 at 06:16 AM.
If the Reboot had dealt more with the newer characters, Kid Quantum II and Kinetix and Shikari and Dragonmage and GEAR and XS and Computo, I think I would have been far more intrigued.
Meeting yet new versions of Lightning Lad and Brainy and Dreamy and Shady boot after boot after boot just gets so darn tired. Either I liked the old Dawnstar, and don't want your hot new take on her with Songbird-esque solid light wings, or I didn't like the old Dawnstar, and even more don't want a hot new take on her.
Seriously, what's the target demographic here? People who don't like the *actual* Legion of Super-Heroes, but will buy a book that says 'Legion of Super-Heroes' on the title because Brian Bendis is writing it?
That's a whole lot of work for Ryan Sook to draw every month, when all Brian Bendis needs to do is put his name on the cover to attract the same demo of 'people who will buy anything with his name on it.'
[Tangent. There's a Thracian moon-goddess of the hunt named Bendis. This amuses me. I want Bendis to write a story about Bendis, or some mortal empowered by Bendis, or something!]
This was my first issue of Legion to read. However, I've been fortunate to have collected issues that go all the way back to Adventure Comics.
My favorite version is the Levitz/Griffen era legion. Ihave stuck it out through every reboot of the Legion and found something to enjoy about it, even when they removed Dawnstar, my favorite legionnaire. However I just can't get into the bendisboot Legion. Its a pretty book when Sook draws it, but thats about it.
My order is Levitz/Giffen then Giffen/Bierbaum (5YL...) and finally the Zero Hour Reboot. After that you have the Johns Retroboot, Silver Age, Levitz's Nu52 2nd run, Waid/Kitson, and finally Bendis in dead last.
A bat! That's it! It's an omen.. I'll shall become a bat!
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Zero Hour Reboot for me. I want to read Paul Levitz/Keith Giffen plus Baxter book but don't know where to start.
My two cents - start with Legion of Super Heroes #287. It's the first full issue where Giffen is the main artist and it's a good starting off point just a few issues before The Great Darkness Saga.
or
Get the Trade Paper Back that has the beginning of Paul Levitz's 2nd run on Legion. I think it has issues #284 - 296.
Last edited by caj; 07-30-2020 at 02:46 PM.
The one thing that always makes me mad looking at DCs treatment of the Legion is just how much of what almost everyone considers the best Legion stuff is not collected. Barely any of the Baxter series is collected in trades. For being considered the best Legion writer there are a good 60 or 70 issues written by Levitz uncollected. It makes it look even worse when somerhing like the Waid threeboot was all collected when it is no where near as good.