Your favorite version of Legion of Super Heroes

[Jim Kelly]

I actually read that issue but I can't remember how they were returned to normal. Could you please enlighten me?

Because of his 12th level intelligence, Brainiac 5's mind isn't infantilized like the other four. He figures out what's been done to them and whips up some pills to return them to normal. He gets the others to take the pills by saying it's candy.

In THE LEGION COMPANION, Jim Shooter didn't speak kindly of this story. E. Nelson Bridwell called him up on the phone (being a young teen, Jim would get all his calls at his family home--imagine that, the kid talking out stories over the phone while Mom and Dad look on) and E.N.B. said that Mort wanted him to write a story where the Legion becomes tots, because stories about the characters as babies sold really well. Jim refused to do, so Nelson wrote the story himself. Shooter didn't think much of it, but it had a lot of the same Star Trek flavour as his scripts and it remains one of the best stories I ever read.

[krazijoe]

Why would you have a problem with the powers? Most of the Legion have your standard, found-in-plenty-of-other-characters powers: magnetism, telepathy, size-changing, invisibility, super-strength, various forms of energy projection (heat, light, electricity, etc.), cold projection, and more. Even some of the more, shall we say, unique power sets can be portrayed well by writers willing to put in the effort. The ones that seem to be treated most like a joke or burden to write about are Matter-Eater Lad's (duh), Tyroc's (by writers who find his origins embarassing and refuse to take him seriously), and Chemical Kid's (because that requires a better knowledge of chemistry than most comics writers apparently have).

Well, they had bouncy boy! Then I saw Speedball (Marvel) and laughed, didn't read New Warriors either, Or Dazzler OOO!!! Sparklers! I kid, but yeah, was never intrigued by the Legion and reading all about how F-d up their history is makes me want to less. Same with Hawkman.

[Timber Wolf-By-Night]

Well, they had bouncy boy! Then I saw Speedball (Marvel) and laughed, didn't read New Warriors either, Or Dazzler OOO!!! Sparklers! I kid, but yeah, was never intrigued by the Legion and reading all about how F-d up their history is makes me want to less. Same with Hawkman.

Bouncing Boy. And yes, he can be, and has, been used humorously. But the power itself -- to inflate to a larger size, and bounce with increasing force, speed, and strength, causing as much damage as you want without incurring any damage to yourself -- doesn't have to be a joke. But hey, you do you.

[Jim Kelly]

You can read twenty-seven years worth of Legion stories before it gets fouled up. After you've read those, then you might have some trouble--and even then it's another seven or so years before the continuity changes really start to hurt.

As far as names being funny, yes they are funny. If you watched THE SIMPSONS and a character had a funny name, would you be upset with the cartoon for not taking itself seriously? The Legion was supposed to be funny a lot of the time. It took over the slot in ADVENTURE COMICS from the Bizarro World--with the same writer and artist--Jerry Siegel and John Forte. Forte's art style was comical and Jerry had a gift for slapstick. The other writer, Edmond Hamilton--a serious science fiction writer--also had his hilarious moments.

While they may have had some grim storylines as they went on--which influenced a lot of other super-hero comics--the funny stuff was never forgotten. And when Keith Giffen came onto the series a couple of decades later, he came up with even more gags.

The best super-hero comics have humour in them. The whole idea of super-heroes is ridiculous, so the writers and artists need to appreciate the silliness in what they're doing.

[hareluyafan1]

Because of his 12th level intelligence, Brainiac 5's mind isn't infantilized like the other four. He figures out what's been done to them and whips up some pills to return them to normal. He gets the others to take the pills by saying it's candy.

Thank you very much.

In THE LEGION COMPANION, Jim Shooter didn't speak kindly of this story. E. Nelson Bridwell called him up on the phone (being a young teen, Jim would get all his calls at his family home--imagine that, the kid talking out stories over the phone while Mom and Dad look on) and E.N.B. said that Mort wanted him to write a story where the Legion becomes tots, because stories about the characters as babies sold really well. Jim refused to do, so Nelson wrote the story himself. Shooter didn't think much of it, but it had a lot of the same Star Trek flavour as his scripts and it remains one of the best stories I ever read.

Interesting.

You can read twenty-seven years worth of Legion stories before it gets fouled up. After you've read those, then you might have some trouble--and even then it's another seven or so years before the continuity changes really start to hurt.

As far as names being funny, yes they are funny. If you watched THE SIMPSONS and a character had a funny name, would you be upset with the cartoon for not taking itself seriously? The Legion was supposed to be funny a lot of the time. It took over the slot in ADVENTURE COMICS from the Bizarro World--with the same writer and artist--Jerry Siegel and John Forte. Forte's art style was comical and Jerry had a gift for slapstick. The other writer, Edmond Hamilton--a serious science fiction writer--also had his hilarious moments.

While they may have had some grim storylines as they went on--which influenced a lot of other super-hero comics--the funny stuff was never forgotten. And when Keith Giffen came onto the series a couple of decades later, he came up with even more gags.

The best super-hero comics have humour in them. The whole idea of super-heroes is ridiculous, so the writers and artists need to appreciate the silliness in what they're doing.

Very true.

[caj]

Has anyone heard anything about the Baxter issues being collected? It seems so odd when you look at some of the collected periods of Legion history and yet these great issues from the 80s still haven't been released in a collection.

[Timber Wolf-By-Night]

No. I once heard something to the effect that Levitz went out of his way, while he was president of DC, to keep his work from being collected out of concern that it would appear he was mainly trying to benefit himself, but don't know how true that is or isn't.

[caj]

I remember reading a similar article.

But he vacated that position quite awhile ago so it's time to start collecting the Baxter issues IMO.

[Nomads1]

I remember reading a similar article.

But he vacated that position quite awhile ago so it's time to start collecting the Baxter issues IMO.

Yes. For starters, I'd love to see the wholse Sensor Girl saga collected.

Peace

[Zero Hunter]

Yes. For starters, I'd love to see the wholse Sensor Girl saga collected.

Peace

There are so many amaizng arcs in the run. Who is Sensor Girl, The Universo Project, The LSH/LSV War, Conspiracy, The Death of Superboy, and so many more. It is a crime it has not been collected except for those first 14 issues or so, and they have been out of print for a long time. It is the run most people want collected too. DC is just being stubborn at this point in not collecting it.

[kcekada]

The should at least collect the final issues featuring Giffen's artwork. As much as I didn't like the new uniforms introduced during Magic Warns, Giffen's layouts were great. I hate the 9-panel grid he used in the series that followed.

[Uncanny X-Man]

There are so many amaizng arcs in the run. Who is Sensor Girl, The Universo Project, The LSH/LSV War, Conspiracy, The Death of Superboy, and so many more. It is a crime it has not been collected except for those first 14 issues or so, and they have been out of print for a long time. It is the run most people want collected too. DC is just being stubborn at this point in not collecting it.

This 100%. I'd say all of the LOSH Baxter series is top-notch quality, Levitz was just on fire on basically every single issue and the artwork by Giffen, the late, great Steve Lightle, Greg Laroque and a great Giffen channeling Kevin Maguire towards the end is all excellent. It's all tightly connected and well worth collecting, reading and cherishing.

[Jim Kelly]

As I recall, in the late 1970s the publisher began giving better royalty rates, which helped to woo talent away from Marvel. At the time, reprints weren't a big part of the industry and they weren't putting out a lot of trade paperbacks, so the terms were generous to talent, but not likely to cost the publisher that much. Once trade paperbacks became a thing, these favourable contracts were no longer offered, but they were still on the hook to pay good money for anything that had come out during this period in the 1980s. Which means every time that they wanted to collect stories from that era, they had to get the talent to sign off on a reduced pay out. Some went for that deal, but others have held off doing that because they would be signing away their rights to more money.

I don't know if Paul Levitz or Keith Giffen have signed off on all their work being reprinted at a lower rate or not. But that could explain the hold up. And by now, it might not be worth it to the publisher to bother with doing a series reprint.

[Thor-Ul]

That was the Legion than built the fandom.

[caj]

This 100%. I'd say all of the LOSH Baxter series is top-notch quality, Levitz was just on fire on basically every single issue and the artwork by Giffen, the late, great Steve Lightle, Greg Laroque and a great Giffen channeling Kevin Maguire towards the end is all excellent. It's all tightly connected and well worth collecting, reading and cherishing.

I remember what I thought was a stand-alone issue (LSH #31) where Sensor Girl tells Invisible Kid II about an early adventure with Projectra, Karate Kid, and Ferro Lad. At the end, Jacques falls asleep and then she falls asleep as well. And it states that 'the whole world slept'. I didn't think anything about it until when the next issue arrives and you realize that the whole world had been asleep because Universo had taken over.

And then we get the amazing four-part Universo Project storyline with Saturn Girl, Chameleon Boy, Dream Girl, and Brainiac 5. Levitz was the man back in those days.