posted
So lets step to the next story: Action Comics ##858-863
I remember that I was terribly excited about this story during the first reading, and it still was a very good read the second time around. I really cared for the characters, and that for me is always a good sign (by comparision, I did not give a damn for the characters in "Final Crisis" - and it's that emotional bit that basically makes a story good or bad for me).
The story takes place about half a year after Lightning Saga (just one month has passed for Supes, though), and the few characters which appeared in both - Wildfire, Dawnstar and Timber Wolf - somehow have gone though costume changes. Some not for the better: I don't care much for Wildfires new look and thought Dawnstars rendition a la Ed Benes looked way better than the new look with the Bolero jacket... in general, I rather like those of the new costumes which have gone with fewer changes like Tinya and Tasmia, while the sleeveless shirts worn by Garth, Brin and Jo probably won't stand the test of time
Anyway, Gary Franks artwork I liked a lot, but I'm a fan of his stuff since his Supergirl days and really loved his Squadron Supreme run. So I'm more accustomed to his way of doing faces than many others here seemed to be (I remember there was a lot of complaining).
The setting of this story was slightly reminding me of 5YL again. What most reminded me of it was the fact that like back in 1989, you had to start to track down the heroes. What has happened since Crisis? Where are the Legionnaires, who has disappeared or died or joined? I really liked that bit. What I did not like was that so many of the team were captured, and rather easily, by the rejects, but I know this was a story element so Johns could focus on a smaller team to start with. Unfortunately, thus many of my favorites like Tinya, Jacques or Jo did not play a large part in the story.
My personal favorite was Polar Boy. I always liked his character, but not only was his part very heroic, but his character was very cleverly established as a counterpart to the other rejects which blamed the world instead of themselves. Not only is Polar Boy kind of unbreakable, he also never looses his optimism and thus shows the reader how you can deal with disappoitments. I salute that.
The story as a whole was much more consistent than Lightning Saga and provided a good start, some interesting story development and a satisfying ending. Nothing much to complain about it. Xenophobia will always be an important topic as long as mankind won't take a giant leap forward - and based on the current state of the world, I can't see this leap happening in the next 1000 years.
So all in all I'm stull very pleased with this story, which established a 31st century that to me in some ways seemed like a parallel 5YL reality. It certainly is an interesting setting for many stories to come. It resembles the classic continuity close enough that I can see it as a sequel to the 80s - and I could not see any major inconsistencies that could not easily be "written away" by a skilled storyteller.
From: Bamberg, Germany | Registered: Feb 2007
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