posted
Asking how to unite Legion fandom is sort of like asking, 'If the President of Arbro falls down in Weisinger Plaza and Antenna Lad's not there to hear him . . . "
From: Sumner, ME | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
I'm a fan of too many diferent eras, but right now 80s LSH seems like a breath of fresh air.
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada | Registered: Dec 2003
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quote:Originally posted by MLLASH: Poor LSH fans. Is any other comic book franchise fanbase as split, divided, quartered even, more than LSH?
We have preboot fans, ADV-era only fans, 5YG fans, Reboot fans, 3boot fans, Tooniverse fans, and fans who have stuck with it through ALL the eras/versions/incarnations.
Isn't there some way to unite us all?
Well, here's my idea. Of course, it's only step 1.
I just finished reading Matthew's "Legion Manifesto," to which he has linked, above. And, I must say, I agree with him wholeheartedly when he defines the Legion Question and the Legion Problem. However, I'm not certain about his Legion Answer, which would have three or more versions of the Legion running simultaneously, but not all of them would receive their own titles. According to Matthew, there would be only one primary Legion (not necessarily the threeboot version) and the rest would appear as guests, in crossovers, or possibly anthology titles.
As wonderful as all that sounds, it, too, would never satisfy all (or even most) of Legion fandom. Fans of whichever versions of the Legion are not chosen to be "official" (or perhaps "dominant" is a better word) version would not be satisfied with *their* Legion appearing on less than a regular basis.
Analogies were drawn on Matthew's website between his idea and the JSA of the '60s and '70s, who were confined to guest appearances in JLA and other comics until ALL-STAR COMICS was revived, circa 1976. There was even a suggestion (if I read it correctly) that the JLA could be viewed as a "reboot" of the JSA (i.e., the former replaced the latter). But the JSA and the JLA were always viewed as distinct entities, whatever their similarities. As such, no one thought of the JLA as the "official" or "dominant" version of the team.
So, although fans of the JSA had to wait some 13 years after the team's Silver Age revival for an ongoing series, there was no thought that they had to make do with some other version of the JSA. This would be quite different with the Legion, if you have only one "dominant" version appearing on a regular basis. If fans of Legion 247 have to wait months (or years) to read their adventures, we'd be back to square one. It would be like having civil unions instead of marriage, where certain people are entitled to some rights, but not all of them, and are therefore treated as second-class citizens.
Matthew's idea is at least the start of a discussion, though (as he acknowledges), and I don't have a better solution. I don't think it's truly possible to rally all of the Legion's fans behind one single version of the group (a situation DC itself has created, whether willingly or not). But, as Star Trek fans are seldom united in what elements of that franchise should be canon, perhaps its a self-defeating question. If DC were to tell good stories in *any* version of the Legion (yes, even the threeboot), I think I would slowly come around to accept it, as I did with the reboot.
-------------------- The Semi-Great Gildersleeve - writing, super-heroes, and this 'n' that
From: The Stasis Zone | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Well said Greg. There is no answer, in my mind, for a way to unite Legion fans. I think that's why we are the fans we are though. Loud, occasionally obnoxious and always insulted by fans of those "other" comics. But I think that's what makes us, and the Legion, so unique. We each have a version we love most and will claim to not support others but if DC would just tell a decent story and let it go without thought of how the 21st Century should affect the 31st or not, we'd have a great book on our hands.
From: Utah | Registered: Jul 2003
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
Unfortunately, DC seems to have largely abandoned the practice of telling good stories and replaced it with epic crossover tie-ins and games of "guess-what-the-continuity-is-this-week".
I used to think an All-Star Legion title held a lot of promise, but DC's bungled that line so badly I'm not putting much faith in it.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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