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The classic Legion-era characters and costumes were such an integral part to their identity when I was growing up that it's easy to forget that they were designed by a very real and very specific artist. Somehow, I never associate Jim Mooney with the Legion (Supergirl was more of his calling card).
This makes me all the more grateful to Glen for snagging that interview with Jim for Legion Companion. It ensures that Jim's role in the development of the Legion will never be forgotten.
-------------------- The Semi-Great Gildersleeve - writing, super-heroes, and this 'n' that
From: The Stasis Zone | Registered: Jul 2003
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I was lucky to get Jim on the record as the designer of most of the Silver Age costumes, as I was with Al Plastino as the designer of the original costumes of the three founders, even if he didn't remember doing it! It would've been nice if someone had asked George Papp about his Legion costume designs (the traditional Silver Age costumes of the three founders, plus Star Boy and Mon-El), but I don't know of anyone who interviewed him about anything.
Ironically, Curt Swan, who is so closely associated with the Silver Age Legion, only designed one character: Ultra Boy. That's if the fans who created Shadow Lass and Chemical King included sketches of those characters when they submitted them to DC; otherwise, they might have been his designs.
As far as the rest of the Silver Age Legion goes, outside of Ferro Lad, Projectra, and Karate Kid (Jim Shooter), Matter-Eater Lad, Light Lass, Element Lad, Dream Girl, and Timber Wolf were all designed by John Forte, as were the entire Legion of Substitute Heroes.
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I hate to have heard this about Mr. Mooney. I was just thinking a few weeks ago that he should have been a part of the 50th anniversary in some way as he did leave an imprint on the book. I hope they acknowledge him somewhere in the near future.
From: Douglasville, GA | Registered: Jul 2003
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Mooney also designed the Dominators didn't he? i liked his Legion work and his Supergirl work. as for Shadow Lass and Chemical King... weren't they designed by Jim Shooter, who did breakdowns for his scripts that were then interpreted by Swan?
-------------------- Gorilla Nebula
From: san francisco | Registered: Jul 2003
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Shadow Lass and Chemical King were both created and designed by two fans working together: George Vincent and Mike Rickford. They submitted the characters to Mort Weisinger, and they first appeared as statues of dead Legionnaires on the cover of the first Adult Legion story. That's what Weisinger did: whenever he needed disposable characters (dead Legionnaires that hadn't been introduced yet, Legion rejects, Substitute Legionnaires) he used suggestions from fans. That's where the entire Legion of Substitute Heroes came from, including Polar Boy, who eventually went on to join the Legion himself. Shooter then introduced the characters because there was an expectation that they would join the Legion.
The Dominators were created by Jim Shooter, as were the Controllers, in his illustrated scripts.
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