Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion Companion

Well, I bit the bullet and pre-ordered this offering from Twomorrows Publishing, despite the hefty price of $24.95. Pretty steep, even with my mailing service's 30% discount!

Even with the extensive info in the solicitation, I'm still wondering exactly what I'm gonna get. The description lists a lot of info about what's in it: an intro by Shooter, interviews with a veritable who's who of past Legion creators, rare and previously unseen artwork, a never-published Timber Wolf story by Cockrum, a never-seen Swan/Lightle collaboration and unused character designs by Cockrum.

While this is all very exciting, I have to wonder if there's more. These sound more like bonus features, a la DVDs, than what would be the meat and potatoes of the book. IMO, anything called "The Legion Companion" should have an index/checklist feature, ideally complete with plot summaries, character appearances, creators and historical footnotes where needed.

Does anyone know whether this kind of information will be included, whether from more access to info or from having read any (presumably) prior companions published by Twomorrow?

Probably the ultimate selling point that put me over the edge was the promise of 224 pages of Legion reading I couldn't get anywhere else. What worries me is whether that page count might include ads. Nowhere did it say either way that ads would or would not be included. I sure hope I'm not paying that much for a book with 1/3 of the page count consisting of ads!

Anyone else getting it?

I was really interested too, but as well as the US$25 asking price, I'll no doubt have to pay shipping fees to OZ.

Perhaps a bit much to pay without at least some indication of what's actually inside...

Is historical info like I mentioned common to other 'companions' for movies, TV series, etc.? Can't say I own any to speak of.

<edited for typo and clarification>

Is this something that will be available in comics stores, or is it mail order only? If I see it in the store I'll probably be tempted to pick one up. Of course then I'll have the advantage of looking it over to see if it's really worth it or not.

As far as I know these are only available through TwoMorrows on-line and Previews. I ordered mine as soon as they made it available. Also, I do not believe there are any ads in their books.

Once it comes in (not until September) I'll be sure to post my thoughts here. For those who have not seen it yet, the cover and general description can be found here .

Lou, do you pick all your comics off the rack, or do you reserve what you want from your comic book guy through Previews? If it's the latter, you'll need to have him order it for you (if you decide you want it). Otherwise, I doubt you'll find it on the rack just waiting for you to buy it. I guess you could also order it off the Twomorrows site, LL mentioned.

One aspect that isn't entirely clear, and was told by editor Glen Cadigan to others when asked: This book is essentially about the pre-boot Legion era. Nearly nothing is told or included about the Legion of the last ten years.

Whether that makes the title Legion Companion somewhat inaccurate, or problematic, in light of the ongoing series, is a judgment call. It will matter to strong fans of the more recent eras who might have bought this otherwise.

Yet the Cockrum cover art, and the art selections shown in the ads seen so far, are all involving the '70s-to-'80s LSH roster, so that ought to have told prospective buyers something.

Cadigan is the editor -- no "author" is credited. That suggests, to me, a collection of discrete items, of interviews, profiles, and art. (I contributed two art scans.) And nothing in the sense of a connecting narrative describing the Legion over those first 30 years. Jim Shooter provides the introduction, but that's not likely to be such a narrative history.

I've seen many other such "companion" books, owned some of them, for TV series and otherwise. Few have stinted on the checklists and reference material -- but I haven't seen any from this publisher.

No ads, by the way, unless TwoMorrows inserts a house-title promotion page in the back. This is a trade hardback, it's available through regular book retailers (if they choose to order it), and run-of-the-book ads aren't normally tolerated for such non-periodicals.

It doesn't surprise me that the preboot Legion is the subject. I thought thre might be some reboot material included, though, because Mark Waid is among the interviewed people. He had a brief stint as editor in the early TMK issues, so perhaps that will be all he's asked about. Far and away, though, his biggest Legion contribution is in the first year of the reboot.

Will you be buying the Companion, Grey? If so, what will be your main interest/reason for buying it?

I'll be buying it, probably directly from TwoMorrows. (My local comics store wants full payment in advance, and the 8.25% sales tax would be about the same as the shipping cost.)

It has some extensive Legion-related words of interest from Shooter, Waid, and many others -- but most of all from James Sherman, who's almost fallen off the edge of the comics map. It treats my own favorite era, that of Paul Levitz. It has what I think may be nearly the only depiction by Cockrum of Dawnstar, on the cover.

Also, I sent a high-res scan of Sherman's art for Dawny's entry in "Who's Who in the DCU," which I own, and editor Cadigan said he'd be using it and crediting me. Especially because it differs from what was printed in 1985! (Dawnstar's mother, as Sherman drew her originally, looked much sexier, for one thing.)

Beyond all that, Glen Cadigan has been a superb contributor to LegionPics and other forums, and when it's someone I know -- five years now on the Net -- I like to make the connection by buying his or her work.

I pick 'em off the rack. I don't even have a pull-list with the guy though I've been going there for over 3 years now. He asked me about it once, but at the time I was planning on moving out of town, so I told him not to bother. It hasn't come up again. But he always tends to order enough of what I buy, so I rarely have problems with missing issues.

I doubt I'll mail order, or ask the guy at the store to order it for me. If I happen to see it I'll grab it. If not I'll probably just forget about it. Maybe snag it on eBay or something if I run across it one of these days.

With this connection to the source, do you think he might answer some of the questions we have about the contents if you asked?

That's pretty good, Lou. Before my old comic shop closed (and I don't mean 'just' before), keeping a pull-list was absolutely necessary to get everything I needed. Legion, particularly, was not likely to be found on the racks. And anything that had the hot designation? Fuh-geddaboudit! It'd be wiped off the stands so quick, there wouldn't even be time for a speck of dust to settle! Guess that might have something to do with why it eventually went under, as much as the industry collapse....

I believe TowMorrows also published G-Force: Animated, and it had a complete episode guide, character bios, and a history of the show's creation, as well as interviews, merchandise info, etc. Of course, it also had a smaller list of episodes and characters than the Legion would, but I'm pretty sure it had fewer pages, too. It did not include ads. All in all, I was very pleased with it.

And it was available off the shelf at my store.

There was something written on-line (don't remember where) that this book focuses on pre-boot Legion to avoid legal complications with DC.

I pre-ordered it as well from my comic shop. Even if it's a collection of old interviews, I haven't read many of those, so it's bound to be interesting.

Glen Cadigan will answer anybody's questions, I'd think, not just mine -- especially with publication less than two months away.

I simply know him, before providing the art scans, from frequent postings and occasional e-mails, mostly about Dawnstar. (He likes the character a great deal ... not as fiercely as I do, but who does? {g})

Your best bet is to join LegionPics , if you haven't already, and pose your questions there. Glen's quite responsive, and he'd appreciate the attention for his book. Be sure to use the title Legion Companion in the subject line.

[Fat Cramer]
{ There was something written on-line (don't remember where) that this book focuses on pre-boot Legion to avoid legal complications with DC. }

I strongly doubt that this is the case. Even the pre-boot characters are still DC trademarks, with most names and some outfits carrying over to the post-boot Legion. It would still require trademark clearance, at least, from DC. This is definitely a for-profit item.

Copyright clearance may not be required for all the material, as the book is nearly all review and commentary (new interviews, by the way), or uses art that supplements it. I'll bet TwoMorrows is getting it, though, as well, and it would certainly need this for Cockrum's cover.

I suspect that they chose a simpler editorial outlook, seeing a Legion continuity that extended -- in fits, starts, and Perils of Pauline mishaps -- from 1958 to 1994. Dealing with the newer era would add another layer of intricacy to it all.

Besides, the pre-boot creators have fewer current projects on their comics plate, among them, than those of the last decade, who are still doing monthly books, or more of them -- for whatever publishers.

The more recent creators are far more likely to not want to risk alienating employers, or potential ones. I doubt they'd mislead, but they might not be as candid.

Maybe it's 'cause I'm drunk, but Invisible Kid II (lower right corner) is coloured caucasian!?!

Dream Girl's hair is coloured blonde!?!

Brainiac 5 is in blue instead of purple!?!

The dead Ferro Lad is pictured, but not the equally dead Chemical King!?!

Has the world gone MAD!?!

Not mad, just rushed. The coloring job you see on the Webpage's cover shot was done quickly to have something to send to Previews.

Glen Cadigan has said that a far more scrupulous and careful coloring job will be done for the actual book. That won't bring in Chemical King, but it will fix the other problems.

Thanks, mate!
I'll have a pint in your honour!
*hic*

I don't really have the time, energy or desire to rejoin LegionPics, but if anyone else who belongs to the group would address the subject to Glen, I'd really appreciate it.

I'll pose questions, then, Lardy (though you're still missing a good bet by not coming back to LegionPics). I need to know what they are, though. The ones you posed on page 1 of the topic have already been answered, or so I thought.

My main remaining question concerns whether there is "other" content in the Companion than what is advertized. In my mind a "companion" would contain a full index of Legion appearances complete with summaries, creators, character appearances, etc.

Basically, I ant to know if the advertized content (while certainly not shabby) is the sum-whole of the package.

Is there a reason why Chemical King is not included on the cover or is it just an oversight on Dave Cockrums part?

hey at least we're getting the book about the Legion...BETTER than Les Daniels' DC Comics: A Celebration of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes....where the author only had two pages to the Legion..ugh!

Looking forward to this.

The earlier All-Star Companion, exploring the JSA from their debut through the JLA/JSA team-ups turned out to be a pretty good seller, despite only having one small reference to the current book. Seems like TwoMorrows is gunning for the older reader, especially considering the price tag.

Anyone want an interview I had with Glen Cadigan Legion Companion I put in this months Interlac e-mail me at mranziety@yahoo.com. My submission is 8 pages with a couple of photos an an article on the History Channels comic book Superheros unmasked besides I'm offering it for FREE or I can e-mail it to you if you can take 1.5MB WORD attachment.
LLLater,
Kevin

Well, lil'rhino posted at the DCMB that Midtown Comics had the Legion Companion in stock, so I had my BF buy me a copy and mail it to me today.

Hopefully, I get his before I have to buy the one I ordered at my Comic Shop. It's an addiction I tell you.

D'Oh! I got my book today, Monday, Nov. 10th and didn't know it!

I guess it pays to step out the front door on your day off once in awhile.

I'll be back later for more details.

Read it twice!

You've got to love a book that has at least 6 Nighty appearances.

It's got a lot of beautiful rare art that I've never seen before.

It's packed with great Legion creator interviews. Only the last three pages (including the inside back cover) are ads for Twomorrows other publications. I'm going to spend pleasurable hours reading through it.

If anybody has a specific question about it, let me know.

My favorite bits so far:

The Levitz Interview -
There are some samples from Giffen's model sheets, circa 1983, that have some really cool unseen costume concepts. A transparent skirt for Dream Girl, Element Lad's power-induced symbol, electronic support boots for the heavier members, and Shadow Lass' hairstyle are cool!

Jimmy Janes' unused covers. A group of lady Legionnaires by Perez. Terry Shoemaker's tryout pages look better than Giffen's actual Omen story art, IMHO. Dave's first sketch of Starfire (you know him as Wildfire). Beautiful Lightle sketches sprinkled throughout the entire book. And maybe if Grell used his first sketch of Tyroc, we'd be reading about him today (no stupid booties).

I haven't gotten hold of it yet, as I'd like to bring my business to benefit one of the local comics shops, if possible, before succumbing and ordering it on line.

Would anyone mind checking to see if either of my scan-contributions made it into the book?
~ James Sherman's "Who's Who in the DCU" depiction of Dawnstar and her parents
~ Steve Lightle's convention sketch of Nura and Dawny

I never heard back from Glen Cadigan about it. He's been pretty busy, as we all have. (Or pretty sick, in my case *sigh* ... that's prevented roaming the local stores.)

Yes and yes. Dawny's Who's Who page is shown on page #117. And on page #153, we see the lovely ladies.

Grey you're listed and thanked as Steve (Greybird) Reed. Which I thought was cool. You'll be forever known as Greybird!

Dylan Clearbrook and Kevin McConnell are the only LWers (besides Steve and Dave) that I recognize as contributing. (I would have, if I had anything that no one else already has. *sigh*)

That's very cool, Grey! Now I'll have to pick up a copy (as if I wasn't going to anyway!

Oh NO, I didn't realize this was out!

And there's no way I can hit the CBS before Thursday.

Hopefully it'll still be in stock (I seem to recall they ordered several of the All-Star Companions, which I enjoyed!)

It sounds like a TON of fun!

Should I take the lack of comments on these boards that everyone's busy reading this book? Or is it that no one got one?

Tomorrow is a short day for me, Nightiekins, and I'm hitting the CBS. If it's there- I'm-a gonna get it!

So will I

Belated thanks to Gary for checking out and confirming that those artworks were in the book. I may even buy two copies!

One store in the area checked more thoroughly and told me that it was scheduled by Diamond for next Wednesday, 19 November. They were glad to order and reserve a copy for me without an advance deposit.

(I have been reluctant to make such deposits -- some stores insist on 100 percent, including tax -- because it suggests a lack of confidence in their own buying policies. And a lack of trust in frequent customers. I do, though, admit to not having a pull-box relationship anywhere, due to buying so few comics titles, and those who do sometimes aren't required to pay such deposits.)

Well, my CBS had two copies on Wednesday, one for me and the other just to sell.

If anyone has trouble finding it and/or won't/can't purchase one online, I can send you one of mine or purchase the extra at the shop for you. Just send me the cost of the book and postage.

*sound of foot tapping* And I'm still waiting for my pre-paid, pre-order from the first day they offered it. I didn't have this much trouble with my last order directly from TwoMorrows. And I would have expected they would have gotten their books out before Diamond.

i picked this up today with my other comics !!!

i've just had aquick flick through !!! lots of great interviews and promo pics !!!

there are some great NEW pictures by Terry Shoemaker of the current LEGIONNAIRES !!!

and i noticed Greybird's name at the front of the book !!!

that's cool !!! Grey !!!

Matthew.

I got it, I got it! My CBS had 2 copies left, now they only have 1!

It's BIGGGG!!!! I can't wait to read it, I'm gonna start this evening at bedtime.

Ionly flipped to one page and it was a goodie-- Lightle's (iirc) rendition of Lydda complete with beehive!

It's going to take awhile to get through it. Loved the sketch of Ferro Lad.

Picked it up at a local comic shop yesterday. I probably should have reserved a copy instead of just coming in off the street but it worked out.

There's a lot of stuff to read here. May be a day or two before I can really start commenting on it.

I'm suprised that nobody has comented on the book. I'd love to hear what everyone thinks...anybody?

Mike

i have it reserved at my shop, but it hasn't come in yet.

well i only got mine yesterday, and there's quite a lot to read in it [ i also had a stack of comics building up, that need to be read !!! ]

i don't think i'll be making any major comments at the moment ....

Matthew.

I looked through it all last night but only read a portion of it.

Levitz surprised me with his candid comments re: the current rebooted Legion.

The Bierbaum's section was informative and a little depressing. I wish I knew a way to let them know how much I liked their Giffen-less LSH run, their Legionnaires run, their Heckler and their THUNDER Agents work.

Keith Giffen looks like one of his drawings!!!

Its in the CBS waiting for me. But as I came out of the house without my wallet and had Legion 26, Fables 19 and Generations 11 to pay for I just had to leave it behind

Now I wont get back to the CBS until monday

I want it and I want it NOWWWWWWWWWW

I'm assured that I'll be receiving a contributers copy. I can't wait to see what, of all the tons of art I scanned and sent them, that they used.

Steve L.

i think i'll start on the Levitz and Giffen interviews, first !!!

i wanna read what Paul say's about the RE-BOOT, now that you have mentioned it LASH !!!

Matthew.

Levitz's comments surprised me, too. Full marks for honesty, though.

I had hoped that the whole "Put the members names in a hat" story had been an Internet rumor. But no.

Y'know what?

JIMMY JANES got a raw deal.

I'm looking at several of his finished-pencil covers (pre-inks) and they totally rock.

They should have published his entire LSH run uninked, 'cause the finished product looked weaker.

His stuff actually looks GREAT in black and white....

Just got mine....

What I find interesting (artwise)is how many pencillers prefered/liked/admired Jack Abel's inks...among them, Nasser and Sherman (who seemed to prefer them!).

I really love the book. Glen, if you're out there, you did I great job

Mike

I've been sayin!!!! On the DCMB whenever I mention this, people will actually put blank posts around mine as if to move away! I'm NOT crazy, I'm NOT crazy...I'm not the ONLY crazy, I'm not the ONLY crazy!

Well I was severely disappointed in the Giffen interviews. I expected he would be this straight-jacketed ritalyn deprived dribbling shaker with a palsy in his drawing hand but he is a very empathic character. Wait, gotta look that up. Yeah! Empathic!

Really, this is some of the best money I've spent in a long time. The drawings are a treat, as well as the insights and personalities.

Plastino is my kinda hard case. Held up for his own, and his illustrations were beautiful. I could have gone for a few more pictures of those.

Mindy Newell's description of how Giffen & Levitz got excited about ideas-- Giffen being akin to an acid-tripper and Levitz being akin to a pothead-- was very funny I thought, as were her "this is NOT an endorsement of drugs! Drugs don't help you write" comments.

She sounds like a funny lady.

I've been glued to my copy of the Companion!

Hmmmm, there's a boorish joke or two in that...

{ I've been glued to my copy of the Companion! }

Somewhere in there is a racy joke involving an episode of "Star Trek" (the original series), featuring Zefrem Cochrane ...

NOTHING comes between me & my Companion!

I was reading my Legion Companion on the subway yesterday and 4 strangers came up and asked me about it!
Unfortunately, none of them were do-able.

lil'rhino

Haven't got my copy yet, but wow, that's surprising how Sherman and Nasser felt about Abel. He certainly turned in a finished product that was a lot less faithful to their pencils than Rubinstein or McLeod's inks were. No offense to Abel (who I've read was a very nice fellow) but I always felt his inks were just a slight step up from Vince Colletta.

Blast!

Did any of them have inner beauty?

Who knows. I didn't get to look inside them. We were on a crowded subway car after all!

lil'rhino

I found Mike Nasser's comment about being contacted a couple years ago to provide the art for a Legion series written by Busiek very interesting. I wonder if this was pre- or post- Lost?

The only thing I know of a Busiek penned Legion is that Kurt once said that he was either approached or was talking to someone about the Legion and ultimately he decided he didn't want to write about this Legion because it's no longer the Legion he knew -- it's the Levitz Legion that he'd be interested in (or something like that).

Does every discussion or news thread have to have innuendo about sexual acts? *sigh*

I simply say this and pass on.

We ARE on the same board, aren't we, Grey?

In all seriousness, I HAVE to get this. Soon.

I can't find it anywhere! Suggestions?

You can order right from TwoMorrows here .

I just got mine in my subscription delivery today! It looks great-- can't wait to get home and delve into it.

Finally got mine in the mail yesterday. Hopefully this weekend will give me some time to go through it and enjoy.

Finally got mine. Only read so far most of Part 1 of Shooter. I think I'll take my time on the book and read it over the next few weeks. I love all the commissioned Swan work.

All in all, this has been a very good year for Legion. I mean, hey, besides everything else, we got Legion World too!

In December, maybe I can remember to start a "Legion Year in Review" topic or Poll for commentary and comparisons on events and publications.

Remember when many of us were wondering Coipel's departure was a momentum killing blow?

I tried six local stores on the phone, hoping to bring my custom their way, and one finally had it. Four copies of it. (As of Wednesday, three were left at Amazing Comics & Cards (amazingcomics@att.net) in eastern Long Beach, for those looking in the L.A. area.)

Simply far too, shall we say, amazing for words. In sampling the interviews, I'm already shocked that Glen Cadigan was able to so greatly vary the questions he asked. And to anticipate so much. He even asked James Sherman about one of my visual contributions (a scan of the art I own from Dawnstar's "Who's Who in the DCU" entry) months before I sent it to Glen.

The book design -- unfortunately, uncredited -- also makes the most out of including hundreds of items of variously shaped artworks and logos. And of flowing text around them in a highly readable manner. The typography is excellent. I feared too much would be squeezed into too small a physical package, but it was not.

Much more to be read this weekend, my current health permitting (also why I'm playing catch-up on threads this morning).

????

A bump for this thread, and also for a poll about the book that I posted this morning -- motivated by curiosity.

I'm of two minds on the price at this point. Sure, I'd have liked to have paid less, since I'm not . But for the amount of reading this has taken up and the articles I still have yet to read, I suppose this is equitable.

I've had it since Saturday, but I wanted to read most of the interviews in the book rather than coming here and reading it. Just wanted to get my money's worth. LOL.

Well, I finally got my copy last Thursday, and have spent much of the weekend reading it. There is so much here, it's overwhelming. The fact that Cardigan was able to track down so many creators and either interview them or reprint articles from fanzines about them is mind-boggling. And the rare and previously unpublished artwork -- what a treasure!

Shooter's first interview has been the most engaging so far (I haven't read his second, yet). Prior to him, most of the creators profiled had very little if anything to say about the Legion. They saw it mainly as a job (as Shooter and others suggest). Shooter was the first creator to truly take the Legion seriously as a fan might. And, from that point on, many of the interviewees -- Cockrum, Levitz, Giffen, etc. -- treat the Legion as a special time in their careers.

Least interesting interview/profile, so far: Murray Boltinoff. His self-written piece read like he was talking down to a bunch of eight-year-olds. Second least interesting: Cary Bates, for much the same reason. (And this is disappointing to me because Bates wrote most of the Legion stories during my formative days as a fan.) It's really too bad that Cardigan couldn't score a recent interview with Bates. It would be interesting to see how his perspective on his work has changed.

The Legion Companion is well worth the price of admission. And congratulations to Grey for making a small but very meaningful contribution to it.

Well, to be fair, those pieces were written 30 years ago, and a lot of comic book readers at that time WERE 8 years old. Outdated interviews with Boltinoff and Bates are better than nothing.

It is too bad Bates declined to be interviewed, though. He's the only significant Legion creator who did. It would have been interesting to hear his perspective on the creation of Tyroc, a character Shooter, Levitz, and even Grell all have bad things to say about.

I think the Shooter interviews are the best part of the book.

True, though judging by Cockrum's costumes, it's hard to believe that either the editor or writer thought the Legion's primary audience in 1973 was eight years old.

Soon after I posted this thread, I disappeared for a long time and never thought to revisit it to share my thoughts. Then tonight, the thread popped up in the Recent Visitors listings (such a handy function ), and I remembered!

Really, I wasn't disappointed in it at all! I had preconceptions of what a Legion Companion should be, and LC shattered them! The articles were very enlightening, and the rare art was a joy!

I'd highly recommend the Legion Companion to anyone who was a fan of the pre-Zero Hour LSH! It was well worth the $25 (even though I got 30% off and paid about $17.50)!

Scott--is it still available through Twomorrows, or is eBay the best hope for a fan who missed it when it was published?

Geez! I misspelled Glen Cadigan's name twice in my first post, above. Sorry, Glen.

But my respect for his work has only grown in the nearly four (gasp!) years since. It's an invaluable resource for fans and scholars.

I also got this book when it came out and is was a veeeeeeery interesting read. Same can be said for the Titans companion by the same author.

The background information about the creators was really immensely thrilling, I can only recommend it to true fans.

Still available from Twomorrows directly or from Amazon at a great discount.

For those wanting to browse through some of the pages, you can view them through Google Book Search .

I visited the Legion Companion thread last night skimming for pre-crisis Legion pictures,I bought the companion when it came out and loved it,being that it's the best book i've read in 20 years that featured the Legion,I also came across a post started by Steve Lightle my second favorite Legion artist (Cockrum's #1)that was before my time in Legion world that I found very interesting he posted a cool group shot of the Legion that I had never seen before and seemed like a very nice guy,what ever happened to him he has not posted on Legion world in a while it seems.