Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes A Look Back: L.E.G.I.O.N. #1-55

Yeah, I remember that too. Marvel had the some of the worst inkers back then, and most of the few good inkers they had were going into retirement.

Omg, history is repeating itself today, isn't it?

Even though DC and Marvel have both done a lot of books that I love, DC has been, still is, and will always be, the classier of the two publishers.

L.E.G.I.O.N. '93 # 49 - "Family Ties"

Main Cast: Vril Dox, Phase, Strata, Garv, Lady Quark, Lobo, Garryn Bek, Marij'n, Captain Comet, Telepath, Stealth

First L.E.G.I.O.N. Appearances Of: Kromar, Grax, Charron, Drakkan, Prolax, Electrix

Credits: Barry Kitson, plot and pencils - Mark Waid, dialogue - Robin Smith, inker - Gaspar (Saladino,) letterer - "Digital Chameleon," colorist

Plot: Using her mind-manipulation powers, Ig'nea deceives the living space nursery into allowing her to kidnap Stealth and Dox's son.

On Cairn, Garv tells some of the others that he's ill-at-ease in this organization ("I joined L.E.G.I.O.N. to save lives -- not to see them thrown away.") He's staying to help the team find Stealth, but may resign once that's done.

At Ig'nea's secret base, her line of defense assembles. She has not only re-hired the same mercenaries (Wreeth, Yatini, Zyn, Kondor, Ronzin Daark -- all previously seen in # 36) as her late father Max G'odd, but also added several more to create a formidable force.

Back on Cairn, the core members walk in on Dox just as he's attempting to negotiate with Ig'nea. She reveals, to everyone's shock, that she not only has Stealth, but also the baby. Ig'nea's ultimatum: Dox in exchange for the baby. And to show she means business, Ig'nea draws her sword and stabs Stealth.

Thoughts: In addition to being a great read, this issue also has historic value -- it's the first time that Barry Kitson and Mark Waid worked together, leading to JLA Year One, Brave & the Bold: Flash and Green Lantern, and the current LSH.

Barry Kitson not only draws outer space better than anyone else, he also designs outer space villains better than anyone else. This enormous gathering of alien evil is a feast for the eyes, and is featured on what may be the best L-20 front cover (penciled and inked by Kitson) of all time. Kitson and Waid also remember to give them all personalities as memorable as their appearances. These mercenaries should have their own mini-series. Electrix is my personal favorite.

"The Ig'nea Trilogy" is everything the G'odd story arc wasn't -- tightly paced, suspenseful, and genuinely shocking at times (especially the last page of this issue.) The next issue, the special fiftieth one, brings us a battle so big, they needed twice the amount of pages to show it. And they still have room left for a return visit from none other than Alan Grant.

L.E.G.I.O.N. '93 # 50 - "Showdown" and "L.E.G.I.O.N. '67"

Main Cast, "Showdown:" Vril Dox, Phase, Strata, Garv, Lady Quark, Lobo, Garryn Bek, Marij'n, Captain Comet, Telepath, Bertron Diib, Darius, Amon Hakk, Zena Moonstruk, Davroth Catto, Borb Borbb, Lydea Mallor, Stealth

Credits, "Showdown:" Mark Waid, writer and co-plotter - Barry Kitson, penciler and co-plotter - Robin Smith and John Stokes, inkers - Gaspar (Saladino,) letterer - "Digital Chameleon," colorist

Plot, "Showdown:" The entire team, including the recruits, heads for Ig'nea's base on Barton IV. As Dox had expected, Ig'nea has her band of superpowered mercenaries waiting for them.

There follows a tremendous battle, with casualties on both sides - Darius, L.E.G.I.O.N.'s cyborg recruit, is damaged beyond repair.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Dox pretends to surrender to Wreeth, the giant hissing spider. But once they reach the base, Dox springs his secret plan. Thanks to Borb's teleporting powers, Dox blows up Wreeth's head with a grenade.

Dox then cuts the bonds suspending Stealth's body from the ceiling, kisses Stealth, and goes off to find Ig'nea, who is monitoring him.

Ig'nea outwits Dox, and she is about to sic her pet dragon, Rebel, on him, when she is shocked to see Stealth alive. Dox knew that Stealth wasn't dead, because she has a healing factor -- when he kissed her, he sped up the process with a neurocatalyst hidden in his tooth.

Ig'nea runs, still holding Dox and Stealth's baby. Dox gives chase while Stealth fights Rebel. Stealth rips out Rebel's throat.

The battle has now reached the gas swamps. Electrix threatens to blow everybody up unless the L.E.G.I.O.N. lets her and the other mercenaries escape. Phase makes a command decision and allows it, secretly planning to track them down later.

Cornered, Ig'nea drops the baby in the swamp water and surrounds him with a ring of fire. Kondor, the flying mercenary, picks up Ig'nea, who vows that her next encounter with Dox shall be to the death.

In the aftermath, the recruits ask permission to go off on a mission to seek Darius's creator, the only one who can repair him. Garv, feeling more than ever like the team is nothing but cannon fodder for Dox's personal vendettas, makes a final decision to quit. Strata does not go with him. And Dox and Stealth finally make peace with each other, agreeing to do what's best for their baby. L.E.G.I.O.N. has achieved unity at last.

Cast, "L.E.G.I.O.N. '67:" Vril Dox, Phase, Strata, Lobo, Garryn Bek, Captain Comet, Telepath, Stealth

Credits, "L.E.G.I.O.N. '67:" Alan Grant, writer - Denis Rodier, penciler and inker - Gaspar (Saladino,) letterer - "Digital Chameleon," colorist

Plot, "L.E.G.I.O.N. '67:" A hilarious parody of DC's own pseudo-hip 60s comics ("Originally presented in 'My Grooviest Adventure # 11', July/August 1967,") recasting the L.E.G.I.O.N. members as hippies, and Pulsar Stargrave as Mr. Dark-Starr, the Adding Machine Tyrants of Colu. At the end, the heroes go on a bad acid trip and everybody is blown up when the unstable star Jimorrison goes nova.

Thoughts: The conclusion of The Ig'nea Trilogy is filled to bursting with everything that made L-20 great. And other than the loose end of the recruits going off on their quest for Darius's creator, it wraps up all of the remaining plot strands with an unusually happy ending that feels well-earned after what these characters have been through over fifty issues. And, just to bring it a little closer to reality, it's not happy for everybody. I've always thought that it was foolish of Strata to place duty over all and not follow Garv out of the team. Good lovers don't grow on trees.

As far as I'm concerned, this is the end of L-20. I'm well aware that the book continued for about twenty more issues, and was then revamped and retitled R.E.B.E.L.S., but I have no interest in any of that, just as I refuse to watch the movies "Alien 3," "Alien Resurrection," or "Alien vs. Predator," because "Aliens" felt like such a perfect conclusion.

By 1993, I was already becoming weary of comic books' tendency to keep going well past their sell-by date. I could accept it was a necessary evil of commercial art, but it didn't take away my choice to leave while the book was back on top. It seems I made the right choice, because Kitson left the book just a few issues later, severing the final link to L-20's original creative team.

Which brings me to my final point - L.E.G.I.O.N. was one of the few books introduced in the past twenty years to have sustained its original direction for fifty issues! Sure, some stories were better written or better drawn that others, but the overall integrity and consistency is remarkable. That's what makes issues # 1 - 50 special and why, as far as I'm concerned, this is...

T.H.E. E.N.D.

Okay, not quite. Because Alan Grant followed up his fun back-up story in this issue with a stand-alone tale published in # 51. Tomorrow will be my final review in this thread.

Stealth, while I'm sad that you'll only be doing one more review as you said it's good to end on a high! Your posts have been well researched, consise and informative. Your person views are well considered and insightful.

Thank you for all your time and effort in writing these for us, this is one poster who has enjoyed them thoroughly.

B

Thanks, Harbinger. I'm glad you enjoyed them. And I greatly appreciate the feedback from you and KC and BB and Cobie and others, it's made the work a lot easier and a lot more fun.

Although my L.E.G.I.O.N. reviews are almost finished, I have future plans to start a new thread on the Dr. Gym'll board, reviewing back issues of another favorite comic of mine. But first I need to finish a fanfic I have on another site, and then I'm starting my first Legion World fanfic.

L.E.G.I.O.N. '93 # 51 - "Desert Island Blues"

Main Cast: Telepath, Lobo

Credits: Alan Grant, writer - Enrique Alcatena, penciler and inker - Gaspar (Saladino,) letterer - "Digital Chameleon," colorist

Plot: On a barren asteroid, Telepath, Lobo, and their bulky, tusky prisoner are waiting for a mechanic because Lobo's space motorbike broke down.

Bored, Lobo intimidates the other two into telling him their life stories.

The prisoner was once a highly respected philosophy teacher on his home planet, until one day he snapped and tried to eat one of his students. When the other students caught them, he machine gunned them all. Then he hung a sign on his classroom door saying "Do Not Disturb - 3 Month Sensory Deprivation Experiment" and spent the whole time eating his dead students. He was caught and arrested. Lobo being Lobo, he finds this story a little tame.

Telepath is very reluctant to tell his life story, but Lobo gives him no choice.

Telepath's full name is 47 syllables long, Qi'qi for short. His telepathic, insect-like species cohabited peacefully with the only other form of life on their planet, giant mushrooms. But though they were a gentle people, they were also sexually repressed isolationists dominated by the queen of their hive.

Qi'qi was considered a radical, pushing for contact with other planets and even carrying on an affair with a female of his species, L'ol'a. When L'ol'a won the ritual tournament to see which female would be chosen as the queen's successor, they decided to escape from their planet, but had no means of transportation. Qi'qi began sending telepathic beacon signals to every spacecraft that passed by their planet. One day, a ship finally answered.

Unfortunately, the ship was that of Dagon-Ra and his band of pirates. They killed the entire hive, including L'ol'a, and forced Qi'qi to work for them. It wasn't until he betrayed Dagon-Ra to L.E.G.I.O.N. that he finally became free, but he still carries a burden of guilt for having unwillingly caused the death of his species.

Lobo being Lobo, he finds this hilarious. The prisoner starts laughing, too, which gets Lobo mad ("Nobody laughs at my buddy 'cept me, see?") and he beats the prisoner unconscious.

The repairmen finally arrive, but Lobo beats the head mechanic for not doing a good enough job last time, and beats his assistant for asking stupid questions. Now Lobo and Qi'qi have to wait until the mechanics wake up.

Thoughts: Alan Grant certainly has a darkly funny way of looking at life, though he also sees the tragedy and the rare bright moments. This helped him become one of the people who revitalized British comics (first as an editor on 2000 AD, and then as the same anthology's head writer.) When he did a lot of work for American publishers in the late 80s and early 90s, his sensibilities didn't always translate well - he did hundreds of Batman stories for DC, but only a handful were memorable, and he did little more than a few fill-in stories for Marvel. It was on L.E.G.I.O.N. that Grant really shined. No other American comic has ever carried that particular wild spirit that originated in 2000 AD across the oceans the way Grant's best work on L.E.G.I.O.N. did. Comics have evolved in the years since (whether it's been for better or worse is a whole other discussion) but L.E.G.I.O.N. is evergreen thanks largely to Grant. Without him, it would have been no more than a quickly forgotten LSH spinoff. So I think it's fitting that the last issue in my collection was written by Alan Grant on a one-issue stand-alone return visit to the book he made great. That it's drawn by the great Alcatena is the icing on the cake.

Not to take away from Barry Kitson, for giving the book a beautiful visual identity and helping Grant with the plots and keeping the book afloat after Grant's reluctant depature, or from Keith Giffen, without whose initial concept the book would have never existed. All three of them are to be thanked for giving comics readers something that was very special while it lasted.

Thanks for all the great reviews, Stealth!

Like Harbinger I'll miss reading these every morning, but issues 50 & 51 were a good place to stop as the series kind of stagnated after this.

*eagerly looking forward to your next review thread at the Dr Gym'll board*

Thank you, KC. I'm still trying to decide on which book to review on the Dr. Gym'll board, although I'm leaning towards the Alan Davis issues of Excalibur.

just the davis WRITTEN books, or all books drawn by davis?

I've been asking myself the same question. I think the ones where he was both the writer and artist are the best ones by far. What I'll probably do is start by reviewing the Excalibur graphic novel, where the team is formed, and then jump to Davis's first writer/artist issue, # 42. His first story arc referenced just about every relevant plot thread that came before, so it should work out.

I'm looking forward to reading them Stealth, I don't know all that much about Excalibur so it'll be a real treat to learn.

Personally, I'd love you to review all of the Claremont issues, but I ain't gonna do it.

Whatta ya know? JIM FERN did this month's issue of JSA. Haven't seen any of his work in ages, and after reading all these reviews, he turns up again. Much better than his old stuff-- I think-- but still, not nearly as impressive as what one comes to expect of the current JSA series.

I'll have a look when I go to the comic shop this weekend (IF the new JSA has actually arrived there on time.)

I still think Fern's work on Batman Annual # 15 is surprisingly good. I read that before I bought the L-20 back issues he drew. I couldn't believe those childish scrawls were by the same artist.

Then again, Steve Leailoha inked Batman Annual # 15. He probably added a lot that was lacking in Fern's pencils.

Stealth, thanks for two months of immensely enjoyable reviews

I'm going to miss reading them each morning, but I look forward to your next review thread in Gym'll's!

Your reviews really captured the essence of the comic, taking into account the stories, the characters, the history of the DCU & comics, and the creators themselves--a rare look at a series and all of its components.

Cheers

Thank you, Cobie.

The next review thread will probably start the first weekend in November.

Bumped because all the other big L.E.G.I.O.N. threads have been, and because someone has to stand up for Alan Grant!

You are right: he was an integral part of the team and he worked extremely well with Keith Giffen, not only here, but also in Lobo.

Yes, and he also wrote some great L.E.G.I.O.N. stories WITHOUT Giffen OR Kitson!

Boy, I wish I'd seen this thread much earlier!
There's so many comments I wouldn't have made that seem so redundent now!

This thread is just wonderful!
Thank-you for all of your time and thoughts, Stealth!
I read half of your reviews yesterday and will try to finish them this afternoon.
This is a great way to get ready for the new series!

I totally agree with your take on Grant, by the way.
I never remember having access to your kind of background information on the creative teams.
My comic shop owner just wasn't interested.
I remember after I got my first computer and went on-line to DC.
What a wonderful shock it was to meet other's with insight and information and enthusiasm!
Actually 'talking' with artists and writers was incredible!

Anyway, thanks again for all of your insight!
I'm going to find that promised Excalibur thread!~

You're welcome, Candle. Glad you like this thread. It was a labor of love.

Okay, so a long time ago I read the post-# 51 L.E.G.I.O.N. summaries at the Cosmic Teams site just to satisfy my curiosity. When I found out that Lydea Mallor actually got the spotlight immediately after I stopped reading, well, I had to read those issues. So I did, and I liked them. A variety of factors (laziness being the main one) kept me from reviewing those issues until now. In the spirit of Comic Book Review Month, I will be reviewing L.E.G.I.O.N. # 52-55.


L.E.G.I.O.N. '93 # 52 - "Past Imperfect"

Credits: Barry Kitson & Mark Waid, writers - Scott Kolins, guest penciller - Frank Percy, guest inker - Tim Harkins, letterer - Digital Chameleon, coloring

Plot: An seemingly deranged intruder at L.E.G.I.O.N. headquarters turns out to be Lydea's father. Meanwhile, Dox sends the R.E.C.R.U.I.T.S. to Acheron, where Darius first became a cyborg.

Thoughts: Mostly set-up here, but efficiently done. Kolins' rather generic work here looks nothing like his "mature" style, and that's actually good as far as I'm concerned (I'm not a Kolins fan.)

L.E.G.I.O.N. '93 # 53 - "Shadows of the Past"

Credits: Barry Kitson & Mark Waid, writers - Barry Kitson, penciller - John Stokes, inker - Gaspar Saladino, letterer - Lovern Kindzierski, colorist

Plot: Lydea's father reveals that a fanatical Talokian priest has been sacrificing children to the forces of the Shadow Cave, in hopes of creating a new champion. Lydea, Strata, Phase, and Lady Quark accompany Lydea's father back to Talok to try to remedy the situation. Meanwhile, on Acheron, the R.E.C.R.U.I.T.S. get a rude reception from the cybernetic natives until the natives realize they've brought back Darius.

Thoughts: This is more like it -- lots of good ideas and intriguing plot twists combined with Kitson's typically dazzling artwork. The scene where Lydea asserts herself to the Talokians brings a smile to my face. She had, and still has, such potential!

I loved this book. Have not read it in a while. Maybe later this year. Loved how Dox manipulated people. I actually liked Lobo in this book, because he was really up against someone he could not beat...Dox.

This book also introduced me to Capt. Comet, who I thought was great.

Ditto.

Double ditto.