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.