Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Visionaries of Tomorrow Francis Manapul Interview: The Start of Something Big!

Based on that image, though, SOMEONE (Cockrum?) changed the color of the suit to all pink.

Kurt Busiek would be my DREAM Legion writer. Anyone who could put together all that Marvel continuity together for Avengers Forever would be the absolute perfect choice. It doesn't sound like that's what is about to happen, however. Shooter, eh? I guess there's still some people in the comics business to alienate....Although he would probably push the Legion in a direction I would like to see it head.

Saturn Girl next appeared in that costume in Superboy 184(?) the one about ME Lad and his brother. In some panels in that story it was red, in others pink. In its next appearance (Superboy 190) it was pink throughout and remained that way, though it was more purple on the cover of Sup. 197. The white gloves were also extended and made pink. The white boot stripes and white collar (shown as flesh in the posted scan) were also dropped.

I think the new costume combines her original costume and the bikini one nicely. I hope it stays red. Pink is definitely too girly for someone as no-nonsense as Imra.

I love Kurt and if he was the writer I would be happy! (though I rather wait for the Busiek/Pacheco team up!) Though I think sometimes he's too old school.

Some guys like Morrisson, Geoff Johns, or James Robinson IMO uses the various elements better thus making "almost" everyone happy.

Yep. I feel the same.

Even though Cockrum's name is referenced, visually, the only costumes that recall Cockrum's work for me our Saturn Girl, Karate Kid and a bit of Colossal Boy (if he'd lose that ugly brown leather crap) and Phantom Girl.

It's not impossible, actually.

Mark Waid and Paul Levitz announced details of the new series there several years back.

Good to know! Any other costume design decriptions/sketches you'd like to share? Were any characters harder to redesign than others?

well I really had fun with Timberwolf and Chameleon boy. And it wasn't so much which ones were harder but rather which ones I needed to pull back from. I thought some of Barry's designs were pretty cool so the tougher choices were which ones would get a more drastic change and which ones received just minor tweaks.

I've only just seen the new art and I'm rather liking it. There's a sort of Coipel-esque feel to it without it looking like it's just a copy of Coipel (being Coipel-esque is a very good thing in my book by the way). Not sure I like Shday with the reddish cape and Collosal Boy's head looks a little small but that's the only things about any of the redesigns that I have any kind of reservation about, and it's hardly a big one. I actually really like the look of Ayla with her new hair. Cham's new top is interesting and I really like the retro look of Karate Kid. Jeckie is looking pretty cool there as well. It's a really nice clean style overall and the cololuring is very nice. Hopefully we'll get the same bright colours on the book as they are here rather than it just be promo colouring.

Bevis Amen to that. The coloring over Kitson's work was so deadly dull. Everything looked so drab and lifeless with such pale coloring. I much prefer the bolder brighter colors of this picture.

Yeah Brian Buccellato did an awesome job with the colors. Keep in mind that the colors that you currently see is not the final version. There were a few coloring corrections and swaps in the final version including the addition of the electricity lightning around LLad's hands which was not done during this press release.

Collosal Boys proportions has gotten quite a bit of a response and that was kind of the point. Looking at the current run pretty much every legion member almost has the exact same physique. The writer observed this and asked me to shape up and shape down a few of the characters. So what I did was beefed up a couple of them to differentiate. I always thought Collosal Boy looked kinda weird when he was big because he was still never daunting. I wanted to give him more of an imposing look. I hope that explains a few things

Ah, that answers one of my questions -- whether the writer influenced any of your redesigns.

Were there any other changes you wanted to make that were nixed by the writer or editor?

This next question is not directed to fjm specifically, but I wonder why L-Lad and Sun Boy are the only ones who get to flash their energy all the time. Why not Ultra Boy seething with ultra-energy or Shady surrounded by a dark aura, for example? I'd like to see more of that.

Anyway, it's too bad we can't see your Mon-El, Supergirl, Cosmic Boy and Dream Girl. Hopefully, this will be rectified in the near future.

There's a B&W sketch in this week's DC Nation Page. Looks like an earlier iteration of Francis playing around with the costumes. Though most of Cos is covered up by Dan Didio's "on vacation post it" we do see his hair.

No offense, but I'm really loving this sketch . I don't think any of the costumes need to be tweaked anymore than they are in the image.

I guess I'm a bigger fan of subtle changes.

I like that sketch alot as well.

It's not too easy to see, but I think Shady is seeping some dark energy of sorts. (Either that or she's got some really long and active hair all of a sudden.)

Hmm...
I may like the sketched Ultra Boy, Chameleon, and Light Lass better, but not anyone else in particular.

More important to me is that Brainy didn't end up with the costume he has in the sketch. That makes Triplicate Girl the only hold out in the big-stripe-down-the-middle sort of uniform, and I'd be more than happy to see those done away with forever.

That is a really nice sketch, I'm also a fan of it but agree with APB, I'm glad Brainy didn't end up with that costume. I like the one in the color panel on the first page of the thread.

It is a nice sketch. I'm more interested in the meta-message, though--that DiDio would choose a sketch of the Legion. Higher profile, indeed.

I agree Quis--put a band on that boy! All things considered, nice intro to the new artist. Sorry to not see Mon-El on the roster, though.

In terms of body types, I do wish Ultra Boy and especially Karate Kid were less beefy (since their powers have nothing to do with their physiques, there's no reason someone like Star Boy couldn't be built). Also, I don't think we've ever seen Ultra Boy "seething" with Ultra Energy before. It's an interesting thought though.

I don't have a problem with Ultra Boy being beefy. I've always imagined him, usually on a team with Superboy, Supergirl or Mon-El, having some overcompensatory urge to bulk up so that he's 'strong' even when using his ultra-energies to move fast or be invulnerable. Unlike the Krypto-mites, he can't depend on his powers to do *everything* for him.

Karate Kid should definitely be leaner, IMO. He looks like a heavyweight boxer, not a martial artist. More Bruce Lee, less Jean-Claude Van Damme.

the writer wanted Ultra Boy to look more like a middle weight body builder and I agree with him. Considering the fact that he can focus his powers on one thing it's probably gonna tone up and beef up those biceps! Also the writer wanted Karate Kid to be less like Bruce Lee and bring him up a weight class. Also if anyone is interested I've posted a commission I recently did at this past Fan Expo in Toronto of Collosal Boy and Timberwolf on my blog.

First off, hey y'all. I'm a relatively new member. I've been in lurker mode since I joined, but this topic was worth coming out of the woodwork.

I'm looking forward to your work, Francis. While I was definitely a fan of the art on the LoSH up to this point, your stuff is a breath of fresh air. I like that you've accomplished what you set out to do in really giving each Legion member their own look. I love it when I can tell who a comic character is when they're not wearing their uniform...tweaking the body types of the Legion members is fine by me.

Some random comments on some members: I can see how the brown "padding" on the arms, shoulders and neck of Micro Lad can be an asset to the character...I imagine Gim's in a lot of situations where he's supporting large and heavy objects...the brown padding is functional considering that.

Shadow Lass's color tweaking is also a welcome change. I think it gives the character a pop of color, without being too much of a contradiction to her "covert" power.

I like Timber Wolf's look. As a "feral" type of character, he should have a rugged and earthy look...the messed up hair and bare feet work for me.

Really hope you keep Phantom Girl's bell bottoms. I was born in the 80's and have no desire to ever see them in the "real" world, but they worked for Tinya.

Saturn Girl looks fantastic. I thought her previous look was too "cute"...I like sexy Imra a lot more. I hope the new writer, whoever it turns out being, gives Imra and a personality to match the hot new look.

I'll make Brainy the last character I comment on. His new duds and the slicked back hair suit him perfectly.

Overall, you did a great job with the team. You managed to take iconic looks and make them fresh. I'm really looking forward to your run...the commission was great too.

Oh wow that Colossal Boy/Timberwolf piece rocks!