I do comic reviews for a little mailing list I have, and I did the latest one about the LSH and thought some folks here might like to read what I have to say.
It's more about the state of the Legion in general than the latest issue.
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Legion of Super-Heroes #14
Writer: Paul Levitz
Artists: Fernando Dagnino & Raul Fernandez
Colors: Hi-Fi
Published by DC Comics
I have been a fan of DC's Superman spin-off the Legion of Super-Heroes for thirty-eight years. Wow. Actually putting it into words gives so much weight to that period of time. I first encountered the team in the very first issue of their very first self-titled comic book series. The one that was all reprints, with the main story detailing Command Kid's short tenure as Legion member, and the Tommy Tomorrow back-up. I was certainly fascinated with this newly discovered pantheon of powerful, costumed teens, whose adventures took place 1000 years in the future, but it took a second comic to cement my status as Legion devotee: Superboy # 193. The way Dave Cockrum drew the Legionnaires in the back-up story, "War between the Nights and Days!", older and with new, more daring costumes, made it clear that these characters had aged since the events of the story in which I had first encountered them. This represented something that I had never encountered before in the stories from my childhood, something that I found fascinating: history.
Well, almost forty years after, and any objective observer will come to the conclusion that history has not been kind to the Legion. Forget the epic conflicts they've endured and from which they've emerged victorious. Forget Earthwar, the Great Darkness Saga, the Universo Project, the Magic Wars, the Blight. Rather, it is the attempts of their publisher to bolster sales on the Legion's book, as well as their other comics, that have ravaged this team. It is the various Crises, the Pocket Universes, the Five-Year Gaps, the Glorithverses, the Zero Hours, the Reboots and Threeboots, the One-Year-Laters, and, now, the DCnU's that have taken that history that so enthralled me as a child and twisted it first one way, then another, then back again in the direction from which it came, until the shine that caught my young eye has faded and flaked away. True, some good stories have occurred during these continuity convolutions, but any attempt to argue these were the result of, and not despite, editorial meddling would be an exercise in futility. You would only spark within your audience of Legion fans the imagining of the wonderful stories of which we were robbed, the ones never given an opportunity to be told.
But I still buy practically every comic that a Legion member appears in. I still read their adventures every month. Such is the curse of the Legion fan.
The current status of the Legion comic is that of a bone, thrown to DC's former President Paul Levitz, in lieu of his previous position and what must have been an, if not unpleasant, at least uncomfortable, ouster. Before his tenure as Chief Executive, Levitz had two very popular runs as writer for the Legion, first in the mid 70's, then throughout the 80's. He has frequently attested to his fondness and long-time following of the characters, so it is easy to imagine that he specifically requested this assignment. But comic-book storytelling has evolved since he left creative for administrative, and not only has Levitz not kept up, his skills have atrophied.
Currently, the Legion is locked in a trans-stellar war with Saturn Queen and her newly recruited Legion of Super-Villains. This opposite to the LSH has been a recurring menace throughout the group's history, although its membership has varied greatly. Saturn Queen is acting as the agent of a mysterious being who inhabits a blue flame, who I suspect will be revealed as a future version of an established DC villain that is also currently bedeviling another of the publisher's super-teams. Most of the more than twenty Legionnaires are involved in this struggle. Having also thrown in the 31st century remnants of the Green Lantern Corps, it wouldn't surprise me if we see a red and blue clad former American make an appearance somewhere within the next two issues, which finishes off the storyline in time for DC's Relaunch in September.
Levitz never worked with characterization on a detailed level. His Legionnaires were defined by a single, one word trait. Timber Wolf: rebel. Ultra Boy: jock. Colossal Boy: dumb. Shrinking Violet: lesbian. But now his character brush is broad indeed, and his colors seem to change mid-stroke. Personalities are changed to suit the plot. Under Levitz's hand in the 80's, Dream Girl evolved from a background character into a strong leader of the team. Now she alternates between the roles of flighty flirt and quivering girlfriend. Wildfire used to be the cocky, abrasive member. Now he is one of those too-needy boyfriends, when he is not the victim of having his suit destroyed, which he needs to contain the energy of which he is composed. A newer supporting character inexplicably evolves from serious scientist on an urgent mission in one issue to offensive, obsessed super-powered acolyte in the next.
The story itself is just marking time with exchanged punches and other acts of violence until the requisite number of pages and issues have been filled and, hopefully, several mysterious identities and motivations can be revealed. Characters move from one planet to another without explanation. Logical opportunities within the story for explication are bypassed with mystical mumbo-jumbo. Readers are practically flat-out told which character will meet his end, an event foretold in the solicitation for a future issue, but the fact that this is a ruse of the writer and the identity of the real victim are both painfully obvious.
The quality of the artwork has matched that of the writing in this series, and this issue is no exception. Fernando Dagnino and Raul Fernandez divide the work here. Their styles are not that compatible, though. Characters appear soft and round on some pages, but hard and chiseled on others. In their defense, the artists could hardly have been inspired by the material.
Levitz will remain the writer for this series when it is relaunched in September (Volume 7 for the title). I get the feeling that DC has sacrificed these characters on the alter of administrative harmony. The corporate reasoning must be that it is very doubtful they have the ability to draw new fans, and the old fans such as myself will continue to buy any comic in which they are featured. Hence, quality must not be an issue regarding the Legion of Super-Heroes.
This series' sister title, Adventure Comics, is being replaced in DC's schedule by a new ongoing book called Legion Lost, with Fabian Nicieza writing. He's done good work in the past, but also has more than his share of disappointments. I refer you to the last half of his initial run on Marvel's Thunderbolts. The new book will take a handful of newer members of the Legion and leave them stranded in the 21st century. This is a disappointment for readers who would rather see the development of the world of the 31st century from which these characters originate. Also, DC revealed their Relaunch plans for the Legion books in a group of titles that they referred to as "teenage heroes and young superteams". This Legion is not comprised of teenagers. These characters are Superman's peers. And far from being a "young superteam", other than perhaps the Justice Society and the Seven Soldiers of Victory, the Legion of Super-Heroes is DC's oldest team, and, unlike those other two, has been appearing in new adventures regularly since their introduction 54 years ago.
"The Legion Will Abide." Surely this has become the motto of the true LSH fan. It used to be "Long Live the Legion." But its immediate future looks to be just as turbulent as the last few decades have proven for the franchise.
