Long Live the Legion

Legion of Super-Heroes (vol 7) #14 In order to preserve my sanity, I've decided that writing these articles is a public service. If I can prevent one person from reading these books and suffering the way I have, I've done my job. Okay, as much as I complain, LSH isn't actually that bad. Maybe it's because I'm comparing it to Legion Lost, but there are usually a few good things in each issue. Why do I suddenly feel like those are famous last words? The quick recap is that Element Lad, Chemical Kid, and Cosmic Boy are chasing after space pirates, some of which are from Braal, so Rokk struggled fighting them. And they knocked him out with a rock. The rest of the Legion is flying all over the galaxy to make sure the Fatal Five aren't reuniting. Except for Brainiac 5, who's keeping the traitorous Comet Queen sedated and stuck in a plastic tube while he tries to figure out why she helped the Dominators. Even worse, only Duplicate Damsel has a problem with this. ...

Legion of Super-Heroes (vol 7) #13 11 more issues to go before this series reaches its conclusion. These are the moments when I wonder what the editor and creative team are thinking. Legion Lost is about to be cancelled. This book's sales have been dropping every month (45,362 for issue #1 to 18,487 for this one) and I have to assume they're getting the same messages - start getting sales back or you're done. Do you start trying anything you can to get more people to read the book? Is this why artist Scott Kolins has taken over? Does writer Paul Levitz have another trick up his sleeve or is he just staring at his computer and wondering why this experience is so different from his last run on the Legion? Is he calling Keith Giffen every day? Do they have just as many "Questions" as the book itself? We begin on an asteroid mine, where Element Lad and Cosmic Boy as actually doing something, and Chemical Kid is standing behind them, wondering why they're there. Th...

Legion of Super-Heroes (vol 7) #0 No need for a recap because I believe both of these are kinda standalone issues. And that's better for me because I don't have to relive the horrors that came before this. I remember making the case on the podcast that you really couldn't tell who were writer Paul Levitz's favorite Legionnaires. And for his first and second runs on the Legion, I think that was true. On this one, I think you can safely say he'd rather write Brainiac 5 and Dream Girl over almost anyone else. I think it's also safe to say that if you were going to ask me which Legionnaire least needed to be the focus of a standalone issue, I'd pick Brainy. He was the focus of Legion: Secret Origin. And the last Dominator storyline. And most Legion storylines since... well... when did he quit in volume 3? "Brainiac's Original Sin" has art by Scott Kolins - I'm guessing Francis Portela either needed a break or is heading for brighter pastures. I...

Legion of Super-Heroes (vol 7) #12 Whew... last week was a rough one. Getting through whatever Legion Lost #11 tried to be was like slamming my head into the wall. There are very few times when I want to throw a comic against the wall, but that's where we are. I'm also starting to picture Pete Woods, tied to his art table, begging to get a good script, and being told over and over again that he signed a contract and has to finish that horrible series. But I digress. And it's not like LSH #11 was stellar either. Brainiac 5 and Dream Girl were captured by the Dominators. The Legion was ordered by the U.P. to not rescue anyone, so Star Boy put together a team of... let's be nice and say third stringers... to save his girlfriend (who seems to have more chemistry with Brainy). They, to no one's surprise, fail, and it's revealed that Comet Queen has betrayed the team and is working with the enemy I'm assuming that we're going to finally get what we've need...