Long Live the Legion

Legion of Super-Heroes (Volume 6) #3   Welcome back. We've reached the third issue of the Legion and I wanted to share something... yes, more statistics! (And I'll apologize for my bad Excel work right now) As I was looking over the sales numbers, I wanted to compare to other DC books launched the same month and see if the Legion titles were dropping at a faster rate. They aren't. Both Birds of Prey (which should be a big seller because of the Batman connection) and Zatanna (not as big of a seller because she wasn't that popular in the early 2010s) drop over 10% from the first to second issue. Birds of Prey has a weird jump for issue 4 (I'm honestly not sure why) and then craters to Legion level of sales with #5 and #6. I'm starting to think this is just indicative of most DC books of the time, regardless of the characters or creative team... except for Batman. Or big crossovers. What's most fascinating about this to me is just how consistent it is. I wonder...

Legion of Super-Heroes (Volume 6) #2 To recap, the Legion has to invite Earth-Man to join the team to keep xenophobes in Earthgov happy, Earth-Man has also been given a Green Lantern ring, and Titan has been destroyed because three scientists in the Time Institute looked at the beginning of time and, as we all know from DC history, that causes massive chaos. Oh, and Saturn Girl's children have disappeared in time and, without any preparation or knowledge of where they are, Imra's grabbed a Time Bubble and is looking for them. In case you're wondering, her husband and the father of those twins, Lightning Lad, has no clue what's happening because he's off searching for his brother Mekt's long lost twin. This issue is brought to you by writer Paul Levitz, pencillers Yildiray Cinar and Francis Portela, and inkers Wayne Faucher and Francis Portela. We begin with Mon-El and Ultra Boy punching rocks in space to prevent the larger pieces of what used to be Titan from da...

  Adventure Comics #12/515 Welcome back everyone! Last week was one of my best-read articles in a long time, and we got some great comments both here and on Reddit, so I'm hoping this continues this week. Looking at this cover, I'm trying to figure out how long the female Legionnaires can stand in those obviously uncomfortable poses. Can the back really arch that way? Scott Clark is the artist on this one so I'm going to trust his anatomy class taught him this. This issue is brought to you by writer Paul Levitz, penciller Kevin Sharpe, and inkers Marlo Alquiza and Marc Deering. We begin in Smallville in the 20th Century. Judging by the idea that Superboy's tales take place 13 years before current continuity, this would be 1997. Martha and Jonathan are trying to figure out why Clark isn't home. And neither is the costume.  We, of course, know where he is. He's standing in a time bubble with Brainiac 5, excited to learn something new today. We get a great moment w...

Legion of Super-Heroes (Vol 6) #1 Welcome back! I hope everyone had a great holiday season and didn't spend it, as I did, suffering from the flu that wouldn't go away... We have the latest version of the Legion of Super-Heroes, fresh off their guest appearances in Superman, Action Comics, Justice League of America, Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds, Countdown, and the Last Stand of New Krypton (Yes, I'm saying they guest starred in Legion of 3 Worlds - they pretty much just stood around and watched the Teen Titans get resurrected). You would think that interest in the team couldn't be any higher. We're also six years removed from the last Legion first issue - that was the beginning of the Threeboot Legion. We also see the return of much-lauded Legion writer Paul Levitz. Can he bring the magic back to the team, as well as a bunch of new and older readers?   In December 2004, Legion of Super-Heroes (volume 5) by Mark Waid and Barry Kitson, sold 50,694 copies (ranked 25...

Action Comics #889 Does anyone else remember what had been happening in the last issue of Action Comics? It seems like such a long time ago, doesn't it? If my memory is correct, and it often isn't, the reborn Kryptonian god Rao is ravaging through Pakistan and is about to cause a nuclear war. The JSA is trying their best to stop it. Flamebird is fighting to stop someone who wants to date her... I think... And Nightwing has just wrapped himself in demon clothing while stuck in the Phantom Zone. He and his new demon friend emerged to save the day, disarming all the nukes. But looked fairly evil while doing it. Oh, and Lois Lane is somehow smack in the middle of everything. Okay, this is tied into the Last Stand of New Krypton with the flimsiest of strands, but let's wrap this up so no one can say I didn't get through the entire saga. This issue is brought to you by writers Greg Rucka & Eric Trautmann, penciller Pere Perez, and inker Bit. We begin in the Daily Planet, ...