Thoughts on the Cockrum/Grell Legion

I've been re-reading my Legion collection and wanted to share a few thoughts about some of the different eras. I include the Cockrum/Grell (I'm basically talking Superboy #172 to the Lightning Lad/Saturn Girl wedding) time together because I think this era marks a couple of key milestones for the group that I find fascinating. I also wanted to see what other people thought and look forward to seeing your opinions.

Here are my short form thoughts (I can expand, if anyone's interested):

Adults versus kids - this is the first time that the book starts to feel like the team members are in their 20's. In the 60's, the characters were usually drawn and written like children. Now, Cockrum and Grell make them look like adults. The stories are still very innocent, but there are attempts to make them more mature.

For the first time, characters not getting along - there are some attempts, usually only with Tyroc and Wildfire, to have characters actually disagree and struggle to work together. It's amazing that DC was so far behind Marvel here with team dynamics, but they're trying.

It's the glorious 70's - Especially when Grell is drawing the book, this screams the vibe of the 70's with every page. From the hairstyles to the costume designs to the clunky dialogue where the writer tries to add slang, it's very decade-specific. Also, some of the really bad attempts at making more diverse characters (Tyroc is painful to read) are the first signs of trying to get a bigger audience. And the whole Karate Kid series is an attempt to cash in on the kung fu craze without anyone actually having a clue as to why kung fu was popular.

The end of the short-form stories - this is really the last time we see 10 and 12-page stories in the Legion. Cary Bates and Jim Shooter do their best trying to make this work, but it's a hard read sometimes. It's such a change from modern stuff, which is so stretched out and written for a trade. Seeing very self-contained short stories is, sometimes, a refreshing change.

Amazingly beautiful art - there's one simple reason why Legion sales rose sharply in the mid-70's: Mike Grell. If you haven't seen any of his work, check it out now. 

First posted 09/2023