New Logo - New Cover Artists - Is it a new Legion? We look at The Legion #19 & 20

The Legion #19

We get two new looks for the Legion with this issue. First, the one that's obvious from the image above - a new logo and cover artists. The artists are Tony Harris, who I've been a fan of since Starman, and Tom Feister, who I know far less about. But this artwork does really stand out so I'm a fan. And this is me stating the obvious, but it's much, much, much better than last issue's.

The logo... well... I guess if they wanted something that showed off the art, it's a good choice. If you wanted something that looked futuristic, they dropped the ball on that one. Also, why have a new logo with issue 19? Are sales that bad?

Actually, sales are holding steady above 25,000 right now, so it can't be that. Is it that a new editor wants a new look? Maybe. Are they just throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks? That's more likely.

The second, and I'd argue more important, new look is a new interior art team: Chris Batista and Mark Farmer.

Batista is the first sign that editor Stephen Wacker is going in a completely different direction. Unlike most Legion artists, who get this job at either the start of their careers or after they've burned a few bridges, Batista is a working freelancer who's been making comics since 1993. And, as far as I know, he's a very nice man who gets along with everyone. While he may not have had any long runs on one book, he's been working for Marvel and DC (and others) for a decade by now.

On an aside - why is he not drawing comics now? Or is he? I couldn't find anything recent...

And Farmer - what can I say about Farmer that hasn't already been said? He's an amazing inker who's won numerous awards. He's often working with Alan Davis and we all may remember he wrote Superboy's Legion a few years before this. So he knows the Legion, knows the characters, and is really, really good at his job. I'm feeling positive about these changes.

We start with a text piece that introduces us to the Legion, the United Planets, and lets us know that Saturn Girl and Dreamer have headed to Titan to see if Dreamer's powers can be used as an early warning system. So Imra's not going to relax and get away from all the stress? I know I said this last week, but these are the moments where I really feel like DnA aren't even paying attention anymore.

The pair arrived on Titan through a threshold door and Saturn Girl is greeted by Aven, her mentor... and the guy who mentally controlled her and made sure she couldn't access her powers, but that's not important now. The two psychics start communicating through telepathy and we get an awkward moment as Dreamer is just waiting in silence. Imra apologizes because there's so much chatter going on that she forgot they weren't talking to her. Nura comments that this is the quietest world she's ever seen. Now this is a great touch and a great way to introduce the reader to the world.

We got to Legion World, where Brainiac 5 and Shikari are in a lab and the former is frustrated by both the lack of information and the fact that Shikari is sounding more and more like Wildfire. Shikari also looks very, very different from before. Olivier Coipel really made her his own and every artist after him has struggled drawing her. Brainy's been searching for Karate Kid and Ferro, who are trapped on the planet Steeple. Shikari sees the path to the planet but it's way too dangerous to get to.

Back to Titan, where Imra and Aven continue to rudely "talk" and ignore Dreamer. They finally start using their mouths to speak with her and Nura is kind enough to explain her powers and how she's improved them from working with the Khunds. For some strange reason, they're traveling by boat. Slowly. They go from a desolate riverscape to the outer edge of a gigantic city, reaching the Titanet Tower. They're going to see if they can link Nura's precog abilities to the communication system. I know they're trying to show off each planet, but why would anyone do this when there are flying ships everywhere?

As they walk through the streets, Nura gets a flash of the future - skeletons everywhere. Of course, when Imra sees her react in shock, she wonders what's up, but Nura tells her nothing is wrong and just says she's tired. Isn't the whole point of being a precog that when she sees the future, she tells everyone? Or she should tell everyone?

Back to Legion World, where Apparition is stressed out over the fact that Cub (Is that really his name? Really??) is aging a week every day and the doctors can't stop it. Kid Quantum offers to use her powers to help and, even though it'll cut the baby off from Tinya, she's willing to try it. Jazmin puts a quantum sphere around the baby, slowing down time inside it. So they're going to leave a baby, untended, in a quantum bubble. How does Cub get fed? Or changed? Or held? I'm guessing DnA don't have children at this time. Or they have children and fantasizing about taking a break from the baby.

We get a couple of final stressful moments when both Ultra Boy and Tinya's mom, the U.P. President, are mentioned. Tinya's in control here and doesn't want help from either of them. Wow, the stress with Jo has gotten much worse, hasn't it? No help from Timber Wolf, though?

On Titan, Saturn Girl and Dreamer are talking about how Nura's precog abilities may not be as good as she thought - after all, she saw Star Boy's death on Xanthu but he's still very much alive. So either she was wrong, or he's going to die in the future. How can she date him when she knows what's coming? Then Dreamer says that Imra came to Titan for rest and recuperation... so that's still a thing, I guess...

Back to Legion World... and shocker of all shockers... Violet gets dialog (okay, one line "Hey, Thom.") and she's at regular height. More importantly, we go back to that time-worn plot point where Star Boy's powers aren't working properly. He tries to lift weight using his powers, I think... when was he able to make things lighter and lift them in the air? They know he isn't Light Lass, right? But his powers fail and Vi has to get really big and save the day... but she gets two more lines, so that's okay.

Dreamer continues to be ignored on Titan, but this time it's at a special dinner where everyone is "talking" with their minds and she's just sitting there. Yet another telepath apologizes to her and we get a recap of the reason why Imra needs some rest.

I imagine some people are probably getting sick of this repeated moment where Dreamer is ignored. I really like this - they're not rude, they're just being culturally accurate. I look it as if everyone on Titan is speaking a language that Dreamer doesn't know. They'd be so used to not including guests that it would be strange for them to do so. It's moments like these where I really enjoy the DnA run.

And then we get moments like Chameleon and Sensor where I'm a little less pleased. We get only one page where Cham tries to cheer her up but she's angry, upset, and wants to stay in the dark. Cham is remarkably rude and ignorant in this scene and I'm still trying to figure out why they did this to poor Sensor.

For reasons that make no sense, Shikari is still with Brainy. They talk a little about Computo before heading off for dinner. Which is, of course, when Karate Kid gets his message through the threshold.

The next day, as the Titanet Hub, Dreamer has joined the Chief Adept to start working at linking herself to the communications system. The Adept has sensed that Nura sees a threat coming but Nura believes it to be false.

Which is when she's blasted by another image of skeletons, of someone becoming more...

And Dreamer sees him... she sees Darkseid.

If that wasn't enough of a shock to the system, Imra senses Garth, Live Wire, as she meditates.

Most definitely to be continued...

The Legion #20

We get another front text piece, this time explaining who Saturn Girl is and why she's on Titan. We also get head shots of most of the Legionnaires and, for some strange reason, they're all asleep. Glad to see they've included Umbra here - does this mean we're going to see her again?

We start off in R.J.'s Diner, where Imra is working as a waitress along with Jenni. She goes and serves a couple of Sci-Cops, one of whom is Rokk Krinn. Imra thinks he's dreamy. She's also sad she never got to become a cop - she failed the tests so she's stuck on Titan waiting tables.

Longtime readers know that I'm somewhat on the fence with these "alternate lives" tales. I wasn't a fan back in the Archie Legion days because none of them really made any sense. But other times they can be used very well to show another aspect of the character that we haven't seen before. Let's see which one this is.

With Jenni on a break, she's got to serve the Emerald Dragons table - Tinya, Jo, and Drake. She brings Drake his meal - the Zlot with the Lot - and Jo starts ogling her. Tinya is not happy and Imra knows this is going to be trouble. But that doesn't mean she's not attracted to Jo.

Once she's done her shift, and waiting for the bus, Jo shows up on his motorcycle, offering a ride home. Imra refuses, scared of him. She passes out quickly once she's back home, but R.J. calls her to cover for Luornu. He'll pay Imra extra for her to work a double shift.

Well now we know this is a dream. No way a restaurant owner would ever pay serving staff that much.

Back on shift, Imra serves Rokk, who's by himself, and makes a horrible slip of the tongue: "Let me know if you want me." He smiles and she's horrified at herself.

Jo shows up and start hitting on her. Imra just wants to be left alone. Brin, a member from a different gang called the Wolfpack, arrives and starts trouble. He and Jo start fighting. I'm guessing they're both blind as neither noticed the Sci-Cop vehicle outside or the one sitting inside. Rokk pulls his gun and orders them to stop.

R.J. pulls a gun, as does Jo, and Imra kicks Jo across the face. Brin attacks her but she uses her telekinesis to stop him midair and throw him against the wall. Everyone's stunned, but Imra finally knows the truth. She states proudly: "I'm a Legionnaire."

Now back in reality, she's falling through space as a voice talks about how clever she is and how it must show her the whole truth.

We see that Imra's hooked up to some sort of device as she wakes up, back in the other universe some Legionnaires were Lost in. We're back in the past, just after Saturn Girl tried to help Umbra with her shadow creature problems. Imra doesn't believe it until she sees Garth again, alive, and she rushes into his arms.

They head to the hydroponics section of the ship and "catch up." I could be wrong, but I think this is the first moment in Legion history where they make it abundantly clear the Garth and Imra just had sex. Garth, curious about what Imra remembers, asks one of the best questions in comics history: "Really dead or just regular super-hero dead?"

As they lay naked under a single sheet, Imra tells about everything she's dreamed: Legion World, Kid Quantum as leader, Ra's Al Ghul, and Monstress' death. Garth wonders if maybe her powers are reading what's really happening at home and that's how they'll get back.

They reach the Progenitor's Rosette and Saturn Girl is certain Element Lad is the villain they're facing. Monstress is not happy she's saying such horrible things about Jan and Imra apologizes. They fly off into space, ready to attack the villain.

Which is when we see that Imra's really hooked up to a machine, really happy to be in her fantasy. Standing above her, delighted she's resting, is Universo.

 

I'm starting to wonder if, when these books were coming out each month, readers were getting tired of the formula DnA were using. It just seems like every issue or so is just build up to the last page, where we see a new villain or threat, and then it's to be continued. I swear at least half these issues end the exact same way.

Let's start with the positive. #19 was one of the first issues where I actually felt like we were getting more than half the Legion actually doing something. Yes, it jumped around a lot and they were trying to introduce a bunch of main plots and sub plots, but we also got to see a lot of the characters in action. It kinda felt a little Paul Levitz-esque and I'm down for that. But I've always wondered if DnA were avoiding writing the entire team and this might be the first issue where they actually tried to include everyone.

The only moment I didn't like in this issue was the reveal of the villain. Yes, Darkseid has appeared before in the Legion, but this just feels like yet another moment where they're using a popular 21st Century villain instead of an actual Legion villain. It also means we're headed for more insane destruction, which they're just overdoing right now.

I was less enthused about #20. Was there a purpose to her fantasy life as a waitress? Did that help the reader either understand Saturn Girl or give any insight into where she's going? It was cute to see Legionnaires in different roles, even when they made no sense (like Wildfire eating food), but it was an empty calorie moment. Imra back Lost was better and I kinda wish that had been the whole issue. I think they could've had some fun with her "waking up" and being surprised by the changes to the timeline. In fact, if that was the entire issue, it would have made for a fascinating reveal that Imra was happiest when she was trapped on the other side of the galaxy and running everything they way she knew was best. They also could've really elaborated on her decision to "create" Apparition in her mind. A wasted opportunity, if you ask me.

Art-wise, this has been a big change and Chris Batista's artwork is a real callback to the Archie Legion. Everything's brighter, more colorful, and the characters look like teenagers again. Much like what I said about the cover, this is the best artwork we've seen on this book since Coipel left and it's not even close.

Honestly, if you told me that the editor gave the edict of making this book go back to the way it was, or just look more like everything else DC was publishing at the time, I wouldn't be shocked.

I wonder if that's why DnA seem slightly more disinterested in what's going on.

 

Our next Legionnaire in the spotlight... Color Kid!!

On the plus side, I recognize Ulu Vakk and thought he made for some interesting moments in the Legion. Yes, I recognize that his powers are... useless.

Here's one thing I found fascinating when I was doing a little research on Color Kid (thanks to the Legion of Super-Bloggers), this hero was actually suggested by a fan letter many, many issues before he actually appeared in the book.

Let me go on a tangent here...

Back in the 60's and 70's, at a time when no one knew just how valuable comic book characters are and no one worried about copyrights and royalties, DC would often solicit character suggestions from fans and use them in the comics.

If you've ever read any old Dial H for Hero comics, you'd see that the characters would use the dials and become heroes that had been sent in by fans. They're write their names and hometowns beside the pics.

I would just like to point out that all of these creators are underage and therefore, couldn't sign any contracts giving away their rights. So if DC decided to use, say, Spectro, they'd need to pay off Eric Mohn, who's probably in his 50's now.

Back to Color Kid...

I do remember him showing up in numerous adventures (and being used for comedy) often - let's be honest, he had a fairly well-designed costume and did stand out on the page. The Timber Wolf-like hair didn't hurt either.

But, I think he was probably best suited for the Subs.

 

Thanks to everyone for checking out the blog and I'm so happy to see we're getting readers from all over the world. I see you Singapore! 

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