Long Live the Legion

    Action Comics #862 These are the final two chapters of this epic tale where Superman goes back to the future, loses all his powers, and the Legion is easily defeated by a bunch of rejects who are now called the Justice League. If I've learned anything from all the comments about these reviews, it's that this book was either the best return the Legion could have hoped for or the worst one because writer Geoff Johns didn't get the Legion right. It's either the best art in years or the worst art because penciller Gary Frank can't draw faces. No one has a problem with inker Jon Sibal, and neither do I. Let's recap. The United Planets will go to war with the Earth in four hours because Brainiac 5 can no longer slow down Colu's development of the attack plans. Superman has no powers because every sun has turned red... which breaks physics in so many different ways that I can't even process it. Most of the Legion has been captured and Earth-Man, who we know...

Action Comics #860   Here's the quick recap before we start. The 31st Century sucks. Earth has become incredibly xenophobic. The sun is red. Absorbancy Boy has become Earth-Man and hates aliens. Superman has no powers and everyone on Earth thinks he was born there. Propaganda is incredibly powerful, huh? Superman, Wildfire, Colossal Boy, and Dawnstar have to come to the old Legion HQ, now Alien Holding Camp 6736, to try to find Brainiac 5 and another Legionnaire. Chapter 3, called "Lightning and Shadows," is written by Geoff Johns, pencils by Gary Frank, and inks by Jon Sibal. We begin our story in the former Legion of Super-Heroes headquarters, where the new Justice League, made up of Legion rejects, are investigating whether or not Superman has come back to the future. The villains, led by Earth-Man, talk about how they've corrupted the legacy of Superman and how, by killing him, they will own his name and story forever. To the holding camp, where the warden is tryi...

Action Comics #858 With the success of the Lightning Saga, and the continued sales dip of the actual Legion of Super-Heroes book, DC continued with the Retroboot Legion in the pages of Action Comics. Or this is just Geoff Johns continuing to relive his childhood...  May 2007: JLA #9 - 129,243 (ranked 3rd) JSA #6 - 98,869 (ranked 16th) Supergirl & the Legion #30 - 30,757 (ranked 79th) October 2007: Action Comics #858 - 53,758 (ranked 35th) Supergirl & the Legion #35 - 27,341 (ranked 91st)  Just to put these numbers in perspective, the last time a Legion-related comic sold over 100,000 was back during volume 4. And Action Comics #858 outsold almost every issue of the Threeboot Legion - which was the best-selling Legion book since volume 4. It is very clear that DC was moving quickly towards a complete reboot of the Legion and that the regular Legion of Super-Heroes series was going to be cancelled as soon as possible. These issues are all coming out just before Jim Shoot...

Justice League of America #10 It's the final chapter of the Lightning Saga, so let's recap to begin. The seven Legionnaires in the 31st Century (Starman (Boy), Karate Kid, Dream Girl, Wildfire, Timber Wolf, Dawnstar, and Sensor Girl) have come back from the future and brought with them lightning rods to bring back to life the Last Legionnaire. Superman's waxed poetic about how much the Legion means to him. The JLA and JSA have done a great job standing around and not really doing much of anything. The plan for the Legion? To recreate that epic (and, to me, horrible) moment when they held lightning rods up to the sky, saved the life of Lightning Lad, and lost Proty forever. I'm guessing this story will end with the death of one of these Legionnaires. "The Villain is the Hero in his Own Story" is written by Brad Metzler with pencils by Ed Benes and inks by Sandra Hope. We begin in Suicide Swamp, where the JLA and JSA have just figured out that Sensor Girl used h...