posted
This certainly wasn’t the strongest issue of the arc, but, hey, middle issues of continuing stories kind of droop sometimes. We’ll see if it picks up.
I’m still having a real mixed reaction to the artwork. Some panels and characters work for me, and others don’t. Shadow Lass looks hot as hell. Polar Boy, Night Girl and Light Lass just look scary. Superman and Colossal Boy still look great. Dawnstar is growing on me. Overall, this storyline is suffering because it was over hyped. All the talk about the return of the “original Legion” created a certain expectation and sense of nostalgia on the part of a number of readers. Many were looking forward to Cockrum era costumes. Many responded positively to the sleek commercial appeal of the costumes and look of the Legion in the Lightning Saga. Good or bad, this is an abrupt change. In my opinion, it was a miscalculation on the part of the creative team. Fans were already pretty divided over the claims of the return of the “original Legion”. Now we are divided even further over the look of the team.
That being said, I’m getting more comfortable with Dawnstar’s look. The decision to make her a key player in the storyline was a good one. It was exciting to see her in the Lightning Saga simply because she is a great character who hadn’t seen any action in years. The more panel time she gets here the better.
Polar Boy was used well this issue. Having him lose an arm to Tusker makes the reject Justice League seem a little more formidable. His dialogue contrasting the reaction of the substitute heroes with the Justice League to their rejection is an important point, and adds to the feel that this is somehow the pre crisis Legion.
I hope Brainiac 5 as the bad guy is a diversion. It will be a total let down if it holds true. We’ll see what next issue brings.
-------------------- No regrets, Coyote.
From: Missouri | Registered: Oct 2003
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Dain: Each person is entitled to their opinions...
What I consider an attack or harassment is the fact that it seems increasingly difficult to post anything positive about the Legion in Action here in Legion World (and in a couple of other forums) and have a discussion about it with others who like it, because some people seem never to miss a chance to curse, bash, tear it apart and generally make things miserable for others.
I can only say that for me, I'm having difficulty jiving those two paragraphs. We're all entitled to our opinions. Great, everyone agrees but your second paragraph seems to be telling me we're all entitled to our opinions as long as they are only "positive?" I've always thought, correct me if I'm wrong, that message boards were for the enchange of ideas and opinions, positive or negative? Individual artists/writers have "fan" boards, which may have a different purpose.
I'm honestly not seeing any direct bashing,..., of your opinions here that would cause you to be miserable. You directly addressed the opinions of others saying they were "wrong."
If I for example, do not like the art only because of "bulging eyes," why's that a ruin on anyone's day?
If there's something about disparity of opinion that's bothering anyone here, they could start a thread "those that love this comic/issue/art..." Anyone posting otherwise would be clearly off-topic and there'd be bliss in the valley I think.
From: East Toledo | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm confused by the ending? Why would Brainiac 5 send a time bubble back for Superman only to be a genocial dictator type when they find him on Colu? It probably is related to Kal getting networked in to what the Coluans see or something, nothing else makes sense...
-------------------- Craig C.
- Time travel stories are told in chronillogical order.
From: Santa Ana, CA | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I think since Brainy sent the time bubble he's been brainwashed by the Coluans. Classic Legion twist...Brainy saving the day...also going crazy.
I agree with Jerry about the art. Some panels look good and some I don't care for. The eyes just make the characters look like some b&w horror comic characters. Shadow Lass looks amazing though!
This issue wasn't as good as the first two but hopefully it picks up again.
From: Tampa | Registered: Mar 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I enjoyed #860 quite a bit... how long is this storyline supposed to last? It probably won't be enough.
Some random observations--
-- I liked the effect of Dawnstar's dark eyes gone gold as she tracked Brainy's teleportation.
-- Has Polar Boy ever gotten such respect? From his torture-defying 'Long Live the Legion' (with the visible breath) to his snazzy, pain-ignoring entrance. He's like a Howard Hawks macho character, making jazzy comments while he's crafting himself an ice forearm to replace the one lost to Tusker. At first I thought it silly that he placed his flight ring on the icified hand, but it really is in perfect keeping with his dialogue and the attitude his words are expressing, isn't it?
Not too smart if his arm melts, though. But as an illustration of character at this moment , it works.
I may be in the minority, but I quite like his uniform... though it's counter to the character's traditional origin of coming from a world that's hotter than Earth. When he's not using his power, he'd be *cold*, wouldn't he?
After one great entrance, why not a pair?
And what a pair-- I love the duo of Shadow Lass and Night Girl. These two should've been operating as partners *always*. What a treat seeing them used as they are here, for me.
Shady's look is very close to the Cockrum/Grell uniform-- though skimpified, to be sure. The only thing I don't like are those high-heeled boots with the cutouts. Maybe she and Lydda use their flight rings subtly to cushion their steps, 'cause if they don't, those girls are in some serious pain after a couple of hours of running around.
I like Lydda's modified bouffant (I'm torn about whether I'd rather see it higher or not... campy or traditional?). I *don't* like those cutouts where her owl symbol's eyes and beak should be. That's just bad taste.
I'm inferring that Shady's using her power throughout the pair's intro... letting the darkness abate to show us the "Heroes Square" sign.
The two-page spread of old Metropolis reminded me of a panel in S&TLSH 205, where a mind-controlled Legion was building a space-ark for The Master. There was a similar sense of scope-- with tiny figures flying and scurrying about their business in the distance. Wanting to know who those tiny people were helped hook me on the Legion many years ago... I wonder if some new readers will get hooked here?
I notice that Bats, Supes and Wondy get statues. No Flash, GL, Hawkman, Aquaman, Atom or Black Canary? Spread the wealth a bit, DC!
Lightning Lass and Timber Wolf didn't make quite as much of an impression as did Tasmia and Lydda. I liked the detail of Ayla supplying the HQ and the underground space railroad with power.
The bit with Brainy is disturbing. I'm over this particular character as insane and don't want to read that again, so I'm hoping there's something else going on here. I'm pretty sure there's some mind-control going on-- or this is part of some stratagem or other. We'll see.
The Justice League of Earth-- I'm liking Spider Girl's sort of wicked dishabille. Her cobwebbiness and the gray/blue tones suit her. Especially as a villainess. I'd prefer the bad girl from her time as a Legionnaire, but-- comics can *always* use viable villainesses.
Something in Golden Boy's face in one of the opening panels makes me wonder if he might turn on his team and aid the LSH?
Storm Boy seems just damaged... broken, even. I wonder what his story is?
Tusker and Radiation Roy are just there.
Earthman... he continues to interest me. Will he become a viable recurring menace? I think he *could*. If he turns out to be a stooge, which I think is quite possible, then perhaps not.
I think Johns and Frank's depictions of these lesser lights as a creepy team of villains who maybe think they're heroes, maybe are knowingly corrupt, is possibly their most notable achievement in the ACTION LSH storyline.
From: Knoxville, TN | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I did really like the bit with Polar Boy, with his attitude and positive reaction to everything. He's got the, "we were rejected too, but didn't let that stop us from making a difference" when comparing the Subs to this psuedo-JLA group of Legion rejects. Between that and his question to Lydda about how "their team" is doing, I can't wait for the Subs issue to get here (I believe it is part 5??)!!! Big fan of Brek now (I can even overlook the spiky ice-hair...)!
And I know Brainy's gone crazy before, I just don't want us to go down that path again!
-------------------- Craig C.
- Time travel stories are told in chronillogical order.
From: Santa Ana, CA | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I just can't get past the way Gary Frank draws eyes...
I think this story is doing a fine job in what Johns stated he wanted to do: tell a "high school reunion" story for Superman. That's exactly what it feels like, which is not a bad thing. It is inherently nostalgic, sometimes overwhelmingly so. It does feel like a Legion story, if only because this story has been told before, but Johns is a master of retelling old stories.
I keep thinking about how I felt, in the mid-1970s, reading the Adventure-era "Adult Legion" story. From my vantage point at that time, the "real" Legion had moved on, to a new headquarters, new costumes, hipper, older tone. But here was the Superman of the mid-1960s visiting a "Leave It to Beaver" adult version of the team in a clunky new/old headquarters, the same outdated costumes, pipes, male pattern baldness, mustaches, love handles, etc. It was a fascinating case study in cognitive dissonance. Had those hip, sexy young adults of the 1970s embraced a nostalgic, conservative revival in their old age? I couldn't reconcile it. Apparently, neither could Paul Levitz, so he later wrote LSH #300 to explain it away. Don't get me wrong, I loved (and still do) the original Adult Legion story. But I think I realized at that time that these characters couldn't really grow up. Being young was an essential part of their story.
So we have, almost exactly 40 years later, a new version of that dissonance, with a "current" Legion title telling tales of the aspiring young heroes, and a Superman story showing us a glimpse of the now-adult Legionnaires Supes hung around with in his youth. This time, it's explicit that these are 2 separate Legions, at least at the moment. Like the original Adult Legion story, I am struck by the funky headquarters and the truly awful costumes. Nevertheless, reunions are fun and instructive in reminding us what we should carry from our adolescent years into adulthood. It's also instructive that nostalgia, like an overpowered rear-wheel drive muscle car of an earlier era, easily careens out of control into kitsch.
-------------------- ...but you don't have a moment where you're sitting there staring at a table full of twenty-five characters with little name signs that say, "Hi, my superpower is confusing you!"
From: Chicago, IL | Registered: Jul 2004
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Omni Craig: I did really like the bit with Polar Boy, with his attitude and positive reaction to everything. He's got the, "we were rejected too, but didn't let that stop us from making a difference" when comparing the Subs to this psuedo-JLA group of Legion rejects. Between that and his question to Lydda about how "their team" is doing, I can't wait for the Subs issue to get here (I believe it is part 5??)!!! Big fan of Brek now (I can even overlook the spiky ice-hair...)!
You know, my first exposure to the Subs was the Legion of Substitute Heroes Special and I loved them ever since. for some reason I can take a character who is used as a joke and see the wonderful concept behind them. Having had the opportunity (thank you Showcase) to actually read the Subs orgin and some other stories with them my love for them (and Polar Boy) grows for just the above reason. They were rejected, but they were still heroes and still strove to be better. That to me is probably more inspiring than the Legion proper itself.
to me the subs are like Rudy in a way. The guy who just didn't have the physical chops (whether their powers are too ineffective or not enough control) but who had more than enough heart. the entire purpose of the subs was to stand in for the Legion if they weren't there, and they didn't want any glory from it.
I've always loved Polar Boy and the subs and I have a feeling Johns does too because it is looking like they are finally getting the respect they deserve.
-------------------- Long Live the Legion!
Registered: Mar 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
I suppose I can't deny that some of Gary Frank's faces look ugly, but I still really enjoyed this issue. It was exciting, witty, and reminded me of the greatness that was the Levitz Legion.
To mention a few specific points: Seeing Ayla and Shady felt like revisiting old friends (even though they're both in the current series). To my surprise, Geoff made me feel admiration for Brek, who is one of my least favorite Legionnaires. And it was nice to see Night Girl finally get a flight ring.
-------------------- Aaron Kashtan/Sir Tim Drake
From: Providence, RI | Registered: Feb 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
And so the affirmation that in the future sleeves will become obsolete continues! Seriously though, I am rather amused. Still enjoying the arc and still loving what Geoff has done.
-------------------- Abin: You know what to do with a Cali sandwich? No but neither do Cobie and CJ! CJ: Yeah, we do. She's smiling, isn't she?
Context... who needs it?
From: Sunny Cali-- er, Planet Earth? | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I didn't really like Brek's new uniform, but Steve makes it look good somehow. I also like the ice/claw hand (not all the time though)
From: New York, NY | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I think Steve's works due to the fact that there are purple sleeves and not the interior's sleeveless look, and the pants are a better color (grayish-blue...like PB's original costume) on the cover.
[ January 01, 2008, 05:08 PM: Message edited by: Nightcrawler ]
From: San Diego, CA | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I hope that Brek's ice-prosthetic is not portrayed as a fuctional hand over the next few issues. He can mount a flight ring on its fingers, but he does not have telekinetic control over ice, and there are no nerves or muscles in there. Cool as it is for him to replace his arm that way, I hope the writers don't lose sight of that fact.
Wht is Shady even bothering to wear anything? I'm really, really not the type who undresses women with his eyes, but darned if I couldn't picture her naked when I looked at her in this issue.
Timber Wolf's personality seems to have been borrowed from Sawyer on Lost.
-------------------- Chaim Mattis Keller ckeller@nyc.rr.com Legion-Reference-File Lad
From: New York, NY, USA | Registered: Nov 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
What intrigued me was the Mon-El reference. Was a working PZ projector just lying around HQ? How would the rejects know what it was and how it worked? And how did they do it? Sneak up behind him in a Storm Boy fog? Beam him out while he napped? Pretend to be a friendly young Luthor(at least we know THAT worked once before}? One last thing--if Earth Man confronted Mon does he now have all his powers? It appears not to be. Thus, the rumors are wrong and Mon-El will show up to fight alongside Supes yet again! I wish.
Registered: Oct 2003
| IP: Logged |
Hyperpath: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic | Subscribe To Topic
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
Still enjoying the arc and still loving what Geoff has done.
