posted
Note: This topic was originally entitled "How forgettable or unforgettable was SLSH/LSH between Earthwar and Levitz II/Giffen?" The discussion evolved WAY off-topic, but the energy here was so good, I didn't want to derail or dilute things, so welcome to "Lardy's Roundtable" where, hopefully, the discussions will continue to evolve and be reflected in a flexible thread title which will reflect the current direction. All posters are welcome to sit at the table and share your passion with your fellow fans!
The biggest hole for me as an LSH fan in my comics collection is the Superboy & the LSH era between where the Archives end up until Levitz returned with Giffen and began a fan-favorite run. Though I'm dying to read Earthwar and some of the things right before it and am committed to getting those someday, I've always been a little hesitant to fill in all the blanks between Earthwar and that beloved Levitz run because, well, most of what's in there looks pretty "meh", at best.
I mean, there were apparently some good Starlin issues along with more scattered Levitz material and there was the Dark Man story and Reflecto...but even those don't seem like really must-reads, from what I hear, y'know?
And of course there's at least one big red flag named Gerry Conway in there which doesn't exactly thrill.
So the question is: It's all or nothing---should I bother to fill that hole in my collection between Earthwar and Levitz/Giffen because it would be absolutely worth it...or should I fuhgedaboudit? (and of course, why or why not?)
[ October 26, 2009, 12:12 AM: Message edited by: Lardi the Incorruptible ]
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
That's the period when I first got into the Legion. The issue when Blok joined... the Reflecto stories... Maybe it wasn't all good, but there were highlights.
posted
That's when I started reading LSH, so I have a soft spot for that era. I liked the Dark Man and Legion of Super-Assassins issues (they were somewhat related and introduced Blok to the team). I also enjoyed the first part of the Reflecto issues, with Grimbor's return, but the whole Suberboy/Ultra Boy/Time Trapper plot made my head spin.
There definitely were some dogs in that run. Lord Romdur's Castle was the absolute nadir, though I'm not sure it would be viewed so poorly if it had appeared during the past 5 years. Oh, who am I kidding, it would suck no matter when it was written.
Registered: Oct 2003
| IP: Logged |
Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
Hmm... this is the biggest hole in my collection as well!
I'm waiting for the Archives the fill in the gap!
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
This was also my "prime time" for the Legion, as the Earthwar issues were my first exposure to the team, and I was in full "got to have every issue" mode! There were some stinkers for sure (Romdur and Mayavale stand out) but I enjoyed most all of it: the Psycho-Warrior, The Dark Man, even the Grimbor/Reflecto saga. I loved seeing the team go back to Smallville with Superboy to figure out what happened to him to become Reflecto, even though the payoff was "meh". Good times overall...good times!!!
-------------------- Craig C.
- Time travel stories are told in chronillogical order.
From: Santa Ana, CA | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Other "pluses": Jimmy Janes' artwork. Pat Broderick artwork. George Perez did some covers too!
"Minuses": Steve Ditko artwork. Bleah!! (not good for Legion, he drew both the Romdur and Mayavale issues, contributing to my contempt for both stories). Gerry Conway's scripts were weak.
-------------------- Craig C.
- Time travel stories are told in chronillogical order.
From: Santa Ana, CA | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Garth and Imra now back as stars in the LSH...Omega and the destruction of the HQ...Wildfire standing up to Omega...Marte Allon...Blok...The Legion of Super-Assassins...The Dark Man...Bouncing Boy standing among the dead Legionnaire statues...Wildfire explains his origin to Lamprey, Nightwind and Crystal Kid...Amazing George Perez covers...Superboy exits the Legion and the Legion takes center stage once and for all...pretty groovy Tyroc, Dawnstar, Shadow Lass, Wildfire, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl issues right after...Karate Kid smashes a giant chain imprisoning the Earth...Timberwolf at his most isolated and lonely fighting himself to become a stronger member of the LSH...the New HQ...Saturn Girl and Phantom Girl share their only sweet, sisterly moment in LSH history and yes, it is a great one...
These issues space-rawk. They are by no means perfect, as many of given examples (and there are sure more to give). Conway's stories are not that great.
But at the end of the day, they rawk. There are some great moments in there that continue to bring the Legionnaires from their Cockrum/Grell days to where they are in the Levitz saga. And its the 70's costumes, when the Legion still had a majesty and vastness to it that still felt as if it had no limits whatsoever.
Buy them
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Look at it this way, Lardy. This may be one of the weakest for the periods for the Legion, but the Legion at its worst is still a hell of a lot more fun than most comics. Blok and Dawnstar in the 20th century? Shrinking Violet going back in time and meeting baby Kal-El on Krypton? Chuck and Lu releasing a super spcace genie? Tyroc from the Brigadoon of space? Come on, now. You aren't going to get this stuff anyplace else.
I recently re-read all this stories and had a lot of fun doing it. I even enjoyed the Ditko issues. They weren't nearly as bad as I remembered.
[ March 23, 2008, 07:13 PM: Message edited by: Jerry ]
-------------------- No regrets, Coyote.
From: Missouri | Registered: Oct 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
At the same time, though, you can argue that absolutely nothing really significant happened during that run except for, perhaps, the intro of Blok! Am I right or wrong?
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Well, yeah...but he does return soon, albeit fairly rarely. What was the reason he left, anyway (other than to give the LSH the spotlight alone, obviously)?
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
Tharok's last appearance for over a decade is during this period!
Er... unless you count his appearance on the Spider-Man cartoon!
[ March 23, 2008, 07:26 PM: Message edited by: Eryk Davis Ester ]
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Hm...you can't really base an era on if anything signficant happens. One could say nothing really happens in Levitz's run from about Val's death to Superboy's death of great signficance, but I wouldn't agree with that. Its a matter of opinion. And if the stories are entertaining and good, that's what matters. I'd say about these, its 70% good, 30% 'okay'. None are really terrible.
I think its an interesting era as its the final culmination of the period of 'maturing of the Legion' that began with Cockrum. In a way, it serves as the last phase before the Levitz era begins, and thats what makes it cool.
Then again, there are very few periods of the Legion that I greatly dislike.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
If memory serves that stretch reintroduced R.J. Brande into the series didn't it? Following the Omega story the Legion's HQ was damaged for an unusually long period as Brande's fortune had been siphoned off and the UP couldn't pay for it? Considering how important a role he played in the Levitz era that was pretty significant.
From: Douglasville, GA | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
Hyperpath: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic | Subscribe To Topic
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
