I was thinking recently about comic creators who - by virtue of the time they spent on the Legion - in my mind, would be defined primarily as a "Legion Creator,"
I'm not saying that their other work is somehow less important or anything, just that, for instance, if you were to read a retrospective or something, you would expect that their Legion work would be the number one thing referenced.
The list I came up with is surprisingly short, excluding some very important names like Shooter, Cockrum, Grell, and Swan for who - as important the contributions they made to Legion history - their time as a Marvel creator (in the first two cases) or their inseparable association with other characters (Green Arrow and Warlord for Grell and Superman for Swan) very likely would outweigh the "Legion Creator" tag.
The list I would come up with is limited to just:
John Forte Paul Levitz James Sherman Keith Giffen Steve Lightle Tom and Mary Bierbaum
and... that's it!
Every other name I tried to think of either had a more significant credit that they would primarily be known for, or had too short a run on the Legion for it to be considered "significant," at least in my mind.
So, do you agree with my choices? Think that Levitz's time as an exec would outweigh his Legion contributions? Think that Giffen's Justice League is a more significant legacy than his Legion? Think that an argument could be made that Cockrum's Legion work is as significant as his new X-Men?
What creators do you think are defined by the Legion?
Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
I think you've got it pretty spot on. Perhaps Al Plastino, because co-creating the Legion IMO is his most major accomplishment (though he certainly had a long career doing Superman-related series). Meanwhile Otto Binder would be more known for his Captain Marvel family work and / or his incredible science fiction stories in MiS and Strange Adventures.
Giffen is the only one on the list that is iffy. Beyond Justice League or Legion, I think he'll be better remembered for his various funny characters that are "pure Giffen creations" like Ambush Bug, Lobo, the Heckler, Vext, etc.
Posted by Exnihil on :
Yeah, Giffen's inclusion might be my own personal bias, as I know he's had an incredibly varied career. It's just that every time he comes back for a short bit on the Legion (like in DC One Million or the recent annual) it always feels like he's coming "home".
Posted by Eryk Davis Ester on :
I think it could be argued that "Tales of the Bizarro World" would be equally important for Forte.
What about Tom McCraw?
Posted by Reboot on :
quote:Originally posted by Exnihil: Yeah, Giffen's inclusion might be my own personal bias, as I know he's had an incredibly varied career. It's just that every time he comes back for a short bit on the Legion (like in DC One Million or the recent annual) it always feels like he's coming "home".
I'm pretty sure that is indeed your personal bias. Giffen's done too much else.
What about Jeff Moy? He's done some other stuff in comics, like Star Trek (plus video game design work like X-Men Legends), but Legionnaires was his longest run, yes?
Posted by Eryk Davis Ester on :
I thought about Moy as well, but then thought the Star Trek stuff might outweigh it.
Posted by MLLASH on :
I'd add Tom McCraw for certain... not only for his writing stint but for the stunning and error-free colors he provided over the years. You can rest assured there was no yellow-haired Nura during his tenure.
Posted by MLLASH on :
There's no way I'd leave Giffen OFF the list. For sure, his contributions to comics as a whole are VAST, but you just can't leave him off such a list.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
There never seems to be any love for Greg LaRocque.
He only had two long runs -- on Legion and on Flash -- and on both he's been criminally underrated IMO. Come on -- he drew the Sensor Girl/Fatal Five Saga and the Universo Project!! Whereas on Flash, the only significant arc he drew was The Return of Barry Allen, which proved to be his Flash swan song and is arguably not as strong a story as the ones which Mark Waid immediately followed it up with. Therefore, LaRocque=Legion Creator.
Posted by Harbinger on :
I totally agree with Greg LaRocque FL, he drew beautiful and strong looking women. His Nura was exquisite!
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
Well said, Harbi. Thank you.
Posted by cleome46 on :
I could never leave out LaRocque, either. The Universo Project is a huge favorite of mine. More so than the Great Darkness Saga, actually.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
Agreed. Thank you, Cleome.
This discussion is bringing back fond memories of that thread I did where I reviewed the Sensor Girl/Fatal Five saga. Hmmm...maybe it's due for a bump.
Posted by Lone Wolf Legionnaire on :
Jimmy Janes had about a 2 year stint on the Legion even though he didn't draw all the issues during those 2 years, I can't remember him doing any other series?
Plus he did the 3 issue Secrets of the Legion of Super-Heroes mini and this nifty ad!
Posted by Exnihil on :
You're right about Jimmy Janes, LWL - It does look like the Legion was his longest sustained run, and he even lists it first on his CV:
![[sigh]](graemlins/sigh.gif)
![[Yes]](graemlins/nod.gif)
