Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Baxter vs Tales Covers

Now that we've reached the end of original Tales stories in the Re-read thread, the newsstand Legion book will reprint the v3 Baxter issues. But they would have different covers. Here's that first year of v3 Baxter stories, that we've also covered in the Re-read thread, compared to the newsstand issues that are to come :-


v3 1 vs Tales 326





Baxter 2 vs Tales 327





Baxter 3 vs Tales 328





Baxter 4 vs Tales 329

Baxter 5 vs Tales 330





Baxter 6 vs Tales 331





Baxter 7 vs Tales 332





Baxter 8 vs Tales 333

Baxter 9 vs Tales 334





Baxter 10 vs Tales 335





Baxter 11 vs Tales 336





Baxter 12 vs Tales 337

Thanks for sharing these, thoth. This is the first time I've really looked at them other than glancing at them on the newsstand. I can't say the Tales covers are an improvement; in fact, they make me appreciate the chances taken with the Baxter covers. The covers of Baxter 4 and 5, in particular, would probably not have been deemed suitable for newsstand circulation.

Is this a voting thread? I'm happy to play that game!

Baxter 1 vs Tales 326: Baxter 1 (the fancy silver logo wins it but this is not an exciting enough cover for a first issue IMO)
Baxter 2 vs Tales 327: Baxter 2 (both covers are ugly as hell but Giffen's tighter composition is better)
Baxter 3 vs Tales 328: Baxter 3 (two more of the ugliest covers I've ever seen; the perspective is better on the Tales cover except for the fact that the viewer is being led to sympathize with the LSV instead of the LSH since they are the central figures being attacked with overwhelming numbers, and that doesn't fit with the cover blurb either; the two teams should have been swapped)
Baxter 4 vs Tales 329: Baxter 4 (the only truly great cover on this page IMO; although it does annoy me that it spoils the ending)
Baxter 5 vs Tales 330: Tales 330 (other than the fantastically simple preceding issue, a common theme on Giffen's covers is that the pencils have all been too loose and messy leading to ugly cluttered covers; this one is no exception, there's a great design idea there with the victorious, battle-hardened Projectra, but it's ruined by all the distracting junk on the bottom half of the page; meanwhile Lightle does a more effective job of capturing the murderous burning fury on Projectra's face)
Baxter 6 vs Tales 331: Tales 331 (the Baxter cover says "Spotlight on Lighting Lass" but Garth is the larger, more central figure?)
Baxter 7 vs Tales 332: Baxter 7 (I guess? though it looks more like a random interior panel than a cover; Reep is too big on the other one, I know it's meant to look like he's in the foreground but it just looks like he's stolen Gim's power to me)
Baxter 8 vs Tales 333: Baxter 8 (I like how it incorporates the logo; and the other cover is just too generic)
Baxter 9 vs Tales 334: Tales 334 (another crowded, messy cover but at least it's telling somewhat of a story)
Baxter 10 vs Tales 335: Tales 335 (both are bad and weird; really don't like either of them but Tales wins because it has Gim on it and this might be the only time I've seen Ordway on the Legion?)
Baxter 11 vs Tales 336: Baxter 11 (I like the fun 60s/70s throwback with Chuck in the promo for his backup tale at the bottom)
Baxter 12 vs Tales 337: Baxter 12 (Yay at seeing Superboy front and center again! he's a panel-hog when he's there but I also miss him when he's gone; the logos along the bottom are a nice touch too)

Other than the great Baxter 4, I've always just sort of glanced over the rest of these covers. Looking at them critically now, I can understand why. These are some of the most offensively boring and/or ugly covers I've ever seen on a Legion comic. Lightle is an excellent artist but covers are not his strong suit IMO. And Giffen is hit or miss but this was during the period when he was transitioning from one art style to another and that was a very "miss" time to me.

Another thing I notice about these covers is how similar they are for each matching issue. They've almost all got the exact same design concept to them (e.g. Kal and a handful of Legionnaires fight enemies in space; Dirk, Jacques and mainly Drake engage with someone in the off-panel foreground while the background hints at election shenanigans; spotlight on the founders while including a tease for a Chuck back-up story; etc.). That was probably an editorial edict and if so, it was a bad one because if the Baxter cover was poor (which many of these were IMO) then the Tales cover artist was being forced to copy an unsuccessful or ugly design (not that a talented artist shouldn't have been able to spin gold from any design though).

But compare the above covers to the Titans and Outsiders Baxter/Tales issues and I think most people will find that the latter two had much more effective and better covers, partly because their Tales artists weren't constrained by having to copy any previous designs.

For as long as I can evade Teeds it is!

I thought the cover placement of Garth was a shorthand way of reminding us how Ayla always felt like she was living in Garth's shadow.

In terms of voting, I would favor all of the Baxter covers--even the ugly ones (No. 2 being the worst). These covers took chances and offered something different. The Tales covers are very "newsstandish": the kind of covers meant to appeal to a broad segment of readers, including very young ones, without offending or challenging anyone. The Baxter covers are aimed at a more mature audience, one that will try to figure out what is going on--both in terms of action and emotion.

The emotional hooks of the Tales covers are too obvious. For example, Tales 331 shows Ayla in her new costume and front and center, without sharing the spotlight with anyone else. The blurb even tells us "she's no lightweight anymore!" The Baxter cover honors the reveal of her new costume at the end of the story. It also shows her competing with Mekt and (indirectly) with Garth. As Malvolio suggests, this story is about her stepping out of her brother's shadow (actually both brothers' shadows) and coming into her own. The Baxter cover shows the struggle and is meant to make us uncertain of the outcome; the Tales cover only shows us the victorious aftermath.

I do like the covers of 333 and 334 for their clear images and contrast in colors. However, I would still vote for the Baxter versions, as messy as they are. They make me more curious about what's inside each issue.

Nonsense, Hotski!

I heartily encourage this! And also the others you have been assigned, which are only a few years overdue! You'll have them up by the weekend, yes?

Now, regarding Legion vs. Tales covers: I'm sure I'll have more later, but what's catches me right off is the difference is the title/logo styles and how Baxter 2 is compelling.

[quote=thoth lad]Baxter 9 vs Tales 334





Baxter 10 vs Tales 335





Baxter 11 vs Tales 336





Baxter 12 vs Tales 337

Most of the Baxters don't have titles. The Tales covers do tend more to the sensational - Jan & Shvaughn kissing while the monitor board goes crazy, Wildfire battling a space beast, etc - and seem to be less true to the actual story (not that that ever mattered in comic books). Tales 330 swiped the Ayla/Mekt confrontation off of Baxter 6. Overall, I'd go with the Baxter covers, especially #4, Death of Karate Kid.

I do prefer the solo Ayla on Tales 331, but people have made good points about the presence of Garth and Mekt on the Baxter 6 version.

As a young one, I remember the Baxter covers attracted me more because of the brighter colors. The art also seemed sharper because of that.

I originally bought the Tales of the Legion that ran original stories, and bought the Baxter editions as my regular fix. Only recently, thanks to Facebook and Tumblr users posting old covers, did I realize that some of those Tales reprint issues had great covers. Until such time as I become custodian of the Infinite Library on Baaldur, I simply don't have the space to buy and store those old Tales for their covers. Sigh.

I bought the Tales issues only. Paying more for a fancier version of the same story never crossed my mind. Those pennies could go towards another book.
But mainly it was because I could source Tales locally, while the Baxter would be in the city shops. By the time I was buying in specialty shops, I had got past most of that year gap, at least.
I probably didn't want to switch formats either, preferring to keep to my Tales issues.