Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Long Live the Legion! The End of the Legion?

Wacker said: "[...] The editors have all stunk, though." What an ungracious twit. Karen Berger, for one, the unseen half of Paul Levitz's last nine years on the Legion stories (and now head of Vertigo), might dispute that. I certainly would. With Mark Waid and KC Carlson, at least, as well.

I don't like seeing the monthly series being called off, though with the dismal economics for anything selling under 100,000 per month, I'm not really surprised.

Lord knows I've had my problems with DnA (and Coipel, earlier), but what they most recently and quite fully shaped deserves far better than this. At least it's going out with a bang -- several vigorous writers, with Lightle, Land, and others' vivid artwork.

That being said, I'd prefer to see the Legion concepts being kept up in miniseries or other arcs. DC is more likely to get creators-with-buzz returning or debuting on such series than with the grinding demands of a monthly. Especially given the, once again, huge cast.

We won't get a monthly again until writers with the determination of a Levitz -- or even the persistence of Abnett and Lanning -- are willing to stick with it, for years on end. I don't see many being willing to do so, outside of the story factories that are of the size of the Supes or X-Men titles.

Gail Simone sees "big Legion plans," and I'm sure she's right, these concepts and this cast won't be abandoned. They won't, though, be seen again very soon in a monthly series.

Well. Let the day's trouble be sufficient unto the day.

My prediction:

We WILL be seeing a new LSH title solicited within 3 months.

I would hope so, anyway.

Whatever they do, people are going to piss and moan about it anyway, so they might as well do whatever will make the book sell the best. If that means a reboot, then it means a reboot. If it doesn't, then it doesn't. The Doom Patrol has shown that they don't care how loudly people complain. DC didn't care about all the people who dropped the book with Zero Hour, so why would they care about all the people who kept buying it? Why is one group more special than the other?

Well this kind of explains the looks on the Legionnaire faces on Kevin's cover to #38. They were just told their title was cancelled again.

I just knew this was going to be a bad day today. I think I'll go back to bed.

They certainly won't completely reboot the Legion. Mark Waid's one of the architects of the post-boot Legion, so he'll most likely keep it mostly intact.

It's probably just a marketing re-launch.

It's hard to tell from a written interview, but when I read that part, I thought Wacker was being facetious.

One word I have to say about this news:

damn...

What with him being an editor himself and all, I'd agree.

Jeez.

First thing I thought when I read the news was that maybe the next regular team wasn't in gear yet, so why not pull the book and relaunch when they're set?

Now, I don't know. I just hope they know what they're doing.

2004 - the Year I Quit Comics.

(I hope this isn't true, but it's starting to feel that way. )

Yes, it's possible everything fell through, but let's be optimistic. There's plenty of evidence that a relaunch has been in the pipeline for at least six months.

-- In a November 2003 interview with Amazing Comics, Waid refers to a "top secret DC project for September of next year".
-- In December 2003, DnA announce at CBR and The Pulse they are leaving the book and talk about being cut back 3 issues to allow for creative and promotional scheduling.
-- Days later, Rich Johnston of CBR starts the Waid/Kitson rumor.
-- In early 2004, at the DCMB, Gail Simone reveals she was offered the chance to be the permanent Legion writer but the book was passed to another creative team, with her blessings. She confirms her own 4-issue arc.
-- Barry Kitson responds cordially to Legion rumors at the now-defunct Empire message board. He doesn't confirm them, but he also doesn't deny them. His 3-year exclusive contract with DC is confirmed in January 2004.
-- On a message board, a departing Legion artist (to remain anonymous) slips and names Kitson as the next Legion artist. The thread is deleted when the slip is called to his attention.
-- Dan Didio says at Newsarama, "we're going to make a change on the Legion".
-- In April 2004, Simone confirms Waid as Legion writer in a Sequential Tart interview and talks about their intersecting stories.
-- Also in April 2004, Waid does an SBC interview referring to "a relaunch with Kitson that is near and dear to their hearts." No title other than Legion has been associated with Waid and Kitson's DC project.
-- Today at The Pulse, Steve Wacker announces all of a sudden that the series in cancelled but doesn't address the Waid/Kitson rumors, nor does he talk about the franchise's future - or lack of it.
-- In the same article, Simone refers to "huge plans for the Legion", calling them "amazing".

Chime in with more positive evidence, if you have it.

It all just seems too matter-of-fact to me. That the LEGION is ending is mentioned in an almost "oh, by the way..." fashion.

I cannot, CANNOT believe news of the cancellation would be handled in that fashion without an announced relaunch quickly following.

*crosses fingers*

TC, thanks for rounding up that evidence. I do feel better now!

Kitson would love to do this, actually, and plans were in the works for something, but they got put on the back burner because of all the other work he's got.

I hope their guest shot in the new Adam Strange mini doesn't mess up what plans he has.

The weird thing is that it falls into the Legion patern. Taking the current series, Legion Lost, and Legion Worlds all together it almost adds up to the magic 60 issues. Every 60 or so issues the Legion gets changed up:
Superboy and the Legion of Super Heroes 198-258 - 62 issues
Legion of Super Heroes 259-325 - 66 issues
Legion of Super Heroes (Baxter series) 1-63 - 63 issues
Legion of Super Heroes (5YL) 1-61 - 61 issues
Legion of Super Heroes (reboot) 62-125 - 63 issues
Legionaries 1-18 - [THE ONLY EXCEPTION TO THE RULE]
Legionaries (reboot) 19-81 - 60 issues
Legion Lost 1-12 Legion Worlds 1-6 Legion 1-38 - 56 issues

If they would have just let DnA have those last 3 issues it would have been almost 60 even.

If Wacker was being facetious, then it was a duty of the writer (as I see it) to alert the readers to that, with "he joked" or something similar to convey tone. That's so strong a reporting and interviewing convention -- one long preceding smilies on the Net -- that I'm inclined to think he was, indeed, simply being ungracious, and that the interviewer let him hang himself a little.

Being so cavalier as to omit such a warning to readers, if he was kidding himself, would jeopardize an interviewer's future access. Perhaps both simply thought it unnecessary. Still, with a matter such as a book's cancellation, hard feelings are risked in many precincts, and precautions are in order.

Until there's a clarification, I stand by it: Wacker has, at least, a wacked-out sense of humor, and at worst, an ungracious attitude toward his colleagues.

I am pretty sure they will start with a new #1.

The thing is I wouldn't restart the book with Kitson. Now that they mentioned a new series I am expecting a big gun. If it is Kitson they should've just stuck with the current numbering.

Jorge

Tromium's synopsis makes for interesting reading. Given the way the industry works maybe such a long lead in time is normal?

So what are these big surprises? i look forward to seeing the next set of interviews.

I sort-of agree with this. Kitson is a fine artist, but worthy of a re-launch? I dunno.

For a relaunch, I'd want someone of Jim Lee or Alan Davis or Terry Dodson level...

But perhaps Kitson in conjunction with Waid DOES merit a re-launch...

Perhaps there's a reason Jim Lee's Legion designs were shown recently...

Legion of Super Heroes 259-325 - 66 issues
----------------------------------------------------------
Actually, Legion of Super-Heroes ran from 259-314, Tales of the LSH took over from 314-354.

Do these amazing developments necessarily indicate a new Legion comic or maybe...it's LEGION, THE MOVIE!

d'oh...should be Legion of Super-Heroes ran from 259-313, Tales of the LSH took over from 314-354 (326-354 were reprints of the first couple of dozen of the Baxter run)

Maybe they'll follow Marvel's lead and re-launch with "original numbering"

Let's see

Adventure Comics 81 issues
Action Comics 19 issues
Superboy & the Legion 62 issues
LSH v2 55 issues
Tales of hte Legion 12 issues
LSH v3 64 issues
LSH v4 125 issues
Legionnaires 82 issues
Legion Lost 12 issues
Legion World 6 issues
Legion 38 issues

So, coming in September: THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #558

Of course, that does not count annuals, specials, freak numbering, and associated limted series. And I bet my numbernig is off too, but I'm doing this off hte top of my head while at work. Feel free to correct.