Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Long Live the Legion! Legion panel @ Baltimore con

(Re-posted from another thread in order to get Barry's attention.)

BARRY!!!

I just read on the DCMB that its you who's holding up the re-introduction of Bouncing Boy! Apparently Mark wants him in and you don't! What can I do to make you change your mind?!?

Bouncing Boy is a fantastic character - not only is he visually probably the most original character EVER but his power is super-cool and FUN, his personality is charming and endearing and by being slightly larger in the stomach than most other heroes he lends a touch of diversity and realism to this series that most other comics don't have. Not only that but if you look at the many Legion Survivor games that have taken place on this board you'll see that Chuck, as one of the more popular members, always finishes near the top! The fans want him back!

Let's face it - Bouncing Boy is one of the most original and easily recognisable members of this team and needs to be a permanent member ASAP! Please listen to Mark and consider bringing him back.

(Someone needs to start a thread where we can all clamour for Bouncing Boy's return!)

done, Blacula! Be sure to voice your opinion there.

Alas, poor Barry, we knew him well...

Barry, think of all the rotund kids who need to see a positive representation of themselves in their comic books!!

FATTIES FOR FAIRNESS!

I heard that back in 1994. According to some people, the preboot is still there, too, but evidence would suggest otherwise.

Now you can tell us what you REALLY think of WaK's LSH!


Waid & Kitson Poll

HAH! did you all catch Mark Waid's response to the PULSE guy's "report"?
{We'll have panel coverage of that tomorrow on THE PULSE. "--Jen}
{"Cool! I hope it's more accurate and less pissy! Then again, it would pretty much have to be. "--Mark Waid}

Ha ha ha
Surely we're not that bad?

Read the rest of that thread, Frank Cho didn't think much of the reviewer either.

As usual with me, prepare your stones....

I .... I Luh
I LIKE the idea of a Hypertime Legion. I LIKE the new costumes. I LIKE the new concept.

We have to remember something I point out ad nauseum over at the DC boards. You all know it, but it bears repeating:

The ULTIMATE goal of any business is to GROW. In the comic business, growth means NEW readers. When a book hauls around 35-40 years of continuity (or baggage as some writer would say) it is very difficult (perhaps impossible) for new readers to get on board. A reboot is the easiest way of starting fresh. By doing so, a writer is allowed either the freedom to execute editorial demands (most likely), or his own whim.

We, the devoted, are usually loathe to this idea. We have spent countless years and countless dollars invested in these stories, sometimes to the point of mania! This does not and can not matter to the publisher because, if it did, comic book development would have stalled out in the late 1940's. Needless to say, we wouldn't be talking about this because comics would have long since died with that first readership. No, change and more change is the order of the day in the comics biz.

Do you think fans of the original X-Men were thrilled by the Clairemont / Cockrum book that suddleny appeared on the racks?

Let's not forget another point.

WE AS COMIC BOOK READERS ARE OWNED!!!!!

That's right, we're junkies for the stuff. Sure, a certain title may occasionally send us over the edge and we'll drop it (for me it's Doom Patrol), but more likely than not we will just replace it with another book.

Maybe not another book by that publisher, but hey, these days it's pretty much a 50-50 chance that it WILL be. And there's always tomorrow- that next new series that will rope you in like the sheep you are, the return of that character from your youth that you just KNEW wasn't REALLY dead....

YOU ARE OWNED.

Therefore, they do not have to impress you. They do, however, have to impress the person who randomly picks up that comic in Borders or wherever. That person who could easily shell out his/her expendable cash on a MMORPG or video games or movies etc. that's the target audience. Not you. Not me.

Comics= cigarettes minus the cancer.
Mwaha...Mwaha... MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! [Lightning]

I have to agree with you. During days of the Warren Ellis Forum, this point was painstakingly proven to me by his weekly "WHAT I PICKED UP THAT I LIKED/WHAT I PICKED UP THAT I'M EMBARASSED BY" lists -- we'd all put up our lists, and it WAS embarassing to see ... forced me to exchange my underoos for knit boxers and cancel MOST of my monthly books so that i can savor the better-tasting brews in other genres.

I LOVE COMICS. I just don't like bad ones, and I find that the serial production often leads to lower-quality books. I'd rather pick up the collections - they read better that way IMO (i.e. JSA, Flash, Ultimate X-Men). Of course, the market being what it is, sometimes what's good doesn't make it to trade (i.e. any more DIAL H, LEGION LOST).

Sigh.

You go, Rhino!

And FAT doesn't have to be unsexy. A little thickness works for some people.

I'd add a couple more points to equality and fairness when it comes to diversity of the human race, especially in the future (a PRIMARY selling point of the original Legion), but I'm pretty sure everyone on this board kinda knows that already...

That's because Frank's the ever-luvvin' BOMB, Ol' Yeller! His SHANNA is gonna RAWK!

A big-boned Bouncing Boy must bounce once more! To quote the poet Sir Mix-A-Lot "I like big butts and I cannot lie, all you other brothers can deny". Of course, I'd be willing to consider a trade of Bouncing Boy for a Matter-Eater Lad and oh say...an Invisible Kid?

Aint it the truth?

Who knew that Frank's a Legion fan?
That is so cool.

Yet another Baltimore report at RAC.DC.LSH, this one from an anonymous source. A few details I haven't hear before, or which put a different slant on things. I apologize for any redundancy.

"The episode starts after the Legion has been around for a year. "
(I wonder who the first leader is, if in fact there is a leader.)

"The founders won't play a large part immediately."
(Sounds like Waid will focus on the junior classmen first. Cos will have plenty of downtime to find a new girlfriend.)

"Brainiac 5 will not be an official member, to start, but WILL be in the book regularly as their science advisor".
(I already knew this, but some people might have missed it. Not sure I like it)

"Waid says we'll have anywhere from 18-25 members in the Legion when he starts."
(Contrast "18 or so" in an earlier report. I'll go with Barry's count of 20.)

"Ultra Boy will be a bigger thug than we've ever seen before, but still the Jo we know and love."
(Neanderthal Boy. Ugh!)

"Some of the bad guys will be villains. Some will merely be adults who don't want the changes the Legion intends to evoke."
(The utopians sound like a bunch of reactionary old fuddy-duddys. Where's R.J. Brande in all of this?)

"No word on villains yet. Except, we will see Persuader early."
(The Persuader again. Anyone else think he might be the point of intersection between Simone's and Waid's arcs?)

You can read the entire report HERE.

Johanna Draper Carlson (who put together the panel with husband KC Carlson) promised to post her own report in the newsgroup in a few days.

It is a bit odd that he's been figuring so prominently lately, isn't it?

He's one of my favorite villains, and I'm glad to see him -- but I'm a bit surprised that he was in the last story arc, in the upcoming one, and apparently the new Legion as well...

Re: Bouncing Boy - I never cared for him. I started reading the Legion when he had already retired. There are a ton more characters i'd rather see before him.

So, there's an actual rule that they have to have "kid" and "lad" names? What'll that mean for Wildfire, Dawnstar, Blok, Timberwolf, Gates, Tellus, Quislet, Shikari etc? New names? Will they not be official members like Brainiac 5? (at lesat he's not Brain Boy) or will they become the new wave that breaks the rules?

I like the notion of cliques based on seniority and age etc. Could be interesting as long as they don't act too high school - we still have to respect these characters after all.

Hmmm...and the Atomic Axe and the Persuader armor were tied into the 21st C. just a couple of years ago, weren't they?

I'm sure there are some people here who have already thought long and hard on this. Greybeard? What would Dawny's "lass" name be?

The reference to older Legionnaires as "upperclassmen" puts me in the mind of military school or college, an idea that doesn't fit the Legion. (Images of senior cadets playing pranks on juniors or having wild frat parties comes to mind.)

Most of the changes announced by the mysterious "Guest 1" don't sound appealing, in fact, but perhaps they'll play better in the story (assuming we can trust this anonymous source).

So it really is a "return to the roots" of the Super-Hero Club, from what I gather. And why do they have the "Lad", "Lass", "Kid", etc. names? Because that's what super-heroes do, of course!

I really excited by this!

Also of note is the news that the Legion will already be established. Guess what that means? Untold tales. As much as we might not want to see everything start from scratch again, we're gonna end up with a new origin story waiting to happen.

Untold Tales became the best part of the 5yeargap.
IMO

i always love untold tales! i'm very excited.
i think the boy/girl names are cool again, especially outside of fanboy circles. it's part of the lexicon...take an outstanding characteristic and put boy/girl/man, etc. after it and you are making a statement that everyone understands and gets the superhero reference. "Today i was Road-Rage Girl!", you get the picture. i can think of several recent examples of the boy/girl phenom...Marvel Boy; Murder Girl; Danger Girl; Hellboy...
Lad and Lass are a bit more arcane i'll admit. Kid is cool though. I don't think Waid + Kitson are forcing ALL legionnaires to have those names (Brainiac 5, Shrinking Violet, and they said Chameleon not Chameleon Boy), but it IS a starting point probably given that their inspiration is SuperMAN and SuperBOY.