Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Long Live the Legion! Let's talk about LSH #9 (potential spoilers aplenty)...

Once again, the art was passable but less than satisfactory. I think Barry has really spoiled us with his breathtaking lines. There is such a huge difference between the artwork in the story and that in the letter column that it hits you like a slap in the face.

But the colors! My god the colors are back! SnoCone Studios did the coloring again (I'll bet our buddy mechana had a hand in it ) and it just goes to show how much difference it can make. The pages on Hellegyn are perfectly washed out for a sun scorched, desert world, while the pages elsewhere have bright, bold colors as they should, even inside HQ. Only complaint...Cos still shows up with brown hair when he should have black hair.

Pol is a cutie! That's the one panel that I really liked of story art.

Lemnos looks very "mon-el-ithic" to me in this appearance and of the same approximate age as the Legionnaires, whereas in the past he has seemmed somewhat older.

Story wise I agree with rj. This issue seemed fairly average. Minor developements to move along the plot but not much action or content.

The one part I really did enjoy was Rokk's defense of the Legion and what it stands for to the (small "l") legionnaires he encounters that have decided to leave Earth for home. He was very eloquent and it's easy to see why he really is the right "leader", particularly with the disaster that Brainy has led the Legion into on Hellegynn.

Did anyone else pick up on the comment from Elyison regarding terraforming? I think we're beginning to discover that Lemnos is in a sense "seeding" worlds...


EDIT: The lettercol is hysterical! It appears the Trom listing for Garth was a mistake by Wacker, but the the part about "rebooting continuity because of a lettercol Crisis" was a brilliant and very funny idea.

I haven't read the book yet but I feel the need to comment on this. Written correctly Garth could take out anyone, including the Big Red S himself. The brain, and therefore the body, is run on electrical impluses. Short-circuiting those impulses is easy enough to do. Ever shock yourself real good with just a static shock? Multiply that by a factor of at least a million (and that's most like a very, very low estimate) and just imagine what Garth could do to even someone who is 'invulnerable'.

I don't believe for a second that he would need anyone's help to take out Jo.

I agree with Scott with one minor correction/addendum. If I'm not mistaken, the brain and body (central nervous system, actually) are run on electro-magnetic impulses, so hypothetically, Cos could also take out anyone.

Where's Dr. Juan when you need him?

No actually they are electro chemical. The nervous system operates on the principle of ionic concentration gradients creating an electrical voltage difference between the inside and outside of a neuron.

As the voltage difference shrinks due to a chemical stiumulus opening ion channels in the cell a critical voltage is reached causing a reversal of the voltage difference and the nerve to "fire" in an Action Potential.

So electrical force is probably most important followed by chemicals. Bo-tox works by blocking a chemical recepter on neurons. Of course Cos could probably shear apart your DNA with magnetic pulses causing death within seconds.

Something else else tells me I could write really cool ways for villains to use their powers.

So Chemical King would also rock!

Sure Vee Condo could deliver death in many painful ways.

I caught the terraforming reference too. But terraforming for whom, or what. The planets they've attacked are already suitable for humanoid life, why do they need to be reformatted?

I love the letters, and also the hilarious implication that Wacker can actually reboot fans who disagree with him.

random thoughts

(1) wizard book of the month- so who is that for exactly? if you read wizard, you would know, if don't read Wizard why would it make a difference?

(2) poor Cassandra, I mean Invisible Boy, will anyone heed his warnings?

(3) letters page was good.

(4) people should be really be nicer to the Durlan. that could be trouble.

This version of Luornu is fast becoming my least favourite...a snippy, sneaky, toady spy?
Whatever happened to the plucky, modest girl-next-door persona I used to love in other incarnations?

Pol looked so much like Lyle in his first panel appearance (same red shirt and brown hair) that I was confused at first.

One BIG error in this issue in the panel where Ultra Boy seems to have Lightning Lad's hair coloring. Very confusing...UB's dialogue seems to be coming from Garth. Maybe this was just a subtle clue that it was really Cham...and he got the hair wrong when he mimicked UB.

Which is why he's my favorite after Garth.

MY BAD?! Is that all Steve Wacker has to say after 4 months of misdirection about LL's homeworld? The only suitable punishment is to exile both him AND Harvey Richards to New Jersey (the Pine Barrens would be good).

Otherwise, this issue really clicked for me, probably because of the multitude of different locales and milieus, including Mama Saturn Girl's apartment, the V.R. room, the spaceport and Planet Helegyn. There was also a sense of forward movement I hadn't found in the last few issues.

Jeanty's artwork isn't Barry caliber, but it was all right, and the coloring has improved immeasurably since Sno-Cone was hired, but in addition to the Lightning Lad/Ultra Boy confusion mentioned above, Triplicate Girl's costume is colored blue rather than purple. Tsk, tsk.

It was a pleasure to see Pol again, but the real surprise was Imra's Mama. Postboot Saturn Girl's parents were middle-class bourgeoisie, about as whitebread bland as they come. I never believed for a moment that The Shameless One came out of them. THIS lady, however, looks like she'd make a decent Mother Hussy. Move over, Winema.

Cham's a real weirdo, but I'm glad he's not as cutesy-wutesy as he first appeared.

Loved the exchange between Lemnos and Elysion. You just KNOW Elys is going to get his nass handed to him again soon. It looks like the battle on Planet Helegyn will continue next issue, in which case it's fair to speculate that all Hell is about to break loose.

I'm not certain why Lightning Lad wasn't invited to the "party" on Helegyn but coincidentally, Triplicate Girl, Phantom Girl and Invisible Kid weren't summoned either. Is Brainy planning a nasty surprise for Cos's four accomplices?

I'm inclined to agree that Triplicate Girl is becoming increasing unpleasant. Maybe she'll be killed and replaced by a better set.

I was a bit disappointed that Cos returned so soon. I really wanted him to be stranded on Braal for a good long time. Lyle's smarts, however, once again turn the tide. I'm starting to really like the Kid.

Loved the reference to Rann and Thanagar. I'd be neat if they were two of the three worlds that Lyle spoke of.

Star Boy and Light Lass were a nice choice to host the letter col. Who would you like to see next?

Cham is really alien, it actually makes some sense that a shapeshifter might have trouble understanding the sense of violation taking someone's form would cause them. Somewhat like a nudist hermit not understanding a sense of embarrassment at being naked.

I'm liking Lyle more and more. Triplicate girl does seem to be a little *itch don't she. But I grant she does seem to have a sweet naiveity as well, if you believe she's being used by Cos.

Brainiac and Dream Girl to host the next letter column please. I'd pay 3$ for the 3 pages comedic potential alone.

You have very good taste

Is Pier the re-imagined Kid Pyscho?

You wish, dear.

I SECOND THAT!!!!!!!

Quite plausable, TL. Good thinking.

I thought the art was great this issue, and the coloring, too. Did anybody else catch that Cosmic Boy's jacket was exactly like the one from the original Battlestar Galactica series(except for the color)? And I liked that Invisible Kid was depicted as being noticably younger than most of the other Legionairres, since this made his social rejection more believable.

As for the coloring, the faded view of Saturn Girl's mentally projected image was very, very well done, IMO. And I loved the literally unearthly coloring on the desert planet.

It's late for me now, so I'll comment on story and characterization tomorrow. Good night, all.

I usually stay away from hero vs. hero debates, but I'm sorry to say I think there should be a rule that anytime someone uses the phrase "if written correctly", their argument is immediately discredited. I tend to think you have to take them as they've been depicted (and if there are inconsistancies, then you have to generalize based on all appearances), not as they "should" be. Since Lightning Lad (and by extension Lightning Lass or Mekt "should" be able to defeat Superman as well?) isn't seen taking out everyone this way, I don't think we can assume he'll confront Ultra Boy with this particular attack.

Besides, I would postulate that when in "invulnerable" mode, the ultra energy in U-Boy's body might shield his neurons or whatnot. And since we can only postulate on how "invulnerability" works for Kryptonians or Daxamites, who can say if something about being "invulerable" means being less conductive of electrical current?

Okay, so I just grabbed this issue and can I just say...

...

...

...

...daaaaaymn~

That last page (before the letters, I mean) made my heart hurt a little. My poor Rokk!! *inner-sob* I also enjoyed the stuff with Imra and, dude, poor Cham. He was actually trying to help...

I am confused, however, about how 'three planets' could stop a war. But I'm guessing it'll become clearer next issue. I hope. Let's pretend...

The art was chill, nice to see Barry at the end though!! Made me that much more excited for next issue, y'know??

Did anyone else see my poor Nura sprawled like she'd just had her arse handed to her?? Sadness... I weep inside.

I can't decide if I feel bad for Lyle or if he deserves to be treated like dirt. But this much I am sure of: I really like him. I can't really explain why other than it was cool to be 'introduced' to the Legion with him, in a way. Or something. I dunno, it's late-ish and I'm rambly.

Anyway, all in all, I enjoyed this issue immensely. Was wondering what's wrong with Pol tho... since there was some implied stuff that... yah. It was nifty to see him all the same. ^_^

In conclusion... yay team!!

Agreed. No disrespect to the fill in artists but when Barry isn't around the issue hurts.

My solution? GEORGE PEREZ. We have two artists in Barry and George that put lots of detail into their work. No way either guy can do a 30 page book full time. Maybe have them rotate 3 issue arcs or something.

This is a NEW title and fill in artists so early are not a good thing IMO. Yeah in issue #34 it's not a big deal but early on methinks it is.

Hi Guys - I know George is pretty busy right now - but at least I promise to draw as many pages as I possibly can...and reveal that the next three issues are some of the most intense drawing I've ever done!
The headshots on the cover logo are chosen by Steve.
Glad you enjoyed the letters pages

The Letter Page(s) did rock. When I read that the letter from "Lightning Lad" I thought it might be from our own Utahitian (what are people from Utah called?) Lightning Lad I want to write in, but what should I talk about?!?

Ask who ate Koko....

In the battle scene, it's odd that Tasmia isn't using her shadow powers. Is she weakened by the bright sunlight?

I thought the artist put in a lot of interesting details, continuing the variety of underagers outside the Legion HQ and at the Central Port - as well as their various uses of the "L*" symbol. I liked the way he drew Dream Girl as she was in the portal to Helegyn - already shading her eyes. When Cham got punched by Ultra Boy, he turned to glop/Proty - and stayed that way, looking shocked in the next panel. Saturn Girl looked real wide-eyed innocent - not how I view her, but it worked well if she was putting one over on her mother.

If the flight rings use lots of very rare elements, I guess they're stuck this time around, since this Element Lad can't fabricate those elements for any sustainable amount of time. If the rings are so rare, why didn't Rokk turn his in when he left? Maybe he never had any intention of truly leaving?

Invisible Kid - yeah, great kid. So bright, so persistent, a true believer - he just keeps trying, doesn't slink away in the face of all those insults. What did he realize in the Plaza - something about how Brainy knew they broke into the lab, and how everyone thinks it's he who spilled the beans.

But Violet, Violet, Violet ... where art thou? Wondering about Brin Londo as well....

Funny you should bring up the letter writing thing, MEL, i wanted to know if anybody at Legion World had indeed written to the Legion Outpost column.

I tried - but i found that i am about two months behind in my queries...D'OH!

I''m now convinced more than ever that Violet is Brainy's spy and is letting poor Lyle take the rap.

"When Cham got punched by Ultra Boy, he turned to glop/Proty"

Thus my theory that this is really Proty and not Cham is proven!!!

"I''m now convinced more than ever that Violet is Brainy's spy and is letting poor Lyle take the rap."

If Violet is a badass spy it will be worth the wait. If she is "shy" and didn't want to meet her teammates because she was scared...blah. Let her hide again.