Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Long Live the Legion! Supergirl and the Legion of Super-heroes #34 (spoilers)

I guess each artist has his own particular style and feel to his/her work. And we as readers do as well.

I never liked Colon's work on Iron Man, i think it was (gettin old and dating myself..well, not romantic dating, just age placement...ah, you know what i mean). Colon's work seemed more suited to the esoteric, the ethereal, the slightly mystic, too me. I think Dennis' work seems to fall along those lines for my taste. That isn't a shot at you, Dennis, I don't know you and you are good enough to a) have a shot on the book and b) come here and interact with us. And truthfully, i would take your work over the "posing rather than storytelling" art we had for years in the industry anytime. I guess that with legion, i just find the swan, grell, "great darkness saga" era for giffen most suited to my tastes on Legion.

Taste is subjective, after all.

"So I'll take it that the images of Cosmic Boy that appeared on Brainy and Vi (as pointed out by jimgallagher) on the first page were printing errors, too. Thats gotta be irritating to you, especially considering some of the complaints you're recieving here."

No comment. Well, one. On the one hand, I've come to understand why some guys liek Frank Miller, and Darwyn Cooke have gotten a reputation for being difficult for trying to get their books to look their "best" (best being their poitn of view.) Think of it this way, every book I draw, if its miscolored, misprinted or mishandled by anyone other than me, makes ME look bad and can possibly have consequences to MY career. On the other other hand, plenty of times pencillers are saved by better inking, coloring etc. and they reap the rewards so maybe it all balances out. But regardless, I would never leave anyone out to dry in public because we are a team.


"Another question: the President of Lallor reminded nme of the Baldwin brother (Adam?) who was in the cast of "Firefly", was this intentional? "

Yes.

"Taste is subjective, after all."

It is, and there are artists who are solid skilled people whose work I just don't like and it doesn't mean that they're not good. I try to remind myself of this if people don't ike my work.

I finally read it! The B/C run of LSH has found itself closer and closer to the bottom of my to-be-read pile, where my favorite titles reside!

The cover: It would have been nice to have the continuity of all-Dennis covers for this run, but Kolins' cover IS good.

Violet's guns: (I ignore the "Atom Girl" name just like I did LeVIathan") Weapons fitted for certain Legionnaires were estalished to exist way back in Shooter's Adventure run, and I have no problem with them... AS LONG AS they are being used in non-fatal capacity (which is never established here either way, iirc).

The story: The Bedard issues have been 10 times more exciting than the bulk of the previous run. This holds true this issue as well. Great touches, like Shady's apparent status on Talok VIII.

Timber Wolf: I had grown to enjoy human Brin more than I would have imagined. The jury's out on his feralization.

Wildfire: Thank you B/C, for bringing back both Wildfire AND Matter-Eater Lad. My question: Was this more Tony's doing or on Shooter's list of requests to set up his run?

The art: I'm a fan. Dennis' style is one I've long-wanted to see used on LSH, and I am really enjoying it.


In closing: I am really enjoying the B/C run, and were I not on the edge of my seat with excitement for Shooter's return, would really want to see it continue open-ended.

Well, I for one, continue buying the series until I see what Shooter has to say. i'm a fan of Tony Bedard's writing, but this as been even worse than the Waid run

I enjoyed issue #34. I thought both the story and art were well done.

I have two small gripes about the story in this issue - first the aforementioned Atom Girl body count (unbecoming of a Legionnaire), and second the origin story of Wildfire would have been better if the original Legionnaires were used, rather than the founding three. Imagine having a one panel reappearance of Chemical King along side Phantom Girl and Colossal Boy. His appearance and current whereabouts would have been the talk of the town (along with the explosive return of Wildfire!).

I am really enjoying the Bedard/Calero run and hope you get to do someLegion mini-series during the anniversary year. Thanks for bringing life back into the Legion.

I promise Atom Girl just stunned them.

Cool!

I accept that. And I'm glad. But:

...if you had to tell us...

and, of course, continuing to post of Legion World... and finally writing that limerick . . .

Just read #34. The cover? It wasn't so bad once I got to see it up close.

Calero's art? Wow. His best issue yet guys! I told you he'd just get better with every issue. The first intro page? Nice! If Giffen does ever tell the "Black Dawn" story I think Dennis would be a natural.

The body count? I don't think she's actually killing these guys. They wouldn't treat them so nice after they killed a dozen of their soldiers. I like Vi with spunk. Always have.

Wildfire? I'm digging it. Not ideally how I would like him back but it works. He's one of my faves so I hope he doesn't remain a villain.

Timberwolf changing? I'm not a fan of feral TW. Never have been. I know this will be the status quo now so I'm accepting it but...eh. I admit it helps him stand out on a team of a bunch of white kids with brown hair.

Tony's writing? When the two guards are talking to each other. Good stuff.

More art comments: The backgrounds look amazing! The tech stuff looks amazing! The faces look great. Love Vi!

I think the reason many of us like this creative team so much because it's a not big picture story. Waid & Kitson had to set things up and everything was so big. These guys make it more personalized IMO.

This was the first issue that I've enjoyed in a while. Sounds like Wildfire being a villain bothered some folks. I don't care if he was brought back only as the doorman for the Legion HQ - just as long as he's back.

I loved that "Atom Girl" had attitude. This has been a dull-ass title for long time. I like the personality this issue had.

Dennis - the art was fantastic.

When I was growing up, ahh, when I was looking through back issues that contained Gene Colan art I had a hard time understanding it at first. Very not Jack Kirby. Then I, ahhh, came across a back issue of Daredevil where Colan was inked by Tom Palmer. I completely 'got' Colan after that and it also clarified in my mind what an inker does. Colan instantly became a favorite of this fan. Perhaps I'm "old school" but I'll take creativity, originality and story-telling over big breasted-hyper musculature, stylistic flash any day. But thats just me. BTW, for the record I think that Calero has a ton of the former and thankfully little of the latter. But again that just me.

This was a fun issue, for both story and art. Dennis, I don't love every single panel, but overall I've really enjoyed your art and I'm glad you were able to illustrate these stories. LSH is a tough assignment, with brutally demanding fans.

I really had no doubts that Atom Girl was only stunning her victims. Complain all you want about this version of the Legion, but nothing by Waid/Kitson or by Bedard/Calero has ever suggested our heroes are killers. It HAS been suggested from her first appearance in this version that Salu is a Grade A hardcase, and nothing in Tony's portrayal is inconsistent. I think it's funny that the Legion's toughest hombre is a shrinking girl--sort of like "small dog" syndrome. The Legion's come a LONG way since Shooter's story about the Legion's girls picking out curtains. And, if Shooter or anyone else wants, there's the opportunity for the true story behind the attitude. I think the outrage and concern reflects the fact that us fans still don't feel like we know these characters. Moreover, we're afraid the creative team knows them less well than we do.

My favorite moment in the issue is when (someone?) smashes Drake's faceplate and we see the laughing energy face within. Cool idea and cooler visual. Also, if you're going to be Wildfire, you should have a tougher suit! I also like Drake in the tank that looks like an old Eureka vacuum. Dennis, do have a thing for clasic appliance design? In many ways, this issue was as good an introduction to Wildfire as the original in Superboy #201, my first Legion comic and one I still read regularly. I did miss the setting of the Legion tryouts, though. But the important thing is to introduce Wildfire--they may actually be some readers out there unfamiliar with the story from 35 years ago. It's also interesting to realize that, besides Invisible Kid and Triplicate Girl, Wildfire is the only character whose origin we actually know! I will be eagerly reading to see if Drake really is a villain or something better.

As for Timber Wolf, come on, he doesn't really look THAT wolfie on the last page! Certainly still more human than the animated version. Trom is right (as always), Timber Wolf has to look wolfen to be a star, and Waid and Kitson's version was just too generic. Clearly, Brainy's been looking forward to this transformation for some time. Wonder what he's really up to?

Nixon?

Is it just me, or do the profile shots of the president of Lallor (when he first meets with the Legion) look a lot like "triky Dick?"

re: Atom Girl

As far as how Waid's portrayed her in the 3boot, I actually expect her to be this...violently flagrant. It's not even like the TMK Violet where we knew she toughened up because of the sens-tank episode as well as the war with the Braalians. TMK Vi was tough & efficient but never to the point where she'd actually keep score like Waid's Atom Girl. Add me into changing her name back to Shrinking Violet or something else. I just find it too absurd to add "Girl" to "Atom".

re: Timber Wolf

Waid's 3boot TWolf was pretty generic, with only Kitson's sleek costume being the sole high point. Not even linking him to Projectra made him unique so I'm all for giving him a wild side. I'm sure S&M's take on him (feralization and new costume) should at least make him interesting.

re: Wildfire

Again, at least by giving him some resentment he has more than just being upset at being turned into energy. Just lots of brain farts though where he's concerned: a) I share Wildfire's disbelief over that "unbreakable" faceplate in the past b) how come when T-Wolf broke his faceplate he didn't escape? The upgrade's on the fact that it reseals, but likely not to his energy not seeping out. Oh well...suspension of disbelief's a powerful thing. :-)


The art's very atmospheric and I think it brings the story down to "street level". If any of you picked up Supergirl #22, the take there (Guedes?) is the exact opposite (mostly sunlight, etc). Just another way of rendering the LSH.

I generally liked the story, but sorry, Dennis, I really did not like the art. I felt like I had to rely on the characters telling me what was happening, particularly when the building collapsed, because the art itself did not show that. But that was minor compared to how much I hated the last panel. It seemed completely divorced style-wise from the previous panels. On that page, T-Wolf looked like something out of a Matt Wagner comic, very blocky and without details. It was like a completely different artist had taken over. And since T-Wolf's feral appearance was supposed to be the big "wow" moment of the comic, the lack of detail really weakened the impact on me.

LOVED the artwork!
This is why LSH is such a great comic - it has these great artists who aren't the standard and who produce stunning, unusual work - Giffen, Immonen, Pearson, Coipel, and now Calero. Great stuff, long may it continue.
It shows that the Legion ISN'T just some cute little club for super powered teenagers, but can be powerful, darker, gripping and cutting edge. This is why the book DESERVES to have a higher profile.

oh, the story was great - loved Tasmia using her diplomatic status to get them in, and really enjoyed the girls kicking ass. Igee - would you have had a problem if Ultra Boy was keeping a body count, or Wildfire? I still get the impression that there are too many preconceived ideas about the characters in this version. Atom Girl is NOT Shrinking Violet, so of course she behaves differently to Vi. I think she's one of the best, if not THE best character out of the lot.

Wait... I have a question...

Why is there a giant flash of light when Timber Wolf transformed? Is it like SHAZAM and magical in nature, or like Dragonball Z power ups, or something else? Because now I can't stop staring at T-Wolf's very Vegeta-like widow's peak on the last page.

"This was a fun issue, for both story and art. Dennis, I don't love every single panel, but overall I've really enjoyed your art and I'm glad you were able to illustrate these stories. LSH is a tough assignment, with brutally demanding fans."

I can't complain for a second on how the fans have been treating me.


" felt like I had to rely on the characters telling me what was happening, particularly when the building collapsed, because the art itself did not show that"

Well that's more the storytelling, unless you'e saying the drawing wasn't clear. Clarity is always an issue when drawing comics, especially when you don't really "cartoon."

"--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LOVED the artwork!
This is why LSH is such a great comic - it has these great artists who aren't the standard and who produce stunning, unusual work - Giffen, Immonen, Pearson, Coipel, and now Calero. Great stuff, long may it continue. "

Thank you. Well it will continue until 36 which I'm finishing this week.

"Why is there a giant flash of light when Timber Wolf transformed? Is it like SHAZAM and magical in nature, "

Generally that was the idea.

"On that page, T-Wolf looked like something out of a Matt Wagner comic, very blocky and without details. It was like a completely different artist had taken over."

I accept your feelings about the book, and can see the vailidity in many of your points, but I just don't see this.

I thought this issue was great - the art, the characterisation, the plot and best of all - the absolutely fantastic colouring! Nathan Eyring deserves a payrise. Each panel was simply delicious!

okay, okay. I tried to stay away. but the siren song of LSH brought me back.

I liked the story. it was good to see that the tensions on Lallor have continued. it was also interesting to see an underager(the soldier with T man) had started working for the 'man' when he got older. a nice subtle reference to how youthful idealism often turns to more practical concerns.

I like Atom Girl. She at times appears to be bat guano crazy, but hey perfect heroes are dull. and what's with all the reference to guys? must be the Imskian pon farr season or something.

the rest you guys(ladies?) can have your Dream Girl, or Saturn Girl, but it was love at first sight(murky though it was) for Shadow Lass. let me count me the ways: athletic, royalty(sort of off) and she says stuff like,"by the moons of talok". what's not to love? one thing, it seems like she's baring more midriff than before? come on Shady when you look that good, leave something for the imagination.

T-man(isn't that the nickname from the toon) more feral huh? well okay, I will see how works out.

Wildfire- interesting set up(not sure why he wants to kill the prez), but the whole I am a being of pure energy and have to stay in a suit. it doesn't do anything for me. but hey I am no fan of Captain Atom either.

So I finally got it as well.

And surprisingly, I actually liked most of it. There were quite a few nice nods to "old continuity buffs" like me - Wildfires origin and first mission, Timber Wolfs hairdo - that made the book feel like the Legion again. This issue to me is a good sign that the run can be saved and that there is a lot of freedom for a new writer like Bedard and Shooter to actually pick it up and finally do something great with it. Like giving us more background about the Legion, for example.

Was it ever actually said that this Legion team exists for three years? Well, now we finally got an idea of the timeline of this Threeboot, and although most of the issue was just a big brawl, it still had the right feel.

hat I did not like was the brutalization of Shrinking Violet and Timber Wolf. We got used to it with Shady (wasn't she a badass in the Reboot already?), but this kind of "mortal combat" just don't fits to the no-killing-code which I hope still exists SOMEWHERE in the Legion charta. And making Brin more wolveriney is not the right way to make the character interesting, never was (Timber Wolf mini-series anyone???).

All in all, I'm looking forward to the next few issues - I guess Bedard is doing some right moves to prepare Shooters homerun :-)

Insanelad - My post was actually more a response to posters in the previous pages whose statements I interpreted to mean that they found it too much for Atom Girl to be keeping score.

My point was that if you look at how Atom Girl has been portrayed at this time (disabling an enemy by busting through a shoulder, packing weapons), it's entirely keeping with her character. Atom Girl's never been shown as a killer (she could have popped out of Elysion's (?) head or heart and not his shoulder), but that doesn't mean she's not the type to have some fun knocking the enemy down.

I used TMK Violet as an example since for me there would be a disconnect if TMK Violet started doing a bodycount--it's not something that's rooted in terms of her characterization or how she had been portrayed until that point.

I personally don't have a problem with any of these characters doing a bodycount per se. Hope this doesn't come across the wrong way but if it's what rings their bells as they're written, then so be it.

Do I like Waid's reimagining...not so much. Do I like Atom Girl...well, not really since in my opinion there doesn't seem much more to her than "recently dispelled urban legend", "tough combat chick" or "snappy banter girl". Do I ever see her as Violet? I truly don't...but I do acknowledge Atom Girl an an analogue (of this published version of the Legion) for Shrinking Violet as far as power goes...but that's about it.

By the way, I actually share your comment about the "offbeat" artists the Legion has had...particularly Cockrum, Giffen, Pearson, Immonen, Coipel and now Calero. These artists in my mind brought/bring their own, unique perspective to a very unique team. :-)

I've always found myself embracing the work of these "progressive" artists and on some level I equate the fresh air they've brought as mirroring the very spirit of the LSH. I also believe that these artists are the big names they are right now because of that unique perspective.