Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Visionaries of Tomorrow Laurie Sutton, the unsung heroine of the Legion's GDS era!

She only edited a handful of LSH issues before going across town to work for Marvel's Epic imprint (where she'd edit, among other things, Doug Moench & Paul Gulacy's "Six From Sirius,) but they are *very* significant issues:

- 288, the one with the failed coup on Orando, which may very well be the one, the only, of the Levitz/Giffen issues which I consider to be perfection.

- 289, "A Cold And Lonely Corner of Hell"

- Annual 1, the return of Computo and the debut of Jacques as the new Invisible Kid.

- 290-293, with a co-credit for her on 294, along with incoming editor Karen Berger. These, of course, are the Great Darkness Saga issues proper. And while I remain a skeptic of that fan-favorite arc, I have somewhat softened my criticism of it after re-reading it recently as research for the thing I'm currently working on in the Bits forum.

So I thought she was way overdue to get more credit than she has. A quick Google search shows that she is currently writing all-ages novels based on familiar IPs. Yet I can find no interviews with her, or at least none to do with her brief but blindingly bright LSH tenure.

Which begs the question, are there any Laurie Sutton LSH interviews out there, in the Wayback Machine, or the Legion Companion book, or wherever?

If there are, then I would be very grateful if someone would share them here.

2 years since I made the opening post asking about interviews with Laurie Sutton specifically about her brief but very important editorial stint on LSH.

I've done more than one extensive search on the web, and turned up nothing.

It's possible I'm remembering wrong, but didn't there used to be a link on the Cosmic Teams website to an interview with her about the LSH? If there was, and if it was taken down, I would find that disappointing.

Not Legion, but...

She's part of a Star Trek writers discussion roundtable in Back Issue 23 that continues in Write Now 16.

Aquaman and other things - http://www.aquamanshrine.net/2011/03/aquaman-shrine-interview-with-laurie-s.html

General profile, just because I tripped across it. - https://docs.comics.org//images/5/53/DC_Profiles_72.jpg - Profile

Thanks for searching, Thoth.

You should do your own interview, Annfie!

If Michael, age 7, can do it, so can you.

Indeed! Thanks, Cramey.

I don't wanna jinx anything by saying too much, but a good friend of mine might do an interview with her. Fingers crossed...

That would be great.

From a You Choose Stories Bio: Laurie Sutton has read comics since she was a kid. She grew up to become an editor for Marvel, DC Comics, Starblaze, and Tekno Comics. She has written Adam Strange for DC, Star Trek: Voyager for Marvel, plus Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Witch Hunter for Malibu Comics. There are long boxes of comics in her closet where there should be clothing and shoes. Laurie has lived all over the world, and currently resides in Florida.

Laurie's first Adam Strange story is in Green Lantern 133. It's also Marv Wolfman's first issue on Green Lantern. There are direct paths from his run on Green Lantern into what would become Crisis. Likewise there are links between the impact of The Great Darkness Saga, edited by Laure as pointed out, on Crisis too.

#133 - Adam Strange is the leader of a force of Rannian rebels. Following the discovery and injury of a rebel scout, Adam goes to Ranagar to learn the plans of his nemesis, Kaskor. As Kaskor attacks the rebel base, the rebels succeed in capturing the now thinly guarded Ranagar. The twist is that, since Adam left to scout the capital from the rebel base, using Zeta energy, he returns to the base now controlled by Kaskor at the end of the issue.

Sutton packs a lot into 8 pages. You can see her craft as she introduces the key cast members, concepts and drops the reader into the finale of a civil war. Zeta energy is introduced alongside the twist, which was a nice touch. And while more familiar readers would have noticed the foreshadowing, the twist of all of the rebels having deserted the base to attack the capital, really leaves Strange at the mercy of his foes at the end of the story. Rann has often seemed lacking in depth. A little bland with Adam being a square jawed ACME hero. I think Moore ran with this when he covered Strange in Swamp Thing. While Kaskor is a standard casting villain, there's at least a little life on the planet. I got a feeling of Lang's Metropolis as Strange worked his way through the catacombs under Ranagar to witness the villain's mass meeting.

I also found a (very) short 3 page story in DC's Secrets of Haunted House #24 credited to her as "Ms. Laurie S. Sutton". A man is studying late but falls asleep and seems to dream meeting some demonic characters who invite him to a feast and congratulate him on crossing between the realms. The man is a bit surprised but appreciative because it seems his research is in to dreams and he sees this as a very interesting one, until it turns out to hi horror that the main course of the feast is himself. The last two panels show family members finding him dead in the morning and talk about it being ironic that as a dream researcher he passed away in his sleep and express their gratitude that at least he passed away peacefully.

I see that before she edited LSH she also edited 12 issues of Warlord and 4 of Arak plus a handful of others. (At least according to the Fandom DC Wiki.)

Well, now it can be told:

Thanks to Sarcasm Kid facilitating communication with Laurie Sutton, I was able to get answers from her to a set of questions I wrote.

I will post the interview this coming Monday, in this thread.

Looking forward to it. Thanks Ann and Sarcy!

THE LEGION WORLD INTERVIEW WITH LAURIE S. SUTTON:




LEGION WORLD: Our research tells us you are pretty much a lifelong Legion fan. Favorite Legionnaires as a kid?

LAURIE S. SUTTON: I remember having a crush on Element Lad. I thought he was soooo cute! (I was probably twelve at the time.)




LW: Favorite Legion stories as a kid?

LSS: I read a lot of ?Adventure Comics? starring Superboy (1960s). I recall being really engaged with the storyline involving Lightning Lad with the metal arm and his eventual death and resurrection (thanks to Proty). I also loved any stories that involved the Legion of Super Pets. Another story that really impressed me way back then was the Sun-Eater story with the Fatal Five and the death of Ferro Lad, written by Jim Shooter. Who knew that, years later, I would be working with Jim at Marvel!




LW: Your first issue, the showdown on Orando, is especially awesome. Do you have fond memories of working on that issue?

LSS: I don?t really remember the details anymore. It might be that the previous editor, Mike Barr, had initiated the story and I took over the editorial duties mid-way or near the end.





LW: What are your thoughts today about the controversial misunderstanding between Light Lass, Saturn Girl, and Timber Wolf?

LSS: Was it controversial? It was very soap opera-ish. I suppose Paul Levitz was going for romantic drama in order to add layers to the relationships between the LSH team members. Personally, I wouldn?t do this now. It?s trite.





LW: You and Paul Levitz introduced Jacques & Danielle Foccart. What was the impetus behind bringing these characters into the Legion mythos? Are you proud of how they've both endured?

LSS: That was all Paul. But I remember thinking what a brilliant new take on the characters. And I was thrilled to see a new Invisible Kid. I am very proud that they have endured.



LW: We would imagine the Great Darkness Saga must have been a very complex and labor-intensive production. Did the increasingly loose plotting from Levitz and the increasing ad-libs from Giffen complicate the process further?

LSS: Paul and Keith were in such a groove by then that things just sped along like greased lightning. I just held on and went along for the ride. I knew it was better to let them do their own thing and to not interfere. Sometimes an editor has to take a hands-off approach.




LW: Also, were you already a fan of Jack Kirby's 4th World?

LSS: I wasn?t very familiar with Kirby?s creations before coming to work at DC Comics. The New Gods, et al, were published in the early ?70s and I was living overseas in Holland at that time (and cut off from comic books).




LW: And how come you left the series just as GDS was wrapping up? Would GDS have had a different ending if you'd seen it through all the way?

LSS: The core stories of the Saga were complete so I didn?t feel that I was abandoning it before the end. Nor would the Saga have ended any differently. Paul and Keith had it all mapped out.




LW: Do you think GDS still holds up today?

LSS: Absolutely, and that?s a testament to Paul and Keith.




LW: Your general thoughts on the Legion under your successor, Karen Berger?

LSS: Although I read LSH after I left DC, I didn?t concentrate on what Karen was doing. I was too busy with my editorial duties and projects at Marvel/Epic Comics. (I had twice the workload there than I?d had at DC!) Also, Karen has said that she just let Paul and Keith do their thing on Legion, just as I had done. So there wasn?t really much difference in editorial style.



LW: Your general thoughts on the Legion in recent decades?

LSS: I haven?t read LSH in decades. I?ve drifted away from comic books.




LW: Do you read Legion fan fiction?

LSS: No, I don?t. Sounds like it could be fun, though.




LW: Any Legion stories you'd like to tell, given the chance?

LSS: The Legion of Super Pets!

Lots of fun! Thanks, Fickles!

Happy to do it!

And since she sounded like she was somewhat intrigued by fan fiction, I asked Sarky to send her a link to the Bits forum.

I did

Great to read. Thanks Annie.

Thanks, Ann! I wonder if she knows what became of Jacques and Danielle. You do hear this fairly often, that people don't follow how projects they worked on evolved after they left. I'm surprised she's "drifted away from comic books" (maybe because I never did?). But, yay! Super-pets! If she's working with children's literature, that would fit right in.

Her You Choose Stories look to be super hero fun. Our blood drenched equivalent was Fighting Fantasy books, and they led me into a hobby.