Interesting, I look forward to reading it as icky as what appears to have happened to the Legionnaires. I get the sense that this is quite some time after where the last issue left off.
Tasmia's cap is sort of odd - part of a uniform? It looks like a stewardess/military thing. She and Jo look humanoid, just a different art style, whereas the cover characters look very machine-like.
Hm. I have no idea where this story is going, so that will be interesting to see.
On another note, I would never have been able to tell that the man is supposed to be Jo. He looks pretty white and blonde compared to his mainbook counterpart.
Practically the first thing we learn from Tasmia is that she knows why Jo reached out to her. Yet a little later in the same scene, she says that if she knew why Jo had called her there, she would never have come. Well she did know. She just told Jo that she knew, and she was right. So, why is she there?
As Cramer commented on Tasmia's costume, I keep expecting us the give us information on the nearest exits (some critics will want those to be from this reboot ) and to materialise a drinks trolley.
Different art style, but had they not used their first names, I wouldn't have recognised either of them. That might be the Ultra Boy symbol on his front (I guess the Legion can't be fugitives then), but he's on Planet Gotham, in a grey/black outfit. So I first thought it was a bat symbol.
"...not having to believe in a thing to be interested in it and not having to explain a thing to appreciate the wonder of it."
I've been thinking flight attendant since we first saw this outfit! I also found the weird contradiction in what Tasmia says a bit jarring. Not a huge fan of the art style generally, but we'll see how the rest of the book is.
I've tried with this Bendisboot, but 12 issues in, and the character we speculated might have been Shrinking Violet is shown shrinking, on a variant cover. I don't even know if she's had a speaking line, let alone is dating Ayla in this boot. Yeesh, and now this Future State business, which will be the first Legion appearance I am not going to be able to force myself to buy in decades.
I'll never not be a Legion fan, just not a fan of *this* Legion. Future State should be over in a few months, perhaps something more appealing to me will follow.
Not very much in this preview. That's ok with me. I prefer to read the whole story as it was meant to be anyway.
Interlac translations:
Top of page 1 (I am guessing this first one is a standard heading to all Future State books?)
the triumphant victory of our heroes saves all reality from the brink of destruction and shakes loose the very fabric of space and time. from the ashes of death metal rises new life for the infinte multiverse and glimpses into the worlds of tomorrow.
Middle of page 1
the first artifi- cially created planet. a full planet-wide evacua- tion has been or- dered by the emer- gency UP council.
Practically the first thing we learn from Tasmia is that she knows why Jo reached out to her. Yet a little later in the same scene, she says that if she knew why Jo had called her there, she would never have come. Well she did know. She just told Jo that she knew, and she was right. So, why is she there? .
good spot. i need to read again. i did walk away with the impression, she "knew" why because she guessed/assumed, but was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. but when her assumptions were confirmed, she lashed out
and with the mood stabilisers comment, i understand
Well that was a hot mess. At least the 12 issues before had great artwork, the artwork here was atrocious. Character redesigns UGH! A whole lot of WTF??!!!
Well that was a hot mess. At least the 12 issues before had great artwork, the artwork here was atrocious. Character redesigns UGH! A whole lot of WTF??!!!
LOL, well ... if that honest review doesn't make me want to buy and read this tomorrow I just don't know what will?
A question that comes to mind ... Is this Mr. Riley Rossmo ... getting paid to make this hideous art?
I'm not sure that's fair. Everyone has their own style and we may like or dislike it, but that's no reason to be insulting. He's popular enough to get a Martian Manhunter series, the Robin King one-shot and will now be the artist for the next Harley series.
I do agree that he isn't a good fit for the Legion, IMHO.
That was a very quick read. I ended up wondering if it was a few pages short, and wanting a bit more. I figure I zoomed in on a couple of double splash pages on the phone. But wanting a bit more, isn't always a sign of being short changed.
I feared the worst when Tasmia openly contradicted her reasoning in the opening scene. She knows what Jo wants, but wouldn't have gone there had she known what Jo wants. Um... The art looked like it was going to take more than a little to get used to, with characters rendered unrecognisable.
That's as bad as it got. Perhaps it's being used to the scratchier art of Alt+Legions such as The EGOs and Black Hammer. But I had no problem in getting into the art style. Where the story needed us to specifically recognise someone, Bendis made sure we did, without it getting in the way. The style is distinctive and there's no lack of talent in getting the likes of Lu's sadness or Chuck's rage across. There's clearly thought into the redesigns. Imra's skull mask indicates the threat her mental powers now pose. Gim is wearing body armour, as he's always the biggest target etc. The art also leaves some question over who is in Rokk's tribunal. Lots of more familiar costumes, but we can't be sure. Are there large groups of opposing Legionnaires? time will tell.
There are progressions from characters we've seen. Imra's concerns regarding influencing others, doesn't stop her from mentally stopping Tasmia. Rokk's career path has taken him to the leadership role he craved, in a post United Planets tribunal. Some characters have taken bold new steps. Querl was a computer mind in a body that was often seen spending far too much time in the lab. In order to be optimal, it would make sense that his physical from was also. Here, he's free of that form and its needs. He can shape his form with his mind. It's led to some interesting changes in his personality.
Chuck has become a krypton class character, making my Bits notes for a Ballistic Boy looking like they'll need some work. From what we've seen of his intelligence in this series, and his powers, a scientific upgrade isn't too much of a stretch.
There are some nice little bits of characterisation: Lu (multiversally destined to lose a self) no longer wanting to merge. The Subs, with no Legion to inspire them have taken their lead from another origin in this version. Whatever the Incident was, it's Jan Arrah they look to. Fire Lad tells a crowd of the UP descending into blame, right after a scene where we saw just that.
There's some interest in the overall story. The Legion lasted 100 days. There's a UK book & Film dramatizing the short 44 day reign of Brian Clough, as a football manager at Leeds. That countdown approach was taken up by an Indy comic, called The United, whose super team formed and self-destructed in 44 days. With a few words, we get a ticking clock when we come back into the regular series.
RJ Brande could well be dead after an Incident, precipitated by Jan Arrah (multiversally destined to be a nut job); The Legion have not all parted on the best of terms. Brainy isn't popular; the suggestion of Sci police/ Horraz collusion. The Legion barely had time to know each other. Bendis even slyly references this, as Jan asks Garth if he remembers his real name. In the origins 2-parter, we also saw that a number of them didn't agree with the concept of either the Legion or the United Planets. The animosity we see between members is form that background, rather than the seasoned colleagues we've come to know.
With only 2 issues, there's a bit of a crush. It doesn't take much for the Legion to get most of its members back together. With them mostly being close at hand, you wonder how they let it all go so wrong. But like the Clough/ United example above, there are always plenty of other factors capable of bringing disaster. Everyone is looking for Jan Arrah, but Arrah coming out of hiding allows the Legion to get to him. Sort of, as Lightning Lad and a couple of others had found out.
Although the series was always going to have its crises and dark moments, I got the feeling that a lot of people were looking forward to some time in that nice, shiny optimistic future. We didn't really get to see much of it this time round. Of course, it can always be rebuilt.
We get a plot, complete with some momentum (yay!), plenty of questions, lots of character tweaks and a stand-off against one of their own next time out. I enjoyed this much more than the fight against the dull-the-first-time-Doomsday stand in the last issue. I'd have been picking up #2 anyway, but now I want to do it, to see the end.
"...not having to believe in a thing to be interested in it and not having to explain a thing to appreciate the wonder of it."
Doe anyone have a clue if the character who looks like the cartoon's Shrinking Violet is a brand new character, or did Bendis!Violet somehow get her skin bleached and her ears mutilated.
So I can't really say I liked this issue, but I also didn't hate it quite as much as I expected to. Maybe I managed to really lower my expectations?
Bendis seemed to do a much better job than he's been doing of (re)introducing the cast and giving them something to do than he's usually done in the regular series. So Jo, Tasmia, Imra, Brainy, Gim, Cham, Rokk, Lu, Blok, Chuck, Garth, Ayla, and Jan all get intros and we get a pretty good idea of their present status. There's a couple of people with the group that show up at the end that we don't know who they are, and I have no idea if all the people who are on U.P. council who look kind of like various Legionnaires are actually supposed to be the Legionnaires or what, but I feel like we did get a pretty good use of the cast for once.
I kind of liked the idea of the Subs being formed as a rival group with different political ends than the Legion, though they didn't come off all that well (being taken down by Duo Durgo pretty much on her own).
As far as art goes, it definitely wouldn't be my top choice for an art style for the Legion, and I'm not a fan of the designs at all, but it was tolerable.
As much as I was trying to be neutral before reading this, I have to admit that I fully expected to hate it. I still don't like the cover. And yet ... I thought it was not bad (that is a lot better than neutral and edging towards good).
The story has me intrigued. The background hung together. It felt like there was more characterisation in this issue than there has been in almost any of the others. Most of the earlier issues characterisation was largely "I'm so excited to be a part of this!" mixed with "I don't like you telling me what to do!". To be fair perhaps that feeling of youthful enthusiasm was what Bendis was going for but it did lead to everyone (mostly) sounding the same. Here there are several different feelings/reactions/personalities coming out of facing the situation they are in.
Even the art is growing on me. I don't think I will ever be a fan of this angular sort of style, yet I am a fan of any art that conveys clearly and plainly so much of the story and even more so much of the emotions of the characters.
Standouts for me are: - page 2 Jo and Tasmia - Jo's emotions are good and clear but the three head shots of Tasmia in exactly the same pose and yet the first seems tinged with sorrow and questioning, the second a growing seriousness and anger and the third with rage. Great subtle stuff. - page 4/5 - Imra's wry humourous expression with "Oh! It's OK. She wasn't going to kill you!" Also I disliked immensely Brainac 5's floating head on a rope from the cover but this scene with his words made it work for me. - page 7 - Reep looking in the mirror, trying out different face/bodies (I think Rokk, Jo's father, R J Brande his mother) like trying out different clothes or trying to understand what has happened. - page 16 - Luornu and Blok showing how Blok can convey his sorrow and support without saying a word
Even the final Legion splash page felt right to me.
Stories where the Legion splits in to different factions will always be an uphill battle because of their team and comradeship being such a strong part of their background, but I have to say I liked this more than I expected, both as a comic and as a Legion comic, and I am feeling hopeful for the next issue.
(It also makes me want to go back and look over the previous issues, particularly the two "recruiting" issues to see what bits of character and motivations were portrayed there and how they match with what we see here. Also was Commissioner Sevenbergen the SP we saw during Imra's abortive atempt to interrogate Mordru? More things to check, and great that I want to.)
(Apart from the first paragraph on page 1 which is the same as at the start of all the Future State comics, each Interlac paragraph is a comment/description of the planet that scene is set on, rather reminiscent of the info boxes Levitz used to use at the start of a new scene.)
GOTHAM the first artifi- cially created planet. a full planet-wide evacua- tion has been or- dered by the emer- gency UP council.
DAXAM The first planet hit in "the elemental".
WINATH The planet hit hardest by the Elemental event.
COLU QUADRANT A horraz armada has been caught rummaging the dead planet.
Rockhopper Lad: The Rookery Holiday party is in progress! Pop by!
Ann Hebistand: I am so going to attend! Thanks, Rocky!
Nightcrawler: Updated us to version 8.0 of the software. Everything resets to the default settings. I'll be restoring things back to normal as I have time.
Nightcrawler: Sorry. Didn't realize the solution I had for the old PHP would screw up the new board.
Nightcrawler: Our server got moved by our host, so any images that were uploaded today will need to be reuploaded and replaced. Sorry. I think I fixed it now.
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) and to materialise a drinks trolley. 
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