DC continues to wow us with revelation after revelation this week. Today they announced a new Legion of Super Heroes title will be hitting shelves this spring! Written by former Legion scribe, Paul Levitz (Great Darkness Saga), the new series is illustrated by “rising artist” Yildiray Cinar (Noble Causes, Teen Titans). The piece was short on details but included all these wonderful images, including a sketch version of the cover to the first issue and studies for the founding Legionnaires and the HQ clubhouse. Paul spoke to io9 about the project…
Levitz had THIS to say about returning to familiar Legion territory:
It’s such fun to be back in the future, blowing up planets, undoing Legion marriages, revealing unrevealed factoids, and starting improbable new relationships. If there’s a better job in comics than writing the Legion, with its vast cast and creative opportunities, I’ve never held it.
The Legion has had SO many reboots that I’m looking forward to a new version based on the Legion we were reintroduced to in Action Comics… Superman and the Legion of Super Heroes. Now that they’ve established the various reboots as Legions from alternate Earths, we can get back to what has happened to the original Legion since we stopped watching! Lets hope we see the relationship between Element Lad and Shavaugn Erin again. Perhaps we’ll learn more about Dawnstar’s girlfriend?
Posted in Comics, Preview on 02/03/2009 03:09 pm by fanboi
I’m loving Legion of 3 Worlds. I just wish it shipped faster. Each issue is a hell of a read with spectacular art from the team of George Pérez and Scott Koblish illustrating Geoff John’s of good vs evil on a multidimensionally epic scale. If you miss the issues, it will be a must-buy trade paperback.
Issue #3 hits stands on Wednesday!
The Legion of Super-Heroes call in the reinforcements against Superboy Prime and the Legion of Super-Villains as the Crisis of the 31st Century continues. While Superboy Prime comes face-to-face with the last of the Green Lanterns, Brainiac 5 and XS attempt to ignite an electrical storm using the lightning rod, which is destined to turn the tide of the war. And what are Polar Boy, Dawnstar and Wildfire up to in the 20th Century?
To me FINAL CRISIS: Legion of 3 Worlds is everything the main Final Crisis title wasn’t. Consistent in its artwork, epic (if not quite cosmic – yet) in scale while remaining easy to follow and self contained, a battle involving scores of costumed characters with potentially cosmic ramifications that is observed on many fronts while not leaving the reader wondering who these people are and what the hell is going on. After reading Grant Morrison’s Final Crisis and some of Batman R.I.P. and comparing it Geoff John’s Legion of 3 Worlds, New Krypton, JSA and Green Lantern work, not to mention his Smallville episode. There is just no comparison.
Lightning Lad’s cape joke was one of many nods to comic book fans. I loved the episode. I enjoyed the performances and thought the styling and costuming was excellent – I wouldn’t have minded a hunkier Lightning Lad (he looked a bit too Ron Weaslyish). I’m sad that they are gone now. I hope there are further plans for the Legion as either recurring guests like Green Arrow, Black Canary Martian Manhunter and the Flash or as a NEW SPIN OFF!!! (C’mon SOMETHING has to replace Smallville – I could see them getting to 9 seasons from what I’ve seen of this season (and the Legion showing up opens all SORTS of possibilities for another season) but not 10.
SPOLILERIFIC COMMENTS: I had a problem with the Legionaries first instinct being that Chloe must die – then when with a little thought after Kal insists they not stab her in the heart, they’re like Oh yeah we can totally save her, no worries. Part of me just went along because of their argument about not knowing Chloe even though they know about Clark, Lois, Lana and Jimmy. Since season 1 I have been expecting Chloe to die in just about every episode because SHE DOESN”T BELONG THERE! But after 8 seasons, I kinda like her. So I was hoping for a way to rectify her being part of Superman’s past in Smallville without being mentioned in his present in Metropolis, and him having to kill her to save the world would fit. And in this episode, she ACTUALLY gives him a pass if the situation ever comes up again so you never know. She may just die yet.
The founding members of the 31st century’s Legion of Super Heroes are making their primetime debut on Geoff John’s much anticipated episode of Smallville tonight. Not only is this an eagerly awaited story written by one of the biggest name in Comics today, but it is also the first new episode since November. And it looks like there’s a lot going on in the the eighth season of Smallville.
For Geoff Johns, who wrote the episode after pitching the Legion’s appearance to the Smallville producers, the chance to bring the Legion to a live action series fits right along with his revitalization of the team in comics during the last year. As the Legion celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2008, Johns re-introduced the original Legion team to his Action Comics series and later launched the current Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds mini-series with George Perez for DC.
I myself am not watching the clips because I like to be surprised. But if you enjoy spoilerific teasers…watch these!
As comics readers know, the Legion of Super-Heroes is a group of super-powered teenagers from 1,000 years in the future who are inspired by the historic legend of Superman. When the Legion was introduced in comics, the founders of the team, Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad, traveled back in time to meet a young Clark Kent and became some of his closest friends.
Now the story from the comics will be echoed in “Legion,” this week’s Smallville episode, as actors Alexz Johnson (Saturn Girl), Calum Worthy (Lightning Lad) and Ryan Kennedy (Cosmic Boy) portray the three Legion founders as they travel back in time to meet Smallville’s young Clark.
The upcoming Geoff Johns penned January 15th Legion of Super Heroes episode of Smallville has a lot of people excited about the series again. After 7 seasons, its not always easy to keep the fresh ideas coming, but this is probably the best concept they’ve had for the show yet. Its also the most obvious as the Legion are the only super powered people who Clark Kent actually DID interact with in Smallville. Hard to believe they didn’t think of it before.
Three young heroes from the future, Lightning Lad, Cosmic Boy and Saturn Girl have landed in present day Smallville Kansas, But are they alone? It looks like there might be some villains from the 30th Century as well… That guy with the axe looks like The Persuader to me.
Geoff Johns definitely seems to be a fan of the Legion of Superheroes…
Clark Kent’s boyhood pals have shown up in the pages of his current arcs on “Justice Society of America” and “Action Comics” as well as being the central focus of his fan favorite “Final Crisis” tie-in, “Legion of 3 Worlds” with artist George Perez.
So who better to introduce the Legion of Super-Heroes into the “Smallville” mythos than Johns?
Geoff Johns, former assistant to Richard Donner, said it has “always been a dream of mine to work with a director much the same way I watched [screenwriter] Brian Helgeland work with Richard Donner during ‘Conspiracy Theory’” and he got his wish with this project…
Whether it be Gary Frank on ‘Action Comics’ or Ivan Reis on ‘Green Lantern’ or Ethan Van Sciver on ‘The Flash,’ the idea is that I am the writer but the artists are essentially the directors. So working with a director on set like that, and seeing him bring the Legion to life. Being there to help support that vision and work on the story and the script and the dialogue and everything, is a culmination of everything I like doing.
via CBR (read the whole article – some interesting stuff…)
Posted in Comics, Preview on 10/13/2008 11:09 am by fanboi
The Legion of Super-Heroes plans to gather other-dimensional reinforcements to stand against Superboy Prime and his allies from the Legion of Super-Villains as the Crisis of the 31st Century continues. I doubt if even George Perez could top the Prime Desktop Material he provided us comic loving gays and gals in the first issue. I’ve never seen ANY superhero or villain look hotter. Someone may outdo Perez’s daisyduked Superboy Prime in the future, but I doubt it.
While Superboy Prime comes face-to-face with the last of the Green Lanterns, Brainiac 5 and XS attempt to ignite an electrical storm using the lightning rod, which is destined to turn the tide of the war. And what are Polar Boy, Dawnstar and Wildfire up to in the 20th Century?
I don’t really care for Saturn Girl’s practical mannish hairdo. It just doesn’t fit the character’s visual history. That’s like giving Light Lass a shoulder length Denise Richards styled mane. It doesn’t work for me. Thoughts?
The Legion of Super Heroes is coming to Smallville! I for one cannot believe it took this long to get the only superheroes who ACTUALLY did visit Smallville (in comics continuity) on the show! For those who didn’t know the only “superheroes” that visited Smallville, Kansas while Clark was Superboy in DC Comics continuity were Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad and Cosmic Boy, the founders of the Legion of Super Heroes from the 31st century. Geoff Johns (author of the eagerly anticipated Legion of 3 Worlds miniseries with art by George Perez) will be writing the episode!
Kudos to RobOrange on posting this page from the Comic-Con Magazine Spring 2008 (available here). I’ve always loved that image and its a fascinating history of the Silver Age’s first super team.
I moved this up to the top since I’m adding my reviews/spoilers etc after the jump. Don’t look until you read your books.
Reviews (why things rated where they did on my list), general thoughts and musings on this weeks comics (and of course a few spoilers) after the jump!
So far Heroes N Hunks has been viewed by gay geeks in 28 countries… so say hello and tell us what you read this week! Read the rest of this entry »
Although we have seen the last of the Legion of Super Heroes (I’m genuinely saddened and hope at least they put out a nice collection), those with the need for a steady DC universe cartoon fix needn’t give up all hope. The next DC cartoon to come down the path will be The Brave and The Bold, and just like the different DC titles by the same name, they will be TEAM UP stories! I’d guess most will be a Batman and… kind of a setup – but maybe they will mix it up like the recent George Perez drawn series.
Here is a bit of Legion art to say goodbye…
and a shot at the art style for the new show (Fridays on Cartoon Network). I’m not loving the look of it. I think , JLU, and Legion were stylized enough – this goes a bit too far.
The George Perez Legion of Super Heroes Mini – “Legion of 3 Worlds” will apparently merge the oft revamped Legion continuity into one manageable storyline. I for one cannot wait.
