I have to debate with myself which era is truly “mine” Legion. I might be inclined to five years later Because that’s when I was really drawn to Keith Giffen, Jason Pierson, and Stewart Immonen’s epic visual storytelling with each issue and a darker tone. I’ve read some of the Levitz-era books before (actually I think I’ve read quite a few of the reprints of the third volume that were released on newsstands) The story of the legion of superheroes) and checked out the Magic Wars storyline before it was relaunched, but what really made me a Legion fan.
Although I might argue with myself which points in Volume 4 are my favorite. The book starts off strong and has many highlights even after Giffen was published. This is in Zero hour After the reboot, Mark Waid, Tom McGraw and Tom Pell took over. And it was led to that sweet, long game by Payer, McGraw and Lee Model. Roger Stern even took some action on the sister title. Or the ending where Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Olivier Kopel changed all the rules with Legion of the Damned.
However, actually what I want to talk about now is the title sister. legionnaire. It stems from the SW6 Legion arc under Giffen. Explaining them would probably take more space than I usually allocate here. It can be said that between the end of Giffen’s term and the beginning of his new term, they once again gained recognition and importance as a new, young teenage faction in the Legion. Zero hourwhen Tom and Mary Beerbaum took over all writing duties.
“Once you’re in, they have a way of keeping you in.
Although the spin-off really started in Legion of Super-Heroes #41, legionnaire #1-6 kicked off the new book and new spirit of the Beerbaums, Chris Sprouse, Carl Storey, Tom McGrawand Pat Brosseau. It set up the teenage Legionnaires (which at this point belied the idea of clones or time-traveling doppelgangers or anything else) as the group to oversee the destroyed New Earth Dome.
In some ways, I think this is a “have your cake and eat it” solution, as the darker, more mature tone set in the early runs continues with the adult members. Legion of Super-Heroes We have a sense of being transported back to young high school, with the antics and banter of the Shooters and early Levitz era legionnaire. Reinstate the use of “roll call” lists and faces on the title page. There are even “new” versions of the original three included including Cosmic Boy, Live Wire (the only one of the original three to get a new codename, although the other SW6 Legionnaires were also renamed), and Saturn Girl. The original arc even attempted that. The return of the classic villains “The Fatal Five”.
And some legionnaires created problems themselves. Live Wire and Inferno are pretty scary people at this stage. Often shown to be chauvinistic and abusive, including picking a less attractive (seriously, this is an example of “Hollywood ugly”) superhero to try to join the Legion. Leading it to the creation of one of their villains.
“Hi guys. Are you ready to get rowdy?
Now, imagine when you have two Legion books (technically three courage Also nearby. Not counting miniseries or Legion Modern Book), your main line artists were Stuart Immonen and Chris Sprouse. Exciting times, right? that initial legionnaire The arc, drawn with Sprouse’s pencils and Karl Story’s inks, helped solidify my view of Legion in the ’90s and beyond.
I find it interesting that the size of the eyes is a little exaggerated in Sprouse’s style, but there’s still that clean-lined, deceptive simplicity. It’s somewhat reminiscent of Story’s Gaijin Studios stablemates like Cully Hamner, Jason Pearson, and Adam Hughes, so it’s probably his inks that contributed some to the shape, but I’m also reminded of Dave Cockrum. and, possibly in view of Tom Stronga bit like CC Baker. Sprouse and Story delivered beautiful work that I think helped lay the foundation for the Legion’s look even in the later stages Zero hour Restart.
Tom McCraw brings this product to life in a beautiful palette of primary colors legionnaire Book. of this era Legion It’s still a dark time on the surface, especially with the destruction of the planet, but there’s a huge influx of color and energy that starts to tone down the more serious tone. Pat Brosseau’s lettering is solid, too, although he doesn’t get much of a chance to show off outside of some jagged shout-out word balloons.
“Yeah, but you know that’s not the end of it.
Although it ultimately led to the end of an era. The fun, with the Beerbaums, Sprouse and some stellar guest artists, lasted just over a year before turning to the reboot Zero hour. End of long run LegionThe history is even earlier than Five years later. First six issues legionnaire Sprouse, Storey, McGraw and Brosseau, all members of the Beerbaum family, brought some of the lilt and drama characteristic of their earlier work back into this new, dark world. It’s a nice change of pace and hints at some brighter days to come.
Classic Comics Compendium: Legion #1 – #6
Legionnaire #1-6
writer: Tom and Mary Beerbaum
pencil: Chris Sprouse
Inker: Carl Storey
Colorist: Tom McGraw
Writer: Pat Brosseau
Publisher: DC Comics
release date: February 11 – July 15, 1993 (original question)
available for collection Legion of Super-Heroes: Five Years Later Omnibus – Volume 2
Read past entries in the Classic Comics Compendium!
