Saturday, November 28, 2009

Even more Bits of Legionnaire Business

I think this finishes my getting caught up.


  • Mike the Bold offers some advice on where to start reading the Legion, the top 5 technical trappings of the Legion (in a post where he mistakes early November as the Klordny season, instead of mid-August), a spotlight on Tenzil Kem, the top 7 smooch-buddies in the Legion, and the top 5 Legion deaths.

  • The Fanboy Wife doesn't like the Legion or their skanky costumes. She's not up on Lightning Lad, has words about the Subs, and thinks Saturn Girl is a skank.

  • MightyGodKing thinks Quislet is 92% Awesome and offers 20 reasons why.

  • Kandou Erik discusses who the Legionnaires are in the 21st century in the current Superman arc. Hey, another one appears this week!

  • Writer J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5, Ninja Assassin) wants to write a "Brave & Bold" story featuring the Legion and the Doom Patrol.

  • Captain Toy reviews the DC Universe Classics Series 10 action figures, which include Imperiex as the "Build-a-Figure", meaning you have to buy the individual figures (Power Girl, Forager, Man-Bat, Robotman, and Beast Boy) to get the five parts of the large figure. Imperiex was the villain in the second season of the animated Legion show, but this version is from the regular DC Universe, from the "Our Worlds at War" story. I don't consider this to be a Legion villain figure, but your mileage may vary.

  • Legion Abstract, Get-a-Life Boy, Major Spoilers, and Comic Per Day review Adventure Comics #4.

  • Toon Zone notes in their review of the "Complete Superman: The Animated Series" DVD that "the booklet that lists the episodes sports images from The Legion of Superheroes" (animated series). Anyone got a copy to scan?

  • Collected Editions reviews the Legion of 3 Worlds hardcover, which apparently includes not only all of the regular and variant covers, but "unused" covers as well. The only one I know of is the one that's on the cover of this HC (zoomed in), which shows Superman with all three Legions. I think that was a promo that early on was supposed to be a cover. Anyone got this that can explain?

  • TradeKey has a great look back at some awesomely bad Legion costumes. I may revisit this one next time Fashion Week rolls around.

  • Comic Reviews by Walt echoes what many have been saying. With the recent success of the Green Lantern emotional spectrum rings, why not issue a Legion flight ring?

  • The Legion 4-pack of action figures from the Justice League line are on sale for 15-25% off (depending on how many items you order) from mattycollector.com through Dec. 7th.

Friday, November 27, 2009

True Tales of the 31st Century

Stealing yet another idea (like yesterday's), here's one inspired by Chris Sims' (of the ISB) post on "True Tales of the Core Marvel Universe". That's a series of entries on just how bizarre and absurd the Marvel Universe can really be if you stop to think about it. I read that and thought that surely the Legion's time (all of their timelines) must have some wackiness that we normally take for granted with our suspension of disbelief, but "when you put it that way...."

  • In the Legion's time, a boy from the 20th century spent 1000 years in isolation in a buffer zone, unable to communicate with the outside world. After he got out of isolation, a magically cloned younger version of himself went back in time to replace his 20th century self after the 20th century version got prematurely killed by an evil magician from the 30th century.

  • In the Legion's time, a boy's mind was replaced by that of a sentient blob of protoplasm, yet his long-time girlfriend (who later became his wife) who was one of the greatest telepaths known, never knew.

  • In the Legion's time, members of the team have included a teenager who created a monster to kill his teammates, someone who couldn't tell a bottle of soda from an experimental serum, an emo bag of sentient anti-energy, someone who later married his stalker, someone who ate a magic machine, and an energy creature whose favorite phrase was "poop-a-doop".

  • In the Legion's time, they have their headquarters in the body of a dead alien.

  • What else do you have?

    Thursday, November 26, 2009

    What's your favorite Legion story?

    I was listening to the Legion of Substitute Podcasters podcast #58 this week at work, and someone wrote to them with a question I thought I'd post here.

    The title of this post asks what your favorite Legion story is. But I'm not asking which story in which issue - tell me a quick story about what has been your greatest Legion-related find in a comic shop, convention, flea market, attic, or whatever, and why?

    Here's mine:

    At the 1995 San Diego con, a dealer had bought a large collection to sell and pulled out the top books to display. They didn't really get a chance to look at everything closely, the guy said. Jim Drew and I passed by the booth and I noticed a copy of Adventure Comics #247 in a display case, the first time I had ever seen a copy. It was way more than I wanted to spend for the convention ($150), but I rationalized it as a Congressional "off-the-budget" purchase. I was still wavering, and Jim told me that if I didn't buy it, he would. So I had to buy it. :) Of course, I didn't look at it closely enough until I got home, only to find out that (a) it had been restored (rice paper strengthening the cover, new staples, minor color touchups) and (b) the centerfold was missing. I wound up contacting him and getting a rebate the next year (which I wound up spending on Adventure 267 and Action 267 from him anyway).

    (If anyone here was reading Usenet or the LSH-L mailing list in 1995, this is the infamous "milkshake copy".)

    So for 11 years I had my copy of Adventure Comics 247, missing a centerfold. Someone sent me scans of what I was missing (a Little Pete gag page, a two-page ad, and the first page of the Green Arrow story), but I was always on the lookout for a spare centerfold from the issue. Of course, those never show up, so I eventually started looking for crappy beat-up copies with the centerfold intact, thinking I'd cannibalize the issue. And whaddaya know, a couple of years ago I finally found the right candidate. For the grand sum of $35, I bought a copy that was missing the cover and the first wraparound (which is the first two pages of the Legion story, and two ads) and had a detached centerfold. Score!

    That was also the year I got a complete set of the Legionnaire Slurpee cups too, but that's another story.

    Monday, November 23, 2009

    More Bits of Legionnaire Business

    More catching up...


    • From the 10/26 version of 10 Questions with Dan DiDio:
      5) Mbecks114 wrote:
      Dan

      You've stated that Superboy will be more involved in the current Superman main story line soon. But when the Legion takes over Adventure Comics where will we be able to follow his adventures in Smallville?

      DiDio: There's one very logical place that Superboy will be appearing on a consistent basis. And then from there, as the Superman storyline heats up during the course of the year, you'll start to see him popping up in more and more of the Superman titles.

      Nrama: Well, I suspect you kind of answered the next part of his question, but Mbeck continues...
      Will he rejoin the Titans or at least be reunited with Tim, Bart, and Cassie?

      DiDio: See Answer 1.

      7) KentClark wrote:
      Any news yet about who will be doing Adventure Comics after Geoff Johns and before Levitz? And who is doing art for Levitz?

      DiDio: We haven't announced the artist, but as for who will be handling Adventure Comics between when Geoff leaves and Paul joins, it's actually going to be handled by a few people involved in the Superman writing team, because those stories will tie directly into the events in Superman and Action Comics.

      Nrama: Did you say "few" people? Or "two" people?

      DiDio: It'll be handled by the writers who are currently involved in the Superman, Action and Supergirl storylines.

      Nrama: So that means Greg Rucka, Sterling Gates and James Robinson, right?

      DiDio: Sort of. Mostly. You'll hear about it soon.

      But I can tell you something about what Paul's doing. Paul will actually be working on three annuals for DC Comics in the beginning of next year. The first one up will be a Superman/Batman Annual that Paul is writing, which we're very excited about because it features very interesting characters from beyond, so to speak.

      Paul is also going to be writing an Adventure Comics Annual which will be setting up much of his storyline in Adventure Comics. So really, his run kicks off with the Adventure Comics Annual first, then it goes into Adventure Comics itself. And as we realized by chatting, I believe this is the first Adventure Comics Annual ever, which I believe is also very exciting that Paul gets to do that.

      The third one, I don't want to announce just yet, because we're a little too far out.

      Nrama: Is this Superman/Batman Annual at all connected to the changes we're going to see to the Superman/Batman title?

      DiDio: It's just a stand-alone Superman/Batman Annual, although it's oversized. Did I mention the word beyond?

      Nrama: Oh jeez. I can't believe I didn't pick up on that the first time. So we're talking about Batman Beyond appearing in this annual?

      DiDio: Exactly. That's the story that Paul is writing.

      Nrama: Will it tie into the Batman Beyond mini-series that's coming in 2010?

      DiDio: No, it's just a stand-alone story dealing with Batman and Superman and Batman Beyond.

    • Chris at the Invincible Super-Blog was asked to sign a copy of Teenagers From the Future.

    • It's Nerdsville and Newsarama's Legion Blogpost review the "Legion of 3 Worlds" hardcover.

    • CBR's Comics Should Be Good is looking at a Year of Cool Moments. This particular one is from the conclusion of the Quiet Darkness storyline in v4.

    • The Trusty Plinko Stick found some convention/commission sketches of the Legion by the late Mike Wieringo (co-creator of Impulse).

    • Major Spoilers has a Hero History of Gazelle (and check out their many other Legionnaire histories too!).

    Finishing up soon....

    Sunday, November 22, 2009

    Trivia Answers #41

    As always, you guys came up with some answers I never would have thought of, especially with my first question.

    1. Connect the Legion to the Star Wars movie "The Empire Strikes Back" in three steps. (No trickery, metaphors, or stretches of the imagination allowed.)

    I was trying to word this to get that the only answer was "Edmond Hamilton wrote the Legion, he was married to Leigh Brackett, who wrote the first draft of Empire." But several people completed a "six degrees of Kevin Bacon", including one with Kevin Bacon. Just goes to how no matter how carefully I word a question to get just one answer, you'll always find a way around it.


    2. Who was the first Legionnaire to have a single-word code name (no hyphens)?
    Kind of a trick question, I was wondering how many people would say "Wildfire". But in terms of publishing history, it's Superboy, in terms of chronological history including flashbacks, it's Supergirl. Had to put the no-hyphen rule so nobody could say "Mon-El" (who was actually inducted after both Superboy and Supergirl).


    3. Who from the 20th/21st centuries has ever joined the Legion, become an honorary member, or become a Reservist?
    L1 and L2 Superboys, L1 and L3 Supergirls, Mon-El and variations, Dev-Em, L2 Ferro, L1 Insect Queen, L1 Elastic Lad, L1 Pete Ross, Lori Morning, and the Super-Pets (not including Proty II). You forgot aboutImaginary Story Lois Lane & Bruce Wayne. I forget what the exact status of the Teen Titans is, as a couple of you mentioned them.


    4. Where was the first "real" Legion logo used? (That is, one that was reused, as opposed to a one-off.)
    The logo that appeared in "Adventure Comics" #300. See Todd Klein's blog which includes a 5-part Legion logo study (this appears in part 1 here).


    5. Which Legionnaires or close associates have the same (or nearly so) name as a Marvel character?
    According to Lorendiac's comprehensive list (v4), I see Alchemist, Andromeda, Blok, Bounty, Catspaw, Chameleon, Comet, Computo, Dyna-Sour/Dina Soar, Double-Header, Echo, Firefist, Hunter, Impulse, Inferno, Lamprey, Leviathan, Lightning Lord, Livewire, Neon, Nightwind, Omega, Omen, Persuader, Plasma, Psyche, Radion, Reflex, Shift, Slipstream, Spark, Spider-Girl, Sun Girl, Titania, Valor/Val-Or, and Wildfire.

    Tom said Jewel and Gear too; Roy suggested Dreamer, Phase, and Sensor, but I'm not familiar with their Marvel counterparts.


    6. According to Khundish law, a married woman becomes the wife of the man who kills her husband. Which Legionnaires were caught up in this situation, and why did the male not become the female's husband?
    Devlin O'Ryan accidentally killed Firefist, husband of Veilmist. But he was too young to be her husband, so she became property of the Khundish army, until Firefist got better. Thanks to Ken Austin for the original question (as seen at the bottom of the page here).


    7. Years before being flash-fried by Nemesis Kid, how did Karate Kid die the first time?
    He was killed by Alex Korlo using Rakurga poison. Ultra Boy revived them using the Legion's Deus Ex Machina, the Miracle Machine. Brainiac 5, Karate kid, Princess projectra and Superboy were also "killed" at this time, as seen in Adventure #378-379. Kudos to those who remembered "Rakurga"!

    Monday, November 16, 2009

    What about the Legion of Super-Pets?

    From Monday's 10 Questions with Dan DiDio:

    1) ICleverMan wrote:
    Yes, I am one of those freaks who adore the Legion of Super-Pets -- I own every appearance of each of them, including all Krypto stories.

    Since Krypto's return has been such a success, what are the possibilities we can see reinterpretations of Streaky, Comet and even some variation of Beppo (totally discounting the Peter David attempt at Comet)?


    DiDio: I never like to say never on anything, because there's always a writer who tends to surprise me. The funny part about Streaky is they showed Streaky in Wednesday Comics. Amanda Conner did a beautiful job with Streaky and Krypto in that book. And I think anybody would love the character except for the character's name, which always seems to get more giggles than anyone wanting to embrace the little kitty.

    On Beppo, probably not. I think what happened is that, we start to get a little too deep. One or two of those characters is interesting to see, but I think once you get a little deeper into a list of characters, it starts to weaken the brands or weaken the franchise too much because it doesn't seem like you're taking yourself too seriously.

    Because of Comet's origin and the way Comet was played, in the last incarnation of Supergirl, Peter David found an interesting way to make Comet work. But at this time, there's no particular plans to do that again.

    Newsarama: Krypto seems to be mostly featured in Adventure Comics. Now that the Legion of Super-Heroes is taking over that title when Paul Levitz becomes the regular writer next year, what will happen to Krypto?

    DiDio: There's a really good chance you'll be seeing more of Krypto in Superman. James Robinson is a huge supporter of the character. He's already used the dog a couple of times in the series. And I imagine he'll probably touch upon Krypto a little more, because James is a bit of a dog lover himself.

    Everyone forgets about Proty II in the Super-Pets.

    Wednesday, November 11, 2009

    Trivia Quiz #41

    Another quiz with no particular theme.

    1. Connect the Legion to the Star Wars movie "The Empire Strikes Back" in three steps. (No trickery, metaphors, or stretches of the imagination allowed.)

    2. Who was the first Legionnaire to have a single-word code name (no hyphens)?

    3. Who from the 20th/21st centuries has ever joined the Legion, become an honorary member, or become a Reservist?

    4. Where was the first "real" Legion logo used? (That is, one that was reused, as opposed to a one-off.)

    5. Which Legionnaires or close associates have the same (or nearly so) name as a Marvel character?

    6. According to Khundish law, a married woman becomes the wife of the man who kills her husband. Which Legionnaires were caught up in this situation, and why did the male not become the female's husband?

    7. Years before being flash-fried by Nemesis Kid, how did Karate Kid die the first time?

    Monday, November 09, 2009

    Bits of Legionnaire Business

    Here are a bunch of links that popped up in the last few weeks that I didn't get to post, in roughly chronological order. Part 1 of 2 (or maybe 3):


    • Gene Gonzales has been posting Legionnaire sketches, including Shrinking Violet (pencils here and inked here), Princess Projectra, Timber Wolf, Wildfire, Duo Damsel, Brainiac 5, and Phantom Girl. More coming in the next post.

    • Todd Klein revised and updated his Legion logo project. It now runs an intro plus five parts (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Note: for some reason, the images only seem to load in Internet Explorer, not Firefox. If you read this before, you need to read it again, there's a ton of new stuff including many unused logos.

    • In part 6 of the Wonder Girl/Supergirl teamup on Random Happenstance, the girls wonder why Supergirl can't remember the Legion.

    • Newsarama's Legion Blogpost discusses Officer Wilcox of the Science Police in the 21st century, who is really... wait, what?

    • From the 10/5 Ten Questions with Dan Didio:
      9)needcomicmoney wrote:
      Will Geoff Johns be finishing his Legion story featuring Starman and the others who are secretly in the 21st Century?

      DiDio: Some of the story threads will move over to be handled by James Robinson, because a number of the Legion members in the 21st Century are integral to some of the events in Superman.

      Nrama: Will Paul continue the Legion that Geoff set up? We're not going to see another Legion reboot, are we?

      DiDio: Not another reboot. We're picking up on the story threads with the Legion right now. Some of the Legion stories that involve the characters in the 21st Century will be picked up on by James Robinson, and some of the storylines, as they move up to the 31st Century, will be written by Paul. But all the stories are building off current continuity.

    • Legion Abstract tries to put the clues together to figure out just who is a Legionnaire in the current retro-boot.

    • George Perez, at the Baltimore Comic Con:
      ...He's also spoken with upcoming "Adventure Comics" writer Paul Levitz, whom Perez has known since their teenage years, about some future projects, and has even spoken with DC Comics honcho Dan DiDio about a project.

      ...The panel kept a casual air as Perez began to field questions from the audience. Among the first ones he was asked if there were any dream projects he would like to work on. "After 'Legion of 3 Worlds,' I pretty much completed the cycle of my fanboy dreams," Perez said.

    • Legion Abstract quickly reviews Adventure Comics #3, with the comments section longer than the review.

    • Jim Lee shows off a piece that he and the Wildstorm crew did for Paul Levitz on the occasion of his arrival/departure. Click the link for a bigger picture and to see the framed version. (Via CBR's Robot 6)


    • CBR has a Q&A with Geoff Johns:
      CBR: First off, I guess the big news since the last time we chatted is that, after only six issues, you and Francis Manapul are leaving "Adventure Comics" and outgoing DC Comics Publisher Paul Levitz is taking over the book. Michael, Eric, Matthew E, Christian and Dennis want to know what this means for Superboy?

      GJ: I just finished #6, so I've finished the story Francis and I were working on. Superboy is one of my favorite characters. I'm not really the one to tell you what is next for Superboy, but I know he features prominently in the Superman universe from here on out, and the Teen Titans, as well, for starters.

      As far as the Legion goes, I'm beyond excited for Paul Levitz to return to "Adventure Comics" and the Legion of Super-Heroes.

      CBR: HawaiiPJ1959 had a question regarding Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl's children, Graym Ranzz, and their son, whom Darkseid transformed into Validus and sent back in time. He wants to know if the children of Garth and Imra Ranzz are still in existence.

      GJ: That will be something to ask Paul.

      CBR: Slewo was wondering if we'd see any explanation into why Barry would allow XS, his granddaughter, to live away from him at such a dangerous time, instead of having her live a semi-normal life with him and Iris.

      GJ: There are very big plans for XS in the future of the Flash universe. "The Flash" book and the "Kid Flash" book start next year, and the Flash universe is something I'm very committed to, both in comics and film.

    • I haven't even finished last season of "Smallville", but a Legion flight ring is a continuing plot point in the 2009-2010 season.

    • Artist George Tuska passed away on October 16th. 20th Century Danny Boy has a good writeup. Tuska did several issues over the years:
      • Superboy 172's "Brotherly Hate", 173's "Trust Me or Kill Me", 176's "Invisible Invader", 183's "War of the Wraith Mates" (1971-72)
      • "Trial of the Legion Five" (S/LSH 235, 1978)
      • the Amalgamax/Composite Superman story (World's Finest 283-284, 1982)
      • Star Boy, on the cover to LSH v2 #300 (1983)
      • The Gim/Yera story "Guess What's Coming to Dinner" (LSH v2 308, 1984)
      • The White Witch origin story (Tales of the LSH 314-317, 1984)


    Tuesday, November 03, 2009

    Trivia Answers #40

    The long-awaited answers to October's trivia quiz, whose theme was "random questions that don't have a theme".

    1. When did the Legionnaires stand in line with the Doom Patrol, Plastic Man, and Sargon the Sorcerer?

    On the cover to "Batman" #238, which for some reason had a Legion reprint.


    (click to enlarge)

    2. Who were the two Martians shown at Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel's wedding?
    J'onn J'onzz and Tars Tarkis. The Martian Manhunter's appearance here led to his appearances in the v4-era stories, while nobody was really quite sure what to do with Tars Tarkis (from the John Carter, Warlord of Mars series by Robert E. Howard Edgar Rice Burroughs).

    3. What does C.O.M.P.U.T.O. stand for?
    Cyber-cerebral Overlapping Multiprocessor Universal Transceiver-Operator.

    4. Who made the flight rings in the Adult Legion's time frame?
    Superman, on one of his trips to the future at Christmas time ("Action Comics" 289), found the material used to create mentally-controlled flying belts (not flight rings, as I mis-remembered). The Sannings have an analysis of this issue and think that Superman must have forgotten that they already had flight rings by this point but they're just humoring him.

    5. Which Legionnaires' first appearances were posthumous?
    Chemical King, Shadow Lass, Kid Quantum, Power Boy, and Reflecto. All but Kid Quantum were originally shown as statues in the Hall of (Dead) Heroes.

    6. Which Legionnaires have been related by blood?
    Pre-Crisis Superboy and Pre-Crisis Supergirl were cousins; Lightning Lad and Lightning/Light Lass (and their Legionnaires, L2, and L3 counterparts) are siblings; L1 White Witch and L1 Dream Girl are sisters; Kid Quantum I and II are siblings; Cosmic Boy and Magnetic Kid were brothers; Mon-El/Valor and Andromeda/Laurel Gand were cousins 1000 years removed; Invisible Kid II and Computo are siblings; the current Superman and L3 Supergirl are cousins, with L2 Superboy (Kon-El) some sort of relative as he's derived from Superman's cloned DNA; from the animated series, Kell-El was a future genetic derivative of Superman; and the Nolan brothers, who were Ferro Lads in the L1 and an alternate timeline. Plus, of course, the SW6 Legionnaires and their counterparts.

    There are a lot of near-Legion relationships, like Shadow Lass and Shadow Kid, and the Tornado Twins and XS, but I didn't include them.

    7. What did Mordru serve for dinner when Rokk visited (early v4)? Why?
    Elvabird Breast. It was probably the one food Rokk most hated. As anonymous said in the comments, "it was something Rokk grew sick of eating while raiding Imskian food supplies, which Mordru picked from his memories from the Braal-Imsk hostilities..." (I didn't remember that much detail.)

    Flashback: Bits of Legionnaire Business (part 6)

    Here's the last part of the "Bits of Legionnaire Business" stuff from the original Adventure Comics run. Thanks to Jo and Terri-Anne Sanning for hosting all the Silver Age letters columns at the Silver Age Legion Clubhouse.

    Adventure Comics 350, Nov. 1966
    BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS
     
    Well, the suggestions for new Legionnaires continue to pour in from you fans. So here we are, back with a new batch of these "Bits of Legionnaire Business." This page represents only a fraction of the thousands of ideas that have deluged us. Of these, we've selected the ones we liked best - some intriguing "straight" heroes, others wild and kookie. We'll just pass along the top choices to our writers for possible use in future stories. One word of caution - try to get really original ideas. Many otherwise good heroes were rejected because they were similar to some we'd used before. Send your brainstorms to: BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS, National Periodical Publications, 575 Lexington Ave., New York, N.Y. 10022, preferably on a postal card. And now for this issue's collection:
     
    Niles Brown, Jefferson, Tex. - "Sound Boy uses sound waves to create a prison around enemies." . . . Andy Barnett, Phoenix, Ariz. - "Astro Lad has disintegration vision. He can disintegrate anything and then restore it to its original form." . . . Richard Kahn, Fair Lawn, N.J. - "Ripper Robert can rip himself in half to avoid bullets, then reunite." . . . Rand Lee, Roxbury, Conn. - "Vicious circle can materialize hoops of sizzling energy that weaken a person by sapping his strength."
     
    Robert L. Chambers, Caro, Mich. - "Monster Boy can assume any wierd form he chooses." . . . David Low, Florissant, Mo. - "The Traveler has the power to transport himself and others anywhere he wills, including other time-eras and dimensions." . . . Rudolph Valentino, Cedar Brook, N.J, - "Inertia Kid can increase the resistance that a body has to moving, and thus render it motionless.". . . Kim Boyce, Chicago, Ill. - "Pajama Pat can put anyone to sleep for any length of time."
     
    Billy Brennan, Collingdale, Pa. - "Fingertip Fred can make his fingers as long as he wants. Also, they can drill through stone or metal." . . . Mark DeWolfe, San Antonio, Tex. - "Cat Kid has the strength of a tiger, the courage of a lion, the speed of a cheetah, the ability to see in the dark - and when he falls, he always lands on his feet." . . . Paul Miller, Oakdale, Conn. - "Dynamite Dan can make anything explode." . . . Dan Solla, Freeport, Pa. - "Liquid Lad has the power to turn any solid, unliving thing into any form of liquid."
     
    Michael Willert, Woodlyn, Pa. - "Ape Boy can turn into any kind of primate, from the smallest monkey to a King Kong-sized gorilla." . . . E. Clements, San Diego, Calif. - "Remarkable Russ has the power of turning anything invisible to everyone's eyes but his." . . . William Francis Powell, Laurel, Miss. - "Steam Kid can change himself or anyone else into steam." . . . Glen Quasny, West Covina, Calif. - "The Human Sponge can soak up whole oceans into his body, or emit water from the pores of his skin."
     
    R. McNeill, Kingston, Jamaica - "Attracto-Lad has the power to attract or repel any form of energy or matter. He has one weakness, though - he can't attract girls." . . . Paul Vranish, Crosby, Minn. - "Water Lad can change into any form of water: rain, snow, fog, sleet, steam or smog." . . . Byron Holt - "Cyclotron Kid can split into atoms, changing matter to energy." . . . Patricia Stevens, Paris, France - "Tree Girl can change into a human tree." (Thanks to Pat for the chic costume sketches she included - but what else would you expect from Paris, the World Fashion Capital? -Ed.)
     
    Keith Okita, Aiea, Hawaii - "Mechanical Maid can turn into any mechanical apparatus by altering the atomic structure of her body." . . . Leon Smith, Greensboro, N.C. - "Diamond Duke is invulnerable, able to cut steel with his fingernails, has diamond strength, and can change carbon into diamond." . . . Bruce Carter, Montgomery, Ala. - "Time Lad can stop time for everyone but himself - once every 48 hours." . . . Mike Hill, Orillia, Ont., Canada - "Kayo Kid can render anyone or any creature unconscious for any desired length of time with no harmful after-effects."
     
    Alan Mandelbaum and Russell Weis, Oceanside, N.Y. - "Thin Girl can make herself as thin as a piece of thread." . . . Rick Rampone, Elkhart, Ind. - "Lie-Detector Lad has the power of making anybody within 25 feet of him tell the truth." . . . Stephen Phillips, New York, N.Y. - "Dee-zeez can give foes any illness, but is herself immune to all diseases." . . . Brian T. Strom, Northfield, Minn. - "Whirl Wizard's power is to shoot out whirling rays from his eyes. They cause enemies to whirl uncontrollably till they get dizzy."
     
    Hugh Simons, Chicago, Ill. - "Miss Break-Mass can break inanimate objects into atoms. She can also beak her body into parts, each one of which has an individual power." . . . Paul Remley, Ann Arbor, Mich. - "Gas Lad can breath in any gas and breath it out in another form. For instance, he could inhale helium and exhale oxygen." . . . "Jay Sabatucci, Arlington, Tex. - "Reflexo Lad; when he's hit, his arms automatically shoot out and sock his opponent by reflex action." . . . John Kimsey, Indianapolis, Ind. - "Suspense Spence can suspend anything in space or time."

    [2009 note: powers of Infectious Lass]
     

    Adventure Comics 354, March 1967
    Dear Editor:
     
    Lately, much attention has been given to Jeff Greenberg for his creation of Color Kid, now a member of the Legion of Substitute Heroes. It is my sad duty to inform you that he did not create Color Kid. In issue No. 311, Leslie Leibow, of Fairlawn, N.J., sent in Color Kid as a Bit of Legionnaire Business. When will you give credit where credit is due?
     
    -Elizabeth Kane, East Meadow, N.Y.
     
    (We already have, Liz - by crediting the first fan to send the idea in. Jeff's Bit of Business appeared in No. 309. And speaking of Jeff, read the next letter. -Ed.)
     
    Dear Editor:
     
    Thank you! Thank you! I am so proud! You have made Color Kid one of your most vivid and exciting new characters. Even though he is only a Substitute Legionnaire, he was the hero of "The Forgotten Legion" (which was one of your best stories in months). And why am I so proud? Because he's my character - I created him in your Bits of Legionnaire Business column. Well, I've made my contribution!
     
    -Jeff Greenberg, Los Angeles, Calif.
     
    (You sure have, Jeff! We fell your boy adds a great deal of color to the Substitute Legion - so there's no telling when he'll pop up next. -Ed.)
     
     
    Adventure Comics 358, July 1967
    Dear Editor: In No. 346, you told who submitted Weight Wizard and Blockade Boy, who appeared in "The Super-Stalag of Space". But you overlooked the originators of two other heroes. A check with "Bits of Legionnaire Business" in No. 340 shows that Plant Lad was dreamed up by Mike Young of Yakima, Wash., and Shadow Kid sprang from the mind of Dennis Coughlin, Palo Alto, Calif. How about giving them credit?
     
    -Charles Foley, Corinth, Miss.
     
    (We're glad to correct our oversight, Charlie. And if we ever use Shadow Kid - the only one of the four who survived the Stalag - we'll give Dennis a bonus credit. -Ed.)
     

    Monday, November 02, 2009

    Getting caught up

    Between being away and being sick, I've slacked off here. I'll try to get caught up. In the meantime, here's a new newsy bit from Dan Didio's Q&A on Newsarama.

    1) Emerson_Nickerson wrote:
    Dan:

    How big of foreshadowing are Cosmic Boys thoughts in Superman: Secret Origin #2 in relationship to the 2010 Superman event?

    DiDio: It does have some slight foreshadowing for the upcoming Superman storyline. And I would be misleading if I said that the Legion did not play into that story in some way, shape or form.

    I've got a whole bunch of Bits of Legionnaire Business to cover (plus the last part of the original Adventure letter columns), some trivia answers to give, and some new questions to put forth.

    But here's a question, I need a new tag for all of the Legion's new stories in Adventure Comics and in the Superman stories in the post-Lightning Saga, post-Legion of 3 Worlds, Johns-reboot timeline. Got any suggestions? Retro-boot, De-boot, Un-boot?