LEGION OF WRITERS
[Yellow Light]It’s handy that Jim Shooter worked so far ahead on "Legion," Because, even though he stormed off the book around March (hence his no show with DC at the Bristol convention), things were patched up nicely and he’s back on the book. Without missing a single issue.
Of course, when he does decide to gracefully step down, expect Geoff Johns to jump on that book like a... well, a rude word.
I understand that Marvel have been playing wargames on how to persuade Geoff Johns to jump ship at the end of his contract (over a year away) and what to do with him when they get him, so expect to see DC Comics fight back pre-emptively...
Now that's interesting.
First, it's an easy way around his earlier rumors that Shooter had left, now he conveniently has patched things up and is back on the book without losing a beat. That's not to say there wasn't anything on that front, but it's been 4 months without a single other person publicly confirming that Shooter may or may not have left (even anonymously).
Second, remember that whether or not there's any truth to that, Shooter's 16-issue arc would be over right around the end of Legion of 3 Worlds/Final Crisis, and if he decides not to stay, the book would be ready for another writer (although 16 issues is a relatively long time, putting Shooter on is really just a stunt). And Johns is already on record saying he'd love to write the regular Legion book, presumably "his" Legion from Action Comics. Would he give up one of his other books? Due to his announced plans for Superman and Green Lantern, who ain't got nothing on me, that would leave the JSA if he doesn't want to write 4 books a month.
It's not often that the Legion is used as the bait to induce a high-profile writer or artist: "Geoff, we'll give you the Legion if you stay at DC". How crazy is that?
San Diego is going to be interesting...
(Thanks, Murray, for the tip!)
What I found interesting (or more interesting than the Shooter's gone, well, no I guess he isn't gone) is the wording, "when he does decide to gracefully step down..."
ReplyDeleteThis implies that Shooter's run is open-ended which pleases me to no end. I like what he's doing with the book and would love for him to stay on.
However, that's just me guessing and hoping. There's really nothing in the story that confirms or denies that Shooter is going to be staying past the 14-16 issue story arc that he's had planned.
As for Geoff jumping at the book... meh. Whatever. I'd rather he not. I prefer Shooter's version to Geoff's kinda/sorta but not really the Legion I grew up with. I'd rather see a "Superman and the Legion" book be added to the mix then one version replace another.
I don't think Geoff's going to be going anywhere. He's tried Marvel and I don't think that he really fit there.
murr
My take: Shooter was brought in to give a moderate sale boost and mark time through the end of the 50th anniversary. He was told that it was an open-ended run, but the plan behind the scenes was always to do a switch-over to v6 at the end of things. When he got word of the real plan, he stormed off, but DC went immediately into damage control (placation) mode and coaxed him back -- maybe with more money/royalties, maybe with hardcover reprints (which we're getting), maybe with future work promises (Legion or otherwise), maybe with royaltied reprints of his 60s and 70s work.
ReplyDeleteWe've already seen DC yank the fans around with Bart's death. With a 14 or 16-month lead in the works, it's not hard to see them yanking a creator around, too.
Once we see Shooter's overall arc coalesce and figure out what "one Legion" will come out of Lo3W, we'll have a better idea what may have actually occurred.