Confirmed! The Legion returns to Adventure Comics

Via Geoff Johns' blog:

Finally.

I can talk about it.

This week, with LEGION OF THREE WORLDS #4, I can finally talk about August’s upcoming ADVENTURE COMICS #1/#504!!

The series will feature one of my favorite characters to write and a mainstay of my run on TEEN TITANS - SUPERBOY.

You can get a look at some amazing pages from issue #1 illustrated by Francis Manipul at the DCU Blog. Francis and I have been talking about Superboy since last San Diego Comic Con and it’s nice to finally see it come to light.

But that’s not all. It can’t be, right? I mean, it’s called ADVENTURE COMICS. It’s not called SUPERBOY. That’s because the series won’t just be featuring Superboy, it’ll be co-featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes fresh from the Crisis of the 31st Century in LEGION OF THREE WORLDS. More on the details of the book, and Superboy and the Legion, will be coming out in the following weeks, but I think it’s safe to reveal that STARMAN will be the Legionnaire taking front and center stage with our first issue.

Interesting that he references issue #504, which means that they're including "Adventure Comics Presents Dial H for Hero" and the digests in the numbering. We had that discussion here a few months ago. And don't forget that this is actually Adventure Comics v3.

The DCU Blog post shows the cover to Adventure Comics #1, with the center figure now revealed to be Superboy, but with the lower left figure still obscured. Based on the cape, it's likely to be Mon-El, but who knows.

Annotated "Legion of Three Worlds" #4

Four issues down, one to go - allegedly due in June. Fingers crossed.

Also check out the annotations by Douglas Wolk's Final Crisis Annotations, Gary Greenwood's The Annotated Final Crisis, and Tim Callahan, who might all have theirs up shortly.

Keeping my Annotations notations, the three Legions as L1 (Pre-Crisis + Lightning Saga), L2 (Post-Zero Hour), and L3 (Post-Infinite Crisis).

The solicitation:

Written by Geoff Johns; Art by George Pérez and Scott Koblish; Covers by George Pérez
Don't miss this issue as lightning strikes again in the DC Universe! The Crisis of the 31st century continues as a great hero falls and another returns to help Superman and the Legion combat the murderous Superboy-Prime! Meanwhile, the Time Trapper makes his move against the three Legion founders, Polar Boy's bizarre mission comes to an end and Superman makes a shocking discovery that will redefine the terms of this war.

DC Universe | 40pg. | Color | $3.99 US
On Sale Apr 29, 2009

Cover A (full): L1 Brainiac 5 with Kid Flash (Bart Allen) appearing from the lightning rod
Cover B (sliver): TBD

Page 1

• The digger is Tom Kallor (aka Starman, aka Danny Blaine), last seen in JSA #? taking the job of a grave digger. At the time we didn't know why.
  

Page 2

• Panel 4: "Gold star" might be a reference to his old costume, which was purple with a gold star on the chest.
  
• Panel 8: Mr. Kent... given the 20th century events of last issue where the Legionnaires got a strand of hair from Lex Luthor, it's pretty obvious who is buried here.
  

Page 3

• Panel 3: L3 Timber Wolf, L3 Element Lad
  
• Panel 4: L3 Element Lad covers up the headless body of L3 Sun Boy, killed last issue.
  
• Panel 5: L2 Umbra fights off shadow demons.
  
• Panel 6: L2 Shikari, L3 Timber Wolf, L2 Violet, L3 Princess Projectra vs. Hunter and Black Mace.
  
• Panel 7: Mordru must be talking about his earliest encounters with Superboy and the Legion, as in ADV 369-370.
  
• Panel 9: L2 Kinetix and L2 Sensor magically fight Mordru. Kinetix refers to her Legion's fight with their Mordru (Legionnaires 48, 49, 50).
  

Page 4

• Panel 2: L1 Blok, L1 White Witch, L1 Phantom Girl, L3 Phantom Girl
  
• Panel 3: L2 Apparition
  
• Panel 4: L1 Night Girl, L2 Dreamer
  
• Panel 6: Superman, L1 Cosmic Boy, L1 Saturn Girl
  
• Panel 8: Kid Flash's fist makes its first appearance
  

Page 5

• Panel 1: Kid Flash is back from the dead!
  
• Panel 6: Jenni "XS" Ognats, Bart Allen's first cousin. Her mom and his dad were Dawn and Don Allen, the Tornado Twins.
  

Page 6

• Panel 1: L1 Lightning Lad and L2 Spark
  
• Panel 2: L2 Live Wire, L3 Lightning Lad, and L1 Lightning Lass add their powers
  
• Panel 3: L3 Light Lass, L2 Gates
  
• Panel 4: L1 Brainiac 5's hand holds the lightning rod, L2 Brainiac 5 in the background
  
• Panels 3-8: OK, if you'll remember, Bart "died" (as the adult Flash) the same week that we saw the Lightning Saga finale (June 2007), in which we saw the Legionnaires capture something in the lightning rod. Speculation at the time thought it was Barry, but it was actually Bart's essence. If I get this right, Bart had been accelerated to an adult which caused him to age rapidly even further, so "bottling his youth" in the lightning rod saved his life. Why did they do that? Because L1 Dream Girl, who is still MIA, dreamed that it was necessary. (Note: I've lost track. Which L1 Legionnaires are still missing besides Dream Girl and Chameleon Boy?
  

Page 7

• XS and Kid Flash vs Emerald Empress. L2 Kid Quantum appears.
  

Page 8

• Panels 1-2: Sodam Yat, the last Green Lantern, attacks Superboy Prime
  

Page 9

• Finally, the Time Trapper reappears! That's L2 Timber Wolf, Grimbor, L3 Invisible Kid, L2 Ferro, L2 Gear, L2 Violet, L3 Triplicate Girl, L1 Blok, L2 Saturn Girl, L2 Cosmic Boy, Persuader, L3 Shadow Lass, L1 Shadow Lass, L1 Mon-El, L3 Star Boy.
  

Page 10

• Panel 2: flashback from Final Crisis?
  
• Panel 4: Flashback to Time Trapper and Glorith from ADV 317
  
• Panel 5: Flashback to the Conspiracy against the Time Trapper, LSH v3 50. That's Mon-El, Saturn Girl, Duo Damsel, Brainiac 5, and Rond Vidar.
  
• Given what we know by the end of the story about who this Time Trapper is, why would he have focused on the Legion for what they did to him? They've got an issue to figure that out.
  
• Notice that the Conspiracy arc is still canonical. That was well after the Crisis issues of LSH v3 (17-18). Time Trapper says that he attempted to remove any true memories of Superboy from the Legion but was not fully successful. Does that mean that the v4 Legion has not been erased, as that Legion used Valor as a Superboy substitute?
  

Page 12

• Panel 3: Kid Flash says that magic doesn't affect Superboy Prime. I thought it did, am I mistaken?
  
• Panel 5: Kinetix is killed. I'm a bit surprised, as I figured they wouldn't kill off the "unique" characters from each of the Legions.
  
• Panel 6: Interestingly, she calls out the name of Leviathan, who was the L2 Gim Allon. He died early in the L2 run. Did she see him as she died, and if so, how? When last we saw him, he was being taken into a room that suggested (to me, at least) that they were testing out something that might bring him back to life.
  

Page 13

• That's newscaster Marella Tao, who dated Timber Wolf after he broke up with Light Lass. To recap: the dead Legionnaires (so far) include L2 Kinetix, L1 Karate Kid II (shown with the rest of the Substitute Legion 2.0), L1 Rond Vidar, and L3 Sun Boy.
  

Page 14

• L2 M'Onel and L3 Element Lad join the fight. Element Lad makes the version of Kryptonite from Superboy Prime's world that hurts him, as kryptonite from other worlds don't hurt.
  

Page 15

• Death of L3 Element Lad and possibly Zymyr (if he can live outside of his bubble). Cosmic King changes the kryptonite radiation to yellow sun radiation, which appears to be a new use of his power (previously he only changed elements and compounds).
  

Page 16

• Panel 2: Mordru predicts the triumphant Legion: L1 Invisible Kid II, L2 Invisible Kid, L2 Chameleon, L1 Timber Wolf, L1 White Witch, L1 Blok, L2 Saturn Girl, L2 Sensor, L2 Cosmic Boy, L3 Atom Girl, L2 Violet, L2 Kid Quantum, L3 Colossal Boy, L3 Chameleon Boy, L2 Ferro, L2 Timber Wolf, L2 Shikari, L2 Apparition. Fallen bad guys include Mordru, Titania, Tharok, Dr. Regulus, and the Emerald Eye.
  
• Panel 7: Green Lantern, L1 Mon-El, L3 Wildfire, and L2 M'Onel head north
  
• Panel 8: Following them are L2 and L3 Ultra Boys, L2 Star Boy, and L2 Andromeda.
  

Page 17

• Panel 1: The new version of Superman's Fortress, resembling that on the Smallville TV show and the Superman movies.
  
• Panel 2: Three Brainiac 5s, Gates, and Light Lass wait for the Time Bubble.
  
• Panel 7: L1 Wildfire, L1 Polar Boy, and L1 Dawnstar return with Lex Luthor's hair.
  

Page 19

• Hmm, who has Kryptonian DNA and needs reviving?
  

Page 20

• Ooops, the only ones who knew what to do are unconscious, along with some heavy hitters (M'Onel, L2 Ultra Boy, Green Lantern, and Andromeda).
  

Page 21

• More cannon fodder: L2 Wildfire, L3 Ultra Boy, and L1 Mon-El. Polar Boy is the last line of defense, but he's just buying time.
  

Page 23

• Polar Boy won't go down easily. His dying speech (or what he thinks will be that): "You can kill everyone wearing a Legion flight ring, but the dream Superman started will never die. Long Live the Legion."
  

Page 24

• L1 Sun Boy to the rescue as L1 Dawnstar and L1 Wildfire complete the resurrection/regeneration process.
  

Page 25

• Panel 2: Polar Boy calls Sun Boy "Drake" instead of "Dirk". Drake is Wildfire.
  

Page 26-27

• It's the return of Conner Kent, aka Superboy! That shirt and those pants look pretty good after 1000 years.
  

Page 28-29

• The assembled Legionnaires vs Superboy Prime at the north pole, with the three L1 founders with Superman at the end of time. The big reveal --
  

Page 30

• The Time Trapper is Superboy Prime!
  

So we've got a couple of months to analyze this before issue 5. There are some things I want to address, like can the Trapper's previous appearances be reconciled with this, especially the story in which he hinted at XS's role in the big picture scheme of things; how this ties back to the Lightning Saga story; and a look at the hints and spoilers over the last couple years.

Remember, we know that Bart and Conner survive to make it back to the 21st century, and that L1 Brainiac 5 shows Superman the Miracle Machine

Mark Waid interview on AICN

Thanks to Murray for pointing this out (and also for pointing out what seems like half of the links I post here nowadays!). Mark Waid did an interview for Ain't It Cool News (AICN) on Monday, in which he speaks at length about the Legion. I don't think there's anything new, as Mark covered it back in December with a CBR interview, but it's still interesting to hear him speak about it. (The Savage Critics, however, call this new interview "pretty much the balls-out closet-opening light-shining festival on the perceived insanity behind DiDio's DC that I've been waiting for.")

Here's a chunk of a very long (and very thorough) interview that pretty much covers Waid's entire career.

Bill Mitchell (BM): Was the LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES a difficult property to tackle given the numerous incarnations and histories involved with the team even though you essentially relaunched the book? Was this a book you had always had your sights on?

Mark Waid (MW): I'd actually already written it for a while back in '94. And next to Superman, it's always been my favorite longtime DC property. Paul Levitz is the only person I'll allow is a bigger lifelong fan of the Legion than I am. I love everything about their history and know it better than I know my own family's. Problem was, that history was badly broken. CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS and the John Byrne SUPERMAN reboot and a few other storylines had really wrecked the Legion's continuity beyond repair, and no matter how fast we ran around trying to patch the raft, some other ripple in DC continuity was blowing another hole in it, to the point where Legion history seemed like nothing BUT hasty patches.

The absolute, irrefutable reality was that by the early 2000s, new-reader perception of the Legion was that it was an impenetrable read full of mismatched history that made no sense. You can argue all you like that this perception wasn't fair or accurate, if you're so inclined, but it didn't matter. That was the series' reputation, and it hardened around the characters like cement. We couldn't give that book away no matter how good it actually was. In fact, it's forgotten, but the last time it was relaunched around about 2000 (as THE LEGION by Abnett and Lanning), you could not have asked for a greater promotional push. Wizard Magazine promoted it with giveaways, and they NEVER promote DC. Ads were everywhere, retailer incentives were created...and it was still pretty well D.O.A.

So in 2005, I was asked if I wanted to come aboard, and I felt there were only two ways to go--either try to get back to Silver Age continuity, which was flatly impossible in part because of the ongoing litigation between the Siegel estate and DC over who owned Superboy--or plant a giant flag that said, "Everything starts fresh here, it's all new, it's a total reboot and we're all on the same page, readers and creators." I chose the latter path, for good or ill. Barry Kitson and I worked out their entire world, including origin material you'll never see, and (at the suggestion of writer Tom Peyer) rethought the Legion as less of a super-team and more of a political movement. And we got some mileage out of it, and I like what we did.

But now we're back to what I was saying before--how liquid DC continuity was at the moment. While we were busting our asses to rebuild the franchise (and getting periodic fan notes from Paul Levitz, which were gold to me), a whole different editorial office was allowing Brad Meltzer to undo absolutely all our hard work for one of his JLA stories, which (he'd been told) could star the 1980s Legion, as if ours never existed. I don't blame Brad at all, but boy, was that mismanaged on all levels--because it was deliberately kept secret from us until it was on the verge of being printed. I would have JUMPED at the chance to play along somehow, thus strengthening a new Legion series that were on about issue four or five of, rather than sending a message that our Legion was just some sort of aberrant fan-fiction. (Yes, I'm still pissed.) Barry and I were dealt with in unbelievable bad faith, which I could have endured, but it wasn't just about Barry and me; it made DC as a whole just look stupid and uncoordinated, and I still love DC enough to hate when that happens.

Eventually, long after Barry and I finished our run, Superboy was returned to DC and Geoff Johns now has the opportunity to re-re-re-relaunch the Legion as its Silver Age incarnation, and more power to him. On the one hand, I wish we'd had that chance, but the timing wasn't right and it wasn't in the stars. On the other hand, I have no regrets because I have to work extra-hard sometimes to convince some readers that I'd much rather move forward than backward.

1000 Posts Later

Huh. If I posted just once a year, I'd be in the 31st century already.

So it turns out that my last trivia quiz post last week was my 1000th post here at the Omnicom. It's hard to believe that I've kept at it for that long (first post: November 8th, 2005, 3-1/2 years ago).

Over the last few years, because of the blog, I've been in contact with members of creative teams past and present, I've heard from people involved in the animated TV series, and Paul Levitz even told me (in San Diego last summer) that he pops in here from time to time. I was even consulted for a minor (non-spoilery) story element in "Legion of Three Worlds". A lot of people found me at San Diego last year just from my Simpson-ized icon, and I've met more people through this blog than I ever expected. (I'm just disappointed that The CW people didn't invite me for a set visit last fall, though, during the Legion episode of Smallville.) And I've had fun, especially due to my regular commenters, through trivia quizzes, annotations, review roundups, convention reports, sales charts, and more.

So here's to another 1000 posts. Long Live the Legion!

More Bits of Legionnaire Business

More stuff...

Toys

• The Matty Collector Facebook page has some more pictures and info on the Legion action figures coming out next month. The 4-pack will retail for $30 and is only available at mattycollector.com. Note: per mattycollector.com, you must be 18 to purchase these figures (this must be the Adult Legion).
  
  
  

Reviews and other random miscellany

• Siskoid found an odd reference in Star Trek #39, June 1987, written by Len Wein.
  
  
• Comics Bronze Age reviews LSH v2 #279, part of the Grimbor/Reflecto saga. Note the George Perez cover from 1981.
  
  
• Brian Hughes at Again With the Comics looks at the late v3-era Polar Boy-era Legion and takes another look at the Space Canine Patrol Agents.
  
  
• Jonathan at Living Between Wednesdays reviews Adventure Comics 315, the story where Stone Boy was given the opportunity to join the Legion. The review is MICHAEL APPROVED.
  
  
• Matthew at Legion Abstract tries to analyze Lightning Lad's Lightning Saga personality in terms of what his personality has been like in his various incarnations (Silver Age, v4, Post-Zero Hour Livewire, SW6 Livewire, etc.).
  

Interviews

• Robot 6 at CBR interviews Tony Bedard, current writer of R.E.B.E.L.S.
  
  
• Over at Colleen Doran's A Distant Soil, guest-blogger Laurie Sutton talks about her history in comics. You might remember her as the Legion editor at the time a little-known story arc called The Great Darkness Saga was published.
  

Trivia Answers #34

Ooops. It's been quiet around here lately and I forgot to post the trivia quiz answers. In honor of April Fools Day, this month's theme was funny people and parodies.

1. When did a Mxyzptlk appeared with the Legion, and how often did Legionnaires die during those meetings?

The Silver Age Legion met the evil Mxyzptlk V (and everyone died except Superboy, in ADV 310), while their Adult counterparts teamed up with his good brother Mxyzptlk 5 (nobody died, in ADV 355). Everyone died in "World's Funnest". None of the Legionnaires died in "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow". And "Wild World" versions of Superman, Mxyzptlk, and the Legion appeared in Action 388.

2. Which Legion parody group included Negative Lass, Lightning Lice, Loud Kid, Beachball Boy, No-Brainiac 5, Batter-Eater Lad, Butter-Eater Lad, Butler-Eater Lad, Button-Eater Lad, Mutton-Eater Lad, Kid Lass, and Kid Kid?

The Logjam of Super-Heroes, from the Myxzptlk "New Year's Evil" one-shot from 1998.

3. Name any three members of the Legion of Superfluous Heroes from "normalman".

This LSH was so big that it took years for a complete roll call. There were at least 88 members (names listed here), including Ample Lass, Euphemism Lad, Flaccid Lad, Generic Lad, Nihilistic Kid, Sappho Girl, and Unavoidable Lad. The roll call appeared in the first 7 issues of "normalman" from Aardvark-Vanaheim and Renegade Comics (currently collected by Image, and well worth seeking out).

4. According to the commentary within "DC Comics Presents" #59 (Superman and the Subs vs Ambush Bug, recently reprinted in the Ambush Bug Showcase volume), when did that story take place?

"Don't worry about where this story takes place in continuity", or words thereabout.

5. Which Legion parody featured Badtmann, Bloatman, Boobin, Camel-Lion Boy, Cap Namerica, Career Girl, Cromag-Man, Dawn Spark, Dreaming Girl, Magnethead Kid, Maniac 5, Nom-El, Phantasmic Girl, Plastic Surfer, Soopaman, Thunder Lass, Tinder Wolf, and Water Boy?

This was Blackthorne's Legion of the Stupid-Heroes. See more here.

6. Which Legion included Bizarro-Brainiac 5, Bizarro-Chameleon Boy, Bizarro-Cosmic Boy, Bizarro-Invisible Kid, Bizarro-Lightning Lad, Bizarro-Mon-El, Bizarro-Saturn Girl, Bizarro-Superboy, and Bizarro-Ultra Boy?

The (Bizarro) Legion of Stupor-Heroes, of course, from ADV 329.

7. I've mentioned the Space Canine Patrol Agents a couple of times recently. What's their battle cry?

From Superboy 131, the SCPA's battle cry is "Big dog, big dog, bow wow wow! We'll crush evil, now now now!". No, really.

(And yes, Tom, I remember the year that the Black Ink Irregulars were the Space Canine Patrol Agency's Human Auxiliary. That was at the 2001 San Diego Comic Con's Pro/Fan Trivia contest, the only year I was on the team. See here for the gory details, but the BII lost that year.)

Blogroll update

Time for a periodic cleaning of the blogroll sidebar.

Out:

• Paul and John Review. John has moved over to Living Between Wednesdays, and the site isn't being updated any more.
  

In:

• Legione dei Super-Eroi, which (like the Omnicom) is all-Legion, all the time, all in Italian. Good job by Fabio “Mr. Kayak” Graziano! Looks like there's a lot there that I've missed for this site, so I'll have to dig through the last couple of months over there. Stuff to check out: the Heaven 4 Heroes modeler, a Mon-El costume redesign contest, and a benefit painting done by Francis Manapul with Superboy and the Legion. More later.
  
• It's OK, I'm a Senator! Recollections by v4-era Legion writer Tom Bierbaum about writing the Legion, reprinted from his various APAs over the years. More on this one later, too.
  
• Geoff Johns has his own site, apart from the message boards at comicbloc.com. He's a writer, too.
  

Legion of Three Worlds finale spoiler!

Spoiler warning for the ending to Legion of Three Worlds!



OK, you've been warned...



Bart Allen (aka Impulse, Kid Flash, and Flash) lives and returns to the 21st century! Surprise, surprise. But we know he lives because he shows up in the first issue of "Flash: Rebirth" from last week.

Some of Bart's dialog with Robin and Wonder Girl:
"I came here from the future so that everything could go back to the way it used to be. Wally's the Flash and I'm Kid Flash."

I know, that's not really much to go on.

And also, in case you hadn't heard, we have semi-official dates for the last two issues:

According to a shipping update from Diamond Comic Distributors, DC has rescheduled Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #5 and #6, originally scheduled to ship in December 2008 and March 2009 to May 13 and June 24, respectively.

As a point of reference, Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #1 shipped Aug. 20, 2008.

Bits of Legionnaire Business

It's been pretty quiet on the Legion front, just a couple of solo characters lately, waiting for the next issues of L3W and Adventure. In the meantime, some Bits:

• Via The BEAT, here are DC sales in February:
  

  15 - FINAL CRISIS: LEGION OF 3 WORLDS
  08/2008: Legion of 3 Worlds #1 of 5 — 68,306 [73,914]
  09/2008: –
  10/2008: Legion of 3 Worlds #2 of 5 — 64,412 (-5.7%)
  11/2008: –
  12/2008: –
  01/2008: –
  02/2008: Legion of 3 Worlds #3 of 5 — 61,358 (-4.7%)
  —————-
  6 months: -10.2%
  
  In terms of the schedule, the last remaining Final Crisis spin-off has gone far off the rails, but the sales remain solid.
  
  50 - ADVENTURE COMICS
  02/2009: Adventure Comics #0 — 32,851
  
  My first instinct here is to wonder if it isn’t kind of depressing for a major company like DC Comics to produce a $ 1 comic and only sell 30K and change of it. But I don’t, because I’ve read the advertising copy, and I’ve read the comic.
  
  Adventure Comics #0 has two stories. The first is a “Legion of Super-Heroes” reprint from the 1950s, an “adventure comic,” very much of its time, and as corny and naive as those things are prone to.
  
  The second is a new six-pager that’s brutal and excessively violent, and it doesn’t make a lick of sense to anyone who hasn’t been reading a lot of DC’s comics anyway.
  
  This, you have to understand, is not an accident: DC Comics is simply not interested in selling its comics to people who don’t already read them.
  
  I’m not making this up. DC Comics Executive Editor Dan DiDio says so, all the time and on the record. Asked in a recent Newsarama piece why his DC Universe imprint doesn’t publish more low-priced entry-level comics, DiDio says:
  
  “When we’re working with pre-existing characters and properties as we do in the DC Universe, people are mostly predisposed and understand who our characters are, so the idea of a wider sampling at a lower price isn’t nearly as necessary as it is with Vertigo.”
  
  The logical conclusion, evidently, is to sometimes publish low-priced comics, but make absolutely sure that they are impenetrable to the general public, lest anyone not among the predisposed might be accidentally seduced into buying a Superman comic.
  
  75 - R.E.B.E.L.S.
  02/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #1 — 23,739
  
  Tony Bedard and Andy Clarke’s Legion of Super-Heroes spin-off launches with rather dispiriting numbers; and because the first issue was promoted through a 1-for-10 variant-cover scheme, the second-issue drop in March is bound to be steep.
  
  Given that a relaunch of the mother title on the back of the fairly successful Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds miniseries is supposedly in the pipeline, the decision to launch R.E.B.E.L.S. at this stage is another odd one on DC’s part.
  
  The book could certainly have used the extra sales a more cohesive publishing strategy might have brought.

  
  
• Scott Koblish has a couple of panels from "Legion of 3 Worlds" #4, featuring XS and Kid Flash (Bart Allen) vs Superboy Prime shooting eye-blasts. (Go visit his site, he just finished uploading an entire 24-page story called "The Eight Immortals".)
  

  I'm very excited about the last two issues of FC:Lo3W, the fourth issue should come out soon! Honest!

  
  The Italian site Legione dei Super-Eroi has a better, bigger view of the panels.
  
  
• "Paul and John Review" is sadly defunct (though the archives are still there, with all of the "Super-Human Detritus of the 30th Century" postings. The good news is that John is over at "Living Between Wednesdays". He's still the resident Legion fan there, as you can see in his posts discussing which of the original Justice Society of America (1940's version) might have gotten into the Legion. You might be surprised. (Part 1, Part 2)
  
  
• Rokk's Comic Book Revolution reviews Superman #686, starring Mon-El.
  

  I would only recommend Superman #686 to loyal fans of Mon-El and the Guardian. For everyone else, I would recommend skipping this issue. It is not worth your hard earned money. And nothing happens in this issue that will prevent you from enjoying the upcoming direction for this title.

  
  
• The "Things I've Learned from Wikipedia" blog reviews Matter-Eater Lad's entry, with predictable results.
  
  
• Don't forget about White Party 2009 in Palm Springs this weekend, in particular this party on Saturday night (the 11th).
  

  WHITE PARTY 20 – LEGION OF SUPERHEROES Grab your cape and spring into action, beginning at 9pm and continuing until 5am. The time has come to join forces for the most incredible gathering the world has ever seen. Inside the Palm Springs Convention Center, heroes from all over the universe will converge for the biggest and most anticipated event of the weekend! Headlining DJs Tony Moran (NYC), Manny Lehman (LA) and Ana Paula (Brazil) deliver the surge of musical excitement as men of steel, boys of wonder and all sorts of amazing avengers invade the dance floor. Earth shaking sound, spectacular visuals and mind altering effects will startle your senses. Special guest performers invade the stage to unleash spectacular live entertainment all night long. As the fury unfolds in the main room, DJ Chi Chi LaRue and her sexy gang of exclusive Rascal stars will stir up trouble in the adjacent Legion Lounge.

  
  
• Polling closes this Sunday night for the TV IV Readers Choice awards. The Legion animated series is up for Best Animated Drama Series IVy Award for 2008.
  
  
• The Superman Fan Podcast discusses the Time Trapper's Pocket Universe storyline and how it was portrayed in the Superman titles at the time.
  
  
• The Geeky Librarian, after reading and liking "Legion of 3 Worlds", picked up Volume 2 of the Legion Showcase reprint. Looks like we've got another convert!
  

Trivia Quiz #34

In honor of April Fools Day last week, this month's theme is funny people and parodies.

1. When did a Mxyzptlk appeared with the Legion, and how often did Legionnaires die during those meetings?

2. Which Legion parody group included Negative Lass, Lightning Lice, Loud Kid, Beachball Boy, No-Brainiac 5, Batter-Eater Lad, Butter-Eater Lad, Butler-Eater Lad, Button-Eater Lad, Mutton-Eater Lad, Kid Lass, and Kid Kid?

3. Name any three members of the Legion of Superfluous Heroes from "normalman".

4. According to the commentary within "DC Comics Presents" #59 (Superman and the Subs vs Ambush Bug, recently reprinted in the Ambush Bug Showcase volume), when did that story take place?

5. Which Legion parody featured Badtmann, Bloatman, Boobin, Camel-Lion Boy, Cap Namerica, Career Girl, Cromag-Man, Dawn Spark, Dreaming Girl, Magnethead Kid, Maniac 5, Nom-El, Phantasmic Girl, Plastic Surfer, Soopaman, Thunder Lass, Tinder Wolf, and Water Boy?

6. Which Legion included Bizarro-Brainiac 5, Bizarro-Chameleon Boy, Bizarro-Cosmic Boy, Bizarro-Invisible Kid, Bizarro-Lightning Lad, Bizarro-Mon-El, Bizarro-Saturn Girl, Bizarro-Superboy, and Bizarro-Ultra Boy?

7. I've mentioned the Space Canine Patrol Agents a couple of times recently. What's their battle cry?

Emerald City Comic Con

I keep forgetting to check the convention calendar. This weekend is the Emerald City Comic Con.

Via Pop Culture Zoo, the DC Nation panel:

The audience was told to watch the Superman universe of books for further developments concerning the Legion of Super-Heroes with a strong indication that there would be a Superboy book in the future.

I don't see anything from CBR or Newsarama, so if you hear more, please post it in the comments.

A new Superboy and the Legion book maybe?

Poll: When will "Legion of Three Worlds" #5 come out?

Via intrepid reporter Murray, here's Dan DiDio's latest at Newsarama:

12. Legion of 3 Worlds’ final issues are still experiencing delays. When will that finally be completed, and what does it mean for Adventure Comics and Legion plans in the rest of 2009?

DD: First of all, I’m not saying Adventure Comics and the Legion of 3 Worlds are somehow tied together (laughs), but – that said, I would expect to see Adventure Comics in late summer as its being worked on right now, and I expect that we’ll be seeing Legion of 3 Worlds #4 in April, and honestly, we’re looking at #5 two months after that, and then we’re good.

OK, so here's my poll. When do you think issue 5 is really going to come out? The first three issues came out in August 2008, October 2008, and February 2009. That would make it 10 months to get the last four issues out of a monthly miniseries.

And in the comments... are you willing to put up with the delays to get the George Perez artwork, or would you rather see it come out on time with a different artist? I had heard that Perez had slowed down, but this seems out of the ordinary.

What if Superboy met the Legion on Facebook?

Today I present the Omnicom Players presentation of: Adventure Comics #247 as if it took place on Facebook. Yes, I know Facebook puts the most recent event at the top, but it reads so much easier this way from top to bottom. And this was put together right before their most recent makeover, so just deal with it.

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Lightning Boy wrote on Clark Kent's Wall: "Hello there, Superboy!"

Cosmic Boy wrote on Superboy's Wall: "Hi, Clark Kent!"

Saturn Girl wrote on Superboy's Wall: "Say hi to the Kents for me when you get home!"

Cosmic Boy wrote on Superboy's Wall: "LOL pwn3d, we're from the 30th century, so we already know your sekrit identity!"

Superboy is now friends with Lightning Boy, Cosmic Boy, and Saturn Girl via the People You May Know tool

Superboy updated his Top Friends list

Superboy is crashing through the time barrier in a Time Bubble and sailing 1000 years into the future. W00t!

Superboy, Lightning Boy, Cosmic Boy, and Saturn Girl have left the 20th Century network

Superboy, Lightning Boy, Cosmic Boy, and Saturn Girl have joined the 30th Century network

Superboy has updated the Cities I've Visited map.

Superboy finds future Smallville is frickin' HUGE!

Superboy, Saturn Girl, Lightning Boy, and Cosmic Boy added The Nine Worlds Ice Cream Parlor to the Where I've Been application

Superboy went to school and helped teach a history class about me

Superboy tagged Cosmic Boy, Lightning Boy, and Saturn Girl in a Note, "25 Random Things About Me"

Superboy added The Super Hero Clubhouse to the Where I've Been application

Cosmic Boy wrote on The Legion of Super-Heroes Wall: "We'll let Superboy join, but he has to beat me, Lightning Boy, and Saturn Girl in a competition."

Cosmic Boy used the TV Trouble Finder application and found a Sunken Statue

Superboy wonders how the Statue of the Unknown Spaceman sank in the ocean

Saturn Girl wrote on The Legion of Super-Heroes Wall: "No way your super-powers are going to beat my super-telepathy!"

Superboy used the Telescopic Vision application and found a runaway atomic robot

A Denizen of the Deep Sea gave Saturn Girl a Statue of the Unknown Spaceman

Superboy wrote on The Legion of Super-Heroes Wall: "No fair, I was distracted!"

Cosmic Boy wrote on The Legion of Super-Heroes Wall: "Sorry, you snooze you lose! To a Girl! LOL!"

Cosmic Boy used the TV Trouble Finder application and found a Forest Fire

Superboy wrote on The Legion of Super-Heroes Wall: "No way I lose this one!"

Superboy used the Telescopic Vision application and found a falling satellite

Cosmic Boy used his magnetic powers to pull down a flock of iron meteors into a convenient lake right next to the forest fire

Cosmic Boy wrote on The Legion of Super-Heroes Wall: "So where were you, n00b?"

Superboy wrote on The Legion of Super-Heroes Wall: "STFU!"

Saturn Girl wrote on The Legion of Super-Heroes Wall: "Dude, you suck!"

Cosmic Boy used the TV Trouble Finder application and found a space cruise liner with a leaking fuel tank

Superboy used the Telescopic Vision application and found an escaped Neptunian invisible eagle

Superboy got an iceberg and cooled the air around the city so he could find the bird. Damn, I forgot about my super-hearing and infra-red vision!

Lightning Boy added the Electric Sky Writing application

Lightning Boy gave the message "Your fuel tank is leaking! Return for repairs!" to The Nova Express with Electric Sky Writing

Cosmic Boy wrote on The Legion of Super-Heroes Wall: "That's your third EPIC FAIL, Superboy! Get out of here, you reject!"

Superboy joined the group You Know You've Been Rejected by the Legion When...

Superboy wonders how I'll tell my friends in Smallville that I flunked out of the Super Hero Club?

Saturn Girl wrote on The Legion of Super-Heroes Wall: "Ha ha, j/k Superboy! We made you fail for the lulz, we were hazing you! Sucka!"

Superboy joined the group The Legion of Super-Heroes

Cosmic Boy used the TV Trouble Finder application and found a broken cosmic lamp in South Pole City

Superboy added South Pole City to the Where I've Been application

Superboy fixed the lamp with a magnetic meteor and warmed the city with heat lightning

Saturn Girl gave Superboy a Super-Hero Number One medal

Superboy has left the 30th Century network

Superboy has joined the 20th Century network

Superboy returned home

Inspired by Sarah Schmelling's Hamlet (Facebook News Feed Edition), which inspired DeeDee Baldwin's Austenbook, which inspired Tara Delsomino's Battlestarbook, which inspired Erica Grace Carlson & Heather Day's The Aeneid.

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Previously on April Fool's Day:
2008: Easiest Legion Quiz Ever and Mordru's Vaudeville Career
2007: Legion cartoon season 2 episode list
2006: Animated Legion exclusive news