A Field Guide to Legion Cover Variants, 1958-2005

The Field Guide to Legion Cover Variants, part 1: 1958-2005

1958-2005, 2006-2007, 2008-2009, 2010-2011, 2012-2014, 2015-2018, 2019, 2020, 2021-2022

Unused covers, Second printings 

Up til now, I had figured that the first Legion cover variant was in 2006 with "Supergirl & The Legion" #16, but then I found that the "Legionnaires" and "Valor" issues at the end of "End of an Era" (parts 4 and 5) right before the Zero Hour reboot had been reprinted, all the way back in 1994. The corresponding Legion issue, #125 (part 6 of "EoE"), was not reprinted, suggesting that shops ordered enough of that one but not enough of the other two.

So this entry technically covers everything up to and including 2005, though only 1994 and 2005 have stuff I'm aware of. I'll mention here, but won't showcase, the so-called Whitman variants of 1978-80, because some people are interested in them, but I don't count them. 

I am also considering that the "newsstand" and "direct sales" versions where the only difference is what's in the UPC box (a bar code or some sort of DC character, slogan, or ad) are the same thing, all other things being equal.

Whitman variants (1978-80)

What we know today as "Whitman variants" aren't reprints, they are first printings with a Whitman logo in place of the DC Bullet on the cover.

In the late 1970s/early 1980s, Whitman had a deal with DC Comics to reprint their comics and package them for sale in retail outlets like Woolworth’s, Sears, K-Mart, etc. They were packaged in plastic as a 2 pack or 3 pack, usually of the same title. These comics could be differentiated by the DC Bullet being altered to include the Whitman logo in pace of the letters in the bullet and the Whitman logo being placed in the stead of the issue number and cover date., among other variations. This did make for some unattractive designs at times, and odd replacements, such as the comic sometimes being titled on the cover as “Whitman Comics Presents.” (via)

For completeness, the following Legion issues have Whitman variants (click here to see them):

• Superboy & The LSH 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258
• LSH v2 261, 263, 264, 266

However, I'm not including all the pictures here in the field guide since they're not what we think of today as a cover variant. Here's an example:

Regular cover, S/LSH #244 Art by Jim Sherman & Joe Rubinstein	Whitman variant, S/LSH #244 Art by Jim Sherman & Joe Rubinstein

1994

Legionnaires #18 - September 1994
Legionnaires #18 was part 4 of "End of an Era". The second printing came out about 4 weeks after the original printing, and can be distinguished primarily by the different color Zero Hour logos (red with white letters on the first, yellow with red letters on the second). Additionally, there's a small "II" in the price box in the upper left corner, and the color palette is slightly different between the two - the blacks are darker on the reprint and the reds are more muted.

First printing Art by Stuart Immonen & Wade von Grawbadger	Second printing Art by Stuart Immonen & Wade von Grawbadger

Valor #23 - September 1994
Valor #23 was part 5 of "End of an Era". The second printing came out about 4 weeks after the original printing, and can be distinguished primarily by the different color Zero Hour logos (red with white letters on the first, yellow with red letters on the second). Additionally, there's a small "II" in the price box in the upper left corner, and the color palette is slightly different between the two - the blacks are darker on the reprint and the reds are more muted, just like above.

First printing Art by Stuart Immonen & Jose Marzan Jr.	Second printing Art by Stuart Immonen & Jose Marzan Jr.

2005

JSA Classified #2 - October 2005
The first four issues of this new series had Power Girl as the lead feature, but the Legion was only on the cover of issue 2. Issue 1 was an unexpected success (with two covers, one by Amanda Conner and one by Adam Hughes) that it soon got a 2nd and 3rd printing. The Threeboot Legion had a cameo at the end of issue 1. They joined Power Girl on the cover of issue 2, but only the first printing and not the 2nd or 3rd. Their part of the story ended in issue 3, which had a second printing. This version of the Legion was just a hoax by the Psycho Pirate though. See the original 2005 post for more.

First printing Art by Amanda Conner & Jimmy Palmiotti	Second printing Art by Adam Hughes
Third printing Art by Amanda Conner & Jimmy Palmiotti