SDCC 2023 Convention Exclusives: Supergirl & The LSH #23 covers by Hughes & Nakayama

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #23 - July 2023

For some reason, DC decided to put out some San Diego Comic Con 2023 exclusives around Supergirl and the Legion #23 from back in 2006. You'll recall at the time there was the regular Barry Kitson cover and a special (for unknown reasons) variant 1:10 cover from Adam Hughes. 

Regular coverArt by Barry Kitson	1:10 VariantArt by Adam Hughes

Well, that Hughes variant was on sale at SDCC 2023 in a couple variants of its own:

• "Virgin Foil" variant, with the cover in foil with no logo
• "Superman #51 Mexican foil variant" (I don't know what it reprints inside, as this shows Tomasi/Janin as the creative team instead of Waid/Kitson/Gray). I don't think it's the "La Mole" version (see below) since that has #43 on the cover, not #51.

 

Additionally, two other brand-new versions of SLSH #23 were for sale:

• David Nakayama "Pink Stars with Foil" Virgin 
• David Nakayama "Sky Blue" DNA Trade Dress (non-foil)

On his Instagram page, Nakayama says:

My final exclusive for SDCC is my first-ever SUPERGIRL cover!😃❤️👍Available in sky blue or pink stars with FOIL, this special edition of SUPERGIRL AND THE LEGION OF SUPERHEROES No.23 is ONLY available at the WHATNOT HEROES HOUSE across from the convention center.

 

So then I went down the rabbit hole looking up the Mexican version. One of the most helpful things I found was this 20-minute YouTube video from 2020 talking about the different international versions:

• The US version that we are familiar with (Dec 2006), they estimate 4000-4500 copies exist
• From Italy, "Supergirl e la Legione dei Super-Eroi" #4 (2007), reprinting S/LSH #22-23
• From Spain, "Supergirl y la Legion de Superheroes" #8 (2007), reprinting S/LSH #23
• From Mexico, "Superman" #43 (2017), "La Mole" convention exclusive, reprinting Action Comics #51, Superman #51, Batman/Superman #31, and Superman/Wonder Woman #28

However, I don't track foreign versions, so I won't be adding those to my Cover Variant Field Guide, but there are a lot of Adam Hughes collectors who seek these out because either (a) they're less expensive than the US version, and they're just looking for one for their collection, or (b) they are obsessive collectors who must have every version. I will, however, add these four new ones to the 2006 Field Guide.

And if you're an obsessive collector, a pen/ink version of the cover (pre-painted) appears in Hughes' 2007 sketchbook called "Thongs You Know by Heart", as seen in this screen grab from the YouTube video. No idea where I got the work-in-progress images below that.

 

And just for funsies, here's a computer wallpaper (1024x768) for you to download that I found somewhere, based on the original Hughes version.

Legion reprint collections

 If you decide to treat yo'self for Amazon Prime day, or just for no particular reason, and you want to get some Legion reprint collections, may I recommend these? This is a list of all of the trade paperbacks and hardback collections that are primarily or wholly focused on the Legion, not a list of every single reprint collection that has a cameo of Starman or Mon-El.

Click the link to order from Amazon, but there's no guarantee that the book is in print or even in stock (and if not, sorry, you'll probably have to pay a premium for it). If you want a detailed look at which issues are in each volume, well, you're in luck because I've already done that for you! Check out this page for a summary of all the reprint volumes (same table as you see here) and using the tabs at the bottom you can see not only what was reprinted but also my projections at future reprint collections.

Below, "H" means available in hardcover, "P" means trade paperback, and "D" means digital.

ADVENTURE 247 TO THE MAGIC WARS (1958-1989)
Legion of Super-Heroes Archives volume 1	1991	H
Legion of Super-Heroes Archives volume 2	1992	H
Legion of Super-Heroes Archives volume 3	1993	H
Legion of Super-Heroes Archives volume 4	1993	H
Legion of Super-Heroes Archives volume 5	1994	H
Legion of Super-Heroes Archives volume 6	1996	H
Legion of Super-Heroes Archives volume 7	1997	H
Legion of Super-Heroes Archives volume 8	1998	H
Legion of Super-Heroes Archives volume 9	1999	H
Legion of Super-Heroes Archives volume 10	2000	H
Legion of Super-Heroes Archives volume 11	2001	H
Legion of Super-Heroes Archives volume 12	2003	H
Legion of Super-Heroes Archives volume 13	2012	H
Showcase Presents: Legion of Super-Heroes volume 1	2007		P
Showcase Presents: Legion of Super-Heroes volume 2	2008		P
Showcase Presents: Legion of Super-Heroes volume 3	2009		P
Showcase Presents: Legion of Super-Heroes volume 4	2010		P
Showcase Presents: Legion of Super-Heroes volume 5	2015		P
Legion of Super-Heroes: The Silver Age Omnibus	2017	H
Legion of Super-Heroes: The Silver Age Omnibus volume 2	2018	H
Legion of Super-Heroes: The Silver Age Omnibus volume 3	2020	H
Legion of Super-Heroes: The Silver Age Vol. 1	2018		P	D
Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes volume 1	2017	H
Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes (Tabloid Edition)	2022	H
Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes volume 2	2018	H
Legion of Super-Heroes: Before the Darkness volume 1	2021	H
Legion of Super-Heroes: Before the Darkness volume 2	2022	H
Legion of Super-Heroes: Prologue to Darkness (solicited but cancelled before publication)	2010		P
Legion of Super-Heroes: The Great Darkness Saga	1989		P
Legion of Super-Heroes: The Great Darkness Saga Deluxe Edition	2011	H	P	D
Legion of Super-Heroes: The Curse Deluxe Edition	2011	H
Legion of Super-Heroes: An Eye for an Eye	2007		P
Legion of Super-Heroes: The More Things Change	2009		P	D
Who's Who Omnibus Vol. 1	2021	H
Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes	2012	H	P	D
FIVE YEARS LATER (1989-1994)
Legion of Super-Heroes: Five Years Later Vol. 1 (solicited but cancelled before publication)	2019	H
Legion of Super-Heroes: Five Years Later Omnibus volume 1	2020	H
Legion of Super-Heroes: Five Years Later Omnibus volume 2	2022	H
Who's Who Omnibus Vol. 2	2022	H
REBOOT (1994-2004)
Legion of Super-Heroes: The Beginning of Tomorrow	1999		P
Legionnaires Book One	2017		P
Legionnaires Book Two	2018		P
The Final Night	1998		P
The Legion by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning Vol. 1	2017		P
Legion Lost	2011	H
The Legion by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning Vol. 2	2018		P
Legion Lost: The Complete Saga (solicited but cancelled before publication)	2017		P
Legion Worlds (solicited but cancelled before publication)	2013		P
Legion: Foundations	2004		P
THREEBOOT (2004-2009)
Legion of Super-Heroes vol 1: Teenage Revolution	2006		P
Legion of Super-Heroes vol 2: Death of a Dream	2006		P
Supergirl & The Legion of Super-Heroes vol 3: Strange Visitor from Another Century	2006		P	D
Supergirl & The Legion of Super-Heroes vol 4: Adult Education	2007		P	D
Supergirl & The Legion of Super-Heroes vol 5: Dominator War	2007		P	D
Supergirl & The Legion of Super-Heroes vol 6: The Quest for Cosmic Boy	2008		P	D
Brave and the Bold volume 1: The Lords of Luck	2008	H	P
Legion of Super-Heroes vol 7: Enemy Rising	2008	H	P	D
Legion of Super-Heroes vol 8: Enemy Manifest	2009		P	D
RETROBOOT (2007-2011)
Justice League of America: The Lightning Saga	2008	H	P	D
Superman & The Legion of Super-Heroes	2008	H	P	D
Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds	2009	H	P	D
Legion of Super-Heroes: The Choice	2011	H		E
Superboy & The Legion of Super-Heroes: The Early Years	2011		P
Legion of Super-Heroes: Consequences	2011	H		D
Legion of Super-Heroes: When Evil Calls	2011		P	D
NEW 52 (2011-2015)
Legion of Super-Heroes volume 1: Hostile World	2012		P	D
Legion: Secret Origin	2012		P	D
Legion Lost volume 1: Run from Tomorrow	2012		P	D
Legion of Super-Heroes volume 2: The Dominators	2013		P	D
Legion Lost volume 2: The Culling	2013		P	D
The Culling: Rise of the Ravagers	2013		P	D
Legion of Super-Heroes volume 3: The Fatal Five	2014		P	D
Justice League United volume 2: The Infinitus Saga	2015	H	P	D
REBIRTH (2019-PRESENT)
Legion of Super-Heroes: The Road to Legion (solicited but cancelled before publication)	2020		P
Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 1: Millennium	2020		P
Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 2: The Trial of the Legion	2021		P
Justice League Vs. The Legion of Super-Heroes	2022		P
LEGION CARTOON (2007-2009)
Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century: Tomorrow's Heroes	2008		P
NON-CONTINUITY
Superman/Batman Volume 3: Absolute Power	2005	H	P
MISCELLANEOUS NON-CONSECUTIVE REPRINTS
Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes [Tempo]	1977		P
Legion of Super-Heroes: 1,050 Years of the Future	2008		P
Legion of Super-Heroes: The Life and Death of Ferro Lad	2009	H
Super-Pets: The Silver Age (solicited but cancelled before publication)	2017		P
Tails of the Super-Pets	2022		P

(full disclosure: I get a small kickback from Amazon if you order something after clicking one of these links).