Showing posts with label Keith Giffen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Keith Giffen. Show all posts

Saturday, August 10, 2024

New reprint collections for 2025

Well color me shocked that DC has decided to put out FOUR new Legion reprint collections in 2025! I had despaired of ever getting more, so maybe this is a harbinger of some NEW collections, as these are all (mostly) new editions of previously-released books. Given that DC is returning to its bullet logo later this year, I'd expect all of these (except maybe the first one) to have the bullet instead of this one.

There's one coming out next month, I'm including that one here because I never mentioned it previously when it was announced. But it's a curious one.

Arriving 9/24/24: Legion of Super-Heroes: The Great Darkness Saga. The first edition was published in 1989, with a second edition in 2000 that did not have the fold-out Giffen/Mahlstedt poster. This is the original version, reprinting only the Great Darkness storyline itself from LSHv2 #287, 290-294, and Annual 3. The original included the newly-redrawn version of the story from 287, I suppose to keep the art all Giffen, but I think I heard that they will restore the original version for this volume (or maybe include both). But given the next entry on the list, I'm surprised this one is coming out at all.


Arriving 3/4/25 - Legion of Super-Heroes: The Great Darkness Saga Deluxe Edition (New Edition). This was previously published in 2011. The Deluxe version  reprints LSHv2 #284-296 and Annual 1, meaning it's complete and follows “Before the Darkness vol 2” chronologically. No, I don't know why they are going to have two versions of GDS in print at the same time. 


Arriving 4/15/25 - Legion of Super-Heroes: Five Years Later Omnibus Vol. 1 (New Edition). This was previously published in 2020. There may be some new content in this one, the original was 1413 pages, new is 1425 pages, but it also implies a new edition of Vol. 2 later this year or next year. This reprints LSHv4 #1-39 and Annuals 1-3, plus Adventures of Superman #478 (part of the "Time & Time Again" storyline), the 5-issue Timber Wolf series, and various Legion-related entries from the 1990-92 Who's Who in the DC Universe series.


Arriving 5/6/25 - Superman – Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds: The Deluxe Edition. This was previously published in 2009, under the title of "Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds". This Deluxe version will have lots of extra content, this one is 240 pages vs 160 in the original, but it doesn't say what the new content is that makes this deluxe. I'm hoping it will be lots of Perez stuff (pencils-only version of an issue, sketchbooks, reference material, etc.).


Arriving 5/20/25 - Legion of Super-Heroes: The Curse Deluxe Edition (New Edition). This was previously published in 2011 and reprints LSHv2 #297-313 and Annuals 2-3, closing out the v2 series and ending right before the split to Tales and v3 series. This one surprises me in that it's the next volume in the series after GDS Deluxe, and coming only 2-1/2 months later. I hope that this volume implies that there's a follow-up volume that will finally reprint not only LSHv3 #1-13 (which appeared in "An Eye for an Eye" (2007) and "The More Things Change" (2009) but also Tales of the LSH #314-325, which have never been reprinted and occurred at the same time as v3 #1-12. It should also include DC Comics Presents #80, which took place in between a couple of those v3 issues. (This one is not on Amazon or Penguin yet for some reason, so no cover photo or link, but this screengrab from the Near Mint Condition show on YouTube).



Friday, April 26, 2024

Five Years Later tribute in Blue Beetle v10 #7

In a tribute to Keith Giffen, last month's issue of Blue Beetle (a Giffen co-creation) vol 10 #7 had Beetle and Booster Gold hopping through time trying to rescue Ted Kord (or something like that - I've never read this series, and Ted was dead - shot in the head! - the last time I encountered him), which gave the creative team the excuse to revisit some timelines that Giffen had worked on. So we saw Ambush Bug, Heckler (!), and Lobo as well as the bwah-ha-ha era JLA and the Five Years Later version of the Legion.


This particular setup had B.I.O.N. fighting Laurel Gand, Kent Shakespeare, Devlin O'Ryan, and Celeste Rockfish (as drawn by Howard Porter). But then being the obsessive compulsive continuity person I am, I went to try and find where this could take place in the v4 timeline. I failed.


So first I had to find out where B.I.O.N. appeared. In LSHv4 #24, he finds the adult Laurel Gand while looking for the SW6 version, and in #26 he beats the crap out of her. Scared, she flees to Talus, and unbeknownst to her, he follows. The story concludes in #27, when she arrives on Talus and is put in the infirmary (where she stays for the rest of the issue) by Brainiac 5. It's up to Cham, Rokk, Ayla, Brainy, Kono, and Loomis to stop him, which they do.

Now, Laurel was laid up in bed all issue, and Celeste and Kent hadn't been seen since the Quiet Darkness a few issues earlier. Devlin was back on Earth, having just met the SW6 batch. So these four characters were never on panel together in a fight against B.I.O.N.

BION was inert and lying on a slab the next couple of times we saw him, in issues #29 and #42. The next time he appeared was in #50 when he woke up and it took Laurel, Brin, and Wildfire to put him on the ropes enough that he had to escape (along with his dangling plotline of how he woke up and where he went, as we never saw him again).

So just chalk it up to Hypertime, as this scene didn't (and couldn't have) appeared during the regular LSHv4 run.


Friday, March 22, 2024

RIP: Keith Giffen

I never posted about Keith Giffen's passing - I had written this up but kept adding to it and forgot to post it (I last updated it in November), so I've added some tributes that came out some time after he passed away due to complications from a stroke on Monday Oct 9th. I'll have more on his Legion work separately. 

His last words to the comics community, as seen on his Facebook page and apparently put there by his family at his request, were:


He even got a New York Times obituary article on October 30, plus tributes from both DC and Marvel.

Here are some of the remembrances posted on Facebook:

  • JM DeMatteis: My old friend and collaborator Keith Giffen has passed away. Keith has had his share of health issues in recent years, but he was such a feisty, tenacious guy I was sure he’d outlive us all. “Some day,” I once told him, “the Earth will be an apocalyptic hellhole, all of humanity will be gone, but you’ll still be here, sitting in the rubble, smoking a cigarette.” Keith, as anyone who worked with him can attest, was one of the most brilliantly creative humans ever to work in comics, the Jack Kirby of my generation of creators. He was a curmudgeon with a heart of gold. An extraordinarily generous collaborator. And, as my wife observed, “He was like a character out of a Keith Giffen story.”
  • Barbara Randall Kesel: Keith Giffen is so tied into my early years in comics that it's hard to imagine the field without him. I saw so many of his pages up close while filling in blacks for Karl. I can't think of Keith's art without smelling india ink and hearing 80s music... That last post of his is just so very perfect. It just came too soon. RIP, you crazy creative!
  • Mike Flynn: It's been a while since we chatted, but Keith Giffen has always been the source of a disproportionate percentage of my happy memories. I love that he nailed his good-bye, but I'm sad he won't be creating anything else for us. If I'm not wrong, I met him for the first time for a fan interview. Then he became a favorite creator to go to comic conventions with. His stream-of-consciousness might as well have been Robin Williams.
  • Jesse Berdinka (editor): Keith Giffen was the biggest pain in my ass of anyone I ever worked with. Ever. He made my job as an editor on his work absolutely miserable with checking constantly to make sure he didn't slip in some off color joke or send something in wildly different than what he told me he was going to. However, he was easily one the most talented, funniest people I ever met. He pretended he was a curmudgeon but he was the most optimistic pessimist I ever met. He constantly fought the system and found the beauty in non conformity.
  • Paul Levitz: The sad news is now official: Keith Giffen has gone off to create new worlds that are beyond our living reach. Keith was probably the most fertile creative mind of our generation in comics. He had an infinite number of ideas, pouring constantly out. Many, thankfully, never saw print as wholly insane or inappropriate. But the ones that did! We did over 60 stories together. Many of them he made far better than they might have been with any other collaborator, because of his ideas and contributions to character moments and drama. A few we had rough times on, but I think no more than could be expected in a long relationship. Keith was a curmudgeon by choice, an act he perfected and enjoyed. Like many artists, he didn’t lead a healthy lifestyle, and that led to tough times that he always laughed off. He was a family man when out of public view, and his soft moments came out there. I’ll tell a couple of stories in upcoming posts, but tonight I just want to say good night to a friend who made me look better than I was. And hugs to his kids, grandkids and great grandkids. Oh, and Anna, now that you have him back, take care of him as you always did—he was never the same after you went.
  • (In another post): A quirk of Keith: world building is often most powerful in its use of detail and conformance to principles. Keith wasn't alone in thinking of graphic ways to illustrate the future, but his long run on Legion gave him added time to demonstrate it. His holographic imagery (a pain to create before the layers of Photoshop), lack of windows and wheels, or drafting the letter forms for Interlac were all his touches that I gratefully worked with.
  • (In another post): One of the factors that made collaborating with Keith a joy is he had no pride of authorship. An idea was simply an idea, not his or mine, only something to serve the story. And most of the time, neither of us remembered or cared where it came from.
  • (In another post): A quirk of Keith: he liked to say he''d read my plots (usually 3-4 pages long) on the bus back to Jersey,, then throw them out and start drawing. I suspect exaggeration, because his pencils generally followed my flow....except when there would suddenly be a page or two scene having nothing to do with the written plot or any conversation we had. In the good years, our sense of the characters was alined enough that I often ignored his liner notes on this pages, and wrote a scene that was neither the original idea nor his, but felt better to us both.
  • (In another post): A quirk of Keith: It’s intrinsic to the writer/artist collaborations in comics that either party can make unreasonable demands of the other. Not financially, but creatively. The writer who asks for contradictory visual actions in a single panel. The artist who does a tiny panel for the scene where the big expository monologue is to happen. Keith and I rarely had that problem. But he did remind me, time after time, of my cruelest art direction: “The entire population of the planet Daxam rises as one, flying into space.” Always followed by his “and you only gave me 1/5 of a page for it!” Of course he pulled it off beautifully.
  • Colleen Doran: My very dear friend, one of the best friends I have ever had. Keith Giffen. I am heartbroken. I will love you forever. You were endlessly kind and crazy, funny and awful, beyond smart, truly original.
  • Rob Liefeld: Just heard the news of the passing of Keith Giffen. He was a Master of the craft. My favorite Defenders. My favorite Legion Of Super Heroes. LOBO! For years he worked his magic for me at Extreme on Bloodstrike, Supreme and Youngblood. We had so much fun. He is first ballot Comic Book Hall Of Fame. Rest In Peace Keith, you were one in a million.
  • Jim Lee: Gutted to hear the passing of the legendary comic book creator Keith Giffen. He personified creativity to me in everything he did. Whether it was writing, plotting, drawing, kibitzing or creating-Keith did it like no other in the modern age. He possessed an insane abundance of talent, a fearless take on every project asked of him and created some of the most absurd, over the top, and hilarious characters ever. His body of work influenced and entertained generations of creators and fans alike and even though he had seen and done it all-he was always such a charming, sweetheart of a guy in his own Keith Giffen way. His retro nostalgic vision of the future filled with windowless buildings and omnipresent floating holographic screens made me a Legion of Superheroes fan for life. It was one of my highlights of my career to collaborate with Keith on a Scooby Doo project and watch him elevate the concept in such a fun, smart way. Truly a master of every facet of the craft of making comics and a creative dynamo like no other...he will be missed.
  • Mike Carlin: Very sad to hear of the death of Keith Giffen... a prolific writer and artist for Marvel and DC who I had the pleasure of working with several times over the years! Hanging out with him and Andy Helfer and J.M. DeMatteis while they "invented" a funny Justice League was side fun for me as well! When I was working at Marvel Keith pitched me a run for THE DAZZLER that I was interested in... and then he kinda ghosted me. But you can see what that MIGHT have been since he just used his GREY MAN story in JUSTICE LEAGUE a few years later! (He had so many ideas... but he always knew the good ones no matter where they ended up!) The way Keith plotted most stories involved doing thumbnail layouts like this page from COUNTDOWN... so fun, and completely the life of the party, right there at the start of the art! I think my favorite thing about Keith was that he liked to play the "Crabby Old Guy" even when he was young... and I would just laugh-- and that would make him smile. But I couldn't tell if he liked when I called him Mon Chi-Chi when he got a new haircut... but we kept working together so I think it was okay. But, now that I think of it... he stopped getting haircuts!
  • Fabian Nicieza: Keith was uniquely Keith and the world was a much more interesting place because of it. He was one of the most fascinating people I knew in this industry and he goes out the way he always went: as a delightfully confounding genius.
  • Mark Waid: Losing Keith Giffen today was a gutpunch. We worked together off and on for decades, from Legion in the '80s to 52 in the '00s and many times in between. His imagination and creativity could hardly be matched, and collaborating with him in any fashion was a joy. He gave me one of the best pieces of advice I ever got. When I asked him 20 years ago what the secret was to maintaining a steady career in comics, he said, "Figure out what you do better than anyone else and own that lane. It may not always be in fashion, but when it is, they have no choice but to come to you." Rest in curmudgeonly peace, my friend.
    • Me: You were his editor on the 5 Years Later version of the Legion at the beginning. What was that like, compared to working with him as a co-writer?
    • Waid: Like riding a bull at the rodeo.
    • Tom Galloway: Do you feel you lasted for the equivalent of eight seconds? : -)
    • Waid: Nope. At best, six.
  • (Later) Like a football team retiring the jersey number of a legendary player, today the comics world has little choice but to retire the word "curmudgeon." Love you, Keith.
  • Al Gordon: I just heard my old Compatriot, Keith Giffen passed away a couple days ago. A few months back, Keith was in the hospital with Covid. I can only assume his death had something to do with that. The effects of Long Covid include strokes etc. I never know what to say. I feel like a hypocrite with any response I can think of... so, I'll leave it with "God Speed..." which is technically “𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑎 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑗𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑦.” God Speed old friend.
  • Tom Bierbaum: Keith has gone out in style as only he can. But for those who knew him well, this is a tough one. In my case, Keith was a mentor, a teacher, a staunch advocate, a sounding board, the most creative person I’ve ever known and, above all, a friend. For the many fans who’ve been blown away by the “Five Years Later” Legion, that was Keith’s vision and genius. For all the fans who regard the ’80s era, highlighted by “The Great Darkness,” as the Legion's zenith, I think Paul Levitz would agree that Keith was instrumental in that huge success, both as an artist and co-plotter. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg of Keith's body of work. It’s no coincidence that the best writing Mary and I ever produced came while working with Keith. He was always a champion of imaginative, courageous risk-taking, both because that’s where his creative impulses took him and because he understood how important innovation is to keeping the comic-buying audience hooked and the business healthy. He chafed at any sort of platitudes and would no doubt roll his eyes at this maudlin tribute, but he will be sorely missed.
  • Brad Meltzer: The flag at the Legion of Super-Heroes clubhouse is flying at half mast tonight. Same at JLA HQ. RIP to the great Keith Giffen, who was always first class.


Saturday, April 10, 2021

The Great Eclipso Yada Yada part 2: Valor Gets Named in the DC Event of 1992

This series of 18 Annuals and 2 bookends runs roughly 1100 pages total: I read it so you don’t have to. This event leads into Valor’s new book, and put Valor in the 20th century along with Timber Wolf. You’ll recall that both books were huge successes which set up both characters to have decades-long runs where they have ended up as popular as Superman and Wolverine. In part 1, which you can listen to in episode 638, I covered the first 10 chapters of DC’s big crossover event of 1992, which came out May 21 through July 7. The second half (which you can listen to in episode 651) covers July 14 to August 25. The entire series came out between LSH v4 #31 and 34 (Jan & Shvaughn, the explosion of the Weisinger Chambers, Kid Quantum, the battle for Earth begins & Laurel captures Pinnacle Command). The Legion’s Annual that year did not take part in the crossover – recall it was the Winath/Timber Wolf issue.

  • Trivia: Eclipso was the big DC-wide crossover event of 1992, but there was another mini-crossover event which took place only within that family of books. What was it? 
    • The 8-part “Superman: Panic in the Sky” in the 4 Superman books.
    • Note: “Justice League: Breakdowns” was 1991-1992 and “Death of Superman” started in December but was a 1993 event
Where we left off: Eclipso, formerly a second-rate villain, decided he wanted to be an A-lister. Over the course of the summer of 1992, Eclipso managed to take over a bunch of heroes and a few villains, controlling them from his base on the moon, because instead of just one black diamond, he’s got 100. Valor is the only hero he captured who is on the moon with him, everyone else is back on Earth. Unfortunately, Valor spends nearly the entire series as a statue, and I’ll remind you that this is a drinking game theme today.


In this 20-part story, we have:
  • 10 chapters in the main storyline with Superman x4 (Superman: Man of Steel, Superman, Action, Adventures of Superman), GL, L.E.G.I.O.N., JLA, & JLE, plus the 2 bookends - which are in boldface
  • a separate 2-parter with Deathstroke and the Titans
  • a separate 3-parter in the Batman family books (Detective, Robin, Batman)
  • 5 separate one-shots (Demon, Flash, Green Arrow, Hawkworld, Wonder Woman)
In the last issue, Superman got eclipsed. Booster, Fire, and Ice are ineffective at fighting him, naturally, but they distract him long enough for Captain Marvel to show up. The fight has destroyed the town of Crater Bay, and Superman escapes.

Picking up with part 2 of this recap....

11) Robin Annual #5 (Alan Grant & John Wagner writers, Tom Lyle pencils; Scott Hanna inks), on sale 7/14/92

Continued from Detective Annual 5. Robin finds that Anarky has stolen some black diamonds, and confronts him, but Anarky escapes and gives one diamond to an angry homeless man who conjures an eclipsoid. Robin uses his handy solar flashlight to banish it but Anarky escapes. Anarky tries to blackmail the mayor, and then purposely gets himself eclipsed so he can destroy a bridge, using a solar flare to declipse himself. He tries again the next day to destroy a telecom tower, but loses the diamond and someone ends up summoning an eclipsoid dinosaur. The dinosaur destroys a tower and an amusement park but Robin uses a convenient solar-powered car to stop it. Robin captures Anarky and the remaining diamonds. To be concluded in the Batman annual later.
  • Currently eclipsed: Lar Gand, Creeper, Starman, Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, Star Sapphire, Mona Bennett, Maxima, Klarion, Flash, Gan & Wren, Superman
12) Hawkworld Annual #3 (John Ostrander writer; Luke McDonnell pencils; Roy Richardson inks), on sale 7/14/92

Katar and Shayera fight an eclipsoid pterodactyl, and trace it to a museum and one of the curators, Dr Kaslak. Shadow Thief steals a black diamond for Kaslak, who gifts it anonymously to Shayera. On the moon, Eclipso walks silently past the statue of Lar Gand (#7). Katar has a fight with his girlfriend Mavis, which makes him late for the tv show that Shayera goes to alone. The host angers Shayera and she gets eclipsed, and goes on a rampage. She defeats Katar and tries to kill him, but he gets angry and creates an eclipsoid hawk monster with one of the diamonds. On the moon, Eclipso monologues with himself, speaking through Lar Gand (#8) (he moves for the first time). At dawn, the eclipsoid escapes. Katar gets a solar collector to use at night using moonlight and fries the eclipsoid, but Shayera escapes.
  • Currently eclipsed: Lar Gand, Creeper, Starman, Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, Star Sapphire, Mona Bennett, Maxima, Klarion, Flash, Gan & Wren, Superman, Shayera
13) Deathstroke Annual #1 (Marv Wolfman, David Cody Weiss writers; Gabriel Morrissette, Phil Jimenez pencils; Ian Akin, John Statema, Charles Barnett III inks), on sale 7/21/92

Deathstroke is on a mission with the female Vigilante to rescue a Japanese tech businessman. They succeed but lots of people get killed and the tech is lost. Captain Hall (Titans character) receives a diamond, and is then accosted by Councilwoman Alderman, who accuses him of being too nice to the Titans. He gets mad and gets eclipsed. Deathstroke is hired to go after the tech by the guys who hired him in the first place. Hall calls Vigilante so that he can eclipse her, and she tries but fails to eclipse Deathstroke. Slade goes to Salvagion, which has discarded and salvaged tech, and runs into Nightwing, who’s looking for spare parts for Cyborg from the recently destroyed Titans Tower. Eclipsed Vigilante attacks, but she’s declipsed by solar lasers. The guys who ransomed the Japanese businessmen come looking for the tech, and escape with it. They plan to send it to Alderman. Continued in New Titans Annual.
  • Currently eclipsed: Lar Gand, Creeper, Starman, Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, Star Sapphire, Mona Bennett, Maxima, Klarion, Flash, Gan & Wren, Superman, Shayera, Captain Hall
14) New Titans Annual #8 (David Cody Weiss, Marv Wolfman writers; Phil Jimenez, Curt Swan, Gabriel Morrissette, Iota Subotici pencils; Ray McCarthy, Ken Branch, Andrew Pepoy, John Statema, Charles Barnett III, Mike DeCarlo inks), on sale 7/28/92

Trying to repair Cyborg, damaged during the fight with Wildebeest. The Titans go to rescue people from a helicopter but are accosted by Alderman. On the moon, Eclipso decides to capture the Titans next, and uses Capt. Hall to eclipse Red Star, who then remote controls Cyborg and kidnaps him. Changeling goes into Salvagion and calls Nightwing (as seen in the Deathstroke story), who goes there while the others look for Red Star and Cyborg. Changeling finds Red Star, who eclipses him, and then the three of them find Pantha and Starfire. One of Starfire’s blasts cures Capt. Hall, but he’s injured protecting civilians, and Pantha and Starfire are captured too (they get eclipsed off panel). Nightwing and Vigilante hire Deathstroke to go to STAR Labs where they’re met by Alderman’s robot, but they escape. They trace Cyborg’s signal to a museum, but it’s a trap, all of the eclipsed Titans are there. They get Deathstroke eclipsed, then they all leave.
  • Currently eclipsed: Lar Gand, Creeper, Starman, Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, Star Sapphire, Mona Bennett, Maxima, Klarion, Flash, Gan & Wren, Superman, Shayera, Red Star, Changeling, Pantha, Starfire, Deathstroke
15) L.E.G.I.O.N. Annual #3 (Barry Kitson writer; Mike McKone pencils; John Dell, Jack Torrance, Peter Gross, Bob Smith, Jimmy Palmiotti inks), on sale 8/4/92

Vril Dox and Lady Quark are in NYC looking for black diamonds. The L.E.G.I.O.N. delegation is at the UN, and Phase explains how they want to bring Earth closer to the family of civilized planets, but that’s all a ruse so Dox can go after the diamonds. He finds one and gives it to Quark to hold, but Lobo gets it and gets eclipsed. He chases after Zena, leaving the diamond behind. She manages to blast light at him to declipse him, but Lady Quark has found the diamond and after getting mad at Dox, she’s eclipsed. They all fight in the hotel they’re staying at, but the fight leads outside. Lobo attacks her, but then Booster Gold, Fire, and Ice show up, and Lady Quark escapes.
  • Currently eclipsed: Lar Gand, Creeper, Starman, Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, Star Sapphire, Mona Bennett, Maxima, Klarion, Flash, Gan & Wren, Superman, Shayera, Red Star, Changeling, Pantha, Starfire, Deathstroke, Lady Quark
16) Wonder Woman Annual #3 (William Messner-Loebs writer; John Dennis, David Johnson pencils; Ande Parks inks), on sale 8/11/92

A terrorist set loose a device in Boston, which brings out The White Magician, aka Asquith Randolph, to help WW. He invites her to his house for dinner, and gives her a black diamond to take back to Hippolyta (giving off creepy vibes). On Themyscira, Diana finds that the island has been turned into a tourist trap for thirsty men – by Randolph. But it turns out that she had just been hypnotized by Randolph, and gotten her angry at him, so that Wonder Woman gets eclipsed. He wants to siphon Eclipso’s powers through her. She breaks free of his holding spell, they fight, and she escapes. I guess she forgot about Eclipso back in the JLA Annual (back in part 6).
  • Currently eclipsed: Lar Gand, Creeper, Starman, Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, Star Sapphire, Mona Bennett, Maxima, Klarion, Flash, Gan & Wren, Superman, Shayera, Red Star, Changeling, Pantha, Starfire, Deathstroke, Lady Quark, Wonder Woman
17) Justice League Europe Annual #3 (Gerard Jones, Will Jacobs writers; Tim Hamilton pencils; Romeo Tanghal inks), on sale 8/11/92

Eclipsed Flash (from part 8) & GL (from part 3) make it to London to find the JLE. Power Girl gets mad at Crimson Fox and Elongated Man (remember she has rage issues, fueled by artificial sweeteners in diet soda) because everyone is telling her what to do. Kilowog arrives and fills them in on what’s been going on, which they didn’t know about because the UN and USA have declared an emergency and didn’t want to cause a worldwide panic. GL and Flash attack Kilowog, Dr Light, Crimson Fox, and Aquaman, but they leave after dropping a handful of diamonds. Power Girl arrives and picks one up and gets eclipsed, but Kilowog manages to trap her. A bright light appears and tells Dr Light and Kilowog to come with them, but when Kilowog leaves, Power Girl escapes, leaving the other Leaguers to die. Fortunately, Metamorpho arrives and saves them. Eclipso monologues that he has collected nearly all the bodies he needs. Sue and Catherine determine that the eclipsed people are all headed to Arizona, where there is a gathering to watch an upcoming lunar eclipse.
  • Currently eclipsed: Lar Gand, Creeper, Starman, Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, Star Sapphire, Mona Bennett, Maxima, Klarion, Flash, Gan & Wren, Superman, Shayera, Red Star, Changeling, Pantha, Starfire, Deathstroke, Lady Quark, Wonder Woman, Power Girl
18) Batman Annual #16 (Alan Grant, John Wagner writers; Vince Giarrano pencils/inks), on sale 8/18/92

Continued from Robin Annual. Batman is looking for Joker (from back in part 4). Someone who saw Commissioner Gordon summon an eclipsoid tells Joker about it and where to get the diamonds. Joker sends his goons to get them and one creates a bat-monster eclipsoid. Batman uses Bruce Gordon’s solar flare gun to stop it. He finds Joker, who gets eclipsed, and Batman figures the only way to stop him is to get eclipsed himself. They fight until the sun comes up, then both are declipsed and Batman captures Joker.
  • Currently eclipsed: Lar Gand, Creeper, Starman, Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, Star Sapphire, Mona Bennett, Maxima, Klarion, Flash, Gan & Wren, Superman, Shayera, Red Star, Changeling, Pantha, Starfire, Deathstroke, Lady Quark, Wonder Woman, Power Girl
19) Adventures of Superman Annual #4 (Robert Loren Fleming writer; Bob McLeod pencils & inks), on sale 8/18/92

Hawkman fruitlessly looks for the eclipsed Superman in the skies over Metropolis, while the L.E.G.I.O.N. looks for his Fortress in the Arctic and in Antarctica, and Nightwing checks the Batcave. Black Canary, Crimson Fox, and Elongated Man can’t find him in the sewers of NYC. In the JLA HQ, Booster has been looking along with Fire, Ice, Bloodwynd, and Baby Wildebeest, and Booster finds Superman in Kilauea volcano in Hawaii. Aquaman and Metamorpho will meet them there. Hawkman and Dox argue over who’s going to lead, and then Guy Gardner shows up with his Sinestro ring. Half the group goes into the volcano. Metamorpho causes the volcano to explode and expel Superman, but it’s too late, it’s night. On the moon, Eclipso monologues to the statue of Lar Gand (#9) that once the lunar eclipse is complete, he’ll be unstoppable. While Lobo attacks Superman, the rest try to rescue the local villagers. Guy Gardner comes back with a scoop full of solar material he got from the sun and dumps it on Superman, because that’s how solar physics works, but it’s enough to declipse Superman. Eclipso monologues to Lar Gand (#10) that he has lost Superman but still has a Daxamite. All of the eclipsed powered heroes gather in Arizona (except for Klarion), and they pretend to attack Starman so the non-eclipsed heroes can “rescue” him. Superman and Nightwing hunt for Bruce Gordon and other scientists who are missing, including Emil Hamilton, Will Magnus, and Ted Kord/Blue Beetle. Superman tracks them down to an abandoned planetarium but is caught in a bright flash of light.
  • Currently eclipsed: Lar Gand, Creeper, Starman, Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, Star Sapphire, Mona Bennett, Maxima, Klarion, Flash, Gan & Wren, Shayera, Red Star, Changeling, Pantha, Starfire, Deathstroke, Lady Quark, Wonder Woman, Power Girl
Are you ready for the finale?

20) Eclipso: The Darkness Within #2 (Keith Giffen, Robert Loren Fleming writers; Keith Giffen, Bart Sears pencils; Mark Pennington, Randy Elliott, Ray Kryssing inks), on sale 8/25/92

Continued from Adventures of Superman annual. The eclipsed heroes face off against the non-eclipsed heroes. The lunar eclipse is complete, and “in the tunnel of utter darkness which now stretches from the Earth to the Moon [his] power reigns supreme!” Eclipso teleports his eclipsed people to the moon. Vril Dox wants to gather heroes, while Starman (who’s eclipsed but pretending not to be) tries to convince them to go to the moon now. Eclipso tries to absorb those who are eclipsed and their powers, starting with Deathstroke. The gathering of heroes moves to Las Vegas where they pick up the Challengers of the Unknown, Atom, Blue Devil, and Bronze Tiger and Nightshade from Suicide Squad. The plan is to fit everyone into the L.E.G.I.O.N. cruiser and Maxima’s ship (piloted by Hawkman) and go to the moon, where Eclipso is busy absorbing everyone except for Lar Gand because he’s the most powerful. He attacks the L.E.G.I.O.N. ship but Guy Gardner gets everyone down safely, landing near Eclipso’s palace. Starman gets the heroes to walk in the front door, when they realize he’s been eclipsed all along. They’re all irritated at having been deceived, but in his base on the moon, Eclipso is powerful enough to eclipse all of them. Eclipso releases Mona Bennett, but then Superman appears with a coalition of solar powered heroes and scientists who specialize in solar power: Chunk, Blue Beetle, Professor Hamilton, Lex Luthor II, Will Magnus, Dr Light, Kilowog, and Bruce Gordon. The bright flashes earlier were Bruce making sure that the person he chose was not Starman in disguise. While the heroes fight, Eclipso sends Lar Gand to fight Superman – he’s not a statue any more, finally, he’s a real boy! One by one, the heroes get declipsed: Wonder Woman, Hal Jordan, Creeper, Guy Gardner, then Flash, who super-speeds and declipses everyone in 32 seconds. Superman has managed to defeat Lar Gand, but then Eclipso causes his whole base to come alive and attack. Everyone gets out, and Eclipso is a giant – “that ridiculous costume was part of my masquerade, it served to lull you into believing you faced a mere super-villain!” Starman explodes himself and nearly kills Eclipso, and Bruce Gordon sets off his solar bomb. Lar Gand can still hear Eclipso and knows what is happening, so he zooms in and rescues Gordon in the nick of time. Everyone goes back home, but in the aftermath, there’s still at least one black diamond on the surface of the moon. 

Lar Gand takes his super-hero name from Superman's speech

Coming soon: Eclipso #1 and Valor #1!

Friday, April 09, 2021

The Great Eclipso Yada Yada part 1: I read 1100 pages so you didn't have to

This one's not so much an annotation but a recap. For the podcast, we're up to the point where the "Eclipso: The Darkness Within" event of summer 1992 is taking place, and we covered it in two episodes (638 and 651) because it spins off Valor into his own series. The first half of that Valor series is just a standard space super-hero book, but starting with issue #11 Mark Waid became the writer and the series became a third monthly Legion book. So in a few weeks we'll do Valor #1-5 and then #6-11, before dropping it into the rotation.

Anyhoo, here's part 1 of the Eclipso recap, on sale May through August 1992. Or read a shorter version on Wikipedia.

Note the glued-on plastic purple diamond

Summer 1992’s annuals were tie-ins to this overall Eclipso story, which started with “Eclipso: The Darkness Within” #1, cover-dated July 1992 and concluded with issue #2, cover dated October 1992, with the 18 annuals spaced a week apart in between. Issue 1 has a plastic copy of Eclipso’s black diamond glued to the cover, which was also offered without the diamond – making the diamond version automatically not mint condition. Must have driven the fanboys crazy! Issue 1 came out the same day as LSH v4 #31 (the Sean Erin issue), and ended the week after issue #34 (the battle for Earth begins, and Laurel captures Pinnacle Command). Fortunately, the Legion’s annual didn’t cross over (Annual #3, the Winath/Timber Wolf focus, came out the week before). This series of 18 Annuals and 2 bookends runs roughly 1100 pages total: I read it so you don’t have to. This event leads into Valor’s new book, and put Valor in the 20th century along with Timber Wolf. You’ll recall that both books were huge successes which set up both characters to have decades-long runs where they have ended up as popular as Batman and Harley Quinn.

Brief history of Eclipso: he first appeared in House of Secrets #61 (August 1963) and was created by Bob Haney and Lee Elias. Eclipso's early comics debut is tied to his host, Bruce Gordon, a scientist specializing in solar energy (and whose name, I’ve read, was an homage to Bruce Wayne and Commissioner Gordon!). While in the jungle to view a solar eclipse, Gordon was attacked by a tribal sorcerer named Mophir. Before plunging to his death off a cliff, Mophir wounded Gordon with a black diamond. Afterwards, Gordon transformed into the villainous Eclipso whenever an eclipse occurred (which happened way more often in the Silver Age DCU). A blue-gray or purple circle covered the rightmost two-thirds of his face, resembling a partial eclipse. Gordon experienced many Jekyll-and-Hyde transformations and misadventures in House of Secrets. During this period, Eclipso was portrayed as a conventional super-villain, possessing super strength, partial invulnerability, and eye blasts (aided by his black diamond). Eclipso's transformations were later altered so that any type of natural eclipse, lunar or solar, would cause Eclipso and Gordon to split from one another, while an "artificial eclipse" -- an object blocking out a light source -- would merely transform Gordon to Eclipso. Any bright flash of light would banish Eclipso back into Bruce Gordon's body or reverse the change.

However, this Darkness Within miniseries modified the character to be an evil and megalomaniacal entity. Eclipso's character laments the power he once had as a spirit of divine vengeance. For this series, I had to make up some of my own terminology – it’s generally established that a passive person will evoke what I call an eclipsoid or a separate being, while an aggressive person will get eclipsed, which might follow with them being healed or declipsed; this was not strictly followed, so it was more like if you’re a civilian you invoke one but if you’re a super, then you become one.
  • There are some vague rules they tried to generally follow, like how you get eclipsed because you’re angry at someone when you’re holding the black diamond and then when you’re not angry anymore, you become an extension of Eclipso. Eclipso can declipse you, and you can also get declipsed by sunlight.
  • Most (but not all) of these issues end with one or more heroes eclipsed. It doesn’t really matter who gets eclipsed or not, there’s no big payoff to a particular character being eclipsed, except for Valor.
  • There are a few story arcs contained within the Annuals:
    • 10 chapters in the main one with Superman x4 (Superman: Man of Steel, Superman, Action, Adventures of Superman), GL, L.E.G.I.O.N., JLA, JLE, plus the bookends - I've put these chapters in boldface
    • a separate 2-parter with Deathstroke and the Titans
    • a separate 3-parter in the Batman family books (Detective, Robin, Batman)
    • 5 separate one-shots (Demon, Flash, Green Arrow, Hawkworld, Wonder Woman)
With that, let’s dive into the first book, which is the opening bookend.

1) Eclipso: The Darkness Within #1 (Keith Giffen, Robert Loren Fleming co-plotters; Giffen breakdowns; Fleming script; Bart Sears pencils; Randy Elliott, Mark Pennington inks), on sale 5/21/92

In 1890, the fabled Heart of Darkness black diamond was found by two explorers in Africa, one of whom killed the other out of greed. The explorer takes the diamond to a jeweler in London to have it cut into 1000 identical pieces. On the moon in 1992, Lar Gand notices a structure that he hasn’t seen before. He finds Eclipso, who manages to take over Lar’s body. He realizes that superhumans are actually a resource for exploitation and says he’s done hiding, and has Lar Gand go stand in a corner and be a statue (this will be a recurring theme in these annuals, let’s keep track of how many times we see it and take a drink each time – and you’ll need a refill before this is over). A week later, Eclipso takes over the Creeper. Bruce Gordon has figured a way to use his piece of the black diamond to make a diamond tracking compass, and finds one at a Metropolis mall, where a kid creates an eclipsoid monster. Superman flies to the mall and fights the creature. Bruce has a handy solar flare gun that causes the creature to vanish. On the moon, Lar Gand remains a statue (#2).
  • Currently eclipsed: Lar Gand, Creeper.
2) Superman: The Man of Steel Annual #1 (Roger Stern plot; Robert Loren Fleming dialogue; Chris Wozniak pencils; Brad Vancata inks), on sale 5/28/92

Bruce reveals to Superman that Eclipso isn’t really a normal super-villain, but the God of Vengeance who previously had been keeping a low profile. The eclipsed Creeper breaks in to steal Bruce’s second diamond. Superman grabs the diamond and is briefly eclipsed but fights it off. Creeper escapes. Remember Will “Starman” Payton? Prior to this, in the last 4 issues of his own series, which ended right before this event started, it appeared that Eclipso had been responsible for Starman’s origin (that was later retconned in James Robinson’s Starman series to have been Prince Gavyn, who died in the Crisis on Infinite Earths; recently retconned again post-Rebirth to be related to the Totality, as seen in the 2020 Justice League series). In Central America, an undercover Starman is captured by Eclipso for his shapeshifting abilities. Starman swallows a diamond, making it invisible to Bruce’s diamond detector. Back in the US, the mall kid’s monster reappears. Superman finds him and they fight. Bruce gets his solar gun to Superman just in time. Starman flies back home to Phoenix and gets a diamond to Kitty Faulkner, aka Rampage. Superman shows up and de-eclipses Rampage, but Starman gets away without anyone knowing he’s working for Eclipso. On the moon, Lar Gand remains a statue (#3).
  • Currently eclipsed: Lar Gand, Creeper, Starman.
3) Green Lantern Annual #1 (Gerard Jones writer; Andy Smith pencils; John Beatty inks), on sale 6/4/92

Eclipso decides he wants a Green Lantern, so he sends Starman out to find him. Starman gets Guy Gardner eclipsed, who then gets Carol Ferris eclipsed as Star Sapphire. She fights GL/Hal Jordan with the help of Starman, but Hal summons Kilowog before he’s beaten and eclipsed. Bruce Gordon zaps Guy with his solar gun, and declipses him. Kilowog arrives with a bunch of rookie GLs. Eclipsed Hal & Star Sapphire fight John Stewart, Kilowog, and the GLs, but they escape.
  • Currently eclipsed: Lar Gand (who is Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Comic), Creeper, Starman, Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, Star Sapphire.
4) Detective Comics Annual #5 (Alan Grant, John Wagner writers; Tom Mandrake pencils; Mandrake, Jan Duursema, Rick Magyar inks), on sale 6/9/92

Barbara Gordon calls up her dad on the anniversary of her shooting (Killing Joke). Batman finds a black diamond, and takes it back to the Batcave to study it. Joker breaks out of Arkham. Bruce Gordon goes to Commissioner Gordon and tells Batman he’s tracked a diamond to Gotham. (By the way, Bruce Gordon got his name as a combination of Bruce Wayne and James Gordon!) The Commish gets one of the diamonds and because he’s mad at Joker, creates an eclipsoid monster, which goes to the place where Joker is holed up. Batman and Gordon defeat the monster. Joker gets away. Continued in Robin Annual #5 later.
  • Currently eclipsed: Lar Gand, Creeper, Starman, Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, Star Sapphire.
5) Superman Annual #4 (Dan Vado writer; Scott Benefiel pencils; Trevor Scott inks), on sale 6/16/92

Bruce Gordon helps Superman track down a diamond to a guy who said that when he was eclipsed, he felt like someone was controlling him from the moon. Meanwhile, Lois is on assignment in Crater Bay, when she’s handed a black diamond by a disguised Starman. On the moon, Eclipso monologues past the statue of the eclipsed Lar Gand (#4). Gordon heads out to where Lois is to find a diamond, they find an eclipsoid monster, and Superman arrives to help but Gordon’s solar blaster gets broken in the fight. They run into Lois, who has gotten eclipsed. Gordon’s girlfriend Mona Bennett gets eclipsed too. Superman makes them fight until sunrise, an Lois gets declipsed but not Mona, who gets away. Superman says that he needs help.
  • Currently eclipsed: Lar Gand, Creeper, Starman, Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, Star Sapphire, Mona Bennett
6) Justice League America Annual #6 (Dan Mishkin writer; Dave Cockrum pencils; Jose Marzan inks), on sale 6/23/92

Eclipso monologues on the moon past the statue of Lar Gand in the corner (#5) about how he wants all of the powers. Guy Gardner is back with the JLA and back as a GL while Hal is eclipsed. Superman tries to recruit Wonder Woman to help the JLA, but she’s not ready to join a group, until she finds someone who’s been eclipsed, then she offers to help. Maxima is jealous of WW and quits, but Starman finds her and eclipses her. She fights the JLA. Blue Beetle has tried to help Gordon fix the solar gun, but Eclipso finds him. Maxima mind-controls WW but Superman rescues her, and she escapes. Beetle defeats Eclipso, who turns out to have been Starman. Beetle disappears, and Gordon is missing.
  • Currently eclipsed: Lar Gand, Creeper, Starman, Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, Star Sapphire, Mona Bennett, Maxima.
7) Demon Annual #2 (Alan Grant writer; Joe Philips, David Johnson pencils; John Dell inks), on sale 6/23/92

Jason Blood is in San Francisco when he’s attacked by a non-eclipsoid monster. Klarion the Witch Boy is nearby and is intrigued. Blood tracks the monster to the place of a guy who has a diamond fragment. Klarion finds the diamond and gets eclipsed. Klarion and Demon fight, Klarion gets away. No other heroes appear.
  • Currently eclipsed: Lar Gand, Creeper, Starman, Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, Star Sapphire, Mona Bennett, Maxima, Klarion
8) Flash Annual #5 (Mark Waid writer; Travis Charest pencils; Dan Davis inks), on sale 6/30/92

Golden Glider convinces the Rogues (Trickster, Weather Wizard, Captain Boomerang, and her boy toy Chillblaine) to join her in a museum heist to steal a black diamond fragment. They run into Flash, but she double-crosses them and escapes with the diamond. Golden Glider gets eclipsed, and then Eclipso uses her to eclipse Flash instead in her place.
  • Currently eclipsed: Lar Gand, Creeper, Starman, Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, Star Sapphire, Mona Bennett, Maxima, Klarion, Flash
9) Green Arrow Annual #5 (Sarah Byam writer; Trevor VonEeden pencils; Frank Springer inks), on sale 6/30/92

Oliver Queen finds a black diamond that had been transformed into a Native American blackbird necklace, lost on the street, after being stolen and then hunted by Eclipso. On the moon, Eclipso monologues to Lar Gand (#6) the story of the necklace and how he used it to wipe out a Native village. Oliver gives the necklace to Dinah, who gets eclipsed and breaks his arm, and then seeks out the only survivor of that village, eclipsing her and her son (Gan and Wren). Oliver calls in Batman for help. Together, they manage to keep Dinah busy until sunrise when she’s declipsed.
  • Currently eclipsed: Lar Gand, Creeper, Starman, Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, Star Sapphire, Mona Bennett, Maxima, Klarion, Flash, Gan & Wren
10) Action Comics Annual #4 (Dan Vado writer; Chris Wozniak pencils; Karl Altstaetter, Trevor Scott, Karl Kesel, Steve Mitchell inks), on sale 7/7/92

Talking to Fire, Ice, and Booster Gold, Superman decides to offer himself to Eclipso in exchange for the return of everyone eclipsed in Crater Bay. They go to Professor Hamilton and Lex Luthor (when he was a red-head) for a new solar flare weapon. Superman goes back to Crater Bay and gets himself eclipsed, but of course the townies don’t get declipsed. Booster, Fire, and Ice are ineffective, but they distract Superman long enough for Captain Marvel to show up. Cap and Superman fight, while the others hold off the townies. The solar flare thingy works to cure the townies, but all the fighting has destroyed their town. Eclipsed Superman escapes.
  • Currently eclipsed: Lar Gand, Creeper, Starman, Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, Star Sapphire, Mona Bennett, Maxima, Klarion, Flash, Gan & Wren, Superman
That's it for part 1, come back later for part 2! I know you can't wait!

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

LSH v4 #39 annotations: In the Beginning....

Annotations for Legion of Super-Heroes v4 #39


Notes:
  • Cover: “Beginnings”, as compared to last issue’s “The End”
  • Page 1: welcome new penciller Stuart Immonen!
  • Page 7: on the ship it reads “Ark 2” in Interlac
  • Page 9: Two Brainiac 5s and two Element Lads 
  • Page 12: Lightning Lad isn’t the only one who got a personality transplant in the SW6 chambers, so did Sun Boy and Matter-Eater Lad
  • Page 12 panel 5: the reference to “space happy” is from when Sun Boy had a breakdown in ADV 318
  • Page 14: switch pencillers from Immonen to Giffen
  • Page 15 panel 5: On Gallan, that’s Leland McCauley III, aka dear old dad, last seen in LSH v3 #17
  • Page 15 panel 8: That’s Dev-Em, last seen on April 11th (ADVSUP 478) as the moon blew up
  • Page 15 panel 9: That’s Shagrek, formerly of the Taurus Gang, last seen in ADV 374 (his only appearance, not including a flashback to a not-previously-seen fight back in issue 10); he should be in green like all the other characters in the collection
  • Page 16 panel 1: that’s Elvo the swordsman (in purple and yellow), and Dartalg master of the blow gun (in green), both formerly of the Wanderers. Last we saw them, they were in their cloned forms, flying through a space warp with the rest of the team (WAND 13) as Elvar and Dartalon. But we did see the clone version of Dartalon way back in issue 2 in an advertisement. They should be all in green, like the other characters.
  • Page 16 panel 2: who’s the woman with the skirt?
  • Page 16 panels 4-7: Now we know what happened to Cham, RJ, Kid Quantum, and the Proteans when McCauley and the Emerald Eye hijacked the ship at the end of issue 33. They’ve been gone a month, leaving on May 8.
  • Page 16 panel 6: The Heckler has a cameo here
  • Page 16 panel 9: the Emerald Eye is keeping them all in stasis
  • Page 18: Ultra Boy and Ferro Lad are waiting (in vain) for Valor, who left in a Time Bubble at the end of issue 37.
  • Page 19 panel 5: I don’t know who that is in stasis
  • Page 20 panel 9: If you notice, this panel looks different from the previous one – Tom Bierbaum said it took Giffen so long to do his art for this issue that his style literally changed between page 20 and 21 (the lawyer in page 20 panel 9 is a Photostat from page 21). We briefly see Giffen’s “March Hare”/“Trencher” art style.
  • Page 22: the quick release of Cham, RJ, the Proties, and KQ seems awfully sudden, as if Giffen wanted to wrap it up before he left
  • Page 22 panels 7-9: compare and contrast McCauley father and son with RJ and Cham
  • By the way, remember when Imra was kidnapped in issue 37? That was May 22, more than 2 weeks ago. And Cham was missing for a month, since May 8. I guess nobody’s too concerned with missing Legionnaires?

Monday, November 02, 2020

LSH v4 #38 Annotations: That's Great, It Starts with an Earthquake, Birds and Snakes and Aeroplanes

Annotations for Legion of Super-Heroes v4 #38


Notes:
  • Cover: My first thought was that this was the end of the series. I wonder if the color palate for this cover of volume 4 #38 is supposed to be reminiscent of the colors for volume 3 #38, the death of Superboy?
  • Page 3: The Tokyo sinkhole opens up 9 days after the destruction of the underground chambers. We’ll see on the next page that they want this to be May 24 – let’s ignore the 9 days part and just go with May 24, which is the day after last issue’s baseball game.
  • Page 4: Says that the chambers were detonated on May 15 (echoing what the Sourcebook says), but we know that can’t be correct because May 15 was given in issue 34 as the date that King Jonn declined the adult Legion’s offer to help from off-world. The two Brainiac 5s arrive in Tokyo on May 25. But recall that adult Brainy got to Earth the day before (last issue) while young Brainy was in Metropolis with some of the other SW6 Legionnaires sending Valor back in time.
  • Page 5: May 26, the Brainys report that the Earth is doomed. The Interlac talks about the proton jelly and an estimate of how much time is left.
  • Page 9: June 3, the domed cities take off; of the 480 with domes, 102 take off, and 100 make it to orbit (losing Barcelona, Spain; and Tashkent, Uzbekistan)
  • Page 13: 95 cities successfully link up (losing Chongqing, China; Dakar, Senegal; Dresden, Germany; Nairobi, Kenya; and Santiago, Chile)
  • Page 16: 94 cities make it to the Bgztl Buffer Zone (losing Seoul, South Korea). The Eyth Incident of ’73 was the planetary system that Lucifer Seven threatened to destroy if his demands were not met. His demands were not met, so he destroyed the system (as seen in Secrets of the Legion 1).
  • Page 18: that looks like Death – notice the ankh around her neck, the umbrella, and the scarab.
  • Page 21: The second appearance of Death of the Endless outside of Sandman. They basically had to get Neil Gaiman’s approval for this after her appearance in Captain Atom #42.
  • Page 23: June 4 is the Great Terran Disaster

Sunday, October 25, 2020

LSH v4 #37 Annotations: The 37th Inning Stretch

Annotations for Legion of Super-Heroes v4 #37


Notes:
  • Cover: 
    • The blue circle and black stripes on the white background is suggestive of a 1930s-era Norman Rockwell painting
    • The title at the top refers to the then-popular movie "A League of Their Own" about female baseball players, but in IOKIAS Tom Bierbaum says that this was written before that and it was an editor's choice to add that caption.
  • Page 1: Neuezer’x (“New Zerox” on Naltor), Lalasa, Holdren
    • Regarding most of the player names in this issue, in IOKIAS Tom says “There were lots of "in-joke" references in this issue because we had so many baseball players we had to name, but for once, we weren't making references specifically to friends of ours from the Legion apas but to friends of ours who were baseball fans from the 1980s baseball apa "National Pastime" (though most of those members also happened to be Legion fans, which is where National Pastime drew much of its membership).  It was neat to give those Legion/baseball fans a role in DC's 30th century that was so ideally suited to their dual interests, and we heard from a couple of those fans that they really enjoyed being included in the issue.” I made those names bold here.
  • Page 6 panel 1: Game 7 of the Galaxy Series, Greenberg Park, recall that the Dreamers won the pennant back on May 1 in Annual #3. This issue's baseball story was inspired by the Metropolis Metros/Naltor Dreamers game in ADV 366, according to IOKIAS.
  • Page 7: Wechsler, Ani Acker
  • Page 11 panel 2: Flynn
  • Page 12 panel 1: Ambassador Jeryl (last seen in SLSH 249)
  • Page 14 panel 4: That’s Mac the Knife from the late 1980s McDonalds commercials in the audience
  • Page 14 panel 5: Looks like Kid 'n' Play on the balcony, two late 80s/early 90s rappers
  • Page 16 panel 1: Uoolph
  • Page 16 panel 4: that’s Ivy (last seen in issue 20) and Garridan (last seen in Annual 3) on Quarantine
  • Page 16 panel 7: Wilton Wyke
  • Page 19 panel 4: Offutt
  • Page 23: SW6 Valor takes an old time bubble back to 2978, when the Legionnaires were cloned. I haven’t read ahead, but from some fan-published chronologies it appears like it's going to be a while before we see him again. And don’t forget that we have three Valors right now in the DCU:
    1. The 20th century version, which grew out of Invasion and Eclipso and his own series, who was later put into the [Bgztl/Buffer/Stasis/Phantom/something] Zone by Glorith
    2. The adult version of #1, who spent 1000 years in the [something] Zone and then 20 years in the 30th century with the Legion
    3. The younger version of #2, who spent 1000 years in the [something] Zone and then 3 years in the 30th century with the Legion before being put in suspended animation by the Dominators and then being revived as part of the SW6 batch.

Monday, September 28, 2020

LSH v4 #36 annotations: The Terra Mosaic finale

Annotations for Legion of Super-Heroes v4 #36


Notes:
  • Cover: Just who has been waiting to see the battle between Bounty and Sade? 
  • Page 2 panel 1: Note that Tyroc has monitor duty yet again
  • Page 7 panel 1: Horton Plaza was, until it was demolished in 2020, an outdoor mall in downtown San Diego a few blocks from the convention center where they had a “fast food of all nations” food court
  • Page 9 panel 1: Bounty has left Metropolis and arrived in London.
  • Page 14 panel 4: So Bounty has been possessed this whole time. That came out of nowhere!
  • Page 16 panel 3: Brainy Sr putting it out there that the older Legion might be the clones, if Giffen has his way….
  • Page 23 panel 3: Mrs. Allen’s son and daughter, Don and Dawn (executed 3/27, issue 17)

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

LSH v4 #35 annotations: It's a barbecue and Sun Boy is invited (Terra Mosaic part 11)

Annotations for Legion of Super-Heroes v4 #35


Anyone recognize the name "Hitomi Yamashika", maybe from Interlac or something?

Notes:
  • Cover: says bi-weekly; in last issue’s IOKIAS, Tom mentioned that with Pearson as penciller, they got back on schedule and were even able to get ahead, so they’re twice a month for the next couple months
  • Page 1 panel 1: Hitomi Yamashika is a new character (named after TBD)
  • Page 1 panel 3: 1st day of conflict was 5/15, so this is 5/17
  • Page 2 panel 2: two days after Pinnacle Command was captured, the Dominators still don’t know about it
  • Page 3 panel 4: this is SW6 Valor
  • Page 4 panel 5: Captain Heiple (named after Interlacker Gayle Heiple; though the character is physically very different than the Interlac member, since Captain Heiple is dark-skinned and male, and Gayle is neither) is also new
  • Page 6 panel 8: nice work by Pearson, in his minimalist style to make all these people look physically different
  • Page 12 panel 3: the bottom speech bubble reads “Your role to question the seizure of power” but according to Tom Bierbaum in IOKIAS, that got messed up in the production stages and should have read “It is not your role to question the seizure of power” (which explains what happens later on this page)
  • Page 20 panel 9: The original Bronze Age serif “L” symbol hasn’t been seen since the Baxter run
  • Page 21: the background celebration music for this page should be "Yub Nub", from "Return of the Jedi"
  • Page 24 panel 1: Gallan was where someone hijacked Kid Quantum and the Protys to in issue 33, with the help of the Emerald Eye
  • Omnicom: remember, Vi acts here like she’s 13, not 18

Tuesday, September 08, 2020

LSH v4 #34 Annotations: The Terra Mosaic Endgame Begins

 Annotations for Legion of Super-Heroes v4 #34



Notes:
  • Page 1: Leland McCauley IV was last seen in issue 31. That may have been him with the Emerald Eye last issue, but we only saw a hand (so it could have been Starfinger III – we’ll find out soon enough).
  • Page 2 panel 3: Cefn Gould (named after Interlac fans Cefn Ridout and Kevin Gould). In IOKIAS, Tom says this was supposed to be a male though she was drawn as a female. With the red hair, orange skin, and green eyes, Cefn looks like a Tamaranean (one of Starfire’s race).
  • Page 4 panel 3: Danzig is the name of the city that is now Gdańsk, Poland. There’s no reference to Danzig elsewhere in Legion history, unless it’s named for someone like the heavy metal band.
  • Page 5 panel 9: I guess it’s not important who the Dark Circle guy was. IOKIAS: “We never find out who the agent behind the Dark Circle mask actually is, but his coerced suicide ended any speculation that the agent was secretly Devlin O’Ryan, whose sweater carries the same star-and-circle insignia the agent wore.”
  • Page 6 panel 9: shuttle driver Linder named after X-APA friend Randy Linder.
  • Page 8: you’ll recall that Bounty and Circe left to go to the SP HQ on 4/26 (back in issue 29).They’ve been trapped in the rubble since 5/6 (issue 32), almost a week now.
  • Page 11 panel 3: Laurel has been in injured and confined to Talus since 4/25 (back in issue 27).
  • Page 11 panel 7: Rokk says “the UP is telling us to stay on the sidelines for now”, we see this memo from the UP at the end of the book, putting this on May 15.
  • Page 12 panel 8: this Sean is Sean Erin, last seen in issue 31.
  • Page 13 panel 1: Agni (pronounced “An-yee” is an area of the modern country of the Ivory Coast (home off the Foccart family). Mali is the country just north.
  • Page 13 panel 2: Grinn was killed off-panel.
  • Page 13 panel 7: Tyroc mentions the deaths of the SW6 Karate Kid, Projectra, and Chameleon Boy. They found Crystal Kid and the other three on 5/8, so it’s not unreasonable to assume that they got checked out in Metropolis on 5/9 and made it to Africa on 5/10.
  • Page 18: oh look, Dirk didn’t die after all. We were meant to assume that he had when the chambers were detonated back on 5/6 in issue 32.
  • Page 22: Laurel has captured Pinnacle Command, who has now just been cut loose by Homeworld.
  • Page 23: at this point we still don’t know who is attacking Elia, the Dominator homeworld.
  • Text page: 
    • Note dated 5/15, this is what Rokk was talking about on page 11. 
    • Recall that Erkenhom is the planet that current LSH HQ on Talus is orbiting.
  • Hey! No links to stories outside of the Terra Mosaic arc!


Here's what we know of the timeline to date. I'm color coding them based on whether the date appeared in the 2995 Sourcebook (yellow; text in yellow is as written in the Sourcebook), it's a confirmed date that was given in the comic (green), or an estimated date based on keeping track of events and days (cyan). Bold text is something new added this issue. Italics are unknown dates.
  • 6/11/1992 - Aria tries to take the dying Brin Londo back in time to prevent his father from administering the first Zuunium injection, but accidentally dumps them both in the 20th century (LSH v4 Ann 3 part 1).
  • 2/12/75 –  The inhabitants of the planet Trom are exterminated by the pirate Kivun Roxxas. The sole survivor is 12 year-old Jan Arrah (LSH v4 #31).
  • 3/26/2978 Dark Circle obtained updated cell samples from when Dr. Zan Orbal restored bodies and powers to Matter-Eater Lad, Lightning Lad, and Bouncing Boy on Tartarus, to complete their collection (LSH v4 #22).
  • 10/78 Doppelganger substitution during Dark Circle invasion (LSH v4 #22).
  • 2/17/89 – Mekt admitted to Labyrinth Penal Institute (LSH v4 #10).
  • 6/23/89 – Magic Wars end (LSH v3 #63)
  • 9/89 – Polymer shield around Earth removed, Earthgov debt soars (LSH v4 #30)
  • 10/89 – the Great Collapse
  • 11/2/89 – Tayla Wellington elected President (LSH v4 #30)
  • 1/19/90 – Mutual assistance pact signed with the Dominion; Earthgov officially secedes from the United Planets (LSH v4 #30)
  • 4/13/90 – Communique from Earthgov President Wellington, trying to legally disband the Legion, with Imra, Rokk, and Cham “currently out of the picture” (LSH v4 #1).
  • 4/90 – Validus Plague ravages Winath; former Legionnaire Brainiac 5 helps (LSH v4 #3).
  • 6/7/90 – Legion Academy closes (LSH v4 #16).
  • 7/6/90 – Former Legion Academy heads Chuck and Luornu Durgo Taine open the United Planets Militia Academy (LSH v4 #16).
  • TBD 2990 – Earthgov secedes from the United Planets, and the Science Police Earth splits from the Science Police Proper (LSH v4 #2). Since then, “resistance forces have opposed Earthgov since the introduction of repressive measures… but with little success to date.” (LSH v4 #13)
  • 4/12/91 – Tinya goes missing; she was secretly sent back in time by Glorith (LSH v4 #2).
  • 5/8/91 – Search for Tinya called off; Jo resigns; Sun Boy is leader (LSH v4 #2).
  • 5/27/91 – Mekt released from Labyrinth, rehabilitated (LSH v4 #10).
  • 6/9/91 – Planned date of wedding of Tinya and Jo (LSH v4 #2).
  • 7/91 – Reported threats regarding Earthgov failure to pay debts (LSH v4 #30).
  • 8/12/91 – Black Dawn; Timber Wolf is seriously injured, Wildfire is lost; Starfinger II (Char Burrane) and the Khunds are somehow involved (LSH v4 #12, #28).
  • 8/14/91 – It is now postulated that full Domination of Earthgov began at this time (LSH v4 #30).
  • 8/15/91 – Blok, Dawnstar, and Dream Girl resign (LSH v4 #28).
  • 8/17/91 – Crystal Kid resigns (LSH v4 #28).
  • 8/23/91 – Element Lad resigns (LSH v4 #28).
  • 9/1/91 – Impulse resigns (LSH v4 #28).
  • 9/4/91 – Echo and Tellus resign (LSH v4 #28).
  • 9/14/91 – Sun Boy resigns and appoints Polar Boy as unofficial temporary leader (LSH v4 #28).
  • 10/8/91 – Imsk sets off the Damper weapon on Venado Bay on Braal-13 during the Imsk/Braal War. Rokk lost his powers, Loomis lost an arm. Salu was head of security on the damper project and knew what it would do, but fought against it (not hard enough, in her admission). Imsk won, as the army is occupying Braal (LSH v4 #1). She says that Braal attacked Imsk, and they were just defending themselves (LSH v4 #10).
  • TBD 2991 – Garth and Imra, having left the Legion, start the Lightning Ring Plantation (LSH v4 #3).
  • 1/21/92 – Rebirth Summit (LSH v4 #1).
  • 7/6/92 – LSH leader Polar Boy disbands the Legion, mentions Black Dawn which “cost” the Legion (LSH v4 #1); Mordru coronated as the Supreme Teacher of Sorceror’s World (LSH v4 #6).
  • TBD 1992 – Down and out, Dirk is rescued by Shvaughn Erin, who warns him not to trust Earthgov, but he doesn’t trust her. Dirk is later recruited by Circe (LSH v4 #28)
  • 8/22/92 – Brek Bannin arrested for insurrection (LSH v4 #11).
  • 9/9/92 – Dirk joins Earthgov as a spokesman and liaison (LSH v4 #28)
  • 4/11/93 – Announcement of upcoming wedding of Grev Mallor (of the City People) to Kahnya Nahtahnie (Lady Memory of the Hill People) on Talok VIII.
  • 8/14/93 – wedding of Grev Mallor and Kahnya Nahtahnie.
  • 1/17/94 – Marzal reappears over Africa and the corrupt Earthgov destroys it, but not before Tyroc escapes (LSH v4 #16).
  • 10/22/94 – Raid on anti-government terrorists, but ringleader Vidar (aka Universo) is not captured; Cham tells Marla he’s leaving (LSH v4 #1).
  • 10/23/94 – Cham begins to recruit members for the new Legion, first approaching Rokk; Vi leaves the Imsk army for Winath; Dominator agents help Roxxas escape from Labyrinth (LSH v4 #1).
  • 10/25/94 – Attack on Jo and Kono on Rimbor; Loomis and Lydda en route to Kathoon (LSH v4 #2).
  • Fri 11/21/94 – Blok is killed by Roxxas the Butcher (LSH v4 #3).
  • Thu 11/27/94 – Mordru crushes Rond Vidar’s ring; Rokk and Cham finally meet up with Jo and decide to go to Tharn to rescue Mysa; Dominators and Shvaughn Erin watch the tape of Roxxas and Blok, whose body is delivered to Winath; Mon-El resurrected (LSH v4 #3).
  • Fri 11/28/94 – Mon-El goes to Talok VIII, then Shadow Lass and Mon-El visit Brainiac 5, then Mon-El destroys the Time Trapper (LSH v4 #4).
  • Sat 11/29/94 – Mordruverse (LSH v4 #5).
  • Sat 11/29/94 – Cham, Rokk, Jo, Kono, and Furball arrive on Tharn and are captured by Mordru; after being hired by Earthgov to find Blok’s killer, Celeste, Devlin, and Bounty leave for Trom (LSH v4 #6).
  • Sun 11/30/94 – Celeste, Devlin, and Bounty meet Jan on Trom (LSH v4 #6); with the help of Laurel Gand, Rokk’s crew rescues Mysa and Rond from Mordru but are teleported to Grocz; Celeste, Devlin, Bounty, and Jan leave Trom for Winath (LSH v4 #7); Earthgov links to Roxxas reported, riots ensue (LSH 4 #30).
  • Mon 12/1/94 – Rokk, Cham, Jo, Kono, Furball, Rond, Laurel, and Mysa travel from Grocz to Zirr (LSH v4 #8).
  • Tues 12/2/94 – Rokk, Laurel, and Rond take some R&R time on Zirr with baby Lauren, while the others go to Winath; Marla reminisces (LSH v4 #8); on Cygnus IV, Roxxas watches a holo of Laurel Gand; Celeste, Devlin, Bounty, and Jan arrive on Winath (LSH v4 #9).
  • Wed 12/3/94 – Rokk and Rond arrive in the morning, having left Laurel behind on Zirr; everyone (Rokk, Rond; Cham, Jo, Kono, Furball, Mysa; Celeste, Devlin, Bounty, Jan; Brainy, Garth, Ayla, Vi, Imra) is on Winath when Roxxas attacks; Bounty, Mekt, Cham, and Celeste are seriously injured, while Jo disappears and is presumed dead; Earthgov linked to Roxxas; Tenzil arrives on Earth (LSH v4 #10).
  • Thu 12/4/94 – On Winath, Roxxas is on the loose, and kills a doctor and nurse in the Bloomfield Free Clinic. On Earth, Tenzil participates in the Batcave dig, meets with Shvaughn and Brek (who is released for the first time since incarceration 2 years prior), has dinner with Prosecutor Jakobi, then falls asleep. (LSH v4 #11).
  • Fri 12/5/94 – Tenzil and Brek in court; Holo Scene news article on the trial (LSH v4 #11); Celeste is healed by a green glow; the former Legionnaires team up to capture Roxxas, who reveals Dominion control of Earthgov (LSH v4 #12).
  • Wed 12/10/94 – All-points bulletin on Persuader, who meets Kent Shakespeare in on Quarantine trying to attack Char Burrane Jr. (LSH v4 #12). Persuader is defeated by Kent and SP Captain Gim Allon, who then takes Kent to Toonar (LSH v4 #13).
  • Thu 12/11/94 – Kent leaves Toonar for Winath; Laurel fights Khunds in deep space; Tenzil and Brek on Gnogg. (LSH v4 #13).
  • Sun 12/14/94 – The Legion is formally reinstated.
  • Mon 12/16/94 – Tenzil, Brek, and Calorie Queen are taken to Tartarus by Prince Evillo; Tenzil banished to the Realm of Darkness (LSH v4 #14).
  • Thu 12/25/94 – Garth, Cham, and Rokk remotely survey Talus (LSH v4 #14).
  • Fri 12/26/94 – Tenzil and Sugyn return from the Realm of Darkness, only to hear that Tenzil has been declared dead and his Senate seat vacated (LSH v4 #14).
  • Sat 12/27/94 – Loomis writes his report on Talus’ suitability for being the new HQ; Tenzil leaves Brek behind on Tartarus and heads for Winath (LSH v4 #14).
  • Sun 12/28/94 – The reformed Legion establishes headquarters on the asteroid world of Talus.
  • Sat 1/3/95 – Tenzil Kem rejoins the Legion.
  • Sun 1/11/95 – Orando falls to the Khunds (LSH v4 #15).
  • Mon 1/12/95 – The Legion agrees to team with the United Planets Militia to beat back a Khundish invasion that threatens the heart of the United Planets (LSH v4 #15).
  • Exact date unknown – Cham meets with a Khundish double agent; Venegar falls to the Khunds, who then make a deal with the Hill People of Talok VIII; the UP Militia tries to decide if Xolnar or Talok VIII will be attacked next; Valor and Shadow Lass appear on Talok VIII; Khunds attack Xolnar; Circe wants Dirk to give a pro-Dominator speech (LSH v4 #15).
  • Exact date unknown – Last stand on Xolnar; introduction of the Resistance on Earth (LSH v4 #16).
  • Fri 3/13/95 – SP Officer Roon Dvron’s police report on Sussa Paka (LSH v4 #22, 23, 27).
  • Sat 3/14/95 - Sussa Paka escape SP custody, steals Starfinger's helmet for Molock Hanscom on the way out (LSH v4 #27).
  • Sun 3/22/95 – Khund decoy fleet arrives at Talok VIII, while the main fleet attacks Xolnar, leading to the death of Jed “Power Boy” Rikane; after destroying the Talok fleet, the Legion and the UP Militia arrive at Xolnar to finish the Khundish fleet; Glorith sent to the end of time; the Khunds are driven back to pre-2995 borders, and the Legion concludes its participation in the war against Khundish encroachment (LSH v4 #17).
  • Wed 3/25/95 – Don and Dawn Allen are arrested by Earthgov (LSH v4 #17).
  • Thurs 3/26/95 – Don and Dawn Allen are put on trial (LSH v4 #17); Sussa Paka steals Earthgov Artifact J-1-WRTZ for Molock Hanscom (LSH v4 #27).
  • Fri 3/27/95 – Tensions increase on Earth with the execution of Legion friends Don and Dawn Allen. (Note that 3/27/95 is a Friday, while the comic says it happened on a Monday) (LSH v4 #17); additional riots, and martial law is instituted (LSH v4 #30).
  • Sat 3/28/95 – Daily Planet article on the Allen executions (LSH v4 #17).
  • Exact date unknown – Valor and Shadow Lass help counter a Dark Circle attempt on Queen Projectra’s life on Orando, then remove the Dark Circle cultists from Carggg; Universo and Jacques meet; holo studio bombing allegedly by one of the Resistance groups (LSH v4 #18).
  • Thu 4/9/95 – Valor and Shadow Lass leave Carggg on their way to some R&R in deep space (LSH v4 #22).
  • Sat 4/11/95 – Luna is destroyed, ravaging Earth (LSH v4 #19) and causing powerspheres to detonate across the globe, with a death toll in the billions and widespread environmental devastation (LSH v4 #30). The mysterious “SW6" Legionnaires awaken in an underground Dominion chamber on Earth. (LSH v4 #20, 25) Earthgov authorizes executions. (LSH v4 #25).
  • Sun 4/12/95 – Jo Nah returns from an extended journey through time (LSH v4 #19) and is added to the reformed adult Legion team; the SW6 Legion encounters Devlin O’Ryan (LSH v4 #20); all outside aid to Earth is rejected (LSH v4 #30).
  • Mon 4/13/95 – Dacey and Doritt Ranzz are born to ex-Legionnaires Garth and Imra Ardeen Ranzz. Rokk recalls the events of Venado Bay as the Dominators start executing Science Police Earth officers who are revolting against the Dominators. Mysa Nal is contacted by the spirit of Amethyst (LSH v4 #20). After being exposed to the null radiation from the detonation of Metropolis' powersphere on the 11th, Devlin is getting worse. (LSH v4 #25).
  • Wed 4/15/95 – Furball meets Aria on Zuun, unaware that she’s being hunted by Darkseid; Atmos revealed to have been killed by Project Champion; the Dominators begin harsher punishment of insurrectionists on Earth (LSH v4 #21).
  • Fri 4/17/95 – Jo, Celeste, and Kent on the way to Zuun to get Brainy and Furball; on Talus, Kono reads Nura’s unanswered messages to Mysa; on Altair, Valor finds troubling news from a Dark Circle computer (LSH v4 #22).
  • Sat 4/18/95 – Disease and rebellion reported widespread on Earth; Dominators performing mass executions (LSH v4 #30).
  • Exact date unknown: members of the Dark Circle recount the history of Valor (LSH v4 Annual 2).
  • Mon 4/20/95 – Devlin is healing and appears to have powers just like Reflecto of Rimbor (LSH v4 #29).
  • Tues 4/21/95 – Jo, Celeste, and Kent arrive at Zuun (LSH v4 #22).They are briefly detained but they escape to the surface and meet up with Brainy and Furball, but Lobo captures and leaves with Aria; during the escape, Celeste generates a burst of intense green energy. On Earth, Resistance leader Jacques has Laurel and Bounty meet up with Circe, who has turned against the Dominators and Earthgov. Valor leaves Shady to go to Earth to check into what he found (LSH v4 #23).
  • Wed 4/22/95 – Lobo brings Aria to Darkseid, followed by Jo, Kent, Celeste, Brainy, and Furball. Lobo is revealed to be merely a probe and Darkseid vanishes him, and then turns Furball back into Brin. The Gemini Matrix activates and Aria turns into an adult Gemini and blasts Darkseid, per his secret wish, who then disappears. Back on Earth, BION discovers the adult Laurel Gand while looking for the SW6 version, and the SW6 Legionnaires reveal themselves to Devlin (LSH v4 #24). The SW6 Legionnaires and Devlin escape the tunnels and link up with Universo and the Earth Resistance (LSH v4 #25), and then quickly go to the Resistance HQ in New Mexico. The Subs and Universo’s Resistance team capture the Weisigner Chambers from the Dominators, while BION follows Laurel to Talus (LSH v4 #26).
  • Thu 4/23/95 – Garth and Imra decide to hold the christening of their new twins next week, on Saturday May 2 (LSH v4 Ann 3 part 2).
  • Sat 4/25/95 - Legionnaires in Africa with the Resistance and the SW6 Batch become aware of each other; the Subs and Grin’s resistance team discover others in the Weisinger Chambers; Rokk, Kono, and Loomis manage to subdue BION on Talus (LSH v4 #27). Dirk Morgna’s pod is discovered (LSH v4 #28).
  • Sun 4/26/95 – On Talus, Brainiac 5 studies BION, and Valor suggests that the adult Legionnaires may be clones. Monica Sade is released from the Weisinger chambers, and then Dominator troops temporarily gain control of the Chambers. Circe and Bounty plan to take out Pinnacle Command, while the Dominators prepare mind-wiped agents to attack the Subs (LSH v4 #29).
  • Thu 4/30/95 – Tensions on Earth reach the breaking point when President Tayla Wellington is assassinated by the Dominion during a live broadcast (LSH v4 #29, 30). Aria tries to take the dying Brin Londo back in time to prevent his father from administering the first Zuunium injection, but accidentally dumps them both in the 20th century (LSH v4 Ann 3 part 1). Legionnaires begin to arrive on Winath for a reunion to attend the christening of Dacey and Doritt Ranzz (LSH v4 Ann 3 part 2).
  • Fri 5/1/95 – On Earth, the Subs battle mind-wiped Dominator agents; the Dominators and UP fleets meet up in orbit around Earth (LSH v4 #30). More Legionnaires arrive on Winath for the christening; the Naltor Dreamers defeat the Winath Jaybirds 6-1, clinching their first pennant since 2980 (LSH v4 Ann 3 part 2).
  • Sat 5/2/95 – Dacey and Doritt's christening; Pol Jath Krinn is born to Rokk Krinn and his wife Lydda; Ayla Ranzz learns that Garth is really Proty I, inhabiting her brother's re-animated body (LSH v4 Ann 3 part 2).On Earth, Jan helps Shvaughn Erin and sees his SW6 self, while in space the adult Valor meets his SW6 counterpart (LSH v4 #31).
  • Wed 5/6/95 – Cham begins a search for R.J. Brande; on Earth, Circe and Bounty capture Spider Girl; the Subs escape from the Weisinger chambers with the help of the SW6 Legion, but Grinn sets off a self-destruct mechanism that destroys all the chambers; SW6 Chameleon Boy, Karate Kid, and Princess Projectra are killed fighting Dominion troops (Note: the Sourcebook says this happened on 5/15, but that's too much time since the christening) (LSH v4 #32).
  • Thurs 5/7/95 – Cham arrives on Yal and finds Brande; the Dominators get intel on the Soul of Antares (LSH v4 #33).
  • Fri 5/8/9 – Adam Orion arrives on Yal to capture Brande, but fails; the Antareans are hijacked by someone using the Emerald Eye; the SW6 Legionnaires find Crystal Kid still alive, along with Catspaw, Dragonmage, and Computo (LSH v4 #33).
  • Fri 5/15/95: The battle for Earth begins, with fighting on the ground and in the skies. SW6 Laurel Gand and the UP capture Pinnacle Command. King Jonn declines the adult Legion’s offer for help from off-world, but asks them to be prepared to defend the UP from other outside threats (LSH v4 #34).