Whatever Happened to: Mischa McDowell (aka Michelle Bryant)?

While doing these annotations, I noticed a name I wasn't familiar with in the credits on Valor #14: Mischa McDowell, on inks over Colleen Doran. I looked her up in the Grand Comics Database, and I saw that her only credits (at least under that name) were Valor #14-19, and one Star Wars cover. Essentially her entire career was inking Valor! I liked the way her inks looked over Doran's pencils, so I attempted to track her down to see... whatever happened to her?

Here are some selected sample pages from her run on Valor:

issue 14 page 1 (first page from first issue) on left, page 5 on right

issue 16 pages 14-15

issue 17 pages 2-3

issue 19 page 4 on left, page 23 on right (final page from final issue)

I started with Colleen Doran herself, I asked if she remembered working with McDowell. 

I'm still in touch with Mischa. She was wonderful on the book, and we were one of the only all-woman art teams in mainstream comics at the time!

— Colleen Doran (@ColleenDoran) November 29, 2021

In a non-stalker method, I tracked down McDowell (now Michelle Bryant), and when I told her about the podcast and my desire to find out more, she was delighted to provide me with the following (links and cover dates in brackets are from me):

I wanted to be a comic book artist since I was very young. I was a kid in the 1980s, and it was unusual then for a girl to be into comics. My mom would buy them for me at garage sales, and that’s probably where my interest started. I used to bike to the local convenience store for new issues and would occasionally beg a ride from my dad to the comic book store downtown. I spent hundreds of hours reading them.

My high school in Madison, Wisconsin had a senior-year program where you could apprentice with an outside artist. I knew that Steve Rude of Nexus fame lived in town, so the program coordinator contacted him on my behalf, asking if he would be my mentor. Steve is a really nice guy and an incredible artist. I learned a lot from him, and we’ve been friends now for 34 years.

I then started college in Bloomington, Illinois where I met Steve Bryant (author and artist of Athena Voltaire) when he was working at a comic book store. He introduced me to a local group of artists (including Tim Bradstreet, now widely known for his comic book covers) who did illustrations for local gaming magazines. We sold our art at numerous conventions including the early years of Gen Con.

A couple years later, I very nearly got my first break. Jill Thompson, a friend of Steve Rude’s, had given me photocopies of her pencils from Sandman. She liked the resulting inking samples I sent her, and she was about to start work on DC’s series Black Orchid [issue 1 cover dated 9/93]. The book’s editor liked my work, but he was hesitant to put an unpublished artist at the beginning of the run. We left it with the understanding that I would start a few issues in, but it never did happen.

Steve Rude also introduced me to Colleen Doran. I already loved Colleen’s series A Distant Soil and was familiar with her work. This connection led to my being brought in as inker for DC Comics on Valor issue #14-19 [cover dates 12/93 to 5/94]. I worked on the series through the summer [1993] and moved from Wisconsin to Arizona in between issues. Once I got to Arizona, the editor told me that FedEx had lost the pages for the next issue. This excuse kept up for the next couple weeks until I called Colleen who was very surprised and told me that the pages were with another inker; it turned out that I had fired. I was never told. I understood their decision as I had missed a couple of deadlines, but if I had known in advance, I wouldn’t have incurred the expense of moving.

Over the next few months, I sent many inking samples to various comic book publishers in search of work, but I didn’t find any. This was also right around the time the comic book market went into a steep decline. I eventually ran out of money and moved back to Wisconsin. After that, I did receive a call from an editor at Dark Horse Comics who had seen my samples in their archive. He liked my graphic style and offered me the covers on Classic Star Wars: The Early Adventures #7 and #8. I did do #7 [cover date 2/95], but the penciller chose to ink his own work on #8. 

That was the last comic book art I did. After that, I worked as a picture framer and a book binder, as well as a stained glass artist and lampworker, making and selling over a million, little glass beads. A couple years ago, due to health reasons, I quit hot glass and moved into online reselling, especially vintage and antiques. Writing this reminds me: I still need to sell most of my original comic book art from Valor. 

I love what I do now as it’s endlessly interesting, and it involves a lot of photography which is what I went to college for in the first place. Would I go back into comic books if given the chance? I would need a lot of practice to get back to where I was, but yeah, probably. That dream never dies. :-)

You can find her online stores for "What's Gone Around" on eBay, Etsy, and Mercari.

That Damned Reprint

Bleeding Cool is reporting that copies of the mis-printed and recalled Legion reprint of "Legion of the Damned" are being sold on eBay for $30.

Technically titled "DC Comics Presents: Legion Of Superheroes: Legion Of The Damned 100 Page Spectacular" #1, the new version will have a white logo instead of a yellow one.

Flight rings on eBay

I am not associated with this ebay auction in any way, shape, or form. That said, someone is selling replica Legion flight rings on ebay if you're interested.

This isn't the original gold-plated DC Direct version but a homemade version that, from the ad, is available in all sizes from 4-15 (US). Cost is $55 ($40 for the ring, $15 for shipping from Israel).

If you do get one, let me know how it works out!

Bits of Legionnaire Business

It's too late for in-depth links to Legion of 3 Worlds or Adventure Comics #1, but here are some items I didn't get around to posting on my last Bits column that aren't too outdated already. It's a long one, chock full of good stuff all the way down to the bottom. Now I'm caught up through this weekend.

• Those of you on Facebook might be interested in groups for the Interlac language, LegionWorld.net, and the old Legion apa's (like the Outpost, Interlac, etc.).
  
  
• The Fortress of Baileytude has a series of podcasts covering Superman's history from Crisis (on Infinite Earths) to Crisis (the Final kind). Episode 10 covers August 1987, when the 4-issue storyline on Superman, Superboy, and the Pocket Universe appeared.
  
  
• Again with the Comics looks at Tenzil for the Defense.
  
  
• Remember how at the end of LSH v3 #5, five Legionnaires left through a stargate to make it back home (as seen in the recently reprinted "An Eye for an Eye" TPB)? Well, they had a detour in the 20th century with Superman and Brainiac, first.
  
  
• TroopNY shows off his custom-made reboot Cosmic Boy costume at the League of Heroes site.
  
  
• Newsarama interviews Tony Bedard on what's coming up in R.E.B.E.L.S.
  
  
• Did you know that the M'rissey character that showed up in Jim Shooter's recent run on the Legion was based on long-time fan Rich Morrissey? Rich helped create Legion fandom in the early 1970s and was one of the great comics historians. Here's a little bit of the character on scans_daily and the obituary that Mark Evanier wrote in 2001.
  
  
• Chris Mosby reveals why LSH v3 #312 is the most pivotal Legion issue EVER.
  
  
• The Legion Abstract's Matthew was a guest of the Legion of Substitute Podcasters following the end of Legion of 3 Worlds. Worlds will live, worlds will die in this crossover!
  
  
• Major Spoilers has an in-depth Hero History of the Legion of Super-Pets.
  
  
• It's too late to go into detail about the Adventure Comics #1 reviews, but here are links to them anyway. Legion Abstract, Read/Rant, CBR, Shotgun Reviews, IGN, ComiXtreme, Get-a-Life Boy, Comic Book Legacy, Newsarama's Legion Blogpost, Comix411, Examiner, Keith's Comics Revue, Comics And..., and Comic Nexus.
  
  
• The Origins and Powers of the Legionnaires, as posted by Diversions of the Groovy Kind. These are pages from the All-New Collector's Edition book that had the wedding of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl, these pages with art by Jim Sherman and Jack Abel.
  
  
• Info on costume designs by Mike Grell and Dave Cockrum, from an issue of Back Issue magazine.
  
  
• If you're into Mighty Muggs, how about this custom Wildfire on ebay?
  
  
  
• Whatever happened to those goats that L3 Brainiac 5 had in the HQ?
  
  
• The Major Spoilers poll and podcast: the Legion vs the X-Men
  
  
• Mattel, on what their next plans are for Legion action figures: "We do have some great plans for the Legion of Superheroes, but when and how they will be released has yet to be announced!"
  
  
• Oh Noes! Clark needs to get to the 30th century right away, but he's cuddling with Lana. How will he get away?
  
  
• Ah, Laurel Kent. Post-Modern Barney calls Superboy sick and wrong for hitting on his multi-great granddaughter, while Armagideon Time lists her in one of his "Nobody's Favorite" histories.
  
  
• Gratuitous Legion references of the day: from the Sacramento Bee, talking about the University of Florida's "inevitable" march to the national championship game. "The Gators fit the bill. They've got the smarty-pants football coach. They've got the pretty-boy quarterback who works on making the world a better place in his spare time. They've got more speed than the Legion of Super-Heroes."
  
  Second, from the Wall Street Journal, on Disney's acquisition of Marvel: "Disney agreed Monday to buy Marvel Entertainment Inc., adding a legion of superheroes to a durable family of children's favorites."
  
  
• Wil Wheaton talks a bit about his role as Cosmic Boy on the Legion TV series in an interview about his role on a recent episode of "Leverage".
  
  
• It's time to play "Crazy Celebrity Baby Name or Member of the Legion!"
  
  
• Here's a fabulously retro look at the Legionnaires on the cover of Adventure 247, by ~Quimbus on deviantART.
  
  
• The Legion cartoon airs at 10:30am Sundays in Brisbane. In case you were wondering.
  
  
• Blake's 2-in-1 Podcast looks at Mon-El - who is he, and what's his story?
  
  
• Finally, my Google Alert subscription notifies me of these things from time to time, where somebody uses the phrase "Legion of Super-Heroes" but not actually referring to our team. This one is kind of cute, from the Willard Central Elementary School in Springfield, MO. The super-hero theme this year at the school "will focus on developing HEROES – Honorable, Empowered, Responsible, Organized, Exceptional Students." That's so cool! I hope DC/Warners doesn't bust them for trademark infringement or something.
  

Another Adventure 247 on eBay

Anyone want to buy a copy of Adventure 247? There are several this morning:

• There's one on eBay that ends on Feb. 15th. The seller claims it's a VG-/VG. I expect it to go for $300-$500.
  
• Mile High Comics is has an unslabbed copy in VG on a Buy It Now for the bargain price of $2295.
  
• A slabbed CGC 5.5 for $1999.99
  
• Another slabbed CGC 5.5 for $1899.99
  
• A slabbed CGC 8.5R for $2250

But the most affordable one by far is this unslabbed copy with the top third of the cover missing (it was cut off by the store and sent back for credit, and this was supposed to have been destroyed) for only $299.99. I don't expect this one to be hanging around long.

If only these flight rings actually worked...

Anyone need a Legion Flight Ring for their collection? There's one on eBay right now for $66, not too much above the original price of $54.95.



Too bad I missed it, but I would have posted on this one: you could have had Mark Waid's Legion flight ring, which went for $107.50. (Thanks to this week's Lying in the Gutters for this tip.)

Other stuff

So here's a bunch of stuff I was going to get to before we heard about the latest cancellation (more on that in another post, this is for non-cancellation stuff), still trying to dig out from under my Hurricane Ike-imposed internet blackout.

• The Comic Treadmill reviews Adventure Comics 367-369. Oh noes, they're almost at the end of reviewing the entire Adventure run!
  
• Writer J. Torres explains what he had planned for the LSH31C comic, had it not been cancelled.
  
• John Kahane lists his top 5 bad ideas in Legion history.
  
• This unfortunately came and went during my down-time, but "Ordinary People Change the World" had a Legion-related auction. The group, started by author Brad Meltzer, is raising money to restore the Jerry Siegel home in Cleveland, coming from Siegel & Shuster Society Charity Auction (as seen in this CBR article). Mark Waid had donated the original Curt Swan cover to the Legion Index #2, and it sold for $7600 on eBay.
  
• ToonZone has a review of the LSH v3 DVD (that's the cartoon, not the 1980s comic series).
  
• Someone's got a couple of rare Legion promo items on eBay from the 1980s, the first being the 35th Anniversary promo from 1983 and the second being the "Flight Ring Village" promo from 1989. At this writing they're $3.99 each with no bids.
  
• Christopher "MightyGodKing" Bird has reason #45 why he should write the Legion.
  

Also coming out of Baltimore, apparently prior to the cancellation news, was this info from the Superman panel, which hints at more of the Johns post-Crisis v3-ish Legion:

The Supergirl/Superman interaction with the Legion of Super-Heroes was asked about, given that Superman now had spent time with the "original" Legion and Supergirl logged some hours alongside Waid and Kitson's “threeboot” Legion. Geoff Johns assured the fans that the overlap would be made clear.

...The current reintroduction of the Science Police was brought up and it was asked if they were tied to the Legion Science Police. Robinson promised an upcoming arc featuring the secret behind the Science Police.

...The Superman team does have plans for Mon-El.

Adventure Comics #247 for cheap on eBay

Someone's selling an original copy of Adventure 247 on eBay. The description says it's complete minus the cover. At the moment it's only $20.50 (auction ends Sept. 5th).

WANT!

But cannot afford.

I've got a birthday coming up, in case anyone was looking for ideas.

Update 6/29/08: sold, for $6,600.

eBay update

Some eBay auctions that I told you about recently have ended. Hopefully one of you was the high bidder:

This Mike Grell cover to Action Comics 861 failed to get a bid at $2500, so it was relisted. It made it as high as $909 in a second listing, but that didn't meet the reserve. As far as I know it's still for sale.

This Alex Ross cover to the Overstreet Price Guide sold for $22,000 to a live bidder at the Heritage Auction.



This Bob Layton concept cover of a "Days of Future Passed" Legion sold for $300 to Miki Anamanthadoo, a prolific collector of Legion art.

Greg LaRocque

Former Legion artist Greg LaRocque contacted me the other day to say that he'll be selling original art on eBay soon. To whet your appetite, here's an image he sent me titled "Greatest Hero of Them All" (click to enlarge):

For the young'uns, LaRocque pencilled the bulk of the v3 run in the '80s, from issue 15 to issue 48 (following Steve Lightle and preceding the return of Keith Giffen).

LaRocque is one of those artists who absolutely shines with the right inker. He was lucky to have had two of them on the Legion books, Larry Mahlstedt for a few issues at the beginning and then Mike DeCarlo for most of the run. Here are the covers to those issues (at the Grand Comics Database).

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Update 11/13/07: Here's the auction for this piece on eBay, starting bid of $100.

New goodies on eBay

If you have a few thousand dollars lying around with nothing to spend it on, why not check out these eBay auctions?

The original art to the Mike Grell alternate cover of Action Comics 861, starting bid at only $2500:

Or for just a bit more, you can have the original Alex Ross painting for the Adventure 247 recreation cover of the 1999 Overstreet Price Guide, in a Heritage silent auction, starting bid of $4000:

eBay: The Legion's "Days of Future Past"

The Legion already met the X-Men in their "Days of Future Past" storyline back in the "Unlimited Access" miniseries a while back, but someone commissioned artist Bob Layton to re-create the iconic cover of "X-Men" 141 with the Legion replacing the X-Men. This piece of original art is up for auction on eBay this week.

A One of a Kind Cover Commission from Bob Layton! It's an X-Men 141 swipe featuring the Legion of Superheroes. The premise is Darkseid has taken over the world and the big three of Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl are all that remain. This great piece is on 11x17 comic board. The lettering are stats and there is a small amount of whiteout. Stunning piece. Retails at $400. No need to wait months and months for a commission.

It's on a "Buy It Now" for $375, or "Make an Offer". Click on the picture to see an enlargement on the actual auction page.

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Note: as a companion piece to this "The Legion replaces Marvel characters", I wanted to show a piece of commissioned art, done by Mike Grell, recreating an Avengers scene, where the LSH was substituted in place of the Avengers (Colossal Boy for Giant-Man, etc.) on the left side, and some Legion villains (maybe the Fatal Five?) were substituted in place of Avengers villains on the right side (Emerald Empress for Enchantress?). Unfortunately, I can't find the copy of the image either on my computer or via a Google search, so if you know where this is (or if you're the owner), please put a link in the comments.

Another Adventure #247 on eBay

There's another coverless copy of Adventure 247 for sale on eBay.

It's all there but the cover! The first wrap is barely hanging on to only the bottom staple. There is also some light chew/bug damage to the top edge. The pages are flat and tight and TAN in color with no brittleness or flaking. This is a great chance to get a key book at a bargain price, don't miss it!

It's currently at $52.00 (plus $3.50 shipping). Happy bidding!

Adventure #247 for sale on eBay

Someone (not me) has a copy of Adventure 247 for sale on eBay. Here's the description:

Here is Adventure Comics # 247, April 1958 featuring Superboy and the first appearance of the Legion of Super-heroes from the 30th century. This comic is coverless and the bottom staple is loose from the first page. Someone used a pen on Cosmic Boy's feet and just about wore through the first page. The coupon is cut out of the last page, and the center page with the first page of the Green Arrow story has been ripped in half. The person with the pen wore through the peoples faces on the half that remains. The Little Pete page is good yet, but it might as well be missing the center page. Superboy and Aquaman storys are complete and book has slightly yellowed pages.

With just a $19.99 opening bid, based on the description I wouldn't think this should go for more than $100. From the description, I'd guess it's somewhere between Fair and Poor (and Near Mint is somewhere around $9000 in Overstreet, if any exist).

I bought my copy last year - it was coverless and missing the first wraparound (pages 1, 2, 31, and 32) and the centerfold was detached - for about $35. I bought it so that my other copy, which was missing the centerfold altogether.

Happy bidding!