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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

On his Instagram page, Nakayama says:

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

 

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

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

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

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

 

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

OMG! It's Gates!

Thanks to Val Beasley for the link. Check out this creature recently discovered in Australia:

More here.

FYI

FYI, I'm on vacation in China this week. Unfortunately, they've
blocked blogspot.com (as well as Facebook, Twitter, and lots of other
sites) so I can't post directly, only via email. I have your comments
emailed to me, so I can see what you're saying, but I won't be able
to reply for a couple of weeks. I've got a trivia quiz pre-scheduled
for today, and I've got some other stuff I can mail in.

Oh, and the Chinese people in the 21st century look nothing like
their 30th century counterparts as seen in the Lightning Lad/Saturn
Girl wedding story. Perhaps it was because those Chinese were on the moon.

LEGIÃO DOS SUPER-HERÓIS - the Legion in Brazil in December

Sounds like the Legion animated show will be carried by Cartoon Network in Brazil starting December 14, 2007. Anyone from Brazil read this and want to comment?

LEGIÃO DOS SUPER-HERÓIS – NOVA SÉRIE (2006) Quarta, 14 de dezembro, às 17h Gênero: Animação, Ação

Daqui a mil anos, um grupo de super-heróis adolescentes viaja de volta no tempo para recrutar o maior herói do passado, Super-Homem, para combater o Mal no século XXXI. Mas apesar das intenções do grupo serem boas, sua destreza com viagem no tempo não é - e Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Brainiac 5, Phantom Girl, Bouncing Boy e Timber Wolf acabam recuando demais no tempo, até os dias do Superboy. Juntos, essa inusitada Liga de Super-Heróis se une para defender os direitos de todos os mundos livres e para garantir as leis da recém-criada United Planets [referência à ONU, United Nations em inglês]. Mas isso somente se eles não se matarem antes. Legion of Super Heroes combina humor com altos riscos e atos heróicos em larga escala para criar o sci-fi do momento.

Here's the Google machine translation, which is occasionally humorous:

In a thousand years, a group of super-heroes adolescents travels back in time to recruit the greatest hero of the past, Super-Man, to fight the Evil century XXXI. But despite the group's intentions are good, their swiftly with the journey time is not, and Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Brainiac 5, Phantom Girl, Bouncing Boy and Timber Wolf end recuando other in time, before the days of Superboy. Together, this unusual League of Super-Heroes are unites to defend the rights of all worlds free and to ensure the laws of the newly created United Planets [reference to the UN, United Nations in English]. But that is only if they do not kill before. Legion of Super Heroes combines humor with high risks and heroic acts on a large scale to create the sci-fi at the time.

Legion on SKY TV in Italy

According to SKY Guida TV, the Legion show apparently premieres season 1 in Italy on SKY's Cartoon Network(s), channels 606 and 607, on October 1st.

If any Italian readers watch the show, please comment here about how it looks and sounds (dubbed with new voices? subtitled?).

Un gruppo di supereroi torna indietro nel tempo con l’obiettivo di convincere Superman ad unirsi alla loro lotta per mantenere la pace nel mondo. Così, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Brainiac 5, Phantom Girl, Bouncing Boy e Timber Wolf si avventurano in questo viaggio, ma qualcosa va storto... il gruppo scopre di essere tornato troppo indietro nel tempo!

Superman, infatti, é ancora giovanissimo. Nonostante ciò accetta con entusiasmo di unirsi a loro per difendere i diritti del mondo libero.

In ogni episodio, i mitici eroi si ritroveranno ad affrontare nuove minacce provenienti da altri mondi, nemici e avversari che mettono a dura prova la squadra.

Here's the Google machine translation:

A group of superheroes behind returns in the time with the objective to convince Superman to join to their fight in order to maintain the peace in the world. Therefore, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Brainiac 5, Phantom Girl, Bouncing Boy and Timber Wolf are taken risks in this travel, but something goes storto… the group discovers too much of being returned behind in the time!

The Superman, in fact, é still young. In spite of that chip ax with enthusiasm to join to they in order to defend the rights of the free world.

In every episode, the mythical heroes will find again themselves to face new coming from threats from other worlds, enemies and adversaries who put to hard try the square.

Here's another story via divertimento.it, which gives pretty much the same information.

Foreign Legion V

originally from Adventure #247


originally from Adventure #331


originally from Adventure #345


originally from Adventure #374


originally from Adventure #375


originally from World's Finest Comics #284


originally from Superboy's Legion #1




Previously:
Foreign Legion I: ADV 312, 316, 322
Foreign Legion II: ADV 352, 363, 372, ANCE C-55, LSH V3 37, 48
Foreign Legion III: ADV 302, 318, 319, 351, LSH V3 34, 62
Foreign Legion IV: ADV 333, 337, 358, Jimmy Olsen 87, LSH V3 17, 32, 35

Foreign Legion IV

originally from Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #87


originally from Adventure #333


originally from Adventure #337


originally from Adventure #358


originally from LSH v3 #17


originally from LSH v3 #32


originally from LSH v3 #35




Previously:
Foreign Legion I: ADV 312, 316, 322
Foreign Legion II: ADV 352, 363, 372, ANCE C-55, LSH V3 37, 48
Foreign Legion III: ADV 302, 318, 319, 351, LSH V3 34, 62

Foreign Legion III

Previously: here and here

More foreign language reprint covers...

originally from Adventure 302


originally from Adventure 318


originally from Adventure 319


originally from Adventure 351


originally from Legion v3 34


originally from Legion v3 62

Foreign Legion II

Previously in the Foreign Legion: here



Original here, Spanish cover here

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Original here, Spanish cover here

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Original here, Spanish cover here

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Original here, Spanish cover here

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Original here, Spanish cover here

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Original here, Spanish cover here

Foreign Legion covers

English version via Grand Comics Database, Spanish-language version via TodoColleccion



English version via Grand Comics Database, Spanish-language version via TodoColleccion



English version via Grand Comics Database, Spanish-language version via TodoColleccion

More Spanish-language covers on Mariano Bayona Estradera's pages.