Legion Worlds: coming eventually

Here's an excerpt from a project I've been working on since May 2015. I call it "Legion Worlds" (for now, at least). Or maybe it should be "Where's Where in the Legion of Super-Heroes"? I guess "Encyclopedia Galactica" is already taken.

This logo by Josh Beatman of Brainchild Studios, as seen on Todd Klein's blog of Legion logo studies here.

Back in 2007, Geoff Johns (who apparently read my blog at the time) emailed me to ask if I could help with a project he was working on, which later turned out to be Legion of 3 Worlds. He asked "Do you know where I can get a list of the members of the United Planets from the original series - up to Crisis?" I was able to give him the list of UP worlds in a list that combined the "World Book" and the "Atlas of the DC Universe" from the Mayfair role playing game, "Who's Who in the LSH", and Mark Waid's Legion index (later published as "The Official Index to the LSH" from ICG). I came up with a list of 158 named worlds. If he used anything from my list, I don't know for certain.

But that exchange got me thinking, "I should do some more research to find out if such a list exists". Never found anything that had been created as part of Interlac of the Legion Outpost. But I eventually found a list generated by "Portfolio Boy" on the Legion Worlds message board in 2014, and it was just what I was looking for - but it only went up to Adventure Comics #349.

So beginning in 2015, I went back and looked up every Legion story starting with Adventure Comics #247, and made notes on every dimension, galaxy, solar system, star, planet, country, city, and building that I could find, including whatever history was given, notable inhabitants or animals, whose homeworld it is, and anything else the Encyclopedia Galactica said about it. I'm up through LSH v3 #45 now, covering up to early 1988 ("only" 30 years of history!). I intend this first volume to cover the Pre-Crisis, Post-Crisis, Five Years Later, Retroboot, and New 52; the Reboot, Threeboot, and Rebirth versions will come later (and will be far shorter). This should be the definitive list of Legion-related worlds (plus some 20th century places they visited).

Once I'm done (eventually), I will release it with a Creative Commons license.

This is just the list of "A" places (1958-1988). Who remembers all of these? I have 93 pages of notes so far, covering A-Z plus numbers and unnamed places.

1. Aarok
2. Aegea
3. Aktar
4. Aldebaran
5. Alkoz
6. Alkrania
7. Alpha-4
8. Alpha XVII
9. Altair
10. Althar
11. Amadus
12. Amarta
13. Amazonia
14. Ananke (12th Moon of Jupiter)
15. Andalu
16. Andromeda Galaxy
17. Angtu 
18. Anakar
19. Ankar
20. Antares II
21. Anterio
22. Anti-Matter Universe
23. Anv
24. Anvor
25. Apokolips
26. Arane II
27. Arbro
28. Arctoraan
29. Arcturus
30. Ardemo
31. Arguv
32. Arion Star
33. Arnak
34. Arok-1 and Arok-2
35. Arturus
36. Asteroid 108
37. Asteroid Archipelago
38. Asteroid 73-Q
39. Asteroid Belt
40. Asteroid X52
41. Asteroid YW-89
42. Asteroid Z
43. Asteroid Zone
44. Asteroid ZYX-1W
45. Avalon
46. Avatanda

A Field Guide to Legion Cover Variants 2010-2011

The Field Guide to Legion Cover Variants, part 4: 2010-2011

1958-2005, 2006-2007, 2008-2009, 2010-2011, 2012-2014, 2015-2018, 2019, 2020, 2021-2022, 2023-2026

Unused covers, Second printings 

The gallery, presented in chronological publication order along with cover date:

2010

Adventure Comics v2 #4/#507 - January 2010
This Blackest Night crossover sold over 85,000 copies, because it came with one of the Lantern rings. Best as I can tell, it's the best-selling Legion issue in almost 20 years - last time numbers were that high was during the Quiet Darkness 4-part story in LSH v4 21-24 in the late 1991 cover-dated issues. Note the continuation of the volume 2 numbering on the standard cover with the volume 1 legacy numbering on the variant. The Legion took a break from Adventure for a few months after this. This was a 1/10 variant.

Regular cover Art by Jerry Ordway	Variant cover Art by Francis Manapul

Justice League of America v2 #41 - March 2010
Mon-El appears on the right side cover. It looks like that should be the center with one more image on the far right, but no.

Left side cover Art by Mark Bagley & Rob Hunter	Right side cover Art by Mark Bagley & Rob Hunter

Justice League of America v2 #42 - April 2010
Mon-El is in the story, but not on the covers. The variant was a 1/25 version.

Regular cover Art by Mark Bagley & Rob Hunter	Variant cover Art by Ardiana Melo & Mariah Benes

Justice League of America v2 #43 - May 2010
The variant is a 1/25 version.

Regular cover Art by Mark Bagley & Rob Hunter	Variant cover Art by Mike Manley

Adventure Comics v2 #8/#511 - May 2010
Prologue to the "Last Stand of New Krypton" story arc, with new and legacy numbering. This was a 1/10 variant.

Regular cover Art by Francis Manapul	Variant cover Art by Aaron Lopresti

Adventure Comics v2 #9/#512 - May 2010
"Last Stand of New Krypton" part 4, with new and legacy numbering. This was a 1/10 variant.

Regular cover Art by Joe Quinones	Variant cover Art by Rafael Albuquerque

Adventure Comics v2 #10/#513 - June 2010
"Last Stand of New Krypton" part 6, with new and legacy numbering. This was a 1/10 variant.

Regular cover Art by Joe Quinones	Variant cover Art by Bernard Chang

Adventure Comics v2 #11#/514 - July 2010
"Last Stand of New Krypton" epilogue, with new and legacy numbering. This was a 1/10 variant.

Regular cover Art by Mark Buckingham	Variant cover Art by Joe Quinones

The first six issues of the next Legion series (volume 6) had a Jim Lee/Scott Williams alternate cover, that all connected when placed in the proper order. Each cover depicted one Legionnaire in the costume and the book's logo of a particular decade: Superboy in the 1950s, Chameleon Boy in the 1960s, Saturn Girl in the 1970s, Timber Wolf in the 1980s, Mon-El in the 1990s, and Brainiac 5 in the 2000s.

Legion of Super-Heroes v6 #1 - July 2010

This one has a 1/10 variant cover by Lee/Williams, with a second printing that was just the pencils by Jim Lee. Despite being issue #1, this was actually part 3 of the 6-part cover poster, representing the 1970s.

Regular cover (1st printing) Art by Yildiray Cinar & Wayne Faucher
Variant cover (1st printing) Art by Jim Lee & Scott Williams	Second printing Art by Jim Lee

Adventure Comics v2 #12/#515 - August 2010
The iconic Great Darkness Saga cover has nothing to do with what's in the book, it was part of the DC 75th Anniversary series of covers. It's among the hardest issues to find, especially unslabbed. This is the last of the two-volume regular/legacy numbering, starting next issue the numbering reverts back to the legacy only. This was a 1/25 variant.

Main cover Art by Scott Clark & Dave Beaty	Variant cover Art by Lee Bermejo

The Bermejo cover is even better with no trade dress.

Legion of Super-Heroes v6 #2 - August 2010
Variant cover was 1/10, and this Superboy segment is the first in the poster, representing the 1950s.

Regular cover Art by Yildiray Cinar & Wayne Faucher	Variant cover Art by Jim Lee & Scott Williams

Legion of Super-Heroes v6 #3 - September 2010
Variant is 1/10 and is part 2 of the 6 images in the full poster, representing the 1960s.

Regular cover Art by Yildiray Cinar & Wayne Faucher	Variant cover Art by Jim Lee & Scott Williams

Legion of Super-Heroes v6 #4 - October 2010
Variant is 1/10 and is part 5 of the 6 images in the full poster, representing the 1990s (and homaging Keith Giffen's Mon-El cover of LSH v4 #4).

Regular cover Art by Yildiray Cinar & Wayne Faucher	Variant cover Art by Jim Lee & Scott Williams

Legion of Super-Heroes v6 #5 - November 2010

Variant is 1/10 and is part 4 of the 6 images in the full poster, representing the 1980s.

Regular cover Art by Yildiray Cinar & Wayne Faucher	Variant cover Art by Jim Lee & Scott Williams

DC Universe: Legacies #6 - December 2010

This issue covers Crisis and Legends, with a Legion backup story. The series as a whole looks at one man's lifetime from the Golden Age of Heroes up to the present day. The variant cover is 1/25.

Regular cover Art by George Pérez	Variant cover Art by Keith Giffen & Al Milgrom

Legion of Super-Heroes v6 #6 - December 2010

Variant is 1/10 and is part 6 of the 6 images in the full poster, representing the 2000s.

Regular cover Art by Yildiray Cinar & Wayne Faucher	Variant cover Jim Lee & Scott Williams

2011

DC Comics Presents LSH 100 Page Spectacular #1 - July 2011

This alternate cover resulted from a misprint. The original version of this comic had the four issues of "Legion of the Damned" reprinted in the wrong order: parts 2, 4, 1, and 3, in that order. DC told retailers to destroy the book and it would send out a new version with the parts in the correct order, with the new cover having a white logo to differentiate it from the yellow logo on the error version. Comic shops sold the issue anyway. This is not considered a second printing, but a corrected version. (Below image via Recalled Comics)

Recalled Error version (yellow logo) Art by Olivier Coipel	Replacement version (white logo) Art by Olivier Coipel

Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes #1 - October 2011 

This series had a total of seven covers: the "A" and "B" covers, by Phil Jimenez and Keith Giffen, respectively, with the "B" cover at 1/4 of the "A" cover; two Retailer Incentive covers RI-A-1 and RI-A-2, each by Gabriel Rodriguez, and the wraparound cover version combining both, as cover RI-B; the Hastings Retailer Exclusive cover, which was a black and white version of the Jimenez "A" cover; and the second printing, which was a black and white version of the Giffen "B" cover.

"A" cover Art by Phil Jimenez	"B" cover Art by Keith Giffen
RI-A-1 cover Art by Gabriel Rodriguez	RI-A-2 Art by Gabriel Rodriguez
RI-B wraparound cover Art by Gabriel Rodriguez
Hastings cover Art by Phil Jimenez	Second printing Art by Keith Giffen

Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes #2 - November 2011
Three covers for the rest of the series: An "A", a "B" (1/4 variant), and an "RI" (Retailer Incentive).

"A" cover Art by Phil Jimenez	"B" cover Art by Steve Lightle
RI cover Art by Gabriel Rodriguez

Legion Lost v2 #1 - November 2011
Like many first issues of the New 52 era, this one went to a second printing, differentiated by a red background color.

First printing Art by Pete Woods	Second printing Art by Pete Woods

Legion of Super-Heroes v7 #1 - November 2011
Like many first issues of the New 52 era, this one went to a second printing, differentiated by a red background color.

First printing Art by Karl Kerschl	Second printing Art by Karl Kerschl

Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes #3 - December 2011
Again, the "A" cover by Jimenez, the "B" cover at 1/4 variant ratio by a past Legion artist, and the "RI" retailer incentive cover of two characters on the bridge.

"A" cover Art by Phil Jimenez	"B" cover Art by Mike Grell
"RI" cover Art by Mario Alberti (figures) & Gabriel Rodriguez (background)