A Field Guide to Legion Cover Variants, 2020

The Field Guide to Legion Cover Variants, part 8: 2020

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:

Legion of Super-Heroes (volume 8) #1 - January 2020
Issue 1 had four variants sold in the stores 11/6/19, three different covers plus a blank sketch cover (which was the standard Superboy cover inside). Another variant was sold at Local Comic Shop Day on 11/23/19, this is the whole Millennium artwork by Hitch all on one cover. Finally, the standard Sook cover was used as the cover to the September 2019 DC Previews magazine insert.

LSH volume 8 #1 Standard cover Art by Ryan Sook	LSH volume 8 #1 Sook cardstock variant Art by Ryan Sook
LSH volume 8 #1 Cheung cardstock variant Art by Jim Cheung and Romulo Fajardo Jr	LSH volume 8 #1 Blank sketch variant Art by N/A (Sook Superboy cover inside)
LSH volume 8 #1 Local Comic Shop Day variant Art by Bryan Hitch	DC Previews #17 Based on the standard cover Art by Ryan Sook

Legion of Super-Heroes (volume 8) #2 - February 2020
Issue 2 had two variants sold in the stores on 12/18/19.

LSH volume 8 #2 Standard cover Art by Ryan Sook	LSH volume 8 #2 Cheung cardstock variant Art by Jim Cheung

Legion of Super-Heroes(volume 8) #3 - March 2020

Issue 3 had two variants in stores 1/15/20.

LSH volume 8 #3 Standard cover Art by Ryan Sook	LSH volume 8 #3 Cheung cardstock variant Art by Jim Cheung

Legion of Super-Heroes (volume 8) #4 - April 2020
Issue 4 had two variants on 2/19/20 (originally scheduled for 2/4 but delayed by two weeks).

LSH volume 8 #4 Standard cover Art by Ryan Sook and Travis Moore	LSH volume 8 #4 Cardstock variant Art by Alex Garner

Legion of Super-Heroes (volume 8) #5 - May 2020
Issue 5 had two variants on 3/25/20. This was on sale the week that the industry shut down due to the coronavirus.

LSH volume 8 #5 Standard cover Art by Ryan Sook and Travis Moore	LSH volume 8 #5 Cardstock variant Art by Alex Garner

From Beyond the Unknown Giant #1 - May 2020
The one on the left came out as a Walmart exclusive on 2/14/20, while the one on the right with the new cover came out in comic shops on 3/25/20 - the week that the industry shut down due to the coronavirus. The interiors are the same. "From Beyond the Unknown" was a 1969-73 science-fiction reprint book from DC; this Giant issue has three new stories and three reprints. The Legion story is from continuity that likely occurred between LSH v2 Annual #1 and #290, right before the Great Darkness (see this post for more details).

From Beyond the Unknown Giant #1 Walmart cover Art by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (reprinted from DC Comics Presents #2)	From Beyond the Unknown Giant #1 Direct Sales cover Art by Kenneth Rocafort (new art)

Legion of Super-Heroes (volume 8) #6 - August 2020
Issue 6 had two variants on 6/9/20. This was the first issue back after the industry shut down in March due to the coronavirus. Interestingly, speculators decided that this issue has the potential to be the next hot book due to the character of Gold Lantern, who is spotlighted on the cover (pay no attention to the fact that he actually debuted in LSH: Millennium #2). Interest in this book was so high that it sold out within 3 days of going on sale, prompting DC to go back to print on this one (released July 7) as well as add a new variant cover to issue 7.

LSH volume 8 #6 Standard cover Art by Ryan Sook and Travis Moore	LSH volume 8 #6 Second printing Art by Ryan Sook and Travis Moore
LSH volume 8 #6 Cardstock variant Art by Alex Garner

Legion of Super-Heroes (volume 8) #7 - September 2020
Issue 7 had two variants on 7/28/20. Speculators decided that issue #6 was hot due to the character of Gold Lantern, who was spotlighted on the cover. Interest in this book was so high that it sold out within 3 days of going on sale and sold on ebay for $15-20 each, prompting DC to add a new variant cover to issue 7 (rather than going back to print on issue 6). The cover artwork is from Sook based on his original character designs, with a gold background, and was offered at 1:25.

LSH volume 8 #7 Standard cover Art by Ryan Sook	LSH volume 8 #7 Cardstock variant Art by Alex Garner
LSH volume 8 #7 Cardstock 1:25 variant cover Art by Ryan Sook

Legion of Super-Heroes (volume 8) #8 - October 2020

Issue 8 had two variants in August.

LSH volume 8 #8 Standard cover Art by Ryan Sook	LSH volume 8 #8 Cardstock variant Art by Dustin Nguyen

Flash #758 - October 2020
Issue 758 had two variants in August. The Tornado Twins appear; they are described as "the corrupted Tornado Twins—his children from the future!" 

Flash #758 Standard cover Art by Rafa Sandoval	Flash #758 Cardstock variant without trade dress Art by Inhyuk Lee

Legion of Super-Heroes (volume 8) #9 - November 2020

Issue 9 had two variants in September.

LSH volume 8 #9 Standard cover Art by Ryan Sook	LSH volume 8 #9 Cardstock variant Art by Dustin Nguyen

Legion of Super-Heroes (volume 8) #10 - December 2020

Issue 10 had two variants in October.

LSH volume 8 #10Standard cover Art by Ryan Sook	LSH volume 8 #10 Cardstock variant Art by Dustin Nguyen

A Field Guide to Legion Cover Variants, 2008-2009

The Field Guide to Legion Cover Variants, part 3: 2008-2009

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:

2008

Action Comics v1 #859 - January 2008
Part 2 of "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" story arc. Note that the solicited version of the Andy Kubert variant includes Batman's utility belt, which is completely cropped out of the printed version.

Regular cover Art by Gary Frank
Variant cover (as printed) Art by Andy Kubert	Variant cover (solicited) Art by Andy Kubert

Action Comics v1 #860 - February 2008
Part 3 of "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" story arc.

Regular cover Art by Gary Frank	Variant cover Art by Steve Lightle

Action Comics v1 #861 - March 2008
Part 4 of "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" story arc.

Regular cover Art by Gary Frank	Variant cover Art by Mike Grell

Legion of Super-Heroes (vol 5) #37 - March 2008
Meanwhile, on the main title, the team of Jim Shooter and Francis Manapul were starting a new run on the Threeboot while the Retroboot was still going on, and Manapul produced a diptych set of covers.

Cover A (left side) Art by Francis Manapul	Cover B (right side) Art by Francis Manapul

This one fits together nicely as a single poster (though it would have been nice to have been able to see it without the cover copy).

Action Comics v1 #862 - April 2008
Part 5 of "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" story arc.

Regular cover Art by Gary Frank	Variant cover Art by Keith Giffen

Action Comics v1 #863 - May 2008
Part 6 of "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" story arc, the finale. In 2010, the regular cover was reprinted with the interior of issue #859 as a special edition promoting the collected version of the story (see the 2006-2007 Field Guide).

Regular cover Art by Gary Frank	Variant cover Art by Gary Frank

DC Universe #0 - June 2008
This was the bridge between Countdown (which had just ended, counting down from #52 to #1) and Final Crisis (which counted up from #1), but a transition story not really a part of either. The textless version of the cover is shown just because of the gorgeous George Pérez artwork. The center column of the first printing, which shows the Legion, was later made a part of the Legion of 3 Worlds trade paperback cover.

First printing cover Art by George Pérez	Second printing cover Art by Ivan Reis (Green Lantern), George Pérez (Superman/LSH), & Aaron Lopresti (Wonder Woman)
Regular cover (textless) Art by George Pérez

Legion of Super-Heroes (vol 5) #44 - September 2008
This one has a Neal Adams variant cover.

Regular cover Art by Francis Manapul & John Livesay	Variant cover Art by Neal Adams

Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #1 - October 2008
Spinning out of "Final Crisis", this series had the Reboot, the Threeboot, and the Retroboot Legions all meet up for the second time (the first was in an untold tale). The trade dress on this series resembled that on the main series, with one cover being a full image of a character and the other cover showing only a sliver of action in the middle third of the page. At a Diamond Retailer Roundtable Program (RRP) summit, they were given a special incentive cover which was the pencils-only version of the main cover.

Main cover (first printing) Art by George Pérez	Sliver cover Art by George Pérez
RRP variant cover Art by George Pérez	Second printing Art by George Pérez

Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #2 - November 2008
Same trade dress for part 2. After this, the title fell way behind schedule, the next issue didn't come out for five months, until the April cover date. The sliver cover homages Justice League of America #1, the first time the JLA met the JSA.

Main cover Art by George Pérez	Sliver cover Art by George Pérez

2009

Justice Society of America v3 #22 - February 2009
Part 7 of the "Thy Will Be Done" story arc.

Regular cover Art by Alex Ross	Variant cover Art by Dale Eaglesham

Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #3 - April 2009
After a several-month delay, issue 3 is out.

Main cover Art by George Pérez	Sliver cover Art by George Pérez

Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #4 - June 2009
Part 4, Brainiac 5 gets the portrait this time. Notice that the printed version is different from the solicited version in the image that appears in the lightning rod.

Sliver cover
Art by George Pérez

Main cover (solicited) Art by George Pérez	Main cover (as printed) Art by George Pérez

Justice Society of America v3 #26 - June 2009
Three variants for this issue combine to make one large image.

Left side Art by Alex Ross	Center Art by Alex Ross	Right side Art by Alex Ross

The entire triptych with no trade dress

Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #5 - September 2009
Part 5, the final issue (which has come out after the main Final Crisis series has already ended).

Main cover Art by George Pérez	Sliver cover Art by George Pérez

Adventure Comics v2 #1/#504 - October 2009
Adventure Comics (Volume 2) was a revival of the old series of the same name. It featured Superboy and Legion stories, as well as three Blackest Night tie-ins. After #12, the old numbering was picked up again at Adventure Comics (Volume 1) #516. The main cover had the new numbering #1-12 with a shadow legacy number, while the variant cover showed the legacy numbering starting with #504 on top of a shadow number from the regular cover.

Notice that the solicited version of the variant cover had Superboy-Prime blacked out so as to not spoil his appearance.

Main cover Art by Francis Manapul
Variant cover (solicited) Art by Francis Manapul	Variant cover (as printed) Art by Francis Manapul

Adventure Comics v2 #2/#505 - November 2009
Main cover is Superboy, variant cover is mainly the Legion.

Main cover Art by Francis Manapul	Variant cover Art by Francis Manapul

Adventure Comics v2 #3/#506 - December 2009
Main cover is Superboy, variant cover is mainly the Legion.

Main cover Art by Francis Manapul	Variant cover Art by Francis Manapul

Superman Secret Origin #2 - December 2009
This 6-issue miniseries gave the history of Superman in the post-Infinite Crisis Retroboot era, when it was shown that he had been Superboy when younger and had joined the Legion. The main cover was part of a connected series (seen below).

Main cover Art by Gary Frank	Variant cover Art by Gary Frank