SDCC Legion figures

Here's a picture of the five Legion figures on display at the Mattel booth. Sculpts look amazing!

SDCC 10: Geoff Johns panel

At the Geoff Johns panel today I asked two Legion questions. First, will we see the Legion in "Smallville" this next (last) season? The answer: "I'm not allowed to say." Second, when Waid & Kitson rebooted the Legion a few years ago, they were not able to use the original Legion. What changed in DC corporate policy that allowed you to use them a few years later? Answer: "I don't know, you'd have to ask the editors at the time, we didn't have anything to do with that."

San Diego notes & open thread

Haven't had a chance to get to my computer to post some pics from Preview Night, but I saw the Mattel Tyr and Validus, and DC Direct's Mon-El figures. Didn't catch the DC writers panel earlier with Paul Levitz. And because I'm limited to my iPhone I can't check all the news sites. If you read any good Legion news please post it here with links.

Trivia Quiz #49

This is Trivia Quiz #49. I've been doing this monthly for 4 years now. Most of the questions have been my own, a few here and there I've taken (and tried to credit) from various message boards. For Quiz #50 next month, I want to turn this over to you guys - send me (do NOT post them here) your favorite Legion trivia questions with the answers (what, do you think I know everything?) and I'll post a bunch next month.

No particular theme this week, just questions that have been sitting around minding their own business, waiting for me to post them.

1. Who were Jilly, Helen, Charlie, Sophie, Donna, and Jane?

2. Name the 5 LSH members who held wands in an attempt to attract lightning and revive the dead Lightning Lad.

3. Fortress Lad was from Fwang, in the 30th century. When did we see residents of Fwang in the 20th/21st century?

4. Dave Cockrum redesigned a number of Legionnaires' costumes when he was artist. Here's an alphabetical list of those Legionnaires, put them in chronological order of when Cockrum changed their costumes. (Note: in several stories, multiple Legionnaires got new costumes; these 12 Legionnaires got new costumes in a total of 6 different stories.)

• Chameleon Boy
• Colossal Boy
• Duo Damsel
• Element Lad
• Light Lass
• Lightning Lad
• Phantom Girl
• Princess Projectra
• Shadow Lass
• Shrinking Violet
• Star Boy
• Timber Wolf

5. What do these five Legionnaires have in common, in this order, that no other Legionnaires have: Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy, Brainiac 5, and Dawnstar.

6. How many Legionnaires (including honorary and reserve but not imaginary stories or Elseworlds) have had their own solo series, miniseries, or one-shot? That is, a book with their name in the title where they were the star, not someone who was in an anthology series or a backup strip.

7. Which Legionnaire(s) did Wally Wood draw, and where did that appear?

Trivia Answers #48

Guess I forgot to post the answers. June's theme was "stuff I thought of while reading LSH v6 #1".

1. What were the names of the members of the original Wanderers, and what were their new names once they got their own series?

• The original Wanderers and their rebooted names are Celebrand (died, not rebooted), Ornitho (Aviax), Immorto (Re-Animage), Dartalg (Dartalon), Elvo (Elvar), and Psyche and Quantum Queen (both of whom kept their names).

2. In the Silver Age, just about every member had a name that fit the pattern "Descriptor + Gender/Youth", like Karate Kid, Dream Girl, and Princess Projectra. Which Silver Age Legionnaire(s) did not fit this pattern? (That is, everyone who joined before Wildfire).

• Brainiac 5, Shrinking Violet, Mon-El, and Timber Wolf. Everyone else in the Silver Age was a Kid, Boy, Girl, Lass, Lad, King, or Princess.

3. Which of the Legionnaires or their closely related characters has or had some sort of tie to the Green Lantern Corps?

• Rond Vidar and Universo were Green Lanterns. Celeste Rockfish became a living lantern of sorts (in a story that I don't think was ever fully finished) and later became Neon. I didn't think anyone would get "Teen Lantern" Jordana Gardner from the animated show's comic book series, but good call Don! And Earth-Man, of course. But nobody got the retroboot Rainbow Girl, as seen in the "Superman & the Legion" storyline, who has tapped into the rainbow spectrum even if she doesn't know it.

4. Not counting Adventure 247, who was the first Legionnaire to get a permanent costume change that is outside the "artistic license" boundaries (I consider "how many points were on the sunburst symbol on Sun Boy's costume" to be an example of artistic license; Cosmic Boy changing from his pink costume to the bustier-type is a major change)?

•  Although it's a judgment call, my vote for first significant permanent costume change goes to Saturn Girl, who exchanged her red and white outfit with a skirt for a red (later hot pink) bikini in Action Comics 392. Much earlier, Lightning Lass changed her logo but I wouldn't call that as significant. Yes, my wording of the question doesn't specifically rule that out, but I make the rules here.

5. Which other Legionnaire(s) were forced to join the Legion against their wishes or will?

• In the v4-era, the four Khund Legionnaires (Veilmist, Firefist, Flederweb, and Bloodclaw) were forced upon the Legion, who didn't want them. In the reboot Legion, Andromeda, Brainiac 5, and Gates didn't want to join but were forced to (is that all of them?). In the retroboot (current) Legion, the UP forced the Legion to accept Earth-Man.

6. Earth-Man is the latest Legionnaire to gain admittance to the Legion after his original tryout attempt. Who else failed at their first attempt, for whatever reason, and got in later?

• Bouncing Boy, Matter-Eater Lad, Supergirl (pre-Crisis), Sun Boy, Shrinking Violet, Polar Boy, Night Girl, Fire Lad, Stone Boy, Infectious Lass, Chlorophyll Kid, Color Kid, Wildfire, Nightwind, Crystal Kid, Porcupine Pete, Storm Boy, Calamity King

7. Which other Legionnaire homeworlds have blown up?

• Pre-Crisis: Krypton, Dryad
• Post-Crisis: Sorceror's World
• Glorithverse: Earth
• Threeboot: Orando
• Retroboot: Titan

OMG! It's Gates!

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

More here.

New Cosmic Boy figurine

Lost in my inbox from when I was on vacation last week, here's an ad for an upcoming statue of Cosmic Boy from Eaglemoss Publications (which makes lead statuettes for DC Direct). Here's a list of what they have put out so far. Preorder from Previews (page 350) or from Big Bad Toystore, from where I got this image. Thanks to Travis Ellisor for the tip.

The ultimate collection for comics fans, the DC Superhero Collection Figurine Magazine brings together DC Comics' greatest heroes and villains! Official figurines of the characters, both good and evil, are cast in lead, individually hand-painted and numbered to form an authentic collector's edition. Each comes with a 20-page magazine providing detailed history and background on the featured characters, including exclusive images and interviews. Choose this month from Black Lightning (#66) or Cosmic Boy (#67). 

It's San Diego Time.... Programming part 2

Part 2 of San Diego programming, covering Saturday and Sunday. Some of it's generic DC stuff, one with Levitz as a panelist. (See part 1 for Thursday and Friday here).

Saturday, July 24

12:30-1:45 DC Universe: Event Horizon— Ian Sattler, senior story editor, and your favorite writers and artists are here for the main event: The DC Universe! What lies ahead for your favorite heroes and series? Got a question for your favorite DCU creator? Come on by! There's no greater gathering of top-tier creative talent! Room 6A

Sunday, July 25

10:00-11:00 Smallville Screening and Q&A— Comic-Con favorite Smallville returns for its last visit to Comic-Con in advance of the show's 10th and final season, as showrunners Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson join star/executive producer Tom Welling and series stars Erica Durance, Cassidy Freeman, and Justin Hartley to talk about the year ahead, answer fan questions, and give an exclusive sneak peek at clips from the final season. From Tollin/Robbins Productions, Millar/Gough Ink in association with Warner Bros. Television, Smallville airs Fridays at 8pm ET/PT on The CW. Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on September 7. Ballroom 20

2:00-3:00 DC Focus: Premiere Teams— DC Comics knows a thing or two about teams. From the company that brought you the first team in comics' history (Justice Society of America), don't miss this panel on the DCU's top teams roaming Earth (JLA, JSA, Secret Six, Titans), the farthest reaches of space (R.E.B.E.L.S.), and even across time (Legion of Super-Heroes)! Senior group editor Mike Carlin is joined by Tony Bedard (R.E.B.E.L.S.), Marc Guggenheim (Flash), JT Krul (Titans), Paul Levitz (Legion of Super-Heroes), James Robinson (Justice League of America), Matthew Sturges (JSA All-Stars), and others for this collaborative panel! Room 6A

3:00-4:30 Comics Pro/Fan Trivia Match— Len Wein (Microbots), Kurt Busiek (Kool-Aid Man), and Mark Waid (Batman Electric Talking Toothbrush) face off against fans Tom Galloway (former Google employee), David Oakes (college professor), and Michael Grabois (rocket scientist) in a match on significant pre-Crisis DC events in celebration of DC's 75th anniversary. Peter David (Captain America's War on Drugs) will moderate. Room 4

It's San Diego Time.... Programming part 1

Less than two weeks to the start of the San Diego Comic Con... who else is going besides me? Programming for Thursday and Friday are up, let's see what we've got for Legion fans:

Thursday, July 22

10:15-11:15 DC Comics Writers Unite!— Originally a successful panel at WonderCon 2010, "Comics Writers Unite!" (see the Comic-Con Souvenir Book for a transcript) brought together a number of special guests to talk about the art of writing. Part of a series of programs at this year's Comic-Con celebrating "The Year of the Writer," this panel features special guests Paul Levitz (Legion of Super-Heroes), Dennis O'Neil (Batman, The Question), and J. Michael Straczynski (Superman, Wonder Woman), along with Gail Simone (Birds of Prey, Secret Six), Judd Winick (Justice League: Generation Lost, Power Girl), and moderator James Robinson (Starman, Justice League of America). Room 6DE 

11:30-12:30 DC Nation Convention Kickoff!— The DC Nation invades San Diego and you're invited along for the ride! Celebrate the start of what promises to be an unforgettable convention experience. Your hosts, DC co-publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee get the party started here! The Nation welcomes all. Room 6DE

2:00-3:00 DC Focus: Geoff Johns— Geoff Johns's storytelling and creativity fueled event blockblusters Blackest Night and the new Brightest Day and the character rebirths of Green Lantern and The Flash. As the new chief creative officer of DC Entertainment, Geoff can be expected to deliver even more thrills and excitement as his focus shifts to bringing the DCU to life outside of the comics, starting with the Green Lantern film and many other surprises! Don't miss this panel hosted by Eddie Berganza, group editor, interviewing one of the most exciting talents in comics. Room 6DE

Friday, July 23

11:00-12:00 Mattel and DC Comics: A Heroic Partnership— Find out the latest news, sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes scoop on your favorite Mattel/DC action figures, including DC Universe Classics, Justice League Unlimited, Retro Action, Infinite Heroes, and more! Plus, be here for an exciting look at all-new 2011 product! Mattel toy designer Bill Benecke, Mattel brand manager Scott "Toy Guru" Neitlich, The Four Horsemen, and special guests from DC Comics and Warner Brothers are on hand for an insightful Q&A that's not to be missed! Room 24ABC

11:30-12:30 Spotlight on Paul Levitz— Paul Levitz has been a comics fan (The Comic Reader fanzine, NY Comic Art Convention committee), editor (Batman), writer (Legion of Super-Heroes), and executive (DC Comics, including publisher from 1989 to 2010). Now he's interviewed by favorite writer and DC chief creative officer Geoff Johns about his varied career and his return to writing Legion and other DC projects, including a coffeetable book history of the company. Room 5AB  

1:00-2:30 Comic-Con How-To Session: Whilce Portacio and Francis Manapul— Acclaimed artists Whilce Portacio (Uncanny X-Men, Image United) and Francis Manapul (The Flash, Adventure Comics, Superman/Batman) will demonstrate how to create and draw characters for comic books. Room 18

1:00-2:00 Mattel's Mattypalooza 2010: Masters of the Universe Classics, Ghostbusters and more!— Are you a Matty Mattel fan? Head over to this year's Mattypalooza to get all the latest info on your favorite Mattel collector lines, including Masters of the Universe Classics, DC Universe, Ghostbusters, and more from MattyCollector.com! Room 24ABC

3:00-4:00 Hi-Fi Color for Comics— Every month your favorite comic books must be colored before going to press, but just how are comic books colored? Learn about the creative art of comic book coloring from Hi-Fi's Brian Miller (Legion of Superheroes) and Kristy Miller (Birds of Prey), as Brian demonstrates the step-by-step transformation of a comic book page from black and white to full color. Learn the basics of flatting, rendering, color holds, and special effects and top digital coloring tips. Q&A if time permits. Room 30CDE

4:15-5:15 DC Nation Special Edition— It's the DC Nation State of the Union address as DC co-publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee join forces to give fans all the info they can handle! With those two leading the Nation, expect the unexpected...The Nation welcomes all! Room 6DE

 

Legions of Future Past

You may recall this Legion/X-Men mashup from a few years ago here, where artist Bob Layton re-created the Byrne/Austin cover of X-Men 141 ("Days of Future Past") with Legionnaires in the X-Men roles. Here's an all-new, all-different version by former Legion artist Mike Netzer (formerly Nasser):

Thanks to Richard Caldwell for passing this one along to me.

Trivia Quiz #48

This month's theme is "stuff I thought of while reading LSH v6 #1".

1. What were the names of the members of the original Wanderers, and what were their new names once they got their own series?

2. In the Silver Age, just about every member had a name that fit the pattern "Descriptor + Gender/Youth", like Karate Kid, Dream Girl, and Princess Projectra. Which Silver Age Legionnaire(s) did not fit this pattern? (That is, everyone who joined before Wildfire).

3. Which of the Legionnaires or their closely related characters has or had some sort of tie to the Green Lantern Corps?

4. Not counting Adventure 247, who was the first Legionnaire to get a permanent costume change that is outside the "artistic license" boundaries (I consider "how many points were on the sunburst symbol on Sun Boy's costume" to be an example of artistic license; Cosmic Boy changing from his pink costume to the bustier-type is a major change)?

5. Which other Legionnaire(s) were forced to join the Legion against their wishes or will?

6. Earth-Man is the latest Legionnaire to gain admittance to the Legion after his original tryout attempt. Who else failed at their first attempt, for whatever reason, and got in later?

7. Which other Legionnaire homeworlds have blown up?

Bits of Legionnaire Business

So I picked a bad time to take a small break, huh? Three new Legion books (LSH v6 #1, Brave and Bold v3 #34, Adventure Comics v3 #12) in three weeks. Hot damn!

For those of you who were wondering, the Legion roster in Adventure Comics #12 places the story chronologically right after Superboy joined and before Ultra Boy. Supergirl (in original continuity) had just been inducted along with Brainiac 5 prior to Superboy's joining. The Outhousers point out some continuity errors (which are now called "chronicler's errors" by Levitz): Saturn Girl shouldn't be described as an orphan, and flight rings weren't used until Adventure 325. Also, Imra's not married to Garth at this point (her caption says "Ardeen-Ranzz"), and RJ Brande shouldn't be said to be from Durla, which was not known at this point in Legion history.

Also out this past week: X-Men Forever Giant Size #1. Huh? It's got Mike Grell, in a rare Marvel book, drawing the Dave Cockrum-era Imperial Guard.

• First up: news from Heroes Con in Charlotte this weekend:

Via Newsarama:

Is there a chance for a Legion ring promotion? Yes, we may get a Legion flight ring in the near future.

Are there any plans for more back up co-features? Yes, Two-Face will start in Streets of Gotham and The Atom in Adventure Comics.

Also they are trying to just keep it to one Legion book for right now.
Why couldn't we keep anything from World of New Krypton? Sattler replied that Mon-El was always going back. Nightwing and Flamebird on the other hand, we might have not have seen the last of. "Just because they're off camera doesn't mean they're gone."

Not sure what the "just one Legion book" thing is about, Levitz is writing two (or rather, one and a half, the Legion book and the lead in Adventure).

• Reviews of Adventure Comics v3 #12 from Legion Abstract, Arisverse, Comics Bulletin, Comixtreme, the Outhousers, IGN, ComicVine
• Reviews of Brave and Bold #34 from True Believer Reviews, Paradox, Mania
• Reviews of LSH v6 #1 from the Q Review, Diamond Galleries Scoop, Hero Press, Giggaheim, IGN, Broken Frontier, Fist Full of Comics, Comic Book Revolution, Comic Related

• LSH v6 #1 has sold out and will be reprinted with a new cover.

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #1, the debut issue of the new ongoing series from writer Paul Levitz and artist Yildaray Cinar, has sold out at DC comics and will return in a new, second printing. LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #1 Second Printing (APR108152) features a sketch version of the variant cover by Jim Lee. This issue is scheduled to arrive in stores on June 23 and has a Final Order Cutoff date of June 3.

More info here.

• Blog Into Mystery reviews Tales of the LSH Annual 5, the last part of the Darkness curse. 
• The Legion of Substitute Podcasters #86 interviews Paul Levitz and they talk about LSH v6 #1. 
• Superman Fan Podcast #128 reviews the whole World of New Krypton story arc.
• Secret Identity Podcast #239 covers LSH #1, among other issues.
• Legion Showcase volume 4 comes out in September:

In this volume, the Legion battles Mordru the Merciless and The Fatal Five and meets The Tornado Twins. Collecting ADVENTURE COMICS #369-380, ACTION COMICS #378-387, 389-392 and SUPERBOY #172, 173, 176, 183, 184, 188, 190 and 191.

• Multiversity Comics has the reading order for the various Superman story arcs of the last few years.
• Paul Levitz is interviewed on video at Midtown Comics in NYC.
• Gene Gonzales draws Ferro Lad.
• Doug Wolk gives a selective publishing history of the Legion.

More bits coming soon.

Paul Levitz to make NJ appearance Thursday

And now, a public service announcement...

PAUL LEVITZ CREATOR APPEARANCE

Writer of the new LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES series & the former President and Publishers of DC COMICS

DEWEY'S COMIC CITY, 13 Park Avenue, Madison, NJ 07940 (973 593 0042)

This Thursday, May 20th, 5:30pm until 7:30pm

We are pleased and excited to welcome PAUL LEVITZ, the writer of the new LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES and former President and Publisher of DC COMICS to Dewey’s Comic City.  Paul will be signing copies of LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #1 (arriving the day before Paul’s appearance, on Wednesday, May 19th) and we’ll have plenty of copies of that issue available for him to sign.

With the publication of the new Legion of Super-heroes series Levitz returns to writing comic books after serving DC COMICS for 35 years in various executive positions, the most recent being as President and Publisher of DC Comics from 2002 to 2009.   He has a long history as a writer on the LEGION having written the series from 1977 to 1978 and again from 1981 to 1989.

His appearance at Dewey’s Comic City is Mr. Levitz’s first area store appearance since resuming the role of writer. 

Paul Levitz was born in Brooklyn, NY, attended Stuyvesant High School and later enrolled in New York University.  During high school he published The Comic Reader, an early comic book fanzine for which he would gather comic book news items from various New York publishers.  While a freshman at NYU he was offered a position at DC COMICS and left before graduating.  He began at DC as a writer and assistant editor and later became editor of the Batman line of comics.  In 1980 Mr. Levitz became the DC’s manager of business affairs, created the marketing department, helped develop the earliest graphic novel format comic books, and eventually was appointed vice president and executive vice president before becoming President in 2002.

Everyone who attends the signing and has Paul sign a copy of the regular cover of LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #1 will be entered into a raffle to win one of three FREE copies of the Jim Lee variant cover that will be raffled off that evening.

Come meet a true legend in the comic book medium!  Paul Levitz, Thursday, May 20th at Dewey's Comic City, in Madison, NJ!

Trivia Answers #47

This week kicks off the beginning of new Legion series by Paul Levitz and Yildiray Cinar, so in that spirit I present this issue of Legion Trivia.

1. Who were the main villains in each of the other #1 issues of the "Legion of Super-Heroes" series?

• Legion v1 #1 reprinted Adventure #328, the Command Kid story.
• There was no issue #1 for v2.
• Legion v3 #1 had the Legion of Super-Villains
• Legion v4 #1 had the Dominators behind the scenes
• Legion v5 #1 had a giant robot.

I was amused at how many other issues you guys tried to fit in, from LSH v2 #259 to Legionnaires to The Legion to issue #0s. I was only interested in the #1 issues of "Legion of Super-Heroes" series.

2. With the Legion appearing in two series next month (Adventure Comics and Legion v6), how many times in the past has the Legion had two simultaneous ongoing series?

By my count, four times:

• Adventure Comics [Digest] & LSH v2 (1982-83)
• Tales of the LSH & LSH v3 (1984-1987)
• LSH v4 & Legionnaires (1993-2000)
• LSH v5 & LSH in 31st Century (2007-2008)

I counted Adventure because the Legion had a regular ongoing reprint series (even thought it only lasted 13 issues). The LSH v1 series, 4 reprint issues, wasn't an ongoing series, and the Legion only had an occasional backup in Superboy at the time. Guest appearances and miniseries don't count.

3. Between his first story in LSH v2 #284 and the end of LSH v3 (including Annuals but not including miniseries), how many people were given some sort of writing credit along with Paul Levitz? This includes credits for plotter, scripter, dialog, etc.

I had forgotten that Paul helped finish out the Reflecto storyline, starting in issue 281, before taking the book for himself (mostly).

• Roy Thomas: plot LSH v2 281-282
• Keith Giffen: co-plot and/or co-script LSH v2 293-313 plus Annuals 1-3; Tales of the LSH 313-317; LSH v3 1-5, 50-55, 57-58, 60-63
• Mindy Newell: dialogue, script, and/or co-plot Tales 314-317, 320-325
• Steve Lightle: co-plot LSH v3 23

4. Assuming that Adventure Comics had continued its numbering as a monthly title and had not been cancelled with issue #503, with the issues coming out (in whatever format) regularly since then as a typical DC comic. What issue number would have been dated May 2010?

Mike McKean got it right: "Since Adventure #503 was cover dated Sep 1983, if the series had been published monthly, the May 2010 issue (which would have come out in March) should have been numbered #823. I'm assuming Adventure would have published #0 and #1000000 in the same months as other DC titles, which balances out the two "extra" 1988 issues, Winter and Holiday." (I meant to ask which issue would Levitz be starting on, which Duke got: issue 826.)

5. Who wrote "An Open Note of Suicide", and why? For that matter, why does that question fit this quiz?

As Anon wrote:
Saturn Girl's new costume design was submitted by K. Haven (Kim) Metzger. This outfit, later colored fuscia, would be adopted by the Bronze Age Saturn Girl. When nearly all the Legionnaires were eventually given new costumes in the Bronze Age, Kim wrote his famous "An Open Note of Suicide" letter/essay in the fanzine Legion Outpost No. 10 (Spring 1981) , saying:

"... since those new uniforms were introduced, it just doesn't seem like the Legion I knew. And I live with the knowledge that I am responsible. Whatever it is about the Legion that seems different now, that something had its birth with my Saturn Girl uniform. I cannot bear to watch anymore ... I ask no forgiveness; I deserve none. Rather, I deserve perhaps pity, perhaps contempt from my fellow Legion fans ... Let those who sneer at a super-hero's costume with dreams of changing it - recall my success and remember the wretchedness it brought me."

This question was inspired by Jim Lee's alternate cover to LSH v6 #1. Nobody answered that part of the question.

6. Which Legionnaire was featured in Yildiray Cinar's Sketchbook, which was first sold recently at the C2E2 convention and also posted online?

This had just been mentioned on my Twitter feed the day before, and it was still on the Twitter sidebar when this was posted. The answer is Shadow Lass.

7. Who is the only Legionnaire whose birthday is in May?

From the 1976 DC Calendar (which has since been made canon), only Condo Arlik, aka Chemical King, was born in May.

Trivia Quiz #47

May kicks off the beginning of new Legion series by Paul Levitz and Yildiray Cinar, so in that spirit I present this issue of Legion Trivia.

1. Who were the main villains in each of the other #1 issues of the "Legion of Super-Heroes" series?

2. With the Legion appearing in two series next month (Adventure Comics and Legion v6), how many times in the past has the Legion had two simultaneous ongoing series?

3. Between his first story in LSH v2 #284 and the end of LSH v3 (including Annuals but not including miniseries), how many people were given some sort of writing credit along with Paul Levitz? This includes credits for plotter, scripter, dialog, etc.

4. Assuming that Adventure Comics had continued its numbering as a monthly title and had not been cancelled with issue #503, with the issues coming out (in whatever format) regularly since then as a typical DC comic. What issue number would have been dated May 2010?

5. Who wrote "An Open Note of Suicide", and why? For that matter, why does that question fit this quiz?

6. Which Legionnaire was featured in Yildiray Cinar's Sketchbook, which was first sold recently at the C2E2 convention and also posted online?

7. Who is the only Legionnaire whose birthday is in May?

Jim Lee's variant LSH covers

The DCU Source blog today released the first of Jim Lee's variant covers, to appear on LSH v6 #1:

Via the Fire Wire comes this Newarama video from last week's C2E2 in Chicago (jump to the 2:00 mark), in which he discusses the series of covers.


Paul Levitz's last decision as publisher, as Lee says, was for Jim Lee to do variant covers for the first six Legion issues. He says the Legionnaires were his favorite characters from when he was growing up. First is Saturn Girl from the 70s in her pink costume (his favorite era) - but in the video, note that they show her in her 60s red outfit in the background. Each cover will feature one Legionnaire from 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00s but not in that order, along with spaceships and the HQ. You'll be able to put them together and show a whole chronology of what the Legion has been about.

Earth Day

Today's Earth Day. Earth-Man says take care of your favorite planet!

Earth-Man probably spits into the wind, too.  

She's still preoccupied with 1985...

And nothing has been alright since
Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
Way before Nirvana
There was U2 and Blondie
And music still on MTV
Her two kids in high school
They tell her that she’s uncool
Cause she's still preoccupied
With 19, 19, 1985

   -- Bowling for Soup, "1985"

Scans_Daily has some excerpts from the 1985 "Amazing Heroes" Preview Issue. AH was a great magazine. First annually, then twice a year, they'd publish a mammoth volume listing everything from the major (and not so major) companies and what's coming up. This issue talks about things like the untitled "Batman Special Project" (Batman 10 years in the future, by Frank Miller), "Crisis on Infinite Earths", "Marvelman", and "Watchmen".

So let's see what 1985 had in store for the Legion...

The Great Darkness Saga (Deluxe Edition)

Look what's shown up on Amazon.com: Legion of Super-Heroes: The Great Darkness Saga (Deluxe Edition), available for pre-order now and coming in November.

Via Collected Editions:

A hardcover Great Darkness isn't a great suprise, given that the original book is out of print, that Levitz is about to begin a new run on Legion, and that DC already announced a new Legion of Super-Heroes: Prologue to Darkness paperback that leads in to Great Darkness. What is a surprise is the deluxe format, which makes the hardcover a bit bigger and, in my opinion, adds some extra value for the reader even if they already own an old, dog-eared copy of Darkness.

However, the Prologue book (previously announced in February) has been removed from Amazon:

... Maybe the deluxe edition contains the Prologue issues, too (at an announced 416 pages, the deluxe edition is about twice the size of the original Great Darkness trade paperback).

The original, out of print trade paperback version of Great Darkness only runs 192 pages.

C2E2 '10: Flash/Green Lantern

Some bonus news from the Flash/Green Lantern: Revelations panel at C2E2....

Via CBR:

The "Green Lantern Corps" title itself will be taken over by Tony Bedard, of whose work the panel spoke highly. Senior Story Editor Ian Sattler explained this new work will will affect "R.E.B.E.L.S." as well, a title he felt is "deserving of a wider audience."
 
An audience member asked after the status of the Tornado Twins and John Fox considering the first arc of "The Flash" deals in time travel to the 25th Century, and Johns promised, "Eventually, you will see them" though whether it happens in this first arc remains unknown.

Via Newsarama:

Meanwhile, Tony Bedard is taking over Green Lantern Corps. With his background of R.E.B.E.L.S., he was the "perfect guy to jump in and join our Corps." Ganthet will remain a Green Lantern. Kyle Rayner and John Stewart, Boodikka and Soranik Natu will be dealing with a returned Cyborg Superman.  

Q: With the 25th century angle, can you spoil whether we'll see Tornado Twins and John Fox? Johns: No. Eventually you will see them. 
  
Q: More Rainbow Girl? Johns: That's a question more for Paul Levitz.