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Post by dbutler69 on Apr 25, 2019 8:42:23 GMT -5
The Supergirl introduction was moving way too slowly for me. The Cham stuff seemed to channel some Philip Marlowe type narration, which was kinda cool.
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Apr 25, 2019 12:34:42 GMT -5
I read a bit of this. I don't remember anything about it. Even reading the reviews I'm just.. not... really... yeah, nuttin'.
There was a fun issue of Brave and the Bold which had Batman vs. (I think) this version of the Legion. I might be a little biased because team up books are my favorite, but that was really good fun.
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Post by rberman on Apr 26, 2019 6:33:13 GMT -5
Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #19 “A 31st Century Whodunnit!” (August 2006) Creative Team: Mark Waid writing, Barry Kitson pencils and inks. The Story: It’s a noir homage, and like many such stories, it opens on an interrogation room frame story punctuated by flashbacks. Chameleon is being interviewed by the Science Police about his experiences while impersonating one of their officers. He gives a hardboiled detective style monologue, starting with a futuristic version of, “It was a dark and stormy night.”  He meets Jeyra Entinn, a female Saturnian, thus a telepath, who is recounting the murder scene: She was interviewing a perpetrator in a Science Police holding cell when a giant robot teleported into the room, smashed the victim’s head against the cell wall, and teleported away. Nobody saw the robot but her. Jeyra and “Office Daggle” (Chameleon) look for clues in the robot culture that lurks beneath Metropolis. They find a cult building a leader for themselves in a body that looks like Robotman from the Doom Patrol.  The robot is defeated, but the undercity dwellers deny they had anything to do with the murder in the jail cell. Chameleon has revealed his true identity to Jeyra by now, and she seems very taken with him.  But no! She’s the true murderer, and she was only smooching him as a distraction while she grabbed his Legion flight ring, which was preventing her from telepathically incapacitating him. She plans to set him up to take the fall for the murder she committed, but he’s able to defeat her through a clever use of his shape changing powers even while unable to move in any shape.  \ In a B-plot, Supergirl (theoretically the star of this comic book now) chats with Theena, a teen in Legion Plaza whose power is to be living social media. Later, Supergirl discovers that Braniac 5 has taken Dream Girl and Lemnos somewhere. Probably not back to Naltor like he was supposed to do.  My Two Cents: It’s a fun done-in-one murder hardboiled story with a femme fatale and everything. Jeyra Etinn was arrested, but you can bet we’ll be seeing her again. 
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Post by rberman on Apr 26, 2019 9:00:53 GMT -5
I'm reading the TPB's and they skipped #15 altogether, as well as the backup stories from the previous couple of issues. I really hate that. What a ripoff.  I did manage to read the missing material online, though. My TPB does have the lettercol and backup stories. Issues #14-15 were included in the Volume 3 trade paperback, which was titled "Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes" even though that title didn't actually start until issue #16. |
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Post by dbutler69 on Apr 26, 2019 9:15:41 GMT -5
I'm reading the TPB's and they skipped #15 altogether, as well as the backup stories from the previous couple of issues. I really hate that. What a ripoff. I did manage to read the missing material online, though. My TPB does have the lettercol and backup stories. Issues #14-15 were included in the Volume 3 trade paperback, which was titled "Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes" even though that title didn't actually start until issue #16. I have a "Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes" and it does not have the backup stories, though it does have the lettercol nor does it have #15. I also wish that they would include the cover immediately prior to each issue, rather than sticking them all at the end. I tend to lose track of which issue I'm even reading. I don't understand why the do these things. I guess they want the reader to feel like he (or she) is reading one long, continuous, seamless story, but I really don't like this method of presentation. |
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Post by rberman on Apr 27, 2019 5:59:40 GMT -5
Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #20 “Big Trouble” (September 2006) Creative Team: Mark Waid and Tony Bedard “screenplay” (writing), Barry Kitson “director” (layouts), Adam DeKraker “cinematographer” (pencils), Mick Gray “Line producer” (inks). The Story: A United Planets dignitary unveils the new Legion headquarters, which has its U.P. sponsorship emblazoned prominently on the face of the building. The Legion and their fans in the plaza are scandalized. Sell out! Heedless of the uproar, the dignitary raves about how the Legion is going to put the “status” back in “status quo.” Cue a propaganda film assuring grown-ups that the Legion now stands for stability and the values of adults.  Braniac 5, Light Lass, and Element Lad are flying through space in a spaceship from the previous L.E.G.I.O.N. series. Dream Girl’s corpse and Lemnos are with them in stasis. He’s going to use Light Lass’ power to affect gravitons to somehow filter the information comprising Dream Girl’s putative soul through Lemnos’ information filtering ability, in hopes of reconstituting a living Dream Girl.  Dream Boy is having a hard time being accepted by the Legion. Has he been given a flight ring-- maybe Sun Boy's old ring?  Eight teens from Big City try to steal eight artifacts from different places on Earth. Each time a Legion team is dispatched to deal with one of them, but Supergirl gets there first and easily takes care of the situation – to Cosmic Boy’s chagrin, because he considers her too flaky to be trusted. She doesn’t take offense, though. In fact, he sorta feels funny around her. Is it love?  My Two Cents: It’s sort of a soap opera style issue, giving snippets of several ongoing plots. The new one deals with the mystery of why Big City teens are trying to commit a crime wave. The United Planets’ attempt to co-opt the Legion’s popularity makes sense. 
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Post by rberman on Apr 28, 2019 5:05:59 GMT -5
Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #21 (October 2006) Creative Team: Mark Waid and Tony Bedard writing), Barry Kitson layouts, Adam DeKraker pencils, Rob Still inks. The Story: In Big City, three goons dressed in Science Police outfits break out the eight giant criminals from last issue; Colossal Boy is KOed in the process.  Braniac 5 commences his plan to “reboot” Dream Girl with the aid of Element Lad, Light Lass, and an unconscious Lemnos. Unexpectedly, she disappears from the stasis tube when he flips the switch. Brainy goes nuts and starts throttling Element Lad, until the disembodied voice of Dream Girl tells him to stop. Later in his quarters, he interacts with what appears to be her ghost.  My Two Cents: Not a lot of Supergirl material in this issue; she has a chat with some female Legionnaires which simply reiterates what we already know: she thinks she’s asleep in Argo City on Krypton, having a dream. Most of this issue is given over to the Braniac 5 experiment, plus some of the Colossal Boy story.
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Post by rberman on Apr 29, 2019 7:14:37 GMT -5
Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #22 (November 2006)
 Creative Team: Mark Waid and Tony Bedard writing), Barry Kitson layouts, Adam DeKraker pencils, Rob Still and Rodney Ramos inks. The Story: Shadow Lass confides in her ex-boyfriend Karate Kid that her current boyfriend Ultra Boy seems to be giving too much negative attention to Supergirl. Is he covering a fascination with her? Karate Kid sends Ultra Boy and Supergirl to destroy a meteor shower striking a planet orbiting an orange star. Supergirl’s powers only operate at half-strength here; that makes Ultra Boy feel less insecure.  Supergirl and Cosmic Boy defuse an angry teen in the plaza, offering him to use his powers more productively. Audition for Legion membership!  Sun Boy leads his team, the former Terror Firma, to investigate a Dominion colony gone vacant. They get defeated by a big ol’ Super-Dominator. I still don’t know the names or powers of these characters.  My Two Cents: Shadow Lass broke up with Karate Kid because she found his contemplative nature tedious. She enjoys impulsive Ultra Boy more. This sort of characterization was rare in pre-COIE comics at DC, which perhaps is why newer heroes like Wally West and Kyle Rayner seem to have more personality than older versions like Barry Allen and Hal Jordan. 
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Post by rberman on Apr 29, 2019 10:06:55 GMT -5
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Post by rberman on Apr 30, 2019 7:45:00 GMT -5
Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #23 (December 2006) Creative Team: Mark Waid writing, Barry Kitson pencils, Mick Gray inks. The Story: Kara Zor-El awakens in what seems to be Argo City. Was her life as Supergirl all a dream? Nope! Turns out she and some Legionnaires have come to Kandor so she can get psychiatric care for her delusion that her life is a dream. But first, Braniac 5 knocks her unconscious with Kryptonite. Uncool!  Shadow Girl returns to her homeworld of Talok VIII for a sparring match with her brother, which she wins.  The Legionnaires hanging out in Kandor are beset by a team of super-villains which includes Polar Boy and Jeyra Entinn, the telepathic femme fatale who tangled with Chameleon back in issue #19. She hypnotizes most of the Legionnaires so that they don’t even know they are getting their butts kicked. In the middle of the fight, Saturn Girl notices a red searchlight-looking thing nearby, with a familiar-to-us figure crying for assistance…  My Two Cents: The first time I read this issue, I thought the Legionnaires were playing a horrid trick on Supergirl, making her think she was back home. But on a re-read, their motives were more innocent; they just didn’t think about how much waking up in Kandor would make her think she was waking up in Argo City. It was still uncool of Braniac 5 to bring her to Kandor against her will. She’s oddly unfazed by this betrayal.  The cliffhanger ending only makes sense to veteran Legion readers who will recognize Mon-El as the ghost crying from out of the Phantom Zone projector. This is the sort of thing that shows how modern comics take for granted that there are no newbies reading. 
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Post by rberman on May 1, 2019 5:26:48 GMT -5
Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #24 “From Out of the Phantom Zone!” (January 2007) Creative Team: Mark Waid writing, Barry Kitson pencils, Mick Gray inks. The Story: Supergirl arrives to help the beleaguered Legionnaires. She may be powerless under a red sun, but’s she’s also in a room full of futuristic weapons which she uses to good effect. The villains teleport away with an actual “You won this round…” Cosmic Boy sees Supergirl’s value and decides that despite her ditziness, she can leave Kandor and stay with the Legion.  Kandor is the opposite of Earth. Its people got so used to living on top of each other in limited space that, even now that they have a whole planet to inhabit, they all stay clustered in one vertical city. Clever spin on the idea.  Now back on Earth, Saturn Girl joins her mind to Phantom Girl, generating a psychic image that mixes their features. She/They travel into the Phantom Zone, where they meet Mon-El. He warns them of an impending attack on Legion HQ by a veritable legion of super-villains. (Next issue, the villain team will be named though; they are “The Wanderers.”)  My Two Cents: Phantom Zone, Phantom Girl. Makes sense! Kandor seemed like a real drag, so we’re glad Supergirl didn’t get stuck there. Besides, her name is on the masthead, so how much suspense could there really be on that matter?
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Post by rberman on May 4, 2019 16:11:58 GMT -5
Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #25 “The Wanderers” (February 2007) Creative Team: Mark Waid writing, Barry Kitson pencils, Mick Gray inks. Woah, that makes three issues in a row with the same team! The Story: New Legion recruit Plant Lad was indeed a plant, by the Legion of Super-Villains. He take control of the Legion HQ’s defense systems, sectioning off the Legionnaires into small groups within.  As if that weren’t bad enough, Light Lass, Ultra Boy, Karate Kid, and Star Boy are teleported away to meet the villains, who have a proposition to make. The Wanderers say that they are actually a United Planet black ops team sent to fight the Dominators years ago. Their leader, Mekt Ranzz, wants to recruit the Legion to help them fight. Mekt is the brother of Lightning Lad and Light Lass, known in previous Legion stories as Lightning Lord of the Legion of Super-Villains. But honestly, who would call their team that?  Braniac 5 realizes that he’s been imprisoned within his own lab by a force field. He uses the Phantom Zone projector to free Mon-El, who promptly attacks Supergirl due to his dim recollection that someone wearing her “S” insignia was long ago responsible for imprisoning him in the Phantom Zone. The battle between Mon-El and Supergirl smashes the force field, just as Braniac 5 intended.  The heroes force-feed Mon-El an antidote for his lead poisoning, which calms him down. But then The Wanderers teleport Mon-El to themselves as well and ask him to join.  My Two Cents: Lotsa action, not a whole lot of character development this time around except for quips here and there. The covers of this series sometimes depict action scenes from the interior, which is a rarity in modern era superhero comics.
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Post by rberman on May 5, 2019 6:45:46 GMT -5
Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #26 (March 2007) Creative Team: Mark Waid writing, Barry Kitson pencils, Mick Gray inks. The Story: Supergirl leads the Legion to the Wanderers, who ask the Legion to help them quell a robot insurrection in the undercity of Metrpolis. Mekt wants to be in charge, which is why he was trying to cut the Legion’s more leaderly members out of the loop. Light Lass recounts the encounter with alien lightning beasts which gave super powers to her and her brothers.  The Legion fights a giant Dominator robot that bursts up to the surface word. Its destruction seeds the Earth with a virus that’s going to do something terrible between now and next issue…  My Two Cents: These Legion stories have an odd kind of decompression. It’s not because of repeated panels used to substitute space for time. It’s not because of endless superfluous splash pages. What is it that causes there to be relatively little plot per issue? To some degree it’s a low panel count per page. A lot of it is character-based chat that doesn’t really fit well into these summaries. ‘The origin of the Ranzz siblings is pretty much unchanged from the Silver Age. 
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Post by beccabear67 on May 5, 2019 12:55:10 GMT -5
I started on this recently with #16 and the Supergirl addition. I expected to drop it within a few issues but really enjoyed it so have now read #1-28. I only stayed with the Supergirl title of the same time for #1-10 in contrast. Barry Kitson's art is oddly stuff sometimes for me, a bit like the Ms. Tree artists Beatty, but he's downright badly inked by one inker which didn't help at all (maybe some kind of deadline crunch though). Overall I like Kitson art, just a bit of a mannequin or photo reference downside to his faces sometimes. I was rating Waid pretty high as a writer just based on his two single page Super Turtle strips, and this series hasn't done anything to lower my esteem.  |
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Post by rberman on May 6, 2019 6:31:44 GMT -5
Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #27 (April 2007) Creative Team: Mark Waid writing, Barry Kitson pencils, Mick Gray inks. The Story: The Dominators experiment on Sun Boy and his team, extracting genetic information to help them build new super-Dominators.  All the computers on Earth are now under the sway of the Dominators’ technovirus. Even the Legion Flight Rings aren’t safe to use, severely affecting the heroes’ mobility. Theena gives us an update on how the Legion/Wanderer task forces are dealing with issues around the world:  A horde of burly Dominators attacks, and the Ranzz brothers bicker as they use their lightning powers in concert against them. Braniac 5’s attempt to jerry-rig a teleporter goer awry. Cosmic Boy is captured in the melee…  Lettercol: Actually this time, it’s a tribute to the recently deceased Dave Cockrum, with the characters explaining his importance to Legion history, followed by eulogies from Barry Kitson, Jim Shooter, and Paul Levitz. Art on this section is by Kalman Andrasofszky, done quickly as this issue was going to press.  My Two Cents: “Remember the Fif-Dee-Tu….” (“Remember the 52”) says the Dominator here. This issue was published near the end of the year in which DC published 52 weekly issues which were supposed to cover the events of a time period in which the series had all skipped ahead after the Infinite Crisis. I know very little about the changes that the “New 52” storyline wrought upon the DCU. I was cured of a fascination with continuity during the 30 years I was away from comic books and have not re-acquired it in the last few years.  The capture of Sun Boy and his squad comes too soon. We haven’t really seen them do much. They should have had a mini-series, or an ongoing backup feature, to make them care about them more. Or at a minimum, to tell us their names and abilities. One thing I really like about the Threeboot is how every issue features a roll call of characters, filling out the silhouettes of those characters who actually appear in a given issue, and telling us their names and powers. That’s doubly important now that, two years into the Threeboot, we’ve suddenly doubled the number of characters by adding a whole Wanderers team as big as the whole Legion. Sun Boy’s team deserves the same. 
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