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Legion Of Superheroes 1989
In 1989, Eisner award attendee Keith Giffen and others turned an enduring DC series into a somewhat classic, with a new and maybe improved version of the Legion Of Super-Heroes!
See super-powered teenagers of the 30th century in what some have called new adventures! Not to say that this was a dark time for everyone's 3rd favorite superhero team, but Darkseid might be involved (pun)!
In this incredibly dense volume (so heavy), see an entire era of probably pretty good comics unfold!
Collects Legion Of Super-Heroes (1989) #1-50 and Annual #1. It also collects dust, so keep those comic book bag things handy!
See super-powered teenagers of the 30th century in what some have called new adventures! Not to say that this was a dark time for everyone's 3rd favorite superhero team, but Darkseid might be involved (pun)!
In this incredibly dense volume (so heavy), see an entire era of probably pretty good comics unfold!
Collects Legion Of Super-Heroes (1989) #1-50 and Annual #1. It also collects dust, so keep those comic book bag things handy!
1060 pages, Paperback
First published July 7, 1989
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9 people want to read
About the author
Keith Giffen
1,931 books217 followersKeith Ian Giffen was an American comic book illustrator and writer. He is possibly best-known for his long runs illustrating, and later writing the Legion of Super-Heroes title in the 1980s and 1990s. He also created the alien mercenary character Lobo (with Roger Slifer), and the irreverent "want-to-be" hero, Ambush Bug. Giffen is known for having an unorthodox writing style, often using characters in ways not seen before. His dialogue is usually characterized by a biting wit that is seen as much less zany than dialogue provided by longtime collaborators DeMatteis and Robert Loren Fleming. That approach has brought him both criticism and admiration, as perhaps best illustrated by the mixed (although commercially successful) response to his work in DC Comics' Justice League International (1987-1992). He also plotted and was breakdown artist for an Aquaman limited series and one-shot special in 1989 with writer Robert Loren Fleming and artist Curt Swan for DC Comics.
Giffen's first published work was "The Sword and The Star", a black-and-white series featured in Marvel Preview, with writer Bill Mantlo. He has worked on titles (owned by several different companies) including Woodgod, All Star Comics, Doctor Fate, Drax the Destroyer, Heckler, Nick Fury's Howling Commandos, Reign of the Zodiac, Suicide Squad, Trencher (to be re-released in a collected edition by Boom! Studios)., T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and Vext. He was also responsible for the English adaptation of the Battle Royale and Ikki Tousen manga, as well as creating "I Luv Halloween" for Tokyopop. He also worked for Dark Horse from 1994-95 on their Comics Greatest World/Dark Horse Heroes line, as the writer of two short lived series, Division 13 and co-author, with Lovern Kindzierski, of Agents of Law. For Valiant Comics, Giffen wrote XO-Manowar, Magnus, Robot Fighter, Punx and the final issue of Solar, Man of the Atom.
He took a break from the comic industry for several years, working on storyboards for television and film, including shows such as The Real Ghostbusters and Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy.
He is also the lead writer for Marvel Comics's Annihilation event, having written the one-shot prologue, the lead-in stories in Thanos and Drax, the Silver Surfer as well as the main six issues mini-series. He also wrote the Star-Lord mini-series for the follow-up story Annihilation: Conquest. He currently writes Doom Patrol for DC, and is also completing an abandoned Grant Morrison plot in The Authority: the Lost Year for Wildstorm.
Giffen's first published work was "The Sword and The Star", a black-and-white series featured in Marvel Preview, with writer Bill Mantlo. He has worked on titles (owned by several different companies) including Woodgod, All Star Comics, Doctor Fate, Drax the Destroyer, Heckler, Nick Fury's Howling Commandos, Reign of the Zodiac, Suicide Squad, Trencher (to be re-released in a collected edition by Boom! Studios)., T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and Vext. He was also responsible for the English adaptation of the Battle Royale and Ikki Tousen manga, as well as creating "I Luv Halloween" for Tokyopop. He also worked for Dark Horse from 1994-95 on their Comics Greatest World/Dark Horse Heroes line, as the writer of two short lived series, Division 13 and co-author, with Lovern Kindzierski, of Agents of Law. For Valiant Comics, Giffen wrote XO-Manowar, Magnus, Robot Fighter, Punx and the final issue of Solar, Man of the Atom.
He took a break from the comic industry for several years, working on storyboards for television and film, including shows such as The Real Ghostbusters and Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy.
He is also the lead writer for Marvel Comics's Annihilation event, having written the one-shot prologue, the lead-in stories in Thanos and Drax, the Silver Surfer as well as the main six issues mini-series. He also wrote the Star-Lord mini-series for the follow-up story Annihilation: Conquest. He currently writes Doom Patrol for DC, and is also completing an abandoned Grant Morrison plot in The Authority: the Lost Year for Wildstorm.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 27, 2018
The futuristic teenage supergroup gets put into adulthood and a series of (basically) intergalactic post-apocalyptic adventures, which are often confusing, overwrought, maybe repetitive, and maybe a little more competent in hindsight or to a patient reader.
(Note: I didn't buy this off of a trade publication, it was a bundle of #1-50 and Annuals #1-2 individual comics I bought at Comic-Con. There must be a cheaper way to read this)
Basically the 30th century Legion has been disbanded until its members are all adults, and they're forced back together to fight a series of intergalactic murder conspiracies (more or less).
I would say that the book installs early and often a forced moodiness and depression about the state of things, and large scale difficulties in establishing the legion of super-heroes. But this "new thing" approach to the Legion doesn't prevent the villains and the storylines from seeming very repetitive. But for all its repetition, there's a lot of convoluted complexity forced in.
It would've helped so much to name previous storylines and even just identify characters clearly on an issue to issue basis, but there seems such an indulgence in the book's own complexity that it makes immersion hard from the get go.
There were some funny parts, some memorable moments, they were just spread kind of thin. There's no real arc or issue that stands out as being totally worthwhile, there's a lot of benign okay-ness here.
One thing I remember is a disappointing creation of a team of cloned Legionnaires that looked like the original series team from the 60's, but then to just leverage that into giving them their own series which I did not have in this collection, was not referenced again. Totally bankrupted a big story arc.
The writing was of a faux "this is modern, look how convoluted and unfulfilling we can make it over 50 issues." The most disappointing Keith Giffen project so far (although I guess he got less involved fairly early).
The artwork is is interesting, colorful, etc., but not really getting beyond basic superheroics. It must be hard managing the dimensions of space and new planets and stuff, seemed a little generic for all its skilled pencilling.
The stories by Tom and Mary Bierbaum got better near the end, but not exceptionally so. For all its histrionics about breaking the Legion of the 60's mold, it felt very formulaic in a prolonged and almost boring way.
I'm sure some people will find this more fulfilling than the basic Jim Shooter et al stuff from earlier Legion days, but not I.
2/5
(Note: I didn't buy this off of a trade publication, it was a bundle of #1-50 and Annuals #1-2 individual comics I bought at Comic-Con. There must be a cheaper way to read this)
Basically the 30th century Legion has been disbanded until its members are all adults, and they're forced back together to fight a series of intergalactic murder conspiracies (more or less).
I would say that the book installs early and often a forced moodiness and depression about the state of things, and large scale difficulties in establishing the legion of super-heroes. But this "new thing" approach to the Legion doesn't prevent the villains and the storylines from seeming very repetitive. But for all its repetition, there's a lot of convoluted complexity forced in.
It would've helped so much to name previous storylines and even just identify characters clearly on an issue to issue basis, but there seems such an indulgence in the book's own complexity that it makes immersion hard from the get go.
There were some funny parts, some memorable moments, they were just spread kind of thin. There's no real arc or issue that stands out as being totally worthwhile, there's a lot of benign okay-ness here.
One thing I remember is a disappointing creation of a team of cloned Legionnaires that looked like the original series team from the 60's, but then to just leverage that into giving them their own series which I did not have in this collection, was not referenced again. Totally bankrupted a big story arc.
The writing was of a faux "this is modern, look how convoluted and unfulfilling we can make it over 50 issues." The most disappointing Keith Giffen project so far (although I guess he got less involved fairly early).
The artwork is is interesting, colorful, etc., but not really getting beyond basic superheroics. It must be hard managing the dimensions of space and new planets and stuff, seemed a little generic for all its skilled pencilling.
The stories by Tom and Mary Bierbaum got better near the end, but not exceptionally so. For all its histrionics about breaking the Legion of the 60's mold, it felt very formulaic in a prolonged and almost boring way.
I'm sure some people will find this more fulfilling than the basic Jim Shooter et al stuff from earlier Legion days, but not I.
2/5
Displaying 1 of 1 review