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Original Legion of Super-Heroes #17
Legion of Super-Heroes: Before the Darkness Vol. 2
Experience the Legionnaires' far-flung adventures leading up to the great darkness saga!
The second volume of the Legionnaire's incredible run is here!
Discover the answers to these intriguing mysteries in Legion of Super-Heroes: Before the Darkness, an astonishing collection of action-packed episodes from acclaimed talents Gerry Conway, Paul Kupperberg, E. Nelson Bridwell, J.M. DeMatteis, Jim Janes, Steve Ditko, Jim Sherman, Frank Chiaramonte, Dave Hunt, and more! This second and final volume collects The Legion of Super-Heroes #272-283, The Best of DC: Blue Ribbon Digest #24.
The second volume of the Legionnaire's incredible run is here!
Discover the answers to these intriguing mysteries in Legion of Super-Heroes: Before the Darkness, an astonishing collection of action-packed episodes from acclaimed talents Gerry Conway, Paul Kupperberg, E. Nelson Bridwell, J.M. DeMatteis, Jim Janes, Steve Ditko, Jim Sherman, Frank Chiaramonte, Dave Hunt, and more! This second and final volume collects The Legion of Super-Heroes #272-283, The Best of DC: Blue Ribbon Digest #24.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 25, 2022
About the author
Gerry Conway
2,096 books89 followersGerard Francis Conway (Gerard F. Conway) wass an American writer of comic books and television shows. He was known for co-creating the Marvel Comics' vigilante the Punisher and scripting the death of the character Gwen Stacy during his long run on The Amazing Spider-Man. At DC Comics, he was known for co-creating the superhero Firestorm and others, and for writing the Justice League of America for eight years. Conway wrote the first major, modern-day intercompany crossover, Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man.
On April 27, 2026, Marvel Comics announced on its website and social media accounts that Conway had died at the age of 73.
News of Conway's death from Wikipedia
On April 27, 2026, Marvel Comics announced on its website and social media accounts that Conway had died at the age of 73.
News of Conway's death from Wikipedia
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 28, 2022
These stories held up better than I expected. They are from the early 80's, right before Paul Levitz took the book back over with The Great Darkness Saga. There's some good stuff like Ultra Boy's "death" along with some cheese like Grimbor the Chainsman who puts chains around the Earth. He's going to tighten the chains until the Earth is destroyed as revenge for his girlfriend dying in prison. Yeah, it's dumb. Thankfully, there's plenty else to like like Blok joining the Legion and an amnesiac Ultra Boy running around as a space pirate. I really enjoyed all those Rich Buckler and George Perez covers as well. Great stuff!
February 14, 2022
If I'm doing my math right, one more volume of this series will bring me up to the point where my collection of the comics begins. I had a lot of the early _Adventure Comics_ issues, back in the day, but, as with so many other kids of my generation, My Mother Made Me Throw Them Out, along with lots of other stuff that, taken together, would have paid my kids' tuition, at least for a year or two.
Anyway, we have here a silly-feelgood story from a DC Christmas Special, followed by a bunch of regular stories by Gerry Conway or Roy Thomas. Near the end, Paul Levitz (my favorite Legion writer) comes back as scripter.
One of the things that this volume makes clear is that the era of the Legion as soap-opera was now in full swing. Love, loss, lust, amnesia, missing persons, accusations of murder all contribute to a dozen stories, plus the Christmas issue and a framing tale from a DC Comics Digest, of...well, moderate to good quality. There is nothing here that I would call "great"; the last great era of the Legion was a year or so out, to begin with the Legion's first-ever Annual and the "Great Darkness Saga" that informs the title of this batch of archive volumes.
Similarly, the artwork by a whole bunch of people, including Steve Ditko, Carmine Infantion, and Dick Giordano, is never less than workmanlike, but rarely rises above it, and when it does, it's mostly Ditko doing the stuff he'd learned at Marvel when he was illustrating _Doctor Strange_.
Necesssary for me, and for other Legion completists who missed these issues the first time around. Probably not so much for anyone else.
Anyway, we have here a silly-feelgood story from a DC Christmas Special, followed by a bunch of regular stories by Gerry Conway or Roy Thomas. Near the end, Paul Levitz (my favorite Legion writer) comes back as scripter.
One of the things that this volume makes clear is that the era of the Legion as soap-opera was now in full swing. Love, loss, lust, amnesia, missing persons, accusations of murder all contribute to a dozen stories, plus the Christmas issue and a framing tale from a DC Comics Digest, of...well, moderate to good quality. There is nothing here that I would call "great"; the last great era of the Legion was a year or so out, to begin with the Legion's first-ever Annual and the "Great Darkness Saga" that informs the title of this batch of archive volumes.
Similarly, the artwork by a whole bunch of people, including Steve Ditko, Carmine Infantion, and Dick Giordano, is never less than workmanlike, but rarely rises above it, and when it does, it's mostly Ditko doing the stuff he'd learned at Marvel when he was illustrating _Doctor Strange_.
Necesssary for me, and for other Legion completists who missed these issues the first time around. Probably not so much for anyone else.
March 23, 2022
At last, the circle is complete! After decades of haphazard collections being released for the Legion, we have a solid run from their earliest adventures through to the start of the Baxter series (albeit, without a collection of the Tales year that closed out the original comic, just as the Baxter series got started). Yay! (Though there still needs to be some work to publish a fourth Silver Age Omnibus, since the last four Masterworks are long out of print.)
Anyway, as for this collection: it's broken into two parts.
The first half is by Gerry Conway and has interesting stories with good continuity that definitely don't rise up to the level of great. There's a somewhat annoying retcon of Brainiac's insanity, that at least sees the return of Pulsar Stargrave, an under-powered return of Modred, and a couple of fun issues with an amnesiac Jo and space pirates.
But the volume really takes off in the second half, which is at first scripted by Roy Thomas, and then plotted by him as well. Here, we get what I feel like is one of the iconic storylines, of Reflecto (but maybe that's just because it was one of the first stories that I hunted up through scattered back issues, after I started reading right at the start of Levitz's second run).
It's a neat mystery of the type popular with the Legion: who is Reflecto? Plus, a visitation in the 20th century, the return of a iconic hero, a great use of the Time Trapper, and aksi the return of Jo. All strong stories, and of course it'd get better in the next few issues, as we began the climb toward Darkness (but also the mature, complex storytelling that Levitz would bring with him on his second run.)
Anyway, as for this collection: it's broken into two parts.
The first half is by Gerry Conway and has interesting stories with good continuity that definitely don't rise up to the level of great. There's a somewhat annoying retcon of Brainiac's insanity, that at least sees the return of Pulsar Stargrave, an under-powered return of Modred, and a couple of fun issues with an amnesiac Jo and space pirates.
But the volume really takes off in the second half, which is at first scripted by Roy Thomas, and then plotted by him as well. Here, we get what I feel like is one of the iconic storylines, of Reflecto (but maybe that's just because it was one of the first stories that I hunted up through scattered back issues, after I started reading right at the start of Levitz's second run).
It's a neat mystery of the type popular with the Legion: who is Reflecto? Plus, a visitation in the 20th century, the return of a iconic hero, a great use of the Time Trapper, and aksi the return of Jo. All strong stories, and of course it'd get better in the next few issues, as we began the climb toward Darkness (but also the mature, complex storytelling that Levitz would bring with him on his second run.)
December 26, 2022
Whoa! I read this issues back in the day, they bring me back a lot of memories, sure, the stories are a little cheesy, but what you expect? It’s the late 70’s early 80’s. Making a remembrance, at that time here south of the border can’t recall if they were published in order or at random, but I remember having read most of the issues this volume has. But for sure, I enjoyed the ride through memory lane, in the story and the walk to the comic store to get my “cuentitos” (That’s the name my mom give to comic books)
January 11, 2025
Collects DC Special Series #21 (Spring 1980), Legion of Super-Heroes #272 (2/1981) - #283 (1/1982), and Best of DC Blue Ribbon Digest #24 (5/1982). Most of the stories are written by Gerry Conway with Roy Thomas taking over near the end of the run and Paul Levitz for #283. Most of the art is by Jim Janes with a few fill-in issues by Steve Ditko.
The Christmas story from DC Special Series #21 is a minor, silly story with great art by José Luis García-López. The framing story in the Best of DC Blue Ribbon Digest #24 has artwork by the legendary Carmine Infantino, although past his prime.
Conway does much better than in the previous collection, but there's still a lot of trivial soap-operatic shenanigans such as love triangles, amnesia, missing persons, etc. The storyline with Ultra Boy presumed dead and then becoming a space pirate after suffering amnesia exemplifies this silliness. Then, inexplicably, the whole thing is dropped and Ultra Boy turns up in an alternate dimension. The Reflecto arc is a little better; at least it gives them a chance to reintroduce Superboy to the team (I suspect sales flagged with him missing). Issue #283 gives us an interesting retcon of Wildfire's origin that makes him less of a jerk. The origin of Blok in the early issues is silly, but Blok is such a weird character that it doesn't really matter.
Jim Janes' artwork is pretty good, but Steve Ditko was just phoning it in.
One of the classic storylines, The Great Darkness Saga, follows immediately after this, but since I reread that about five years ago, I'll probably stop my binge of the Legion for now, but do plan on eventually getting to some of the later stories. For all its faults, the Legion is a fun space opera that holds a favored spot in my heart.
The Christmas story from DC Special Series #21 is a minor, silly story with great art by José Luis García-López. The framing story in the Best of DC Blue Ribbon Digest #24 has artwork by the legendary Carmine Infantino, although past his prime.
Conway does much better than in the previous collection, but there's still a lot of trivial soap-operatic shenanigans such as love triangles, amnesia, missing persons, etc. The storyline with Ultra Boy presumed dead and then becoming a space pirate after suffering amnesia exemplifies this silliness. Then, inexplicably, the whole thing is dropped and Ultra Boy turns up in an alternate dimension. The Reflecto arc is a little better; at least it gives them a chance to reintroduce Superboy to the team (I suspect sales flagged with him missing). Issue #283 gives us an interesting retcon of Wildfire's origin that makes him less of a jerk. The origin of Blok in the early issues is silly, but Blok is such a weird character that it doesn't really matter.
Jim Janes' artwork is pretty good, but Steve Ditko was just phoning it in.
One of the classic storylines, The Great Darkness Saga, follows immediately after this, but since I reread that about five years ago, I'll probably stop my binge of the Legion for now, but do plan on eventually getting to some of the later stories. For all its faults, the Legion is a fun space opera that holds a favored spot in my heart.
March 16, 2022
I love the Legion and it's always been my favorite concept in comics. Nevertheless, the late 70s and early 80s were some rough times for the group. Writer Gerry Conway, whose work for Marvel and on several titles at DC I liked, just wasn't a good choice for the Legion. He gave us some rather pedestrian tales that reminds me of the height of Silver Age lunacy without the benefit of being of that era.
Roy Thomas comes in later in this volume and picks up some of Conway's threads, but his usual verbosity isn't much better. Paul Levitz has the last few stories and it's easy to tell that the quality of writing improves a great deal.
A lot of the art is by Jimmy Janes and Steve Ditko, the latter perhaps an odd choice for the Legion, but not surprising considering Ditko's early comics oeuvre of sci-fi. Most of his issues are inked by Frank Chiaramonte, whose scratchy style was never a good fit for smooth pencillers like Ditko or Swan, but in the last Ditko issue he is inked by Bruce Patterson and the art really sings.
Overall this volume has one of the duller eras of Legion stories but it's still required reading for Legion fans. We see Blok join the team, the return of Superboy, fan created heroes Crystal Kid, Lamprey, and Nightwind, more in-depth knowledge of Wildfire's origin, and the at-last resolution of "Who is Reflecto" from the old Adult Legion stories.
Since Paul Levitz's superb run following this volume has already been collected, I hope DC gives us HC editions of the Baxter direct-only series next. I can never have enough Legion, even when it's mediocre like these stories.
Roy Thomas comes in later in this volume and picks up some of Conway's threads, but his usual verbosity isn't much better. Paul Levitz has the last few stories and it's easy to tell that the quality of writing improves a great deal.
A lot of the art is by Jimmy Janes and Steve Ditko, the latter perhaps an odd choice for the Legion, but not surprising considering Ditko's early comics oeuvre of sci-fi. Most of his issues are inked by Frank Chiaramonte, whose scratchy style was never a good fit for smooth pencillers like Ditko or Swan, but in the last Ditko issue he is inked by Bruce Patterson and the art really sings.
Overall this volume has one of the duller eras of Legion stories but it's still required reading for Legion fans. We see Blok join the team, the return of Superboy, fan created heroes Crystal Kid, Lamprey, and Nightwind, more in-depth knowledge of Wildfire's origin, and the at-last resolution of "Who is Reflecto" from the old Adult Legion stories.
Since Paul Levitz's superb run following this volume has already been collected, I hope DC gives us HC editions of the Baxter direct-only series next. I can never have enough Legion, even when it's mediocre like these stories.
April 3, 2025
A generally solid set of stories here - Blok joins the team, Ultra Boy loses his memory and is thought dead, the mystery of Reflecto... Granted, the explanation of Reflecto is a bit clunky. Grimbor the Chainsman wraps the entire Earth in chains to crush the planet, which is hokey, but still has some compelling character moments. In short, there's some cheese, but it's a generally solid set of stories. The art's mostly solid as well (despite that clumsy George Perez cover).
February 26, 2023
The following stories contained in the second volume of Legion of Super-Heroes contains so-so stories. The story of Reflecto goes on a bit too long, but we do get a return of Superboy, and his return generates part of the mystery surrounding the death of Jo Nah aka Ultra Boy. The art is so-so also, but at least we get art by the legendary Steve Ditko. Next up, Darkseid awaits!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 10, 2024
FANTASTIC COLLECTION!
I have always loved the Legion of Superheroes. Great stories and art. I own all of the other collections. Worth every penny.
I have always loved the Legion of Superheroes. Great stories and art. I own all of the other collections. Worth every penny.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews