LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES
THE LEGION OF SUPER HEROES

Rant/Forum

I posted a letter to no one a while ago talking about how sad I was over the creation of the current Legion. Thank god it's since been revealed to be only one Legion (although I do not believe it was originally intended to be one of 52). My comments spurred a surprising amount of counter-comments, which you can read below.

I began reading the current series by buying the first trade paperback. My impression? I liked it, but it wasn't a fanboy kind of like, and it didn't compel me to cover it on this site. The writing and art are good, but it’s not a Legion that consumes you. At least not yet. A shame, because the post-Zero Hour reboot really did grab me from the start.

Coming in with the team already formed takes away a lot of the fun of seeing the team build. I had similar hopes for the post-Zero Hour reboot, that it would take time to build so we could see some more intimate dynamics. But those creators caved, too. Or is it the damn editors?

I suspect many things will change with the new cartoon. I bet that will be super, actually, much more in the vein of the spirit I love. I liked the Teen Titans show, it grabbed a young new demographic, something that's essential for the long term survival of comics in general.

It really is too bad that the SW6 Legionnaires of the Bierbaums and Chris Sprouse couldn't have been a true reboot. What a fantastic vibe that series had.A bad precedent has begun ... chucking whatever doesn't sell...

My heart broke the day …

they launched the current Legion series — another reboot — with little warning to fans.

You can see by this site how big a Legion fan I've been. This obsession got me through so many years, from the excitement of seeing George Peréz covers, to the Giffen heyday, to the high profile years of volume 2, and yes even the Five Years Later. The Legion was always the first book that I devoured when it came out.

When I was young, I waited on my rural Wisconsin mailbox for my Legion subscription. I drew posters of the Legionnaires in the costumes I'd designed.

I know these things:

  1. Mark Waid is a good writer and longtime Legion fan
  2. The current Legion sells well (enough)
  3. Lots of people are enjoying the current book and find something to spark their fandom again.
  4. None of these things makes me any less sad.

I stopped chronicling the Legion with the new series, but that little kid in Wisconsin wishes he could love them again. The Legion lives long in my heart, just not in my life. It's so stupid, but longtime comics fans know what I'm talking about.

Assertions:

  1. Mark Waid made the assertion that it had already been 12 years since the last reboot so it was perfectly justifiable; it had been plenty of time since the last.

    The first reboot happened after30 years of publishing, when the Legion truly was getting lost in confusion. Then there’s the other rhetoric that says that well, the Legion’s always been about dramatic change — continuity actually onlychanged once, after Zero Hour. The Five years later and such was fallout from the Crisis, just like every other DC book.

  2. The book was a mess again/No one could follow it.

    Whatever. It really wasn't. This was the argument made for the Doom Patrol, too. Why is rebooting the only way to clear things up? Legion will always be a complex book to follow. It has a cast of dozens. If anything it was exciting again — and current — with thrilling stories and the best talent in the industry on the book. Even a Wizard recommendation, if you can believe it. It was finally living up to its modern potential as a future teen space adventure. We all love the characterization, but today's readers demand a more sophisticated kind of outer space story. It's ironic that the only vocal fans of this legacy of teens are getting progressively older.

  3. Sales were low.

    Yep, they were getting down there. Whose fault is that? Ultimately, the editor, whose job it is to keep tabs on the overall direction of the book. I feel like a sense of personal failure on the editor's part led to the jettison.

If you have a serious something to say on the subject, please e-mail me, I'd love to chat about it.

My bright idea …

You want revolutionary? Sales sensation? "Reboot" again. This time, start a series the day after the Legion won the Great Darkness battle with Darkseid. Perfect opportunity for original Legion and clean slate at the same time.

Your Responses...

11 FEB 2006

I feel the same way about the legion I haven't even been to the comic shop in over four months Legion has always been my favorite. I keep hoping DC is up to something to make up for it all but I just don't know.

— XX, Legion fan since age 5

10 FEB 2006

Thank you for you devotion to Legion!

We have all endured 12 years of torture since the reboot and it seems to be an unending torture but, your work on this site is just fantastic! Please be proud of yourself as not just a talker but a true doer! I am in the minority but I feel that Keith Giffen is a genius and the 5 years later was genius, He had nothing but good intentions to continue the 40 year legacy of Legion to the next adult level and help sales. Maybe he was too adventurous too soon but DC should have seen that the SW6 batch was and really still is an out for the DC to return all of the classic Legion members from the original continuity. You have done more to help the Legion than many for the post boot creative teams and DC! But if this Legion Unlimited carrtoon comes to fruition I might have too get off DC's back!!!!

— L.D.

13 FEB 2006

Hello there,

First off...I love your site...when I came across it a few years ago it blew my mind...such detail...I have always gathered info on all DC characters (and Marvel) since I was young in the 80's. And now I catalogue all info on excel. The legion has always been one of my favorites ever since the Mike Grell era. I have most of their appearances in Adventure Comics and Action Comics and everything from Superboy (& the Legion) to today. Even the new series.

I also was very upset with this new version. The previous one was great and blended very well with everything else within the DC Universe. I kinda believed that DC was not gonna forget them at the end of their run even though they were lost in "space". They have such a strong connection with current continuity...Flash's children giving birth to XS & Impulse (Kid Flash)...Inferno stuck in modern time...Valor...Durlan...Phase..etc.

But with this new Crisis...all will probably be rewritten. I'm upset like you...but I'm also such a fan that I must continue to buy the Legion. I must say though...it is well written and enjoyable..just not our Legion. I hope you try it out...would love to see your update on this site...but never delete any info on the Legion you have.

This is just a "new" team...that's how I try to see it.

— Thanks for listening,

21 FEB 2006

Just give it a shot.Personally, I think it's turning out great so far, and the fact that they're not in bed with the SP and the UP (well, they JUST got in bed with the UP, but they really don't like the idea...) this time around makes them seem alot more like teenagers and less like the Young Republicans.Waid obviously put alot of thought into his vision for the Legion, and in the process has developed something that is VERY compelling.For example, Supergirl's about to show up... but to the Legion, Supergirl was a DC comics character in the 21st century.

We don't even know if this Legion is the DCU's future or OUR future... and that's going to be pretty cool to think about.And that's without Earth-Prime.

Next month we get to see Dawnstar, Blok, and Tyroc show up, which only makes the question even more intriguing.

Plus, the letter column is back.That, if nothing else, is a reason to be happy about the current book.And as far as Wizard goes, Legion went from the occasional reccomendation to one of their "must read" books every month.

Oh, and don't forget, there's one pre-reboot Legionaire out there still.Don't forget who ended up scouting ahead for the Legion when they got lost in that warp with the Teen Titans.Don't forget that somewhere in that crowd of kids at the base of Legion HQ...Shikari has to be watching.

Yeah, it's been pretty good.There's just one thing you need to know going into it, though.The Science Police are complete bastards in this thing.It's like their only job is to keep teenagers in check.You see, the world of the 31st Century is a utopia.A big, sprawling, boring, sterile, utopia.And the Legion?Well, they're a bunch of kids that got bored to death and put on costumes to emulate the superhero comics they all secretly love so that they can inspire teenagers to rebel against the status quo.

So, to say the least... this ain't your daddy's Legion.Actually, your daddy would want to put this Legion down for acting up.And that's the beauty of it all... because there are just TOO many of them to put down.

The first two trades chronicle the first year of the Legion and their first major conflict.After that, there are a couple of stories, and then the title will change over to Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes.Like I said before, I have serious doubts that it actually is THE Supergirl, but I guess we'll see.

Oh, and wait until you see Brin Londo.Man... I don't even want to try to tell you about the coolness that is that guy.

— J.D.

21 FEB 2006

I read what your did here, it was amazing. I love legion too, I miss the old Colossal Boy, Wildfire, Blok, Star boy, Matter Eater Lad, Dev Em, heck even Superboy & Supergirl ... the old charters are the best. I've read the new one, and I still don't get it, why did they change the great part of Legion ? Well .. I'm just a reader anyway, but your job here is one hell of the job .... I LOVE it ... Thanks

— okkiewi

7 MAR 2006

I have been reading the Legion since I was about 9 years old. I am now 53, so I guess that gives me the right to voice my opinion. I loved the Legion until the "Five Years Later" hogwash. The Legion has been in a tailspin every since. I truly hope DC will see what a gem they have had on their hands for over 40 years and get this mag together. I remember eagerly awaiting for each and every "Iron Mike Grell" issue. I knew each and every character as if we were all friends, but, after "Five Years Later", and the dreadful L.E.G.I.O.N. they lost me. I know DC can make this title a winner, just witness what they have done with Supergirl. They took a third-class comic and turned it into a masterpiece. 

— bookertoledo

26 APR 2006

I was a fan of the Legion (and DC comics/comic books in general), while I was growing up during the 1970's and 80's. Your site has brought back a lot of good memories and made me flip through the old collection of back issues! Cockrum, Grell, Earth War, Brainiac 5's insanity and the creation of Omega, The Reflecto/Superboy/Ultra Boy/Time Trapper saga, The Great Darkness Saga......all super cool stuff.

I have to be honest in that, I don't have plans to pick up the new series. I bought the "5 years later" story line, and carried on through a year or 2 of the "Post Zero Hour" stuff......everything from "5 Years Later" and on, totally turned me off. Legion didn't need any of that kind of stuff. The characters never really had it easy, and they didn't need to have such a dark, depressing storyline created.....so many of the Legion members origins in of themselves were tragic. I don't like the idea of "rebooting" the book every few years or changing everything you know about a character, or making everything so dark, grim and gritty (the direction that so many main stream comic series have gone over the past 15-20 years....ever since Moore's fantastic "Watchmen" and Miller's incredible "Dark Knight Returns".) What happened to heroes being heroes, and overcoming the obsticles in a heroic fashion?? Legion used to do this. Great stories, great characters and characterizations.......one of DC's best developed series....from way back. A rich history, dating back to 1958!!!!

(So many writers talk about not wanting "black and white" stories anymore, since that's "B&W" is not what life is about.....I think the opposite.....we could use more positive role models today.....things to uplift us in a positive way, not just remind us of the "grey" uncertain life we live in (I read comics partially becaue they're not supposed to be the real world.....they're fun escapist type of stuff....something which is not a bad thing either.) The best stuff that DC and other comics put out, did this.....in an entertaining, and even at times, thought provoking way.......I don't know how to explain it....there's a certain something that is missing today from comics. I know this will be laughed at or questioned, but there was a difference......even Marvel's stories never really portrayed their heroes in such a dark manner......there were consequences for bad actions, and truly heroic deeds that used to be shown....that seems to continue to disappear.)

I read that the new Legion book is supposed to be all just a dream in Supergirl's mind.....is this true?? I really don't have the heart to get back into this book, if this kind of stunt will be used, and if the classic years/continuity isn't brought back. What's the point of getting attached and into something, if every few years, a reboot is done, that either says all you knew is wrong, or that we're just starting from scratch for new fans. I don't mind moving characters forward.....Legion always did this, even in the classic years......I just don't like wiping out old continuity just because writers/editors say that new fans can't understand it (or more likely, they can't understand it, or don't want to try to do some work/research.) I didn't read Legion from day 1.......I'm not a rocket scientist, and yet I could catch on to the Legion's history, and characters ( I really feel the creative staffs are underestimating their newer readership here.) The other thing is that it was fun to read about old stories that had some bearing on the new stories I was reading.....it seemed like Legion had a real long and rich history and stood the test of time. It also made me go out and find the old back issues in question. Its even easier now, at least with the early silver age stuff, as DC has created a really nice set of hard cover reprints.....I think there are 12 or 13 volumes that cover the series from Adventure 247, 1958, up through the early 1970's/Mike Grell era.......so it isn't too hard for fans to get this stuff.

I just wish the powers that be, wouldn't keep hurting the old fans, or short changing the new fans, by always rebooting and making bad changes. Going forward is ok.....changing the past, and thereby alienating old fans, is bad.

Long Live the Legion......

—Chris

26 APR 2006

I grew up with DC Comics (especially the Legion) and was truly devoted from the mid 60's when I was given a copy of an Old Adventure Comics reprint of "the Death of Lightning Lad". I loved it - the Legion always formed the cornerstone of my collection right up until the time when I settled down "as an adult" with kids. Now, another 15 or so years later I still maintain an "outsiders" interest in the Legion and what has happened to them since the original "Crisis". I have to say I'm sorely, sorely disappointed. DC had a mythology with the Legion, a cast of hundreds that was inherently fluid but they simply chose not to use that fluidity. Moreso than any of the other super-hero comics based in real time, the Legion should have been allowed to evolve with characters aging and being replaced by new heroes. This was the cornerstone to the Legion - the fact that people were getting older and retiring - Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Star Boy etc. I think as fans we would have even accepted a maturing of the names, a staggered evolution so that some of the characters moved on from being "boys" and "girls" into grown-up characters perhaps tutoring the younger members of the team. What grated me was the way that instead DC decided to instead throw the whole thing out and start again... and again with quite unfathomable results. OK you had inconsistencies such as the whole Superboy/Supergirl/Mon-El story that needed to be resolved but did DC really handle it in the best way possible or did they simply look to throw the whole thing out rather than work things through in what could have been some great story lines. I understand the reasoning behind the Crisis and Zero Hour plots but the Legion for the most part existed outside of stand DC Continuity and could have been handled in a much better way.

Even now at 44 I'd subscribe to the old Legion tomorrow, an evolving, maturing Legion. The revamp(s) could just be consigned to the bin and DC could pick up an old edition of Legion of Super-Heroes (3rd Series) #63 and simply continue telling the tales from there....

— Best regards, Chris

30 APR 2006

I agree with your thoughts on the Legion. I saw no need for a reboot. I loved the last run and while it was doggy just before Superboy showed up, for me in went downhill, the needed a new writer. I LOVED Legion Lost and all those adventures. I wasn’t happy with the fact Zero Hour led to a reboot either.

I don’t mind the new run, I just don’t LOVE it. I’m not wowed. I’d like some Legion of Super-Villains action, a death, some drama…

— Brock

15 MAY 2006

I have been out of the comic book loop for about three years. I was at a Barnes and Nobles a couple of months ago and saw the paperback collecting the first issues of the new LSH run. I was so confused and was wondering what the heck happened to the most recent Legions series that I left off with around issue 25. That is what brought me to your web page, trying to find out how this new Waid/Kitson creation came to be. Well, for good or bad, i got caught up in the this new DC reinvention through Infinite Crisis and started going through the back issue bins to see what identity Crisis and the return of Donna Troy was all about. But I digress. The comic that always brought me back, to comic fandom, has been the legion.

27 MAY2006

When I was little my superhero exposure was the Justice League vs the Legion of Doom on TV and my mom would surpirse me now and again with a comic from the stands at the local 7 eleven. I have a few comics from the mid to late 70's that I collected that way. My very first LSH comic was Superboy and the LSH issue 252 (circa 1979?).

I had no idea what was going on but being a total Star Wars and superheore freak the LSH was a find. THere was a blue lady (Talia), a green guy (Brainy) and a bunch of chicks in Nancy Sinatra go-go boots and feathered hair (Dreamy, Saturn Girl, Projectra). In that issue matter-eater-lad was insane and Dreamy was foreseeing the death of the LSH. I didnt really start to collect the legion until i was older and started to follow Levitz and Giffen. Then the New Teen Titans took over and by the time I left for college, comics were no longer a part of my life.

Until 1990 when the LSH brought me back to comics. I missed the whole Crisis of the late 80's and decided to start anew. With the first issue of the five years later saga. And I followed LSH for the following 13 years. I went through all the craziness that ended that series, always praying to see DawnStar and Star Boy return and then zero hour hit and I lost the wind in my sails as years of continuity just vanished.

But I kept collecting and really started to feel for this team (even though I really missed projectra being human and still prayed for dawnstar to return, and was annoyed they killed Leviathon, and finally after legion lost, element lad was dead and i felt once again they are going to tear me up. But I held on and really got into the last incarnation. At least this legion fit into the bigger stories of DCU, like final night, and Star Boy's connection to Starman, and then Superboy in foundations.

ANd boom, here we go again, all of it is for nought. Another reboot. WHy is this necessary? But again, it is the LSH that brought me back to comics. Started collecting again and I think the whole Infinite Crisis is interesting in the fact that they are acknowleding the past continuity before the crisis.

So we got Jason Todd and Kara of Krypton back and Power Girl has her earth -2 origin back; but where is my legion of old? And whenthe hell are they going to bring back Dawnstar. Issue 15 was a tease.

I am going to keep collecting. I have no idea how this legion fits into continuity. I don't know if they will ever stop messing.

TIme will tell.

— Miguel

11 JULY 2006

I found your site whilst doing a Google search for the LSH (seeing as most of the sites I bookmarked years ago seem no longer to exist).

Thanks for putting together a well laid-out informative site, that has re-kindling an interest in the LSH in me.

I'm a long-time LSH fan from the Forte/Swan/Shooter days (thanks to a kind uncle who donated his classic Adventure issues). I stopped reading comics in the mid 70s, but rediscovered them again in the early 80s (Levitz/Giffen — I found issue 300 by chance at a newsagent, and that started the whole comics thing off again). The 80s were the finest age for comics (the best DC output ever, John Bryne's work at Marvel, graphic novels, Alan Moore, 2000AD, Warrior, independents - ahhh. . .), but with the 90s things started to turn sour.

In England (or at least, round where I live), DC comics hadn't been available at newsagents for years (no idea why — don't they want to sell the things?), so the only way I could buy comics was to go to specialist stores. My nearest shop (Nostalgia and Comics, Birmingham) must have decided some years ago that there was more money to be made selling toys and film memorabilia, as the shelves of comics dwindled to nothing. With that source run dry as well, mail-order kept me going for a couple of years, but it seemed that every title I liked got cancelled in short order. Without being able to browse in a real shop, I soon ran out of titles that interested me.

Maybe the supply has improved again lately, but add into the mix a girlfriend who is very hostile about comics, and I've been well out of it all for some 7 or 8 years. Sad, eh?

This week, for some reason I decided to check some of my old bookmarked web links on the LSH (from the late 90s). What a mess - lots of the sites have just gone, or seem to be having problems.

Another site I found (http://lsh.freeservers.com) gave info on many new DC projects that include the legion, but little useful info on what has been going on since I last checked in on the LSH (Legion Lost).

Then I found your site: at last, a site that assumes no prior knowledge of current continuity, and covers post-reboot material. Heaven!

I've just read your editorial — on yet another reboot. Blimey! I'm shocked that DC have done it again. Like with Dr. Who at the BBC, I'm sure that there's someone high-up at DC who really hates the legion. They seem to be doing everything possible to kill the team off

I disliked most of the "5 years after" stuff up to Zero Hour — mostly poor artwork, too much carnage and wanton destruction of beloved characters (e.g. Shvaughn!) , and not enough of the UTOPIAN vision of the future that is key to the the LSH's popularity.

To be fair, most of the early post-reboot issues were optimistic and fun (especially once Alan Davis started doing the covers!), so I thought I could comfortably look forward to another 40 years of LSH. However it was soon clear that the creators were trying to crush the equivalent of the whole pre-reboot history into just a few issues (presumably before a short-attention-span young readership drifted off?). Too much, too young!

The killer blow was when Dan Abnett & co. came along with their depressing X-men-like dark storyline (and X-men-like appallingly scratchy art). That was when I gave up.

I haven't had time to check out much of your site yet, but I will do. Hopefully, this will help me work out exactly what's going on in the LSH these days — it all seems very confusing!

I might even start collecting the new comics (once I can find someone who sells the things. . .

—John P

8 AUG 2006

Thank you for your great site...what a labour of love.

I've been reading the legion since '63 and have suffered through the changes that DC has forced upon this group of characters ever since.The list of transgressions against what could and should be as dominant a title as the X-Men is endless, beginning with the death of the original Invisible Kid,the "wilderness years" of the Glorith reality, Mike Grell's costumes, and the constant reboots, and who knows where the changes will end?For me, the legion will always be the "Adventure" era legion through to the end of the original continuity but, having said that, the Abnett/Lanning run was probably the most entertaining version of the legion in years.To me, they took what were the best elements of the post-crisis legion and were definitely headed in the right direction...Legion Lost and the first few issues of Legion were well written and illustrated and were taking the characters in interesting directions.One of my big problems with the last series was the fact that so many questions were left unanswered and that DC didn't respect the fan base enough to fully wrap up that continuity.

As for the current series, the premise seems a little week, the first story arc took forever to wrap up, and...I'm actually starting to enjoy it.As much as I miss the original 30th Century I like some of the character development in the new series, it's great to have Element Lad, Colossal Boy, and Sun Boy back in the fold, Supergirl's appearance is a great twist, and this may be the best Brainiac 5 ever.I'm anxiously waiting to see if Mon-El reappears.

So I guess for fans it's really a case of the "The Legion is dead, long live the Legion!"

—Best regards, Robin

24 AUG 2006

I just recently came upon your website and your Legion page.I really like your site – thanks for all the work that went into it.

I wanted to drop you a note to let you know that I agree with you in a lot of ways.

My many years of being a comic book fan and Legion fan started when bought a copy ofAdventure #359 (‘The Outlawed Legionnaires’). I still consider this to be one of the greatest adventures ever and have been hooked on the Legion for the last 40 years!I could relate to a lot of what you said on your page.I remember being disappointed when DC cut the feature to a back-up in Action (right at the height of their popularity).I remembering suffering through the Staton (and other artist) years, could wait to those Perez covers, the Great Darkness Saga, the Sprouse issues, etc.I didn’t like the ‘five years later’ era, but I still knew who the characters were.

For whatever reason, DC has never seemed to appreciate this book as it has Batman, Superman, the JLA, etc.I don’t really understand the decision to change the whole concept of the Legion.I was really excited when Waid and Kitson were announced to takeover. This was DC’s chance to bring newer fans into the world of the Legion (and even sell more Archives and legion figures).Why they didn’t do a ‘Grant Morrison’ style of re-start (a back to basics, but with a modern feel) is beyond me.The concept of heroism and joining together is universal and optimistic.Instead, Mark Waid has given us ‘Empire of Earth-LSH.’

I still continue to read the title (still with hope for some of the old feeling).I actually thought that the villain ‘Lemnos’ or whoever was a good concept.I like Kitson’s art, but it is hard to like any of the characters.It just isn’t the LoSH.

Thanks again for your site and for all the great memories – really am enjoying it.

—Bill H

6 SEPT 2006

It's great to finally have others agree with me about this new Legion of Super Heroes. I have refused to buy one copy. What DnA and Coipel started with Legion of the Damned had limitless possibilities. I'm a relatively new Legion reader, but from events in Legion of the Damned to Legion Lost to Legion Worlds and back to the The Legion, I was hooked. The team had come across as amazingly real characters, each with their own ideas, viewpoints, and personalities. Nothing can ever replace what DnA did for the Legion.

—mwf

2 NOV 2006

Regarding the newest Legion of Super-Heroes title, I picked up a couple of graphic novels consisting of #1-13. The first comic related items I've bought in over ten years.I will say that it's well written, a good sci-fi/superhero comic.However, it is not the Legion I grew up loving. The names are the same, the powers are the same (in general) but the characters are different, and this is a much darker view of the future.I enjoyed it, but you do have to treat it as a new comic, with no particular relationship to the old Legion.The kids vs. adults angle was innovative, I thought, though it was a bit overdone.I think they could have created this story with entirely new characters, and called it something other than The Legion of Super-Heroes.Then it would be more palatable. There certainly is room for two different futuristic superhero comics out there.If DC wanted this storyline, they could have filled it with another comic, and brought back the Legion that we all love.

I always thought of the Legion (and DC in general) as filling a certain niche in comics where, in general, heroes were heroes, and the comics were an idealistic escape from reality.DC seems to have blown that idea to hell.

I agree with you completely with the rebooting.I’m sick and tired of all the reboots.It is annoying, and it's confusing for anyone trying to get into comics. I certainly hope they don't do a reboot every five years, as seems to be the pattern.I have to believe that people collect comics in spite of these reboots, not because of them. I also think it's insulting to the long time readers to say that all the stories you've read over the years didn't really happen. A bit like the "it was all a dream" nonsense you'd expect on a soap opera.I think it shows a lack of creativity on the part of the writers. "We want to change things because they're getting a bit stale. Rather than develop the characters, have them grow up and others take their places, let's blow everything away and reboot!"

At any rate, I’ve been inspired to look through all my old back issues, and since I stopped collecting around 1990, I’ll have to read your site (and re-read!) in order to get filled in on the Glorith reality and the Zero Hour reboot!

— Dave B.

 

24 JAN 2007

I just wanted to say that I agree with you 100%. I am a long time fan, and I actually liked the new series every time they changed things.

I really wanted to like this new Legion. I REALLY wanted to. I was there from the first "new" issue. I bought the book even when they added Supergirl. What I discovered is that I was buying the book just because I WANTED it to be good. Like, any minute, I would pick up a new issue, and it would just blow my mind.

This never happened. I would read the book last. Everytime. I got to the point where I even waited until I had time to kill, and nothing else more important to do. That's when I decided to drop the book. When you don't look forward to reading a book, it's time to stop buying it. It's that simple.

I was really sad. I so wanted the Legion to live up to all the hype. I so wanted to care about the book. I tried to make excuses such as, "Well, it's only issue number 4. "By the time I got into the double digit issues, I began to worry. After Supergirl came into the picture, I just didn't care.

So, why should you be reading my email? Here is why I think the book is going to fail. I don't care about any of the characters. They are not HEROES! Even Wolverine, a flawed and ugly "hero", has more characteristics and qualities that make me WANT to CARE about him. Now, I have not been a Wolverine "fan" since I was a teenager, but I can still see some value in the character.

I don't see ANY value in ANY of the characters in the new Legion. They all seem like brats, smartmouths, and spoiled little thugs to me. Now, I also understand that they are TEENAGERS, so that type of attitude should be expected. But, I was never like THAT as a teen. I thought that I knew everything. I thought that I was invulnerable. I thought that I would live forever. I NEVER provoked an innocent man to call the cops just because I was with a GANG of other SUPERPOWERED teens. That actually happened in an issue. The "Legion" picked a fight with a man, and then turned their noses up at the Science Police, just because they COULD. How, in any way, shape, of form, is that heroic? It's not.

So, in order to "capture" that same devotion and love that we have all had for the Legion, I think there is only one thing to do. Write stories about HEROES. I know that our "modern" youth are full of spite. I know that youth of the "past" were full of spite. I know that every teen thinks that the world is against them. However, it's when the teens rise above that "teen" attitude, either because of high ideals or simple kicks, that we begin to enjoy their stories.

I agree with you on the new book. The characterization was "there", even if it was a little flat. The art was "nice", but not the best it could be. The pace of the stories was slow, and tended to bore me before I even realized it. That's because I SO WANTED the book to be good. It just isn't.

So, until the Legion is a book about how teens rise above there personal problems, attitudes, and flaws in order to do something really special, I will avoid the book. I will simply check in on the book from time to time, just to make sure nothing has happened that I would like to read.

Unfortunately, I don't see this happening until the sales drop AGAIN, and a new REBOOT is forced upon us. Again. I hope my comments helped. They were actually given in a serious manner, from a serious fan.

—Take care, D