DC Universe: Legacies (2010) #10

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The story ends before Infinite Crisis, with an OMAC showing up and attacking the narrator. The narrator’s nurse at the assisted living place ends the issue suggesting he’s full of crap, which ends Legacies on a decidedly negative note. Not because the reader would believe he’s a loon, but because it’s such a mundane thing, being elderly and dismissed. It’s a defeat. What’s the point of getting all excited about the superheroes if the elderly are being dismissed in the DC Universe? What, is Superman going to deal with nuclear proliferation next?

Saiz only handles a handful of pages then Derenick takes over. It must be at that point DC finally stopped pretending they cared about Legacies being a professional job. Derenick’s expressions get hilarious at times.

The backup is an Infinite Crisis prologue with Blue Beetle. Nice Frank art, I guess, but totally useless.

Kind of like the series.

DC Universe: Legacies (2010) #9

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Do the editors do anything here? They’ve got a Black Firestorm during the Day of Judgment scenes… about six years too early.

Wein also covers Final Night; the two are connected, but he doesn’t do a very good job of making them flow together. This issue features some of his worst writing in a while. The dialogue just gets terrible and the events he’s showing… he’s just summarizing crossovers. At least the first few issues, they were aping Marvels. Now they’re just wasting paper and ink.

The Jesus Saiz art, tragically, is weak. I like Saiz and I’m not sure if it’s Story’s inks or if he’s just started working less lately… but some of his faces are really lazy.

The Captain Marvel backup—with Sienkiewicz art—is beautiful. It’s also the most convoluted thing I can remember reading. The narration boxes don’t follow any logic, making it a chore.

DC Universe: Legacies (2010) #8

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So, if Wein knew he had to cover the whole Green Lantern goes nuts thing, why is an earthling the best narrator for the series? In fact, the earthbound narrator is now the worst possible choice in a variety of ways.

It isn’t enough he wouldn’t know about the Oa stuff or Parallax (oh, Ron Marx created Parallax… things make so much more sense now), the narrator’s also blond. So the colorist is adding these hints of grey at his temples to show his aging. Because, given the series should now be taking place only a few years ago in DC Universe time… the narrator would be in his mid-seventies. His daughter’s age is even more inexplicable.

The issue also shows stupid nineties costume design should be forgotten, not repeated.

The backup—it’s the New Gods finally—is terribly written and makes no sense. Quitely’s efforts appear disinterested too.

DC Universe: Legacies (2010) #7

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It’s difficult to describe what Jerry Ordway inking Dan Jurgens looks like—Ordway definitely brings his sensibilities to it, but there’s the Jurgens underneath. Unfortunately, neither artist is in his best time, so the result is somewhat less than either on their own (in their prime). It’s like plastic-coated Jurgens and the last thing he needs is plastic-coating.

Wein skips over Millennium and some other crossovers and goes straight to Bane and Doomsday. Now, I never read the Batman storyline, but it seems goofy here. Especially with Bane running away in a mall. Not the most dynamic setting for a fight.

As for the Doomsday stuff… I haven’t read that issue since it came out, it seems like a reprinting. Boring. Lame melodramatics with the narrator too.

The backup, however, with Bolland art, is utterly charming. The Atom goes back to Camelot for a couple minutes. It’s wonderful.

DC Universe: Legacies (2010) #6

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Perez inking Ordway produces a good result and, even though Wein’s writing has weakened again, the issue is moderately successful. Wein’s basically recapping post-Crisis big events here—mostly Legends and the reforming of the Justice League. As far as a summary, it works pretty well—though I think they’re leaving out Millennium or whatever.

But the narrator again takes center and his story gets even lamer. First, his reformed crook brother-in-law is crippled, making the pair very annoying as they form this homoerotic codependency. Second, the timeline is all messed up again. The character looks like he’s in his mid-thirties, but if he was born in the 1920s… he should be in his sixties.

The backup, with Giffen and Milgrom on the art, is a Legion thing. The writing’s lame and Giffen draws teenage Superboy like he’s fifty. Maybe Giffen should be drawing the series protagonist.

DC Universe: Legacies (2010) #5

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This one’s Crisis issue and easily the best writing Wein has done on the series. It’s hard to decide why it’s his best though. My first thought was because this period—late seventies to mid-eighties—is when Wein was writing comics and he’s able to work well in that period. My next thought had to do with his stupid narrator and his convict brother-in-law. This time, Wein gets it taken care of in the first few pages, so there’s no waiting for it to rear its ugly head.

But maybe it’s even more simple—the majority of the issue is a “new” Crisis sequence. Lots of disaster, lots of superheroes, George Perez drawing. It just works.

The backup, with Simonson art, is some nonsensical space hero team-up thing, but Simonson, even as disinterested as he appears, does a fine job.

Easily the best issue so far.

DC Universe: Legacies (2010) #4

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I’m now incredibly confused. The backup, illustrated by Kubert, all about the DC WWII heroes reuniting on the Bicentennial is this lovely little piece. I mean, Wein’s dialogue is still really weak and I’m sad Alfred didn’t get jiggy with Mlle. Marie in current continuity like he did before… but it’s lovely. It’s the closest Legacies has gotten to being what it ought to be….

And the preceding feature is the same crap as usual. What Gibbons do to Garcia-Lopez’s pencils to make Superman look bad? Garcia-Lopez has only drawn Superman in hundreds of comic books and Gibbons just… yuck.

There are timeline problems again (it seems to take place in the late sixties to mid-seventies, which isn’t right), bad narration, bad dialogue and the stupid criminal brother-in-law showing up.

The only good moment’s when Black Canary I gets flirty with Superman.

Otherwise, it’s lame.

DC Universe: Legacies (2010) #3

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Does anyone proofread these? I mean, does Mike Carlin do anything as an editor or just sit around in an office? This issue of Legacies sets the start of the modern superhero—regardless if they want to call it the Silver Age, it’s Superman and Batman—in the mid-sixties or, at latest, late-sixties. It also totally ignores racism in the United States. Apparently Wein and DC think their readers are so out of it, this time lapse isn’t going to be noticeable.

Now, if the series were out of continuity, it would be one thing (of course, didn’t John Byrne already do something called Generations along those lines), but it appears to be a retelling of the DC Universe. Only a really poorly thought-out one.

Garcia-Lopez is good, but I was expecting more. Gibbons’s inks on him just didn’t work.

Same lame Wein dialogue as usual.

DC Universe: Legacies (2010) #2

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I didn’t mention this part of the last issue because I was hoping Wein wasn’t going to use it as a plot device, because it’d be stupid. Silly me, apparently he’s going to use it. The narrator has a friend who goes bad. It appears he’s going to show up every issue as a thug, to show how regular people can either be good or bad. It’s awful. Worse, the narrator marries his sister.

Again, it’s Marvels-lite.

Also again… great artwork from the Kuberts. There’s a lot more superhero action this issue and they handle it all very well. In fact, this issue works better, because they’re more suited to Hawkman and Green Lantern than the pulpy heroes last issue.

The Newsboy Legion cameo’s great here, maybe Wein’s best writing on the series so far. The narration’s still bad though.

The Williams illustrated backup is lovely looking, but stupid.

DC Universe: Legacies (2010) #1

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Near as I can tell—down to the old man narrator—Legacies is just DC’s attempt at doing Marvels, only without such a cool name. Scott Kolins does the opening frame, the nice old man with his superhero memorabilia and so on, then they flashback to the thirties and Suicide Slum.

The draw of the issue is the art from the Kuberts. It has a great feel of the era. Len Wein’s narration is atrocious. I mean, it really is like reading Marvels-lite. Or the Marvels sequel, come to think of it. I can’t believe DC did such a weak imitation fifteen years later….

Anyway, the Kuberts beautifully handle the poverty of Suicide Slum, juxtaposing it with the early superheroes. Any art issues are because they’re illustrating a contrived script.

The backup—though Jones’s art is beautiful—is even worse. Wein seems to lose his place in the dialogue.