All-New Collectors’ Edition (1978) #C-55

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The cover promises an “epic-length novel,” which apparently works out to sixty-one pages. It’s four chapters, starting with Superboy traveling to the future for Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad’s wedding. Once there, he discovers a militaristic world where the Legion (and the U.S.) is fighting moon colonists, led by the Chinese. We find out later it’s the Chinese. Because they stole something from the Americans in the 1980s.

It’s initially not too moldy, but once the action gets to the moon and the Chinese villain is basically future Fu Manchu, it’s ick. Though the scene doesn’t last long, and the whole moon colonists versus Earth thing is a time aberration red herring.

The “bad guys” interrupt the wedding, kidnapping the couple after their vows; the plan is to ransom them for the polar ice caps to create oceans on the moon. As if there are any polar ice caps in the future.

Anyway.

Superboy wants to go to the past and fix the timeline; Wildfire intends to attack the moon and rescue the hostages. Writer Paul Levitz does each of those missions as a chapter, then brings everyone back together for the finale.

The Superboy team goes back to 1978, natch, where they’ve got to stop a mysterious businessman from destroying the United Nations. Only Superboy can’t be seen in 1978 (Superman’s there, after all), and the villain is prepared for the Legionnaires even though they ought to be a surprise. There’s not much in the way of time travel hijinks (though there’s a disappearing spaceship in a park eight years before The Voyage Home), and there’s not enough time for it to be a mystery, but it’s engaging.

The hostage rescue story is more exciting. Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl are in danger, and it turns out the Legion’s got the wrong kind of powers to rescue them. Unless they can all work together and figure out the right power formula to save the day. Err. The couple. While the chapter relies a lot on familiar characters—whereas the time travel one is about the period and villain—it’s better with the danger tension.

The finale, however, is a familiar Legion villain monologuing about his evil plan with an editor’s note every fifth panel referring to a previous Legion of Super-Heroes comic. And Levitz does even try to cook up a good solution; it’s very basic, very silly. Though Mike Grell and Vince Colletta’s art sells it.

I’ve always been bearish on Grell and Colletta’s a punchline, but their art’s good. There’s a lot of it, but Grell loves drawing capes, and lots of the heroes have capes, so it works. The flow’s good, though. It’s about the flow. And it’s consistent through the sixty-one pages. Even the opening with Superboy is good art, along with the interesting tidbit Smallville pre-Crisis was in… Massachusetts or something?

Levitz’s plotting is good. His details less so. Despite being three times the size of a regular story, there’s very little character work. Wildfire’s a dick, and Superboy’s fed up with him. The newlyweds only get to respond to their plight, nothing else.

It’s an immensely readable “epic-length” novel, but it’s not particularly substantial. Unless you’re really into the mystery villain and all the callbacks to previous Legion stories.

The last few pages are a combination Legion history and roll call, going over the various heroes, giving each a paragraph, and a nice drawing from James Sherman (inked by Jack Abel). Nothing in the backup relates to the main story’s callbacks, which is kind of amusing; the feature requires different reader foreknowledge than Levitz drops in his history lesson.

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes (1977) #236

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Who’s James Sherman, and why have I never heard of him before? He pencils two of the three stories in the issue, with Bob McLeod inking him on the first, Joe Rubinstein on the second, and he’s good. He’s a little too designed-focused, but more on the second story, and the design element comes from the narrative. But he’s good. Great expressions. Pretty good flying superhero sci-fi space action.

Though the first story doesn’t just have sci-fi action, it’s also got some sports ball.

The story begins with Superboy convincing Brainiac 5 not to pay attention to his monitor duty and play three-dimensional chess instead. As if it didn’t feel enough like “Star Trek.” Brainy was supposed to be keeping an eye on Cosmic Boy and Night Girl, who are on vacation on Cosmic Boy’s home planet.

Now, during the sports ball sequence, the girls are scantily clad for the game. The boys are in shorts and t-shirts. It seems a little weird, but then Cosmic Boy and Night Girl put on their superhero costumes, and they’re both basically wearing lingerie. It’s comically revealing for both of them, but more Cosmic Boy because he’s the story’s lead. Once the rest of the Legion shows up to help them, Night Girl gets squat. Her powers don’t help.

The one other female superhero is also in an absurdly scanty outfit (the cape doesn’t offset it). Otherwise, for a few pages, anyway, I thought Legion would try to balance its gazes.

The actual story involves some funny-looking alien terraforming the planet. The superheroes utilize their powers in precisely the right way to save the day, which makes me wonder if writers Paul Levitz and Paul Kupperberg came up with the solution or the problem first.

The second story is about an evil alien spaceship interrupting Mon-El’s vacation. Levitz writes this one solo, and, wow, is there a lot of Mon-El interior monologue. Thought balloons crowd the emptiness of space.

Michael Netzer pencils this one, with Rubinstein and Rick Bryant on inks. The art’s low okay; the sci-fi spaceship stuff is all good, but the Mon-El action is eh. Might also just be a boring story with too many thought balloons. The end’s a cop-out too, which doesn’t help.

The last story is where Sherman comes back and goes wild with the design stuff. Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl want to get married, but it means leaving the Legion (unlike failing to explain Cosmic Boy’s bustier-based costume or Night Girl’s thong, writer Levitz does cover the marriage rules for new readers). So they go to mind-reading VR place to test whether or not they should get hitched or stay on the super-team.

Sherman goes all out with the transitions as the VR throws the heroes into unexpected sci-fi fisticuffs. He’s got detail and consistency—though McLeod’s a better inker for him than Rubinstein—but the repetitive visuals get tedious fast.

There aren’t any standouts as far as the stories go; the first one “wins,” but only because the third one’s draggier than the second one, which is already tedious. Nice art, though. And the character work is solid. They’re just doing boring things.

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes (1977) #235

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This issue’s got two stories, benefits of being a fifty-two-page giant on the regular. The first story’s by Paul Levitz, Mike Grell, and Vince Colletta. Colletta also inks the second story, but the rest of the team’s different; second story is Gerry Conway and George Tuska.

The comic itself is basically burying the lede—Conway’s second story follows up on last issue’s cliffhanger and buries that lede in a literal sense. The first one’s lede-burying is more abstract. The Legion is fighting pirates who want good modern technology for their backward planet, and Brainiac 5 wants to make sure no one listens to the terrorists’ point of view.

What is it, 1776 or something?

It’s also interesting because Levitz writes Brainiac 5 as an egomaniac, but Conway doesn’t.

And it reveals how much trouble it’s going to be keeping up with the cast; I seriously thought the guy arguing with Brainy was named Garth, but it’s Cosmic Boy, whose name is Rokk. He just looks like Aqualad, whose name is Garth.

The techno-pirates aren’t even the main plot, which involves Superboy’s annual brainwashing. The first attack interrupts the brainwashing, something the entire Legion knows about, at least the whole line-up for this issue. Unfortunately, there’s no exposition explaining if this secret requiring brainwashing is new or old; meaning, should a regular reader know they’ve got to brainwash this secret from Superboy’s mind, or is it something Levitz is introducing for the first time here, twenty-ish years into the publishing history.

It wouldn’t be necessary if the secret weren’t so blasé. The idea is Superboy would blab if he knew the truth. Superboy, who keeps his identity secret, and so on. It’s a weak finish to an engaging story. Levitz and Grell handle the talky action well; there’s lots of well-balanced banter and exposition. Grell’s future art is good, but his figures are elongated. Superboy, in particular, often looks like his chest has been stretched.

And, now, the second story, which opens with a note explaining it’s continuing from last issue. Last issue had four Legionnaires turning into a giant monster who attacked Earth. This story’s got nothing to do with that event. It takes half the story to even tie into the previous issue; it feels like you’re reading out of order.

This story’s about some angry dude claiming the Legion let his kid die because they wouldn’t let the dude capture a space monster with magical healing radiation. It’s set at a trial with testimony from the various participants, with a device able to determine if they’re telling the truth. The truth as they know it.

Conway touches on the differences in how prejudice and bias affect one’s experiences, but only very briefly and in the coda. It’s actually a thoughtful, empathetic observation from Brainiac 5, who’s not an asshole this story. It’s nice Conway gets the moment in, especially since the rest of the story has to wind itself silly to gin up some drama. Conway hides way too many details from the reader to create drama, not just how it all relates to the previous issue.

And unfortunately, does zip with the themes Conway explored in the previous issue.

But it’s fine.

Once again, Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes is fine.

Huntress 6 (May 2012)

Dell might be back, but there’s a certain laziness to the art this issue. To doesn’t care about perspective during a chase scene–or body proportions–and apparently Dell doesn’t care enough to fix them. But the art is generally better, if not at the series’s peak.

Unfortunately, Levitz’s writing doesn’t improve any this issue. Once again, Huntress can defeat all, but there’s one development. Huntress infers she works with the NSA and the way she trades barbs with the bad guy–she did kill the bad guy last issue, which makes no sense since she was non-lethal with all the flunkies–Levitz seems to be doing a masked, female James Bond.

Then there’s the ending. Another unexciting chase sequence ends with Power Girl, in her civilian outfit, popping in to give Helena a lift.

I think Levitz expects readers to be excited. I can’t believe they’re even conscious.

Huntress 5 (April 2012)

If this issue of Huntress is any indication, John Dell has behind most of the good art. Without him, Marcus To’s pencils–inked here by Richard Zajac–look cartoonish. It’s visually uninteresting. All the detail is gone. Given how little Levitz’s writing brings, it’s not like the series has anything to spare.

Levitz doesn’t have any Catwoman references here, but there is some overdone, obtuse backstory references. First, Huntress thinks about “daddy,” the lower case being a letterer error, but there’s no hint it’s Batman. Then there’s a bit about how she can never be herself or something along those lines.

Big yawn.

The issue’s a big yawn too. She kicks all the terrible Muslim mens’ asses and might even kill one of them. But probably not. It’s a weak cliffhanger, but it’s the closest thing to a competent one from Levitz so far. At the last possible opportunity too.

Huntress 4 (March 2012)

So Levitz ended the previous issue with an ominous cliffhanger, then this issue just has Helena kicking ass. She doesn’t even face a tough adversary. She just kicks butt over and butt.

It’s almost like Levitz thinks he can get away with dumb female characterization for Helena by making her unstoppable.

There’s another cat reference this issue too, but no bat ones. It would work more amusingly if Helena’s parentage was established. As hints or cute details, it fails.

About the only other thing I remember about the issue is a very seventies or eighties homage page from To with Huntress silhouetted above Helena. The page has a nice, retro touch, something the book doesn’t usually have. Levitz’s attempts at being tough and realistic all fail, given the lovely Italian settings. Huntress is as grim and gritty as Mamma Mia!.

Luckily, the series–and my reading ordeal–is almost over.

Huntress 3 (February 2012)

Helena likes cats. Get it? Because she might be Catwoman’s daughter. Got to keep the reader guessing, because it adds texture to such a thoughtful series. Levitz also introduces the bad guys–evil Muslim oil barons who sell dissidents daughters into slavery.

I was a little surprised there aren’t any good Muslims to offset the bad guys, but then I remembered the New 52 isn’t about rounded writing, it’s about being cheap.

Other developments this issue? Helena, in her first person narration, thinks of herself as “mama,” as in, “come to mama.” I wonder if Levitz even wrote Huntress. There’s enough stupidity in the narration–not downright badness, but just dumb choices–to suggest some intern wrote it and Levitz put his name on it.

I’m finally a little more onboard with To, however. He’s on the third issue and he and Dell aren’t declining.

Too bad the writing’s plummeting.

Huntress 2 (January 2012)

So the comic is about Helena–still no last name, still no personality, I’ll bet Huntress was definitely either a pre-New 52 book or before they decided to do Earth 2–breaking up a human trafficking ring.

And the cover tagline instructs the reader to objectify Huntress.

DC is such a classy joint.

The issue is more of the same. Helena in Italy fighting mobsters. If it’s possible, Levitz actually writes her with less personality than in the first issue. If it were any other writer, one might assume he or she was doing it for the paycheck. Levitz isn’t even introduced in providing informative informational about human trafficking. I guess his Helena narration isn’t terrible….

It’s just lame.

To and Dell’s art continues to be okay, but indistinct. There’s nothing gripping about anything in Huntress, not the art, not the writing.

Levitz doesn’t even bother with a cliffhanger.

Huntress 1 (December 2011)

I’m utterly confused. Is this Earth 2? Is the Huntress Batman and Catwoman’s daughter again? If so, why’s she going after the mob in Italy? The mob vigilante Huntress was a post-Crisis thing, right?

Like most of Paul Levitz’s modern work, he never establishes why anyone should be reading Huntress. Levitz wrote some great pre-Crisis Huntress thirty years ago, but there’s no hook in this first issue. There’s also no brain fodder to keep up interest.

Instead Levitz establishes a modern, realistic setting (Arab Spring mentions) and a bunch of sexist guys. Maybe because Helena doesn’t have a last name yet, it’s hard to get much personality out of her, but come on….

This issue feels like it was written before the New 52 and slightly rejiggered. Marcus To and John Dell’s art isn’t bad; it’s slick and without personality, but not bad.

It’s boring, like the writing.

Legion of Super-Heroes 3 (January 2012)

This issue resolves way too cute. Levitz sets up a complicated, timed ending and then doesn’t deliver. The issue doesn’t even have a cliffhanger… it just has a happy, wink wink ending about Brainiac having to give Mon-El a compliment.

It’s too passive; it’s almost like a Saturday morning cartoon.

Otherwise, the issue is often a decent action issue. While some Legionnaires head to investigate the bad guy (who’s barely in the issue, since the aliens from Invasion! are here too), the others are fighting spaceships.

As usual, there are action problems from Portela. He never manages to convey the size of the battle and is much better suited for the Legionnaires investigation scenes. The close-ups are also odd this issue, with Portela’s faces looking far too amateurish and manga influenced for a mainstream sci-fi book.

It’s okay, but Levitz is definitely making some awkwardly bad choices.

CREDITS

Shadow War; writer, Paul Levitz; artist, Francis Portela; colorist, Javier Mena; letterer, Pat Brosseau; editor, Chris Conroy; publisher, DC Comics.