Getting started with the Legion of Superheroes

[Gef]

I hope some fans can give me some advice!

The Legion of Superheroes is probably the one DC title/team I've never read. It looks cool, and I know it has a lot of very hardcore fans (and has had books written about it!), and I want to get into it.

However, I've always found it confusing due to the number of characters and the variously changing history and continuity.

So, where should I begin? I have actually collected pretty much everything from Zero Hour onwards, plus I have a few vintage issues and a couple of collected graphic novels going back to the start in the late 50s. I'm happy to dive in wherever, and I'm happy to do a fair bit of reading to get all caught up.

I haven't read any, I haven't read Zero Hour, and I've actually never got around to reading Crisis on Infinite Earths, if that makes any difference (I also have this collected).

Any suggestions?

[ryerye17]

Hmmm....The superhero team with one of the most number of major reboots.

Personally, my favorite one was the Zero Hour reboot although the threeboot legion was good too.

You can jump into any era and get the story. The most recent appearance was Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds which was where the three incarnations (original, Zero Hour reboot, Threeboot) actually met and all. YOU MIGHT need some backstory on each team but it's not really necessary.

[ryerye17]

(dblpst)

Anyway, check out the LOSH FAQ forum here on CBR.

http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=40852

[Gef]

Thanks for the FAQ link!

Now I think about it, I did read three issues of Legion of Three Worlds, but I really had no idea what was going on so lost interest.

A friend has recommended I start with Legion Lost, then just keep going from there.

[Matthew E]

Well, Legion Lost is the good stuff, all right. But if you're going to do it that way, you should start with the last... seven, altogether... issues of LSH v4 (#122-125) and Legionnaires (#79-81), comprising the "Legion of the Damned" and "Widening Rifts" stories. They lead into Legion Lost. Then after that you've got Legion Worlds and the regular series The Legion. Some great comics.

If you want to go a bit further back in time and check out some original Legion stories, you couldn't do better than to pick up LSH Annual #1, from about 1982. It's right at the start of the Levitz/Giffen era and it's a) an awesome story and b) an excellent introduction to the characters.

[The Chief5425]

For pre-Zero Hour history (my personal favorite Legion), you can do no better than "The Great Darkness Saga" (a Darkseid-vs.-the-Universe story that is actually comprehensible and entertaining...Grant Morrison, please take notes) and the LSH/LSV War, both available in TPB form. And Matthew is right about that Legion Annual, it's a nice coda to the Great Darkness storyline. I hope when Levitz takes over on Adventure (which still has me grinning from ear to ear) he'll pick up on the dark secret of Validus again.

http://www.amazon.com/Legion-Super-Heroes-Great-Darkness-Saga/dp/0930289439/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252591986&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Legion-Super-Heroes-Eye-Paul-Levitz/dp/1401215696/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252591986&sr=1-4

I also think the "Five Year Later" era is terrific but it's not in TPB that I know of.

If you REALLY want to do your homework there are three Showcase Presents collections of Legion stories from the very beginning in Adventure Comics. Those Otto Binder (and later Jim Shooter) stories are definitely a product of their time and if you didn't fall in love with the Legion as a kid you may not have the patience for them now. Still, it's an option for you.

[Thok]

For the current Legion, I'd start with Johns' arc in Action Comics (and skip the Lightning Saga and anything that has to do with Countdown.)

[Matthew E]

Matthew is right about that Legion Annual, it's a nice coda to the Great Darkness storyline. I hope when Levitz takes over on Adventure (which still has me grinning from ear to ear) he'll pick up on the dark secret of Validus again.

I think you're thinking of a different Annual. The one I'm thinking of is before Great Darkness (and actually leads into it a little bit); it's the one with Computo and Danielle Foccart.

[The Chief5425]

I think you're thinking of a different Annual. The one I'm thinking of is before Great Darkness (and actually leads into it a little bit); it's the one with Computo and Danielle Foccart.

D'oh! You're right, my bad. But that one's a good one too.

[IronMagnus]

(dblpst)

Anyway, check out the LOSH FAQ forum here on CBR.

http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=40852

Yes, thanks for that.

[Gitaroo_Dude]

I picked up the recent Superman and the Legion of Superheroes by Johns to get a feeling for the team since they're the backup in Adventure Comics, and I thought it was a really solid introduction to the group and a good story to boot.

Seems like the Great Darkness Saga is $100 for a new copy, but Eye for an Eye is priced just right so I think I'll pick that up.

[Mon-el]

Seems like the Great Darkness Saga is $100 for a new copy.

Really?

I have seen a copy of the trade at a local comic shop for cover price.

[Zero Hunter]

I picked up the recent Superman and the Legion of Superheroes by Johns to get a feeling for the team since they're the backup in Adventure Comics, and I thought it was a really solid introduction to the group and a good story to boot.
.

I agree with this. Pick up the "Superman and the Legion of Super Heroes" (Action Comics 858-863 with an epilouge in 864) which leads into Legion of 3 Worlds. Then pick up the first 2 issues of the new Adventure Comics.

[RyleKayner]

Great Darkness Saga is cack. It only seems awesome if you're a long-time Legion fan.

I'd never read Legion before and I really got into Mark Waid/Barry Kitson's Legion. It's called the 3boot legion and there are 3 trades of the run which should be cheap as chips. It's a great introduction for a newbie.

John's Superman and the Legion is also very good, but I believe that you need a lot of Legion nostalgia to fully enjoy it. Legion of 3 Worlds is (in my opinion) total cack. The old school Legion-fans love it because it brought their Legion back and Johns groupies love it because it's Geoff Johns, but from an objective point of view, it's just not all that.

[Zero Hunter]

I'd never read Legion before and I really got into Mark Waid/Barry Kitson's Legion. It's called the 3boot legion and there are 3 trades of the run which should be cheap as chips. It's a great introduction for a newbie.

.

I diagree since this version is probably not going to be seen again anytime soon and the characters were alot different than their other versions. Not a great intro for newbies if they read this and then go to the new stuff in Adeventure Comics and have to wonder why its totaly different. from what they just read. The 3boot is the weakest of all the the versions.

[Vic Vega]

I'm butchering the titles of the trades here but there they are great for jumping on.

Legion:1000 years into the future- just a great collection of favorite stores.

The Lightning Saga-Introduction to the current version

Superman and The Legion Of Super Heroes and Legion Of Three Worlds-These will pretty much lead you into the current Adventure stories.

[Alex L]

I diagree since this version is probably not going to be seen again anytime soon and the characters were alot different than their other versions. Not a great intro for newbies if they read this and then go to the new stuff in Adeventure Comics and have to wonder why its totaly different. from what they just read. The 3boot is the weakest of all the the versions.

The threeboot is my personal fave -- but yeah, that version is more or less gone as far as the DCU is concerned.

[Gef]

Okay, I already have Legion:1000 years into the future, so I'll start with that as a general 'feeler' for the series.

I've got all of the Threeboot continuity according to Wikipedia's list, and all of the Lightning Saga-onwards stuff.

I guess given the Lightning Saga era is the current continuity, that's what I need to read first, then Action Comics 858–864, then Legion of 3 Worlds, then I can pick up with Adventure Comics as the current title.

The earlier stuff (Threeboot, Legion Lost, etc) I can just read as a separate series as that continuity has ended. And the Legion: 1000 Years will just be a nice collection of classics.

Sound okay?

[Matthew E]

It'll work.

Although the "1000 Years" collection is a little more than a collection of classics; there's a kind of a thematic unity to it.

[SJNeal]

I too have been looking into the Legion. My first taste was with Waid/Kitson's series, which I did like but had to drop before OYL due to financial constraints. Now I'm looking at the 1989 Giffen series because my LCS has a bunch of multi-packs for cheap (#1-12, 13-24, etc). Is this series even any good? Is this the same run that went into and beyond Zero Hour? Or was there yet another cancellation/relaunch somewhere in there? Is it a relatively clean start, or should I be familiar with the previous 1984 Levitz series (Eye for an Eye tpb, right?)?

Not to hijack the OP's thread, but I figured this was better than starting a new one. Any advice is appreciated! :smile:

[Matthew E]

I too have been looking into the Legion. My first taste was with Waid/Kitson's series, which I did like but had to drop before OYL due to financial constraints. Now I'm looking at the 1989 Giffen series because my LCS has a bunch of multi-packs for cheap (#1-12, 13-24, etc). Is this series even any good?

It's awesome.

You probably don't want to stick with it too long after issue #38, though; it started going downhill and eventually ran into the Zero Hour reboot (around issue #61), which was a painful episode for all concerned. (And you're correct: the series numbering continued after that, with an entirely new version of the Legion.)

(Just so you know what to expect, issues #4-6 are a kind of mini-reboot of their own, as DC forced Giffen and the Bierbaums to cut every last trace of Superboy out of Legion history. Regrettable, but they did it in a very neat way.)

It is a relatively clean break from the Levitz series, but Giffen and the Bierbaums don't show their work for a lot of what they're up to, so it can be hard to follow sometimes, and the more familiar you are with previous Legion continuity the more of a fighting chance you have.

Overall I'd characterize this run as "powerful but erratic". The art suffered from changing personnel. The stories ranged from "magnificent" to "compelling but unwelcome" to "what was that all about". It's the most controversial era in Legion history; lots of Legion fans hate it bitterly. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

[SJNeal]

It's awesome.

You probably don't want to stick with it too long after issue #38, though; it started going downhill and eventually ran into the Zero Hour reboot (around issue #61), which was a painful episode for all concerned. (And you're correct: the series numbering continued after that, with an entirely new version of the Legion.)

I remember picking up the 0 issue back in '94. I picked up all the 0 issues looking for new titles to try. Something about it didn't sit well with me because I didn't continue with it, but I'm ready to try again!

(Just so you know what to expect, issues #4-6 are a kind of mini-reboot of their own, as DC forced Giffen and the Bierbaums to cut every last trace of Superboy out of Legion history. Regrettable, but they did it in a very neat way.)

I've never been a fan of Superboy until recently anyway, so this probably won't phase me.

It is a relatively clean break from the Levitz series, but Giffen and the Bierbaums don't show their work for a lot of what they're up to, so it can be hard to follow sometimes, and the more familiar you are with previous Legion continuity the more of a fighting chance you have.


It's statements like these that have kept me at bay from this title for so many years! :eek: :wink:


Overall I'd characterize this run as "powerful but erratic". The art suffered from changing personnel. The stories ranged from "magnificent" to "compelling but unwelcome" to "what was that all about". It's the most controversial era in Legion history; lots of Legion fans hate it bitterly. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Thank you so much for your reply, this helps a lot!!! I think I'll give it a shot; at least the first 12 or so issues.

P.S. What's the deal with Legionnaires? I know it ran concurrently for a long time, but is it a completely different premise, or was it just a case of too large a cast so they split them into 2 books (a la Blue & Gold X-Men)???

[Matthew E]

I remember picking up the 0 issue back in '94. I picked up all the 0 issues looking for new titles to try. Something about it didn't sit well with me because I didn't continue with it, but I'm ready to try again!

I don't want to imply that the Legion that came out of the reboot was bad; it wasn't. It's the comics right before the reboot that are painful.

It's statements like these that have kept me at bay from this title for so many years!

For the most part this reaction isn't justified; most Legion comics are perfectly accessible if you have confidence in your ability to pick things up as you go along. It's this one particular run that gives you less help than most comics do.

P.S. What's the deal with Legionnaires? I know it ran concurrently for a long time, but is it a completely different premise, or was it just a case of too large a cast so they split them into 2 books (a la Blue & Gold X-Men)???

About 20, 25 issues into LSHv4 (which is the series we're talking about), Giffen and the Bierbaums introduced a second, younger, Legion of Super-Heroes trapped in a vault under Metropolis. Were they clones? Were they the real Adventure Comics-era Legion come back to us? They continued appearing in this title along with the contemporary Legion for a year or so and then got spun off into their own title, Legionnaires. They were supposed to be more optimistic and innocent, for the benefit of those readers who didn't like the darker elements that Giffen and the Bierbaums had introduced. You can give it a try if you like; you can read LSHv4 perfectly well without Legionnaires.

Legionnaires was rebooted at the same time as LSHv4 (at #18), and also kept its numbering; the reboot Legion effectively had two monthly titles for the first six years of their existence and the story frequently flowed back and forth between the two titles. But that was after the reboot.

[SJNeal]

^ ^ ^ ^ Invaluable information! Once again, thank you sir! :biggrin:

[Matthew E]

Il n'y a pas de quoi.

[Zero Hunter]

I agree with Matthew. Issues 1-38 are the best of the "5 Years Latter...." period. You can go as high as issue 50 if you really want since there are a few good things in there, but don't go any farther than that. That last year before the reboot was bar none one of the worst periods in the Legions 50 year history.

[SJNeal]

I agree with Matthew. Issues 1-38 are the best of the "5 Years Latter...." period. You can go as high as issue 50 if you really want since there are a few good things in there, but don't go any farther than that. That last year before the reboot was bar none one of the worst periods in the Legions 50 year history.

Ok, one of my friends suggested skipping all that and just starting with the 0 issues of both LOSH and Legionnaires...??? I kinda tried that back in '94 and didn't get very far. So I'm thinking I'll ignore him! And seeing 0, then 62 in my longbox would bug me. I'm too much of a completist! :cool:

[Zero Hunter]

I really did like the reboot until about 2 years in when they split the team in two sending half back to the modern DCU. After that it starting going south. There is a trade that collects the start of the reboot called "The Beginings of Tommorow" that has Legion of Super Heroes 0 62-65 and Legionaries 0 19-22.

That is one things that does suck is that outside of the Archives books there are not a lot of trades for the Legion. The Levitz trades (Eye for and Eye and The More Things Change) are both well worth reading also, and they collect the whole first year of that series.

[Matthew E]

Ok, one of my friends suggested skipping all that and just starting with the 0 issues of both LOSH and Legionnaires...

Skipping all what? If he meant skipping about #50-#61, then, yeah, I could see that. Skipping the entire 5YL era, no.

I really did like the reboot until about 2 years in when they split the team in two sending half back to the modern DCU. After that it starting going south.

Yeah, the middle reboot period is not the best stuff around. I kind of like it, but there are lots of better Legion comics out there.

Like the late reboot period, under Abnett and Lanning! If there's one era of the Legion that can compete with the Giffen/Bierbaums early 5YL period, it's the great stuff Abnett and Lanning did covering LSHv4 #122-125/Legionnaires #79-81, Legion Lost #1-12, Legion Worlds #1-6, and The Legion #1-37. In some ways it was better than the 5YL stuff; more polished. Only problem is that it's never been collected (except for the "Foundations" story, which was one of the weakest parts of the whole thing) and it can be damn expensive to chase down the back issues (for instance: the last one I needed to fill out my run was Legionnaires #81 and I saw it for sale on one site for $140, although I eventually picked it up for $4).

[Greybird]

To add guidance to the OP and others, I'd strongly suggest the two trade paperbacks that have recently been published of the beginning of the series of Legion stories that brought more colorful storytelling in 1984-1985, An Eye for an Eye (http://www.amazon.com/Legion-Super-Heroes-Eye-Paul-Levitz/dp/1401215696/) and The More Things Change (http://www.amazon.com/Legion-Super-Heroes-More-Things-Change/dp/1401219446/).

These both have vigorous and exciting tales, made in true collaborations by writer Paul Levitz (soon to return to writing the Legion) and artists Keith Giffen (before his work became mediocre) and Steve Lightle. These also immediately precede the time frame of the current "retroboot" stories that culminated in "Legion of 3 Worlds" and continue in Adventure Comics.

[...] If there's one era of the Legion that can compete with the Giffen/Bierbaums early 5YL period, it's the great stuff Abnett and Lanning did covering LSH v4 #122-125 / Legionnaires #79-81, Legion Lost #1-12, Legion Worlds #1-6, and The Legion #1-37.
This just shows, to new(er)comers, how different Legion fans can be. As Matthew alluded to earlier, many Legion fans do bitterly detest the 5YL stories, and I'm one of them. I'd extend that to most of the late-reboot-era works cited above. In fact, "detest" is far too kind on my part.

I find it hard to see both him and myself as being in the same Legion "fandom" ... but such drawing of a common denominator over severe differences of artistic appraisal is part of the problem. With all fandoms.

In some ways it was better than the 5YL stuff; more polished. Only problem is that it's never been collected (except for the "Foundations" story, which was one of the weakest parts of the whole thing) [...]Or one of the less intolerable parts of the whole thing. That these late-reboot works (and the 5YL period) have never made it into the publishing maw of collection-making, which has resulted in reprinting much of the rest of the Legion's history, should tell new(er)comers something, methinks.

[Matthew E]

This just shows, to new(er)comers, how different Legion fans can be. As Matthew alluded to earlier, many Legion fans do bitterly detest the 5YL stories, and I'm one of them. I'd extend that to most of the late-reboot-era works cited above. In fact, "detest" is far too kind on my part.

I find it hard to see both him and myself as being in the same Legion "fandom" ... but such drawing of a common denominator over severe differences of artistic appraisal is part of the problem. With all fandoms.

Oh, I don't know. I like the same stuff you like, after all; you just don't like some of the stuff I like. (When it comes to the Legion, anyway.)

Or one of the less intolerable parts of the whole thing. That these late-reboot works (and the 5YL period) have never made it into the publishing maw of collection-making, which has resulted in reprinting much of the rest of the Legion's history, should tell new(er)comers something, methinks.

Well, here's something we can agree on: it's a shame that, of all the great Legion stories Paul Levitz wrote, the only ones that have been collected are the two TPBs you mentioned above, and the now-out-of-print Great Darkness Saga. No Earthwar? None of those great one-and-done issues with Pat Broderick's art? Not the first Annual? The Shrinking Violet story? Who is Sensor Girl? Universo Project? Conspiracy? Imagine how many people have never read this stuff!

[Artificial idiot]

While we're on the Legion - What's the deal with the 'Tales of the Legion' comic that ran alongside Levitz run? I've recently picked up the first 12 issues of the run, plus Annuals #2 and #3 after being put onto them by a kind member of this board about a month ago, but keep seeing advertisements and notices for another title. The main Legion stories seem to be making sense without it, but is this always the case or do the two sometimes cross over?

[Matthew E]

No, what that is - and let me stress to you that if you have the first twelve, that's all you need - is a publication trick that DC pulled.

First we had LSHv2, which ran up to about issue #312 or whatever before it changed titles to Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes. When it changed, they launched LSHv3 to be the main title. It's also called the Baxter series because of the paper and printing techniques used; it was only available in comics shops, while Tales was available on newsstands. So for one year, there were two Legion comics. After that one year, Tales started reprinting LSHv3. That way newsstand readers could still read the story appearing in the deluxe title; they just had to wait for it.

A lot of people point to this as the moment at which the Legion lost a lot of people. Not because the stories in LSHv3 weren't any good (quite the opposite!) but because they separated themselves from a lot of their audience. DC did the same trick with the Teen Titans and possibly with the Outsiders at around the same time.

The stories in Tales were okay. They had a strong whiff of "filler" to them but were not without their points of interest. As far as continuity goes, they took place roughly simultaneously with the first 12 issues of LSHv3. (I'm pretty sure.)

[SJNeal]

Aaaaand my head continues to spin! :eek:

J/K. This is all fascinating discussion and makes me that much eager to jump in! :smile:

[Artificial idiot]

Thanks Matthew E! I can happily give those a miss and concentrate on tracking down the rest of the main run when I get the cash in that case. :)

[Zero Hunter]

Here is a sort of easy breakdown for you of the Legion:

(I am skipping over the Adventure and Action stuff)

original:

Superboy and the Legion of Super Heroes 197-258
Legion of Super Heroes 259-313
Tales of the Legion of Super Heroes 214-325 (326 was where the reprints start)
Legion of Super Heroes (vol 3) 1-63 (the Levitz/Giffen series most of the time called the Baxter run)

5 years Latter.... run:

Legion of Super Heroes (vol4) 1-61
Legionaries 1-18

Reboot:

Legion of Super Heroes (vol 4) 0, 62-125
Legionaries 0, 19-81
Legion Lost 1-12
Legion Worlds 1-6
Legion 1-38

Threeboot:

Legion of Super Heroes 1-15
Supergirl and the Legion of Super Heroes 16-36
Legion of Super Heroes 37-50

[Greybird]

Oh, I don't know. I like the same stuff you like, after all; you just don't like some of the stuff I like. (When it comes to the Legion, anyway.)
If you like everything Legion — as it's long been clear, to me, especially at your well-written blog — does that really show your own preferences off very well? Artists and writers have been utterly different in style, emphasis, skill, and level of indifference or attention to the Legion's core elements.

I find it hard to put it into my head that someone could be a fan of both Giffen's clear-lined art from those early-v3 trade paperbacks, AND Giffen's art using near-blobs for faces from Five Years Later, without descending into esthetic incoherence. But that's just me, I've long presumed, because many say they do, and I have to take their word for it.

Well, here's something we can agree on: it's a shame that, of all the great Legion stories Paul Levitz wrote, the only ones that have been collected are the two TPBs you mentioned above, and the now-out-of-print Great Darkness Saga. No Earthwar? None of those great one-and-done issues with Pat Broderick's art? Not the first Annual? The Shrinking Violet story? Who is Sensor Girl? Universo Project? Conspiracy? Imagine how many people have never read this stuff!Yes, we certainly can agree that it's a shame. All of these — including the last three you mention, which have been ejected from any Legion "continuity" that DC is now using — thoroughly deserve collection and TPBs.

It's also illuminating, though, that the more recent Coipel/Abnett/Lanning stories you mention were all made in the post-'90s digital age. With color separations and printing elements ready for reprinting in book form. It would take little but file-jockeying to prepare them for publication. (Beyond the managerial will to do so, o'course.)

That'd be far less costly than to go back 25 years, to the Levitz/Giffen/Lightle era, and re-create color separations and printing masters electronically from the printed pages. They have to repeat work that was nearly wholly done manually the first time. Yet it's these more labor-intensive stories that are nonetheless getting trade paperbacks instead.

(And it's not that we've seen any lack of fan demands, insistent ones, for collecting a series such as Legion Lost. They know that some of these have ready buyers.)

As I implied, all of this is evidence for what DCers believe will be well-received, in terms of putting their own preparation money on the line — long before the books are sold. And their beliefs clearly aren't lying with the late Legion reboot.

[Matthew E]

No, true, but I seem to recall hearing somewhere that the real holdup is that Olivier Coipel has some kind of a deal where he'd get paid more than the usual for any reprints. Therefore the only part of that run that DC has reprinted is "Foundations", which Coipel didn't draw. Typical, if true.

If you like everything Legion — as it's long been clear, to me, especially at your well-written blog — does that really show your own preferences off very well? Artists and writers have been utterly different in style, emphasis, skill, and level of indifference or attention to the Legion's core elements.

I find it hard to put it into my head that someone could be a fan of both Giffen's clear-lined art from those early-v3 trade paperbacks, AND Giffen's art using near-blobs for faces from Five Years Later, without descending into esthetic incoherence. But that's just me, I've long presumed, because many say they do, and I have to take their word for it.

Well, I don't like it all exactly the same. I'm just willing to let it all be different aspects of the Legion, because what I really like about the Legion is its core concept(s), and all the different ways that concept can be expressed, explored, and idealized in stories. I have opinions about which ways have worked better than other ways, but as long as those concepts are there and it looks like there's an attempt at doing something interesting with them, I'm happy.

(As for Giffen, I'm actually in the middle of writing a blogpost that touches on his artistic change. Not that I can say much that's insightful about that; I just don't have the expertise. But I do touch on it.)

[Zero Hunter]

I find it hard to put it into my head that someone could be a fan of both Giffen's clear-lined art from those early-v3 trade paperbacks, AND Giffen's art using near-blobs for faces from Five Years Later, without descending into esthetic incoherence. But that's just me, I've long presumed, because many say they do, and I have to take their word for it.

.

I do simply because I thought his new style fit the tone of the book. The funny thing is when he first tried it out in the end of the Baxter series with the Magic Wars story I really didn't like it at all, but starting with the first issue of his relaunch I really started to get into it. I honeslty think his original style would have looked very out of place for the type of story they were telling with 5 Years Latter...

[Paul Newell]

(dblpst)

Anyway, check out the LOSH FAQ forum here on CBR.

http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=40852

I REALLY Need to update that thing.

[Gef]

Well, yesterday I started reading my first ever Legion material, beginning with the 1050 Year in the Future trade. It's brilliant! It's also possibly completely insane, but I think the pinnacle of comics was achieved when the space lizards started eating the Interplanetary Post Office (I forget which issue this comes from, but it's somewhere around 1963 I think).

I don't know how I'll fare with the Modern Age Legion, but the Silver Age continuity is so far wonderful!

[The Chief5425]

Andrew and others, I CAN. NOT. agree with you enough on the Five Years Later stuff. God, that rocked. The deep characterization (Cosmic Boy is a tired old war veteran! Lightning Lass and Shrinking Violet are lovers! Sun Boy is a shallow prick! Mordru is a monster but also, in some respects, a fragile old man!). The whole "putting the band back together" vibe.

If I could have one wish in the world of comics the Bierbaums would be allowed to continue their vision. Does anybody even know what they're doing anymore?

[Zero Hunter]

Well, yesterday I started reading my first ever Legion material, beginning with the 1050 Year in the Future trade. It's brilliant! It's also possibly completely insane, but I think the pinnacle of comics was achieved when the space lizards started eating the Interplanetary Post Office (I forget which issue this comes from, but it's somewhere around 1963 I think).

I don't know how I'll fare with the Modern Age Legion, but the Silver Age continuity is so far wonderful!

If you don't mind the black and white format the Legion Showcase volumes collect nothng but the Silver Age stuff. Or if you can find the Legion Archives cheap they are well worth the money.

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

I diagree since this version is probably not going to be seen again anytime soon and the characters were alot different than their other versions. Not a great intro for newbies if they read this and then go to the new stuff in Adeventure Comics and have to wonder why its totaly different. from what they just read.

Unless of course they just want to read some really good comics that kick off strong right out the gate.
It might of limped to a slow death by the end, but the first two years with Waid/Kitson are fantastic.

The 3boot is the weakest of all the the versions.

Weakest in terms of being true to the original LOSH perhaps, but that's actually a pretty big strength for it.