"The Alien Among Us!"

In the early Seventies DC Comics self-published a bi-monthly "fan magazine" called The Amazing World of DC Comics. It featured histories and interviews, similar to The Comics Journal or Wizard but with a distinct DC "house" slant. Issues were dedicated to the Justice League, Shazam, Wonder Woman, and perhaps most famously, the Legion of Super-Heroes. 

TAWoDCC #12, dated August 1976, was a follow-up to the Legion-centric issue, this time about all of DC's "future" and science fiction series. As part of the theme, an eleven paged sci-fi horror story by Mike Grell was published. In the interview with Grell in that same issue (which we re-published here) Mike says that the story was the second work assignment ever given him by DC (the first was an Aquaman back-up that appeared in Adventure Comics #435) and that this story was originally intended for Weird War Tales (a series that DC published from 1971 to 1983). No reason was given for why it was not published in that book at that time. Oddly enough, it was eventually published in that book two years later (!) in Weird War Tales #67 (Sept 1978). 

I recently found my copy of The Amazing World of DC Comics #12 and re-read this story. I thought other Mike Grell fans would get a kick out of it, so here it is in all its 1974 black and white goodness. Enjoy! 

Just For The Grell Of It

While cleaning up my study I came across my old collection of The Amazing World of DC Comics from the early 1970s. There is an awful lot of general nostalgia there, but we're here to talk about issue #12 (July/Aug 1976) in particular.

As you can see from the cover, this issue spotlights DC sci-fi comics. For fans of the Legion of Super-Heroes, this issue includes a four page interview with then-Legion artist Mike Grell.

t the time of this interview Mike had been on Superboy/Legion for approximately two years, and was soon to be leaving it. (There is an ad in the issue for Superboy/Legion #221, which is two issues away from Grell's last story). He had just started his stint on Green Lantern/Green Arrow and The Warlord was on issue #5.

The Write Stuff: Back to the Future Pt 2

BACK ISSUE! 22 (Jun 2007)

Following on from the article in BACK ISSUE! 15 which featured both Dave Cockrum and Mike Grell, this issue turns the spotlight on scribe Paul Levitz and artist/writer Keith Giffen.

    At the time of the joint interview, Paul was president and publisher at DC Comics, while Keith was handling Countdown for DC and Starlord for Marvel.

    Paul's love for the Legion is well-known, as is evidenced by his three separate tenures as the writer of a title which he acknowledges would be “a pain in the ass” unless you really loved it.

    “You'd literally have to write the Legion with a scorecard and notes. If you didn't know them and love them, it was a lot of hard work,” he said.

    Keith was more direct. “If you didn't care for these characters, it would be agony,” he said.

   

The Write Stuff: Back To The Future Pt 1

By BITS BOY
In our series on comic magazines which featured articles on the Legion, one title was conspiciously absent: BACK ISSUE!, the fine fan publication produced by TwoMorrows and edited by fervent Legion fan Michael Eury. Starting with this post, we will review all the BACK ISSUE! issues that featured Legion content.

Superboy's Legion #2

Superboy's Legion #2 (2001)
writer: Mark Farmer

penciller: Alan Davis
inker: Mark Farmer

letterer: Pat Prentice
colors/separatists: Richard & Tanya Horie

logo design: John Roshell
editor: Michael McAvennie
cover: Alan Davis & Mark Farmer

reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Roll Call (in order of membership): Superboy, Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy, Sun Boy, Colossal Boy, Element Lad, Shrinking Violet, Bouncing Boy, Shadow Lass, Brainiac 5, Invisible Kid, Ultra Boy, Phantom Girl, Chameleon Boy, Star Boy, Light Lass, Lightning Lad, Princess Projectra, Ferro Lad, Karate Kid

Cameo or Supporting Appearances: RJ Brande

Villains: The Fatal Five, Lex Luthor, and......?

I saw this fantastic cover at a comic convention and grabbed it up without a moment's hesitation. Unfortunately, this scene does not appear in this story. Was it worth it anyway? Read on and find out---!

Superboy's Legion #1

Superboy's Legion #1 (2001)
writer: Mark Farmer

penciller: Alan Davis
inker: Mark Farmer

letterer: Pat Prentice
colors/separatists: Richard & Tanya Horie

logo design: John Roshell
editor: Michael McAvennie
cover: Alan Davis & Mark Farmer

reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Roll Call (in order of membership): Superboy, Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy, Sun Boy, Colossal Boy, Element Lad, Shrinking Violet, Bouncing Boy, Shadow Lass, Brainiac 5, Invisible Kid, Ultra Boy, Phantom Girl, Chameleon Boy, Star Boy

Cameo or Supporting Appearances: RJ Brande, reporter Lois Olsen; Triplicate Girl, Princess Projectra, Lightning Lad, Light Lass, Tellus, Karate Kid, Ferro Lad

Villains: The Fatal Five, and......?

Have you seen this mini trade book around at a comic con or at your neighborhood comic book shop, and wondered if it was worth picking up? Well *I* did, and now I'm here to review it for you....!

GEE WIZARD: The Write Stuff part 7

To continue look at the various publications that featured articles about the Legion, we feature some issues of WIZARD magazine, the high-end product that emerged during the comic speculator boom in 1991. At its prime, with its glossy pages and focus on all aspects of the industry, including independent publishers, trading cards, toys, games, and market information, the magazine and its subsidiaries enjoyed monthly circulation of more than 100,000 copies.

By 2011, with the onset of Internet comic book sites that offered the same sort of content for free, the magazine's subscriber base was so low that it had no option but to cease publication.

The Legion Companion

The Legion Companion is the 2003 book all about the Legion. Perhaps you have heard of The All-Star Companion, or The Justice League Companion, or The Fawcett Companion? Well there is one out there all about the Legion, as well. And today we're going to talk with the man behind it, Mr. Glen Cadigan!

The Write Stuff part 6

It's been a while, but we're back! And we continue our look at magazines which contain Legion-related articles and features.
When last we left our reviews, we had completed an alphabetical rundown up through "H". Today we leap the vast nothingness between I~R and pick up from "S" as in SMALLVILLE....! 

The Write Stuff part 5

It's been a while, but we're back! And we continue our look at magazines which contain Legion-related articles and features.
When last we left our reviews, we had completed an alphabetical rundown up to "C". So now it's "D"-day and beyond ...

The Write Stuff part 4

Back in the pre-Internet dark days, comic fans got their dose of industry news by subscribing to or buying magazines devoted to their hobby. Today's blog continues our look at the various publications which featured content about the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Whatever Happened To The Man of Tomorrow?

writer: Alan Moore

penciller: Curt Swan
inkers: George Perez (part 1),
Kurt Schaffenberger (part 2) 

letterer: Todd Klein
colorists: Gene D'Angelo (original), Tom McCraw (collected)

editor: Julius Schwartz
cover: Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson

reviewers: "Bilingual Boy" and Dr. Anj

Mission Monitor Board:  
Superman; Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy, Invisible Kid (1), Brainiac 5, Supergirl

Guests: 
Lois Lane, Lana Lang, Jimmy Olsen, Krypto, Perry & Alice White

Opponents: 
Bizarro, Brainiac, Lex Luthor, the Toyman, the Prankster, the Kryptonite Man, Metallo, the Legion of Super-Villains (Saturn Queen, Lighting Lord, Cosmic King), Mr. Mxyzptlk

COMICS BUYERS GUIDE: The Write Stuff part 3

Comics Buyer's Guide, published from 1971 to 2013, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry.

It was probably my favorite comics magazine, featuring well-written and researched articles that fell between the fanboy gushings of Wizard and the verbose, opinionated and sometimes pretentious offerings in Comics Journal.

The CBG ran several articles on the Legion through the years, and today's blog takes a look at those issues.

The Write Stuff part 2

In my previous post, we looked at the articles relating to the Legion that appeared in the magazine AMAZING HEROES. This time around, we focus on contributions that appeared in some other comic book publications.

DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #1

At a recent comic-book convention I happened to come across this Legion of Super-Heroes gem. I'm not sure why I bought it, as I already own all the Legion Archives, which means I have all of the Silver Age Legion stories. Maybe I bought it for nostalgic value. When this digest came out there were no Archives or Trade Paperbacks. You could only find older reprinted stories in books like these. So never having read any of these stories as a kid, I grabbed this off the rack in December, 1979. And yes, where I bought comics they were still sold on racks...!

AMAZING HEROES: The Write Stuff part 1

For 11 continuous years from 1981, the magazine Amazing Heroes kept fans and professionals informed with industry news, comics creator interviews, histories of comic book characters and reviews.
   Published by Fantagraphics Books, the issues contained mainly straightforward material, veering away from controversial subjects which were often analyzed in other comic book magazines of the time.
   In that run of just more than a decade, the Legion of Super-Heroes was the subject of many articles.

Tempo Books Legion of Super-Heroes

In 1978 DC Comics partnered with Tempo Books, a subsidiary of Grosset & Dunlop, to produce six reprint paper-backs and six "activity" books. Of these twelve paperbacks, one was dedicated to Superboy and The Legion of Super-Heroes. 

Simply Amazing!

The Amazing World of DC Comics was DC Comics' self-produced fan magazine of the mid-1970s. Running 17 issues, the fanzine featured articles about DC characters and their creators, and was exclusively available through mail order. The bulk of the issues were edited by Allan Asherman, replaced later by Paul Levitz and then Cary Burkett. Individual issues were edited by Bob Rozakis or long-time Legion fans Carl Gafford and Neal Pozner.

Primarily consisting of text pieces, with occasional strips and comics features, Amazing World (AWODCC, for short) was printed on high quality paper with heavy stock for the covers. Amazing World in its seventeen issues featured several articles on and about the Legion. For awhile it even featured an exclusive column about the group, named The Legion Outpost (the same name as the fanzine, but not directly related).

Keeping up to date with the Legion

    Full 12-month calendars in their own right issued by comic book companies are nothing new these days, even if some may appear to be only released at the publisher’s whim. But as recently as the dawn of the 70s, such items were non-existent, appearing only occasionally as novelty pieces within the pages of comic books.

   The first DC Comics calendar which has any sort of Legion connection appeared in DC COMICS’ LIMITED COLLECTOR’S EDITION C-34 (Christmas With The Super-Heroes), which featured a standard 12-month listing of dates for 1975, embellished on the periphery with images of various DC characters, including the Legion. This Murphy Anderson illustration was also used on the covers of the four-issue LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES series, which reprinted various stories from the ADVENTURE COMICS era.

Legion Archive 9: Collins & Farmer

Completing the series on the cover art of The Legion of Super-Heroes Archives, our last all-new illustration for the series is by Mike Collins and Mark Farmer.

I had no idea who Mike Collins is when I saw this piece. It seems like he was an artist who worked primarily in the UK, but also did DC work in the late Eighties. In fact, at the time this Archive was published he was one of the artists on Legion of Super-Heroes (vol 4). Mark Farmer, likewise, was the regular cover inker with his long-time penciller partner, Alan Davis.