2010 Reading #47: Showcase Presents Legion of Super-Heroes Volume 1
Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
41. When Baghdad Ruled the Muslim World: The Rise and Fall of Islam's Greatest Dynasty by Hugh Kennedy.
42. The Suffrage of Elvira by V.S. Naipaul.
43. The Magicians by Lev Grossman.
44. The Teammates: A Portrait of a Friendship by David Halberstam.
45. Showcase Presents: The Elongated Man by Gardner Fox, John Broome, Carmine Infantino, Sid Greene, et al.
46. Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower.
47. Showcase Presents: Legion of Super-Heroes: Volume 1 by Curt Swan, Jerry Siegel, et al. The Legion is one of those things that certain comic book fans talk about with reverence and glee, but it's not an easy fandom to jump in on, given the long and wacky history (future), which of course has been rebooted more than once (yay Crises!). This is a pretty good place to start, though. Wacky Silver Age plots mostly fall into one or more of three categories:
1. Mysterious new member has mysterious (and plot-crucial) power, can you guess what it is?
2. Trusted Legionnaire appears to be a traitor! What's going on?
3. Crazy new "SCIENCE" may be key to bringing Lightning Lad back to life/making it possible for Mon-El to survive outside the Phantom Zone.
Really, that only gives a taste of the wackiness. The Legion of Substitute Heroes may be my fave, because seriously--they have STONE BOY, whose power is TURNING HIMSELF INTO A STATUE. Which cannot move. Or speak. Or do anything but be stone.
Many of the early stories in this volume are Superboy/Superman/Supergirl stories, and given that I rather dislike Superfamily stuff, I was surprised at how much I liked them. One reason is that, damn, Curt Swan has really damn pretty lines. In the Showcase/Essential black-and-white format, there are more than a few artists whose pencils don't do that well; their lines are sloppy, or their backgrounds are blanks left for the colorist to do something with. Swan's style is so clean that one might take it for granted, as I think I had before reading this.
The other reason I liked Superman (mostly Superboy) OK in this volume is that, well, this is Silver Age stuff, and it doesn't take itself very seriously. Smallville may be small, but it appears to have daily bank robberies, dam bursts, and superheroes and -villains stopping by from the future on a near-daily basis. It's difficult to get irritated with that sort of over-the-top kitchen sink approach. There are two more volumes of this out, and another on the way. I'm hoping to get caught up on all the weirdness.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
41. When Baghdad Ruled the Muslim World: The Rise and Fall of Islam's Greatest Dynasty by Hugh Kennedy.
42. The Suffrage of Elvira by V.S. Naipaul.
43. The Magicians by Lev Grossman.
44. The Teammates: A Portrait of a Friendship by David Halberstam.
45. Showcase Presents: The Elongated Man by Gardner Fox, John Broome, Carmine Infantino, Sid Greene, et al.
46. Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower.
47. Showcase Presents: Legion of Super-Heroes: Volume 1 by Curt Swan, Jerry Siegel, et al. The Legion is one of those things that certain comic book fans talk about with reverence and glee, but it's not an easy fandom to jump in on, given the long and wacky history (future), which of course has been rebooted more than once (yay Crises!). This is a pretty good place to start, though. Wacky Silver Age plots mostly fall into one or more of three categories:
1. Mysterious new member has mysterious (and plot-crucial) power, can you guess what it is?
2. Trusted Legionnaire appears to be a traitor! What's going on?
3. Crazy new "SCIENCE" may be key to bringing Lightning Lad back to life/making it possible for Mon-El to survive outside the Phantom Zone.
Really, that only gives a taste of the wackiness. The Legion of Substitute Heroes may be my fave, because seriously--they have STONE BOY, whose power is TURNING HIMSELF INTO A STATUE. Which cannot move. Or speak. Or do anything but be stone.
Many of the early stories in this volume are Superboy/Superman/Supergirl stories, and given that I rather dislike Superfamily stuff, I was surprised at how much I liked them. One reason is that, damn, Curt Swan has really damn pretty lines. In the Showcase/Essential black-and-white format, there are more than a few artists whose pencils don't do that well; their lines are sloppy, or their backgrounds are blanks left for the colorist to do something with. Swan's style is so clean that one might take it for granted, as I think I had before reading this.
The other reason I liked Superman (mostly Superboy) OK in this volume is that, well, this is Silver Age stuff, and it doesn't take itself very seriously. Smallville may be small, but it appears to have daily bank robberies, dam bursts, and superheroes and -villains stopping by from the future on a near-daily basis. It's difficult to get irritated with that sort of over-the-top kitchen sink approach. There are two more volumes of this out, and another on the way. I'm hoping to get caught up on all the weirdness.