I sure hope someone tells us really quick how the Pre-Crisis Legion is now back in-continuity and how it all fits together.

It seems the reviewer has absolutely no clue about the characters in this arc or their histories. Even someone who had read the new JSA title in passing would know that Starman of the JSA was Starboy of the Legion, whose dimentia was a result of his travels through several alternate universes and time. That's why nothing he says makes sense. He's not supposed to. To have him suddenly speaking like someone in his right mind would have been totally out of character.

Proty was the silver age pet of Legionnaire Chameleon Boy who sacrificed his life to bring Lightning Lad back to life after he was killed in battle. The Legionnaires used the same lightning rods in that old silver age story and Saturn Girl altered her rod to make sure the lightning hit her. Proty (also being a mild telepath in addition to his shape-changing powers)learned of her plot and took her place.

The reviewer seems bummed that there wasn't a big fight, a la Virtue and Vice. So what? That approach brings us summer blockbusters in film that are rife with explosions and special effects but short on characterization and story.

It is entirely in character for the Legionnaires to use one another's real names. Not so for the JLA and JSA as much. I could see it in their headquarters, etc, but not "in the field" so to speak.

I too was a little confused about who was speaking at the first of the book. Fair criticism.

As for Sensor Girl in the cornfield, I'm a little torn by the scene. On one hand, I liked it. Sensor Girl is the ultimate illusionist. Her illusions are so real that even Superman doing what amounts to a physical on her, isn't sure that she's real. Her illusions completely affect the senses of the beings within their proximity, so I'm not sure why the smell of her tears would convince Superman. You would smell her illusion as well. Unpsoken in the scene and what a long-time Legion fan would catch is that Karate Kid and Sensor Girl are husband and wife. She had at least an idea of what he was planning - therefore her tears.

Actually, Batman could have said, "It was silver age sci-fi comic writing. Don't expect it to make sense." And that would have been accurate. THe premise of this story was based on a classic Legion story from their run in Adventure Comics.

The "something Asian" Karate Kid says isn't Asian at all. It's Interlac, the language of the 31st century. It's been used many times even in comics portraying the 20th and 21st centuries. Granted you can make an argument that not everyone will know that, but if you're going to make a CBR review, you would at least think the reviewer had at least a passing knowledge of comics history.

I reviewed the list of books the reviewer recommended and actually have several of them on my own hold list. I enjoyed this more than any of those books.

The reason the Jusice League and the Society were trying to stop the Legion from "bringing back someone from the dead" and the Legion was hiding the truth from Superman is because the Legion was going to sacrifice the lives of one of them to do it. That was obvious. What I liked about the story was that I never appreciated what a crazy thing it was for for the Legionnaires to all want to kill themselves to bring back Lightning Lad. Superman seemed to feel that you had to be in the Legion to understand. That discussion was a great moment, and a neat piece of writng. Anyway...it was pretty clear that suicide was repugnant to both groups, and that's why they were trying to stop the Legion. It seemed to be stated explicitly in the story, so I don't see what the controversy is about.

I mean my most anticipated comic purchase of the year is the Wonder Woman Showcase and I know exactly how bad it's going to be because I have several of the comics included in it.

Do single issue recaps help bring in the “casual fan”? I mean, I appreciate them, but aren’t most single comic books only to be found in comic shops any way?

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Absolutely. I'm about the epitome of a casual fan, and I am at least five times more likely to buy a new comic if I have even a paragraph of background information—be it from the first page, an online synopsis, or an explanation from a friend.

It grounds the story. You can throw me in the middle of any action you want, and I'll muddle along for a while. But if you tell me what happened last time, and THEN throw me into the action... It's an entirely different feel. I have a clue about what's going on, I have an idea of who the main characters are and what they're trying to do (or at least, what they've already done.) It makes a huge difference. I'm also much more likely to follow up on previous issues.

We absorb a movie as a whole. You shouldn't have to have watched say, "M*A*S*H" in order to understand "The Godfather" or get part of your story.

Jaime Hernandez includes exposition in his stories and it's seamlessly worked into the dialogue. You don't have to have read every issue of "Love & Rockets" to pick up an issue and at least have some idea of who is who.

But if I have to spend more time researching the backstory than I do reading the actual comic book, then what's the point? What a waste of time! I could be putting that effort into learning something VALUABLE.

This kind of self-referential esoterica might float the boat of people who get off on being involved in some sort of super-secret secret-super club but in terms of providing a reading value for your money, it falls way short.

No wonder comic sales are down. They're all the time wondering how to increase comics' appeal to compete with TV and video games but they keep turning inward and producing dreck like this.

Awesome review. A point by point totally solid dissertation of why Brad Meltzer is one of the most godawful things to happen to American comics since the Comics Code. A true master of crap.

And Ed Benes? Wow, what an overrated schlock-artist.

John, I obviously can’t speak for America, but in Australia, Marvel has actually been doing what you’re suggesting for awhile. They sell digest-sized Marvel magazines aimed at kids at local grocery stores and the like.

I’ve never picked one up, but yeah, they are there, and I’m guessing if we have them all the way out in lowly Australia, you guys might have them too?

They're actually the Marvel Adventures/Marvel Age line licensed to a different publisher.
Aussie kids get the goodies!

I'm glad that somebody isn't praising Lightning Saga for being brilliant cuz it seems a lot of sources are! Or at least they're trying their best to like it thru gritted teeth b/c it's the JLA and JSA and they brought back a Flash. >.>;;

There WERE villains tho. For 1 whole page XD Per Degaton, Despero and Ultra Humanite. :O But then after that they were completely ignored!

So.. WTF? XD

Great review

I've never picked one up, but yeah, they are there, and I'm guessing if we have them all the way out in lowly Australia, you guys might have them too?