the Lottery Party: Arm Fall Off Boy
October 22, 2008 by Richard Caldwell
Filed under Columns
by Richard Caldwell
Congratulations are in order, for DC’s decision to not only cancel the Legion of Super-Heroes, but to do so during the property’s 50th anniversary. I have tried to follow these characters since the Levitz/Giffen run some twenty-five years back. They were the very first super-hero team of the Silver Age, with a hell of a lot of history in the time since, growing into arguably the largest cast any singular comic has ever known. I would even say that LoSH is the closest to an epic, all-out space opera that comics in general have ever come.
I like this book, so of course I am bitter.
The reasons cited for the cancellation include the usual poor sales. However, it is my belief that DC has done next to JACK to push this book, this cornerstone to the legacy that is their publishing status quo. Is it really that much of a hard sale?
Despite the efforts of many fine creators over the years, something so vast as a fifty-year heritage is bound to intimidate new readerships either unwilling or unable to explore such continuity, flaws or not. And there were flaws- primarily as victims to the efforts of the past 20+ years of constantly redefining the current universe within the mainstream books ad nauseam. What really hurts is that Jim Shooter was the writer of this current incarnation of LoSH. Shooter began his valiantly-defiant, blockbuster of a vocation in comics way back as a 14-year old writer for the Legion. His return to these characters was like a circle completed in the minds of a number of fans, though apparently not enough of a number of fans. With such a hot creative team, this run had the potential to take the LoSH back to creative heights unseen in years, if not for DC’s failure to fully appreciate (or remember-?) just what all it had on its hands.
The property is far too big, too rich, to be relegated once more to back-up features or the odd guest appearance in whatever other titles. To do so is an insult to everyone who has added to the story over the years, to Otto Binder and Al Plastino, Jerry Siegel, Curt Swan, Dave Cockrum, Mike Grell, Keith Giffen, Tom & Mary Bierbaum, etc.
It deserves a monthly regular series. All of my fellow Legionnaires deserve it.
And the viable plausibility of making it work does NOT have to be science-fiction unto itself.
How can it be so wrong to want to fight the cobwebs and breathe life into something of such grand legacy?
In much the same way as “Secret Wars” was an apt name for certain behind the scenes dealings at mid-80’s Marvel, so is “Identity Crisis” equally apt at defining the recent behind the scenes absurdities at DC HQ.
Appreciation of history and legacy is never a bad thing.
Money versus Art: the epic war continues.
On a completely differing note- as some of you know, I am not at all a huge fan of webcomix, as I feel that many are being produced by people who are software-savvy, but lacking any real creativity/originality with which to execute anything better than a Sunday Funny. Some exceptions are done by people who would be far better off working in video game design/production. I do dig proving myself wrong though.
Enter Rick Parker.
Now, it is extremely possible that at least half of the comics in your backstock collections right now were lettered by this man. He is also a great cartoonist, with a style that is something like Edward Gorey telling a fart joke, or maybe Charles Addams designing Garbage Pail Kids.
You can find some of his current comic book work via publisher Papercutz. I fully recommend checking out his excellent webcomic, found hereabouts- http://www.rickparkercomics.blogspot.com/.
Loaded with imagination and cryptic fun- it just goes on and on and on and…
cheers.
miscellany redux:
captainhowdy023@gmail.com
Last 3 posts by Richard Caldwell
- Optimum Wound Contest Winners Lineup - September 9th, 2009
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- Exclusive: Optimum Wound Contest! - September 4th, 2009
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While I am sadly one of those schmucks that could never fully appreciate Legion, I am crestfallen to see a Jim shooter project fail. I will forever be grateful to Jim for bringing the Valiant universe to life.
Legion’s biggest problem was the fact it was released during all of the Crisis hullabaloo. Dido put all of his eggs into one basket, most likely as a Hail Mary against Secret Invasion.
Good, bad or indifferent the simple reality is that no new title had a real chance during all of the shake up.