Legion Of Super-Bloggers 4 Year Anniversary

Earlier this year, Supergirl Comic Box Commentary celebrated its 10 year anniversary.
That is crazy.

Today is my own person 4 year anniversary of contributing to the Legion of Super-Bloggers.

I can vividly remember my recruitment. The Irredeemable Shag, of the FW Podcasts, called me one afternoon in July 2014. The blog was being put together. They needed members. And knowing my love for the Legion, he wondered if I would be interested.

It was a warm day and I was walking outside of work, wandering off the hospital campus and onto a college campus nearby. I sat down on steps leading into a gothic building where classes were going on. I asked if I could cover the early Five Years Later run. The rest is history.

I have been manning the shop on Fridays pretty much ever since.
I have covered:

• The first 50 issues of the 5YL run
• The Waid/Kitson Threeboot through that titles end under Jim Shooter
• The Levitz/Giffen run from the original series, from #300 up to the inception of the Baxter run
• The Legion Secret Origin mini-series
• The New 52 Series
• The New 52 Legion Lost series
• And currently, the Retroboot, spinning out of the Johns/Frank reintroduction of the team in Action Comics

Unbelievable.

Back Issue Review: Action Comics #337

We have started the Marc Andreyko era on Supergirl, a time in which Kara heads off into space to investigate the claims of Rogol Zaar. Heading off into deep space, Supergirl is bound to run into systems without a yellow sun. She is certain to make new friends. And she will most likely make new enemies.

With that in mind, I will be trying to look into the back issue box to find adventures of Supergirl in sppaaaccceee!

Action Comics #337 has one of the best gogo checked Silver Age covers ever with Superman being both a top-hatted millionaire and bare-footed hobo. How can you not want to buy this issue?

But the real reason I am reviewing this is "The Green Sun Supergirl!" story in the back. After all, we already have seen in the current title that Kara has donned a new uniform designed to absorb yellow sun energy and provide it to her. Because outside of a yellow sun, she is without powers.

Will she survive on a green sun world? Make friends? Make enemies? Solve problems? Become a worshiped figure?

It's the Silver Age. You should be able to guess.

On to the story.

Terrificon Recap #1: Kevin Nowlan Commission, Supergirl Sigs, & More

I talk a lot about my 'convention season', basically the summer and early fall when I am lucky enough to attend several comic conventions situated within driving distance of my house.

Very quickly, Terrificon, a comic convention in Connecticut, has become the 'big con' on my list. This is a tremendous show and I would say for folks considering a stay in New England for a convention, this is the one to hit.

Unlike many comicons of today, Terrificon is clearly a comic book centric convention, focusing primarily on comic creators and less on celebrities (although they have some of them in attendance as well). The guest list has been impressive and is really a great mix of legends, creators from my youth, and current writers and artists, really running the gamut. Trust me when I say that I brought a ton of comics to get signed because I hadn't run into many of these folks elsewhere.

Also, most of the creators weren't charging for signatures. Instead they had a donation bin for the Heroes Initiative on their table. I didn't mind being very generous to that cause.

Lastly, the venue is at the Mohegan Sun Casino. It was a new exhibition hall. It was massive meaning plenty of room between the aisles to navigate. That also means free parking. And at the casino the meal options range from food court to quick decent meals to full on sit down restaurants. Absolutely no complaints.

Great fun!

So what did I get accomplished?

That Crisis Moment In Wonder Woman #53

You would think that 32 years after it hit the stands that the impact of Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 would lessen in me.

After all, while Supergirl did die and was subsequently erased from the DCU, she has come back in multiple incarnations. She has tremendous runs with amazing creators since COIE. She is at the peek of her popularity.

Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 has become a touchpoint in comic history. It gave *that* Supergirl an incredibly heroic death, one of sacrifice to save the many.

I have come to respect Crisis for what it has meant for Supergirl fandom, her character, and her mythology.

So I am not surprised when I still see that issue get referenced. Usually it takes the form of an homage of the famous cover.

But this week, in Wonder Woman #53, I saw my first COIE #7 dialogue homage. No surprise, it comes from Supergirl scribe and fan Steve Orlando.

Review: Action Comics #1002

Action Comics #1002 came out this week and it seems in this new Bendis-driven era of Superman, this is going to be the title I enjoy most. This is Bendis exploring Metropolis so it leads to more character driven stories. This is where we'll see the Planet staff. This is were we'll see the day-to-day crime that occurs in a city protected by Superman. It is where we see the Guardian, a street level hero operating there. So this is where Bendis skills with dialogue can shine a bit more.

The main thrust of this issue is Superman still investigating the wave of arson plaguing the city. It starts with the death of one of the arsonists, a crime initially pinned on Superman. It ends with a Lois reveal that most of us have been waiting for. Regarding both of those plots, it is Clark who gets to shine. I am a fan of character driven issues and this one certainly counts.

The art on the book is done by Patrick Gleason and he does a great job conveying action and emotion throughout. I'll point out a couple of pages where the art does the hefty lifting, informing the reader on the emotion of the scene.

I am enjoying Action Comics, far more than Rogol Zaar and the Phantom Zone and Batman's bowels as seen in Superman.

On to the book!

DC November Solicits

It may sound strange but I am having this swell of optimism in my heart about comics and DC Comics in general. Perhaps it is the hazy afterglow of convention season. Perhaps it is because there seems to be a sort of sweep of creativity going through the DC books recently. At the very least, you can say the company is trying new stuff while leaning into their proven commodities.

That feeling only got larger in my heart when I looked at the November solicits, seen here at Newsarama:
https://www.newsarama.com/41452-dc-comics-november-2018-solicitations.html

Maybe it is because one of my favorite artists is doing Supergirl. Maybe it is because a new Shazam book is going to be on the shelf. Maybe it is because Scott Snyder continues to keep the new Justice League book flying at warp 9. Maybe it is G. Willow Wilson is starting on Wonder Woman. Maybe it is one of my all time favorite comic writers back on a monthly?

Maybe it is all of it.

But it starts with seeing Doc Shaner doing November's Supergirl. Not that I don't love Kevin Maguire. But I have been wanting to see Shaner draw Supergirl for a long time. Getting a whole issue of him on Kara (maybe more than one issue?) set the tone!

On to the super-solicits and other stuff that caught my eye.

Boston Fan Expo Recap #2: Bob McLeod Commission, John Byrne, And Others!

Fan Expo Boston is now 2 weeks behind me and there was another con that I have already attended (yay con season!).

So I thought I would wrap up my coverage of this con today.

As I said last week, the feel of the con is much more celebrity-focused but the comic creator guest list was pretty impressive. There was a nice mix of classic creators and current folks. So for an old timer like me who also hits the store every Wednesday, this was perfect.

For examples, one of my best interactions was talking to Sam Humphries about his Legion/Bugs Bunny crossover. Humphries is a big fan of the Grell era Legion, the books I cut my comic teeth on. And I was able to talk about his recent Harley Quinn run which has really shined.

And, of course, John Byrne was there. Byrne was a huge draw for me, having been a fan of his since I was a wee lad reading Marvel Team-Up and enjoying his Superman reboot.

Regarding commissions these days, I am trying to make sure I get more classic artists when I see them (and if I can afford them) to recognize them and their contributions. At Boston, I really hoped to grab a Bob McLeod commission and I was lucky enough to get one.

Up next, the commission, by Byrne interaction, and other stuff.