Legion of Super-Heroes

I've got a bit of a complicated history with the Legion. I wanted to follow the books after Zero Hour but it just never came together for me. Long, boring, pointless story. The best summary though is probably "YOU try putting together a comic book collection on a $5 per week allowance!"

But I finally managed to get into the post-Zero Hour reboot a few years ago. Dug it. Seriously dug it. I understand why Mark Waid regards it as professional fanfic but for a Legion n00b, it was a great way to get the flavor of what the team's all about. Mon-El/M'onel/Lar Gand/Valor replaced Superboy as the Legion's inspiration for joining up with each other in this version.

As you may know, the post-Zero Hour Legion was eventually mothballed and Mark Waid rebooted the title again. This book is freaking phenomenal. I realize it's sort of moot by now but this is as essential as anything Legion for my money. The angle here is that the legend of superheroes inspired this team to come together. Awesome on toast!

This version too was eventually mothballed and someone (Brad Meltzer?) decided to bring back the original (pre-Zero Hour) Legion. And that's been the Legion of Super-Heroes we've been running with lo these past couple of years. Superboy is once again the team's inspiration and unwitting, unintentional co-founder. I really dig that because it emphasizes how important Superman is to the DCU. He's not just another dickhead in a cape who's second banana anytime Batman shows up. Anyway. The angle here is that this is an UNBOOT. The original continuity up through (at the very least) 1986 has been more or less restored into continuity. And, hey, fan fave Paul Levitz is writing the book again! Should be awesome, right?

Well it's NOT! See, what makes Waid's reboots work for me is (A) his style of writing in general (B) his knack for introducing the relevant characters in each issue in an organic way and (C) his approaching the material with fresh eyes.

In short, that's everything that isn't happening with the current Legion books. Some characters I knew/know from the reboots are dead, others have been replaced and Levitz makes no effort to introduce these people and tell me just who the fuck they are. Worse, we're talking about continuity that goes back to 19fucking59! Okay, I luvz me some continuity as much as the next guy but HOLY SHIT!

Anyway. Bottom line? I'm done. I'm just fucking done. I've got a complete run of Adventure Comics and Legion both since the unboot took place. And they're not even all that bad in many cases. But (A) I prefer a teenage Legion and (B) there's simply not enough good to outweigh the bad.

Yeah, the original plan was to give the books a stay of execution pending the September relaunch but I just can't stand it anymore. Marvel looks to be pooping out high quality books non-stop and, as far as DCnU is concerned, Aquaman's getting a new monthly and this could be the chance to get in on the ground floor there. So on and so forth.

Bottom line? These are shitty comics and I can't afford shitty comics. Not at these cover prices, jack. So I'm done.

Hey, when DC Comics as you know it ceases to exist, remember that Dan Dildo says:

Dude, I have not one moment of doubt that DiDio, Johns and crew will point the finger at me and people like me, as if I've not done enough to support them. But they're the ones blowing me off to chase new readers that CLEARLY don't exist. And the few new readers they DO pick up... frankly, I doubt they'll have the commitment that I and others have had to stick with these characters through thick and thin, and follow them. WHEN the time comes to turn out the lights, there'd better not be confusion or head-scratching about what went wrong. Y'know?

I'd never argue Marvel's hands are entirely clean on this count but from what I've seen, they have a hell of a lot more respect for their fans and their own history than can be said of DC. It's not just in the movies that Marvel is kicking ass and getting the job done right. The same is at least as true of their comics, possibly moreso.

EDIT- I should add here that one major stumbling block for the industry is ACCESS. Everybody knows about comics but few people CARE about them. Folks who might be interested in checking them out often have to go to a dedicated comic book store. From their point of view, they have to wade into some really skeezy dive and deal with people who hold them in utter fucking contempt. That's the atmosphere at a lot of comics shop I've been to over the years. When I was a kid, the nearest shop to me (the determining factor in which store gets patronized for anyone too young for a car and a driver's license) was staffed by people who all but said they didn't give two fucks about me OR my business.

And this is not to speak of the cover prices of these books.

Better access in retail outlets like supermarkets and whatnot sustained the industry for decades. "Newsstand sales" is a brutal market for any periodical but John and Jane Sixpack are reluctant at best to go anyplace else. There's a thing that's called "meeting the consumer where he lives to get the fucking sale" and that's what the industry needs to be doing their level best at. The dependence on a predominantly comic book store-driven market hasn't done the industry any favors for the past 15 years or more.

People can say whatever the hell they want about digital comics, and they may even have a leg to stand on. But until digital can readily replace access for all people at all times (which, I assure you, we're nowhere close to), traditional markets need to be maintained and developed. And it's hard to get much more "traditional" than good ol' fashioned comic spinner racks at retail book stores and supermarkets and the like.