by Robert Greenberger

Legion Lost

Today, the writing partnership of Andy Lanning & Dan Abnett enjoys a reputation for exciting, cosmic tales, exploring the universe aspect of the Marvel Universe. The justly-deserved reputation, though, wouldn’t have been possible without the English duo first spending some time in another future and another reality. After toiling on English comics then a ton of Marvel tales, they were invited to take on the Legion of Super-Heroes beginning with Legion #122 and Legionnaires #78 in late 1999.

Legion of the Damned

The franchise had proven durable since its debut in 1958 and at this point, enjoyed two monthly series but sales were soft and it needed a boost. Once the new writers got their feet wet, they sat with editor Mike McAvennie and brainstormed some new ideas, including sending half the team to the far reaches of the universe. As the plan formed, they used both series final issues to set up the new status quo with the storylines Legion of the Damned and Widening Rifts. The former story heralded the arrival of Olivier Coipel as the artist, making his comics debut.

In spring 2000, the books went away followed, after a brief beak, with Legion Lost, a year-long series that followed this half of the team. Soon after, a companion title, Legion Worlds, arrived to explore what happened back home while spotlighting several of the unique planets in DC Comics’ 31^st Century.

Legion fans took a little time to adjust to Coipel’s grittier interpretation of the characters but were ready to embrace him with Legion Lost while the project garnered good reviews and solid sales. However, the maxiseries never gathered enough support to be collected. The new management at DCE has finally rectified this oversight and this spring we will get a 296-page hardcover collection appealing to fans of the Legion and fans of Coipel, who has become one of the Big Name artists at Marvel these days. Also providing art for the series was Pascal Alixe, with Lanning inking both for some nice consistency.

The Legionnaires have to find their way home while dealing with the Progeny, antagonists native to the distant galaxy. The heroes find themselves forging an alliance with the Kwai, aiding them in their struggle for survival. Along the way, the team had to remain focused although sexual tensions among several of the teammates complicated their lives.

One of the knocks against the Legion is that more often than not, it was insular and self-referential so if you hadn’t been reading the series for years, you were hopelessly bewildered. On the other hand, the creators had the freedom of telling their stories with only period nods to the greater DC Universe so there was a nice self-contained aspect to the series.

Legion Lost tightened the focus, allowing old and new readers to get acclimated. Much as the renegade Progeny character Shikari met the team — Monstress, Brainiac 5.1, Umbra, Kid Quantum, Saturn Girl, Live Wire, Element Lad and Chameleon — so could anyone intrigued by the series. Its terrific space opera and science fiction as we learned more about the Progeny’s goal, to eradicate all traces of life that did not conform to the Progenitor’s idea of acceptable life. The writers did a marvelous job of mixing new lifeforms and new civilizations while letting each member of the Legion change and grow. There was also enough team energy as well so it was truly a satisfying read and holds up today.

Purchase Legion Lost.

Purchase DC Comics Presents: Legion of Super-Heroes – Legion of the Damned.

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