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Legion Lost Andy Lanning Books

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Legion Lost Andy Lanning Books

Legion Lost is tied to another series. Context is crucial. After the prior version of the Legion became so jumbled the powers at DC rebooted the Legion into a lighter, younger version. Derisively called the "Archie" Legion, this sunnier group succeeded in telling accessible stories for a new generation. However all kids grow up, except one. DC decided that as the industry collapsed it wanted to shake up stagnant Legion sales by going in a more mature vein. The company handed over control to Abnett and Lanning one of the better duos in the industry. For the art, Copiel, later of Marvel X-men/Avengers, provides almost the entire series.

After Legion Damned, a great story about being a superhero in occupied territory, some of the team make a big sacrifice, becoming stranded outside the universe. the twelve issues contained here chart their journey home. Copiel fills the pages with darkness and grime, matching the bleak tone. In spite of this, Legion is a perfect entry point. The narrative device for each issue is one Legion member dictating his thoughts on the situation. While knowing these characters may enhance your appreciation of this series, you don't really need to.

Product details Hardcover Publisher DC Comics (2010) ASIN B005BSRMF2

Tags : Legion Lost [Andy Lanning] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers.,Andy Lanning,Legion Lost,DC Comics,B005BSRMF2
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Legion Lost Andy Lanning Books Reviews

This is the one LoSH book that I would recommend for anyone who wants to see what the Legion is all about. It's a great self-contained story that reads like a novel with a beginning, middle and end. Even though it's 10 years old it's not dated and feels very fresh.
This is a mean (not in the good sense) collection by DC comics of an excellent twelve issue maxi-series originally published around 2000-2001 and is collected here for the first time. It's a basic, as in bare minimum, collection, although the hardcovers and binding are reasonably good quality and the paper stock is pretty good as well. There are just no extras of any sort. No foreword by writers Abnett and Lanning, no sketches or commentary at the end by Coipel, one of comics most popular artists at the moment... there's nothing. Oddly, this treatment of a fairly important story for DC is not surprising. Despite strong fan reaction and appreciation since its release, DC has treated Legion Lost pretty shoddily, waiting some ten years to finally collect it. (The poor treatment of the work is however, somewhat perplexing, given that Abnett and Lanning have returned to the DC fold to write a re-launched "Resurrection Man" after a substantial absence.) The collection is almost completely a result of direct fan demand, as the series became a cult favorite that eventually blossomed into a well-regarded and much sought after series long after it was released, similar in many respects to the way some movies find a new and larger audience on dvd or blue-ray after only modest success in the cinema.

Whatever the case, Legion Lost represents a well told, wonderful story by Abnett and Lanning with excellent sci-fi and slight horror elements. In "Lost," the Legionnaires find themselves far from home in an unknown sector of space and are confronted by an adversary who represents the very antithesis of what the Legion stands for. Known only as the "progenitor," their enemy is a powerful unseen entity with a mysterious connection to the Legionnaires themselves, and whose minions track down and destroy any alien races they regard as "variant." Desperate to survive, the lost Legionnaires must evade the hostile forces of the Progenitor and find a way back home. In the process, they discover a new ally, and are heartbroken by the loss of not one, but two of their own.

In "Lost," Abnett and Lanning display a solid command of their characters. The stories here are a fluid, lyrical blend of action and character and move along at a brisk, compelling clip. The stakes for the Legionnaires are always high and the writers manage to keep things relatively interesting with some nice twists, many of which are unexpected. In terms of art, Coipel acquits himself well, despite an annoying tendency at this point in his career to occasionally produce overly scratchy art with pointless lines on many of his characters noses and to not let his panels breathe a bit. For two issues, Pascal Alixe handles art chores but fails generally to capture Coipel's fluidity and energy. It also doesn't help that he isn't quite as strong a draftsman.

As other reviewers have noted, Legion Lost took place at a time during which the Legion of Superheroes had been "rebooted", which is to say arbitrarily restarted for what was probably the second time. Although it had its fans, this reboot occasionally struggled to find its place with wider fandom despite supporting two books. Some derisively referred to it as the "Archie Legion," due to DC's unfortunate choice of general art style for most of the series. By issue 12X or so, the series was floundering and DC handed over the reins to Abnett and Lanning and Coipel, who immediately infused the series with strong, careful characterizations, a strong science fiction element and higher, more desperate stakes. It also didn't hurt that Coipel, not yet a superstar and not quite as in command of his style as he would eventually become, was at least a solid artist with a good design sense that could also draw characters someone could take seriously on the page.

With their first story, "The Blight," published across both "Legion of Superheroes" and "Legionnaires," Abnett and Lanning gave the series something it had been sorely lacking for many years - a sense of real peril and danger. This 4 parter, which I highly recommend and was recently reprinted, found the Legion overrun by a new and dangerous alien species known only as "the Blight." Using the United Planet's own technology against them, the Blight had arrived and conquered earth before the Legion knew what hit them, managing in the process to corrupt some Legionnaires and turn much of the population of earth into slaves. In a desperate battle to free earth and themselves of the Blight forever, the Legionnaires rebel against their captors, striking at the heart of the very source of the Blight's power - the system of star-gates throughout the UP. But at the last moment, when victory is nearly guaranteed, the unthinkable happens. A rift in space opens, and several Legionnaires get pulled in, presumed dead by all they know and love.

This is actually where Legion Lost begins, as it chronicles the story of how the "lost" Legionnaires find their way in a part of space that is so far away they have no way of getting back home. DC provides no real background to why the Legionnaires got to where they are at the start of the story in this collection, so it would be interesting to find out how readers who did not read the original 4 parter would react to the opening chapter here. Because I was intimately familiar with the Blight story, and because I had obviously read Legion Lost before, everything I was reading was familiar and there was no confusion on my part. I once lent my single Legion Lost issues to a non-Legion fan and I think he found it impenetrable - he had not read the story of how they got lost in the first place, and I don't think he was ever able to locate himself in relation to who these characters were and what their plight was. I suspect therefore that this collection will probably be best appreciated by Legion readers who were reading the books at the time and who either own or have the inclination to track down the original 4 part Blight story. Casual Legion fans or fans looking for an introductory Legion story may be better served looking elsewhere, which is unfortunate. But for some editorial foresight on DC's part, this situation could have been easily remedied, with a detailed "what came before" page or perhaps even including the 4 extra issues in this collection, or perhaps pointing out to buyers of the volume that the story that immediately preceded "Lost" is available as a very affordable collection in most comic stores.

As you can probably tell, I'm a real fan of Legion Lost. I have deliberately avoided going into too much detail on the story itself, opting in this review to give more context and background, in the hopes that new Legion fans or long-time fans who didn't pick up "Lost" the first time, might be wooed in with some critical background they might have missed. Despite their best efforts, Abnett and Lanning were never able to really save the "Archie Legion," as the series eventually floundered again and was eventually rebooted, yet again. To a certain extent, this had nothing to do with the excellent work by the writers, and more to do with DC's ridiculous policy of simply rebooting/restarting any series they didn't think was working. (A policy I see they are still determined to stick to, despite years of evidence that the policy is misguided.) With each reboot, DC had simply succeeded in cannibalizing the Legion's fanbase. Although some wonderful stories were produced about the Archie Legion, and many new characters and concepts emerged, it was always haunted by one simple problem - the concept, world and characters of the original Legion were so strong, so compelling, and so deeply ingrained in the consciousness of random fandom that every version which came after, struggled to compete. (A good example of this is the fan reaction to the creation of the character of "Shikari" in Legion Lost. Despite being a wonderfully original character in her own right, her apparent purpose in providing an analog for the character of Dawnstar from the original Legion, caused a split among fans that nearly broke the DC Message Boards in half at the time. New fans loved her but old fans were just reminded of what they'd lost and complained accordingly. This was typical after the reboot.) Despite their best efforts therefore, Abnett and Lanning couldn't serve two masters, and were ultimately doomed to failure.

It appears, with the late collection of this story, that executives at DC at the time probably put the blame squarely on their shoulders. After they left Legion, DnA as they are affectionately known, appeared to take a long hiatus from DC, although they occasionally worked on a story or character here or there. The truth is though that they were more probably the scapegoats of a misguided effort on DC's part to constantly reinvent what was not in need of reinvention. (Would Marvel ever be stupid enough to "reboot" the X-Men? Please.) Thankfully, some ten years later, the excellent work by these two writers speaks for itself. Trust me, this is good stuff.
The Legion of Super-Heroes debuted in April of 1958 in "Adventure Comics" #247 as teenagers from the 31st Century travelling back in time to meet their idol Superboy. Since their inception the group of young heroes has grown to be a full Legion with numerous members from all over the universe. Along the way DC Comics has continued to reinvent the Legion. From recreating their origin stories, to removing Superboy altogether from the mythos, to jumping the stories five years further into the future, each iteration of the Legion has met with fan delight and fan disgust along the way.

In 1999, DC Comics welcomed a new creative team onto the "Legion of Super-Heroes." The popular writing team of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning were paired with hot up and coming European artist Olivier Coipel to take over the two ongoing monthly "Legion of Super-Heroes" series. Their task was to reinvigorate the franchise for the new millennium. The first stories they told ended the then current Legion titles "Legion of Super-Heroes" and "Legionaires."

As the two Legion series came to a close the promise of a new future for the Legion was offered. This time in the pages of a twelve issue series "Legion Lost" published from May 2000 to April 2001. Abnett, Lanning, and Coipel were joined by artist Pascal Alixe and the story they told is one of the seminal stories in the history of the Legion of Super-Heroes.

The story opens with a small band of the Legion stuck in hibernation chambers. Their ship had been forced through a rift in the galaxy and they are lost through time and space. Discovered by Shikari, a bug like native of this new galaxy, the Legion of Super-Heroes are awakened to find they are uncountable light years removed from their home. Their ship is damaged and their hope is as lost and they are.

They have lost everything, their home, their purpose, their spirit, their friends and Abnett and Lanning want it that way. Each issue of the series is told from the point of view of a different Legionaire. With this changing perspective, the writers are able to get to the core of each of the twelve heroes showcased throughout the series. As the events become more desperate the heroes are tested regarding the fundamental philosophies of what it means to be a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes.

The heroes are chased by a genocidal race of aliens known as the Progeny. The Progeny's purpose is to eliminate "variants," anything they deem different from their own species. The guiding factor behind the Progeny when revealed provides the ultimate test to these heroes as they must overcome insurmountable odds when they are at the lowest points in their lives.

Coipel drew nine of the 12 issues with Alixe drawing the other three. Both artists were inked by Lanning who maintained a consistent look for the art through the series. Coipel has gone on to become one of the premiere artists working in comics. Following his time on "Legion" he achieved mega-stardom drawing books for Marvel Comics' "House of M," "Thor," and "X-Men." Throughout the series you see the talent that Coipel is working to harness. Lanning's inking tightens the work up, but the raw power and energy of the pencils is visible. It is a stunning to see the youth and the vibrancy within the artwork. The energetic style compliments the tone of the story that is full of confusion and desperation on the part of the Legion.

The three issues completed by Alixe are not differing in tone from the artwork of Coipel as it compliments the future star's work. It does lack some of the dynamism found in Coipel's pages but the change is not jarring and on any other story the artwork would be considered stellar.

What the "Legion Lost" series does so successfully is provide a new entry point into the convoluted history of the Legion. By pairing the cast down to a manageable (if you consider 12 manageable) number you are able to learn about the strength and weaknesses of each character. Their origins are covered without banging you over the head with unnecessary exposition or in depth sob stories.

Some aspects of the 12 issues draw on the history of the Legion and some of it recent in regards to this series. It does give you a sense of the enormous history of the characters but the allusions to the previous stories let you know they had a life before "Legion Lost" but it does not impact the overall exploration and characterization achieved within the series.

Next month the current series featuring the "Legion of Super-Heroes" comes to a close with a new take ready to begin later in the year with "Justice League 3000." With the Legion restarting again revisiting one of the past successes in the Legion of Super Heroes franchise is key, and there a few more endearing and entertaining than "Legion Lost."
Legion Lost is tied to another series. Context is crucial. After the prior version of the Legion became so jumbled the powers at DC rebooted the Legion into a lighter, younger version. Derisively called the "Archie" Legion, this sunnier group succeeded in telling accessible stories for a new generation. However all kids grow up, except one. DC decided that as the industry collapsed it wanted to shake up stagnant Legion sales by going in a more mature vein. The company handed over control to Abnett and Lanning one of the better duos in the industry. For the art, Copiel, later of Marvel X-men/Avengers, provides almost the entire series.

After Legion Damned, a great story about being a superhero in occupied territory, some of the team make a big sacrifice, becoming stranded outside the universe. the twelve issues contained here chart their journey home. Copiel fills the pages with darkness and grime, matching the bleak tone. In spite of this, Legion is a perfect entry point. The narrative device for each issue is one Legion member dictating his thoughts on the situation. While knowing these characters may enhance your appreciation of this series, you don't really need to.