Jef Peckham
2011-09-17 05:40:51 UTC
Hi Gang!
Two new releases this week. Details follow the obligatory
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
P
A
C
E
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA: TEAM HISTORY trade paperback
This trade paperback reprints last year's hardcover, covering JLA (IV)
issues 38 - 43. That includes all of Mon-el's brief time with the team
while he was playing fill-in for Superman during the return to Krypton year.
His appearances are really minor, despite the prominent position he has on
the cover.
LEGION LOST (II) 1.
The only resemblance this bears to the previous series of this name is the
name itself.
Compared to many of the new Number Ones I've looked at so far, this one is a
little plot heavy, but let's run it down briefly. A previously never seen
villain named Alastor has come to the past (Now?) in a stolen and crashed
Time Bubble. His purpose: to release some sort of virus the Legion
prevented him from releasing in the future. A team of Legionnaires pursuing
him also crash their Time Bubble due to some problem with the time stream
(Flashpoint?). Although they left only an hour after Alastor, they arrive
30 hours later, better known as too late. All their future tech does not
seem to work. Neither do Dawnstar's powers work, handwaved away 'due to all
this pollution" (in Northern Minnesota, some of the cleanest air on the
planet today?). Gates and Chameleon Girl Yera are having trouble too (not
explained). While the rest of the team tries to cobble together one working
Time Bubble from the two crashed ones, Timber Wolf goes and brings Alastor
in. Without a fight. It seems he was taken to a nearby town where he
became hostile and destroyed much of the town before collapsing, possibly
infected with the virus he planned to release. As they start back through
the time stream, Alastor turns into monster warrior mode. Gates tries to
teleport Alastor away as Yera transforms into a creature to try and help
contain Alastor. At this point the Time Bubble explodes. Most of the team
regroups where Timber Wolf and Dawnstar declare that Gates and Yera must be
dead, because they can detect "Organic Residue...is falling with the rain."
Of Alastor there is no trace whatsoever.
So what now? This team is stuck in the past with no tech (including working
Flight Rings or transuits), except for Wildfire's containment suit. While I
normally like Pete Woods' art, did he really need o change EVERYONE's
costume? And now Tellus has legs! Every other arist who has drawn him
correctly got that he didn't have more than vestigial legs, coming as he
does from a water world. Why is this team stuck here? Assuming the future
is still the correct one, the Legion can just send another team back with a
new Time Bubble, once they realize they no longer have any signal from any
team member's Flight Rings. Is there some reason they can't or won't
contact any of their friends back here in the past?
Too many unanswered questions that point towards sloppy plotting by someone
who doesn't 'get' the Legion.
I have to hope this is one of the new books that prove to have a short life.
Three issues have already been solicited.
Until next time,
Archive Lad
Jef Peckham
j1peckham#earthlink.net
(replace the #, dummy!)
Two new releases this week. Details follow the obligatory
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
P
A
C
E
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA: TEAM HISTORY trade paperback
This trade paperback reprints last year's hardcover, covering JLA (IV)
issues 38 - 43. That includes all of Mon-el's brief time with the team
while he was playing fill-in for Superman during the return to Krypton year.
His appearances are really minor, despite the prominent position he has on
the cover.
LEGION LOST (II) 1.
The only resemblance this bears to the previous series of this name is the
name itself.
Compared to many of the new Number Ones I've looked at so far, this one is a
little plot heavy, but let's run it down briefly. A previously never seen
villain named Alastor has come to the past (Now?) in a stolen and crashed
Time Bubble. His purpose: to release some sort of virus the Legion
prevented him from releasing in the future. A team of Legionnaires pursuing
him also crash their Time Bubble due to some problem with the time stream
(Flashpoint?). Although they left only an hour after Alastor, they arrive
30 hours later, better known as too late. All their future tech does not
seem to work. Neither do Dawnstar's powers work, handwaved away 'due to all
this pollution" (in Northern Minnesota, some of the cleanest air on the
planet today?). Gates and Chameleon Girl Yera are having trouble too (not
explained). While the rest of the team tries to cobble together one working
Time Bubble from the two crashed ones, Timber Wolf goes and brings Alastor
in. Without a fight. It seems he was taken to a nearby town where he
became hostile and destroyed much of the town before collapsing, possibly
infected with the virus he planned to release. As they start back through
the time stream, Alastor turns into monster warrior mode. Gates tries to
teleport Alastor away as Yera transforms into a creature to try and help
contain Alastor. At this point the Time Bubble explodes. Most of the team
regroups where Timber Wolf and Dawnstar declare that Gates and Yera must be
dead, because they can detect "Organic Residue...is falling with the rain."
Of Alastor there is no trace whatsoever.
So what now? This team is stuck in the past with no tech (including working
Flight Rings or transuits), except for Wildfire's containment suit. While I
normally like Pete Woods' art, did he really need o change EVERYONE's
costume? And now Tellus has legs! Every other arist who has drawn him
correctly got that he didn't have more than vestigial legs, coming as he
does from a water world. Why is this team stuck here? Assuming the future
is still the correct one, the Legion can just send another team back with a
new Time Bubble, once they realize they no longer have any signal from any
team member's Flight Rings. Is there some reason they can't or won't
contact any of their friends back here in the past?
Too many unanswered questions that point towards sloppy plotting by someone
who doesn't 'get' the Legion.
I have to hope this is one of the new books that prove to have a short life.
Three issues have already been solicited.
Until next time,
Archive Lad
Jef Peckham
j1peckham#earthlink.net
(replace the #, dummy!)