DC’s Legion of Super-Heroes began as a side-story for Superboy, the featured series in Adventure Comics in the 1950s. Their first appearance was as a trio of teenaged time travelers — Lightning Boy, Saturn Girl, and Cosmic Boy — come back from the thirtieth century to meet their hero, the inspiration for their group. They proved popular enough to merit their own series, which has seen several incarnations. This collection, part of the original continuity, dates from 1982-83, and originally appeared in the single issue comics Legion of Super-Heroes #284-296 and the Annual #1.
The Great Darkness Saga, so blatantly touted in the subtitle, actually takes up a minor portion of this volume: the reawakening of Darkseid, sealed for a thousand years in the ruins of Apokolips, begins about two-thirds of the way through the collection (originally #290 of the series). The preludes are a series of adventures that focus as much on tensions within the group as they do on outside enemies. It’s a universe that retains its ’50s origins, with the Legion working at the behest of the United Planets, and the Science Police as the main force for law and order.
This collection predates the divide in the history of superhero comics that happened around the late 1980s, or at least began then, when Alan Moore got his hands on Batman. By contemporary standards, this is light fare — the scripts are not particularly meaty and characterizations are rudimentary. I have to confess, having steeped myself in contemporary action comics lately, that it’s hard for me to put myself in the appropriate frame of mind for the Legion of Super-Heroes. I mention this because unless one is after a nostalgia turn, The Great Darkness Saga is apt to be somewhat of a disappointment.
Paul Levitz, the principal writer, notes that “These were emphatically periodicals, meant to be read once a month,” and I think that is not only completely accurate but works against the collection as a collection. As I noted above, the first two-thirds of the volume is a series of separate adventures, one or two numbers long — a story collection, when it comes right down to it. It’s hampered by, among other things, the sheer number of superheroes involved (and, from my own personal viewpoint, the awkwardness of the names — Lightning Lad and Sun Boy, one can accept; Duplicate Boy and Triplicate Girl are a bit of a stretch). In fact, the last page of this volume originally appeared at the end of #293, promising “guest appearances by practically everybody who ever appeared in this mag. . . .” The satirical normalman has, as a running gag, Lighthead Lad doing a roll call of the seemingly infinite membership of the Legion of Superfluous Heroes. I don’t think I need to say more about it.
The art, drawn principally by Keith Giffen, with inks by Larry Mahlstedt, is pure ’50s as well, from concept to execution. My big objection is that the teen-aged superheroes don’t look — or act — like teenagers, which makes the incidence of Boy, Girl, Lad and Lass in the character names somewhat of a disconnect. Frames are densely packed, and we are undeniably still in the age of the illustrated story. I do note, however, that layouts are often more adventurous, more cinematic, than one might expect, although still carrying very little of the narrative.
So, Legion of Super-Heroes: The Great Darkness Saga is definitely for those with a hankering for the good ol’ days of superhero comics. In that context, it holds up pretty well, although I would advise taking this collection in small doses — one or two chapters at a time.
(DC Comics, 2010)
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