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THE LEGION #6
"Terror Incognita 1: Terrorform"
Recommended (8/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Dan Abnett
Pencils: Olivier Coipel
Writer/Inks: Andy Lanning
Colors: Tom McCraw & Digital Chameleon
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Mike McAvennie
Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN |
Some of my
favorite Legion stories have been the epic tales that pit the Legion against one
mighty foe, like The Great Darkness Saga that was a highlight of the
Levitz/Giffen run or The White Triangle Saga that kicked off the post-boot era.
This issue, after five issues of build-up, Abnett and Lanning launch a
multi-part story in that tradition, and so far, I'm pretty happy with it. Ra's
Al Ghul has the right air of menace and preparation, while the Legion has the
right level of power to seem able to deal with it but not easily, and the scope
of the threat is truly enormous. Anybody can do a good "team falls apart" story,
as Abnett and Lanning have done over the last few years, but it seems that
they're also quite up to the task of the story of the Legion reforming and
becoming important heroes once again.
There's a nice balance in the
Legion between it's super-heroic roots and it's science-fiction roots. There are
any number of classic super-hero moments this issue, from the news media
reporting on the crisis to the battle of two teams. However, there's a feeling
of size and scope that is important to the Legion and it's more universal scale.
Ra's Al Ghul's plan involves the Earth, but it's not likely to stop there, and
even if it does, there's other trouble lurking out in space, as shown with the
Robotica subplot.
Though I'm all for a dark
story where the team is tested to its limits, I'm also a fan of seeing the
super-hero team flexing its muscles, and this issue should be a good one for
Legion fans. After operating undercover, at half strength, for so long, it was
good to see the team take charge and walk up to face the villain of the piece,
confident and powerful in their actions. Coipel does a stunning depiction of the
team floating in mid-air, wanting to speak to the President.
In fact, Coipel is a big part
of the larger scale, science-fiction feel of the book. He does stunning work on
the mechanized backgrounds that are such a big part of the 30th century
(including a nice inclusion of a futuristic World Trade Center-ish set of
towers), and he seems well able to handle the multiple team combats. He also
does some great work in spotlighting various characters by having them outside
the panels proper, and in general has a storytelling approach that is easy to
follow but definitely unconventional. Though I still wish for a little more
consistency in character design (particularly the faces), I think Coipel is a
huge asset to this book.
I am not one of the many die-hard Legion fans who will follow this book and these characters through thick and thin. I practically had to be dragged back after the postboot stories lost my interest, actually. But Abnett, Lanning and Coipel have got what it takes to make the Legion a top-flight book again, and whether you're a fan of the 30th century teens or not, there can be denying that The Legion is one of the most solid super-hero team
books on the market right now.
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