In Review: Legion of Super-Heroes #6
The cover: Chris Sprouse with Karl Story & Guy Major show Legionnaire Dragonwing spitting some of her green flame at two metahuman assailants as she throws a left at a bat-boy and is charged by another sporting a Fu Manchu. Marya looks a little too relaxed for this much action, but it’s not a bad illustration. Overall grade: B
The story: China, the 31st century, is the setting, as Sun Boy, Element Lad and Chemical King are trying to stop the, literal, Sea of Fire from destroying the Xin Jiang region. Chemical King is the newbie on the team and Element Lad is surprisingly showing him the ropes, since he’s usually a loner. By Page 4 Chemical King is shown what he must do, but he doesn’t think he’s up to the task. After this page the issue jumps to other Legionnaires, some on monitor duty, others on clean-up detail, and there are even two pages from a Dominator’s point of veiw. I’ve never seen a Dominator’s world before and I liked what I saw; I hope to see more soon! The majority of the story concerns another newbie, Dragonwing, on her search for a family member, hence this issue’s title “Dragon & Phoenix.” I know nothing of this Legionnaire, so it was nice to get some information on a character that I’d previously written off as background filler. This was the first time I’d seen Marya or her own and it was enjoyable. Paul Levitz has written a bezillion Legion stories, so juggling all the characters and their stories comes off smoothly. His Legion stories usually contain strands of a bigger story that lead to the entire Legion being necessary, so I’m expecting things from the Dominators in the future. Overall grade: A
The art: This is some highly detailed art! Francis Portela makes you feel as though you’re in the future! It’s like Blade Runner, the comic book. The settings are epic in this future; Just look at pages 2 and 4 for proof! The characters are highly detailed, from each whisker on Star Boy to the design on Dragonwing’s cover. In fact, where’s the slack? I can’t find one page, let alone one panel, where Portela took the easy way out. I’d be willing to pay double the cover price to maintain this quality. Overall grade: A+
The colors: Was this issue a nightmare to color? It had to be! With all the detail provided by Portela, Javier Mena had his hands full, but every page is beautiful. Look how the flames effect the colors on the splash page. Once their shields go up, the Legionnaires’ uniforms’ true colors are shown, but in a bubble that effects the colors ever so slightly! The streets of China reinforce my Blade Runner comment in colors and depth. In the immortal words of Belloq, “It’s beautiful!” Overall grade: A+
The letters: One of the many reasons I love the Legion are the sound effects, and Patrick Brosseau does them all, plus the traditional dialogue and narration, with splendor. Overall grade: A
The final line: I got info on a new Legionnaire, I got to see other Legionnaires in action, and I got a villain that’s not going to back down anytime soon. And the teaser–Wooie! This is why I love super hero comics. Overall grade: A
