RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Comic Books It's official: Jim Shooter back on the Legion!

Last month, we told you about Francis Manapul signing on to Legion of Super-Heroes with #37, and at the time, he couldn’t name the writer. Shooter is that writer.

In 2008, the Legion of Superheroes celebrates their 50th anniversary as defenders of the 31st Century, and who better to helm the time traveling team than Jim Shooter, the writer synonymous with the title during its glory years in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Scheduled to return with issue #137 in December, Jim Shooter told CBR News he has huge plans for DC Comics' “Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes” and their milestone anniversary.
“My first arc is 16 issues. As far as I know, I'll continue on the ‘Legion of Superheroes' after that,” revealed Shooter. “We have several big, actually huge events planned for the first storyline, worthy, I think, of the 50th anniversary year for the Legion. I can't tell you those. I can tell you that the Legion and the Legionnaires will grow and evolve, but everyone says similar things about whatever series they're writing, don't they?


"Supergirl & The Legion of Super-Heroes" art by Francis Manapal
“I can tell you that many of the things I liked about the Legion way back when will become more important, like the membership tryouts, the councils and the missions to fantastic worlds. There'll be a new take on the Legion Academy. I'm also introducing the Legion Reserves. Night Girl will be reintroduced as one of that group. There'll be lots of new characters. A few will depart. There will be lots of new worlds, new technologies, new revelations about the 31st Century and beyond. I hope that by the end of the first arc people feel that every issue was significant, that the series has evolved dramatically, and for the better.”

How's that for a sales pitch?

Shooter, who would go on to become Editor-In-Chief at Marvel between 1978 and 1987, made his first big splash in comics as a 14 year-old when he successfully pitched DC Comics four Legion stories in 1966. Beginning with “Adventure Comics” #346, the four books introduced some of the team's most beloved characters including Karate Kid, Princess Projectra, Ferro Lad, and one of their classic super villains, Universo.


"Supergirl & The Legion of Super-Heroes" art by Francis Manapal
“My first stint started 42 years ago, but I did write a few stories for [editor] Murray Boltinoff in the mid-seventies, so it's been only 31 years since I wrote the Legion,” quipped Shooter. “About ten years ago, I discussed with Paul Levitz possibly doing a Legion project, which I referred to as ‘Jim Shooter's Last Legion Story.' The idea was that it would be a ten or 12 issue story featuring ‘my' Legion of Super-heroes of the 1960s, an untold story from my run on the series back then, so as not to interfere with anyone else's continuity. Apparently, a few editorial people at DC objected to my working there, ultimately they got their way and the project never happened.”

Known for its sizable roster, Shooter said the Legion's membership will remain status quo, for a little while anyways. “At the beginning, the roster will be the same as those at the end of the Waid and Bedard runs,” teased Shooter. “Atom Girl, Brainiac 5, Chameleon, Colossal Boy, Dreamer, Element Lad, Invisible Kid, Karate Kid, Light Lass, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Princess Projectra, Saturn Girl, Shadow Lass, Star Boy, Timber Wolf, Triplicate Girl and Ultra Boy. I think that's all. The roster soon changes, though.”



"Supergirl & The Legion of Super-Heroes" art by Francis Manapal
Shooter says that like a proud parent, he loves each of the Legionnaires equally, but when pushed, he would have to go back to the beginning to choose a favorite. “I know it sounds like an evasive answer, but I get involved in whichever character or characters I'm writing at the moment, and at that moment, they're my favorite, and I can't imagine a better character,” said Shooter. “But if you pressed me to pick favorites objectively, I suppose I'd go with the original three: Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl and Cosmic Boy.”

That being said, Shooter says his run does not tie directly into Geoff Johns' upcoming Legion story in “Action Comics,” which will feature the team's three founding members, nor will it touch on “Lightning Saga” or “Final Crisis,” for that matter.

“Because ‘The Legion of Super-Heroes' is 1,000 years in the future, and, in a way, its own little universe , the book isn't as involved with the big crossover stories as most other titles, though the effects will be felt,” explained Shooter. “We haven't really tied-in with the 'Lightning Saga' or 'Action Comics' much, but thanks to on-the-ball editor Mike Marts, we've coordinated with them pretty well, I think.”

Shooter says the Legion having their own corner of DCU to protect is part of the team's strength, but the tangential line connecting the team to its premier players defines the Legion, as well. “The Legion of Superheroes is as limitless as tomorrow,” Shooter declared. “We have a little corner of the DC Universe pretty much to ourselves. Therefore, we can keep our continuity tight and our world consistent. We have all the advantages of being part of the same mythos that contains Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, et al, but very little of the burden.”


"Supergirl & The Legion of Super-Heroes" art by Francis Manapal
Never one to back down from a challenge, Shooter has high hopes for “Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes,” his first major project for DC Comics in nearly 20 years. “My goal is to make “Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes” the most relevant and most important title,” stated Shooter. “Don't laugh. We've got a terrific editor, a great penciler, an outstanding inker and a wonderful basic concept, young heroes in a fantastic future. I figure if I just pull my weight...”

The penciler on the book is Francis Manapul and the inker is John Livesay. “Francis is amazing. He's a rising star,” said Shooter. “He draws wonderfully well. He's a storyteller. He's a dramatist. His work is dazzling. It has that innate appeal Stan [Lee] used to call ‘glamour.' Few times in my many years have I been as eager to see what the penciler did with my script as I am with Francis and I've worked with some very heavy-duty Hall-of-Famers.”

Shooter, who keeps busy working for Illustrated Media, a company that produces comics for advertising, promotions and premiums, says now that he is back writing for DC, he's be open to writing any of the company's big hitters. “I'd enjoy writing pretty much any of the household name characters. But, I'm also open to new things. Right now, the Legion is keeping me busy, but maybe down the road a ways, I'll take on something else,” said Shooter.

• THE EARLY DAYS, 1966-1970
  
  TIM HARTNETT, SilverBullet : ...How did you acquire your fascination with the medium?
  
  JAMES SHOOTER: I read comics as a kid in the fifties. Got bored with them around age eight. When I was about 12, I discovered the then-new Marvel Comics, and got very much interested again. Those early Marvels started what has become a lifetime passion.
  
  TH: You entered the industry at a rather early age. How did this come about?
  
  JS: I had the crazy idea that if I could learn to write like Stan Lee, I could sell comics scripts to DC since their comics, I thought, weren't nearly as good as the Marvels of the time. So, I spent a year literally studying comics trying to suss out what I liked, what I didn't, and why. Then, when I thought I was ready, at age 13, I wrote a Legion of Super-Heroes script with rough layouts (because I had no idea what the proper format for a comics script was) and sent it to DC Comics. Editor Mort Weisinger wrote back and asked me to send him another story. I sent a two-parter. The he called, bought all three, and gave me an assignment to write a Supergirl story. I never lacked for work from DC for the next five years. I worked my way though high school.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  TH: During your run on Legion of Super-Heroes, you wanted to introduce one of the first Black superheroes but the idea was shot down?
  
  JS: Ferro Lad (who was masked, remember) was supposed to be black. My plan was that when this was revealed, no one would bat an eye---it would be a total non-issue as one might expect in the enlightened future. Mort vetoed it on the grounds that if we had a black character ID wholesaler distributors in the South would refuse to carry DC Comics. Hmf.
  
  TH: What about the Legion being the first comic to have a "drug" story?
  
  JS: I believe it was. The "Lotus Fruit" story starring Timber Wolf [ACTION COMICS 378, July 1969] I think was rejected by the Comics Code. We had to eviscerate the ending and way downplay the obvious drug reference to get it into print. Stan ran his Spider-man drug story, which I think -- not sure -- came soon after without the Code Seal, a risky thing to do in those days.
  
  
  TH: While at DC, you worked on some pretty hefty properties. Superman comes to mind in the '70s. What did you get from your time at DC that later helped you in your tenure as EIC of Marvel? Why did you decide to leave DC? Did DC have an "A-list writers get A-list books, B-list writers get B-list books" system similar to the one you scrapped when you first came to Marvel?
  
  JS: The first script I submitted was a Legion of Super Heroes script. Legion of Superheroes and all "Superman family" books were under Mort's purview and as a writer in his stable that's what I wrote. There was no such thing as A-list or B-list. You were competent or you weren't. The point which I carried with me to Marvel was to find the writer best suited for each book. I demonstrated to Mort I guess that I could write any Superman family book. Mort not only taught me a lot about the creative side of comics, but also about the business -- managing a creative organization, art production, separations, printing, licensing, merchandising, media, advertising, and more. I think he was grooming [me] for editorial/management work someday. All of what I learned from him and others at DC was useful to me at Marvel.

This bullshit Logan's Run Legion really needs to be discarded in favor of the badass classic Legion currently running around the 21st century DCU.

To continue on with such a lousy premise (adults=bad, kids =good + all potential Legionnaires) is a stupid setting to base a continuity in.

Borrowing this section from the Jim Shooter interview topic:




This is one of the few times I'm optimistic about a former creator returning to a series he formerly worked on. Shooter did quite a bit to develop the Legion's continuity during his run (ADVENTURE COMICS issues 346-380, and ACTION COMICS 378, 380-382, 384, together spanning from July/1966-Jan 1970) and make it more engaging to read, injecting a Lee/Kirby brand of dynamic storytelling to the series.

I hope Shooter is able to resurrect some semblance of the 35-year continuity that existed until the series was scrapped, or "re-booted" in 1994 after the "Zero Hour" crossover event.
Of the 33 Legion members established in the original series from 1958-1994, only 5 were created after 1968. And Shooter introduced quite a few of the series' enduring heroes and villains.


Here's a fun website that nostalgically explores the 60's-era continuity, with story chronology, covers, checklists, and a lot of art panels displayed from those stories:

• http://members.shaw.ca/legion_of_super-heroes/mainpage.htm

Sorry, Beardguy, I was interrupted mid-list, and edited my post to conclude it, after you posted.

You're right about Chemical King first appearing in-continuity in ADVENTURE 371, 8/1968 (by Shooter/Swan/Abel). That was the first appearance of Chemical King in continuity, introduced in the Legion's regular story-line.

The earlier ADVENTURE 354 appearance was in what was essentially an "imaginary" story, of the "adult Legion", that may or may not come to pass, and was just a commemorative statue of dead Legion members who died in action, in the distant future. Introducing a character that would be developed later.

But ADVENTURE 354 was still chronologically the first issue to have an appearance by Chemical King.
But continuity-wise, you're right, ADVENTURE 371 is where the character was fully introduced.


That was a tough one!

You might be interested in the Adventure digest series that reprinted the early Legion series in order WB. Besides the stories Paul Levitz offered commentary on each story that I found really interesting. The issue before Matter-eater Lad joined, he pointed out that Tenz was actually in the previous story listening to Bouncing Boy's secret origon. Sure enough there is an applicant in a different costume with a giant mouth on his shirt. It also reprinted a couple that didn't make the archive series. Besides that the digest ran Aquaman, Shazam & a couple of other heroes. Whoever was picking stuff to reprint really did a good job.

There will be, and Geoff Johns has said he'll be writing it.