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A review by nickpalmieri
Legion of Super-Heroes Archives, Vol. 1 by Michael C. Hill, Jerry Siegel
4.0
First off: Like all the Archives books, this book is beautiful. Really nice hardcover and classy stamping under the dustjacket, with archival paper, sewn binding, "remastered" art/coloring- this thing is NICE.
While some stories here are better than others, all of them are entertaining and provide a great experience when read together. Each one is a dense little 12-page nugget, providing great insight on story structure- even as modern stories, and particularly comics, get more and more decompressed.
The first two-thirds of the stories are guest-appearances by the Legion, primarily in Superboy and Supergirl. These stories are either: one Legion member goes back in time to visit; a few Legion members go back in time to visit; or, much less common but much more fun, Superboy and/or Supergirl goes into the future to adventure with the Legion. A few stories include the Legion only briefly, but I'm happy they're here for the sake of completeness. Also worth noting is that some stories include little details that are changed/contradicted later, but even so it's interesting to watch the development of the concept. While some it can be formulaic and/or convoluted, there is some fun stuff in the first two-thirds of the book.
But the series hits its stride in the last third of this book, starting when the Legion gets its own dedicated stories. I'm amazed at the imagination on display here, and at how much STUFF happens! There are new "futuristic devices" galore, inventive superpowers and schemes, and completely off-the-wall plots- and the art gets equally as inventive, as dictated by the story. You never know what's going to happen from one panel to the next, in the most delightfully absurd way, but it all comes around by the end of the 12-pages.
Because these are old stories, don't expect the characters to have distinct voices. But, what the book lacks in characterization, it makes up for tenfold in plot, imagination, and FUN! I really enjoyed these, both as a look into a different era and in their own right. I'll definitely be reading more of these books. Highly recommended.
While some stories here are better than others, all of them are entertaining and provide a great experience when read together. Each one is a dense little 12-page nugget, providing great insight on story structure- even as modern stories, and particularly comics, get more and more decompressed.
The first two-thirds of the stories are guest-appearances by the Legion, primarily in Superboy and Supergirl. These stories are either: one Legion member goes back in time to visit; a few Legion members go back in time to visit; or, much less common but much more fun, Superboy and/or Supergirl goes into the future to adventure with the Legion. A few stories include the Legion only briefly, but I'm happy they're here for the sake of completeness. Also worth noting is that some stories include little details that are changed/contradicted later, but even so it's interesting to watch the development of the concept. While some it can be formulaic and/or convoluted, there is some fun stuff in the first two-thirds of the book.
But the series hits its stride in the last third of this book, starting when the Legion gets its own dedicated stories. I'm amazed at the imagination on display here, and at how much STUFF happens! There are new "futuristic devices" galore, inventive superpowers and schemes, and completely off-the-wall plots- and the art gets equally as inventive, as dictated by the story. You never know what's going to happen from one panel to the next, in the most delightfully absurd way, but it all comes around by the end of the 12-pages.
Because these are old stories, don't expect the characters to have distinct voices. But, what the book lacks in characterization, it makes up for tenfold in plot, imagination, and FUN! I really enjoyed these, both as a look into a different era and in their own right. I'll definitely be reading more of these books. Highly recommended.