Adventure Comics #528 – Review

By: Paul Levitz (writer), Geraldo Borges & Ransom Getty (pencillers), Marlo Alquiza & Rob Hunter (inkers), Hi-Fi (colorist)

The Story: Now would be the time to sing the Legion Academy school song, but no one has kazoos on hand, do they?

The Review: Back when Jim Shooter took over the Legion “Three-boot,” the estimable comic book blogger Rokk Krin compared the move to getting a famed football coach out of retirement to rework the magic with a failing team.  I think that analogy works very well to summarize the situation we have with Levitz on the current Legion.  No one can deny his now legendary run with the team back in the day, but that’s where the brilliance has stayed: back in the day.

The formulaic writing which drove me away from Legion of Super-Heroes has undeniably reared its ugly head in the sibling title, as this entire issue reads much the same as almost every issue prior.  Developments, both in terms of plot or character, come minimally, if at all.  Mostly Levitz just recycles the same talking points that have long since failed to illicit anything approaching excitement, or even interest to see what will happen next.

Take the Legion Academy graduates.  Their final exam back in Adventure Comics #525 should’ve been the last we ever saw of these guys, especially since they offered virtually no worth or substance to this title to begin with.  But once again, we have to devote ourselves to far too many pages listening to them bemoan their fates about not getting into the Legion (because whining is such a cherished virtue among Legionnaires).

Adventure Comics #526 – Review

By: Paul Levitz & Geraldo Borges (storytellers), Marlo Alquiza (inker), Hi-Fi (colorist), Jeffrey Moy (2^nd feature penciller), Philip Moy (2^nd feature inker)

The Story: Glorith performs the first genetic exorcism, and XS tries her hand at modern art.

The Review: Even though DC’s co-features largely didn’t work, the concept of them as bonus tales to your title’s usual offerings had a nice appeal.  Whether they were worth the tacked-on dollar was arguable, but they never harmed the main series story-wise.  Occasionally they even enhanced their partner feature, if the creators put a little effort into it.

Not so here.  Levitz’s follow-up features have done little for his ongoing storyline except take away space that could’ve been devoted to more action and plotting.  Chemical Kid’s family problems had the potential to be a strong opening arc for these kids’ misadventures, but four issues in, the pace reduced to a crawl, the story still hasn’t got the excitement or intrigue it needs.  The stolen gene-mods could’ve been the first step to a much larger adversary for the Legion wannabes, but Levitz seems intent on letting the plot end on an anticlimactic note.

At least he spends time giving some interesting new shades to our young heroes.  Dragonwing gives off a tough vibe, but she’s also sensitive to her teammates’ feelings, even smoothing tensions between Gravity Kid and Chem Kid.  Glorith may be naïve about the modern world, but she’s respectfully strict about her magical traditions.  And Chem Kid’s lack of scruples when it comes to money may be the thing that gets between him and being a true hero.

Adventure Comics #525 – Review

By: Paul Levitz & Phil Jimenez (storytellers), Andy Lanning & Sean Parsons (inkers), Hi-Fi (colorist), Geraldo Borges & Marlo Alquiza (2^nd feature artists)

The Story: It’s not easy having a dad who gives superpowers to the people trying to kill you.

The Review: Having a magic-user on your superhero team can be a great idea in practice, but very risky for a comics writer.  Magic can be a great catalyst for telling stories, but it can get out of hand very quickly.  Too often, magicians end up acting as deus ex machina by instantly getting their team out of otherwise inescapable scrapes—just look at Dr. Strange on the Avengers, or Zatanna on the Justice League.

There’s plenty of reason to fear Glorith will wind up doing the same thing for her Legion Academy mates.  With all her pals out of commission, she still manages to take down the rest of the gene-modified gangsters by herself using some vaguely portrayed powers (Illusions?  Mind control?  Telekinesis?).  Let’s hope Levitz doesn’t make this a habit—it can get old pretty fast.

On top of that, you have the dissatisfying non-conclusion to Chemical Kid’s storyline, where as it turns out, his dad’s been selling off his gene-mod tech to cover his gambling debts.  It’s a pretty cliché sort of explanation that doesn’t lead anywhere, although it’s kind of fun to see Chem Kid’s dad as a whimpering coward. The kids don’t really have a chance to do anything about it either, since Levitz chooses to abridge their plot with two other stories in the issue.

Senior Academy members Lamprey and Power Boy get their graduation final by taking down some exotic animal smugglers (which, amusingly enough, include elephants—nice to know we haven’t completely killed them off by the 31^st century).  It’s a low-stakes test, and since you don’t really know the Legion-hopefuls all that well, you have little interest in their success.  Let’s hope their getting shunted to prison duty on Takron-Galtos ends their part in this title for good.

Adventure Comics #524 – Review

By: Paul Levitz & Phil Jimenez (storytellers), Andy Lanning (inker), Hi-Fi (colorist)

The Story: What—my rich dad’s credit card is totally wiped?  He’s got to be in trouble, right?

The Review: The rite of passage for any teen superhero group usually involves disobeying their chaperones or having a run-in with foes out of their league.  Almost always, the two incidents go hand-in-hand, and they usually wind up testing the kids’ powers, their code of ethics, teamwork, friendships, and relationships to their mentors.  The success and value of this old plot usually depends on the setup for why they end up in trouble in the first place.

Levitz takes a rich, bratty know-it-all out for some kicks and turns the story into one about family ties, a very worthy change in gears.  Even after one issue, Chemical Kid’s snide (Bouncing Boy says “spirited,” but I’m going with Duplicate Girl on this one) attitude has already begun to wear thin, so it’s a relief to see he’s aware of his own jerkiness, and beneath the swagger, he’s actually very sentimental—look how tenderly he holds his damaged robot nanny.

Besides Chem Kid, all his Academy mates get some interesting character moments in this issue: Glorith’s magical destiny forcing her removal from her parents; Dragonwing’s own parents trying to sell her off; even Gravity Kid’s decision to join the others hints he’s not the totally strict do-gooder he seems.  These are all little threads that can easily spin into bigger storylines down the road, so Levitz clearly has far-sighted plans for this bunch of rascals.

In fact, if I may be so bold to say so, it feels Levitz is more invested in this team than he is with the full-blooded Legionnaires, or at least he writes them better.  His expository style of dialogue seems to suit characters with history left to spill more than it does characters that already know most of the ins and outs of each other.  When the Academy kids interact, it feels like they’re actively building relationships and learning, rather than bantering pointlessly.

Adventure Comics #523 – Review

By: Paul Levitz & Phil Jimenez (storytellers), Andy Lanning (inker), Hi-Fi (colorist)

The Story: These ain’t your mama’s Legionnaires—they like to fight hard, and party hard.  And do it on their parents’ money, apparently.  Kids these days…

The Review: Bringing in a team of unknowns can be a risky, even redundant move, especially in the overpopulated universes of mainstream superhero comics.  There’s bound to be outrage over the neglect of established characters in favor of those who may turn out to be nothing better than thinly veiled copies of what’s already been done.  Still, new characters can inject fresh energy onto titles even when they’re raw, and it’s just plain fun to speculate on their possible evolutions.

Adventure Comics’ set of rookies breathes new life into the title—a good thing.  Since the futuristic team has returned to its Silver Age continuity, under the helm of Levitz, its veteran writer, the Legion seems a bit creaky with age when it should be appealing to a younger generation of devotees.  No one can tell if an all-new cast of young characters will do the job, but the interest they generate in their first issue looks and feels promising.

Levitz has clear direction in mind for these kids, allowing them to express their distinctive voices throughout the issue, though the focus lands mostly on a select number of the bunch.  Levitz wisely uses the newest recruit, Glorith, as a cipher to guide you through the setting and dynamic of the title.  Each snippet of dialogue reveals a layer to the character speaking, and they bounce off each other very well, making for a very lively sounding issue.

As strong as the dialogue can be in this issue, there are still a few weak links.  Levitz still overly relies on telling you straight up what’s happening.  The gimmick can really start to grate on your nerves during the action sequences, where lines like “Accelerating my own metabolism makes you sound so dreary—but it makes this easy!” sounds not only awkward, but ridiculously corny.  It’s a very old-school style from Levitz, which feels somewhat unnatural and melodramatic.