Comic Review: Legion of Superheroes #1 (2019-)

Legion Of Superheroes #1

DC Comics

Writer: Brian Micheal Bendis

Artists: Ryan Sook, Wade Von Grawbadger, Jordie Bellaire

Legion of Superheroes #1 finally lands after a somewhat underwhelming build-up in Millennium. The Legion’s been gone for a while now, and given Bendis’ track record at DC, I was very excited to see what he would do with them. 

This book has an undeniable energy about it. It moves at a breakneck pace, not giving the reader much time to ask questions or orient themselves in this future. That may sound like a negative, and in some ways it is, but it really does contribute to the fun. Bendis throws a lot of characters and names at you but only delves into a few of them. Frankly, it’s the right call. Rather than overwhelming the reader with loads of information, the focus is placed on Jon, who readers are more likely to be familiar with. 

Through Jon’s eyes, we discover a world that he and the reader are equally unfamiliar with. We get to learn about the future and the Legion at the same time, making the information come across relatively smooth and natural. I can easily see long-time legion fans upset by this focus on Jon, but it does seem necessary to hold onto any new readers. This is not to say that no Legionnaires have any screen time. Saturn Girl, Wildfire, Karate Kid, and Star Boy also feature prominently. The very fact that I can recall their names without looking back through the book is telling enough of the impression they make. 

Ryan Sook, Wade Von Grawbadger, and Jordie Bellaire are at the top of their game. Sook is a long time favorite of mine, and while I question how long he can keep up with the schedule, I’ll treasure it as long as it lasts. In this issue, Sook utilizes unconventional panel layouts to contribute to the foreign nature of the future. He sometimes uses circles instead of square panel borders, or ditch the borders altogether. It contributes to the storytelling very nicely, and it’s damn good to look at on top of that. 

The biggest issue I have with the book is the ending. We see a glimpse of the villain, a bit of dialogue and foreshadowing, and then the book literally ends mid-sentence. This was obviously not a mistake, it’s a choice, but for the life of me, I don’t understand it. Perhaps it requires some prior knowledge of the villain to fully grasp what the team was going for? It was truly lost on me, and as a result, left me feeling unsatisfied in the end. But hey, it’s a small part of an otherwise fun book. 

Oh, and Millenium still hasn’t paid off yet. Still waiting for something to justify that series. 

Legion of Superheroes #1 is a strong start. Bendis and Sook do a mostly good job of building the world without too much exposition and info-dumping. While I don’t know much about the characters besides Jon yet, I do look forward to finding out. The ending falls flat, but it’s not enough to ruin a solid, incredibly well-drawn book.