InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "He must've knocked up sunshine"

volksjager (volksjager) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-08-18 14:21:00

Entry tags:

creator: dave cockrum, creator: mike grell, era: bronze age, title: legion of super-heroes

Superboy returns to the Legion/plus Dave Cockrum and Mike Grell on the costume desings

On of the least plausible Legion stories. Hmmm Chains that would crush the earth...

Cool cover. Note this was my first experience with the "bait and switch" cover as a child. I only realized when I got home that only the cover was done by George Perez, the interior was done by some hose'.

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	seriousfic 2009-08-18 06:43 pm UTC (link)
	"Blok is hard as a walking boulder!" That's not something you want to hear from a guy in that outfit. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	volksjager 2009-08-18 06:46 pm UTC (link)
	This is true... (Reply to this) (Parent)

	dr_hermes 2009-08-18 07:39 pm UTC (link)
	In Woodstock, they sell brown suede vests with two widely seperated laces in the front. They're unofficially called Booby Traps and, yes in hot weather you do see the occasional young woman wearing one with nothing underneath. The effect is much like Phantom Girl here experiences. (I imagine the tan lines must be puzzling.) (Reply to this)

	freivolk 2009-08-18 08:02 pm UTC (link)
	"Oh God, Superboy is dead. We all will....!" (Timestream collapse, Universe is destroyed) Even as a kid I had the feeling, that the whole "Superboy has adventures in the 30th century"-concept has a major flaw. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	volksjager 2009-08-18 08:19 pm UTC (link)
	especially the notion that Superboy STOPS visiting the future because he realizes that 1,000 years ahead everyone he knows is long dead ???!!!??? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

dr_hermes
2009-08-19 04:44 am UTC (link)

Superboy's ability to travel forward in time must have required a huge amount of self-control not to misuse. He could learn how his foster parents or friends would die, how he himself would die. That's knowledge mortal minds are not built to handle.

And to the Legionnaires, Superboy would be a bit spooky to have around. It would be like hanging out with Grandpa as a kid. I know these Legion guys are used to strange situations but still. Imagine having (for example) Jack Kennedy showing up every now and then to give advice, not knowing his own fate, and then saying goodbye with a cheerful, "Well, I'm supposed to meet Jackie in Dallas today, so long." And you couldn't say anything.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

volksjager
2009-08-19 01:37 pm UTC (link)

These problems were dealt with in a few ways. One supposably Saturngirl made it so he didn't recall the adventures when SB returned to his present. In the last Legion post I did,a foe torments Superboy be showing him that his parents will die despite anything he does. This leads to him deciding to never return to the future again and Saturngirl puts the full whammy on him so he will never return. This story was about how all that breaks down ans he creates this other persona "Reflecto" to live out his life in the future (Didn't superman do the same when he adopted the Gangbuster persona ?).

Problems with these ideas of what Superman recalled about the future were numerous. In Action comics 500 at the opening of the Superman museum, there is a Legion display and Superman talks about his experiences with them and then..he just never saw them again.

Actually I kinda like Geoff Johns idea that there was no superboy except in the Future. The Legion picks up Clark takes him to the future he does all his Legion stuff and then returns to the 20th century minutes after he left. Dunno, I think it will always be a wonky problem.

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	crinosg 2009-08-18 08:43 pm UTC (link)
	So.... Grimbor's master plan was to tie up the entire planet with chains. There's kinky, and then there's....dayum. Grimbor the Chainsman: Maybe, just maybe, too kinky for Scans daily. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	icon_uk 2009-08-18 09:09 pm UTC (link)
	And this is why he's one of my favourite villains! :) (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	volksjager 2009-08-18 11:24 pm UTC (link)
	Had he ever been used before or again ??? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	icon_uk 2009-08-18 11:39 pm UTC (link)
	Indeed he has... IIRC he showed up in the 5YL gap looking for the daughter he'd had with Charma, who had inherited her mother's power He also showed up in Season 2 of the Legion cartoon, chaining up the heroes with cheerful abandon. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	volksjager 2009-08-18 11:23 pm UTC (link)
	That would work for "Ultiamte Grimbor" (Reply to this) (Parent)

	tacobob 2009-08-18 08:45 pm UTC (link)
	Wow, it sure was busy at the Ugly Costume Convention this year. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	ashtoreth 2009-08-18 11:02 pm UTC (link)
	I love Cosmic Boy's bustier costume! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	tacobob 2009-08-19 12:38 am UTC (link)
	It's like they sent him a lady's costume and he was like, "Eh, as long as it fits! Time to fight evil. FUTURE evil!" (Reply to this) (Parent)

	geoffsebesta 2009-08-19 07:24 am UTC (link)
	It's not pink! It's pale scarlet! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	04nbod 2009-08-19 12:01 pm UTC (link)
	as do I, its legendary. He made a guy overtly sexual when comics to this day shy away from that while women's costumes were increasingly becoming more cheesecake-y (Reply to this) (Parent)

	artnouveauho.livejournal.com 2009-08-18 10:02 pm UTC (link)
	The SPOKK! sound effect should definitely be used more often. (Reply to this)

	mania21 2009-08-18 10:25 pm UTC (link)
	Sure, alot of supertypes run around half naked, but that thing they put Cosmic Boy in....There's just no words for it! It's like they let some bizarre slasher/Yaoist design it! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	his_spiffyness 2009-08-18 10:37 pm UTC (link)
	There's just no words for it! It's like they let some bizarre slasher/Yaoist design it! Worse, they let Mike Grell design it :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	volksjager 2009-08-18 11:26 pm UTC (link)
	Still I bet it went on in a Jiff. like two snaps. Came off even quicker ! I winder if he still kept it when he briefly bacame the time trapper ??? (Reply to this) (Parent)

	icon_uk 2009-08-18 11:40 pm UTC (link)
	And God bless them for it! :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	sandoz_iscariot 2009-08-18 11:54 pm UTC (link)
	And the majority of comic fans wouldn't blink if that was Cosmic Girl's costume. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	volksjager 2009-08-19 12:33 am UTC (link)
	Ding -ding we have a winner ! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	perletwo 2009-08-19 12:34 am UTC (link)
	Aaaand I feel some genderswitch fanart comin' on, just as an experiment... (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	volksjager 2009-08-19 12:42 am UTC (link)
	We can only hope ! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	Sorta like this ! volksjager 2009-08-19 12:46 am UTC (link)
	(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Sorta like this ! jlroberson 2009-08-19 03:59 am UTC (link)
	Ahhh, Dita. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	Re: Sorta like this ! psychop_rex 2009-08-19 06:43 am UTC (link)
	The one on the woman actually wouldn't look too bad if she put on a jacket - she'd basically be Black Canary. With, uh, sparkly nipple-pasties. But the guy's costume is just... no. Nonononono. There is no one in the entire world who can pull off disco-ball pants. Even Elvis never got that tacky. Icch. It's like the '70's just threw up. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Sorta like this ! volksjager 2009-08-19 01:08 pm UTC (link)
	Don't tell that to German synth-bands. This was from Eurovision this past year. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Sorta like this ! psychop_rex 2009-08-19 07:24 pm UTC (link)
	Then I revel in the fact that German synth-bands are not my thing. (I think - to tell the truth, I haven't the foggiest idea what a synth-band is.) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	jlroberson 2009-08-19 05:00 am UTC (link)
	No, we wouldn't, because as said, it's a BUSTIER, which is already a known woman's garment. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	thanekos 2009-08-19 01:45 am UTC (link)
	i'd only start worrying about that if the gloves were elbow-length. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	randyripoff 2009-08-19 12:38 am UTC (link)
	Honestly, I liked most of the redesigns, but Cosmic Boy's just never worked for me. Had he switched to swim trunks or shorts, that would have been cool. The bustier just plain didn't make sense either from a practical or aesthetic point of view, at least not to me. I know the costume has some fans, but I'm just not one of them. (Reply to this) (Thread)

jlroberson
2009-08-19 04:03 am UTC (link)

Cosmic Boy, until Gary Frank, I think, has always had the suckiest designs, one of the worst being this one, but I'd say coloring his costume pink was always one of its worst aspects. Blue just looks better on him, and is more suggestive of magnetism as it's related to electricity, whereas pink not only didn't look very good, it didn't make much sense. I'm guessing it had to do with not making his look too much like Lightning Lad's. But then there's also that stupid space helmet he had for no apparent reason.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	tacobob 2009-08-19 12:41 am UTC (link)
	And for the record, what's with those giant collars some heroes wear? Karate Kid has them, as did Iron Fist and Deadman. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	surlytmpl 2009-08-19 01:11 am UTC (link)
	I blame the 70s and disco. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	jlroberson 2009-08-19 03:59 am UTC (link)
	Cockrum's designs were the shit. Phantom Girl being my all-time favorite. It's sexy and also looks good, and though it looks totally 70s it doesn't date for some reason. I liked Gary Frank's revision as well. (Reply to this)

jlroberson
2009-08-19 04:09 am UTC (link)

>>Note this was my first experience with the "bait and switch" cover as a child. I only realized when I got home that only the cover was done by George Perez, the interior was done by some hose.

I can't name the penciller because there's no distinguishing them under the scratchy, careless hand of Frank Chiramonte, in my mind the worst inker, ever. He makes Vince Colletta look passionate. (and Colletta could sometimes look like he gave a shit--a few Kirby THOR stories here and there)

And yeah, Perez introduced me to the phenomenon as well. DIAL H FOR HERO, for instance. DC had him doing half their covers during that time for exactly that reason. And I also was bothered when, even when he did the inside art, the inking was never the equal of Perez' own either. I find it interesting that, when Perez inks himself, the shading is very sharp and contrasty, and the blacks are heavily, and very well, spotted. Whereas those inking him have lots of open space and largely eliminate the deep blacks. Which weakens him and makes his work start looking...I don't know how to describe it except the way I thought of it in the 80s. "This looks very Michael Jackson," I'd say. I think all the perms he liked drawing had something to do with that.

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	dr_hermes 2009-08-19 04:36 am UTC (link)
	All very true, and clarifying some thoughts I had in the back of my mind. That "bait and switch" with cover artists has been going on as long as there have been comic books. I don't like it and learned even as a kid to take a minute to look over the interior; but you can why publishers do it and they're not going to stop. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	jlroberson 2009-08-19 04:59 am UTC (link)
	Neal Adams, Nick Cardy, Brian Bolland, and Dave McKean. There's four B&S artists DC has used successfully that I can think of offhand. Frank Quitely these days. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	geoffsebesta 2009-08-19 07:29 am UTC (link)
	Huh...you have a really good point about Perez's inks. I'm wondering how much that phenomenon's contributed to the general "Lost in Space" feel that 70s-80s house style was so prone to. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	04nbod 2009-08-19 12:03 pm UTC (link)
	I want a comic where the legion's clothes are taken to the imskian dry cleaners and all the legion are left with are their most embarassing outfits and they fight crime as if what they are left with is the shit (Reply to this)

costumes

tymann
2010-07-11 01:07 am UTC (link)

I was in HS and college in the 70s-80s, and I loved Cosmic Boy's costume. If I had a super hero body, I would want to flash those abs at the world.The big colars were cool too. Sure they must have been death on visibility, but they were noticed. Some of that over-the-top stuff was like those runway fashion shows by Victoria's Secret. No one is wearing those things. They probably aren't even for sale. If you wore those as sleepwear, your boyfriend would have a heart attack.
Think about how stupid a cape is for a hero. You can make excuses for it, but it's not practical--cool though and super hero must-wears

I make paper models of the LSH, but I have to admit that I ended up using a different Cosmic Boy costume, because it was hard to work with.
http://profile.imageshack.us/user/tylermann/
Check them at imageshack and tell me what you think.
Excuse the poor photography please. "I'm a writer, Jim, not a photographer!"

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: costumes tymann 2010-07-11 05:13 am UTC (link)
	just added 4 more models that could be remotly related to the Legion. Someday, I figure out what I'm doing wrong with that stupid camera and re-take pictures without blurry images. (Reply to this) (Parent)