FLASHBACK: Secrets of the Legion of Super-Heroes

by Jim Ford

coma, stricken by Yorrgian Fever. One of the Legionnaires holds the key to his recovery, and it is this plot narrative that leads us through the team’s history to learn the Secrets of the Legion of Super-Heroes.

three-issue miniseries published in late 1980 by DC Comics, cover-dated January through March 1981. The story was plotted by E. Nelson Bridwell, with scripting by Paul Kupperberg and art by Jim Janes and inker Frank Chiaramonte. Kupperberg had written a number of shorter Legion stories leading up to Secrets, sometimes working with another Legion writer, Paul Levitz, as plotter. “What drew me as a professional to the Legion was the editor asking, ‘Want to write a Legion story?’” Kupperberg tells BACK ISSUE. “Unless a writer was regularly assigned to a title, that was the way a lot of assignments got handed out during that period. Often it was as simple as being the first writer or artist the editor saw when they stuck their head out their office door. “I was a LSH fan going into the assignment—I didn’t collect Adventure Comics as a kid, but Paul Levitz and I became friends in middle school, and I read the run in his collection, going all the way back to [the Legion’s first paul kupperberg appearance in Adventure Comics #247, Apr. 1958]—but I didn’t have the © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. deep knowledge of the characters and universe down the way Paul did. Still, I knew enough that I didn’t embarrass myself in the gig.” Bridwell knew the Legion well, as an assistant editor during their early days in Adventure Comics and as an occasional writer on the series. Bridwell wrote “The Origin of the Legion” in Superboy #147 (May–June 1968), as three teenagers combined their powers to save R. J. Brande, the richest man in the universe. The three teenagers founded the Legion as Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl. “Any research I could have done would have been superfluous to the knowledge Nelson carried around in his head,” Kupperberg adds. “Nelson provided the research and the continuity, and I wove it into what little plot was necessary to give the illusion of movement to what was essentially a Legion of Super-Heroes encyclopedia.” Most of what we know of the early Legionnaires’ origins and planets of birth come to us from “The Origin and Powers of the Legion of Super-Heroes” feature in Superman Annual #4 (1961). Many of the early Legionnaires were given little more than a descriptive name and a costume, and never had their origins told in the panels of a comic story before Secrets.

Secrets of the Legion of Super-Heroes #1 (Jan. 1981). Cover art by Jim Janes and Dick Giordano.

Text features offered up many of the Legionnaires’ secrets before they were dramatized in the pages of a Legion story. Interestingly, it was not until the “Know Your Legionnaires” text feature in Adventure Comics #329 (Feb. 1964) that many of their real names were first revealed and that the three Legionnaires who inducted Superboy into the Legion in Adventure Comics #247 were acknowledged as its founding members. It was also first revealed in that text feature that Chameleon Boy was the leader of the Legion Espionage Squad, and Invisible Kid a member. The Espionage Squad would not see action until “The Legion Chain Gang” in Adventure Comics #360 (Sept. 1967). The “Know Your Legionnaires: The Origin of Cosmic Boy” text feature in Adventure Comics #352 (Jan. 1967), likely written by Bridwell, presaged their dramatized origin story in Superboy #147 by over a year. The villain Lightning Lord told of how he and his brother Lightning Man had been charged by lightning monsters on the planet Korbal in a flashback in “The Legion of Super-Villains” story in Superman #147 (Aug. 1961). Yes, Lightning Man. Lightning Lad received an almost identical origin, except that his sister Lightning Lass was exchanged for Lightning Lord in a flashback in “The Return of Lightning Lad” story in Adventure Comics #308 (May 1963). Lightning Lord was then restored to the story in the “Meet the Legionnaires: Lightning Lad and Lightning Lass” text feature in Adventure Comics #354 (Mar. 1967), again likely written by Bridwell. That story was visually retold during the now-familiar flashback presented in Superboy #147. Prior to that flashback, Lightning Lord had only been known as a member of the Adult Legion of Super-Villains until an appearance by the teenaged Lighting Lord in the “School for SuperVillains” in Adventure Comics #372 (Sept. 1968) added him to contemporary Legion continuity. Star Boy had very different paul levitz powers during his first appearance in Adventure Comics #282 (Mar. 1961), © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. and received two distinctively different origins. “Lana Lang and the Legion of Super-Heroes” was, as Legion writer Paul Levitz detailed in the text feature in Adventure Comics #493 (Nov. 1982), “…a curious case. Readers will note that Star Boy is really the only Legionnaire who appears, and he demonstrates powers very much unlike those he currently possesses (which, in fact are the powers he’s used in every other appearance he’s ever made). A simple explanation can be found by opening Adventure Comics #195 (Dec. 1953) and looking at ‘Lana Lang’s Romance on Mars’—almost the same story featuring a hero named Marsboy who gained powers identical to Superboy’s from a strange comet. “Then-Superman Family editor Mort Weisinger frequently ‘updated’ old stories by polishing the scripts and giving them to new artists to work on,” Levitz wrote, “and this was the story behind Star Boy’s debut. Brande-d The introduction of the Legion to the story was almost accidental—just a way of working it into the Superman (top) The impending death of Legion founder R. J. Brande assembled mythos more firmly. the future team for the miniseries’ revelations of Legion history. Page 1 of “No one knows whether Weisinger did this to balance tight budgets, tight deadlines or both,” Levitz issue #1. Plot by Bridwell, dialogue by Kupperberg, pencils by Janes, concluded, “or whether occasionally the writers theminks by Chiaramonte. (bottom) From Superman #147 (Aug. 1961). selves volunteered the updating. However, in the years before reprints became common, and collecting back TM & © DC Comics. issues was unknown, it seemed harmless.”

by Bryan D. Stroud

(Sept.–Oct. 1959), that he was not the only Green Lantern in the universe. Did he, however, realize when he took over those duties that he was, in fact, one of 3,600 members of that elite group? In time, he would find out.

Leaping ahead a number of years, a new three-issue miniseries hit the outlets, Tales of the Green Lantern Corps. Issue #1 (May 1981) boasted an impressive list of talent: Len Wein as scripter with Mike W. Barr plotting, and penciler Joe Staton and inker Frank McLaughlin on art, with John Costanza, letterer; Anthony Tollin, colorist; and Dick Giordano occupying the editor’s chair. As it happens, however, Giordano had taken the reins of editor from none other than Jack C. Harris, who had started the ball rolling long in advance of publication jack c. harris of this series. Mike W. Barr recalls: “Jack C. Harris, then-editor of the Green Lantern series, asked me to Facebook. plot the story, which Len Wein would dialogue. Such three-issue miniseries were doing well, so DC decided to do one about the Green Lantern Corps.” Jack C. Harris confirms, “That was actually the last project I was working on before moving on to other pursuits. There was a lot of interesting background to it, as well, as far as how it happened. “It started from a whole lot of directions at once, so it’s kind of hard to pinpoint exactly the order of everything, but the first thing is this: Showcase had a resurgence. Then it was cancelled again. The last Showcase was going to be The World of Krypton. That would have been the next Showcase. But [Showcase] was cancelled. So, they had it and they said, ‘We’re not going to throw it away, so let’s just make it a miniseries.’ [World of Krypton] was actually DC’s very first miniseries. It was a rousing success, so people said, ‘We ought to do [more miniseries].” [Editor’s note: See “World of Krypton: Comics’ First Miniseries” in BACK ISSUE #62 for our previous coverage on this topic.] Harris continues, “So, they looked around, and they decided on Green Lantern. The Green Lantern Corps, specifically, because of one cover. It was a Brian Bolland cover. It had Green Lantern leading the Corps right toward the reader and Green Lantern

Detail from Brian Bolland’s spectacular cover to Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #1 (May 1981).

brian bolland

© Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. has two power rings on. Green Lantern #127 (Apr. 1980), and it came out in January of 1980. The sales of this particular issue had spiked. It did very well, so they said, ‘Let’s do a series about the Green Lantern Corps.’”

Issue #1 of Tales of the Green Lantern Corps also boasted a Brian Bolland cover featuring members of the GL Corps in a defiant posture with the disembodied heads of the Guardians of the Universe in the background. As it happens, this cover had a prior inspiration from the movies. Harris elaborates:

“Now, to go back a little further, the reason Brian did that cover is this. Some months or years earlier,

Richard Burton, who was the editor of 2000AD, which was a Brit comic that came out weekly, had come to visit the DC offices. We embraced him.

We were all fans of 2000AD and Richard and

I made a deal. He said if I would send him DC comics each month, he would send me the 2000s as they came out. So, every month I would get a package of the 2000s and he would get a package of DCs. And reading the 2000s was where Judge Dredd first appeared. Brian Bolland was one of the Judge Dredd artists, and I really fell in love with his artwork.

“Some months after that, Joe Staton, who had been drawing Green Lantern for me, amongst many other things, was over in England visiting Brian Bolland. And they gave me a phone call. I got this call from Joe, and he wanted to know if Brian could do some work for DC. I said, ‘Absolutely.’ I loved his work. So, I commissioned from him a few Green Lantern covers for the regular book. And that was one of them, the one with the Green Lantern Corps on issue #127.”

The original editor’s choice of cover artist posed a logistical problem for the new Green Lantern Corps miniseries. “I wanted [Brian Bolland] to do three covers for the series,” Harris recalls. “I talked this over with Joe Orlando because of the time constraints in sending the material across the Atlantic Ocean, back in the days of snail mail only. Joe said, ‘Okay, we’ll have Brian do the three covers,’ and we had not even ordered the book yet. We had no idea what the book was going to be about, except the Green Lantern Corps.”

(left) Brian Bolland’s Lantern-laced cover to Green Lantern #127 (Apr. 1980)—with Hal Jordan wearing two rings!—inspired the Tales of the Green Lantern Corps miniseries. (right) Bolland’s cover to Tales of the GLC #1 (shown on this article’s opening page) drew inspiration from the Hildebrandt Brothers’ iconic poster for 1977’s Star Wars. Movie poster courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com).

Green Lantern Corps TM & © DC Comics. Star Wars © Lucasfilm.

by Eddy Zeno

Kal-El invites readers to meet the Superman Family Tree. Cover to Krypton Chronicles #1 (Sept. 1981) by Rich Buckler and Dick Giordano.

An adaptation of Alex Haley’s 1976 bestselling novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family, premiered as an eight-part television miniseries in January 1977. Not unlike the cultural impact of Lin Manuel-Miranda’s Broadway musical Hamilton, Roots spanned the period from 1750 when Mandinka warrior Kunta Kinte was captured in West Africa and sold into slavery, to his emancipated descendants’ land purchase in Tennessee after the Civil War. The TV blockbuster’s quality and brutal honesty made an enraptured society more selfaware. In addition, it ignited a burgeoning need for millions of viewers to learn about their own ancestors. Roots remained prominent in the public consciousness when E. Nelson Bridwell (E.N.B.) penned the threeissue comic-book miniseries, Krypton Chronicles (Sept.–Nov. 1981). (The miniseries’ penciler was Curt Swan; the inker, Frank Chiaramonte; and the editor, Julius Schwartz.) With Nelson’s guidance, Kal-El and Kara Zor-El, Superman and Supergirl, were inspired to undertake their own genealogical quest.

The idea originated with Morgan Edge. Summoning Clark Kent and Perry White to his Galaxy Building office, Morgan assigned Clark to write a series of Daily Planet articles regarding Superman’s Family Tree. The boss was envisioning huge profits from an ensuing book and a television epic that would top both Roots and another TV miniseries ratings bonanza, 1980’s Shogun. When Kent shed his outer clothes and flew to the Fortress to begin his research, Supergirl was already there. She reminded her cousin that Kandor, transplanted to a red sun phase-world named Rokyn, had temporarily re-entered our dimensional plane. It was time for a visit.

Knowing they would be powerless on arrival, Nelson Bridwell sent Superman and Supergirl by spaceship to the former bottle city. They were greeted by Kara’s parents, Zor-El and Alura, along with another close relative, Van-Zee. The trip began with a little sightseeing before commencing work on the El family’s heritage. The first episode of KC was prettier than the rest. A revivified Kandor, freed from its glass jar just two years prior, catered to Curt Swan’s optimistic art. Frank Chiaramonte’s inking sometimes flattened the illusion of depth that Swan insinuated with his pencils. Still, what they produced together took well to bright color. The miniseries’ second issue hovered between current and earlier eras, well before planet Krypton exploded. The third portrayed lives from primitive epochs, reaching back 10,000 years heretofore. Discoveries included a lodestone compass and makeshift hourglass.

Krypton Chronicles left no time to revel as Supergirl was reunited with her folks, or to mourn for a city laid waste during Krypton’s last nations war. No tears of joy or sadness—a tale steeped in feelings it was not. The entire saga was, however, a look into what made writer E. Nelson Bridwell tick.

Leo Dorfman and Mort Weisinger co-wrote “Father’s Day on Planet Krypton!” in Adventure Comics #313 (Oct. 1963). In the eight-and-two-thirds page vignette, Superboy encountered five statues and a chest full of objects from the El family crypt. Superboy sprayed the statues, which had transmuted into kryptonite, with molten lead and reunited the carvings with their corre-

by Brian Martin

be a massive understatement. It would also not be a stretch to say that I was not a huge fan of the character for quite a while. His self-righteous tone in the 1970s always rubbed me the wrong way, especially in the Justice League where he had a rivalry with Hawkman, one of my favorite characters. So the fact that Green Arrow’s 1983 miniseries is one of my all-time favorites is saying something. Green Arrow, a character created in the Golden Age (More Fun Comics #73, Nov. 1941, to be exact), had been a recurring backup feature for his entire existence, though he did become the very first addition to the roster of the Justice League of America (#4, Apr.–May 1961). The closest he had come to headlining was his co-starring role in the Green Lantern title from #76–122 (Apr. 1970–Nov. 1979… with time off due to cancellation), though despite gaining half of the book’s logo, his name was never added to the indicia. At the time of the Green Arrow miniseries, GA was just coming off his latest backup stint, a long run in the giant-sized World’s Finest Comics (WFC), from issues #244–284 (May 1977–Oct. 1982) with a couple of exceptions (see BI #57 for the full story of DC’s “Dollar Comics”). For our purposes, it is worth noting that Trevor Von Eeden was penciler for the majority of the stories appearing in WFC #248–281 (Jan. 1978–July 1982). Towards the end of both GA’s and Trevor’s stays, Mike W. Barr joined them as writer, from #274–278 (Dec. 1981–Apr. 1982). Before applying their talents to the Emerald Archer’s mini, the creative duo of Barr and Von Eeden collaborated on the well-received and fondly remembered Batman Annual #8 (1982). As a preview of their upcoming series, it was a fitting showcase for the talents mike w. barr of both gentlemen. As for their pairing on this mini, Mike W. Barr tells BACK ISSUE, “DC asked me to write the miniseries and I was told Trevor was available to pencil it. It was probably assumed— correctly—that Trevor and I, having worked on several short GA features, as well as a lot of other stories, would have no problems collaborating on a longer project. I recall DC—probably editor Len Wein— approached me about the mini, with Trevor ‘attached.’ I assume he was approached the same way.”

After four decades of backup stories and team appearances, the Amazing Archer finally gets his own mag! Detail from Green Arrow #1 (May 1983). Cover art by Trevor Von Eeden and Dick Giordano.