Thursday, September 16, 2004

Legion, from the top: At The Pulse, Johanna Draper Carlson files a report from the Legion of Super-Heroes panel at last weekend's Baltimore Comic-Con, where Mark Waid and Paul Levitz discussed the series relaunch:

"Waid stated that he's not starting with an origin. He's starting with a team of roughly 18 people that will act like a police force, with lots of characters running around. Every issue, he wants to build a sense of soap opera and leave the reader wondering what happens next.

"The team is like the Society for Creative Anachronism of the 31st century, with kids that idolize the heroes of our century. In a world that's so bland and sterile and polite, they want to raise hell and liven up the place. They believe in the heroic ideal, where initiative and action are important, in contrast with regimented and organized adults. Waid wants to talk more about society than technology in this go-round.

"One of their rules is that everyone has to have a name that ends with Boy, Girl, Lad, Lass, or Kid. Brainiac 5 is the science advisor. There will be a broader range of ages, and Waid will play around with cliques. Members that join around the same time will likely wind up hanging out together. We can only take for granted that the three founders are the same."