Favorite Comics: Legion of Super-Heroes #11

Remember when  the serious tone of the X-Files would occasionally be interrupted by a fun, silly episode  to brighten things up? Well, that’s JUST what the maniacs did for the serious and violent world of LEGION 5Y with issue 11 featuring a very FUN and HILARIOUS solo story featuring  Tenzil Kem (the amazing MATTER-EATER LAD) as a blundering Lawyer whom, along with his sweet sidekick/assistant Calorie Queen, attempts to defend Polar Boy in court!

As everyone knows,  Tenzil’s got one of the sillier powers on the LSH, and I love how they crafted the VERY silly and charming story where Tenzil is so inept as a lawyer that even Brek Bannin himself doesn’t believe in his skills, but he has so much heart and gumption ya gotta love him anyway.

And the way they humorously use his “powers” of being able to eat matter is some of the funniest stuff ever, with dialog like:

(Pouring a cup and taking a sip)

 “Cal, this tastes like yesterday’s crank case oil…

Is it too much to ask for a FRESH pot of crank case oil?”

(Eating in a greasy hole-in-the-wall Diner)

“What IS this stuff? I may be able to eat all matter, but I’ve got to draw the line SOMEWHERE!”

(discards meal and begins eating the ashtray full of cigarette butts instead)

Legion Of Super-Heroes Poster

Here's something fans of the 1993 Legion Of Super-Heroes reboot might remember- when Issue 13 came out, it came with an insanely cool pull-out poster of the team, and I was so stoked I had it mounted and laminated so i could hang it on my wall! 

Yeah, it's pretty beat-up and discolored nowadays, but it survived every move I made in the 25+ years since I got it, and it always goes back up on my wall when I've moved to a new place and designated the 'comic" corner" of my home!

Super-Vixens: Dawnstar

You know, one thing that always disturbed me about the future depicted in the pages of Superboy starring the Legion of Super-Heroes was that far from a future of peaceful racial co-existence, it seemed that all the people of different races, colors and creeds gave up trying to intermingle with each other and departed for planets of their own!

 I first noticed this reading the story of Tyroc, the black man with the sonic scream that could teleport him wherever he wanted to go- hailing from an entire planet populated by blacks…my first thought was like, wow, Planet Earth must have pulled some MASSIVE super-segregation in the 30^th century!

 Which brings us to Dawnstar, a young girl coming from the planet Starhaven, and THIS one is populated by the descendents of American Indians (Anasazi, it seems) whom I guess realized were never gonna get their land back from those "dirty backstabbin’ Americans", and hopped the first rocket out to colonize a new planet!

They’ve somehow grown wings and are able to fly like eagles- for some reason, this oft-used relationship between the eagle and Indians makes sense to me, as the Eagle has always seemed synonymous with the Indian  philosophy (is it un-PC to say Indian anymore?), think about that song “Eagle” by ABBA- very Native American in feel!

In fact, I hereby declare that ABBA song as the official theme song for Dawnstar!

Of course, being of Native American descent, her costume has tassles and fringe. All “Indian” characters costumes have to have that fringe! Well, maybe not. But just taking a quick glance at heroes like  Thunderbird, Dani Moonstar or even Talisman, it sure seems like it to me!

Created by Paul Levitz and Mike Grell in

SUPERBOY starring the LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #226

Super-Vixens: Calorie Queen

When DC rebooted the LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES in the mid-nineties, it was a take-off of Frank Miller’s DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, in that it was set in the future of that character’s life. Only difference was, in Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne was now an old man, and in LEGION, the heroes, who’d been mere teenagers in their original comic, were now-gasp- responsible adults living VERY adult lives such as raising families and keeping 9 to 5 jobs!

 One of the more offbeat side stories in this controversial update was an interlude featuring one of the Legion’s more wacky members, Tenzil Kem, better known (back in the day) as “Matter-Eater Lad”. We tuned in on Tenzil as an adult and found he’d been running (very poorly) through a multitude of different jobs, including an archaeological explorer and even a space age lawyer!

  Tenzil has been called to defend Brek Bannin (Polar Boy) in court, and while I don’t have time to go into it, (Trust me, the story was wacky and funny as hell!) one of the things that I found endearing was his banter with his able assistant, a beautiful blonde named Cal. In passages, I found her name to be “Calorie Queen”, and I laughed that they had created an assistant with a name to match “Matter-Eater Lad”.

 Little Did I Know that they HADN’T just created Calorie Queen, and that she was a character created a WAYS back! Imagine my surprise when (shopping in a comic store near Pike’s Market in Seattle) I found an old back issue of Superboy (Featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes, of course) and saw that one of the girls in the menacing super-team on the cover was none other that Tenzil’s trusty assistant, Calorie Queen Herself!!!

 Getting that original issue with Calorie Queen as nature intended should have been a real eye opener into the character, for I now knew she had : 1) a costume, 2)a real name (Taryn Loy), and 3) a home planet (Bismoll, just like Tenzil!!!)…but honesty, it really didn’t do much for me. I simply liked the “later” Cal more! Smart and funny, cool and witty, she was the perfect foil for outlandish Tenzil Kem, and besides, If I have to choose between 70’s disco jumpsuit costumes or pretty dresses I always go with the latter. Because I do love a pretty girl in pretty clothes!

 Props to Jim Shooter and Mike Grell for creating Cal, and BIG KUDOS to Tom and Mary Beirbaum and Keith Giffen for the “Update”!

Taryn Loy

Calorie Queen

First Appearance: Superboy #212

By Jim Shooter and Mike Grell

Super-Vixens: Duo Damsel

While I’ve never been a big fan of Duo Damsel’s orange and purple outfit, I’ve always had a place in my heart for the character herself- probably because the writers of DC (especially Cary Bates) always took the time to write special side-stories for her and her beau, the  rubbery Bouncing Boy, that really showed how “Down to Earth” (OK, they weren’t on EARTH, but you get my meaning) the couple was, every story showing off the love they had for each other, making readers like me care a hella lot for them.

  In any case, yeah, I didn’t care much for the former Triplicate Girl’s costume, but when Chuck and Luorno decided to tie the knot in SUPERBOY STARRING THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #200, I was presented with Luorno draped in one of the prettiest, elegant outfits ever- her wedding dress, to be sure, but so much more…cosmic than what most would expect! Plus, I don’t think Dave Cockrum’s ever draw her more beautiful. WOW!

  The Wedding of Duo Dansel and Bouncing Boy eventually led to Dave Cockrum leaving the Legion of Super-Heroes.Apparently, the story goes that Dave loved that illustration of the wedding so much, he asked editor Cary Bates if he could have the original art as a keepsake. “I don’t see why not,” was Bates’ reply. Later, however, when editor Carmine Infantino came into Cary’s office, he saw the artwork on his desk and asked what it was doing there. Whn he told him he’d like to give it to Dave, Infantino said flatly, “We don’t’ give the artwork back!” Dave was so hurt by this callous descision, that he left, right then and there!

 Happily enough, Dave was able to pull some strings and get his hands on that artwork some years later! In an interview with , he admitted that although he DID have it at one point, by the time of the interview, he himself had already sold it off, too! Ahahaha!

 Triplicate Girl

First appearance: Action Comics # 276

By Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney

Super-Vixens: Emerald Empress

Taking one look at evil chanteuse EMERALD EMPRESS’ striking features, one would immediately assume that the Marvel Comics character she reminded me of was Lorna Dane, that OTHER green-locked vixen POLARIS of the X-Men...but you would be wrong!

While it’s true that the two girls look awfully similar in both appearance AND their flight/attack mode, for some reason, the character that Emerald Empress always reminded me of was that THOR and AVENGERS baddie The Enchantress! Maybe part of it was the similar sounding names and green-coordinated outfit. And perhaps part of  it was her haughty yet alluring personality that was so akin to the Asgardian outcast. But most likely, the BIGGEST reason was that both were paired up with a giant armored warrior with a huge-ass axe!

As the reigning queen of the Legion of Super-Heroes diabolical arch enemy group THE FATAL FIVE , she appeared alongside four other baddies: Leader THAROK and his mind controlled powerhouse VALIDUS,  MANO, the mutant with powers to make things crumble at his touch, and finally, THE PERSUADER, the wielder of the giant battle  “Atomic” Axe, the character that reminded me SO MUCH of Enchantress’ sidekick / partner THE EXECUTIONER!

I never drew any connections between them when I was reading Legion comics with the Fatal Five intact (i.e., all five members present) but when Emerald Empress and Persuader broke off from the group and became a duo , something in my mind clicked! Ahahahaha!

By the way, it was interesting to note that in almost every story where the Fatal Five (or sometimes even all by her lonesome), at the end when The Empress is “defeated”, she’s always detained simply by being held down by one of the male members of the group, and when you look at some of the illustrations, part of me thinks Superboy and the guys rather looked forward to their chance to "subdue" her...!

Sarya's one of the Legion's oldest foes and one of the most enduring characters, She's absolutely my favorite villain in the series, and she sports one of my very favorite costumes as well! That's a thumbs up, all around! Now If I could only catch her without that darn Emerald Eye spying on me...

Super-Vixens: Laurel Kent

Back in Superboy starring the Legion of Super-Heroes #219, a mysterious girl named Laurel Kent appeared before the group with powers of super-strength, and the twist at the end of the story revealed that the girl was a future descendant of Clark Kent, who was, of course Superman. So this chick was Supes’ great grand niece, or something like that.

 Apparently when Jim Shooter created an invulnerable, indestructible super-girl, Mike Grell decided with all that strength, she didn't’t need no stinkin’ costume, and garbed the super heroine in a skimpy red silk bikini outfit cut into a design he’d recycle over and over again…and I was all for it!

 Gorgeously drawn by Mr, Grell, Laurel was the perfect oxymoron of a beautiful, petite waif with the power to knock you into next Thursday! Sadly, later artists wouldn't take it from this angle, and beefed up Laurel’s physique to match her strengths, thereby turning her into “just another super heroine”.

 Laurel Kent

First Appearance: Superboy #217

By Jim Shooter and Mike Grell

Super-Vixens: Shrinking Violet

From Wikipedia: Shrinking Violet is a fictional character, a superheroine and Legion of Super-Heroes member in the DC Universe's 30th and 31st centuries. Her real name is Salu Digby and she comes from the planet Imsk. She has the power to shrink to tiny size, as do all Imsk natives.

 Growing Up, Shrinking Violet (or  “Vi” as the kids called her) wwas never one of my favorite characters, and I really didn’t much care for her Cockrum-designed costume (This one that looks like Marvel Comics’ Polaris’s Shi’ar oufit), but I did like how he drew her features, and boy, when Mike Grell was pencilling the Legion Of Super-Heroes, she sure was pretty! Plus, she seemed to be one of the more “serious” characters, and when the 1993 Legion portrayed a grown-up Salu working for the military, that really seemed to fit, for me!

Shrinking Violet

First Appearance:Action Comics # 276

by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney

Super-Vixens: Shadow Lass

Up next is the gorgeous vixen Tasmia Mallor, the indigo-hued Super Heroine Shadow Lass.

I have to say that initially, she really didn’t stick out in any way for me, in fact, Tasmia didn’t appear in too many of the early Legion Of Super Hero issues I had growing up.

I actually only started appreciating her character in the 1989 LEGION OF SUPER HEROES revamp. In this she was portrayed as a stoic type, sort of councilwoman “planetary protector”. It was this version that I started accepting as the “real” version, which led to me being completely BLOWN AWAY by how sultry and sexy she was during the old Mike Grell run (when I took the time to bring out those musty old issues.)

You see, the 1989 LEGION run was supposed to be in the future of the original Legion of Super-Heroes, and all the members are shown as older, grown up people. Seeing Tasmia as a young, hot chick after seeing her motherly for so long… WELL! I became an instant fan!

You know, I’ve always thought that Shady’s costume looked an awful lot like Vampirella’s for some reason…Same bathing-suit with the tummy part cut out, and the fancy insignia on the belly button area.

First appearance            Adventure Comics #365

Created by            Jim Shooter & Curt Swan

Favorite Artists: Dave Cockrum and Mike Grell!!!

Super-Vixens: Phantom Girl

Up next is cute-as-a-button Tinya Wazzo, the Bgztlian native better known to the DC Universe as the Legion of Super-Heroes very own PHANTOM GIRL!

With the ability to phase through solid objects, Tinya was inducted into the Legion’s fold early on, but it wasn’t until years later when Dave Cockrum updated her character with that swinging’ futuristic bell-bottom jumpsuit that she became the spunky pony-tailed girl that we came to know and love!

While girls like Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet and Dream Girl were heating up the Legion Outposts, Tinya always came across as the warm and bubbly “best friend” to everyone, she was the “sweet” girl! In fact, I always used to read the old 25¢ Superboy comics thinking that she looked an awful lot like Dawn Wells a.k.a. Many Ann Summers of Gilligan’s Island!

Most of these scans come courtesy of my beloved beat-up copy of Superboy starring the Legion Of Super-Heroes #203, an issue which Mike Grell seemed particularly inspired with his depictions of Tinya. She looked so adorable in every panel! The illustration of Tinya on the cover is a fave, too, drawn by the master himself, NICK CARDY. ..Can this man EVER draw a bad picture of a girl?

Phantom Girl:

First Appearance: Action Comics #276 by Jerry Seigel and Jim Mooney

Favorite Artists: Dave Cockrum and Mike Grell ( the Legion Immortals! )

Super-Vixens: Dream Girl

So imagine there's this super-heroine whose powers are precognition. Then say that the futuristic visions come to this girl in her dreams. That would naturally set up a character whose comic scenes would ultimately be spent in her bed, wouldn't it? So you'd figure that a character like this couldn't work, because the writers would have to work her bedroom into each issue, as well as outfit the girl with her very own bed in headquarters, right?

Yet that's exactly what happened to beautiful Nura Nal, the clairvoyant young girl from the planet Naltor who became the resident precognitive of DC's Legion Of Super-Heroes. Yes, she spends most of her crime-fighting in bed. And yes, they've been known to feature Nura's bedroom in many issues. In fact, although she does have a body-suit for fighting action, her usual Legion outfit (designed by that master of gal costumes Dave Cockrum) consists of what amounts to more or less a suped-up negligee!

Obviously Nura's called Dream Girl because her powers are the ability to dream the future, but on a more practical note, she could just as easily be called Dream Girl because of her general HOTNESS! The very first time I read an issue of the Legion (it was issue #203) and saw her alerting her fellow members of an imminent attack in that nightie-costume, my mind went..."Whoa....Dream Girl!"

In later issues, she was "toughened up" a bit, and was more prone to butt-kicking than sleeping, but she still retained her gorgeous looks (not to mention that mole on her cheek shaped like a star), thus ensuring her legacy as the dreamiest Legionnaire no matter what her modus operandi!

First Appearance: Adventure Comics #317

Favorite Artists: Dave Cockrum, Mike Grell, Dan Jurgens