I See Posts Before My Eyes

I wrote a bit in my blog about the end of Jim’s Legion.  Basically, it didn’t go well, based on both the fact that Geoff Johns had started writing about the “real” Legion again in Lightning Saga, turning the actual Legion title into a lame duck session.  There were also numerous editorial changes of mind, including a desire to create a new Superboy, or at least a new Kryptonian character for Legion, which was quickly pulled off the table shortly afterwards. Jim goes on about this on his blog as well.

He also had numerous issues with the art and production on the book, and went into them in exacting detail aswell on his blog recently.  Francis Manapul, the artist on the book, has responded on his Tumblr blog:

francismanapul:

I just read this article http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/09/25/jim-shooter-on-amending-legion-of-superheroes/ on Jim’s blog about our run on Legion of Super-Heroes. I wasn’t going to read it, but I did, and I can’t turn back time.

He’s an interesting guy from what I’ve read, and from what…

I thought Francis’ art was really good on the book, and so did Jim - in his backhanded way, he said (i paraphrase here) he needed more honing, but would be really good really soon. And he was right.  The last person Jim said that about was David Lapham, back when he was at Valiant.  So he’s got a good eye for talent.

Jim just likes things done his way.  He was both an editor and an editor in chief, and has a really good idea how to make a book work well. Problem is, if his collaborators have DIFFERENT really good ideas on the same, there will be issues.    I really wish that Editorial had listened to him more than they (apparently) did, but I get the impression that by the time Jim started the book, he was Plan B. 

I think if he’d been given a chance to really fly on the book, it could have succeeded.  He took what mark Waid gave him (which was pretty damn good, tho I fear I’m in the minority on that) and built on it, didn’t get rid of anything he didn’t agree with.  But by this point, the book had already been written off by even the most fervent Legion fen.

As anyone will tell you, there’s nothing more annoying than a know-it-all who’s right a lot.  And I think Jim could very definitely have been right.