Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Teenagers from the Future

Are you going to the New York Comic Con in April? I'm not, but I'll be there in spirit.

Actually, I'll be there in print. I'm one of the essayists in a new anthology that will be released there:

TEENAGERS FROM THE FUTURE


It's a meaty tome, with 350 pages (!) about the Legion, its members, and its place is history (and the future). It's from the perspicacious folks at Sequart (they make books about comics for smart people), and edited by the blogosphere's own Tim Callahan. If you're unconvinced that the Legion is an essential part of the DCU, this may be the book that convinces you otherwise. If you're already a Legion fan, then it's a must-have since it's the book LSH-lovers will be discussing for the next one thousand years.

After it's premiere at the NYCC, it'll be available for sale on-line at Amazon and such. And, if you buy a copy, book a flight, fly to DC, metro over to my neighborhood, then walk to my house, I'll sign it for you. But call first; I could be out walking the dog.

My essay makes the case that the JSA and JLA, contrary to what many think, are extremely different in concept and that it was the Legion that showed the transition between those two very different groups. In essence, the gap between the Elders of the past and the Primes of the present was bridged by ... the Teenagers from the Future.

Check it out!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Emphatic Boy's emblem is like one of those annoying faces-or-vase pictures! Do you see an exclamation point, or a funky letter H?

And congrats, Scipio, on the literary achievement.

Anonymous said...

I plan on attending the con and would love to support your important work by picking up the book. Although I'm sure it's as priceless as its' authors, is there any word on how much it will cost? I simply can't abide those 31st century prices.

-Citizen Scribbler

Scipio said...

Thanks. I honestly don't know! Probably in the twenty buck range.

Marcos said...

ttz: My first thought was that it's Invincible's I upside-down. Not that anyone in the Invinciverse would be caught dead with either the outfit or the name. (31st-Century Earth-mumble should totally have been one of Invincible's stops on his recent around-the-multiverse-tour. If Mark thought Spidey and Bats had ridiculously self-descriptive names, imagine his reaction to a whole Legion of them...)

I've been out of touch with the actual mainstream Legion for a while (though loving the cartoon and the "Superman and the Legion" crossover); is "Atom Girl" just Vi with a cool new name (I thought we were past all that!) or a different Imskian whose taken her place?

Scipio said...

Yes, it's Salu Digby. But, in point of fact, "Atom Girl" isn't "a cool new name". Atom Girl is a more old-fashioned name (descriptive noun/adjective + girl/boy/lass/lad) than Shrinking Violet.

"Shrinking Violet" was one of the first "cool" new style name's in the Legion, and a very poor one, being based on a lame joke. The name Atom Girl has put her more squarely in the old-fashioned naming tradition of the original Legionnaires and positions her as a legacy of the Silver Age Atom.

Marcos said...

"Atom Girl" may not a conscientious attempt at coolth, and therefore not really a "cool new name", but it is still a "new name", and those tend not to last. (Right, Captain Mary Marvel?)
I certainly have no objection to a return to roots, naming-scheme-wise, but then why is Reep running around "Boy"-less again/still?

Mike Noga said...

Hey Scip, your enthusiasm for and knowledge of comics is nothing short of "Amazo-ing".(Yeah I went there.) I'm planning on picking up the book as soon as it's available. But would you consider it a lexicon of the LSH? If not, why don't you whip one up? Wouldn't it be awesome and financially smart to control some of the content in your own store?

deviantboy said...

Saw this book at NYCC...very hot...like Tim...yum. Will definitely getting this on Amazon...going to any other cons? would love to get this personalized...

Anonymous said...

When will this be available?

Martin Gray said...

Darn - sorry, Grife! - I can't find Teenagers From the Future on Amazon UK or US and the company website is down. I must have it!