Best of DC 44

The Best of DC #44 Preboot » Pre-Crisis Reprint Cover by Gil Kane Previous story Adventure Comics #503 (previous chronological reprints) Next story The Best of DC #57 (next chronological reprints) Publication date October 6, 1983 Cover date January 1984 Creators Editor Nicola Cuti Cover artist(s) Gil Kane

Background

Although the Adventure Comics series had been discontinued in mid-1983, the Legion's own series was gaining in popularity at that time, and there still remained a demand for the chronological Legion reprints that had been the highlight of Adventure during its last year of publication. The Best of DC series, also reprints in digest format, picked up the Legion tales where Adventure had left off. Rather than just two Legion stories, entire digest issues were devoted to the Legion every few months or so.

Reprinted material

Original publication source is noted for each.

• "The Legion's Suicide Squad!" – Adventure Comics #319 (published February 27, 1964)
• "Revenge of the Knave From Krypton!" – Adventure Comics #320 ( published March 26, 1964)
• "The Code of the Legion!" – Adventure Comics #321 (published April 30, 1964)
• "Lois Lane's Luckiest Day!" – Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #50 (published May 14, 1964)
• "The Super-Tests of the Super-Pets!" – Adventure Comics #322 (publshed May 28, 1964)
• "The Eight Impossible Missions!" – Adventure Comics #323 (published June 25, 1964)

The Story Behind the Stories

Also continued from the Adventure reprints of the classic Legion stories was its companion commentary by Paul Levitz, who was the writer of the Legion's current series while these digests were being produced. Years later, these commentaries are the primary point of interest (other than the reprinted stories themselves), so the full text is provided below:

Fans who followed the Legion's chronological reprinting in the late lamented ADVENTURE COMICS DIGEST know that editor Nicola Cuti has had me do commentary on the stories, and he's asked me to continue that here. If you didn't read the ADVENTURE issues, take note that you're coming in on the middle of the first magic period in the Legion's own series - the hi-tech, plot-oriented stories of Ed Hamilton and Jerry Siegel.

#319's "The Legion's Suicide Squad" is a fair case of Hamilton's building of the mythos - the first case where the Substitute Heroes work with the Legionnaires and gain recognition, the Science Police, and such technological gimmicks as the "Planetary Chance Machine". At the same time we see a male chauvanist attitude creep into Brainiac Five telling Saturn Girl a mission's "too dangerous for a girl" - a note Hamilton hit before in LSH tales.

Siegel's style, on the other hand, is well represented by #320's "Revenge of the Knave From Krypton". Here we link back carefully to a SUPERBOY story (from ADVENTURE #287-288), and to the Superman mythos... logical territory for Siegel to cover, as Superman's creator. Stylistically it also goes back to the first few LSH tales in ADVENTURE, when Siegel was the regular writer for the series, and the LSH was viewed as a spin-off series. This story's also worth noting for the debut of Radiation Roy, who would return four years later as a member of the Legion of Super-Villains (like Spider Girl who debuted in the next issue), Dev-Em's rejection of Legion membership, and the first appearance of the title "The Legion Outpost" for the letters page.

Hamilton returns for #321's "The Code of the Legion" with his first major contribution to the LSH Rogue's Gallery, The Time Trapper, battling the team for the first time. Also note the first of several "retirements" for Bouncing Boy... who will, of course, always bounce back.

"Lois Lane's Luckiest Day", from LOIS #50 is a tangential LSH tale at best, harkening back to when they were only cameo stars in stories throughout the Superman family. The writer is unknown, and artist Kurt Schaffenberger wouldn't draw a Legion story again until this years LSH #300 celebration.

Hamilton next took a leaf out of Siegel's notebook, and brought back the Legion of Super-Pets, who Siegel had created two years earlier. #322's "The Super-Tests of the Super-Pets" brought Proty II into the group in a story that obviously was a one-note gimmick. Noteworthy trivia is Light Lass's new symbol, a cloud, which tended to come and go until it was replaced permanently by a feather.

Finally, the idea of doing stories centering around Legion leadership elections was a firm tradition as of #323's "The Eight Impossible Missions". Siegel again tied the storyline very much to his Superman mythos - the Phantom Zone, Superboy's anniversary as the resolution, and most of all, the appearance of Jimmy Olsen and Pete Ross in active roles in the 30th Century. Although both were honorary members of the Legion virtually from the beginning of the series' existence, this is the only case where either of them came to the Legion's time for anything more than a ceremonial appearance... and that remains true as of today.

Unmentioned in all this has been artist John Forte, the first regular artist on the LSH series and illustrator of all but the Lois Lane episode. These issues represent Forte at his best, before illness began to affect his work, and show his distinctive style in every corner of the cosmos.

If you've enjoyed these stories, may I suggest you join us for the new stories of the Legion in their own magazine? There's no time like the present to get into 30th century excitement.

– Paul Levitz