What comic nerd hasn't fantasized about hanging together with his or her best buds (who happen to be super-powered, of course) and saving the universe in between games of beer pong? The LSH has always been a bit like the Super Frat House of the Future -- its that connection between friends that drives the book. Think of books like the Teen Titans or the New Mutants, but on a much larger scale.
Tom Katers has often said that he sometimes feels like the books of the DCU are being written specifically with HIM in mind. I felt much the same way about this run of Action. The Legion is the one book that I have bought consistently - no matter how much it has sucked - for at least 20 years now - and this run has been about the best portrayal of those characters since the original series. Reading this arc was like getting together with old friends whom you havent seen for many years - yet when you finally do, its like no time has elapsed. I felt like I was 14 all over again.
OK, perhaps I'm biased and therefore not the most qualified person to write a review, but Johns has done an amazing job of bringing out the emotional connection between the Legionnaires. These people do what they do for each other just as much as for the Universe. During the climactic battle it is expressed so well when Earth-Man exclaims, "You think I did this for some kind of team, Cosmic Boy? ... I don't need friends." The two-fisted response from Ultra Boy and Blok, "Then who's gonna watch your back, Jackass?" sums the Legion up perfectly. To echo Conor's review - this is where Superman feels comfortable being "Super" -- who in the current DCU would jump on his Superman's back and give him noogies like Lightning Lad does in this issue? It brings out that dichotomy of him being "human" and "super" at the same time. Usually he ends up being written as one or the other.
Gary Frank's art also needs to be mentioned. I love his redesign of the LSH costumes -- keeping much of the key colors and logos but not giving into the spandex look as much. (Although I did miss Tyroc's plunging neckline and pixie boots). I loved seeing Superman's costume with a few wrinkles and bulges in it instead of just airbrushed directly onto his skin. His facial expressions are also great, from the pain on Kal's face as his wrist is broken to Yera's eyes deliberately looking away as she kisses Sun Boy. He tells volumes just with a small panel closeup of Superman's eyes.
If this team wrote this as an ongoing I think I'd by 10 copies of every issue and give them to every comic reading friend I have.
Story: 5 - Excellent
Art: 5 - Excellent
