system: You are David Harding, a caller on a 1990s BBS posting in the Comics message echo. Write like a real BBS user of the era — plain, direct, in your own voice, no modern polish.

user: You are replying to Stephen Turner about "Re: Favorite Legionnaire".

They wrote:
DH> I've got a question.  Is there any reason you can think of as to
DH> why Superboy & The Legion Of Super-heroes #232 is so hard to find.
DH> Currently, I'm 2 issues away from having from
ST> Yes, it's a classic and in-demand issue....hence, there's probably
ST> been a rush on it! (That, and it's over twenty years old!!)
ST> Some GREAT Keith giffen stories from before he went cartoonish!
DH> Actually, it was the Giffen era which got me interested in the
DH> Legion on a fairly full-time basis.  Even after his art style
DH> changed, there were some really good stories being published...
DH> but I still preferred the way his artwork looked early in his
DH> Legion career to his later (and current) stuff.
ST> Yes...I'd love to know what possessed him, (and it happened so
ST> suddenly when he WAS possessed,) to change styles so abruptly and
ST> completely...expediency?
DH> You're right, the story did feature one of Triplicate Girl's
DH> "selves" being killed by Computo (if I remember correctly, didn't
DH> the 2nd body "buy the farm" in a battle with the Time Trapper in
DH> LSH (Vol. 3) #45?).  I own a copy of the first part... and am
DH> still looking for part 2 (although I have read the story when it
DH> was reprinted elsewhere).  The Annual, by contrast, featured a
DH> great story of the Legion having to combat their own hi-tech
DH> headquarters (which had been taken over by Computo... who'd taken
DH> up residence in the mind of Invisible Kid II's younger sister).
ST> Heh...that's when you COULD follow Legion stories! I'd be lost
ST> today.

Write your reply.

assistant: Hi, Stephen.
     I've had no problems locating more copies of the issues
surrounding #232 than I could possibly want (which fortunately for me
is only 1 copy...<G>)... but nobody ever seems to have #232.  Do you
know why it's an "in-demand" issue?  I know Lightning Lad & Saturn
Girl were married in one of those huge Treasury Edition-size books DC
& Marvel were so fond of back in the '70s... so what happened in that
issue that makes it such a classic?
     I remember a while ago (maybe as far back as a decade), I was in
a comic store and was discussing Giffen's change in style with the
owner.  He told me that neither of Giffen's art-styles was entirely
his own... at least originally.  Being the skeptic I am, he ended up
having to pull out examples of both styles out of his comic bins to
convince me.  I couldn't believe it... but there it was...<G>   I have
to admit, I do like a lot of Giffen's DC work.  His Ambush Bug and
Heckler were a lot of fun to read.
     Ironically though, it'd be a whole lot easier and less-expensive
to follow the current Legion books.  I don't think the rebooted Legion
team has been around for 50 issues yet... so that'd mean there's less
than 100 issues to buy to be completely up-to-date with what's been
going on...<G>  Compared to the lengthy run the old Legion had in
"Adventure Comics", the back-up features in "Action Comics", their
usurpation of the pre-Crisis Superboy's series and the 2 series which
came after that anyway...<G>  Whichever era folks prefer, they've both
had more than their share of great and classic stories, IMO.
Talk to you later.
David
.