J. TORRES ON THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IN THE 31ST CENTURY
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Marvel/DC
Otaku-sempai — 19 years ago(January 15, 2007 08:14 AM)
J. TORRES ON THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IN THE 31ST CENTURY
In April, another title is slated to join Johnny DCs collection of titles based on DCs animated versions of their characters. Joining
The Batman Strikes!, Justice League Unlimited
and
Teen Titans Go!
will be
The Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century
with a kickoff coming from J.
(Teen Titans Go!)
Torres and Chynna Clugston-Flores.
The series will be, like the other titles, based on the animated version of the properties (showing on Cartoon Network and KidsWB/CW), but will not be a monthly re-telling of episodes.
As the solicitation copy for the first issue reads:
An all-new series spinning out of the smash-hit TV show, written by J. Torres (TEEN TITANS GO, Sidekicks, Alison Dare: Little Miss Adventures) and drawn by the creator of the indie favorite Blue Monday, Chynna Clugston-Flores!
To stop the Fatal Five from destroying Metropolis, the Legion of Super-Heroes travel back in time for reinforcements, because this looks like a job forClark Kent?! Can six teenagers from the future help a mild-mannered reporter become the Man of Steel, or will the Fatal Five determine his destiny before its even begun?
On sale April 18 32 pg, FC, $2.25 US
We spoke with Torres for more about the new series.
Newsarama:
Obviously, in the Johnny DC offices, you're a known quantity thanks to
Teen Titans Go!
and your other works, but was this a done deal before it even got rolling, or did you have to pitch, beg, plead, and threaten people with those pictures?
J. Torres:
New Teen Titans
and
Legion of Super-Heroes
were among my favorites comics as a kid, so when I heard there was a Legion cartoon in development I knew there would eventually be a Johnny DC comic book series. Ever since then, I've been letting every DC editor I know that I wanted to contribute to said series, and here I am. But I'm not the only writer on the book and there will be rotating creative teams. I did write #1 and 2, plus a story that I believe will be #4 or 5, and I'm working on another story right now. I'm going to write as many of these as they let me.
NRAMA:
Got it. So - for those who may have missed or not yet seen the animated series - what is this "Legion" and how is it related or unrelated to the Legion of Super-Heroes?
JT:
The show looks like a cross between
Teen Titans
and
Justice League Unlimited.
And its storytelling sensibilities are somewhere in between those two series as well. The setup is that the Legion needs Superman's help to battle the Fatal Five so they travel back in time to recruit him, but they end going too far back and meeting a young Clark Kent as he's about to leave Smallville to work as a copyboy at the Daily Planet in Metropolis.
The main cast consists of Brainiac 5, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, and Bouncing Boy but we'll also see the likes of Timber Wolf, Cosmic Boy, the Legion of Substitute Heroes, and others. So, we're getting the old and the new a in a great Saturday morning package. With this show,
The Batman,
and
Teen Titans
reruns I feel like a kid again on Saturday mornings - it's great!
NRAMA:
And just for continuity buffs - that guy with the S on his chest Superboy, or a young Superman?
JT:
They started off calling him Superboy in the scripts and other show material I was given for reference, but somewhere along the way it was changed to Superman. I'm assuming it's a legal thing. Or they wanted to tie it into the new movie franchise. Or both.
NRAMA:
Overall, what's your approach to this series? Is it similar to say,
Teen Titans Go!,
that is, not tied to the series' continuity but not "not" tied to it either? Or will this series be a little closer to the source?
JT:
We're skewing it "older" than
Teen Titans Go!
but it's still all-ages. Jeanine [Schaefer, editor] also wants to take some risks and do "big" stories so we've talked about really cool guest stars and some unlikely villains. The story I'm working on right now is one of these "big" tales with surprise guest stars. So, I guess you can see we'll be going off the show's path a little bit, but there will also be some definite "in continuity" issues, like #1 and #2, which are follow-ups to the pilot episode and Timber Wolf episode respectively.
NRAMA:
Are you in communication with the series' writers to know where you can and can't go, or do you have pretty much a clear path? Anything you've been told not to touch?
JT:
Actually, I havent talked to any of the show's writers and producers the way I did for Teen Titans Go!. This book is coming together rather quickly so there just hasn't been any time. Also, it switched editors from Mike Siglain to Jeanine when Mike took over
52.
So, we had to hit the ground running to get the book out a.s.a.p.
NRAMA:
That said if you do have a blank slate to play with, is there anything you're itching to get into? Any versions of Legion characters that you want to lay claim to in the series?
JT:
Oh, yeah. The show is bringing in the Legion of Substitute H -
Otaku-sempai — 19 years ago(March 11, 2007 02:21 PM)
J. Torres reveals more plans for upcoming issues on his blog.
Imet with my favorite editor Jeanine Schaefer and artist extraordinaire Alex Serra about Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century. I told them about some of my new story ideas including one involving the Legionnaires meeting Thanagarians. I'm also pushing for a Lobo and/or Booster Gold issue since they've both made cameos on the show. Plus, I found out about some cool plans for the second season of the show that will affect the comic book. And I've probably already said more than I should have
Link:
http://jtorresonline.blogspot.com/2007/03/new-york-comicon-report-so-week-ago.html
"I reject your reality and substitute my own!" - Adam Savage,
MythBusters