Monday, October 20, 2008

Legion 50 Finale


Here's the cover to my final issue of Legion of Super-Heroes. It sucks to be on a book that is axed but the Legion has had a long history of stop and go's. You can't help but feel like you failed to make it relevant... but I'm sure you'll see them back again no doubt about that. I'll be moving on to another project right after which I'm very eager to start!

15 comments:

Michael Kasaboski said...

Francis - I'm certain many others will echo my sentiments when I say you more than did your part to make Legion a relevant book and this very lovingly rendered cover stands as a clear testimament to that fact. Your work is amazing my friend and definitely very inspirational to myself and others. I'm more than certain you've got many great milestones in your future.

Looking very, very forward to learning what your new project is going to be!

Peace.

Michael said...

I'll be sorry to see you go. All I can say is that's how things go in the comics biz; I guess the problem started further back with Waid and Kitson, it just didn't catch on back then and nothing they did made it stick.

When you signed on, how long were you supposed to be on for?

And is this a wraparound cover, a sideways cover, or will it be 2 covers like your first issue?

Francis Manapul said...

thanks guys!

and thanks Michael, I love your blog and frequently visit it. I had a feeling that jumping onto the book that it was not the most popular version of the team but I was hoping it'd catch on. As for the technical aspects of it, I signed with DC for 2 yrs. As for how long I was suppose to be on the book, basically for however long Jim was going to write it which was suppose to be 16 I believe.. don't quote me on that. In the end I think we we're just a couple issues short. After those 16 issues it was basically open ended.

the cover is a wrap around so no need to buy two copies to get the whole image :)

Richard said...

I must echo the above comment by Massacremike. Neither you nor Jim failed in any respect. The book may have suffered in the marketplace due to factors entirely beyond your control...but it was a thoroughly enjoyable series, and your skill at creating an entire world for the Legionnaires to inhabit was a major part of the fun in each issue. I'll miss seeing that particular world, but I'll still look forward to the next ones you'll create.

Unknown said...

that's a friggin awesome cover.

Lars Jensen said...

Francis, you and Jim Shooter both did a great job trying to make something relevant that from the start was deeply flawed. You didn't fail. Given enough time, you two might even have succeeded.

Good luck with your new job. And hopefully we won't have seen the last of you or Shooter on the Legion.

Fabio D'Auria said...

Wow... Great Pencil... No word...

James said...

I wish I'd found this blog months ago. I had stopped buying the Legion with issue 19 of this run. That marked the first time I've not bought the book since I was 7, and I started reading when Grell started drawing.

The announcement that Jim Shooter was returning got my attention, then I saw your work and was very happy that there was going to be a Legion that might be worth reading again.

Together you and Shooter have done amazing work with a truly dreadful inheritance. I've enjoyed your work and am grateful for your considerable efforts on the series. It's too bad you're leaving so soon, but I'll be following you to your next book.

James said...

I wish I'd found this blog months ago. I had stopped buying the Legion with issue 19 of this run. That marked the first time I've not bought the book since I was 7, and I started reading when Grell started drawing.

The announcement that Jim Shooter was returning got my attention, then I saw your work and was very happy that there was going to be a Legion that might be worth reading again.

Together you and Shooter have done amazing work with a truly dreadful inheritance. I've enjoyed your work and am grateful for your considerable efforts on the series. It's too bad you're leaving so soon, but I'll be following you to your next book.

James said...

I wish I'd found this blog months ago. I had stopped buying the Legion with issue 19 of this run. That marked the first time I've not bought the book since I was 7, and I started reading when Grell started drawing.

The announcement that Jim Shooter was returning got my attention, then I saw your work and was very happy that there was going to be a Legion that might be worth reading again.

Together you and Shooter have done amazing work with a truly dreadful inheritance. I've enjoyed your work and am grateful for your considerable efforts on the series. It's too bad you're leaving so soon, but I'll be following you to your next book.

JC said...

It's a shame the Legion can never seem to find their audience in the long term, but I think that's the story for a lot of great books out there, Marvel, DC, and indy alike. You didn't fail at all, sir.

Really looking forward to what you do next!

Ricardo said...

Add me to the group praising Shooter/FJM team on Legion. In the future, I expect this work to be reconsidered as one of the truly great LSH stories ever. But competing with DC Editorial is not a fair competition (meaning: L3W, re-doing plots etc).

ChrisCross said...

FIrst, that cover must have taken at least 2 whole days... maybe three. and if you said you did it all in one day, you and i are going to be fighting. :D Two... i know i'm late on this.. but if Legion is cancelled, it's got more to do with their inability to make it relevant than it does with your art. I worked on CapMarv for Marvel for 3 years and it never scratched the top ten. NEVER. It had more to do with Peter David's inability to bring in new readers and Marvel's inability at that time to really pump that book so that more people knew what that book was about.

I'm sure that DC will find ways to make sure you don't go to the Marvelous competition.

CROSS

Federico Distefano said...

I'm impressed!
O_O

Keith said...

Hi, your Legion art is fantastic and it's seriously one of the reasons I'm a newly minted Legion fan! It's great to see you get work all over the DCU. Best of luck!