Legion of Superheroes Homage to Batman Issue 244

Just for the record; let me state that I think the art of Neal Adams is amazing but sometimes when you spot a mistake on a cover, no matter how good everything else is on it : that's what you are going to zero in on.

Case in point Superfriends Issue 37. It featues Supergirl on the cover. Her leg is turned backward /inside out. I see the cover..I see the mistake. and I cringe.

Well, Batman 244 is like that for me. Well its less than a cringe: and more a big HUH ??

Its a dramatic cover well worthy of a good Re-Legion but take a look at the image of the cover below. Batman is defeated by Ras-al-Ghul. The villian is holding Batman's costume up over our unconscious hero. And yet Batman while bare-chested : still somehow managed to be wearing a SECOND pair of pants underneath. I guess Batman is very well prepared going into battle and its always good to have a pair tucked into the utility belt,

That one very strange detail does not mean its not a cool cover. John Watson realised that Element Lad had not got his fair share of the Re-Legion spotlight. While some heroes had appeared multiple times, Jan Arrah had been artistically speaking, left out in the cold. I have one or two other Element Lad pieces in mind for a Re-Legion piece but this rocking cover by John Watson makes up ( at least in part ) for past slights...

We based the Batman cover on a great story from Superboy & The Legion Issue 211. The art was by Mike Grell. It retells the origin of Element Lad, the destruction and genocide of the population of his home planet Trom by a villian callled Roxxas and Element Lad's desire for revenge.

The images below from the story became our template for this cover. John Watson did an awesome job on pencils, inks and overall layout. I read and re-read this issue so many times as a kid and John caught the mood and feelings I had all those years ago in this Re-Legioned cover. It has a great 70's ( that is 2970's of course ) feel to it from the requisite big collars (Chemical King ), exposed hairy chest ( Roxxas) and feathered hair with crazy sideburns ( Element Lad ) that adds to the fun.

One of the things I loved about the story was a rare ( and useful ) appearance by Chemical King , so I was glad to see him be given a prominent place on the Re-Legion cover. Element Lad comes across as one bad ass judge jury and exceutioner

John Watson is great to work with and I hope DC Comics show some sense and hire this guy. He knows how to deliver a gem of a cover everytime...