Generations collide as the reemergence of superheroes in the DCU not only puts them in touch with their predecessors, it also draw a whole legion of sidekicks and super villains out of the woodwork.
The Good
This is one of the few comics I've put down thinking, "Wow, that was a good inking job." The fact that Dave Gibbons handles those duties here shouldn't make that surprising, then. There's a bold confidence and meticulous craft to his line work that really brings Garcia-Lopez's art to another level. Their splash of all the villains was especially eye-popping. The portions focusing squarely on Paul Lincoln's life and the uneasy forgiveness he finally gives his brother-in-law were actually quite effective - - I would've like to have seen more of them. The back-up feature detailing the mythic death of Sgt. Rock was actually quite good, too.
The Bad
I wish the main character would take a more active role in the history surrounding him, because the bulk of this book is comprised of scatter shot superhero scenes with some of his commentary, basically making him passive observer. I realize that the point of this title is to recount the history of DC's heroes, but the focus is going so far in that direction, it really feels like a dramatized version of Who's Who instead of a red-blooded story. For instance, there's a retcon of the first and second Flash's first meeting that succeeds in fixing the continuity while actually ignoring its own set-up. You never actually see them save the threatened construction worker they're trying to save!
The Verdict - 3/5
It's hard to read this and not feel like it's DC's answer to Marvels and Astro City. The story about the cop definitely has some meat to it, but it's playing second fiddle to too many random one-offs that seem to just be there to clarify continuity. Still, the art is slick and it's definitely a charming trip down memory lane.
Unfortunately, Legacies is a little removed from Marvels, Astro City and the bare bones History of the DC Universe. DC's never really been able to bring things down to street level where the average person is - Some of my favorite stories have been the first person versions by Paul Dini and Alex Ross. I'm surprised that Kurt Busiekisn't writing this. Len Wein isn't doing to bad. He's keeping things as close to the action as he can. I just picked this issue up for the Teen Titans.
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