In the fifties, DC Comics grew bored with contemporary times and decided to travel about 950 years into the future, in search of a new cast of heroes. There, they found Lighting Boy, Saturn Girl and Cosmic Boy, and from there the Legion of Super-Heroes was born. Since then, the Legion have suffered numerous stops, stars, shuffles and changes, including new characters and writers, until finally having a 2007 reboot that brought in characters that were identical to the original cast. Confused? Sorry, this sort of stuff happens in the comic book world.
The Great Darkness Saga is a five-issue Legion of Super-Heroes story written by Paul Levitz. Paul was a part of the revitalisation of DC Comics' line in the eighties, and served as president of the company from 2002-2009. He knows the graphic novel scene inside out, and in The Great Darkness Saga, Levitz wrote one the best Legion of Super-Heroes story lines.
Without wanting to spoil anything, the basic plot concerns itself with attacks on the Museum of Mystic Arts and the Tower of London which the team decide to investigate. There is a new team member on board (Invisible Kid) as well as a young version of a legendary comic book character (Superboy).
The Great Darkness Saga served as an entry point for a lot of comic book fans, and people who bought this not only found themselves subscribing to future issues, but also digging out back issues. Things are becoming a lot easier now of course, with the emergence of digital graphic novels and the like, but back then it was no small feat getting back issues of a comic you enjoyed, especially if you were a kid or teenager without a job. With science fiction and magic, an epic storyline and tense sub-plots, The Great Darkness Saga is a must-have in any collection, and it fits in well in our top 100 list.
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