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2007 TV News Archives

January 16, 2007: J. Torres Talks About “Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century”

Newsarama has published an interview with J. Torres, writer on the up-coming "Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century" which ties in with the "Legion of Super Heroes" animated series currently airing on Cartoon Network and KidsWB/CW. With issue #1 scheduled for release in April, here are some excerpts from the interview for those thinking about picking up this title...

Q: 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?

A: 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!

Q: And just for continuity buffs - that guy with the S on his chest - Superboy, or a young Superman?

A: 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.

Q: 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?

A: 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.

Q: A lot of readers will see both the animated series and this book as "kiddie"� but do you write that way? Do you gear to any specific audience in particular?

A: Well, it has to be "all-ages." The Johnny DC books are designed to be "gateway" comics and from my experience that approach is working and we're helping create a new generation of comic fans. Just check out the letters pages and see how the kids are not only sending in drawings but "discussing" the stories and even responding to each other. But I think there's still a lot there for older readers, and I think this will be especially true of the new Legion of Super-Heroes book which, as I said, will be skewed a bit older. They'll still be "kid tested and mother approved" like the other Johnny DC books I've worked on, but old school Legion fans can expect a bit more I think.

Read the entire interview at the Newsarama website.