DC’s Legion of Bloom #1 – Ashley Allen, Zac Thompson, Julio Anta, Cavan Scott, Kenny Porter, Calvin Kasulke, Travis Moore, Dave Wielgosz, Writers; Isaac Goodhart, Hayden Sherman, Jacoby Salcedo, Atugan Ilhan/Mark Morales, Brian Level/Jay Leisten, Vitor Cafaggi, Travis Moore, Riley Rossmo, Artists; Cris Peter, Patricio Delpeche, Allen Passalaqua, Hi-Fi, Jordan Boyd, Eren Enrica Angiolini, Ivan Plascencia, Colorists
Ray – 9/10
Ray: The DC spring anthology is here, with eight new stories celebrating everything plant-related. So how do they compare to past anthologies?
First up is Poison Ivy in “Growing Pains” by Allen and Goodhart, which finds Ivy living a quiet life working in a family flower shop and reminiscing about how her love for plants began with her mother. She even does some little good deeds, using plants to help people, but her harsh nature occasionally creeps through. Still, it seems like a fresh start for her—until some ruthless mobsters decide to come calling on the shop seeking money, and she proves just how much damage she can do in a hurry. Solid story that feels very in line with the main series.
“The Peculiar Pieces of Pierre O’Neill” by Thompson and Sherman leans hard on body horror, as Batman discovers the twisted half-man, half-plant corpse of a scientist scattered around Gotham. This leads him down a rabbit hole as he investigates the death—which leads him back to Jason Woodrue. When the character isn’t an enemy to Poison Ivy, Woodrue can be a fairly nuanced character—a mad scientist driven by curiosity to give up his own humanity. Dark and creepy visuals, but this story feels a little rushed.
“Florida Man” by Anta and Salcedo is a Blue Beetle story that switches the tone completely. Jaime, Paco, and Brenda are in Miami for Spring Break and Jaime has promised to give Blue Beetle business a break—that is, until they get reports of a Florida Man turning into an alligator. That turns out to be a particularly bizarre and obscure villain who causes no small amount of trouble and leads to some ridiculous fight scenes. This is a fun, light story that’s exactly the kind of silliness I love in anthologies.
“The Birds and the Bees” by Scott and Ilhan gives Titans West the spotlight as Dove and Flamebird investigate a strange cult that Hank Hall has found himself in. The cult turns out to be led by Queen Bee, a psychic love cult that uses enchanted psychedelic honey to keep everyone in line. Hank thinks Dawn is there to join him—and reacts badly when he finds out otherwise. This is a reunion of some really obscure heroes who haven’t been used in anything for a while, and the plot is just okay, but there are some good one-liners.
Swamp Thing and Flash team up in “Monsters” by Porter and Level. When a family goes missing in a national park, Flash calls in Swamp Thing for backup and the two head into a twisted tale more suited for a Halloween anthology. With some genuinely horrific monsters and a missing girl who has a unique connection to Swamp Thing, this story worked really well and nicely emphasized how to use Vertigo characters in the DCU proper—you let them take on the darkest threats, while also showing their humanity.
It’s Captain Carrot’s turn to shine in “Babies’ Day Out” by Kasulke and Cafaggi. This is as much fun as you’d expect, with Captain Carrot in charge of his 12 kids for the day. When he accidentally mixes some of his cosmic carrots in with the carrot baby food, the kids gain the ability to fly—or float—and cause trouble all around the city, including doing battle with a King Kong-like mega-ape. The cartoony art style is perfect here, and it’s great to see these oddball characters get the focus.
Wonder Woman and Siggy team up in “Frosti Reunion” by Travis Moore. Siegfried is still having a hard time fitting in on Earth, and it’s only more complicated by the fact that spring is late in coming. Really late in coming, and winter is somehow pursuing him directly. It turns out that the culprit is Jack Frost—Siggy’s ex-boyfriend! Travis Moore’s art is fantastic, and his depiction of the winter imp is sure to ignite a huge fanbase. The story overall has a strong look at the main character’s adjustment to a new world.
Finally, Wielgosz and Rossmo are the creative team on “We Just Have to Make It To Spring” featuring Superman. Starting with a flashback to the rough winter the Kent family endured once upon a time, this short story packs a TON of information into less than ten pages as it shows how Superman pushes himself to the limit to help Metropolis during a difficult time of year. It’s a quintessentially Superman story, featuring a ton of cameos and a tone reminiscent of the iconic “Metropolis Mailbag” plotline.
Overall, not every story in this issue fits, but I do think this book as a higher hit record than the last few anthologies with a few truly exceptional ones.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
