There are few series in comics that undergo as radical of changes as the original "Superboy" series.  "Superboy" #1 debuted in 1949.  It was the first new superhero title to succeed since the end of World War Two.  Quite simply, the original concept of Superboy was that it was the adventures of Superman when he was a boy.  It made DC have to revamp the origin details of Superman.  No longer did Superman just appear on the scene one day, he had been a superhero for years.  He just changed his name to Superman when he came of age.  Superboy was first intended to be a little boy, but by the time the first issue came around, he was in his early teens.

    The first pitch for a Superboy character was made by Jerry Siegel (without Superman co-creator Joe Shuster) in November of 1938, only a short time after Superman made his dynamic debut!  Detective Comics, Inc., as DC was known by back then, turned him down cold.  They turned down the idea when he pitched it again two years later.  It was believed that parents wouldn't accept a young boy superhero in comics, as adult superheroes were already under too much criticism.

    In 1940, a very young Robin became Batman's inseparable sidekick in comics, and was an instant hit!  By 1944, Detective Comics, Inc. reversed their decision and started printing a Superboy feature in their comics.  The intent was to expand the hot Superman franchise, and give younger readers a character of whom they could better relate.  The first Superboy feature appeared in "More Fun Comics" #101 (cover dated January-February, 1945).  Joe Shuster supplied the art, but the story was done without the approval or input of Jerry Siegel.  Why?  Jerry Siegel was serving in WWII.  Needless to say, this ticked off Siegel to a great degree.  And it only fueled the already wide rift between the publisher and Siegel and Shuster.

    Superboy appeared in "More Fun Comics" from #101 to #107.  He was then moved to "Adventure Comics" starting with issue #103 (1946) as the main feature.  Superboy was the star of "Adventure Comics" for three years before he was finally given his own, self-named series in 1949.  At the time, Superboy was only the sixth superhero character in DC Comics to receive his own series.  At a time when the popularity of superhero comics was on a serious decline, Superboy's comics soared in sales.

    Jerry Siegel DID get screwed out of his character, and he had the right to be upset.  A long series of legal battles over the rights to the Superboy character has lasted long after Siegel's own death in 1996, and is continued by his family.  The Superboy character he saw published without his consent DID bear strong similarities to his own version of the character.  For all intents and purposes, Jerry Siegel IS the innovator behind the Superboy character and should be given credit as such.


    It is hard to distinguish Superboy from Superman.  They have the same costume, the same powers, and the same basic look.  I fail to see much of a difference in the Superboy comics at all.  That is, until The Legion of Super-Heroes was tied in.

    The Legion of Super-Heroes was a team of teenage superheroes in the 30th century.  In "Adventure Comics" #247 (1958), the team made their debut in a Superboy story.  What was initially intended as a one-shot story became a hit, and The Legion reappeared every so often for the next three years in Superboy, Supergirl, and Superman stories.  The original team consisted of three members.  In only a few years, it boomed to around twenty.  Nowadays, the number of members in the Legion is almost ridiculous.  The Legion finally got their own feature story in 1962, with "Adventure Comics" #300.  Superboy was usually, but not always, part of the team.

    The popularity of The Legion of Super-Heroes rivaled Superboy, himself.  By "Adventure Comics" #309, The Legion became the lead feature, displacing the long-held Superboy feature.  Superboy still appeared in nearly every Legion story through "Adventure Comics" #380 (1969).  By "Adventure Comics" #381, The Legion main feature was replaced by Supergirl.  The Legion (now without Superboy, for the most part) took over the back feature in "Action Comics", previously occupied by Supergirl.  The Legion and Supergirl flip-flopped in popularity!  Supergirl was becoming more interesting to readers so she became the highlight in "Adventure Comics".  The Legion of Super-Heroes stories were back-ups to the main Superman feature in "Action Comics".


    In 1971, The Legion of Super-Heroes moved over to the "Superboy" title as a semi-regular back-up.  Things were looking a bit grim for the future of Legion stories in comics.  But then, something clicked with audiences.  The Legion of Super-Heroes was a perfect fit for Superboy, the character that only two years earlier was being phased out of the stories by DC's writers.  The Legion back-up feature became more popular than the feature!  In issue #197 (September, 1973), the cover logo was changed to read "Superboy Starring The Legion of Super-Heroes", although the title was still, technically, just "Superboy".  With that issue, Superboy was a part of the team again, and appeared in every issue.  By #198, it was an exclusively Legion of Super-Heroes title, with Superboy in the team.

    "Superboy" was officially retitled "Superboy & the Legion of Super-Heroes" with #231 and lasted through issue #258.  In #259 (January, 1980), the title was again changed to "Legion of Super-Heroes".  That issue dealt with Superboy leaving the Legion.  Superboy's name was ousted from the title, but he appeared periodically in the comics until the ultimate cancellation.

    Issue #314 (August, 1984) saw yet another title change, to "Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes".  This reflected the rather dark tone taken on by Keith Giffen's artwork and growing adult sensibilities by writer Paul Levitz.  New material was printed for a year.  Then, with issue #326, the series started reprinting stories from the NEW "Legion of Super-Heroes" series.  "Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes" was now a reprint book until its final issue, #354 (December, 1987).


    What do I mean by NEW "Legion of Super-Heroes" series?  In August of 1984, a new title was made in what DC called their "new format".  "New format" simply meant the comic was printed on a better stock of glossy paper, usually with more sophisticated artwork, more mature stories, and definitely a higher cover price.  The series that WAS known as "Legion of Super-Heroes" was changed to "Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes".  This confused a lot of readers, and the same thing was done with Teen Titans and Outsiders titles.


    I love the "Superboy" comics.  They were always fun, light-hearted, with interesting concepts.  The Legion of Super-Heroes was great when they were just part of the Superboy stories.  When The Legion of Super-Heroes took over in the comics, and minimized Superboy's importance, the series suffered.  Superboy was a character that readers liked to see, because of the Superman connection.  He was familiar to us, and we liked him.  When Superboy was nixed out of Legion stories altogether, we were left with a bunch of characters that worked better as thin concepts than major players.  There are few Legion characters outside of Superboy that could or did carry on a feature by themselves.  Most of them weren't that interesting and didn't have great back stories.

    When the series became serious, it really was the beginning of the end.  No longer was it the lighter fare that made it so endearing for decades.  The 1980s period especially, and the "Tales of the Legion of the Super-Heroes" era specifically, was disappointing.  I don't think anyone really wanted Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes to be a soap opera, or for them to act adult.

    I recommend the comics from 1949 to about the late 1970s.  Anymore recent than that, and it is no longer the "feel good" superhero comic that it was always known to be.  DC has toyed with the Legion of Super-Heroes on and off since the original series cancellation, and the various incarnations have done fairly well in sales, but the Legion's true heyday was in the 1960s and 70s.

   

#314:  August, 1984.  Starting with this issue, and for the rest of the series run, the title was "Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes".  Superboy was a minor character at best, and the series suffered for it.  He was the star for years, and the rest of the cast just couldn't fill the void.  From here on out, the series was just mindless mega-battles every issue starring tons of obscure superheroes, and Supergirl.  We really never get to focus on individual characters at any time.  They all just kind of run together.  Supergirl was much better in her own series.  I don't recommend comics from this point of the series onward.