DC’s Legion of Bloom #1 is published by DC Comics. The anthology includes stories by Ashley Allen, Zac Thompson, Julio Anta, Cavan Scott, Kenny Porter, Calvin Kasulke, Travis Moore and Dave Wielgosz. Main cover art (left) is by Juan Gedeon.
DC’s Legion of Bloom is available now, in print and on digital platforms, where all good comics books are sold.
Synopsis
How do you announce winter is coming to an end? You spring it on them! Welcome the springtime with a celebration of DC’s greenest and greatest. As the flowers bloom, breathe in that Swamp Thing smell. Watch the Blue Beetles fly out from Titans West. Pick a Captain Carrot or two from Floronic Man’s garden, but make sure to avoid the Poison Ivy. The season may go by in a Flash, but don’t worry-stories like these last forever. Oh, and Wonder Woman will be there, too!
Review
Over the years, DC has become adept at celebrating landmarks and holidays with exciting anthology books. More recently the publisher has branched out from the traditional holiday and Halloween specials to touch on even more unique concepts like this week’s DC’s Legion of Bloom.
The hilariously titled anthology features eight stories all themed around the idea of spring. Starring some of the DCU’s greenest and greatest, these eight stories all set out to make an environmental impact whilst celebrating turning a corner from the deepest, darkest depths of winter.
It all begins with Ashley Allen and Isaac Goodhart’s “Growing Pains” starring Poison Ivy. Allen’s story lines up well with the character perspective in the ongoing Poison Ivy title. The character is wrestling with her two sides, struggling to identify with the people around her and constantly escaping in to the plant world. She forms a genuine human connection with the owner of a flower shop who is being shaken down by the Maronis. The story poses a moral dilemma for Ivy as she weighs up whether to help or not. It’s ultimately her methods which call her humanity in to question. It’s a strong opening to what is a great collection of stories.
Next up is “The Peculiar Pieces of Pierre O’Neill” by Zac Thompson and artist Hayden Sherman. This one brings us a little Bat-action as well as leaning in to the world of Jason Woodrue. It carries a much more moody aesthetic and drives deep in to Batman’s detective roots. This of this one as your garden-variety detective/horror story. Something ripped from the backup of a Detective Comics issue perhaps.
Next we travel to Florida with Jaime Reyes for “Florida Man”, a Blue Beetle story featuring the excellent Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man. This story comes from Julio Anta and Jacoby Salcedo and absolutely reaches more into the hilariously absurd side of the DCU. Again it feels tonally in line with the Blue Beetle: Graduation Day series which is currently unrolling from DC. It’s perhaps a little more heavy in its use of dialogue but all-in-all it doesn’t overwhelm the story.
Queen Bee makes a welcome return in Cavan Scott and Atugun Ilhan’s “The Birds and the Bees”. The story sees the Titans West caught in the middle of an action-packed adventure with plenty of bee puns in itzzzzz dialogue. Titans fans will get a kick out of seeing Hawk and Dove teaming up in this story. Thanks to Ilhan’s capable pencilling, Mark Morales inks and Hi-Fi’s colours, this is one of the most visually impactful stories in the book.
There’s an unlikely team-up between The Flash and Swamp Thing in Kenny Porter and Brian Level’s “Monsters”. One of the more original stories in the anthology, “Monsters” features not only an original villain but also the most unlikely team up. It instantly adds more excitement as the two attempt to save a missing girl.
Writer Calvin Kasulke and artist Vitor Cafaggi take on the legendary Captain Carrot for “Babies Day Out”, a cartoonish adventure which feels ripped from an episode of Looney Tunes. The somewhat muted colour palette really enhances the quality of Cafaggi’s art. It punctuates every visual gag perfectly and I defy anyone not to fall in love with the numerous baby bunnies.
The final pair of stories bring in the two remaining members of DC’s Holy Trinity. First it’s Wonder Woman in Travis Moore’s “Frosti Reunion”. Then it’s over to Superman to close the book with Dave Wielgosz and Riley Rossmo’s “We Just Have to Make it to Spring”. Both stories feature unique art styles with Rossmo’s Superman being the bigger revelation of the two. Both stories centre on the heroes connections to those around them and offer up a two-punch sense of sentimentality to round out proceedings.
Verdict
A fun exploration of all the greenest and greatest plant-based characters in the DCU. The publisher once again proves it knows how to put together a blockbuster anthology, this time celebrating all things spring.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
