"Dark Horse Comics is beginning to release Library Editions of the Millarworld backlist..."
"I have various 'Jupiter's ' series in a variety of formats. It would be nice to have them all in a uniform format."
"How much of it is there, and is it worth shelf space? IOW, do you plan to re-read it?"
"I'll have to pull them out and flip through them to decide whether or not I want to pull the trigger on the Library editions."
"Let me know what you decide!"
There are five series; I have read three of them.
- Jupiter's Legacy (2013): This is where it starts: a generational saga focusing on the children of a group of super-heroes.
- Jupiter's Circle (2015): The prequel. This is where I came in. I bought the Legacy tpb at the same time I started buying Circle individual issues.
- Jupiter's Circle 2 (2015): I must not have liked Circle very much because I didn't buy Circle 2 in any format.
- Jupiter's Legacy 2 (2016): I did buy Legacy 2, however, first as individual issues, then in tpb format.
- Jupiter's Legacy: Requiem (2021): I passed on this one.
I'll re-read what I have, then decide what to do about the Library Editions.
Replies
I think I might have read three as well, but which three I couldn't tell you. I sure didn't know there were five.
This time through, my second, I decided to start with Jupiter's Circle, which occurs earliest chronologically. That may have been a mistake. Certain non-linear series (such as John Byrne's Generations and The Lost Generation) "read" better in the order in which they were presented, not necessarily the order in which they "happened," and I think Jupiter's may be among them. The artwork is clean and light (reminiscent of Darwin Cooke or Mike Allred), but the story itself deals with the seedier side of the '50s: infidelity, blackmail, extortion, etc. Most of the characters smoke cigarettes. I don't remember much of the one time I read Jupiter's Circle/Legacy before, but I do seem to recall that one of the character's homosexuality was a "big reveal" in Jupiter's Legacy, but it's front and center here.
Another thing is that Millar seems to expect that readers of Jupiter's Circle already be familiar with the members of the Union. This series contains a lot of what I refer to as "reverse foreshadowing" (that is, "foreshadowing" things that have already been revealed). For the most part, for example, they refer to each other exclusively by their first names. For the record, they are the Utopian, the Flare, Blue Bolt, Skyfox, and if the code-names of "George" and "Grace" were mentioned I missed them. I'm sure readers of Jupiter's Legacy would already know them. (That's not a criticism; it's my fault for reading them out of published order.) The Utopian is obviously the "Superman" analog, but he reminds me more of Image Comics' Suppreme, another Superman analog; the Flare is the "Flash"; Blue Bolt is closest to "Starman" (crossed with Watchmen's "Captain Metropolis"); and Skyfox is "Batman." These pairing aren't exact. "George" is "Sheldon's" (Utopian's) brother, for example, and Skyfox can fly.
The Union:
Teen Scene:
(The leader of "Teen Scene" is the nephew of the Flare.)
Jupiter's Circle reminds me most of Darwin Cook's "Before Watchmen" series Minutemen, but reading it before Jupiter's Legacy is a bit like actually reading Minutemen before Watchmen would be. I really liked this series the second time through (despite its dark tone), and I'm curious as to what happened in Jupiter's Circle 2, two reasons I'm now leaning toward the Library Editions. Unfortunately, I don't currently own Jupiter's Circle 2 in any format, so I'll more this discussion forward by moving back to Jupiter's Legacy.
I honestly can't tell if I read that one or not, so probably not.
Skyfox may be a sort-of Batman, but he's just as super as the rest of them. All of them have a baseline of super-ness -- stronger, faster and more durable than regular folks. And don't all of them fly? I don't remember.
And don't all of them fly?
I believe so, yes (Blue Bolt with the aid of his "Power Rod," which is where I get "Starman" from).
Skyfox is super-powered, yes, but he also has a cave headquarters with trophies, multiple vehicles and a butler assistant.
Plus, he's rich!
I think I have all of the titles and have read most of them. I won’t be rereading but will follow along and sometimes comment.
It’s not comics, but this is analogous to the TV series Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Even though Saul is a prequel, to understand and appreciate it you need to watch Breaking Bad first. There are several characters in Saul who have died in Breaking Bad. To appreciate these characters, you need to see what they do later.
JUPITER'S LEGACY:
This series starts in Morocco, 1932. (So much for my idea of following this story "chronologically"). It begins with the expedition to the mysterious island where the five men and one woman who would become The Union" got their powers. It's bnot a fill-blown origin story, however (just six pages), and although issue #4 provides an additional five pages, the origin of their powers is still steeped in mystery. This first mini-series deals with five main characters: Sheldon Samson (The Utopian), leader of the expedition; Walter Sampson (Brainwave), his brother; Grace Samson (Lady Liberty), his wife; Brandon and Chloe Samson, their children (that's them on the cover). As the main story opens in the present day (2013), Brandon and Chloe are pretty much self-centered hedonists. Chloe becomes pregnant by "hutch" Hutchense, the son of one of The Utopian's greatest villains. Walter Samson has ambitions to take over the government, and his nephew Brandon is just stupid enough to be manipulated by him. They orchestrate a coup during which The Utopian and Lady Liberty are both killed. Chloe and Hutch go into hiding. The story jumps forward to 2023. Chloe and Hutch are living anonymously in Australia with their eight-year-old son Jason. they are responible parents now. In the United States, the Constitution has been overturned and Brandon is lioving in the White House in his ninth year in power, with his uncle Walter pulling the strings. By the end of the series, Chloe, Hutch and Jason's identities have been revealed, and they set out to overthow her bother's regime. I had forgotten how good this series is.
JUPITER'S LEGACY 2:
Three generations.
Chloe organizes a rebellion against her bother Brandon just about the same time Brandon decides to stop following his Uncle Walter's orders. Chloe launches her rebellion just about the same time Walter decides to have Brandon killed. The mystery of The Union's origin is revealed. A new status quo is established. That's it. That's all I have. But Jupiter's Legacy 2 came out in 2016 and so much has changed since then. Juptiter's Requiem was announced to begin in 2019, but wasn't actually released until 2021. I'm really curious about what happens in that one. So, am I going to buy the library editions? Possibly. Probably. I'd like to see first what format they will take. Jupiter's Circle and Jupiter's Circle 2 should be one edition; same with Jupiter's Legacy and Jupiter's Legacy 2. I don't know anything about Jupiter's Requiem. I checked at my LCS yesterday and they don't have any of the tpbs in stock; I didn't check the backissues. I wold say that Jupiter's Circle is to Jupiter's Legacy as Watchmen is to "Before Watchmen."
Waitaminute...
Am I supposed to read Jupiter's Legacy: Finale before I have the opportunity to read Jupiter's Legacy: Requiem?