When it was announced that Paul Levitz would be leaving his position as President and Publisher of DC Comics and transitioning to writing comic books again, I thought it was a little weird. Kind of like the CEO of General Motors leaving the executive suite because he really wanted to tighten bolts down on the assembly line.

At least DC appears to be making a big deal about Paul’s move by launching his return with the Legion of Super-Heroes #1, so he’s not taking over some book that’s already in decline. I’ve met Paul a bunch of times. We’ve chatted at con parties and had lunch and dinner together several times, especially when he was negotiating to buy Malibu Comics. I’ve even pitched him a couple of times in the past when he would visit the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank.

He has a lot of great industry facts and anecdotes in his head - we spent one lunch talking about paper trends and availability five years down the road (he kept track) as well as sales trends for comics during the various economic downturns over the industry’s history (he kept track). Since the guy was almost my boss, and he probably paid for some if not all of those meals, I have a pro-Levitz bias.

But, at the same time, I hate the Legion Of Super-Heroes. I find its mythology too dense and inbred, like the Ozarks with flight rings. Even when Mark Waid wrote the characters I wasn’t tempted and I’ll read shampoo instructions if Waid’s attached to them. But I was willing to pick up Legion Of Super-Heroes #1 which shipped this past week. With appropriate disclaimers attached, I wanted to see if my pro-Paul bias could overcome my anti-Legion bias and sign me up for a run on the title.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a copy.

I ran around to the three local stores in my area and they’re all sold out - more to come this week, perhaps, maybe, we’ll see. But by then, of course, another 1000 bloggers will have weighed in with their insights and opinions, and the Legionnaire-heads will have passed judgment and who will care anymore about what one more person thinks?

Oh, well. On the plus side, it’s good to hear at least anecdotally from myself that the book is selling well. I think that’s a good sign and I still do want to get my own copy!

[Artwork: cover to Legion Of Super-Heroes #1, ©2010 DC Entertainment]