DC Comics announced today via The Source that Tom DeFalco, former Marvel Comics Editor-In-Chief and co-creator of the fan-favorite Spider-Girl series with Ron Frenz, will return to DC to take over Legion Lost from departing writer Fabian Nicieza, who has scheduling conflicts with his non-comics work.”I don’t have a lot of time for comics right now, because I do a lot of non-comics work,” Nicieza told comicbook.com’s Panel Discussions podcast (link below) in September when explaining his initial hesitation to take the job. He said that ultimately it was his love for the characters which brought him around to the title.”I know that Legion is a little bit of a tough sell to some people,” Nicieza said in that interview. “…But I’d stack up some of the best stories of the Legion of the last 25 years against any other superhero book. I think there’s a lot of good stuff there.”In his statement at The Source, series editor Brian Cunningham said of Nicieza’s departure, “It’s a bummer because Fabian and I had discussed some really cool ideas for the series, but I understood his reasons, and we parted on a positive note with hopes that someday we can reteam on something else down the road.”Given cryptic comments made by DC brass which suggest the possibility that some titles may only make it as little as six issues before getting the axe, this change is likely to be seen by some as a vote of confidence in a title that’s been seen by many as underperforming. When Newsarama recently speculated which of the New 52 titles would be the first to go, Legion Lost made the top ten.DeFalco’s move to the series is a change in Other than collaborating on the recent Superman Beyond one-shot, he hasn’t written for DC Comics since the late ’70s. Cunningham, though, said that as soon as DeFalco’s name came up in an editorial meeting, he knew the fit was perfect. “He understands how to build characters from the inside out and make us care about them,” wrote Cunningham. “He makes the fantastic feel gigantic and yet at the same time all too human and flawed. He puts his characters through the wringer, crafting entertaining tales that compel us to keep reading.”
