Da pochi giorni, Paul Levitz ha diffuso tramite la sua pagina Facebook (via DC Boards) una specie di risposta alle principali critiche ricevute in rete dall’ultimo numero di “Adventure Comics”, che a luglio ha ospitato un nuovo capitolo della storyline retrospettiva sui primi anni di attività della Legione.
Ecco il testo integrale dell’intervento di Levitz (occhio agli spoiler):

On adding to history
by Paul Levitz on Thursday, August 12, 2010 at 7:10pm

A couple of thoughts following up on the comments on ADVENTURE this month:

Any time you go back to tell an old story, the odds are something will change; it can be a nuance, or a revelation of an incident or fact that was untold but that isn’t contradictory, or an outright revision of the tale. I’ve done all three in the past. Some of each have stuck and become time-honored lore (Universo and Rond Vidar as Green Lanterns, GiGi and Colossal Boy as SP trainees, and on and on). Some don’t stick–they get revised by the original writer as he rethinks the tale, or by a subsequent storyteller. It’s part of the form.

In any case, my goal with the Saturn Girl-Cosmic Boy moment was what I call an “under-reveal”–something we haven’t known before, but that doesn’t contradict what we know of the character. The current ADVENTURE arc is very much Saturn Girl’s formative tale. We know from tales going back to my childhood that she’s not shy about using her powers on her colleagues when she thinks it’s for the good of the team, and hasn’t always been right about that… We know she fell in love with Lightning Lad, but not when or how, or much about her emotional life before then. Before the arc ends with events that include ADVENTURE #304, hopefully her journey to maturity will be more nuanced and realistic. The Legionnaires are not children–however old their calendar ages (and I’ll leave that to indexers to debate)–if they’re being allowed to place themselves in harm’s way, and to be responsible for the lives of others, they’re acting as adults and that extends across the wide spectrum of life. Which doesn’t mean they’re all entirely ready for that, or will all make wise decisions.

There will be a direct contradiction or two in the story arc before it’s done, but I think it’s a logical application of the Legion lore that followed #304 back onto that earlier storyline. We’ll see how readers react as it rolls out…three more issues to go.

In any case, I appreciate the debate, and the passion Legion fans have for these characters as people. Whether you agree with my treatment of them or not, the goal is to make them more complex and interesting…and a measure of controversy isn’t surprising or disappointing. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Trovo molto affiscinante poter scrivere la mia recensione proprio ora, dalla posizione di replicare a mia volta in qualche modo alle precisazioni dello sceneggiatore del New Jersey. Soprattutto perchè, a quanto trasuda dal testo di cui sopra, la critica online si è soffermata ad indagare – come al solito – sugli aspetti della storia più legati alla bieca continuity. L’albo, infatti, svela un particolare inedito e scabroso della gioventù di Saturn Girl, e apriti cielo fra orde di nerdacci che hanno letto in questa scelta da parte degli autori un vero e proprio atto di lesa maestà verso l’alter-ego di Imra Ardeen.
Personalmente preferisco concentrare le mie analisi su ben altri aspetti, come quelli dell’impianto logico e di significato che sorreggono un racconto. E se anche una storia non fosse del tutto coerente rispetto a quella di un fumetto uscito quaranta o cinquant’anni prima, esticazzi, purchè rispetti un suo percorso chiaro e si sposi con le premesse tematiche generali della serie, possibilmente valorizzandole.
Tuttavia, questa volta quello che mi sfugge è proprio il filo rosso che dovrebbe legare dall’inizio alla fine tutta la vicenda. (continua…)