This is the first of a series of profiles that I'll be doing about each of the September17 Productions comic books that will go into the origins of the book as well as the direction of each title going ahead.
To date six issues of LEGACY have been published and with a seventh on the way in-production, we're only just scratching the surface of the story. For those not familiar with the book, LEGACY is the story of the city of the same name, and its citizens, among them the costumed hero known as Paragon.
The ideas for LEGACY came to me in 1993 and evolved over the years, but the base concept of the exploration of the city's people as much as the city's hero, stayed the same. This was well before I'd even hear of Kurt Busiek's Astro City (first published in 1995) or read James Robinson's Starman which became a huge influence for the book, not that I'd in any way ever compare LEGACY to either book... Yet. Here's hoping one day, right?
Anyhow, the ideas sat there and I picked away at them over the years, many of the characters and storylines stayed the same, until I began finally writing the scripts back in the end of 2011.
The first LEGACY script was completed January 6th, 2012. I know this because Cass made me an awesome little congratulations certificate. For close to ten years I hadn't written a story and finishing it was a huge accomplishment and mark the first step to founding S17.
In the first issue I introduced the star-chested hero (who at the time was not given a name- I knew it but I didn't want the readers to- I wanted them to discover him as though they were part of the citizens of Legacy, slowly learning about him and the other characters) and a small number of the supporting cast. The idea was to use the first issue as a trailer of sorts, a hint at what you would find going forth in the series and introduce some of the "cast" as it were.
As we moved on into the next few books, we got to meet some of the cast- the members of the District Attorney's office whom Paragon (our aforementioned star-adorned superhero) works with in his secret identity, as well as some of the other players of the city. Going ahead, we'll learn more about the other characters that populate Legacy and more about the city itself- its history and its future.
I've always been a fan of generational stories- ones that take place over decades, if not centuries, and LEGACY (and the city the book is named after) is my take on that sort of story. We'll jump to the far past, the near future, and perhaps the far future, all the while exploring and getting to know the characters of the "present".
Some issues will be large action-adventure types, with sprawling super battles that affect the entire city, and some will be "quiet" stories that dig into the history and lives of the citizens of Legacy- and not just our main cast, but smaller characters who play roles that affect the larger stories- because after all, each and every life matters and impacts the world around it, whether we realize it or not.
LEGACY #4 was the first issue to really delve into Paragon's past; we saw some of the reasons he does what he does and who he was before gaining his powers and donning a costume to protect the city. We'll revisit his past again in future issues and see why Alex was chosen to be the man who would lead Legacy back to the shining example it once was.
I've often compared LEGACY to that of a weekly TV show- each "episode"/issue adding to an overall story, building the world that the characters inhabit. As with TV shows, LEGACY is broken down into "seasons"- in total 10 such seasons are planned- for a total of 120 issues. Ambitious, for sure, but with enough support (and some time to tell them all) there's no reason we can't get through them all. Not all seasons will be 12 issues long though- the first season, in fact, is 15 issues.
New characters will be introduced along the way and over the course of the series we'll see the different neighborhoods of the city- from the Art Deco buildings of the Robinson area, to the seedy streets of Parker Hill and the struggles of the reigning high school football champions from Delsante Heights. Each character has their own story that will add to the overall depth of the stories and, if all goes as planned, they'll become people whose lives draw you in and maybe that you can even relate to.
Though hopefully not in the way that a supervillain blew up your car with an energy blast while attempting to take over the city. ;)
Legacy is about the life you lead and what you leave behind- who you were to the people in your life and what stories they remember of you. This is the story of the people of this city, this is their LEGACY.
-Andrew
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