The first house ad of the seventies featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes was a joint effort with other DC publications, specifically the new slate of reprint titles which were being produced by the publisher. Appearing in the Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 1, # 1, the house ad featured those titles which the publisher had revived on a temporary basis (such as Challengers of the Unknown, Doom Patrol, and Metal Men) alongside three new titles, each of which also featured reprints. Of interest to Legion fans was the Legion of Super-Heroes, which represented episodes of "Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes" from their Silver Age home in Adventure Comics.

In an effort to fight inflation, DC experimented with oversized comics during the Seventies in an attempt to give consumers a greater value per page than they would have received if the publisher had merely raised its prices. The result was the 100 Page Spectaculars, which were a combination of both new stories and reprints. Unfortunately for the publisher, they were seen as expensive by many customers and were eventually discontinued, but not before more house ads for the Spectaculars appeared, including one also featuring Superboy starring the Legion of Super-Heroes.

The next appearance of the Legion of Super-Heroes in a house ad would be perhaps their most infamous one yet. In 1972 Legion fan Neal Pozner wrote and self-published The Handbook to the Legion of Super-Heroes, a comprehensive guide to the DC universe of the 30th Century. It featured detailed information on every Legionnaire, villain, homeworld, etc., and was complete up to the end of the Legion's Silver Age. In 1975 he decided to update his work, and it was originally scheduled to be released as a double-sized issue of The Legion Outpost, but when it was shown to the people at DC they liked it so much that they bought it instead, hence Pozner's listing as guest editor.

Strangely enough, the one place where the ad didn't appear was Superboy and the Legion of Super- Heroes. It appeared in various DC comics cover-dated March, 1976, but the Legion issue that month (# 216) featured an advertisment for the upcoming Superman/Spiderman crossover instead. The previous Legion issue (# 215) featured an ad for the AWODCC # 8, and the following issue (# 217) featured an ad for the AWODCC # 10, but for some unknown reason the ad for the all-Legion issue of the AWODCC was not included in the one place where Legion fans were certain to notice it. In any case, the lack of proper product placement did not affect sales adversely, as the issue immeadiately sold out and many fans had to have their money returned. One can only wonder at how many more orders there may have been had it been advertised in the one place where Legion fans would have been certain to see it.

Possibly sensing a potential economic windfall, DC put to press an all science-fiction issue of the AWODCC, this one featuring an interview with (and cover art by) SLSH artist Mike Grell. "You loved our Legion issue," read the ad, "so now here's: The Amazing World of DC Comics # 12 Science Fiction Spectacular!" Unfortunately for DC, the issue didn't sell as well as the Legion issue did; the publisher continued to advertise it for months after its initial release, leading to speculation that they printed more copies than usual in order to deal with the anticipated demand. Today both issues of the AWODCC may be found on ebay, although the all-Legion issue routinely goes for in excess of fifty dollars.

The next house ad featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes can only periphially be called a Legion house ad. For three years in the late seventies, DC Comics released calendars featuring many of its top stars, and the Legion of Super-Heroes was included amongst that group. In 1976 the ad for the upcoming year's calendar boasted "A full color pin-up of the Legion of Super-Heroes!", a testament to the title's popularity. Indeed, under artist Mike Grell, Superboy starring the Legion of Super-Heroes had become DC's top-selling comic, a status which was reflected by their prominent position in the calendar.

Another oddity of the 1970s were the tabloid sized comics which both DC and Marvel produced. Initially only featuring reprint material, they would go on to be a showcase for special-length stories, including the wedding of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl, as well as Superman vs. Muhammand Ali. In 1976 the Legion's initial foray into the tabloid market consisted of the reprinting of Adventure Comics #'s 377-378 featuring the first appearance of Mordru, along with an all-new cover by Mike Grell. It appeared first in a full-page ad alongside the previous issue of Limited Collector's Edition, then again in a half-page ad with the same issue. Another ebay oddity, Limited Collector's Edition C-49 can bring it's owner top dollars if properly advertised.

Another testament to the Legion's popularity in the 1970s was its upgrading in status to giant-size along with the Justice League. As of June, 1977, both titles doubled their size in another attempt by DC to give its customers more bang for their buck. Unfortunately for the publisher, the move backfired. According to Roy Thomas, then an employee of Marvel, "I remember that one of the few times I met with [Marvel Publisher] Martin Goodman...[he] was talking about how suddenly we were going to cut all the books down in size and that DC was going to take a bath if they didn't follow suit right away - and they did take a bath, because they kept the giant-size books for a year and Marvel just murdered them."

In addition to being the point at which Marvel overtook DC in sales, it was also a trying time for the Legion: regular artist Jim Sherman couldn't keep up with the pace, and a bevy of fill-in artists were recruited to fill the oversized books. It was during this period that Jim Starlin, Howard Chaykin, and Walt Simonson were all drafted by new Legion editor Al Milgrom to fill the void, and when the dust had settled Joe Staton was the new Legion artist and Paul Levitz was on his way out as Legion writer, citing burn-out as the reason for his departure.

It was during the Legion's giant-size period that its most infamous publication was produced. Nicknamed "That Damned Tabloid" by Legion fans, All-New Collector's Edition C-55 featured the long-awaited wedding of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl. In order to ensure that its fans were able to purchase a copy, DC placed a full-page ad in Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes # 237 for them to notice it, noting that it would go on sale "around the 1st of the year!" Of note is that SLSH # 237 took place after "That Damned Tabloid," and indeed showed Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl both leave the Legion and for their honeymoon in the same issue. Whether the tabloid was available on newsstands before "the 1st of the year" is debatable, but the likelihood is that the stories were read out of order by Legion fans.

What is not up for debate is that DC retained many excess copies of All-New Collector's Edition C-55 after its printing. It would reappear, along with other overprinted treasuries, in two more ads, one of which is displayed here.

As noted earlier, the Seventies was the decade in which Marvel Comics overtook its biggest competitor. Still, DC did not surrender its market share easily. When the decision was made to return to regular-sized comics, the page count was increased from 17 story pages to 24, again in keeping with DC's philosophy of delivering the lowest cost-per-page comics around. However, as was the case with DC's 100 Page Spectaculars, consumers went for the product with the lowest price, and, in the words of Thomas, the publisher was "murdered." Chosen to illustrate DC's new format in a house ad were DC Comics Presents and Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes. Whether they were chosen specifically or randomly for inclusion is unknown.

It was not unusual for DC in the 1970s to highlight a specific issue of a comic if it felt that a particular story deserved special attention. In Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes # 255, various Legionnaires traveled back in time to Krypton before it exploded, as depicted on the cover. It was, perhaps, an attempt to appeal to Superman fans, as the Legion appeared that month in DC Comics Presents alongside the same ad. Worthy of notice is the blurb announcing the Legion's guest-starring role in DCCP, obviously intended for those readers of the Legion who saw the ad in SLSH # 255. DC deserves credit in this instance for attempting to bring Legion readers over to DCCP and vice versa.

Shortly before the title became simply The Legion of Super-Heroes, an advertisement appeared in SLSH allowing fans to subscribe and get "12 issues for the price of 10!" The more observant fan among them might have noticed the lack of Superboy in the ad, both in the names listed in the roster and in his usual place as part of the title. In the days before widely circulated fan magazines, readers were dependent upon notices from the editor as part of the letters page for news concerning their favorite titles, and if it wasn't mentioned there, they weren't aware of it until it occurred. If readers hadn't already been made aware of the upcoming changes to the title, the advertisment spelled it out in less-than-obvious terms: Superboy was leaving Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes. Coincidentally, the ad expired during the same month that the first issue of The Legion of Super-Heroes without Superboy as a part of the title would go on sale: October, 1979.

If there was any doubt as to the future of Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes, the last Legion house ad to appear under the same name put all doubts to rest. On October 25, 1979, Superboy would leave his own comic to start over with a new number one, while the Legion of Super-Heroes would be the sole tenants of his former title. In order to insure that no fan missed out on Superboy's new book, a full-page ad appeared in SLSH # 258 displaying both covers, as well as making a mention of the Legion's former home in Adventure Comics, which would also undergo a change in format. Of special interest to Legion fans was the "Starman" feature, which would be written by former Legion scribe Paul Levitz and drawn by periodic Legion fill-in penciller Steve Ditko.

And that was that. Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes had come to an end, replaced by The Legion of Super-Heroes. After 21 years, the super-heroes of the future finally had an all-new comic to call their own.

While the amount of house ads for the Legion during the Seventies may seem impressive by modern standards, it is necessary to point out that for a period in the decade it was the publisher's best-selling title, and even when it lost that distinction it was still a highly popular series. Whether it was the house ads which brought it that status or whether they were a reflection of its popularity is debateable, but one thing is for certain: Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes was well represented in the pages of the publisher during the decade. From tabloid-sized comics to giant-sized issues of all-new material, Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes was at the forefront of every new format which DC Comics attempted during the 1970s, and the advertisements in the pages of the publisher delivered that message to the readers. Whether they worked or not is something which may never be known, but the evidence is clear: during the 1970s, Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes was not wanting for promotion.