Brainiac 5 and Andromeda (In Swimsuits!) Sketch Cards by Jeff Moy

Legionnaires #7 is the fabled swimsuit issue, pencilled to perfection by one Adam Hughes, wherein a group of Legionnaires visit an underwater resort and shenanigans ensue. One of the absolute highlights of the issue (see additional images) comes when Brainiac 5 takes one look at his girlfriend Andromeda’s choice of underwater attire and very nearly blows a circuit when he realizes anyone with a functioning pair of eyes is going to be staring at her. They disagree about it for all of one page, but quickly put it behind them (see additional images, again).

I love the story, and the interactions between my favourite comic book couple back when the writers were actually allowing them to be a couple. Since Jeff Moy took over pencilling for Legionnaires, I’ve wanted to commission something like this from him for years, now. Last month I finally wrapped up the final semester of my Bachelor’s degree, and to celebrate, I finally took the plunge and made my request during one of Jeff’s WhatNot streams! All I asked for was “Brainy and Andromeda, in the swimsuits they wore in Legionnaires #7”. Jeff took that prompt and made an absolute masterpiece!

First off, the coolest thing about this piece: it was drawn using the genuine piece of Adam Hughes original art as a reference! Jeff owns the art for the two pages I’ve put in additional images (go check them out in his gallery!) and when he needed reference, he just pulled one of them out of his portfolio to check the details of the swimsuits!!

And oh, these cards. I own so many pieces, pieces I’ve had to fight for in auctions and break the bank to pay for, but these two little connected sketch cards here are my favourite piece in my entire collection. Jeff came up with the perfect pose and even more perfect expressions. I love how sweetly they’re looking at each other, and how absolutely in love they look. I like to think this comes after they’ve made up from their tiny disagreement, with Andy teasing Brainy and Brainy perfectly unable to be even the littlest bit mad about it. Art-wise, I think it’s one of the best pieces Jeff has ever done. There’s a lot of skin showing here (in two very different skin tones, even!) and Jeff absolutely nailed the shading and colour blending for all of it. I was really hoping for the perfect underwater background, and Jeff 100% delivered, bubbles and all. And Brainy and Andy both look absolutely fantastic. I like to think Adam Hughes would approve (and someday, I’d like to get a commission like this from him, too!).

I think it’s also worth mentioning that I’m posting these on my anniversary - partly because my boyfriend and I have been reading Legionnaires together, and partly because every time I look at him, I’m sure it’s not dissimilar to how Andromeda’s looking at Brainy, here.