Barry Kitson's Legion Alphabet - S for Shadow Lass

Nothing makes you realize how common Legion codenames starting with "S" are quite like watching a bunch of Legion fans tossing out suggestions for who Barry should paint! People mentioned Star Boy, Stone Boy, Sun Boy, Superboy, Shrinking Violet, and Sensor Girl (or Sensor the snake), but surprisingly there were no mentions of Supergirl. By far the two most popular choices were Shadow Lass and Saturn Girl, and I know I certainly voted for both because I just couldn't pick between the two! I was very, very happy to see that Barry went with Shady, here, in what's maybe my favourite costume of hers. Barry said that the "graphic nature of all that black" in her design was very appealing to him.

I think Barry's absolutely right, too. I love that he went with a lot of strong blacks for her costume and hair, and kept the shading to a minimum. She very deliberately blends in with the wall of shadows manifesting behind her, which is a really fantastic effect. I especially like the way Barry makes it hard to tell what's wisps of her hair and what's just tendrils of shadow. And all the different blues he put into her skintone contrast really well against the solid blacks.

I think he gave her a really interesting expression, too - calm and composed, with just the tiniest hint of an attitude shining through. Whoever's about to find themselves on the receiving end of her shadows is not going to have a good time. Also, I checked with Barry after I bought the piece, and he confirmed that the brooch holding her costume together is what serves as the "S" for this piece - no hidden letter in the background, or anything.

Something neat I realized after the fact: with "S" finally out of the way, it was official that this first run of Barry's Legion alphabet wouldn't feature any of the Legion's three founding members (Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, and Saturn Girl). It seems like Barry's planning to do a second alphabet at some point, and I imagine we'll see some of them then!