Legionnaires #40 pg 11

Another win from Jeff Moy's CAF claim show back in February! This one was featured in the pre-show preview email, and as soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to try for it, because it features "Emerald Vi" (or Shrinking Violet as the Emerald Empress). The Emerald Vi storyline is one of the staples of the Reboot Legion, but art from it is scarce, since it only really lasts two issues (if you exclude all the hints and buildup peppered through the preceding issues). Emerald Vi herself makes her debut properly in this issue here, and while she did appear in a few later stories (until poor Vi was finally freed from the Emerald Eye's influence), I still consider owning a page from this issue to be a pretty monumental thing.

It's a gorgeous page, too! Vi's design is top-notch, and I love that this page gives a good mix of close-ups and wide shots featuring her, as well as a few good displays of her power. The Emerald Eye is properly menacing, and even in the plain black and white of the page, you get a sense of the glowing effect given off by the Eye and its energy. The characters are so expressive you barely need the speech bubbles for context - and speaking of characters, there sure are a lot of them! Aside from Emerald Vi, this page features Ultra Boy and XS, Invisible Kid, Element Lad, Chameleon, Gates, and Star Boy (who get turned into various reptiles and amphibians), Cosmic Boy and Saturn Girl, Shvaughn Erin (who's been turned into a baby), M'onel, Spark, and Triad.

I've heard Jeff mention a few times that he always seems to find himself "drawing everything" on a page, in reference to details and backgrounds, and that really shows here. Even with so many characters and so much action on the page, Jeff made sure to draw all the detailed panels on the meeting room walls, and the consoles on the tabletop. And Carani's inks bring all the contrast needed to keep those details from blending in together or feeling too cluttered.

All in all, it's a spectacular page, and I'm very, very thankful to be able to give it a good home in my collection.