Legionnaires #26 pg 5

And here's the last of my three pickups from Jeff Moy's most recent claim show! This one features some fantastic moments between Apparition and Ultra Boy. They're both still convinced they're working through the "will they, won't they" phase of their relationship, but it's pretty obvious to anyone watching them (and to us, the readers) that they're already a couple, they just haven't realized it yet.

To be honest, if this page had become available a few years ago, when I was first collecting comic art, I might have passed on it in favour of another Moy page. The difference is that these days, I've got an "Ultra Boy" of my own in my life, and the way Tinya lights up in that upper-right panel when she hears Jo's voice is so spot-on I just couldn't bring myself to NOT buy this page. And Jo's adorable, apologetic face in the bottom panel there? I wouldn't be able to stay mad at him, either.

As a Legion collector, this page is especially neat because it features some current-day landmarks: the White House and the Washington Monument. Given that LSH comics take place a thousand years in the future, it's rare to see a lot of recognizable buildings or locations from the current day, so it's fun to own an example of not one but two landmarks on this page! It's not directly touched on in the comic at all, but I like that Jeff opted to have the White House and the Monument basically unchanged, with the futuristic 30th century buildings and flying cars rising up behind them.

Art-wise, well, Jeff's mastery of expressions really shines here. Tinya's delight and Jo's sheepishness are the standouts, but even the way they're gazing at each other in the last panel is just perfect (and yes, I'm a giant sap, what can I say?). There's a lot of thought and detail put into the first panel, too, with all the very different kinds of buildings, and even the foliage. Carani's inking technique here is gorgeous, with an abundance of the fine "taper" lines he uses for shading.