Vril Dox II by Derec Donovan

Apart from my incurable sketch card habit, I don’t actively commission a lot of art. I find myself largely buying pre-done pieces as they show up for sale. I also find that my favourite comic series, L.E.G.I.O.N., is just criminally underrepresented here on CAF, especially when it comes to unpublished illustrations and pinups and such. So, when I woke up to a notification that Derec Donovan had opened his commission list, I decided it was finally time to boost the numbers a bit! Derec was an artist for L.E.G.I.O.N. late into its run, and he was the main artist on its follow-up R.E.B.E.L.S. series, so I knew I could trust him to do the characters justice. I asked him to draw and paint my two favourite L.E.G.I.O.N.naires, and up first is the man himself, Vril Dox II!

I’m just so beyond delighted with how this one turned out. I got to watch Derec paint my commissions live on WhatNot and it was a real treat to watch everything come together. I think he got every part of this one just right. Vril’s pose and expression are just the right blend of a stoic front and barely-veiled smug self-confidence, so I think Derec captured his character very well. I love how the blocky inks really define all the musculature, and the overall chiselled look definitely contributes to Vril’s unapproachable demeanour, here.

The colours on this one are just gorgeous, too. Derec always starts his paintings by laying down a very precise layer of shadows and then building colour on top of it, and I like that he used the base shadow colour to shade the white parts of Vril’s uniform. And how about that space background??? I love that it’s a riot of colour which in no way distracts from the central figure, which remains the main focus of the piece. And I will never, ever object to an artist taking the time to draw out the notoriously pesky L.E.G.I.O.N. emblem. Derec nailed it, of course.

One last thing I really enjoy is that, between the L.E.G.I.O.N. symbol, the cosmic background, and Vril’s almost rehearsed pose, you could almost view this piece as a sort of recruitment poster, or an advertisement for the L.E.G.I.O.N. police force. (Those of you in the know will remember the classic “See the galaxy! Fight evil! Get paid for it!” poster from the comic.)