Okay, "sulsy" is officially my new favourite word.  I'm gonna use it every chance I get.

At the moment, I keep my sketch cards in their toploaders, and keep those inside a small plastic bin that I cover to keep direct light off of the stored cards.  Not exactly all that refined, I know.  Buuuuut, now that I'm graduated and gainfully employed, a big entry on my housekeeping list is to go onto Amazon and pick up these special sketch card binders they sell.  They hold four cards per page, and the sleeves are big enough to fit the toploaders in so that the cards stay nice and safe. I'd recommend checking those out!

Thank you so much, CAB!  I very much appreciate the sentiment.  :)

Oh, don't you worry, Marcus.  It's a little hard to build a war chest when I'm having so much fun, but I'll be ready!

Aww, thank you, Kavi!  It's a fantastic feeling, for sure!

I love the expression he gave her!  Somewhere between determined and devious, depending on how you look at it.

This really was a super cost-efficient way to get an awesome custom piece from Barry in my collection!  I'm very glad his remarques are so detailed and fully rendered.

Ha, it sort of does come off like he's staring at her, if you look at it with a certain mindset!  Lady Quark absolutely had her sights set on Vril (not Brainy, have I taught you nothing??), but he would ultimately choose Phase as his second in command (and believe you me, there would be all kinds of tension, there!).

Thank you, Kavi!  I love a page with great character beats, so I'm super thankful this one comes from a time when the speech bubbles were still inked onto the page.

It's probably sacrilege to imply that this homage outshines Jim Lee's work in any way, but, I mean...

Thanks, Kavi!  I'm absolutely in love with this one.

What a fantastic and nostalgic piece!  Nauck's colours are gorgeous, and Banshee is looking dashing as all get out.

I can confidently say that those arms definitely belong to Brainiac 5!  The black stripes of his costume always wrap around the wrists like that.  Congrats on a fantastic commission!

Oh, she's absolutely on my list for a full-body commission from Jeff, at some point!

It's a fine balance, for sure! ;)

I agree that the eyes on this one are very striking! And I'm glad you agree that this one is particularly nice. 

Oh, you just know all the 30th century magazines were tripping over themselves to feature Legionnaires in as many ways possible!

Thank you, Christopher! It's just a fantastic page on all fronts. I've even given it a place of honour amongst my featured gallery pieces!

One of the things that made the L.E.G.I.O.N. title so unique is that it plays out like a cop drama, in space, where the cops have superpowers. I definitely appreciate how clearly that comes through in this page!

Thanks, Kavi!  It was pretty wild, especially since these annual pages don't normally sell for a lot. I like to laugh to myself and think that all the other bidders just appreciated L.E.G.I.O.N.naires in formal wear as much as I do, but I imagine the real reason was because of all the characters in the first panel, plus the guest-starring Justice League. 

It's really something to get to examine Grell's pencils up close and in person!

Yeah, that's a very good point.  I'm hoping to at least commission a Brainiac 5 from Grell at some point, but I'd love to build up a whole Legion of commissions from him over time!

Thanks, Rick!  I really like this one!

Thank you, Kavi!  I love a good CAL pickup, and this one is one of my favourites!

It's funny, when you search up "Gossamer" on CAF, this card and the Adam Hughes trading card art are the only posts that feature Ayla - almost all the other ones feature the Looney Tunes character! I'm sure Jeff could come up with a hilarious joint commission idea where she's making him levitate, or something like that. 

Ooh, good point about the outline! Jeff often does his outlines like that, but he's mentioned that he looked to Hughes' art for inspiration when he was first developing his artstyle, so I wouldn't be surprised if that was a direct influence!

Yup, what Marcus said!  I loved that this version of Vi was more of a spitfire than a shy wallflower (pun fully intended), and the cheeky smile Gene gave her embodies that perfectly.

Congrats on a gorgeous pickup!  Doran is the perfect artist for a page like this, with a great blend of action, emotion, and a fantastical twist.

Oh, wow, thank you for saying so!  And thank you for taking the time to look through and like all of my alphabet pickups!  I personally have a hard time picking a favourite, but I agree that the Vi piece is very special, and a real standout.

Yeah, talk about a rug-pull for poor Colossal Boy!  I am glad he and Yera wound up staying together; I thought that their relationship when she was pretending to be Shrinking Violet was very sweet, ultimately.

I loooooove the dress!!  Leave it to Barry to take an already gorgeous design and somehow make it even more beautiful!

Marcus, this is a fantastic and very clever song comment, but now every time I hear this song I'm always going to have the urge to sing "Sell me Y" instead of the proper lyrics.  I hope you're proud of yourself! :P

Thanks, Kavi!!  I've really appreciated all the comments you've left on the pieces in this series! :)

Rainbow art is the best kind of art!  I love that even the outlines are a riot of colour.  Congrats on a spectacular commission!

Thank you very much!  I really love this one.

Thanks, Miki! :)

I love his art, too!  I'm really enjoying the process of building up a collection of it.  You've got a great sketch card from him, too!

Well, you could certainly say I've hogged a lot of Barry's Legion Alphabet, so I'll call us even! ;)

Oh, let's just say You'll be Very interested to see what I've got left! ;)

It's definitely not something I'd normally do!  It's just so hard to come across any of Barry's Legion art to add to my collection, so I wanted to take the chance when the opportunity actually presented itself.  I finally feel like I have a substantial amount of Barry's art in my collection, which I'm really thankful for. :)

I keep telling you, Marcus, Ultra Boy is all brawn, and I like my men a little brainier! ;)  He is a cutie, though.

Definitely one of the more creative letter incorporations from Barry's Legion Alphabet!  It's so clever to have her crossed arms act as the "X", but the pose also feels so natural and serene.  Makes you wonder if Jenni is actually putting her own "spin" on a classic superhero move, hence the swirling winds around her.

It's great to see more of Barry's Legion Alphabet making its way onto CAF!  Barry may have painted her as "Lightning Lass" instead of "Spark", but I love the way he uses the "L"s almost as a frame for her.  Awesome pickup!

Heck yeah it is!  And for Superb, Sensational, and Supremely Shady!

I agree!  Considering it's not at all a "natural" skin tone, I think Barry did a masterful job painting and shading to really give us an idea of what a person with blue skin would actually look like.

Thanks, Kavi!  I do love that he made her eyes entirely black.  In her earlier designs (including this one) she always had blue eyes, and it was actually Barry's idea when he took over drawing the Legion to give her fully black eyes.  I like that he included it here!

Thanks, Sean!  I agree that it's one of the most striking and unique pieces of the bunch.

Excellent point, Marcus!  The R on this one is very similar to the B on the Brainiac 5 piece, but I like that this one is a little more distinct once you notice it.

Thanks, Kavi!  I've still got one more gorgeous space background piece up my sleeve, so stay tuned!

Oh, that's hilarious!  And it reminds me, someone in Barry's FB group commented on this piece and said something along the lines of "I don't know much about Orandan anatomy, but shouldn't that costume be revealing some scandalous bits?".  Barry replied "She is the mistress of illusions" with a winky face.  So I guess the takeaway from our two stories is that Jeckie's costume is exactly as revealing as she wants it to be, which is very.

It's such a good costume!  I love the linked belt and the unique way the cape folds over her shoulders.