Curse those gender-neutral superhero codenames!
I haven't done one of these in a while. So if you're new to my blog, here's the deal: the gender reassignment challenge is where I take a very feminine superheroine costume and reimagine it for a male hero, retaining as many of the original costume elements as I can while still keeping it "butch." Dave Cockrum's swimsuit-style designs are probably the most difficult of these for me to do. I've already redone Saturn Girl's outfit -- with limited success. Storm's was much easier. Mainly because it wasn't pink. Here's what I came up with:
So it turns out Jeremy had some watercolor pencils! Thank GOD. I didn't mean for it to look that purple but I was afraid I'd make it too dark and murky otherwise. Ah, well.
The first thing I did with the costume was to detach that cape from the bracelets, because I freaking hate that shit. (Just ask the Black Condor! I bet he's still nursing the split lip I gave him from our rumble over that very issue.) I also did it because I've only ever seen that look on Ziegfield Girls. I gave Man-Storm a beard and modified the tiara-thingie into a wraparound. This was inspired by Kirby's Brother Bear from "The Forever People." I shortened the boots from thigh-high into more of a buccaneer style, and I changed the oval cut-outs into rubies, to match the one on the cape. I did that because cut-outs make me think of go-go dancers and not super-guys. It's the same reason I reinterpreted the cut-outs on the sides of the stomach into a belt -- and to show off a similar amount of skin, I made the outfit topless. But I'd rather not see thighs with buccaneer boots, so I covered those up.
So, what do you think?
11 comments:
Pretty cool. And kudos for forging ahead with colored pencils. I used to use them all the time before I got my hands on a PC; now I have to make a special effort to do it, mostly so I don't lose technique.
I dont' care what he wears...
as long as he's called MAN-STORM.
It's raining men!
Hallelujah!
sorry.
Kind of has a whole majestic lion thing going on with the hair and eyes. You wouldn't want to fuck with the dude.
I thought the bracelet-cape thing was a functional necessity. It's supposed to be how she flies, like a built-in hangglider she pushes the wind up under or something. Which raises the question: if the only way YOU could fly was by wearing one of those things, would you?
That was indeed the capelet's function in the Cockrum days at least (as I recall), but it seemed to get glossed over once she hit her punk rock/mohawk phase. I don't remember if it was addressed as such.
I really like it, but his beard's making me think of another Kirby character: Highfather.
I like it! Although, like Anonymous, my nerdometer went off when you mentioned removing the cape-bracelet attachment.
The only change I might make is to maybe Cockrumize it more by flaring the cape at the shoulders a bit (as in the woman-Storm pic above or Nightcrawler).
I'm not saying that would be better (you're Blockade Boy, not me), just more Cockrum.
"You wouldn't want to fuck with the dude."
Well,actually...!
I'd like to see a gender re-assignment of the 70's Terra-man
Chawunky: Thanks! I'm trying to experiment with making my art more stylized, too, so we'll see how it goes.
Scipio: Haw!
Steven: Well, I was honestly kind of asking for it.
Brandon: That's exactly what I was going for, especially since the original version has some kind of goofy Claremontian link to a white spirt-lion or sumpin' like that.
Anonymous: If I could only fly by wearing a cape like that, I'd just invest in a bus pass.
Chawunky: Thank God. I do try to focus on practicality, so if it's at all possible the braclets aren't necessary I'll feel a lot better.
Gus: Oh, yeah. That guy.
ABS: I get what you're saying but I think flared shoulders might be a little much in this case. Plus it wouldn't look as close to the original cape.
Scipio: Amen, brother.
Dwayne: The cowboy guy? I'll have to see what the costume looks like. Anyway, I'll probably avoid male-to-female redesigns because superheroines can usually wear a refitted male costume and still look good. Kind of like when you see a woman in a tuxedo.
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