More Ms. Marvel

I did say I'd revisit this one later on, so here's a little more on Ms. Marvel.

To be honest, I didn't think I had all that much to say about this character. I didn't actually encounter Ms. Marvel as Ms. Marvel for a long time, even after I'd become quite familiar with the character of Carol Danvers through guest appearances in X-Men. (Including the later transformation into Binary, which I probably won't be able to resist attempting to draw at some point.) I had to dig through my long boxes for a couple of classic Ms. Marvel issues to remind myself why Chris Claremont got such a reputation for writing strong female characters. I mean, check this sequence below -- Danvers' reaction to a nightmare in which Ms. loses a fight badly (from Ms. Marvel #17). Leaving aside the actual nightmare content (although it's good visceral stuff, ending with Danvers' about to have her brains blown out; thankfully this is when she wakes up), it's the two pages of angst and self-doubt that follow it, including a sympathy session with a red-headed friend, that really stick out in hindsight.

Remember this was written a good twenty years before Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Penciler Jim Mooney / Inker Tony De Zuniga / Colorist Jan Cohen / Letterer J. Costanza

Then, three issues later, Carol seems to have gotten her groove back, plus a new costume in the thigh-high-boots-and-sash mode favored by artist Dave Cockrum, who also designed the Phoenix. (Later, Binary rocked something very similar, only with sort of electric flame effects.)

Penciller Dave Cockrum / Inker Bob Wiacek / Colorist Mary Ellen / Letterer Annette K.

Subconsciously, this page must've made a big impression on me. No lie: when I sat down to draw Ms. Marvel, the very first image that came into my mind was her standing in front of a mirror. But the dialogue I remembered a little differently:

100 Butt-Kicking Chicks #2: Ms. Marvel!

Today's butt-kicking entry is Ms. Marvel! (A bit minimalist, I know, but this was sort of a rush job.)

I'm won't bend your ear too much about the character right now. I'll be revisiting her again eventually -- Carol Danvers may not've had as many costume changes as The Wasp (coming soon!), but artistically speaking, there's no way I can ignore the '70s hot pants outfit. 

It's true, the belly shirt wasn't just invented in the '90s.

The one big thing I learned from searching for costume reference for this drawing was what a popular cosplay character Ms. Marvel is. Which, in hindsight, duh -- it's an easy enough costume to assemble, and otherwise all you need is blonde hair and a perfect figure. (Which again, duh, also explains the popularity of photos of the character on the Internet.)

I also learned that Marvel Comics itself uses pro cosplayers like model Miracole Burns for art reference (as did I for this picture), another item that makes a lot of sense in hindsight, especially with the "realism" trend in art from the last few years. Live and learn!

100 Butt-Kicking Chicks #1: Fantomah!

It should be pretty clear by now that this really isn't a blog about anything. Part of this is simply a time issue -- when the hubby and I started this blog, the idea was to have a place to post our thoughts on all sorts of nonsense, because why not? But when you don't have much in the way of free time to even see films or read comics, it's hard to blog about them. And when you do have free time, well... sleep is nice.

But that's gonna change, if only because it's annoying to have a blog that nothing gets posted on. That is a source of guilt and shame, and who needs that hanging over their head all the time? Not me.

Anyway, as a way of addressing this problem, I'm going to use the 100 Things blogging challenge -- possibly not in the exact spirit in which it was intended (although it's a good spirit; our house could certainly stand a reduction in stuff), but as a way of encourage myself to post. Specifically, I'm going to use it as an art challenge, and try to draw 100 Butt-Kicking Chicks. JUST BECAUSE. 

So here's my first entry, Fantomah, Mystery Woman of the Jungle. Fantomah is always a big favorite in the History of Comics class I teach, because, hello, LOOK at her. She's a scary lady Skeletor! In a sexy nightie! Who flies! In the jungle, no less! 

Fantomah was the creation of utterly weird comics artist Fletcher Hanks in 1940 (which means she predates Wonder Woman and is arguably the first super-powered female character in comics). Hanks had an odd art style -- it falls in a strange space somewhere between crude and surreal -- and he has an especially interesting tendency to draw super-characters flying through the air headfirst, like they'd just been fired from a cannon at a circus. His storylines are similarly off-kilter, equal parts by-the-numbers hackwork and just plain bonkers. 

Part of this is no doubt due to the fact that, according to cartoonist and author Paul Karasik, who researched Hanks for the books I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets! (about the equally weird Stardust the Space Wizard), and You Shall Die by Your Own Evil Creation! (Fantomah gets the cover of this one), Hanks was a real piece of work. Hanks's son, an honest-to-goodness war hero, describes his dad as an abusive alcoholic who walked out on his kids. 

So yes, whenever you're reading Fantomah or Stardust, you're reading the works of a really messed-up person. Whether Hanks would have been a better or worse artist if that weren't so is kind of a question to ponder.

At any rate, the character of Fantomah is now in the public domain, and since Karasik's books on Hanks, she's been experiencing something of a revival. She's popped up in Image Comics' Hack/Slash and I just have to share this really awesome poster design by illustrator Carlos Araujo for a Philadelphia, PA art show on Golden Age comics. Is that cool, or what?

Check out Fantomah out for yourself, at the Comic Book Catacombs. I also really recommend Karasik's two books listed above -- this stuff will blow your mind. 

The Future's So Bright...

Tonight's episode of FaceOff is going to have LeVar Burton as a guest judge. I can't tell you how happy this makes me. Battle-bridge-of-the-Enterprise happy.

I remain sad that I never got to visit the Star Trek Experience in Las Vegas before it was dismantled. That would have been... sublime.

Ito My Valentine

Hearts, flowers and, of course, candy are all awesome, but as fans of both horror and comics, we thought we'd bring something a little different. Happy Valentine's Day!

These are based on the manga of Junji Ito, ever excellent artist of the gross and scary. Specifically, these are from the famous Uzumaki, except for the second one, which is from his mutant-fish-take-over-the-world story, Gyo.

For more Ito, check out his Hanging Balloons story on Same Hat.

Too Late for New Year's Resolutions

Two months into 2012, and I haven't made any kind of resolutions or "Best of of the Year" lists. But hey, dig our jazzy new logo!

I'm wracking my brain, but as far as I can recall, Crank 2: High Voltage was the best movie I saw last year. Let that be your guide to the kind of taste you're likely to encounter around here.

Shocking!