Although cosplay has been present for decades within the comics, anime, and sci-fi/fantasy fandoms, social media has played an integral role in the thriving communities of costuming that exist, such as Cosplay.comand the Superhero Costuming Forum. In honor of the many fans who’ve displayed excellence in the mastery of homemade disguise, craftsmanship, and sartorial superheroics, ComicsAlliance has created Best Cosplay Ever (This Week), an ongoing collection of some of the most impeccable, creative, and clever costumes that we’ve discovered and assembled into a super-showcase of pure fan-devoted talent.
New Marvel T-Shirts Tell Boys They Can Be Heroes, And Girls That A Hero Will Save Them
Following the success of the Avengers film, and with Iron Man 3 set to hit theaters next month, the characters who make up Marvels Avengers team are more recognizable than ever. Naturally, the publisher is taking advantage of that fact via merchandise, including the two t-shirts pictured above.
Of course, aside from the cut of the shirts, the second you look at them you instantly know which is meant for boys and which is for girls, and therein lies quite a problem.
These are Marvel’s characters, the foundation of their company. As such, these products represent them, not the manufacturers. When people see this, and are (rightfully) bothered by it, they aren’t going to care what middle man made the shirts. They’re going to instantly direct their ire toward Marvel, as it it will look to them as if Marvel is telling boys they can be heroes, and telling girls that, if they’re lucky, a hero will come save them.
Best Art Ever (This Week) - 04.26.13
By Andy Khouri
We make a regular practice at ComicsAlliance of spotlighting particular artists or specific bodies of work, but because cartoonists, illustrators and their fans share countless numbers of great images on sites like Flickr, Tumblr, DeviantArt and seemingly infinite art blogs that we’ve created Best Art Ever (This Week), a weekly depository for just some of the pieces of especially compelling artwork that we come across in our regular travels across the Web. Some of it’s new, some of it’s old, some of it’s created by working professionals, some of it’s created by future stars, some of it’s created by talented fans, and some of it’s endearingly silly. All of it’s awesome.
Check out this week’s Best Art Ever on ComicsAlliance!
ABOVE: Daenerys Targaryen, by Craig Drake
New Iron Fist Clothing Collection Features Cheeky Superheroine Apparel
Just in time for convention season, Iron Fist Clothing (not to be confused with Iron Fist, the Marvel superhero) has unveiled a Spring/Summer capsule collection entitled Super Bitches that features pin-up styled artwork of superheroines and villains. Known for their eclectic catalogue of monster-themed high heels and glam collaborations with RuPaul’s Drag Race, the LA-based clothing label collaborated with artist Lora Zombie to create this cheeky comic-inspired print to showcase fierce and empowered super-women in a shared feminine and feminist light.
Check out the entire Super Bitches collection on ComicsAlliance!
Above: Super Bitches Dress ($65); Super Bitches print, by Lora Zombie (close-up); Super Bitches Shorts ($40)
Evan McIsaac’s Construction Paper Sailor Moon Music Video Is A Sight To Behold
By Chris Sims
Back when I was an impressionable teen, I used to watch a ton of Anime Music Videos. I assume they’re still around (especially now that you don’t have to spend all night downloading them on Usenet), but on the off chance that you’re not familiar, the idea was that people would edit together scenes from anime to one of the popular tunes of the day. My personal favorite was one for LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out,” if only because the line “Kinda like Shaft, so you could say I’m Shaftin’” was accompanied by a clip from Shaft in the middle of a bunch of anime.
Anyway, I haven’t watched any in a long while, but it’s nice to see that, at least in one case, the art form has evolved in new and terrifying ways. Witness young Evan McIsaac, lip synching Estelle and Janelle Monae’s “Do My Thing” while wearing construction paper costumes of all of Sailor Moon’s Sailor Scouts. All of them. At the same time. It is glorious.
Featured on Best Art Ever (This Week) - Superman 75th Anniversary Edition:
Supergirl, by Cliff Chiang
Some photos from Comicazi’s Not-The-Boston-Comic-Con Get-Together this past Saturday.
Clockwise from top left:
- Batgirl, by Ming Doyle
- Marceline, by Erica Henderson
- Scrooge McDuck, by Don Rosa
- Erica & Don Rosa
- Tim Sale & Ming
Check out my write-up on the event (as well as the rest of my photos) on ComicsAlliance!
I’m David: ‘Johnny Wander’ Is Charming & Who Should Own The Rights To Superman?
Like most of you, I’ve got a to-read stack that kills me every time I look at it. Friends laugh at it, small children cry at it, and the police keep giving me the stink eye. I’ve also got a to-read list for those things that I want to read in digital form, but haven’t yet. There’s a lot of webcomics in there (Chris Onstad returned to Achewoodlast year, you say?) and I’ve been remarkably lax about getting caught up because I’ve got a never-ending reservoir of excuses when it comes to not doing things. But I found myself with three volumes of the webcomic Johnny Wander, an inexplicably long commute to work, and a (very rare) lack of excuses. So I read it. And I loved it.
I’m David, and I want to talk to you about Johnny Wander, a comic drawn by Yuko Ota and written by Ananth Panagariya, about Yukond Ananth. It’s autobio, it’s funny, and it’s great.
The ‘Man Of Steel’ Trailer Gets Supermanimated
While many were apprehensive about Man of Steel, the upcoming Superman film directed by Zack Snyder, the trailer released last week has left quite a few previous naysayers somewhere between “cautiously optimistic” and “ridiculously excited.” It’s also inspired video editor Jason Inman to cut clips from Superman the Animated Series over the new trailer, and you can check out above.
Best Cosplay Ever (This Week) - 04.22.13
By Bethany Fong
Check out this week’s Best Cosplay Ever on ComicsAlliance!
ABOVE: Marceline & Simon Petrikov (Adventure Time), cosplayed by Chlo-Chlo & xhee-heex, photographed by mineralblu
New ‘Hush’ Catwoman And Harley Quinn Real Action Heroes Coming From Medicom
With Batman and the Joker already duking it out on store shelves, Medicom is turning its Real Action Heroes attention to Jim Lee’s Hush style Catwoman and Harley Quinn. We missed the pair in Medicom’s Toy Fair 2013 display, but the toymaker has finally released press photos showcasing each of their 1/6 scale sculpts, scads of articulation, swappable hands, real cloth costumes and character-specific accessories. Catwoman’s removable whip belt is an especially thoughtful touch, even if it seems to be a separate piece from her weaponized plastic whip. Though the femme fatales won’t be available until around January or February of 2014, they’re both these Gotham City Sirens are currently available at various preorder sites for around $185-200.
You can see more photos of Medicom’s upcoming Real Action Heroes Hush Catwoman and Harley Quinn, on ComicsAlliance.
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