Wonder Woman - Brigitte Goudz

Earlier this year I did a post about the incredible Brigitte Goudz cosplaying Wonder Woman on another blog of mine.
Well I don't know if it was actually considered real cosplay, but she was dressed up as Wonder Woman.
And what a Wonder Woman she is.
Though Brigitte is only five foot six and weighs 135 pounds this is seriously what Princess Diana should look like in real life.

Maybe if the CW's superhero shows need an Amazon Princess for a cameo......

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Indian Wonder Woman- Deepica Mutyala

Here is a fantastic Indian Wonder Woman cosplay by Deepica Mutyala.
This is so good on so many levels that it's best just to let the pictures do the talking.

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Wonder Woman - 1940s

I saw these old black and white pictures of Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman in the 70s TV series and started thinking....
What if Wonder Woman with Lynda Carter had been a 1940s serial like Batman, Superman or Adventures of Captain Marvel?
Could we have gotten a Justice Society of America serial?
Would superhero films have been an accepted genre in movies like westerns, comedies, science fiction and dramas?

Wonder Woman, by Eric Basaldua

Wonder Woman, by The Art of Eric 'EBAS' Basaldua
You can see more of Eric's work at his Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/ericbasaldua/

Van Williams (The Green Hornet) Passes Away

TV actor Van Williams passed away on November 28, 2016.
Comic book and TV fans know him for his television role as Britt Reid/the Green Hornet where he teamed for one season with the late Bruce Lee as his partner Kato.
He and Bruce Lee made three guest appearances on Batman.
The first was in a "batclimb" cameo, ("The Spell of Tut," 9/28/1966), and later in a two-part episode ("A Piece of the Action," 3/1/1967 and "Batman's Satisfaction," 3/2/1967).

Batman '66 meets Wonder Woman '77

Batman '66 meets Wonder Woman '77, coming in January 2017!

The Scarlet Pimpernel - The First Superhero?

You know I love comic books and superheroes.
And I also love the history of superheroes.
One thing I have always wondered is, technically, who was the first superhero?

Well you have the super powered beings of legend, Hercules, Thor, Samson, but they aren't quite it.

As far as I can tell, the first "true" superhero was The Scarlet Pimpernel.
Created in 1905, by Hungarian-born British novelist, Emma Orczy, you have the hero that has a secret identity.
True some of the heroes of legend disguised themselves as normal folk from time to time, but they were god-like beings hiding out as a human.

The Scarlet Pimpernel was a real hero.
He was a a master of disguise, a master strategist, a skilled swordsman and an escape artist.
All skills that would show up years later in The Shadow, Zorro and yes, the Dark Knight himself, Batman.

He is hunted by the French revolutionary authorities (early Batman and Spider-Man), and his secret identity is a slow-witted playboy (again, early Batman).
He even has a group that helps him called "the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel" which were forerunners of Doc Savage's "The Fabulous Five", the Shadow's underground agents, and shall I mention the "League" part of their name might have been an inspiration for another famous League of heroes?

The 1934 movie poster even has a little "V for Vendetta" feel to it.

And the tales of the Scarlet Pimpernel inspired others to become heroes in real life.
The "Pimpernel" name went on to be the real life undercover identity for men that saved hundred of lives in World War 2...

"The Tartan Pimpernel" helped over 2,000 Allied soldiers in France.
"The American Pimpernel" saved thousands of refugees in France.
"The Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican" aided Allies and Jews in WW2.
"The Black Pimpernel" helped resistance fighters in Norway. (that name later resurfaced in the media when they used it as a nickname for Nelson Mandela).

So besides being the precursor of a lot of today's comic book heroes, The Scarlet Pimpernel was also the inspiration for men to use cunning and their wits to save thousands of lives.

And like today's heroes, he has appeared in books, movies, TV shows and even a musical.

Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde) - Marvel Comics

Kitty Pryde aka Ariel aka Sprite aka Shadowcat was created in 1980 by the X-Men dream team, John Byrne and Chris Claremont.
Kitty has been a little sister and girlfriend to several X-Men.

Kitty is one of the few named Jewish characters in the Marvel Universe.
I imagine a lot of others are, because most of Marvel's writers and artists were Jewish back in the 1960s.
As a matter of fact, there have been several long in depth articles written about the religion of Marvel superheroes.

But back to Kitty.
Kitty was a throwback to the original Marvel formula with the X-Men.
The teen outcast that discovers she really is a bit more different than the other kids.
In her case, a mutant.

Kitty's powers are cool.
She phases through things.
But it's a tad more complicated than just that.
Actually, it would take a Physics professor to really explain all the stuff Kitty can do.
And James Kakalios did just that in his book "The Physics of Superheroes".
Check it out sometime, it's very interesting.

Besides her superpowers, Kitty was trained in martial arts in a manner similar to Psylocke (as it it was all pretty much downloaded into her consciousness) so she is versed in various martial arts.
She speaks several languages including Shi'ar and Skrull, and she is a hi-tech genius.

Beware the Claws of the Cat - Marvel Comics

Before Marvel Superhero Greer Grant Nelson became Tigra, the icon of furries everywhere, she was The Cat.
The Cat was a comic launched in the early 70s along with Night Nurse and Shanna the She-Devil, designed to try to draw in a female audience.
And Marvel went big with this too, assigning the writing and artwork to two women (which at the time was almost unheard of) long time Marvel artist Marie Severin and writer Linda Fite.
Stan Lee was determined this comic was gonna be for women, by women and about women.
You have to give "The Man" props for doing that.

But it didn't last long and the concept fell apart pretty quickly.
After four issues actually.
And the art team changed constantly, but Lee tried to keep it female driven.
But poor sales killed the book quickly.

But even today I think the first issue with Marie drawing it and legendary EC Comics artist Wally Wood inking it is a classic.
Severin and Wood were REALLY good together.
Their Cat was very sexy in the 1950s "Good Girl/Bad Girl" way.
Had that team stayed together, the series may have gone on quite a while.

Greer Grant Nelson went on to become Tigra and Patsy Walker later got the Cat suit becoming Hellcat.

X-23...WWE Diva Paige?

I saw this pic yesterday and thought, "Wow! That is cool! Paige as X-23 kinda fits actually!"
But then I found out that it was photoshopped from a picture of cosplayer Laura Kinney as X-23.
Still, the photoshopped Paige is good.
But I prefer the original Laura Kinney version myself.

Scarlet Witch - Alicia Bellamy

I do some cosplayers on here from time to time and when I ran across these pictures of Alicia Bellamy as the Scarlet Witch.....I had to share them.
Alicia Bellamy is an artist and Associate Artist at Fireforge Games, Costume Maker and Cosplayer
And she currently lives in Orange County, CA.

Now I understand why they went with the look that they did for the Scarlet Witch in Age of Ultron.
But if they ever change their mind and decide to go with a more traditional look...they need to look up Alicia.
Because she has it down pat.

You can keep up with Alicia at her Deviant Art page:
http://vert-vixen.deviantart.com/

On Twitter:
https://twitter.com/VertVixen

And on Instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/vertvixen/

Laura Vandervoort in Supergirl?

I do not have a thing against Melissa Benoist who plays Supergirl on the CBS series.
I think she is great.
But you have to give props to Laura Vandervoort (SyFy’s werewolf drama Bitten), was the original live action Supergirl on CW’s Smallville.
I know there are a few rumors that have floated around about Laura maybe showing up on Supergirl at some point which I think would be great.
But they are really nothing more than rumors.
Though they did cast Helen Slater (the movie Supergirl) and Dean Cain (Lois and Clark) in roles....
So you never know.
Who could she play?
I like the idea of her crossing over from Earth 2 as Powergirl.

Anyway, here is the beautiful Laura who had to play Supergirl without ever really getting a costume.....

The Incredibles (2004)

I know it is animated but to me this is one of the best superhero movies ever made.
On the surface, this is just a great Walt Disney computer-animated superhero film that the kids would love and they could sell tons of toys, games and clothes from.
But if you are a true comic book fan, the movie hits you with so many inside jokes and references so fast you might miss all of them on one viewing (I know I did). Yes, this is a film with layers.

Watching the film (if you are careful) you can catch shout-outs to Watchmen, Captain Marvel (SHAZAM!), Golden Age Superman, Black Manta, Cyclops, Daredevil, Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD and of course the Fantastic Four...plus a lot more.
And besides being a superhero film, it's a film about family, friends, loyalty and doing what's right no matter what the personal cost.
The man that directed The Incredibles is Brad Bird, the same man that made the cartoon Iron Giant, a film that unless you are not human, will make you tear up at the end.
The voice cast is perfect with stand outs like Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Jason Lee and Samuel L. Jackson.
And you HAVE to give props to director Brad Bird who voiced fashion designer to the superheroes Edna Mode.
She may not be on the screen a lot, but you will not forget Edna.

My favorite line in the film (there are so many)... Edna: No capes!

By the way....The Incredibles 2 is indeed coming.
Finally!

The Comics 9/11 Response

Today is the anniversary of the World Trade Centers attack on September 11th, 2001.
It rocked the world.
Everyone that was alive that day here in the US know exactly where they were when they heard about the attacks.
As a comic book fan, I wondered how Marvel and DC would react to the attacks.
I knew they couldn't just not mention them.

Here are what I consider the four most poignant images that were created in regards to that terrible day......

Superboy - Silver Shade Cosplay

There are a lot of gender defying cosplays out there and a lot of really good ones.
But one of the best I have EVER seen is this 90's Superboy cosplay by Silver Shade.
I mean really....c'mon!

Costume?
Nailed.
Attitude?
Nailed.
Gorgeous?
Nailed.
Really one of the best cosplays I have ever seen.
You can see more of Silver Shade at her Facebook page here....
https://www.facebook.com/SilverCosplay

Wonder Woman Wednesday

It's Wonder Woman Wednesday and just a few days from the 4th, so here is Princess Diana done by Promethean-Arts.
You can see this and more here:
http://promethean-arts.deviantart.com/art/Wonder-Woman-Classic-405260354

John Byrne's X-Men

Another picture by the incredible John Byrne and Terry Austin of my favorite era of the X-men.
I guess it's just nostalgia huh?

Fitness Model Alyssa Loughran as Power Girl

This is fitness model Alyssa Loughran as DC's Power Girl.
I think the words, "perfect fit" fall a little short here.
If there is a better cosplay of DC Comics Power Girl out there, I would like to see it.
The picture perfect (literally) photography is by Jeff Zoet.

You can see more of Alyssa here:
https://www.facebook.com/Alyssaloughranfitness
And more of Jeff's work here:
https://www.facebook.com/JeffZoetVisuals

Superpowered Paige and Alicia?

It seems the WWE is really getting into this superhero crossover thing.
Here are two WWE Divas, Paige and Alicia Fox remade as superheroes (supervillians?)

First is WWE Diva Paige as Rampaiger.
I'm guessing she is a supervillainess.

Second is WWE Diva Alicia Fox as Medusa Mix-a-Fox?
Kind of a Mystique mixed with an octopus.

Barbie as Poison Ivy

Well Barbie can be a superhero or a supervillain.
Here she is as the most famous Eco-terrorist in the world, Poison Ivy.
Though she was originally created to look similar to Bettie Page, Ivy's look changed over the years.
Now she is one of Batman's archenemies and Harley Quinn's "Pal".