After a short absence, I managed to get soem work done for this
issue. Looking over my scribbled notes, I had the idea to do
something with the one character that I used to consider
inviolable, Superman.
I would never have been the first to propose a redesign of the
classic Superman costume, but since he's been through a couple of
changes in recent years, it's no longer unthinkable, to me.
Superman has gone through some evolution, over the years, but his
look has been fairly static for most of his existance. There is
very little difference between the modern Superman and the one
drawn all those years ago by Wayne Boring, whom I consider to be
the man who defined the Superman style for over 40 years. I can't
say I care much for his artwork, bland doesn't begin to decribe
it, though he definitely had a tight, crisp style that contrasted
sharply with the original Joe Shuster art. Shuster had a loose,
sketchy style and his design for Superman changed from one story
to the next. Boring managed to take Shuster's fluid drawings and
solidify them into the iconic image that has made Superman the
most recognized symbol in the world.
For this piece, I had to do more than a simple rework of
Superman, I decided to work on a couple of related characters, as
well. Superman's costume I modified, only slightly, using some
design elements from the far-future Superman of DC's One Million
cross-over event, last year. For my version, I incorporated the
cape and S-shield, and eliminated the trunks in favor of the red
"panel" set in the leggings of the costume. Simple, yes. I find
it difficult to improve on Superman's look, it's a design that
has worked for sixty years and I don't think it needs to be
changed.
For the other two, Supergirl and Superboy, I went a different
route. With Supergirl, I was inspired by one of the costumes the
original Supergirl wore back in the 70s. The loose blouse and
shorts always appealed to me, I'm not sure why, but there you go.
Unlike that 70s costume, I went with a large S-shield, instead of
the tiny patch she had, back then.
Superboy was a bit more difficult. While I like the current
version of Superboy, his costume was dated the day he first
appeared. A product of the events surrounding the Death of
Superman, the artist who created him, Tom Grummett gave him a
costume that he apparently thought was "cool". Well, it may have
been, for about 20 minutes, but while I'm no fashion expert, the
design is so encumbered with functionless straps and belts that
it screams 1980s "hair-band" influence. If the whole suit was
made of black leather and slashed in strategic places, the image
would be complete. I pared down those elements of the costume and
worked the black shoulder part of the costume into the overall
design. I tend to like designs that break up the body along the
vertical axis, so that's how I worked it into the costume. I
changed the boots and trimmed the gloves a bit, using a
motorcylce-racing boot as the model for the boot, something to
fit with the style of the jacket.
Okay, that's what I had for this month. Would like to see
feedback and suggestions for future columns. See you next time.
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