Fully Clothed Heroines Offer New Perspective Of Comic Books Costumes
I'm sure you've noticed how costumes differ between male and female superheros. Superman is covered from neck to toe, whereas Wonderwoman is barely covered.
Behold:
See what I mean? Does Wonder Woman have really tough skin and therefore doesn't need the extra layer of spandex? Why don't we ever see Superman in thigh-bearing onesie? You might be inclined to think that would be obscene, but keep in mind that one person's displeasure is another person's treasure. For instance, there are people who want to know what the girls in capes would look like if their bodies were covered by more than just the capes.
Thanks to Michael Lee Lunsford, creator of Ze-Tarts, and Paranormal Stepwhich, a newer, more modest vision of heroine garb has been put on paper.
The huge statement on women in comics started out as a creative challenge for Lunsford. "I asked myself if I could fully cloth these heroines while keeping their iconic look, the colors, the shapes, and still make them look cool and keep their personalities in tact as well," Lunsford told HuffPost Women.
Apparently, Lumsford had no intention of making a statement. He just wanted to see if he could do it. On his blog post, he explicitly stated:
Point of this: An exercise in character design, attempting to clothe the heroines nearly all the way and not making them painted-on, while still keeping the look of their original costumes in some way. Hopefully keeping them looking as iconic as the originally were. Just showing what can be done with a costume breaking outside the barrier of the norm.
Well, he did it, and it's making more of a splash than he expected. His drawings spurred Think Progress blogger, Alyssa Rosenburg to write that Lunsford's illustrations reveal that the lazy costume designing of comic book artists portrays female super heros as more sexy than super, steeping the field in sexism.
Lunsford's drawings are quite possibly the biggest moment of relief in this practice. They're not just praised for their novel modesty, the designs are actually really cool. Check 'em out.
1. Zatanna
2. Supergirl
3. Psylocke
4. Wonder Woman
5. Powergirl
6. Elektra
7. Vampirella
8. Black Canari