Digital Comic Museum
General Category => Comic Related Discussion => Topic started by: Yoc on June 30, 2010, 01:03:23 PM
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Hi Gang,
Seems WW is getting a new look for the anniversary.
See here for the article from the NYTimes -
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/30/books/30wonder.html
Oh and they are redoing her origin yet again. ::)
-Yoc
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Uhm...eh?
With the leggings and the leather jacket, isn't she missing exterior shoulderpads and a rifle? I mean, seriously, welcome to 1992.
Then there's the badly-planned ornamentation. Angled belt. Curvy bracer-thingies. WW neckline. A choker (why, exactly?). And the now-awkward tiara angled opposite the belt. Oh, and the shape of those clogs or whatever the heck she's wearing. It kinda makes me seasick, all taken as a unit.
Also: Alternate history? After overhauling history in its entirety for the umpty-sixth time? So I guess the character'll be just as useful as Hawkman, by the time her 70th anniversary rolls around. That's nice.
I won't even bother commenting on the obvious aversion to any remotely-patriotic-looking theme and releasing that just before a patriotic holiday. Oh, wait. I guess I just did...
I'm not saying that Wonder Woman shouldn't change. DC hasn't known what to do with her since...err...lessee, murderer, wanderer, victim, isolationist, quasi-feminist, kung-fu, retro...OK, "a while." So a revision is definitely in order to make her distinctive and interesting. But...I'm pretty sure this is neither, sadly.
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It is very 90s isn't it?
I'd go with something like this, only less generic with the proper WW insignia, etc.
http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/File:Roygbiv666_WW.png
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Write good stories and you would not need to change the costume. Hope the new look fails miserably
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... With the leggings and the leather jacket, isn't she missing exterior shoulderpads and a rifle? I mean, seriously, welcome to 1992. ...
No, welcome to 1978...
(http://images.allmoviephoto.com/1978_Grease/1978_grease_027.jpg)... Grease is the word. :P
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Write good stories and you would not need to change the costume. Hope the new look fails miserably
I've got to admit, I've never read that many WW stories... come to think of it, I'm not sure if I've really read ANY WW stories... but judging from the general state in which we find comic books in today, I'll tend to agree whole heartedly. Write good stories and you wouldn't need to change the costume.
But then again, there could be other reasons behind the change... like simplifying the design for animation purposes and such... lets face it, mediocrity (or perhaps shear laziness) isn't limited to just writers today. Not to mention that they're looking to "push" the character internationally and perhaps they feel all that "red, white and blue" Americana stuff won't sell overseas... just my opinion though. WW's old costume, just another victim of globalization. ;)
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It is very 90s isn't it?
I'd go with something like this, only less generic with the proper WW insignia, etc.
http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/File:Roygbiv666_WW.png
It's not a bad direction, but it strikes me as something that, if it were in an action scene, would look too much like it was supposed to be street clothes. But that might be a benefit, to some.
The route I'd go is along the lines of Wonder GIRL's classic costume. Keep everything red and yellow/gold, shift the stars somewhere else, and maybe turn the tank top bit (which strikes me as too teenage) to the backless/strapless bit. Or make it a full bodysuit, like the Flash, with a W-shaped neckline.
That should work for action, merchandise, animation, and whatever else, without anybody having to ask why it looks like a five-year-old girl dressed Wonder Woman. Sheesh, the more I look at that, the more I think it's missing pink fuzzy legwarmers or something.
Also, what is it with hiring Straczynski for everything. I loved "Babylon 5," too, and from my extremely-limited contact with him, he seemed like a nice enough guy. But the man can't keep to a monthly comic schedule to save his life, I'm pretty sure his comics have consistently sold dismally, and he's very quick to mouth off about how evil editors screwed up his beautiful story. Where's the benefit that outweighs that kind of list of liabilities?
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The latest I've heard is Linda Carter herself likes the look but admits we fans will likely miss the bare legs [and cleavage.]
Boy, she sure knows me! ;)
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Also, what is it with hiring Straczynski for everything. I loved "Babylon 5," too, and from my extremely-limited contact with him, he seemed like a nice enough guy. But the man can't keep to a monthly comic schedule to save his life, I'm pretty sure his comics have consistently sold dismally, and he's very quick to mouth off about how evil editors screwed up his beautiful story. Where's the benefit that outweighs that kind of list of liabilities?
How about getting written up in the New York Times when you put him on a project?
(|:{>
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Having my own (rather strong) views on nationalism, I've stayed out of the discussions in which it has found a place; but I have to say in this case, I don't think the tossing out of the star-spangled costume is necessarily related to any wider anti-patriotic agenda. I've never been able to figure out why a Greek princess would deck herself out in the stars and stripes in the first place.
That being said, I think the new costume is craptastic in the extreme. How a phoned-in piece of garbage like this got approval at DC, let alone why the Times is giving it any attention, I don't believe I'll ever know.
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How about getting written up in the New York Times when you put him on a project?
Maybe, but I don't recall his other projects getting much non-comics coverage at all. And if he doesn't bring in the sales, what difference will the article have made, especially since just changing the costume would've gotten just as much interest?
Having my own (rather strong) views on nationalism, I've stayed out of the discussions in which it has found a place; but I have to say in this case, I don't think the tossing out of the star-spangled costume is necessarily related to any wider anti-patriotic agenda.
Actually, DC disagrees with you. "...One test of the design was to imagine how it would look standing next to, say, Batman’s politically neutral ensemble. 'The original costume was the American flag brought to life,' Mr. Lee said. 'This one is a little more universal.'"
(Because the Justice League--where Wonder Woman has stood next to Batman on many occasions, has certainly never sold outside the United States, right? I hear the cartoon was a complete flop, simply because Wonder Woman's panties were US blue instead of EU blue...
I've never been able to figure out why a Greek princess would deck herself out in the stars and stripes in the first place.
Probably because she's not Greek (or wasn't, when created) and moved to a country that was strong on symbolism and encouraged immigrants to be a part of the country. You could ask the same of Superman, whose costume is nearly as patriotic as Wonder Woman's, but never seriously questioned.
It's the "melting pot" idea, where immigrants assimilate, versus the "fruit salad" mentality, where immigrants shouldn't change anything about their prior lives and stick to their ethnic communities (cough--ghettoes). Twenty years ago, your national origin was as incidental as your eye color, not something that decided how you should dress or who you should associate with. Heck, when I was a kid, the immigrants were more likely to strongly support the United States (culturally and politically), not less, like today.
But I suppose that's another conversation for another time and place.
That being said, I think the new costume is craptastic in the extreme. How a phoned-in piece of garbage like this got approval at DC, let alone why the Times is giving it any attention, I don't believe I'll ever know.
It's not bad, per se. It's just...busy, and yet also boring. If the bracelets were solid silver or gold, she lost the choker (seriously, you're making a statement about having something useful to fight crime in, and you put a noose on her? I call "fetish"), and clean up the boot-things, and it could work. Instead, there are lines wandering in every direction with no unification.
I pity the poor guy who's going to have to animate this, some day.
(Minor correction: Now that I see the action shots, further down the page--were they there, yesterday?--the fact that the top is now some sort of spaghetti-strap backless nonsense brings us back to stupid.)
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Interesting comments. As I said before, I'm not going to touch a nationalism debate here with a ten-foot pole, so I'm going to leave it at that.
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Write good stories and you would not need to change the costume. Hope the new look fails miserably
It will fail miserably, at which point they will bring back the old costume to much fanfare about returning her to her "classic" look. Still think my costume's better ...
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A good call kusunoki.
John, Linda C liked the goofy boots the most!
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can anyone say "Classic Coke"?
(|:{>
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What really gets me is where Straczynski says "While other characters, from Batman to Superman and others, throughout the DC Universe have undergone substantial changes over the years, Wonder Woman has remained pretty much the same in appearance." What planet has he been living on? Wonder Woman's white "karate" phase and dreadful bicycle shorts look lasted as long or longer then Batman's Az-Bats armor, or "Sparky Blue Electric Superman", so exactly where are these substantial changes that passed WW by? I'd be willing to bet that anyone who hadn't seen any of DC's "Trinity" characters since 1942 would have no problem recognizing any of them today (Flash & Green Lantern, on the other hand, are completely different from the Golden Age, but remain at least visually recognizable to their Silver Age personae).
-comicsnorth
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What really gets me is where Straczynski says "While other characters, from Batman to Superman and others, throughout the DC Universe have undergone substantial changes over the years, Wonder Woman has remained pretty much the same in appearance." What planet has he been living on?
I assume he's living on the world where he has to sell a product to a skeptical audience that doesn't even realize Wonder Woman is still being published. And I'm guessing he means that Superman made the cover of Time Magazine when he died, and Batman's costume and origin get tweaked every movie and every time some writer has too much time on his hands, and sometimes that makes the news, too.
Either that, or he's a lot younger than he looks, and is comparing Wonder Woman versions since the Superfriends launched...
John, Linda C liked the goofy boots the most!
I don't entirely disagree. As a single element, they're sort of cute and fit the character. My problem with them is twofold. First, they're detailed and fussy in a way that will give animators a rougher time than necessary. Second, those lines don't match up to anything else in the costume, not even the fussier-looking bracers.
I could see making that piping a unifying element, though. Run from the top of the boots up the outsides of the legs and up into the straps or neckline. In a dark red without much other ornamentation, that could look pretty nifty. But the animators will still hate you.
(I called them "boot-things" not out of distaste so much as not knowing if they were supposed to be boots, shoes, or some kind of Anklets of Submission.)
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For those of you out there that are celebrating Independence Day tomorrow, here's my (old school) take on Wonder Woman (http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/6447/wonderwomanr.jpg).
Enjoy the 4th! :)
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A blog post from Every Day is Like Wednesday:
http://everydayislikewednesday.blogspot.com/2010/07/you-know-what-other-dc-comics-character.html
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As far as I'm concerned, if they really wanted to do something to shake things up in Wonder Woman, they might try not rebooting her backstory and tossing out her supporting cast for a change--I can't remember the last time a new creative team tried something that unexpected!
-comicsnorth