first Wonder Woman costume designs

I thought since so many people's projects touched on Wonder Woman, I'd toss these out.  They're H. G. Peter's first designs for WW, with his notes and those of William Moulton Marston.

The original went up for auction a few years back.  Don't remember what it fetched, but I thought to save these images, that they might eventually prove useful.  Maybe now's the time.

I love the bit about her stenographer's shoes.

Response to In-Class Proposals, Week Two

Again, I'm terrible about names.  Apologies, all.

The Three Eras of the Flash

• Mercury imagery
  
• JSA - a group of comic characters who know that they're cartoon characters.  You have to resign your post and become an honorary member when you get your own comic book?  What a mindfuck.
• Jay/Barry/Wally - there's something about the generational aspect of these characters that I've always loved.
• The death of Barry Allen - what did that mean for the character?  For the Silver Age?
• Wally takes over - this is part of the generational thing.
• What about Wally's intermittent problems with his powers?  Freudian issues about replacing his father?
• And what about his father?  Wally was one of the only sidekicks who actually had a family, and the hero wasn't part of it.  Wally had a mother and a father who were unaware of his extracurricular activities.

Maya - Sailor Moon

• Blunders
• Supernatural Aid - cat
• Supernatural Aid - Tuxedo Mask
• The Belly of the Whale
• Sailor Moon's really hitting all the high points.
• What's with the Sailor motif?  Does it have any specific meaning?
• Wait - Sailor Mars?  There are more Sailors?
• I never knew what Sailor Moon was, though I had seen the imagery around.   I'm afraid that I'm more confused than ever, although it seems as though you've really tied the series in to the monomyth.
• The superheroes are attractive to humans because humans can have characteristics they can never have.
• "So whaddya say - do you want to give up this life of evil?"  Brilliant.

Theresa - create your own line of superheroes/fashion line

• Luxtro - half human/half robot  
• Skeleton with armor plating - pretty interesting.  Not sure about the green and purple shoes from a design perspective, if that's the only color in her costume.
• Annexo - medusa character, hair of spines.  Wow.  That's a great design.  The spinal column hairdo is extremely creepy.
• Mediator as villain?  Interesting.  She has the most compelling story so far.  Don't think the ribs work as well as the spines, but the theme is working.

Chevek- Hellboy

• Hellboy is a faux-mythological demon, son of a minor demon and dead human witch who gives birth to him in Hell.
• Actual name means "the great beast" or "the destroyer"
• brought to the world by Rasputin
• Stone hand - what's the symbolism?
• Rasputin AND Nazis?  Very cool - nothin' like collecting all the world's evil in one place.
• Edison v. Tesla - how they presented to the world is as important as what they created.

Jared - 

• The Game (?)
• Watch video - this is some pretty fucked-up stuff.  Fight Club for picking up girls in bars? 
• Where's the connection to Campbell?  I'm not really seeing it.
• Kathleen asks if this is some sort of manual for becoming your own hero - could be, but I'm still not seeing it.

Captain America Performance Poems

• Outstanding.  I'd love to see where you're going with this.
• Nightcrawler is a good choice.
• Ghost Rider could be very interesting, as well.  Might be too much crossover with Nightcrawler, I'd consider looking for another archetype.
• The Joker?  Watch out for that one - there's a whole lotta cheap and easy in that one.

Response to In-Class Proposals

I'm sorry in advance for those who presented - I was terrible about capturing names.

Connor - Anti-heroes

• Deadwood, showed opening scene of series
  
• Seth Bullock as anti-hero, lawman with interesting application of justice
  
• Sets stage - the Western is a great genre to explore in this context, with its deep sense of its own mythology. 

Tom - Revolution

• Fuck.  I am such a lightweight.
• Love using quotes other than just Campbell, broadening source material.
• Fascinating subject - the personal story is always the most compelling.
• What did you think of Campbell at the time?  Did you recognize any of your own struggles as being part of this tapestry, or is it only upon reflection (life lived backwards)?

Marvel Heroes 9/11 project

• Interesting.  I'm wondering if there's a qualitative difference between the reponses of DC's characters (who exist in fully fictionalized versions of NYC) and Marvel's characters (which is set in a sometimes-more, sometimes-less version of the real city). 
• also, maybe include comix? "In the Shadow of No Towers?"

Little Mermaid

• interesting - I like the idea of looking at censorship adapting the story for different times.
  
• how the hell did this ever become a children's story?
  
• Doesn't surprise me that the Disney Co. bastardized the story - wonder if there is any material available that pulls back the curtain, what they kept and what they threw out.
• How about the Disney sequel?

Tiffany-Liana - The Evolution of Women in Comics

• I love the subject.  There's a lot here.
  
• I hope you're going to explore the creation of Wonder Woman, with Marston's triumverate marriage.  Whatever you may think of his lifestyle, you can't deny that he impulse was noble - girls need heroes, too.
  
• This was used against the industry by Frederick Wertham - Wonder Woman threatened the social order, encouraging young women to rebel.
• You're giving me some ideas, making me reconsider my own project.
  
• Is Storm a reflection of some Earth-mother character?  It's not nice to fool with Mother Nature, after all.

Kanya - Wonder Woman: From Clay to Soul

• I think I might have a JPEG copy of the original costume design - don't know if that interests anybody.
• Themiscyra as the Bermuda Triangle - I didn't know that.
• Why are there different versions of the origin story?  How many were written by Marston?
• Wonder Woman has a girdle, too - just like Hippolyta.
• Which did Marston invent first - the Lasso of Truth, or the Lie Detector?

Katie - witches

• what to make of the modern interpretation of witches as feminist icon?  How about Charmed?
  
• there's an example of ultra-sexy witches who are really gruesome (one of many) in the third season of Doctor Who.

Mid-term proposal

Kickin' it:  The Lore Of the Sidekick

I'm fascinated by the creation and evolution of the sidekick.

The first sidekick, Robin, was created so young readers would have someone with whom to identify.  But setting aside the fact that I couldn't really identify with anyone whose family was killed before their eyes, be they twenty-nine or eight years old, I didn't know anybody who wanted to be Robin.  Hell with that, we all wanted to be Batman.  Robin just kinda got in the way.  For what it's worth, as a kid I didn't know anybody who would have chosen to be Luke Skywalker over Han Solo.

Future sidekicks were simply younger knockoffs of the main character (Supergirl, Kid Flash), or even the main character herself at a young age (Superboy, Wonder Girl).

Sidekicks became discarded as the years went on - when Stan Lee created the Marvel Universe he considered them an outdated relic.  Not only did none of his new heroes have a kid sidekick, but he killed off (in flashback) the most prominent one from World War II.

For their own part, DC creators dealt with changing views in their own way.  Denny O'Neill used Green Arrow's sidekick Speedy to explore social issues.  In a ground-breaking late 1960s storyline, Speedy (feeling abandoned by his father figure) turns to smack!

The cartoon series "The Tick" had a fascinating look at second-citizen second bananas (as did "Doctor Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog") - might provide some visual interest.