The NEW new Wonder Woman Costume?

Okay, so I got my computer up and running...just in time for me to get the flu!  I swear, someone doesn't want me blogging.  Maybe it's a conspiracy on the part of DC for all my complaining?

Well, anyway, here's a short post about the new new Wonder Woman costume.  Yes, they revamped it after all of our complaining.  But is it really good enough?

I don't know...it looks too similiar to the JMS revamp for my taste, and they kept the ugly plastic belt.  And c'mon, jeans?  That's a little too casual for a superheroine who happens to be an Amazon Princess.  I know, I know, I'm just one of those people who complains no matter what.  But there's so many other designs out there that I'd take over this one, including the original, several fan designs that I've featured here before (thanks for bringing that to my attention 1TrueGL), and one of my favorite, the Darwyn Cooke design.

(Which of course I can't find...but here's a Darwyn Cooke rendering of the traditional Wonder Woman outfit.)

Wow...looking at the Darwyn Cooke drawing makes me think Adrienne Palicki looks too thin for the role.  She doesn't have to be a body-builder, but I like to think of Wonder Woman as a bit heftier and womanly: Marilyn Monroe instead of Kate Moss.

Oh, and here's some footage shot during filming, in case you want to see the costume in action:

Computerless!!

Oh noes!

My MacBook Pro's hard drive finally couldn't take it and just decided to stop working.  So I needed to wipe everything clean and start over, and unfortunately, backing up all my data from my wireless hard drive is taking upwards of three days(!)

So I probably won't be doing any substantial blogging for a little while.  Hopefully things will be working once all my data is transferred (crosses fingers.)

First glimpse at the new Wonder Woman...

I really have no faith in the entertainment industry at all anymore, which is why I take solace in watching old movies on TCM.  Here's a picture of the new Wonder Woman costume:

I can't stand the costume at ALL, but I'm guessing maybe it's a promo picture, and/or this show is going to rely heavily on CGI. Or it's going to be constantly be nighttime on the show, a lá Smallville, so we can't tell that her tiara is plastic. I can forgive the fabric and plastic (somewhat) if they do something in CGI to fix it. Then again, I'm getting sick of CGI.

That being said, the blue boots are CRAP.  Why would you want to get rid of Wonder Woman's red boots?  They're iconic!  The costume's fabric is cheap-looking, especially the red fabric, which looks like it came from a 1950's bar stool. And how does this girl move, let alone breathe? I feel sorry for her if she loses a contact lens and has to bend over with that pointy plastic thing sitting right on her abdomen. Goddesses don't need underwires, either, and that's the icing on this crappy Halloween costume's cake for me.

And the pipe cleaner lasso?  Sigh.

For some reason Adrienne Palicki just doesn't look at fierce as she has in other pictures I've seen of her.  There's a softness in her face that doesn't work for Wonder Woman.  Hopefully they can play up those cheekbones somehow.

What do you guys think?  Any fans of this new ensemble?  (Don't be afraid to speak up!)

The unwitting victim of Batman, Inc.

Wonder if he gets benefits?

The best superhero in a skirt...

...is Magnus, Robot Fighter, without a doubt.  Oh, you were thinking Miss Martian, maybe?  Or Supergirl?  Nope.  It's this guy.  Yep, that's right, I said "guy."

Eat your heart out, Hal Jordan.

Well, I didn't say "guy," I typed it.  But enough of that.

Don't let the skirt fool you.  If you're an evil robot overlord, you better watch yourself, or you'll get torn in two.

It's called a tunic, dammit!!!  How many times do I have to tell you people that?!  I will take out my agression on this helpless Pol-Rob.  RAWRRGGH!!!

Or cleaved down the middle like warm butter...

DeviantArt by Cinar.

Or you'll get your robot head karate-chopped off.

Bringing sexy back, one lethal backhand at a time.

DeviantArt by DocShaner.

So, lesson learned: never get on the wrong side of a man who wears a skirt.

The superhero attraction

Why do characters endure?  It's something I've thought about.  Can anyone really explain it?  (I bet Joseph Campbell could.)

Sometimes it's hard to believe that Superman is over 70 years old, and yet he's become a part of American pop culture.  Then again, Romeo and Juliet are hundreds of years older, and the heroes of mythology are thousands of years older, and they're still going strong.

I wonder if somewhere deep in our brains there's a little cell that lights up when we hear stories about beings more powerful than us.  Or smarter than us.  Or braver, or stronger.  Why is that?  Do we want to know that it's possible to be better than we currently are?  Or do we want to know that there are other people out there who are grander than us and can take care of our problems for us?  Are heroes reflections of who we are or visions or who we want to become?  Are they idols to worship, or saviors to deliver us?

Some have considered superheroes (or aliens, or supernatural events) a proxy for the human genetic need to believe in something greater than ourselves.  Dean Hamer called it the "god gene."  Except we don't need to believe that superheroes in order to be attracted to them.  I don't think a Kryptonian is going to fall down to Earth and save us anytime soon, and yet I respond to the idea of "Superman" on a very visceral level.  Maybe heroes tap into a genetic desire for self-preservation and safety.

Or maybe it's one level higher.  Maybe the superhero attraction taps into our hard-wired moral predilictions.  Maybe we don't think there's enough justice in the world, so we like reading stories about justice-seekers who right the wrongs of their fictional universe.  Maybe if these fictional heroes can do good in their world, we can apply the same methods to bring justice to ours.

Maybe it's more vague, more "human."  Maybe we just need to look in a mirror from time to time.  Maybe the attraction just comes from seeing a character who reminds us of ourselves, whose heart is in the right place, whose suffered a few losses, who tries and fails and decides to try again, or who's lost something and moves beyond it, and maybe we need someone like that to look up to as a template of human behavior.

All these thoughts are swirling around in my head.  I see comics as a very primal force that meets some deep-seated needs in my brain.  I think that is why I like some books and not others: the books I don't like fail to meet some hard-wired need in my brain.  That little Greater Than Me cell isn't lighting up in my brain, and I'm not happy.  The story isn't connecting with me on an emotional level, or an idealogical one, or a moral one, or a human one.  When a character doesn't act better than I do, then it's not a story worthy of myth.  Then it's just real life.

And real life kinda sucks.

This post is really long and dreary, so I included a picture of two squirrels kissing to make you all happy again.

Happy March! or, a Poison Ivy sketch by Adam Hughes

Oh, Adam Hughes.  You have one heck of a sense of humor.

I know, it's a little bit NSFW, but it's just too darn funny not to post.  Plus it's actually March, so that's two reasons!

More thoughts on Young Justice

After a week off, Young Justice returned to the air with a new episode.  Last night's episode, "Downtime," focused mainly on Aqualad while he spent some time in...am I getting this right: Poseidinus?  I guess that's the Atlantean capital city, from the looks of it.

While I'm not much of an Aqua-fan, I have to say that first off I was pretty disappointed by Mera's character design.

The cool thing about Mera is her scaled bodysuit, no?  The halter bikini top/pareo and random bits of chiffonn thingy just isn't regal enough for me.  Besides, she has such pretty hair!  Why pull that back into a ponytail?  Oh, and her crown was ugly, too.  Sorry, Mera, don't take it personally.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it, I says.

Aqualad noodles around with Tula, Garth (the original Aqualad, I think), and some Atlantean sorcery.  Retcons abound, but I'm getting so immune to retcons I barely notice them anymore.  The retconning bothered me a lot less than the animator's choice of underwater mechanics: when Aquaman looks awkward swimming, you know you've got a problem.

Highlight of the episode: Superboy can't figure out how to use a satellite TV.  Even someone with superpowers has trouble with that.  Now I don't feel so bad.

Oh, and Miss Martian is quite the cook.  An awkward, ditzy cook, but cute nonetheless.

Denny Colt is watching you...

...via Google.

Actually, this has nothing to do with Denny Colt's cockeyed voyeurism of you, but actually is to celebrate what could be Will Eisner's 94th birthday.

Will Eisner was a pretty cool guy, and the folks at Bleeding Cool do a lot better job than singing his praises than I do.

I'm just happy that an icon of comics history got his own Google doodle, and I'd be even happier if people got to know who Will Eisner was because of it.