Note: In the years we’ve been doing Project: Rooftop, the contributors to the site have often discussed other heroes (and villains) that are in need of a wardrobe change. We’ve been lucky enough to receive several art contributions of characters that have been on our personal wishlists, but there remains many that are still waiting their turn in the makeover chair. So today we decided to make our wishlists public and point out some heroes in need of a costume redesign. We encourage the artists reading to take these to heart and come up with your own redesigns! – Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant:

One of the unique things about the superhero genre is how it gives its character’s a set of work clothes they are supposed to wear day-in and day-out. It’s their uniform—and their brand—and over the years, we’ve seen some drastic redesigns and some gradual shifts to some classic (and not-so classic characters). For me personally, I think the best redesigns that have recently taken place in the real fake world of comics are probably Darwyn Cooke’s Catwoman redesign in 2001 and 2007′s redesign of Thor by Olivier Coipel. Both heroes sorely in need—and both heroes were well taken care of.

With that in mind, here are some other heroes I feel are in need of a wardrobe facelift.

The Phantom. One of the first superheroes from the bygone pulp days, the Phantom actually holds the distinction of being the first superhero with a skin-tight suit. Although slight variations have been made to him over time—very slight—the Phantom looks like a four-color throwback in today’s modern world. With the history of the mantle of the Phantom, the transition to a new Phantom would be an ideal time to consider a trip to the seamstress.

Black Knight. Okay, maybe he’s not in the same class as the first two—but hey, he’s one of the earliest Avengers. In his most recent appearances as a member of Captain Britain’s MI:13, he’s showed up in more casual wear with a helmet and sword…while that’s an improvement somewhat, I felt it went too far into Casual Fridays for me. A medieval knight as superhero—all the clunky armor seems contrary to the spirited swordplay of the man, but I think there’s a way somehow. What say you, artists?

Firestorm. There’s fire still left in this hero if the recent focus in the pages of the recent Brightest Day series, but he’s been returned to the costume straight out of the ’70s. The closest to being good has been the Jason Rausch design from 2004 by Criss Cross, which was expertly revised in covers by Brian Stelfreeze, but it’s still nothing definitive. If DC has any hopes of carving out some continued success from the character, some more thought needs to be put into the visuals—and the story.

Jon Morris:

The Martian Manhunter. The giant green monster look works for the Hulk because they’ve kept it simple. With the Manhunter, he’s got one of everything from a flared collar to a bandolier to patriot boots, and none of it looks alien except in the sense that his culture may not have a concept of godawful eyesores. I know we’ve got one of these in the pike for the JLA Redesign, but I’d love to see MM taken on en masse.

Susan Storm, The Invisible Woman. The other three members of the FF have such distinct looks – The Thing is is The Thing, the Human Torch always has his flaming persona, and Reed Richards always gets the most use out of the FF’s standard issue jumpsuit by stretching it into dynamic shapes – but Sue literally and metaphorically vanishes. Whenever they do get new costumes, most of the time Sue ends up wearing the exact same thing the boys do, styled for the boys, like she’s wearing an older brother’s castoff pajamas. And when they HAVE given her a unique costume, well, it’s stuff like that weird bondage/bikini thing from the Tom DeFalco years. I’ve always thought she desperately needed her own look, something uniquely “Invisible Woman.”

The Spectre. Or, at least, this new Spectre. They went and gave us a new Spectre, and … he has a goatee, ta-daa, the end. It’s disappointing, especially given the slightly frustrating “you-can-tell-he’s-a-black-man-because-he’s-got-a-goatee/Let’s-make-sure-he-looks-like-Samuel-L-Jackson” motif which dominates African American superhero character design. The events surrounding Crispus Allen’s transformation into the Spectre were dramatic enough that he deserved his own design, not just having a sharpie marker taken to the old design.

Note: Lots more after the jump! – D.T.

Read the full article »