Character: The Spectre
Publisher: DC Comics
Artist: Dean Trippe
Reviewer: Chris Arrant

At first glance Dean Trippe’s redesign of DC’s Spectre seem relatively unchanged from previous versions, but look further.

Since the character’s inception in 1940, it has been at odds with the superheroes it co-habituates with. Is the Spectre a superhero, or something more primal and haunting? In Trippe’s piece, the super-heroic elements of green underpants (?!) are gone, and his body is now semi-transparent. It is this transparent element that is the primary change, and I would postulate that the degree of transparency in the Spectre’s body would change depending on viewing angle, lighting and distance. Add in the piercing red pupils in the otherwise hollow eye sockets to add an additional pedigree of haunted personality. DC’s resident Spirit of Vengeance is shown here both ethereal and resilient, as befits someone with tenuous ties to humanity.

Character: The Black Widow
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Artist: Stuart Immonen
Reviewer: Eric Stephenson

I really like what Stuart’s done with this. The outfit most associated with Black Widow is probably the black cat-suit she wore during the ’70s, and while that was quite sleek and sexy, it never seemed all that functional.

With this design, though, it’s clear that Stuart wanted place a bit more emphasis on Black Widow as super-spy and a result, she looks much more dangerous. I don’t have any trouble imagining her getting down and dirty in whatever situation she’s thrown into, and the number of accessories Stuart’s equipped her with open the mind to a myriad of possibilities regarding what her profession actually entails.

I also like that he’s found a way to make the red hourglass-shaped marking from the spider work, too. In the past, I’ve found some of the attempts to create some kind of insignia for Black Widow a little clumsy, but this works quite well. In fact, the only thing I might have a problem with here is the length of her hair. I think it looks great, but I could see it posing problems in action.

Character: The Falcon
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Artist: Joel Carroll
Reviewer: Chris Arrant

Joel says, “The Falcon I remember had no powers. He owed his ability to fly to a pair of jet-engine tipped glider wings attached directly to his brain! Well, supposedly, the Cosmic Cube gave Falcon the ability to his pet bird, Redwing, but that’s kind of lame, so I’m ignoring that.”

In this design, Joel has really simplified the previous designs of Falcon over the years and played up the sleek nature inherent with the bird itself. Joel has done a great job of depicting Falcon’s wings and how they would work with his arms, although I’d be keenly interested in a rear view of the character’s design to see how they are attached to the torso.

While I’ve never been\nable to figure out a reason for the golden beak on any designs besides the aesthetics of it, Joel’s design for the mask itself is practical for full range of vision\nand hearing, as well as masquerading Falcon’s identity. Of the entire re-design, particularly enjoy the chest design. It plays up a smaller element seen the 1974 Sal Buscema design, and works to simply and better characterize the overall direction of the character.