Wolverine may be the best there is at what he does, but he ain’t no fashion designer, bub! That’s where we come in. Project: Rooftop and online comics retailer DCBService.com have partnered together to present “Wolverine: Look Sharp,” your chance to take Weapon X in for some upgrades!

With Wolvie’s origin flick hitting theaters later this week, Old Man Logan is on the minds of comics-loving fans and the general public. Created nearly 30 years ago by Len Wein and John Romita Sr., Wolverine has put together a well-stocked superhero wardrobe since. He’s rocked his classic blue and yellow tights, his brown and orange variant, the Weapon X mission gear, the one-handed Age of Apocalypse attire, his Ultimate Universe duds, the New X-Men black and yellows, his new X-Force mission suit, the movie costumes, and of course, the naked VR training look, which not everyone can pull off.

Now it’s your turn. Can the Canucklehead turn heads? Let’s find out! Discount Comic Book Service (DCBS) has provided the following (astonishing) prizes:

Grand Prize - Wolverine Omnibus, Wolverine: Weapon X #1 Coipel Variant signed by Jason Aaron and Ron Garney, and Wolverine: Enemy of the State HC Vol 1 and 2

First Place - Wolverine: Weapon X #1 Coipel Variant signed by Jason Aaron and Ron Garney, and Wolverine: Enemy of the State HC Vol 1 and 2

Second Place - Wolverine: Weapon X #1 Coipel Variant signed by Jason Aaron and Ron Garney

Along with our usual P:R Staff roundtable reviews, Wolverine: Weapon X’s creative team of writer Jason Aaron and artist Ron Garney will be joining in to guest judge the finalists!

Send in your Wolverine redesigns to projectrooftop@gmail.com, with the subject line: “Wolverine: Look Sharp.” Please include your full name, age, website, and mailing address. International winners may be responsible for shipment. All the usual P:R Guidelines apply.

All entries must be received by May 15th, 2009!

Maris Wicks

Alex Mitchell

Note: Way more Honorable Mentions after the jump! - D.T.


Andrew Good

Brad Hodges

Craig Payne

Drew Blom

Drew Green

Dylan McCRae

Evan Larson

Felipe Sobreiro

Garth Jones

Juan Cabal

Jake Ekiss

Jennifer Liu

Jim Harnock

Jorell Rivera

Jorge Daniel Romero Castillo

Julie Bailey

Kate Holden

Kevin Leinbach

Mark Grambau

Meghan Murphy

Michael Walton

Mike Dimayuga

Paul Robot Cunha

Rosemary Travale

Rudey Jordane

Sean Izaakse

Sebastián Píriz

Stephanie Pena

Stephen R. Buell

Tamas Jakab

Thomas Perkins

Timothy Lim

Jason Horn

Patricio Oliver

GRAND PRIZE WINNER!

Anjin Anhut

Jon: 8. Terrifically fond of the mask on this design, evocatively bat-like in a way that the current costume isn’t, but still expresses the same, er, streamlined bat-ness. I like that it allows enough room for his expressions, particularly the smart-ass grin on display here. Interesting color palette, I’m surprised more folks didn’t touch on a “Batman Beyond” scheme, great replacement of the cape with the batons across the back, adds a lot to the silhouette, and I love the practical look of the outfit. Certainly not the only design that employed Nightwing’s chest-and-arms logo motif, but I like the placement and the actual line, using it across a jacket rather than a skintight outfit.

Joel: 9.5. Having lost my ability to read Dan Didio’s mind since he started lining his hats with tinfoil, I can’t say if this is a design DC would ever go for, but I’m pretty sure this is my favorite out of a very strong collection. This really reads as a second generation Bat—a younger man trying to shoulder a mantle in his own way. I love that it looks so practical without looking mundane, so batty without just repeating Bruce Wayne’s admittedly uber-iconic image, and so Grayson without simply cramming Batman and Nightwing into one costume (there’s an image to set the slash community atwitter). I dropped half a point for the sleeve designs, which strike me as needing some more consideration, but would like to add about twenty points for glow-in-the-dark bat-nostrils. Make it fifty if Anjin has specific ideas as to what the nostrils do.

Vito: 8. This is drastic enough to make me notice.  It’s a bit of Nightwing, Red Robin and Batman, and that’s not even getting at the actual costume.  It’s functional, it’s stylish…it’s nouveau pulp hero.  And say what you will for the mask, I think it’s killer.  Part motorcycle helmet, part mask.  It fits with Dick Grayson.  It’s a great looking set of pieces, but the whole is almost all there.  My only minus is that it’s an outfit, not a costume.  I still like it a lot.

Chris: 9. I absolutely love the mask on this — it’s shade of the wonderful design that Gene Ha did in Batman: Black & White, but I don’t know if Anjin was inspired with that. The decision to go with a red color scheme is bold, but it definitely steps out of the Bruce Wayne Batman into a whole new Batman. I would have given this a 10 but I had to shave off a point for not liking the glider he has below. But amazing design!

Joel: You don’t like the glider? That’s crazy talk. Love the glider!

Dean: 9.5. This design gets me totally psyched for Batman 2! The color choice is perfect given the red-and-black fixation of Batman R.I.P., as well as a nod to Dick’s background as Robin. The mask is fun, and Dick’s expression is character-perfect. I’m really impressed by the scalloped red batwing shapes following down the arms, and the armor plating looks wicked. Easily one of my favorite entries.

JHW3: 6.5. An interesting idea, very street, but Batman isn’t Batman with out some sort of wing/cape aspect to the design.

Dustin: 5. Agreed, though a nice idea, batman shouldn’t fall with trend and jump on the urbanized apparel. also needs the cloaking element.

FIRST PRIZE WINNER!

Daniel Heard

Vito: 8. This is more like it.  It’s clearly Batman, but not Bruce.  That’s the kind of bold fashion statement that Dick would make (remember the disco collar?).  It also looks functional, which is what Dick, an acrobat, would want and need.

Jon: 9. Love this - elegant, agile, acrobatic, great pose and setting too. Batman as a daring young man on the flying trapeze, fearsome because he’s fearless. The cape is terrific, great lines to it - I also really like the solution to the eyes, rather than giving him Batman’s white eyes, he’s got these supernaturally piercing blue ones. Nice military overtones to the costume gives it an air of authority Nightwing might otherwise lack, picking up for his mentor. Really well done.

Chris: 7. Definitely Dick Grayson. I see this Batman jumping deftly through Gotham more akin to Spider-man than Batman. The idea of changing the batcape to a batponcho is hiliarious to me though. But not bad.

Joel: 6.5. While agreeing with all the above kudos, I can’t quite buy the Bat-poncho. Not only would it get in the way of your basic acrobatic hand-to-hand combat, just think how undignified Batman would look having to scrunch it up every time he needed to access his utility belt.

Vito: I don’t know if it would scrunch up so much.  It looks like it’s made to move with him.

Dean: 6. Good drawing, but I don’t care for the cape-poncho. That kinda thing could work for a Robin, but it looks childish on Batman.

JHW3: 9. This has a nice feel to it for sure but I think the poncho/cape thing is a little off.  The basic design shape of the poncho aspect would be better if it was much longer like a real cape but kept to the specific design sense that is already here.

Dustin: 8 i dig the flaps

SECOND PRIZE WINNER!

Christian Nauck

Vito: 7. At first glance, I don’t think you would see anything more than military Batman, but looking at how this costume is accessorized, it’s totally Dick.  I’d like to see at least one bright color on it though, because, to me, Dick is about being the light in darkness…he’s not one to fully give in to the night.

Jon: 6. It’s a costume that makes sense, it’s protective, evocative of the character, certainly feels like a new Batman, if not Dick Grayson specifically, but it doesn’t excite me. Could serve as a totally functional riot-squad Bat-Costume, but for just about any Batman.

Chris: 7. A military Dark Knight for a modern age? Perhaps. This strikes me as very similar to what John Paul Leon might do on Batman. I really enjoy getting rid of the bland compartmentalized utility belt in favor for recognizable items on the belt. While it does complicate the design when simplicity is key in sequential art, I do think it gives this a more down-to-earth approach to Batman.

Joel: 7. This design seems very sympatico with the Nolanverse Batman. If part of the mandate with a Dick Grayson Batman was to bring the comic’s sensibilities in line with the movies, than this would be a very good way to go. In the established DCverse, however, it looks a little heavy for Grayson.

Dean: 9. I’d play this videogame. All of this seems incredibly practical. I’d like to see more of Dick Grayson’s personality, though.

JHW3: 8. This has got practicality all over, nice touch.  However, the look of it isn’t giving us anything new.  I want to see the classic elements remixed in a way that feels fresh.

Dustin: 8: very well drawn

INELIGIBLE P:R STAFF ENTRY!

Dean Trippe

Vito: It’s a safe bet that when/if Dick takes over, he wont change the costume much if at all, but Dean’s change is on the logo, and I like that new logo something fierce.  It’s a mixture of both, and the color of it is bright and stands out against that maudlin gray.  But I would have killed to see Dean take this further.

Jon: An excellent, straightforward take, loving the Thrillkiller palette in the costume. I’m a little confused by the cape, though, is it a two-piece cape-like Batwings, or a scalloped cape with a red interior lining?

Chris: I really enjoy it that Dean dramatically changed the Bat emblem not only in color but in shape. It makes me think — would they change the batsignal too? For a new person stepping into the Bat-mantle, part of me would think they would want to change things up– and changing the logo would do that.

Joel: A beautiful drawing, and many nice features, here: split cape, great utility belt modules, and an oh-so-now chest emblem. This looks like a younger, fresher Bat. But I’m not sure I’m getting a coherent vision that ties all those nice new details together. I’m dead certain that Dean has such a vision in mind—the guy likes to think about Batman—but I’m not quite getting it.

Dean: Thanks guys. I basically wanted to take Batman 2.0 a half step towards Batman Beyond. I made new glove and boot compartments to Dick here, and yeah, that’s a double cape. I imagined him using it as an airfoil rather than forming full batwings out of it. And yeah, the Thrillkiller color scheme came from my love of all things Halloween.

JHW3: I think the best thing about this is the yellow/orange chest emblem.  The rest is too similar to things we’ve seen before.

Dustin: nicely drawn though looks a lot like batman now.

RUNNERS UP!

Héctor Barros

Jon: 8. I love the streamlining on this one, and the batwings with a different color on the interior and exterior. Also, a terrific looking mask. There’s something about the cut of the mask which seems to evoke a silent movie character, very lean, elegant and Nineteen-twenties-ish. I think I like this one because it looks, to me, like it could’ve been Batman’s costume since day one, it has a classic urban crimefighter look to it, and still something distinctly iconic.

Vito: 8. But, Jon, it says Nightwing with a Batman cowl.  I love the colors, and the streamlining is fantastic, but why not utilize the utility belt more?  I’m not sure what the reasons are for having the blue piping on the costume other than to break up the dark colors, but that’s minor.  The logo is fantastic and I, too, love the cowl.  Make all the fingers blue, and I’m there with you.

Chris: 8. Was Nightwing watching GATCHAMAN when designing this new Batman costume? That’s what I thought when I saw this entry come into the Project: Rooftop headquarters. Initially I was against the blue piping, but it works so well on the head portion of the costume. Great job, Hector.

Joel: 6. I think this is a case of losing the Bat. The chest emblem looks more like a manta ray. Combine that with the general… uh, wetsuitness of the costume, and I just end up in very different territory on this one.

Dean: 4. This one’s  just a too complicated for me to enjoy the simplified bits. The chest logo is almost there, but the arm and leg piping seems useless, and the triangles on the feet are distracting. I also think he’s wearing his belt a little too high. I like the double-sided wings, though.

JHW3: 10. This is by far my favorite.  It has all of the right elements but remixed with a freshness to it.   It’s very smooth and very sleek.  I agree with the Gatchaman reference but it really works for me.  The designer really stretched things here without losing what makes for a cool Batman.  Love the drawing style too.

Dustin: 8. this works great, batman beyond meets nightwing.

Joe Quinones

Jon: 7. Great illustration, great lines and colors, it puts me in mind of the 1960’s Batman TV show. Part of it because the cut of the cape, the bright lining and the size of the bat-belt remind me of Yvonne Craig’s Batgirl costume, and part of it is because this looks like Batman dressed as the Batmobile!

Joel: 6. Campy in the best possible way, this piece has me wanting to read a Joe Quinones comic full of fun superheroes. But, this should be making me want to read a Batman comic, not a Joe Q comic. I think this design in the hands of a lesser artist would suddenly look pretty flat. There’s just an awful lot of piping going on there.

Vito: 8. Not crazy about the cowl, but this is one of the costumes that uses the piping that I’m ok with.  It streamlines the costume as a whole, and the color choice is bold.  Anyone notice that Joe used Nightwing’s gauntlets in this design?  That, to me, makes this work because it’s not Batman with a Nightwing logo or Nightwing with a Bat logo/cowl.  It’s a great melding of both.

Chris: 7. This has got a lot of personality, but I can’t see Nightwing or Robin underneath the cowl. I’d like to see Joe go back and work this up some more and it’d be great.

Dean. 9. Dudes, this has so much class. I simply can’t say no to a Bat costume with this much love in it. Joe’s got the 60’s Batmobile and utility belt, Nightwing’s gloves and arm-stripes, and a simple double sided cape. It’s just so clean. Hopeful and simultaneously badass. I’m not totally sold on the old school duo-tone mask, but otherwise, this entry is a home run.

JHW3: 7. Has a nice retro adventure hero aspect to it.  It would work best for a story that fits a pulpy period piece.  Something about it reminds me of an action figure design I’ve seen though.

Dustin: 6. [No Comments.]

Note: More Runners Up after the jump! - D.T.

 
Marcos Miller

Jon: 9. Damn, sexy. I love the hardcore look of the belt, and how this design calls back to Nightwing’s first costume back in the New Teen Titans. Still, it brings back enough classic Batman elements to evoke the legacy - bat-fins on the gloves, the mask (nice touch of adding the yellow highlights for the bat’s nose). I like this one a lot because it isn’t timid, it’s a whole other take on the capital-B Batman, it marries the whole identity to Dick Grayson rather than subjugating Dick Grayson under the same old cowl and cape.

Vito: 9. I think the best thing about this costume, other than the reference and reverence for Disco Dick, is the shot of the collar closed.  That’s freaky!  With the nose being lit like that, this guy could scare you in the dark!  If we had those glider wings on the back that a lot of the entries had, I might go perfect.  Solid design though.

Chris: 7. This sort of reminds me of Tim Burton doing the redesign.

Joel: 6. If T’Challa is ever looking for a Gotham gig, then he’s got an outfit all ready for him. The belt is great (it looks like something pulled out of the prop department for Dark Knight Returns), but it may be too distinctive for what is an otherwise spare costume. I like the collar-becomes-mask idea. But, generally, I think this could be any of a number of black-clad characters. I need some stronger Bat-iconography.

Dean: 7. I like the way the collar works and the lower-half of the facemask is optional. I’m really missing the cape here. Retractable wings would help a lot.

JHW3: 6. Another nice sleek design.  But where is the wing/cape aspect?  Should be there.

Dustin: 6 more nightwing than batman

Steve LeCouilliard

Jon: 8. We’ve had a lot of “Nightwing with Batman’s Mask” submissions, but I think this was the first “Batman with Nightwing’s insignia” entries. It’s such a simple rationale underlying the redesign, and Steve’s art here is very appealing. The blue boots on the blue background illustrate one of the problems with the design, though, in that they vanish, and we have a footless Batman, it might’ve worked just as well if he’d blacked them out, like the gloves. Anyway, simplicity has its strengths, I like this design a lot. One of my criteria going in has been to judge the piece on whether it says “Bruce Wayne was Batman in his fashion, Dick Grayson will do it his way.” The boldness of the insignia speaks volumes, I think it carries that sentiment.

Chris: 7. The design itself is solid — the only thing I’d count off for is the claws on the wristbands. At its heart though, it isn’t Dick Grayson underneath.

Vito: 7. I think you’re saying that, Chris, because of the face (and feel free to correct me if I’m wrong).  The steely jaw is a Bruce Timm thing that when we see it, we think Bruce Wayne.  But I think the only thing wrong with this entry is the utility belt.  Steve could have really won me over with something less…mundane.  I do love the insignia and boot colors though.  Very bold.

Joel: 7. This is a solid pairing of Batman and Nightwing, but I think the result is pretty much a Batman who is easier to spot in the dark. Just shoot slightly above the electric-blue feet.

Dean: 8. This is the road traveled by a lot of our entrants, but most not nearly as well. I love the illustration. Ditching the gloves but keeping the sweet arm blades was a good call. The blue-but-classic boots keep you totally grounded that this is Batman. I think keeping the yellow belt was a good call, but I’d like to have seen more thought put into the oh-so-important utility belt.

JHW3: 7. Lot’s of energy here.  But to be honest, I think the only reason this design works here is because how well it was illustrated.  Not so sure the design holds up on it’s own.

Dustin: 6. [No Comments.]

Joel Carroll

Joel: 7.5. Yeah, Joel’s definitely getting bonus points for that Batgirl. His Batman has a lot going for it. It looks like a direction Dick would go in. I’m very intrigued by the gauntlets, which seem to have some very specific thinking behind them. And the disconnected mask speaks well to Dick’s more open approach to both fighting styles and interpersonal communication. But I think there’s too much of the light gray scattered across the costume.

Vito: 8. I agree, Joel.  This fits my function over protection philosophy that I believe Dick would have, having been an acrobat.  It might be a little too Nightwing though, and I’d love to see some kind of cape or bat wings incorporated into it.  I have to say that I’d love to wear this costume though.

Jon: 7. Love Joel’s designs, as always, and this is a great costume, but it still feels very sidekicky to me. Vito’s right, a cape or bat-wings would help - right now, the Batgirl redesign seems like the senior member of the team, Dick’s mass and height notwithstanding …

Chris: 6 for Batman, 9 for Batgirl. Joel should re-submit this Batgirl has a standalone design for Project: Rooftop!

Dean: 7.5. Joel seems to be keeping Dick from fully accepting the mantle of the bat. I love this new Dynamic Duo, but I think Cass’s costume outclasses Dick’s several times over. I think I’d like to see her costume adapted over his frame to make a more bat-like Batman.

JHW3: 7. Like the overall feel to it.  But I gotta ask why would Batgirl have a cape aspect and Batman not?  This one thing alone bugs me.  Batman should always have some sort of wing/cape aspect.  He is supposed to a “Bat” man.

Dustin: 6 [No Comments.]

Paul Milligan

Vito: 7. It’s just about there.  The cowl looks terribly uncomfortable…it looks like Tony Stark designed it.  Love the logo, and the use of piping on the costume.  The gloves have sort of talon ends, which is cool, but the Escrima stick holder on his back…that could come back to haunt him in the future.

Chris: 6. A lot of ideas flowing here, but they result in it all not coming in to form that fits together.

Jon: 6. I’m trying not to be inordinately won over by Batman’s dissatisfied grimace, which makes it look like he’s really put out to be crimefighting. It’s endearing, I’d love that take on the character. “The Penguin’s doing what, robbing the Umbrella Museum? Ah, geez … I JUST sat down to dinner.” Outside of the expression, Chris summarized it well; there’s a lot of parts to the design which seem to be the starting points for different motifs, but they don’t synch up completely. The costume seems cobbled together from other pieces … I noticed that if I scroll down enough to cover just the bat ears, that even with the insignia and cape, this doesn’t look like Batman to me. There’s probably three good Batman costumes comingling in here …

Vito: Jon, you might have hit on the one element no one really captured in these designs; a smile.  Bruce Wayne, sure, he doesn’t smile.  Dick Grayson does, and that would come through in a design of a costume, I think.  If you know the guy underneath isn’t grim and moody, the colors might come through and lead to different designs.  Do you realize that only six entries have smiles?

Joel: 6. This strikes me more as an alternate Bat, say Batman 2099, or something. I think it’s the cobbled-together look that Jon mentioned, combined with the motocross helmet. I like the integration of the utility-pouched into the costume, although I wonder if they won’t drag Dick’s beltless pants down.

Dean: 8.5. I want to draw this one so bad. I love all the little choices that make Paul’s Batman look protected and thought-out. The only part that doesnt work for me is the pockets. Ditch those, and this is a perfectly sensible batsuit.

JHW3: 6. Anime Batman. Nice seeing the pouch/belt design from the back.

Dustin: 8.5. [No Comments.]

Jemma Salume

Jon: 5. Well, good lord, it’s Nightmare Batman. I love that Jemma took such liberties with the costume, it’s certainly dramatic. Makes me imagine, though, that it’s one of Batman’s enemies behind the mask, Spellbinder or (does anyone here but me remember) The Ten-Eyed Man. Great implementation of the emblem into the armor. However, it doesn’t scream Dick at me (unlike people who drive behind me on the highway).

Vito: 5.5. If not for the eye-motif, which throws me off a little, this is a fantastic costume.  It is different, and the colors are sharp.  The eyes though…they distract me a little.  Maybe that’s what’s supposed to happen…it’s supposed to look creepy in a dark alley…but to me, it takes me out of it.  I like the logo on the back of the cape too.

Chris: 5. This is a great design, but I think its weighed down but us trying to imagine it as Batman. I could see Jemma taking this design in a new direction outside of Batman and be a great hero (or villain). I’d buy a copy!

Joel: 9. This is my second favorite design, after Anjin’s. I love the way that Jemma has gone back to the very root of Batman—scaring those those cowardly, superstitious criminals—and completely reinvented the costume from there. Everything about it, from the holographically-projected crazy-eyes to the chest emblem than looks like a toothy maw when running towards you in the dark, is an act of psychological warfare. I can imagine Grayson, still intimidated on some level by the Bat legacy, wanting to take these extra steps in order to achieve the effect that Bruce got with just the set of his chin. Also, this would be a killer action figure.

Dean: 10. This is my favorite entry, as long as the LCD bat-helmet has a default eyes and mouth mode for talking to non-criminals. There’re so many great and unexpected choices here. The red gash of a Batsymbol across the front and back look like the gaping maw of an awful night creature, but at the same time, the costume’s seams and shapes seem fully protective and reinforced. I’ve been staring at this entry a lot since we got it, and it’s still the one I’d most like to write stories about.

JHW3: 8. This is definitely a more bizarre looking Batman but it sorta works for me, even without traditional eyes.  This is what Batman would look like if he was a member of Grant Morrison’s version of Doom Patrol.  With that said,  I don’t think it would work for the regular Bat books.

Dustin: 5. a more progessive design, but not batman.

Michael Byrne

Vito: 7. I love it, but it just looks like Batman to me, not a new Batman.  The logo on the back is a great touch, just like it was in an earlier design (Jemma’s).  In fact, if you look at it closely, it’s Nightwing on the back and Batman on the front…kind of symbolically leaving his old persona behind.  Great touch, but it’s just Batman to me.

Chris: 7. Someone hire this guy to draw comics i can read. This design makes me think of an Mike Mignola & Alex Toth jam session. But like Vito said, this isn’t a new guy under the Batman cape but more a post-modern Bruce Wayne. But I’d love to see this somehow, somewhere.

Vito: I’d totally read a Michael Byrne comic!

Jon: 7. It’s hard for me to divorce this design from the illustration, which is probably to its detriment, inasmuch as I don’t think this design would necessarily work in the hands of other artists. The flat-hemmed cape distracts me, it seems like so much consistency is applied to this costume, and then that signature component is removed. The V-shape motif along the front gives Batman a long, lean look with a powerful trunk, still very agile. For all the darkness on the costume, it actually does seem more open and revealing as a costume than the old one, which would be appropriate for Grayson under the cowl. I really like the reduction of the fins on the glove, most artists would choose either to eliminate them altogether or turn them into enormous blades or something equally distracting. This solution by contrast is very elegant. I’d like the gloves and the boots to terminate somewhere other than the joints, as everything from the elbows and knees out will disappear into darkness on a black background. Anyway, I could go on, this is a beautiful design with a lot of material to discuss, in terms of the contest I don’t know that it is a Dick Grayson Batman specifically, but rather an ‘alternate’ Batman. Still beautiful for all of that, though…

Joel: 6. Yeah, this is really lovely, but trading Bat-scallops for inverted triangles has made this more Space Ghost than Batman.

Dean: 6.5. Sleak and simple. Great drawings. The belt and shorts combination makes loads of sense, but I’m not sold on ditching the batwing scalloping on the cape.

JHW3: 5. Nice look for sure but it’s not really giving us anything new for the basic visual context.

Dustin: 9. i give this one high marks for not overdoing the nighwing blue over the shoulder element/design like the rest here that seems to overpower the batman element. Plus has a nice traditional vibe to it, not too flashy, no useless shoulder/knee pads.

Victor Newman

Chris: 7. I kept going back and changing my score, but I ultimately scaled it back to a 7. I’d like to see Victor work on this some more and play with the design, but what he did here is some great preliminary work.

Jon: 6. This is so reminiscent, to me, of the movie costumes that I have difficulty picturing it as a Grayson costume. I like the idea of well-delineated padding and piping-as-design, but I think some of the lines (across the thighs, for instance) are distracting, and give him a Frankenstein look. The designs around the collar and collarbone, particularly those rings by his shoulders, encourage me to wonder what precise function they perform. I am fond of how the vest-like piping is reminiscent of his Robin costume, I don’t think enough contestants played on that idea for their redesigns.

Vito: 8. It’s not as bulky and cumbersome as some of the other “field armor” versions we’ve seen, and that’s cool.  I can’t understand why he’d wear a tunic that looks like a bulletproof vest though.  I mean, we know it’s bulletproof, but do the criminals have to?  Wouldn’t they just shoot at his head?  Love that utility belt though.  Give me more ears on the cowl too.

Joel: 7. Matt Wagner had a throwaway line way back in a Batman/Grendel cross-over about Batman’s cape being a vanity. And you can’t deny that, for all his grim Dark Knightery, Batman has flair. I’m always a big fan of the practical informing superhero costumes, and this is a great piece of practical-looking infantry-wear. I’d like to see it creep a smidge back towards fanciful, though.

Dean: 7. Fun details! By keeping the color scheme simple, they don’t overwhelm the eye. Yellow symbol on dark gray is a solid scheme for Batman. I think this is my favorite utility belt from the contest. Add a cape, of course, and it’s good to go.

JHW3: 6. Again no cape/wing aspect.  It seems unfinished because of this.

Dustin: 6 needs a cape or something to that effect

Andrew Runion

Chris Arrant: 8. This piece really gets to the heart of what most of the other artists were thinking when developing this new iteration of the Batman costume. It’s Nightwing underneath it all, so his design shows the Nightwing costume with a Bat-makeover. Andrew’s done a really good job of balancing it, and the addition of a fully masked face (or is that a helmet) is the most stand-out change. For me, a new Batman would have to show at least part of his face — artistically, it’s a portal into the character’s mood that a full mask only covers up.

Vito Delsante: 6. I love it.  I really do.  But I feel like it’s not enough of a departure.  I might be oversimplifying this 100%, but it just looks like Nightwing wearing a Batman cowl and cape, and while that’s grand, I feel like I want to see something different.  It’s close, though.  In fact, I could totally see DC using this design.

Jon: 6. I agree with Vito, this feels almost like a direct merging. I like the full-face mask in principle, but I’m not sure what it means for the character, it doesn’t scream either Batman or Dick Grayson to me.

Joel: 7. It’s a merge, alright, but a successful one. It strikes a balance between the light and lithe Nightwing and the more heavier, armored Batman costume. The non-connection of the belt strikes me as a bit arbitrary, but otherwise all the details seem well-considered. There’s a nice flow to the lines. And the wings are pretty cool.

Dean: 6.5. This is a believable middleground between the Nightwing and Batman uniforms. I can’t see the design’s presumable bat-symbol, which is disappointing, but I’m a big believer in the flight-utility of the batcape. Great drawing, too.

JHW3: 6.5.This is a nicely executed image with very well done color fx but the overall design of the costume itself, though nice, is not suprising.

Dustin: 6.5. [No Comments]

Aysha Shehim

Joel: 8. What a lovely design. There’s a lot going on, in the legs especially, but Aysha seems to have really thought all those details through. Two of my favorite elements are the thigh-slung utility belts and the zippered collar/face mask. I’m less sure of the elbow-spikes, which look like gratuitous bad-assery to me. But the big question is whether or not this can be abything other than an Elseworlds costume. I can’t really see this as a Dick Grayson costume, but if, say Ras al-Ghul put his own hand-selected Bat on the streets, this could work for that. Or maybe Dick’s been playing a lot of DC vs. Mortal Kombat.

Vito: 7. Joel, you stole the Ra’s Al Ghul comment out of my mouth.  I was totally going to say the exact same thing!

Joel: My next theft: Vito’s sweet grill!

Jon: 7. I was reading this as “Nouveau Samurai Batman.” I like the elegance of the collar, and the callback to a jacket in the front-seaming and texture of the top layer, and the high collar - Dick seems like a motorcycle jacket kind of guy. It took me a while to see the belt compartments along the upper thigh as an alternative to the utility belt, and not a sheerly decorative element, but now that I do see it, I love it. Also fond of the elbow-blades, which seem to reference an actual bat-wing design. The mask, though, is too evocative of Wolverine for my tastes, that yellow badge down the center and the raised eyepieces are already iconic for another hero…

Vito: Dang it!  Another comment stolen right from the tip of my tongue!

Chris: 7. Definitely inspired, I feel it goes too far afield from what Batman is. This could inspire an Elseworlds book or two, but as a costume for the core Batman I think it could be toned back a bit to make it fit.

Dean: 5. Totally fun, and an excellent drawing, but far too elaborate for an in-continuity Batman. Since Dick was trained by Batman rather than traveling the world to learn martial arts as Bruce did, the samurai motif seems out of place.

JHW3: 7. This one has a lot of interesting things going on and the designer clearly put a lot of thought into it.  Some of it is a bit impractical though when dealing with tight fire escape stairwells and roof climbing ;-)

Dustin: 5. nicely illustrated, but a bit too flashy. batman should blend with the darkness most the time, not stand out.

Wilfredo Torres

Joel: 8. This is a great illustration, and may be my favorite of the Batified-Nightwing costumes. Those boots are subtly magnificent, and there’s a really nice balance between the blue and black throughout the design. I wish I could see some more of the utility belt. My first thought was that it’s still too much Nightwing, and needed some more Bat in there—maybe a cape?—but the more I look at, maybe it’s just fine the way it is.

Jon: 8. This is a tough call, because of all the Nightwing-With-A-Batman-Mask-On redesigns in this content, this is the most Nightwing-With-A-Batman-Mask-On-est of them all. And yet it works, the simplicity is its strength, it conveys Grayson saying “I may be Batman, but I’ll be my kind of Batman.” Would this convey terror into the hearts of Gotham City’s criminals and ne’er-do-wells? Probably not, but it’s one of the costumes most evocative of Dick Grayson submitted here.

Vito: 7. It’s tough to divorce the art from the design here, because you guys are right; it is Nightwing with a Bat-cowl, but it’s a great piece.  The colors are vivid and yet subtle.  It has a lot of subtleties in marrying both costumes that it can work.  But it needs either a cape, or a different cowl for it to work for me.

Chris: 7. I’m with Vito here. The only thing I’d do is differentiate the this new cowl from the previous iterations.

Vito: I also think that something lighter on the utility belt might work because you can see that it’s there, but you can’t see the details.

Dean: 6. Solid drawing, but the costume isn’t innovative enough for me. Good call with the simple circle belt buckle, thoguh.

JHW3: 5. Nice style of drawing here but, again, NO cape/wing aspect to the design.  We basically just have Nightwing with a batcowl.

Dustin: 5 again, more nightwing than batman here

Bob Strang

Joel: 6. A nice, clean animation-friendly design. But I think both the cape shape and the chest emblem are too avian, making this look more like a grown-up electric-blue Robin than a new Batman.

Vito: 9. But Joel, that’s what I love about this one…it is more Robin than Batman, but if this guy jumps off of a roof in the dead of night, he still casts that silhouette.  I admit that the animated look takes you out of it a little, but that cowl is fantastic.  I love the look of the pinned back ears that still gives that bat look.  One of my favorites.

Jon: 5. I think this does exactly what I wouldn’t want the costume to do, which is to feel like an analog to the Batman, rather than a successor. The lines on the belt, chest and shoulders are nice, the coloring on the forearms seems overpowering. Considering the v-shaped chest patch, the solid color hands, and the wide triangles of the cape, this says “fox” to me more than it says “bat.” Ironically, the shape defined by Batman’s ears in front of the insignia in the lower right hand corner makes for a much more ‘batty’ symbol. It’s a sweet illo, but it feels more like someone dressing up in a Batman-fashion…

Chris: 6. I want to like this a lot more than I did — it has nuggets of great ideas but it doesn’t really come together into a definitive take on a new Batman.

Dean: 7. Pretty fun, great lines, but I feel like the bat head in the symbol in the upper left of the image should’ve been included on the chest emblem.

JHW3: 6. I really like the feel of this one.   It has a nice simplicity to it and would serve well as a design for the many variations of the animated Batman toy line.  But with that said, I have to agree that it is too close to things we’ve seen before.

Dustin: 7.  i like this one because it’s so damn simple and might work iconically one day if we do a slower evolution of batman.

Charles R. Rouse-Rodriguez

Jon: 5. The thing I like most about this design is the eyeless quality, going somewhere with the apocraphyl blindness of bats. Also, Dick Grayson will have had to subsume a good portion of his own personality to “be more like Bruce,” so I like the idea symbolically of having been blinkered. Unfortunately, I don’t ‘get’ some of the other elements- the big cuffs, the circuitry on the shoes. It’s overall got a nice streamlining, despite the multitude of lines, though.

Joel: 6. This is a fun future-Bat design, and the eyeless mask is very cool, but this guy looks way too eager to show off his tech. If Barbara were stepping into the mantle, I can believe that she’d ransack Radio Shack for the latest and hottest super-gear, and not be too shy about keeping it visible and gleaming. But my understanding is that Dick is a bit more focused on the the fundamentals of flipping into alleyways and kicking multiple people in the head.

Vito: 6. Reminds me of Owlman more than Batman, but really only at the belt.  The red is a stark departure, and its one of the elements I love about this design.  I wish I could get past the eyeless cowl, but I can’t.  The logo into cape feature is a hit.  There’s something New God-y going on in those boots!

Chris: 9. I may be in the minority, but I love this design. Everything to me screens modern-day — reminding me a bit of the Cully Hamner Blue Beetle redesign, but still its own person. The one thing I’d recommend is changing the red color to yellow, but otherwise it’s ready to go!

Dean: 7. I like a lot that’s happening here. The belt and boots are especially cool. Most folks went blue OR red, but I like the combination here. The eye-less mask bothers me, though. I think it’s a bit too Batzarro.

JHW3: 7. Holy Blue Beetle Batman! It reminds me too much of the current version of
Blue Beetle.  Nicely done though. Where are the eyes? My only real complaint is that there no eyes.  Batman works best when you have eyes for expression.

Dustin: 6. nicely drawn

Evan Bryce

Chris: 7. Merging the chest emblem with the cape is a great idea; something so simple that I’m surprised others haven’t done it. Changing the horns of the head of the costume to a more sideways protrusion is interesting but I don’t know if I’m completely sold on it. I’d really love to see this Batman in action.

Jon: 7. Love the illustration style and the colors, and while I think it’s got some sleek changes - the insignia blending into the cape, the wider bat-ears - there are some awkward additions. From his belt down to his kneepads, he has a look like an awkward boy scout. As cowardly a lot as they’re meant to be, I don’t think Gotham’s criminals will shirk from those baggy shorts. I would’ve like to seen the same streamlining done with the lower body as it was with the upper.

Vito: 6. It doesn’t scream out “new” to me, but “status quo.”  It’s bulky-looking, but the only Nightwing element I see in this is that baton.  There’s more that can be done here, so this is a great start, but not there.

Joel: 8. Love this drawing. Love the authority with which Evan sells the SHUNK!-ing device-thing, there, even if I have no idea what it’s there for. Love the emblem-into-cape design, the kneepads, and the robot-fingers. This, I think, would make a great middle-aged Grayson, whose getting a little worn down by his time in the cowl.

Vito: “The Boy Wonder Returns?”

Dean: 8. I love the simplicity of these little upgrades. The longer shorts, the heavier boots and gloves, and the unified cape and logo are simple but effective improvements, especially in Evan’s total-confidence style.

JHW3: 5. This one, I have to say, bugs me.  I like the drawing style a lot but the costume design just isn’t there.  We basically just have a regular Batman costume with riot pads and such over the top.  Cool style though.

Dustin: 5. this is more a stylistic design rather than a costume redesign i think.

Kyle Latino

Joel: 7. What a great pulp-era Batman, right down to the scale-mail briefs! I love the cowl, and the gold batarangs. But I’m confused by the half-bat chest emblem. And, ultimately, I think this is more Tomas Wayne than Dick Grayson.

Vito: 8. Everything but the logo is close to perfect.  The colors, the design of the cowl, the belt, and yes, Joel, the tights.  That logo though…I’m baffled!

Jon: 7. I love it, particulaly that the outfit fits so loose - on Bruce Wayne, the costume looks like a second skin, because Batman is who Bruce Wayne really is. On Dick Grayson, the mantle of Batman is thrust upon him, so he wears the outfit like, well, clothes. The scale mail briefs are a great call-back to Robin, but I’m with Joel, I need to know what’s up with that half-insignia! It’s such a strong part of the design, its meaning needs to be immediately clear …

Chris: 6. This is the piece I have the most questions about. I’d love to interview the artist to talk about the choices he made here, but that’s not what judging is.

Dean: 7. Cool stuff. I love the mask shapes, but I’m not totally sold on the half symbol.

JHW3: 5. Nice pulpy looking mask/cowl but the rest is just too similar to what we already have in the regular Batman.  And that chest emblem is not working at all.

Dustin: 5. i dont think the emblem should be redesigned.

Jonathan McNally

Jon: 5. Bat-Beetle? Jonathan’s design here is incredibly fun, bubbly, the colors and composition make it look like a merry future Batman (In fact, some of the elements, like the shapes on the belt and the cut-outs on the legs and abdomen, give it the feel of a Legion of Super Heroes costume). It actually makes me want to see a futuristic teenage Batman in the LSH, but I think it’s a miss for Dick Grayson and the modern Gotham.

Vito: 7. I like this one a lot!  I could see Dick wearing this, personally, but some of the elements make it look a little futuristic, like Jon said.  I’m fine with that, but it looks like a variant Bat costume, not the main event.

Jon: The more I look at this one, the more I want to see this fellow draw the original Teen Titans. I bet that would be delightful.

Chris: 6. Simplified, but I’d like to see Jonathan take this further

Joel: 5. It took me a while to notice that two lighter-blue shapes on the abdomen turns this Bat’s entire head and torso into the Bat-emblem. That’s a fun, clever idea, and I wish Jonathan had run with it a bit more. If you have this uber-emblem, do you need to repeat it two other times on the front of the costume? Just how graphic and streamlined could you get with that design-concept? At present, though, it just looks like extraneous detail.

Dean: 7.5. This is fun to the max. I can absolutely see this as a former-circus performer Batman. The simplification of shapes on the arms is great, and the goggles are fun and practical. Great entry.

JHW3: 6. It’s fun, but feels more like something for a Johnny DC title.

Dustin: 6 very fun design

Otoniel Lopes de Oliveira, Jr. (Large Version!)

Joel: 5. You know, if Batman had been around back in the Nineties, this is totally what he’d have looked like. Totally. A lot of very interesting ideas are at work here, but I think I have to put this in the Elseworld’s camp.

Jon: 5. You can’t fault Otoniel for putting absolutely every effort into this design - you cannot walk away from this illustration without knowing how absolutely every element works from every angle, how the character’s meant to move, how the accesories connect. This is an illustration that would be invaluable for any motion picture, animated series, video game or action figure — but unfortunately, it doesn’t give us any clue to the personality behind the mask. This really could be anybody in a padded, armored bat-suit - nods to the Robin booties and Nightwing palette aside. The design itself could really benefit from some color and character …

Vito: 8. To give this anything less than a 7 is criminal.  Nothing against Jon and Joel, but Otoniel really put a lot of thought into this.  And maybe they’re right…it is very 90’s.  But Jon, it definitely has a personality; Dick’s.  I can see Dick Grayson in this costume.  I keep looking at this and seeing Dick Grayson every time.  It’s a good design.  A little busy and not enough colors, but it’s really good.

Jon: I don’t know, remember what you were saying up above about Grayson being a character who “lets the light in?” This is a very grim design.

Vito: Granted, Jon, which is why I didn’t go the full monty on my scoring.  Maybe it’s his Bane-Buster Armor?

Chris: 5. This reminds me of the early 90s Daredevil redesign — and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But I really think Otoniel made it too complicated and should shave off some of it and make it more simple.

Dean: 6.5. I appreciate how thought  out this is, but a lot of it seems overcomplicated. The spikey things coming off his back seem a little problematic, and I don’t like how the capewings leave a big gaping hole on each side between his body and the wings. The helmet is badass, though.

JHW3: 8. Lot’s of thought put into this and that’s why I’m giving a high mark.  But I have 2 major complaints,  the cape aspect of it isn’t working and there are no EYES.

Dustin: 6 very nicely drawn

Yasmin Liang

Jon: 6. As an understated design, I think it’s missing anything to make it truly iconic. I’m also really distrated by the glowing belt, it’s as if Batman’s saying “By the way, don’t forget to try to take this offa me, it’s where I keep all my stuff.” Nicely streamlined design, though, and thoroughly serviceable, however it doesn’t feel all that pulled together, to me.

Chris: 6. Like Jon said, a bunch of individually great elements but it doesn’t come together that well. The glowing throws me off.

Vito: 6.5. I don’t mind the glowing elements if there’s a reason to them.  This is Batman Beyond, after a fashion.  I like the overall look of the costume, but I have some nitpicks; the belt looks too easily removable, like Jon said; the gauntlets don’t need those details on them, so either go with black or the blue.  That said, I’m not sure how Grayson-y I think this is, but I do like it enough to see him wearing it.

Dean: 8. Switch the blue to yellow, orange, or red, and this is a serious contender. I love the lines and shapes of this design. The black pants are simple and practical, and I think the idea of having running lights throughout the design would be kinda scary in a fight, as long as you can turn them off for sneaking and skulking. Solid drawing, too.

Joel: 5. I’m jumping on the wrong-color bandwagon, here. Beyond that, I think we’re looking at a solid, but slightly generic, super-suit. The emphasis on downward-pointing angles adds dynamism, but the body-hugging contour of the shoulders and cowl take this away from the iconic Batman silhouette without replacing it with something equally distinctive.

JHW3: 5. The neon blue aspects are interesting to look at, but certainly wouldn’t help you hide in the shadows.  The rest of it is just too familiar.

Dustin: 7. i’d say get rid of the blue and it’d be a pretty nice design.

Stefan Tosheff

Chris: 6. The face mask totally throws me off. The chest design is a good start and the illustration skills are good, but the design as a whole isn’t there.

Jon: 7.5. The illustration itself is actually throwing this one off for me, the radiating lines emerging from Dick Grayson’s illuminated posterior are drawing my eye to the belt, which is the least-realized part of the design. I actually really like the mask and emblem, I think they get across the notion perfectly, and the texturing on the costume is enticing. I could see this one working, but it’s hard to say with that background drawing so much out of it.

Vito: 5. I’m not sold on this one.  Maybe it’s the background, but I’m not convinced that this is Batman.  One of the things I wanted in the designs was deception.  I wanted to see Dick Grayson, but imagine Bruce Wayne.  This is just Nightwing to me.

Joel: 7. Yeah, it’s more Nightwing than Bat, but there is a lot to like here. My favorite part is the narrative that I’m inferring from the non-Bat and -Nightwing influences. There seems to be some Catwoman in the body design, and the mask looks enough like a boxer’s guard that I’m reading that as a Wildcat reference. So, I see this as a Grayson who expanded his group of mentors in order to step up to this role.

Dean: 7. I really like this one, but it’s a better new Nightwing than a new Batman. Still, just so badass. Love the mask.

JHW3: 5. No cape/wing aspect again.

Dustin: 5. [No Comments.]

Peter Foglesong

Vito: 7. Love the colors in this one, but it might not be dark enough for a Batman costume.  Substituting the gray for black might make it work, but I wouldn’t want to change this too much.  The yellow on the cape is…different, but not necessarily a bad thing.

Chris: 7. This is a great design in black & white, but the color scheme really pulls me away from doing a higher score.

Jon: 6. I would have liked to have seen this in darker colors, and with much less green in the yellow highlights. The boots don’t have the same nonconformity of line, as do the other blue components, and in fact the lower half of the costume could benefit from some extrapolation.

Joel: 5. I think the Bat-emblem has gotten way too abstracted, here. If I were seeing this character without any Bat-preconceptions, I’d think I was looking at stylized thorns, making this a fine design for a line of Christian superhero books.

Dean: 6. A lot of good choices here. The batbelt is great, and the Nightwing-ish symbol and arm-stripes are far more successful here than on many of the entries that went that route. I don’t think the light grey Batsuit works that well, but darken it up, and it’d be pretty solid. The cape-splitting seems like an unnecessary afterthought.

JHW3: 5. Another fun one.  Jim Mahfood does Nightwing doing Batman.  Just wouldn’t work for the regular titles.

Dustin: 6 i like it though its more nightwing than it is batman

Note: Check back later this week for the Batman 2.0 Honorable Mentions!

Stay tuned, Rooftop Rangers!

You’re going to need every tool in your utility belt for this one! Project: Rooftop is flipping on the signal. That’s right, old chum, in honor of the recent (apparent!) demise of the Dark Knight in Batman R.I.P. and Final Crisis, and the likely torch-passing to follow, we’re announcing a very specific new contest: redesign the Batman uniform to suit his most likely successor, Dick Grayson AKA Robin AKA Nightwing.

Think about it, Nightwing was raised to be Batman 2.0, so any uniform he dons as the Caped Crusader should demonstrate that. And sure, Nightwing might not be the next Batman, and Bruce Wayne’s heroic death probably won’t last forever…but let’s enjoy the design opportunity anyway!

Rogues Gallery of Round Rock, TX has provided the following (awesome) prizes:

Grand Prize - The Batman Black & White Statue by Matt Wagner, a retailer exclusive DC Direct Batman action figure, Batman: The Black Glove HC, and Detective Comics #844 signed by artist Dustin Nguyen.

First Prize - Detective Comics #847 signed by Dustin Nguyen, a DC Direct Batman action figure, and Batman: Gotham Dark Knight animated deluxe 2-disc DVD or Blu-Ray (winner’s choice).

Second Prize - Detective Comics #849 signed by Dustin Nguyen and the new Eaglemoss Batman Metal Figurine.

Along with our usual P:R Staff roundtable reviews, Bat-artists J.H. Williams III (Batman) and Dustin Nguyen (Detective Comics), and comics blogger Tim Callahan (When Worlds Collide at CBR ) will be joining in to guest judge the finalists!

Send in your Batman redesigns to projectrooftop@gmail.com, with the subject line: “Batman 2.0.” Please include your full name, age, website, and mailing address. International winners may be responsible for shipment. All the usual P:R Guidelines apply.

All entries must be received by February 4th, 2009!

GRAND PRIZE WINNER!

Robin & Batman by Isabella & Rico Renzi

RUNNERS UP!

The Joker & Harley Quinn by John Hefner and Rachel Oleinick

The Guild of Justice-Minded Citizenry (and Guild of Injustice-Causing Malcontents) by Jared Axelrod & Associates

Robin by Dylan Palmer

Note: More entries after the jump! - D.T.

Harley Quinn by Mai K.

The Riddler by Miles Gatrell

Blue Beetle by Liz A.

Supergirl by Marion Vitus

Break out your sewing machines, folks, it’s that time again! Project: Rooftop, the site dedicated to presenting the finest in innovative crime-fighting fashion, is announcing its third annual costume contest: Fights, Flights, & Tights 3!

Entering the contest couldn’t be easier, all you have to do is wow us with an original costume that redesigns a classic superhero or villain. Take some photos and send them to projectrooftop@gmail.com along with your name, age, and website by November 4th, 2008. (Plenty of time to nab shots at your Halloween parties!) The best entries will be featured on our site, and the Grand Prize Winner will receive an original sketch of their design by our own Dean Trippe!

Featured above is last year’s First Runner Up, Ming Doyle! All the past winners and top entries can be seen here and here!

Liz Prince

Alex Mitchell

Samantha Calcraft

Michael J. Patrick

A.J. Roman

Note: More Honorable Mentions after the jump! - D.T.

Andres Rivera

Colleen Kao

Dalton Webb

Felipe Sobreiro

George Todorovski

Hannah Ahn

Jake Ekiss

Jason Chalker

Jennie Wood

Jorge Daniel Romero Castillo

Jorge Lacera

Kathryn Marusik

Lamech O’Brien

Lyndon Asuncion

Manuel Loza

Marcus Parcus

Meghan Murphy

Michael Dozark

Michael Johnson Curry

Monica Gallagher

Mr. Walters

Otoniel Lopes de Oliveira, Jr.

S.T. Vignarajesan

Scott Faulkner

Svenja Schulte

Thomas Valdez

Timothy Lim

Tom Kelly

Tyler Parker

Victor M. Newman

Vu Nguyen

Will Kirkby

Nick Cox

Zedin Balthazar

Lauren Minco

GRAND PRIZE WINNER!

Ralph Niese
Composite Score: 93

Dean: Okay, I realize this is kinda of a departure for the character, but there really is nothing more fun in this contest than race-car driving Vampirella and her night-creature alter ego (demonstration illo here!). Holy smack, I’d buy this comic two times a week. Ralph has ditched a single uniform in favor of a red/white style theme and a scary/sexy (scary-sexy?) demon-bat alter ego. Extra points for the Vampimobile. Wow.

Joel: Wow, we have, what? three designs to choose from, here? I love the bat-form, which is appropriately creepy. Vampires seem to work best if there’s some element of revulsion there to balance out the predatory sexiness. Or is that just me? The first human design looks a little too much like 80’s Michael Jackson. I like the spirit of it, and think that just changing out the jacket would go a long way to bringing it up to speed. But the winner here is “Racecar Vampy!” I can hear the theme music!

Jon: Ten ten ten ten ten. Ten.

Rachel: Can someone please explain to me why Ralph Niese is not ridiculously famous?

Dan: So easy to give this a 10. This is my pick for winner.

Trina: 10. For both ideas!

Vito: There’s a lot going on here and while I love all of them, my eye just goes straight to Racecar Vampy.  I mentioned it in Maris’ design, and I’ve said it a few times in the past, but this image, alone and without the other two, immediately gives me story ideas.  Immediately!  The design is Speed Racer meets Toth drag racing comics or Vampirella meets Faster Pussycat!  Kill!  Kill!  The heart on the side is a great touch.

Chris: Man, this really works - it’d be a restyling of Vampirella to some degree but it really works as a modern-retro kind of thing. Could you get Christina Ricci to play Vampirella?

Jusko: I really like the red costume, but not the “Bratz” clothing or the demon-bat thingy. Vampi’s NOT a monster.

Jess: Racecar Vampy has won my heart completely, especially if she can change into the feral form from that outfit.

SECOND PRIZE WINNER!

Joe Quinones
Composite Score: 87.5

Dean: Well, you know, WOW. Joe’s work as usual, is so clean and sensible. This outfit is functional, cute, and clearly says Vampirella. The dress is an elegant solution to this challenge. I love the collar, the peek-a-boo opening (the diamond shape recalls her earlier costume), and the surprisingly sexy placement of the bat-emblem. This is crazy good work.

Rachel: This is a less dramatic restyling than many of the others, but those subtle changes make a surprisingly big difference. Joe manages to combine the sexy edginess of the original costume with a more updated, polished aesthetic, and the result is gorgeous. It also plays up the sci-fi nature of Vampirella’s origins, which I dig.

Joel: It’s hard to judge Joe’s designs, sometimes, because he draws so danged beautifully that he could sell me on anything. If Joe had drawn the IronSpidey suit, I’m pretty sure I would have cheered it. Trying to filter the design away from the drawing, I think it’s pretty good—spunky in a fun, retro, roller-derby kind of way—but I can’t really see it being adopted as Vampirella’s new look.

Rachel: Neither can I, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be!

Jon: This is such a fun design, it’s very reminiscent of her horror host origins - you could see her introducing some quirky old horror stories. There’s something about those boots and the collar in combination with the dress and hairstyle that gives her kind of a retro sci-fi feel, as well. Vampirella, Atom Age Vampiress…

Rachel: Jon, I think you’re thinking of Vampira, not Vampirella…

Jon: Vampirella originally served the capacity of “horror host” in the first eight issues of her eponymous book, before becoming the central character in the lead feature … I ALSO like Vampira, though!

Rachel: I fail at Vampire Horror Host Trivia.

Vito: Like Zacherly and Ghoulardi?

Dan: Great drawing, good design. Too much white leather and the hair- again, I suspect its short only to make her look different and to push the dragon lady motif, but the dragon lady motif doesn’t need to have short hair to work. Confounds me. It’s so close. There were several other similar designs, but they weren’t drawn half as well, but their costumes were stronger.

Trina: Sort of Vampi meets Mary Marvel, or Vampi meets Power Girl.

Vito: I love it.  I don’t mind all that white in the costume, or rather, I don’t mind it with this costume.  Some of the other designs in the contest used white, but they didn’t pop out at me like this one does (or rather, they popped out in the wrong way).  To me, it’s a radical update and it’s fantastic.  The less said the better…the design says it all!  But can she hunt vamps in it?

Chris: 8. Joe’s art style really works for me throughout all these contests, and this one again doesn’t fail to impress me. I really like this but it feels like it needs something to make it right.

Jusko: 8. I like this a lot. I like that the gloves and boots  are close to her skin color so that they don’t overwhelm the dress. While impractical, I would bring the heels  back to elongate her legs and sleeken the design. I miss the identifiable split bangs, too.

Jess: Love it, love it, love it.  I look at this design, and I just know she’s a vampire from space!

THIRD PRIZE WINNER!

Jemma Salume
Composite Score: 81

Joel: This is the Vampirella I’d like to read about. She looks ready for adventure! The short-legged body suit looks practical enough for, say, acrobatic werewolf hunting. The mini-jacket adds a nice note of elegance. The proportions of covered arms, torso, bare legs, and boots all balance each other out very nicely. And the yellow bat emblems at the shoulders and heels make for some bright little accents. The classic suit is paid homage to, but without any of its, uhm, excesses.

Jon: At first glance, I thought this was Hogwarts Vampirella. In a good way. This certainly makes Vampirella look younger, maybe more approachable as an adventure character. I love the flipped collar on the jacket, the cut of the boots, and - oh, I just noticed a little bat wing motif to the back of the jacket - nice! Really beautiful lines throughout the whole thing.

Dean: I think this is the first entry from Salume that just doesn’t work for me. It’s the shorts. They look like bicycle shorts or a wrestling singlet. The rest is solid. I like the micro-jacket, and the bat emblem on the shoulder. The boots are slick, and I like the seams. But I’d way rather have seen boyshorts or pants. Bike shorts just…I dunno…I can’t take the bike shorts.

Rachel: Solid design, and definitely a different spin on the character. My one concern is that it loses some of the self-conscious sexiness that I think is kinda essential to Vampirella.

Dan: I agree-this is great.  This is evocative. As Joel said, you’d pick this book up. She looks ready for adventure and fun. If Vampi were to  take a less adult direction, I could see this as the girl. The shorts are funky and the dagger is, too, but those are small considerations. I’d give her some kind of black utility belt with a  bat symbol.

Trina: At last, something a human or vampire woman could really wear and move around in, without the costume falling off!  Yes, I love it!

Vito: Jemma strikes again.  I have to be honest, I didn’t think she’d be able to pull this off because it seems like so far out of her comfort zone, but God bless Jemma Salume!  She is a force to be reckoned with!  Jemma gets design and style and she understands the concept of functionality too.  Dean is right…the shorts look a little odd, but it’s still a great design.  I have to say though…this isn’t the Vampirella I’m used to and that’s great!  This is a new direction!

Chris: Man o man. Or wo-man o wo-man. The costume, the jacket, the boots. I think Jemma could easily make this a 10 with some more thought put in into the bat placement… and more accessories.

Jusko: I don’t know. Looks very “schoolgirl” to me. Great for an alternate, more youth oriented approach, though. Lacks the sex appeal that’s inherent in Vampi.

Jess: I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but yeah, it’s not sexy enough.  And it’s the bike shorts, which are among the least erotic of garments.  They need to be either much longer or much shorter.  I’d also like to see how the neck area is working - is it a halter top and a jacket?  On the other hand, the jacket and boots are fantastic.  If those shorts were pants, I’d be all over this.

Joel: Man, so much hate for the shorts! But look at the proportions of this costume: the arms to the torso to the upper legs to the lower legs. Those bottoms of those shorts are in perfect harmony with the rest of the design! It sometimes takes awhile to get used to innovative fashion—you guys will come around.

Vito: I’m already there with you, Joel.

RUNNERS UP!

Daniel Heard
Composite Score: 76.5

Dean: I’m totally sold on the main body of the suit. The peek-a-boo zipper with the bat-emblem pull is stellar. I can’t tell if the wings and extended arms are supposed to be physical or costume, but it looks super cool. The only big drawback in my book are the gold anklets. I think this look would be better served with some red and black boots.

Joel: My inner ten-year-old is always bugged by characters where the line between costume-design and body-design are blurred. Does the costume stretch over her wing-membranes, or are her wings red and black? My outer adult, oddly, is much more willing to overlook petty logic if the results are sufficiently cool, and this is a pretty cool look. The reversed coloring on the wings and collar is a really dynamic visual effect that adds a lot of motion to the character. And I like the bare feet and bangles. They give her a lightness, like this character is more at home in the air than on the ground. Speaking of which, does she some sort of adhesive sole stuck to the bottoms of her feet? Odd. I bet Daniel has something interesting in mind, there. I wish I knew what it was.

Rachel: I love it when designs take something that was originally purely visual and make it practical–the zipper-pull bat is a really, really cool idea. And I love the interplay of the red and black elements. Skip the anklets, though–they just don’t fit the rest of the look.

Dan: Very cool. The anklets seem  a bit incongruous, but the rest of it is really cool. I’ve actually been toying with the idea of having her bikini top close over her chest like that- the bat zipper is perfect. I can see this design working- I wouldn’t crop her hair ( dont know why thats so often the first thing to go in these) and I’d give her boots, but the rest is spot on.

Vito: I initially had an 8 and had to change it to a 9.  This is wonderful!  The zipper is what changed my mind.  The fact that the costume is versatile is a big big plus.  There’s an edginess to this that is kind of deceptive…you don’t see it at first.  But yeah, I’m a big fan of this one.

Trina: Yeah, the wings are definitely cool!

Chris: Definitely cool to add the wings to the wardrobe, and the pull-down zipper is an interesting concept but not practical… but was Vampirella ever practical?

Jon: I almost think this one could have been one of those choice Vampirella costumes which could have worked without the open panel in the front - I wish we had gotten a full frontal shot (think clean thoughts, folks) with the zipper closed and the collar raised. Also, there’s something simultaneously feral and controlled about having a full-sleeve top with high collar and gloves, and then bare feet. That’s possibly my actual favorite part of the design.

Jusko: Not a big fan of the anthropomorphic look. Not crazy about the hot pants and bare feet, either.

Jess: Oh man, I love this.  I dig the bangles, the zipper (everyone loves the zipper!), and the color scheme.  I only took a point off because I can’t tell if the wings are real wings or arms, because in the zipping inset it looks like she has regular hands.  With a bit of clarification there this would be getting full marks from me.

Evan Bryce
Composite Score: 72.5

Dean: For me, this is the best update of the classic V-suit. It’s edgy, it’s rock, it’s wicked. The extended bat emblem is SO good. I love the way the red connects up with the leggings. This is immediately recognizable as Vampirella and the modifications are clever and stylish.

Jon: I’m glad that someone took on the task of translating the original costume. The … I guess we ought to just call it “The Crotch Bat,” because that’s where it always ends up … I like how it’s integrated into the cut-outs on the front and side. The boots work really well as thigh-highs, and I like the wide-open back and sides (Apropros of nothing, I think I’ve seen ladies dressed like this down at the Swap Meet). I’m taking points away for losing the collar (on every design that does), though, I think that removes something iconic from the silhouette and palette.

Rachel: I think that “Crotch Bat” may be one of the least okay phrases in the English language.

Jon: How about “Swimsuit Area Fledermaus?”

Joel: “Cootchie Chiroptera”?

Rachel: Honestly, this one just doesn’t do much for me. The squared-off lines look really awkward and boxy, especially in the back. The other problem I see is that it’s a costume that depends on drawing style to work - it looks gorgeous in Evan’s angular style, and I could see Stuart Immonen pulling it off, but not many others.

Dan: I like it all except the squared-off bat.

Vito: I’m with Dean on this one.  It LOOKS like Vampirella, and is a great update of the classic costume.  This is easily recognizable and I could see this one taking the big prize.

Joel: I like the bat, and the connection between boot-tops and bikini-bottoms, but the open back and half-mast butt-cover make makes me think more of a sad stripper than a supernatural adventurer.

Jess: Yes!  Where is her butt crack?  I mean, I don’t need this to be a Coppertone ad, but the back shot is very confusing to me.  You can’t change the anatomy of the body to allow you to push the boundaries of the skin you show.  The boxiness doesn’t work for me either, although I like the boots.

Trina: Just how would this stay on?

Chris: This gets points for taking the style of the current Vampirella and unapologetically bringing it forward. It’s really close. I could see a 9 or a 10 if the artist really brainstormed on this for a couple weeks.

Vito: I think it’s funny that the ladies scored lower than the guys here.

Rachel: Ladies like Joel?

Joel: Oh, great. Now I’m gonna have to thumping my chest and cleaning my teeth with a roofing nail until I get my he-man cred back. Again.

Jusko: My fave so far. I’m a bit of a Vampi purest, and I think this comes really close to keeping the character recognizable while updating it a bit. I never liked the high boots because I thought they threw the costume off balance, but by bringing the red down her thighs the costume flows nicely into them. I kinda miss the collar and bat wing earrings, though.

Ming Doyle
Composite Score: 71

Dean: Ming is one of our best regulars, and once again, she’s brought her A game, which, to be honest, just makes most folks’ A games look like C games. Okay, I don’t know if that metaphor makes any sense, so let’s get back to the design. Ming’s multi-section body suit is cool and looks ready for far more action-battling than her classic suit. I see this as leather, ribbed plastic sections, and spandex. The cut-out sections are more interesting than most, implying a sense of alien culture not seen in most takes on the character. The vibe is vampire, retro, and badass. Great stuff, though I miss the gold bat emblem.

Jon: If costume design was a watch, you could set it by Ming Doyle. She’s nailed all the iconic elements of Vampirella, captured the lines of the original costume, given her maturity, kept her sexy. The only reasons I’m not giving this a straight ten is that I miss having the golden bat silhouette somewhere on the costume (the belly panel seems to be crying out for it) and I don’t quite ‘feel’ the cut-out patches on the back of the legs - seems like that would allow the fabric to gather awkwardly whenever she sat down …

Vito: The term “belly panel” makes me shudder.

Rachel: I can’t shake the vague sense that this is a riding costume. I think it’s got something to do with the paneling on the legs and crotch. Love the neckline and sleeves and the way the collar is worked in.

Dan: [Rated Without Comment]

Trina: And just what is the purpose of the cut-out thighs?

Vito: I think the cool thing about this is the details Ming included.  First, the different shades of red are really cool…they streamline the costume and force the eye up and down, so I feel like you’re taking in the character as well as the costume.  There’s a classic feel here, but not retro.  It feels like I’m looking at Ingrid Pitt or Caroline Munro in a Hammer vampire flick.  The other thing I like is…I can look at this and see a vampire.

Chris: Ming comes in with a great piece of illustration, but I feel a little lost in terms of the costume. It doesn’t hit the ‘definitive’ mark that someone like Vampirella needs to keep going.

Joel: I’m always pleased to see a new submission by Ming, who brings the most wonderful and unexpected influences to her her designs. The palette of reds and the patterning of textures is working really well, here. The ribbed areas and the odd jodhpur-style thigh-and-crotch panel make this look a suit designed to move in—a real action-suit. But, like the others, I’m not sure I get the cut-outs. They seem a little arbitrary. I do love that weird snake/globe/driftwood thing, though.

Jusko: I like it a lot, with or without the cut out thighs, though the cut outs do help balance the suit. If a more action oriented Vampi is the desire then this works perfectly! I’d put the bat emblem back on her crotch. This would be a fun costume for me to paint.

Vito: High praise indeed, Joe!

Jess: For one I’m not feeling a Ming design - the cutouts just seem too random to me, and with the different shades and textures on the red the whole thing becomes too busy.

Fernando Alberto de Melo e Faro Lucas
Composite Score: 70.5

Dean: I love this clever revamp. Obviously, the cloth elements would have to be glued one to work like this, but again, I don’t think you can fault a Vampirella redesign on that count. I totally dig the jagged claw shapes, the emphasized bat-emblem, and the one full-panted left leg. Haha. Very cool.

Jon: I was hoping this one would make it to the finals. What a shocking design, incredibly innovative … practically alarming. I love the blood-red claw motifs - originally, I was bemoaning the absence of Vampirella’s signature flared collar, until I realized that the white tips on her hair evoke the same element. Smart! I do wish she had more of a distinctive silhouette, though - as it stands, if you saw her in the shadows, she’d just look like Victoria Beckham naked.

Dean: Oh man, Jon, I didn’t even catch the white tipped hair. That’s brilliant. This design deserves an anime action series.

Rachel: Damn, that’s sharp. I’d like to see how it works from more angles, though. Incidentally, I’m ordinarily a stickler about practicality, but I’m waiving that here, ’cause this is a character who has both sci-fi and mystical elements. As far as I’m concerned, normal limitations probably don’t apply.

Dan: Overall, very strong in concept. The short hair, again, eludes me, but the idea of her costume as an extention of her body, which exists in the book, is, um, well-suited to this concept. Glue isn’t needed, as Vampi can arrange it at will.  The hint of an idea that the costume is arranged blood is fascinating as well. Solid and dramatic.

Vito: Too Witchblade looking for me.  But it’s too strong of a piece to be scored lower.  Dan’s right, it’s a strong concept, but looking at it, I didn’t see Vampirella; I saw a different character.

Trina: Sorry to keep being the practical one, but I want Vampi to wear something that stays on!

Dean: Considering the original costume’s practicality problems, I think most folks are willing to stretch believability a bit more than they would with another character, making the costume’s impracticality a feature rather than a hindrance. In this case, I don’t mind that at all.

Chris: This really pushes Vampirella to her more supernatural side and there’s nothing wrong with that. The white-tipped hair and the blood talons are really imaginative.

Joel: While the strong diagonal asymmetry of this costume works well with this pose, I don’t think it would translate well into others. Imagine this same costume in just a straight standing position—say, Vampirella waiting in line for a coffee. However, if, as Dan infers, the costume is magicked-up blood, then it could be constantly shifting around on her to create a similarly dynamic form for any pose.

Jusko: Nice, strong graphic design, but would need to be body paint or a “Venom” type of thing to work.

Jess: Very striking, but I would also like to see it from other angles and in other poses.  It feels a little unbalanced to me right now.

Note: More Runners Up after the jump! - D.T.

Edward Chow
Composite Score: 67.5

Dean: I really like how spunky-fun this one is, but the elements lean more military (guess which!) and the look definitely skews younger than the current Vampirella. Spunky sidekick?

Rachel: I was tempted to mark this higher just ’cause I love the boots so much–anyone know where I can find a pair of those? I read this design as way more punk than military (although I suppose there’s cross-over there, too). It’s a fun take on the costume, and I love the way Edward’s assembled a recognizable costume out of street clothes. Not necessarily the Vampirella we know, but a very cool interpretation of the character.

Joel: Holy Crap, look at those shoes! Outstanding! The rest of the outfit seems like almost an after-thought, however. If all of it was as considered as the foot gear, this would be a truly formidable design.

Dan: [Rated Without Comment]

Trina: Another cute goth look, maybe for Vampi’s teen sister?

Vito: There’s nothing wrong with this one except it’s a little too…human, for my tastes.  It doesn’t go to either the horror side or the sci-fi side (unless Edward was thinking of The Fifth Element, which is a fine way to go).  I’m sorry but I need just a touch more of either sci-fi or horror for this one to go over the top.  The shades are really cool…wonder what they look like on.

Chris: I really wanted this one to win, but when I put on my ‘judging’ hat I have to judge it on if it’s Vampirella. Great sunglasses, belt, boots and costume but it’s not her. It does however spur a lot of ways to shoehorn it into Vampirella continuity. What if Vampirella was a title passed down in the family? This could be the classic Vampi’s daughter carving out her own niche.

Jon: I think I’m with everyone who suggests that this implies a different character from a similar background as Vampi - Vampi’s younger sister, niece, sidekick, admirer, maybe even Vampirella after a dip in the fountain of youth. Great costume all around, really a lot of fun, but it screams “next generation” rather than “next iteration.”

Jess: What Jon said.

Jusko: Cute design, but I think it would alienate longtime readers.

Vito: I didn’t notice it until just now, but those suspenders are almost the original costume.

Jess: Ha!

Carly Monardo
Composite Score: 63.5

Dean: Okay, following my thoughts on Jason Chalker’s entry, this is what that Vampirella wears when sent out on a mission! Haha. I dig the vampire-spy-vibe here, but I’m kind of missing some of Vampirella’s key identifiers. I’d ditch the red undewear and add a gold bat emblem. Goregous drawing from Carly, as usual.

Vito: Ignore the gun and replace it with a stake.  If you take this design for what it is, it is exactly what Vampirella should be.  Science fiction, gothy…it’s all right there.  The top is fantastic, and Dan, notice the hair!  The contrast with the reds and blacks are great too.  If Carly had incorporated the gold bat somewhere in this design, I might have gone to a full 10.  I really like this one…in fact, I liked a lot of the entries!  Just goes to show you that everyone that submitted did a great job!

Trina: Cool, sci-fi Vampi. I like this a lot.

Chris: I can see where this is going, and Vito’s right on the money when he talks a sci-fi/goth blend here. Skin-tight but no skin showing though — would Vampirella do that? I’m asking you. Trina’s original design went forward with a non-usual cut of costume, and I think this design’s lack of it detracts a bit from what could be a 9.

Vito: Thing is…if you replaced all the black in this costume with flesh, the score drops significantly.  If the midriff was bare, it’d be ok, but I love the contrasts.

Rachel: Likewise. It’s all about the red and black. My one squick on this one is the panties-over-jumpsuit effect, which I’m not particularly fond of, but the cut of the top more than makes up for it.

Jess: I’m not feel the panties either, or the belt - if they disappeared, this would be just about perfect for me.

Jusko: It’s a very cool, Sci-Fi design, but aside from the bangs (which for me are an imperative) not enough of it says “Vampi”. I would tweak it a bit more. The gun is out of place. Maybe a high tech pistol crossbow would work. Whether or not this is Vampi depends on what direction the book takes.

Joel: I get why some people say this isn’t right for the character, but if there were a Vampirella 2099 comic, a de-pantied version of this would be the perfect design for it. That collar looks like it’s designed for some serious neck-protection. The whole costume has a futureplastic battle armor vibe that this looks like a Vampirella who is ready to really take the fight to the monsters of the world.

Aman Chaudhary
Composite Score: 63

Dean: I love this. Aman’s updated elements from Vampirella’s classic uniform into a slick futuristic redesign. I especially dig the revamped bat emblem and the tiny gold spikes on the heels! It has a strong Batman Beyond vibe (always a plus). The top seems more conceptual than practical, but for this character, that doesn’t bother me much. Cool wins out.

Joel: This is a nicely realized design with a slick, futuristic feel, but dang, she must need a couple rolls of double-stick tape to keep it on.

Rachel: Joel, that’s clearly Space Vampire Technology! I love the lines of this–super sleek and stylish–and the way the white collar is worked in.

Jon: For something that’s skin-tight and shiny, it strikes me as very inorganic. If a sleek, futuristic look was what the artist wanted to do, then the costume should probably follow the lines of the body, rather than breaking across them. Good balance of the colors, I certainly ‘get’ Vampirella from that alone, but the costume itself looks awkward.

Dan: [Rated Without Comment]

Trina: How does the top stay on?

Vito: One of my favorites.  It’s definitely an updated look, which is the whole point of this contest; let’s bring Vampirella into the new millennium.  This is Vampirella meets Blade Runner.

Chris: Aman does some good work here, with the design of the pants and the sleeves but i think the torso piece is even more impractical than the original costume that draws so much ire. Aman’s got good sense, but I’d like to see him play with it more.

Jusko: Nice design, though maybe a bit too futuristic for a gothic character like Vampi.

Jess: Points for pulling in the whole sci-fi alien shebang, but as Jon says, it really does itself no favors by breaking up the lines of the body.  Not to mention that judging by that waistband there must be a whole lot of tushy on view back there.

Art Grafunkel
Composite Score: 63

Dean: Very moody! I like that Art took a real chance here by ditching the classic red. Art’s take has a decidedly villainous edge to it. I like the goth vibe and the subtle bat-emblem callbacks. Great unique hair style, btw.

Jon: Loving Art’s design, but going red with the costume and gold with the accessories would have done wonders for making this a Vampirella, as opposed to a neat Goth character. The little peek of bare midriff is nice, works well with the top. I wish I could see this with a more familiar palette …

Dan: [Rated Without Comment]

Trina: Now we’re getting somewhere.  Cutely and stylishly gothic.  Trouble is, it doesn’t say
“Vampirella.”

Vito: It’s edgy and cutting edge.  Trina is right though; it doesn’t say “Vampirella.”  Maybe if the costume were all crimson?  I’d go to 9 if the hair was simpler.

Rachel: I really, really like the way the bat is worked into the waistband of the pants, and the little notch.

Joel: This is very close to being exactly what I think Vampirella would look like if she were created today. I agree that the inclusion of red would do a lot—maybe not even going all red, but just the leather panels where Vampirella’s current costume is.

Chris: This look’s at home with the 90s Vampirella spin-off, Vampi. A great illustration, but it’s not Vampirella herself.

Jusko. Great “Goth” design, but seems more an adversary for Vampi than Vampi herself.

Jess: I’m with Trina and Vito on this - great design, not Vampirella.  I love the Victorian touches, though, especially the cuffs.

Gilles Vranckx
Composite Score: 62.5

Dean: Bad. Ass. I can’t even look at this image without seeing the next five battle moves that follow this pause. Gilles is clearly alluding to another famous vampire’s armour, but also maintaining some serious Vampirella vibe with the gold parts and even some of the seams. Pretty cool.

Joel: This is an intriguingly disturbing submission. The evocation of flayed muscle and beautifully serene face makes this Vampirella look very, very dangerous.

Rachel: It’s beautiful and genuinely disturbing at the same time–my only question is whether it’s Vampirella. Regardless, I’d definitely read the adventures of any character in that costume.

Dan: It is disturbing. Again, the short hair puts me in mind of Kabuki. Coppola’s Dracula armor also comes to mind. I don’t know who this Vampi is, but she would be a wholly new and sobering concept for the character.

Trina: Is this supposed to be knit?  That’s what it looks like.  At last, maybe something to keep Vampi warm in cold weather!

Vito: It reminds me of the Coppola Dracula movie too, Dan.  I think this one is good, but maybe this could be another denizen of Drakulon?  It’s close, but not close enough.

Joel: The Coppola call is a good one. My first thought was “Clive Barker.”

Chris: The Coppola reference is an apt one. I admire the attempt to have Vampirella more clothed and warm in the winter months, but I don’t see the personality of Vampirella wearing this one.

Jusko: Nice drawing. Maybe too Japanese, and definitely too “Hellraiser”.

Jess: Nicely creepy.  I’m not in love with the garters, and this seems more serious than Vampirella has ever come off to me, but I’m kind of afraid to give this Vampi a lower score - she might eat my lungs.

Adam Cadwell
Composite Score: 61

Dean: Betty Page meets Vampirella. I like the clean styling, but it doesn’t feel edgy enough for Vampirella to me. I dig the V-stripe neckline on the top, though.

Rachel: This is a Vampirella I could absolutely see as a horror host (thanks for that fact, Jon!)–can’t you picture her lounging on the title page, lollipop in hand, introducing the story? The only part of this outfit that I’m not fond of is the collar, which looks a little too Snow White-ish.

Dan: [Rated Without Comment]

Vito: It’s simple and that is part of the charm of it.  It’s a good entry, but that collar is distracting where everything else is minimal (in the sense that it’s simple, not tiny).  It should be bigger or not there at all.  Go big or go home.  If this were a t-shirt, I’d totally buy it for my wife.

Trina: [Rated Without Comment]

Chris:  Doing the perfect “Project: Rooftop” piece is hard, because the aim is to create something better in all aspects than what’s currently clothed. While I like the style here, I think it’s more an alternate than a definitive piece of Vampirella work. It’s very charming in a retro vamp sort of way, but it looks more like a person dressed up as Vampirella than Vampirella the person.

Jon: I was having a hard time elucidating my feelings on this one, so I’m lucky that Chris came along and did it for me. Can I have you do all my hard thinking for me, Chris? It’d be easier on the old noodle.

Jusko: More “Barbarella” than “Vampirella”. Interesting retro design, tho!

Joel: I don’t have much to add to what’s already been said. This is a nice piece, but it seems more like a Vampirella-inspired roller derbier than the fangy lady herself. And I’m not sure what the collar is doing—a back view would be informative.

Jess: I seriously dig the retro vibe, and the costume itself is solid and workable.  I’d like to see the yellow and white incorporated more, but mostly this piece just makes me smile.

Joel Carroll
Composite Score: 60.5

Dean: I don’t know how exactly, but Joel’s managed to say Superhero, Alien, and Vampire all at once. Impressive. I really love the material for the skirt and top. It’s like a reflective, flexible, molded plastic? Gorgeous. The goth-themed ruffles add some regality, and the enlarged bat symbol is very confident. Sexy, classy, and (with the all-business boots) totally tough. This is a masterwork in conveying multiple concepts.

Jon: I’m friends with Joel, so I’m going to recuse myself from giving a numerical score to affect the voting. I will say this though: It has a distinct silhouette, all the Vampirella costume elements are there, the ridges accentuate the curves of the body, the colors and highlighting on the shiny parts make for a nice contrast to the soft white ruffles, and the whole thing evokes a Bram Stoker’s Dracula-meets-club scene culture vibe. She has a no-nonsense attitude. Many thumbs go up!

Joel: You don’t get off that easily, Jon. If we started recusing ourselves from rating from friends, we wouldn’t have anything to rate!

Jon: Okay, done! I’m only dinging it a little because while it suits Vampirella really well as a horror host and vampire pin-up, it doesn’t seem it’d be much good when she’s fighting werewolves or some of that other stuff they make her do sometimes.

Rachel: I just can’t do it. The ruffles!

Dan: Again, short hair that doesn’t serve a Vampi design. Its very goth, save for that, and could appeal to that crowd if the skirt were longer.

Trina: Cut the top longer, to avoid falling-out-of top syndrome and I’d have given it a 10.

Vito: Solid design, but the frilly bits make me cringe just a little.  The hair is a little…weird.  I love the collar though.

Chris: Vampirella’s vicious step-mother. A great design that evokes alot of story-telling potential, but ultimately I can’t see Vampirella having this in her wardrobe closet.

Joel: There are a lot elements I like here, such as the big ol’ Bat bow-tie, but I don’t think the design holds together. The business of the outfit itself, with its shiny diagonal ribbing and ruffly trim would work on a full dress, but contrasts awkwardly with all the bared skin. I’d love to see a less abbreviated version of this outfit.

Jusko: Too Marie Antoinette. The ruffles and baggy design are just not practical for battle; too much to grab onto. Same reason female police officers are not allowed to wear ponytails on duty and male cops neckties are clip-ons. Too historical in design, like an ‘Elseworlds’ Vampi.

Jess: It’s too busy for me.  The heavy boots fight the ruffles, the modern plastic fights the Scarlett O’Hara curls…  I am quite enamored of the giant neckbat, though.

Rosemary Travale
Composite Score: 60.5

Dean: This is super cute. I’m not sold on the pants poofing out at the boots, but everything else is so stylin’. The popped collar jacket (note the simple gold stripes on the arm!) is wicked, and the long top with the subtle bat emblem is very cool. I could totally see Vampirella wearing outfits like this when not adventuring, hanging out around town. Strong stuff.

Dan: Style aside, this is strong. Reminds me of the brief Wonder Woman costume of the 60’s. Not sure about the pants…

Trina: So maybe this is Vampi in civvies?  I’m seeing so many cute manga-inspired vamis here, I love it!

Vito: I’m trying to divorce the design from the drawing (which is a fine, strong piece), but it just doesn’t say “Vampirella” to me.  If I looked at this with no other information, I wouldn’t think Vampirella.  Maybe it’s the white jacket and boots…might be too light for a horror character.

Joel: Rosemary’s style is so cute that I kinda missed the charms of this design on the first couple glances. I think the white is overpowering, and would like to see another color for the jacket and boots, but otherwise, I agree with Trina that this would make a fine set of civvies.

Chris: The Vampirella earrings make an overdue appearance here, and I like the subtle accents that are on display here. An amazing illustration, but in the end it’s not Vampirella.

Rachel: Again, this is a costume that seems more Vampirella-inspired than Vampirella herself. That said, it’s still pretty awesome.

Jusko: Very cute for a doll line and a terrific illustration.

Jess: Cute, but not only does nothing about this say “Vampirella” to me, nothing about it even says “action.”  She looks like she’s on line at the bank.

Maris Wicks
Composite Score: 59

Dean: As usual, Maris is an example of how to break the rules and still win over the judges. This is cute, fun, conceptual, and confident. I think I’d have prefered to see the hair black and the dress red, because that would’ve felt more Vampirella specific. But it’s hard to say anything against a design this strong and welcoming.

Rachel: If you had told me before this that I’d see a cool YA entry in this contest, I would never have believed it. Extra points for messing with my expectations, and for the absurdly cute bat, which rocks my socks, but ultimately, this isn’t properly Vampirella. If the contest were for full revamps of the character, this would do brilliantly.

Joel: Somebody please give Maris an all-ages adventure book. Whether she wants one or not. She has a duty to the children of the world. I mean, that bat! Look at that bat!

Rachel: I second this proposal! She can have adventures with Maris’s unbelievably awesome Cowgirl Wonder Woman!

Jon: It’s breaking my heart that I can’t, in good faith, give this a high score - but it’s just not really a Vampirella redesign. If we were voting for an all brand-new All-Ages Vampire Girl character, then this one would have my vote hands-down. As an update to Vampirella … well, I’d be surprised to see a Vampi comic with her on the cover, to say the least. And yes, the bat is unbelievably cute, as is her pose as she rides upon it. The bat is singing sonar circles! Can I give this a ten in my heart?

Dan: I hate to be so tough. She’s very sweet. My daughters and I already love this Vampi, watch the animated show, collect the toys and read the comics… in a parallel dimension.

Trina: Oh, this is so cute!  And I love the flying bat! It’s hardly Vampi, but how about a new character called “Vampirette?”

Vito: I’m with Jon on this. I would love to give this a higher score because it makes me think of the story possibilities that this image, accompanied with the title, “Vampirella,” would evoke.  But, I have to be honest.  It’s not Vampirella to me.  It kills me a little inside to know that this isn’t Vampirella.

Chris: 4 for Vampirella, 10 for something else. If Vampirella could support a YA line, I’d give Maris a headstart at getting this going.

Jusko: I just can’t take this seriously as  an authentic Vampirella redesign. As  an alternate children’s version it’s adorable, but not right for this contest.

Jess: Oh, I would read this book so hard - if only it were Vampirella.

Annie Wu
Composite Score: 58.5

Dean: I like the ancient Egyptian theme. The translucent cape is probably my favorite part. I’m worried the whole thing feels a little fragile, like this Vamirella couldn’t really take a hit, nor give any back. The costume is very pretty, definitely appealling, but I think Vampirella leans more towards simplification and toughness than historical and complicated. Still, a strong entry with a unique take.

Chris: This just works for me. Ceremonial while still being modern, Wu’s design takes the idea of the original costume and updates it without doing it out of tradition. I’d like to see this in action to see how it works.

Vito: It’s a great spin on a classic.  While looking at all the entries, I was very keen on some simple criteria.  1, does it look like a costume a character in a horror comic would wear?  2, or, does it look like a sci-fi character?  3, does it look like a Dracula, I mean, vampire?  Annie’s hits all but the sci-fi angle, and that’s acceptable.  Everything looks wearable, and by that I mean, it not only looks like a feasible costume on a comic book character, but it looks like something someone could wear for Halloween.  This reminds me of Adam Cadwell’s entry…the collar.  This collar works for me because it’s big.  I’m interested in what Trina and Dan have to say because, to me, this is as close to the classic look as any of the entries and could be implemented today and not really throw readers for a loop.  This, I must say, is perfect.

Rachel: The boots and bracelets are marvelous, and just based on look, this costume is great. But when you draw a costume to look like cloth, I expect it to behave like cloth, and gorgeous as this is, it has some serious logistical problems. The cut of the top is one that can work, assuming it’s tight enough–with the way this is draped, though, Vampirella’s boobs would be flying the first time she bent over. If it were tight, it would be fine, but then it would lose some of the lines that make it work.

Trina: What Rachel sez.  More falling-out-of-top syndrome.  Hey, you keep adding new designs!

Jusko: I like the overall design, especially the distressed, shar pei- like leather boots. Tighten up the bra, add the earrings and bangs and you’re good to go. I also like the diaphanous cape. Great color balance.

Joel: The blood samples in test tubes are a cute thought, but should probably be left out. They seem impractical. Otherwise, this is a fun outfit with a great pulp vibe. The negative space in the boots is an odd but inspired way of making the boots relate to the rest of the barely-there garment.

Jess: I would simplify the boots, and I feel like the blood-capsule-garter really throws the balance off, but I like this a lot. The ponytail and the shorts particularly work for me.

Brad Hodges
Composite Score: 50

Dean: The strong “V” emphasis really works here. I like how Brad’s kept the character’s sexiness, but toughened it up a lot. I also dig the hair style. I think she needs a sword. Or a battle axe. And a fight scene against hordes of demon warriors. Let’s get on that.

Rachel: Based on the entries we saw, it seems like a lot of the challenge of Vampirella comes from creating something that works like lingerie–sexy, minimal coverage–without actually looking like lingerie, and Brad’s done that beautifully here. That said, I’m not particularly fond of the lines of the boots-over-stocking-tops, nor of the tape-over-boobs bodice, although I do like the general shape and the layers of Vs.

Dan: [Rated Without Comment]

Vito: I really like this one, but I think it might be too over the top.  Everything is here…horror, sci-fi, and futuristic.  I just think that…dare I say, it’s not modest enough for me?  Kind of a dumb reason (all things considered), but I just don’t feel it for this one like I do for some of the others.  I love the V motif though (especially since I have a “v” name…wonder what Brad would create for a Vito costume).

Trina: I don’t like the scary dominatrix look.

Chris: Shades of Mark Teixiera and some European influences in Brad’s work here. He’s really got the imposing but sexy nature of Vampirella going on here. The hair really makes it work.

Joel: Too be blunt, the whole reason this contest is interesting is that Vampirella’s present look narrows her appeal to a, uhm, very specific demographic (hint: it involves moustaches). I see the point of this exercise to both update and broaden her appeal. This design doesn’t really do either.

Jusko: Nice, but looks  like Vampi’s “Dark Doppleganger”. Reminds me too much of Fakk 2.

Jess: I agree with Vito that there’s a little too much happening here.  Maybe if we lost the lace and mesh accents?  I think the overall shape of the costume is powerful, though, and I love the high collar - a wise choice for someone who knows full well the perils of neck-bites!

INELLIGIBLE STAFF ENTRY!

Joel Priddy
Composite Score: Awesome

Dean: As usual, Joel’s attention to detail here is so wonderful. The top alone deserves a full review. I dig how he’s modified the classic Vampirella collar into a more functional form. The hint of the footwear is intriguing, too. I’m not full sold on the long skirt, which is what makes this Vampirella look somewhat less physically active than the other entries here. But it does have that cool horror host vibe calling back to Vampirella’s origins.

Dan: This is so out of left field, but I like it! I think I’d make her less-bat-faced, but the concept is very strong and again, evocative and fun.

Trina: Sooo cute, but more for Wendy the Witch than for Vampi. Still, a girl has to have more than one outfit in her closet!

Vito: It’s like Jemma…this is an entirely new direction (if it were implemented) and it’d be unfamiliar.  I think it’s fun, but it might be a little to baroque for Vampirella.

Rachel: I like the look and lines, but the cutout in the top strikes me as a trifle awkward. I agree, too, that it’s a little baroque for Vampirella, but I’m intrigued the styling of the shirt makes me wonder how it would look as a leotard…

Jess: Ooh, yes.  This is adorable, but dropping the skirt (oh, you know what I mean) would make it read more like Vampirella to me.

Joel: One of the reasons I like to submit to the contests, even though I’m ineligible for the fabulous honors and prizes, is that it gives me such clear appreciation of the thought and effort that goes into these submissions. In this case, I think the top was headed somewhere interesting, but the skirt really doesn’t work. And why is she standing like a school marm about to whack you with a ruler?

Chris: Joel’s coming in with a lot of story with his style here. What’s up with the sword?  I want to know.

Joel: As a matter of fact, it’s a fabled monster-killing sword with one cutting edge of iron, and the other of silver (neither of which are very good for keeping an edge, so it needs a lot of sharpening). It has, over the years, been blessed by Saints, Imams, Rabbis, Shamans, Shinto Priests, Pope Joan, 2 Bodhisattvas, the Archangel Michael, and a particularly serene Taiwanese baker who is not recognized by any religion. I intended for it’s name to be “fang” in Daco-Romanian, but Babelfish doesn’t list that as an option. Ah, well. I also have sketches of her pet, an ermine with the soul of an 11th Century hedonistic monk, and notes on an expansion/obfuscation of her origin. Sadly, none of this changes the fact that she came off looking like a naughty school marm.

Jusko: VERY cute though not in the running. Mary Poppins meets Vampirella! :-)

Editor’s Note: Check back next week for more Vampirellas in the ReVamp Honorable Mentions! - D.T.

If you’re not familiar with El Aguila, then you are pretty much everyone reading this sentence. Alejandro Montoya is a background mutant character from the Marvel U., a supporting character introduced in Power Man and Iron Fist’s team-up title at the end of the 70s, sharing many of the problematic stereotypical fallacies of the title and time. Clearly modeled as a Zorro analogue (with added mutant electicity powers!), El Aguila’s costume had a swashbuckler-meets-superhero vibe, with a blue blouse and red tights.

Ryan’s design here is a huge leap forward from the complicated and unoriginal costume worn by the character originally. This simplified red and black color scheme plays up the eagle symbol and introduces a strong matador influence, which feels more original than the earlier Zorro-reliant vibe. El Aguila is currently listed as a de-powered mutant (Post M-Day, check your Official Handbooks), so I could see this sort of rebranding of identity working well for the character, whose heroic impulses would not be deterred by a lack of superpowers. Judging from this design, I’d guess El Aguila had spent some time honing his martial arts skills with his pal Iron Fist to become El Aguila, the ninja matador!