Note: The X-Men have always been some of the most relatable heroes in comics, and artist Andy MacDonald took that one step further with this recent redesigns of the team in normal street clothes. Posted over on his blog, these designs bring the color schemes the heroes wear in their uniforms while making them something normal people could wear. The Gambit and Rogue pieces stand out as especially well-done pieces. – Chris A.
Editor’s Note: See more after the jump!
Note: South Africa’s Mista-M is fast becoming a favorite here at P:R HQ. In this outing, the artist is taking on DC’s teen speedster Bart Allen, aka Kid Flash. I love the opening in the face mask to let Bart’s hair fly free, and giving him a backpack gives him some practical place to store his snacks as seen in Young Justice. - Chris A.
Note: Fan-Art Friday is an occasional feature we do here at P:R where we invite artists to pay tribute to excellent official supehero redesigns with illustrations of their own. No contest, no awards, just a free for all! And this time out, we turn to Jamie McKelvie’s recent redesign of Marvel Comics’ Ms. Marvel in her new moniker of Captain Marvel. McKelvie’s Captain Marvel is an excellent example of reconditioning a classic hero by bringing in ties to her past and also newness with her new codename.This is a top-notch official redesign that deserves top-notch fan art. Deadline for submissions is Thursday, May 10th at 5pm Eastern time. Email them to us at projectrooftop@gmail.com. – Chris A.
Note: Kris Anka dreams up a Captain America animated series. ‘Nuff said. – Chris A.
Here’s what Kris Anka had to say about his designs:
So the basic premise I had when I approached this, was an attempt to create a “Bruce Timm” like show for the Marvel Franchise; and the Captain America/S.H.I.E.L.D. side of Marvel has always been the most appealing to me so it was an obvious place for me to start.
I didn’t want to make this just another superhero project, so I intended to make it in the 50s/60s Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. super spy vibe. I wasn’t able to get anything finished for this, but i wanted Steve to be a sort of James Bond. Often going to high end parties for supervillians dressed in a tux, having a lot of gadgets, flying cars, the whole deal. Sadly, I never got around to making any of this happen. Maybe one day.My approach towards Cap was to combine the classic costume with elements from the film costume. I feel the chainmail look doesn’t translate well into the simplicity required for animation. It either comes off empty, or cluttered. There are a lot of parts I love about the film costumes. One thing I had to keep were the wings on the cowl. Besides being an incredibly iconic element to his look, but it helps make his silhouette unique and definitive.
Note: In recent Batman stories we’ve seen renditions of how Batman would have appeared in past historical times, but after seeing this submission by Denis Medri I feel like DC missed out on something big time. Hailing from Italy, this artist dreamt up a 1950s greaser Batman that is startling at how great it is. “Greaser Batman” might seem pretty cliche, but seeing Medri’s illustration here it comes off as a no-brainer. And check out that souped up Batmobile! – Chris A.
Note: P:R Regular Maris Wicks returns today with an epic runway line-up putting DC’s Arthur Curry in six sets of Aquaman duds. Drawing inspiration from David Bowie to The Life Aquatic, Wicks really immersed herself in the character to come out with these six unique looks. According to the artist, she aimed to do “era-themed approaches” to Aquaman, incorporating pop-culture influence from each era. – Chris A.
Aquaman #1: Probably obvious, but this is basically a Aquaman-themed David Bowie Ziggy Stardust (early 1970s). Here’s a link to a pic and article: http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2012/02/ziggy_stardust.php
Note: Although super-heroes first home will always be comics, they’ve set up quite a place for themselves in animation. Artist Sean “Cheeks” Galloway did some animated-inspired takes on some of DC’s Finest awhile back that are chock-full of fun. Instead of throwing out the good with the bad, Galloway as refined the elements of their costumes into more iconic and stunning renditions. I especially love the cuts of Batman and Superman’s capes. – Chris A.
Note: Superheroing is a family business, and artist Luca Pizzari has reunited one of comics most under-rated and disfunctional families in his revamp of the mutant family the Cassidys. With the X-Man Banshee leading the way, his black sheep brother Black Tom and hisdaughter Siryn are given new duds that brings their Irish roots back to the forefront. – Chris A.
Luca’s thoughts on the group:
In the current Marvel Universe, Sean Cassidy is dead. Let’s imagine that for some mysterious reason, as often in comics these days, now he’s better ;)
Since he came back from the dead, though, he hasn’t quite been the same, avoiding the X-community and retiring back to his native Ireland, where he owns an old family castle. Here his cousin Black Tom approaches him asking his assistance in a quest that involves their family history and his estranged daughter Siryn gets involved too, flying all the way from the US… basically the idea is to turn Banshee into the Marvel Comics Indiana Jones, living all sorts of adventures that delve into the supernatural/folkloristic while giving him the “Scooby-Doo” treatment: as he fights trolls, fairies or evil druids, these are revealed to be actually mutants or other supervillains.
Note: After his debut earlier this month with Hawkman, we couldn’t help but highlight African artist Mista-M once again with another of his designs — a stunning take on DC’s Power Girl. He doesn’t shy away from the cleavage that Kara is known for, changing the so-called “boob window” into more of a low-cut top. The cape is unique, and I applaud the simple tribute to the Superman S-Shield with the belt buckle. – Chris A.
Note: In the onslaught of new titles with DC’s New 52, Cliff Chiang and Brian Azzarello’s Wonder Woman has been a standout from the beginning. And we were surprised (with glee!) to see in the previews for Wonder Woman #8 that Diana was dressing for war. Dean digs the nods to Wonder Woman’s original costume, and I can’t stop marveling at that arm armor. Look below the art to see Chiang’s exclusive comments to P:R, and then see the costume in action tomorrow when the book goes on sale! – Chris A.
When asked by P:R, Chiang had alot to say about the design:
The armor in issue 8 was my initial design concept when Brian and I decided to work on the book. At the time, we were unaware of a line-wide relaunch, so for us it was going to be a very clear signal to the readers of where we were taking the character. We knew we were going to push the warrior angle, and I wanted the armor to recall the classic Wonder Woman colors and design ideas. Her hair is tied up with gold rope, like her lasso. The WW symbol is still an eagle, but the wings point upward, and feels more like a crest than a logo. While I’ve had a lot of fun drawing Jim Lee’s costume for Wonder Woman, Brian and I both liked this design and hoped to use it somewhere, and this little trip to hell was the perfect opportunity.
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