Note: Readers of Project: Rooftop have seen Ming Doyle grow to become an artist dynamo. She won our Superman: Man of Style contest, ranked high with her cosplay of Batgirl, and has become an integral part of the site. Doyle recently began doing work at Marvel on Girl Comics #1 and the recent Fantastic Four #600, and we’re excited to see what she does next! – Chris A.
Note: As a P:R Regular and P:R contributor, Joel Priddy has been a welcome face here on the site. Currently teaching illustration & cartooning at the Memphis College of Art, Priddy has been schooling us for years on his dramatic re-inventions of classic super-heroes.
- Chris A.
Today we turn our attention to the key artist that’s made Project: Rooftop possible — our co-founder Dean Trippe. Dean contributed to the site both in reviews and with his own art, and we’re highlighting his contributions over the years. – Chris A.
Note: With the winter season soon approaching, P:R is dusting off their winter wardrobe and artist Hanie Mohd read our mind with these mesmerizing pictures of DC heroines (and a villainess or two) in full-on sweater weather. – Chris A.
Note: Fresh onto his new gig drawing Supergirl for DC’s New 52, Mahmud Asrar is already putting the Kryptonian girl into a variety of inventive poses. Check out this commission he did recently for a fan. – Chris A.
Note: Jill Thompson’s one of the greats when it comes to comics, from her early work on Wonder Woman to her dalliances with Sandman and her creator-owned work with Scary Godmother and Beasts of Burden. Be that as it may, she has an itch to return to super-heroes. Look at the imagination going on from this piece she did back in 2006! – Chris A.
Note: Long before the Birds of Prey was even a starling in a creator’s mind, DC had another group of female super-heroes in the works called the Power Squad. Created by former DC editor/writer Jack C. Harris and artist Trevor Von Eeden, the team never made it past the pitching phase but was recently uncovered by the gang over at DC Women Kicking Ass. Now some two decades later, P:R Regular Bill Walko takes those designs and brings them into modern times. – Chris A.
To conclude Supergirl Week, we wanted to link a few more of our favorite entries from the Draw Supergirl meme (which is still going!), and as a very special treat, Ross Campbell, whose earlier design struck a cord with all our reviewers, has created another fantastic Supergirl, and P:R regular Joel Carroll sent us his incredible last minute entry.
Joel Carroll, Orlando, FL
15 More Supergirls!
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 11 – 12 – 13 – 14 – 15
And that’s it for Supergirl Week! The Project: Rooftop gang had a great time teaming up with Super. Girl., and we all had a blast reviewing the fifteen redesigns. Jessica Plummer’s comprehensive look at Supergirl’s past costumes, A Supergirl Costume Retrospective: The Good, the Bad, and the Booty Shorts is still available, and will remain (like all the other useful articles over there) as a resource for creators and fans. Thanks to all the new sites, blogs, and forums that got in on the fun by linking P:R, S.G., and Girl-Wonder, and talking about their favorite Supergirls from the week. Thanks also to the amazing artists who took time out of their lives to explore what Supergirl means to them. For us, events like this that celebrate the creativity, unity, and fun involved in superhero comics serve only to strengthen the industy and remind us of why it’s so great to be a part of it.
It’s Day 5 of Supergirl Week, brought to you by P:R and S.G., and we’ve got our last batch of rocking Supergirl redesigns for you, and over at Super. Girl., Jessica Plummer’s comprehensive look back at Supergirl’s past costumes, A Supergirl Costume Retrospective: The Good, the Bad, and the Booty Shorts is live today! Now, onto the art!
Dean Trippe: Well, I like it.
Vito Delsante: I hate you. :)
Dean: Haha, okay, well the major concern I hear from female readers is that flying characters shouldn’t be swooping around in skirts. I’m not 100% convinced that we have to force that level of real-world concerns onto our fun, fictional characters, but I figured adding Superman-style tights would both assuage that problem and look pretty cool. I kept the sleeves short to maintain a youthful vibe. I also wanted to take a somewhat more original track than my earlier Supergirl design, which most people don’t realize is a redesign.
Joel Priddy: Speaking broadly, there are two types of Supergirl poses in this meme: ones where she’s about to take action, and ones where she’s delighting in her powers. This Supergirl seems to be doing both, simultaneously. And that’s not the only line this drawing straddles: this is very clean, classic costume that also manages to look fresh and contemporary. Good stuff, Dean. I’d like to see a standing pose of it, however, to see how far down the cape goes. It appears that it would end right about where the red skirt starts. Which could be great, or awkward, I’m not sure.
Vito Delsante: My favorite part…the blue tights under the skirt. It makes it look more like Superman with a few feminine twists. And being that she originally looked up to her cousin and followed his example, this is, in my mind, what she would have went with.
Chris Arrant: Dean’s design here really re-inforces an overall trend seen in a good portion of the other redesigns to cover up more skin on Supergirl than is previously done. The top is still a little bit too tight for my tastes, but I enjoy Dean’s choice of the darkened superman emblem instead of the standard.
Joel Priddy: Is it any tighter than your standard woman’s tee?
Jessica Plummer: To these woman’s eyes it looks about standard – maybe closer to a leotard with some give in it than a tee shirt, but that works for a superhero. I love that it looks very trendy, but just shifting the belt up or down can keep it current.
Dean Trippe: This design might be a bit too far in the opposite direction from the current one, but gosh if it ain’t cute.
Joel Priddy: Awww. She looks like she should be teaching a class full of Powerpuff Girls.
Dean Trippe: Ha!
Chris Arrant: This reminds me of something you’d see if Marvel took their X-Men: Fairy Tales series and applied it to DC’s characters.
Jessica Plummer: Something about the daintiness is especially intimidating. No superhero dresses like that unless they know they can kick your rear. I fear her.
Joel Priddy: Excellent point.
Kristen, Idaho, USAJoel Priddy: This is a fun design. It looks sporty, contemporary, and fashionable, while maintaining a distinctly superheroic profile. The adjusted color scheme keeps Kara in the Super-franchise without copying her cousin. The cape is a good length, and pairs interestingly with the height of the white boot/leggings. I’m not sure about the way the cape folds into S-shield, and the design of the S-shield itself, but, all-in-all, I think this design is a winner.
Dean Trippe: I also dig this one, but more for the artist’s drawing skills. The costume is a bit too much of a departure for me. But I do like the hairstyle and I agree about the cape length.
Vito Delsante: I absolutely love the color scheme. This is what you could do if you open up the palette and keep the character in mind. In fact, it takes Power Girl elements too without being overly sexual. I really really like this one.
Jessica Plummer: Now this is a design with personality. I’m a little confused about the cape fastenings, but I want her to explain it to me while we hang out at the mall together. My only concern is that it echoes Power Girl’s a little too strongly – I’d like to see some more yellow, I think.
Vito Delsante: Maybe longer hair will dismiss those Power Girl concerns.
Heading into Day 4 (or The Quest for Peace as I like to call it) of Supergirl Week, brought to you by P:R and S.G., and here are a couple more Supergirls!
Dean Trippe: This is over-the-top awesome. Ross maintains the sexiness of the character, but in a hardcore way that lets you know she’s nobody’s plaything. I love the lowrise shorts, the gloves, and the boots. The super-symbol shapes popping up throughout the design are really cool. I think I would’ve included some red somewhere, but the exclusion of it does make this design really unique.
Joel Priddy: Man, this is a bold design. Ross Campbell did an amazing job of dropping preconceptions of the character. In the wrong hands, this design could easily look exploitive, but with Campbell it makes a fine argument for DC to bring back Elseworlds. I’d love to see a big fat graphic novel of Campbell’s punk Supergirl in a world without any of the other DC heroes, but plenty of giant monsters and alien invasions. And DC should market those boots.
Jessica Plummer: With the short, dark hair, the strong blue elements, and the briefs, this reminds me of the oft-forgotten Cir-El incarnation of Supergirl – but unlike Cir-El’s costume, this one is totally cute. Like Joel, I worry that the shorts will encourage artists to draw her more bootylicious than is perhaps appropriate, but right now she looks young, bright, and powerful – just the way Supergirl should look!
Chris Arrant: The yellow-blue color scheme is what sets this apart immediately, but putting more thought into it (like Ross has) really shows a real different type of Supergirl than what you’re used to. The boots are definitely ready for action, but the short shorts got me worried — in the hands of a less-capable artist, they could easily de-evolve into daisy dukes.
Joel Priddy: I think those are already well past daisy dukes.
Vito Delsante: Anyone think it might be…too sexy? I actually love this design, especially the colors, but my biggest problem with Supergirl is that folks want to sex her up a little too much. I know in this day and age, it’s hard to keep teens from looking older than what they are, but I always felt that Supergirl was a role model for tween girls. I see this as being perfect for Kara if she went into the future and came back battle hardened (is that a word?). For a teen Supergirl, this is more Power Girl than it is Kara.
Joel Priddy: This is a distinctly sexualized Supergirl (I mean, how tight does your costume have to be if we can see your navel through it?). The difference between this and the present incarnation is that this Supergirl seems sexual on her own terms, as opposed to being designed solely for the male eye. This design would only work with creators who understood the difference.
Dean Trippe: I dig this one because of all the attention to seams, piping, and layering. I’m not sold on the hairstyle, but the uniform has a cool otherworldly element that’d be at home in the Legion series.
Joel Priddy: This is a really neat design with interesting construction-details. I agree that there is an otherworldly quality to it that makes me think of the Kryptonian comments on Adora Spintriae’s design. Why would an indestructible girl make a point of covering herself so thoroughly? A subconcious fear of contamination? Or is this a specialized suit? Is it lead lined? Does it have a zip-up fetish hood for when she might encounter Kryptonite? Or is it a battery-suit that keeps her toasty with the yellow solar radiation when she’s in other star systems?
Dean Trippe: Yeah, but you could make the same arguments for Superman’s full body costume coverage. Maybe being invulnerable doesn’t really alter your desire to not be naked!
Joel Priddy: I dunno. Something about the extra-long sleeves and the gloves strikes me as hermetic. I think it speaks more to the Martian Manhunter’s new I’m-not-one-of-you look than to Superman’s lack of bare arms or legs.
Dean Trippe: Still, kicking design. Maybe gloveless would be the way to go.
Joel Priddy: I’m kinda into the battery suit idea.
Joel Priddy: A collaboration between Chris Haley and his girlfriend, April [and their friend, Diana], this design is a) adorable, and b) actually representative of what teenage girls wear. Many fine elements here: barrettes, Fleischer Bros.-style S-Shield, darker blue tights with skirt. The most distinctive feature of this design is the hoodie in lieu of a cape. While the hoodie will certainly begin to look dated in a few years, Supergirl is a character in need of regular make-overs to keep her current.
Dean Trippe: I agree entirely. I want to read about this Supergirl’s adventures immediately. The only design element I don’t quite go for is the capri-length leggings. I’d rather see full tights and some cool boots, but that’s me. I also think Joel’s Kryptonian bracelet would fit in with this design.
Joel Priddy: I would like to see what sort of shoes Chris and April would put on her.
Chris Arrant: I like this a lot, but I’ve always been partial to hoodies and layers.
Vito Delsante: Am I crazy or does this look like Supergirl meets Scott Pilgrim?
Joel Priddy: You’re not crazy.
Dean Trippe: Supergirl could really use some Scott Pilgrim.
Vito Delsante: That’s probably true. I love the sleeveless hoodie. You can put any “S” diamond design you want to in there, that hoodie will always look great. Not so sure that the pants color shouldn’t match the hoodie, but I’m no judge of color coordination, that’s for sure. Sometimes I wear orange and brown just ’cause Wolverine used to…that’s not a good idea, right?
Joel Priddy: Depends. Are tiger stripes involved?
Vito Delsante: See Joel? We were just starting to get along. Why must you pop my balloon? :)
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