Alex Ross does modern day Wonder Woman!!

I never thought I'd live to see the day when Alex Ross would paint anything but his own personal version of Wonder Woman. But I made it!!
He did it on the cover for the Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe Kollector's Edition video game:
Too bad he couldn't have been bothered to do this costume for the cover of JUSTICE LEAGUE of AMERICA #12. I so would've bought that poster...

Here's a video from Comic Book Resources that shows, in time lapse, Alex creating the artwork. It's interesting to note: The couple of times that the art/photo reference is shown for Wonder Woman, the picture is blurred out. I didn't notice that on any of the others. Things that make you go hmmm...

Best (?) Covers: DC Solicitations, May '08

Okay, this is the time of the month that I usually show the covers which I think stand out from the crowd in the DC and Marvel solicitations. (Okay, it should've been last week, but you'll get over it) The thing is: I don't think there really were any. Not one that was just a "wow" kind of image. Not from either company. There was just one that stood out and was pretty cool:

COUNTDOWN PRESENTS: THE SEARCH FOR RAY PALMER TP by Greg Tocchinni

Of course, the big problem with this one is that I've read all the stories and this is basically a big bag of suck. Stories that suck while they suck away your money and suck away your time. But that cover is beautiful. I just love it.

Well, since I have nothing nice to say about May's covers, I'm gonna do a little complain':

TITANS #2 by Joe Benitez & Victor Llamas

First of all, where is Ian Churchill? Don't get me wrong, I don't want him on this series, but isn't he supposed to be the artist on it? And they already have a fill-in on the second issue!!??
Second: When did Raven get that rack? And how big is it that she's turned away from the reader...and you can still see it!!?
Finally: Who thought this was a good look for Donna Troy?

I couldn't have come up with a worse look, and everyone knows I'm no costume designer!

WONDER WOMAN #20 by Aaron Lopresti

This is actually a pretty nice cover. And I find the background intriguing. But I have a problem with her chestplate. Two actually. Don't get me wrong, Lopresti is the WW artist, and as far as I'm concerned, he gets to dictate the look. But if J G Jones is using the Dodson-styled chestplate for FINAL CRISIS, it's just going back to the old inconsistency crap.

Plus, I absolutely HATE the look of the crooked W. It's not the first time an artist thought he was being clever. And it just doesn't work. You cannot stylize the WW to look like an eagle. Get over it. Either do an eagle, or do the WW. That's why the Dodson design worked. He didn't try and morph the WW into an eagle, he just added accruments. So you got your WW and your eagle and the design worked. This one...not so much.

DC SPECIAL: RAVEN #3 by Damion Scott & Robert Campanella

URGH. Could it get any worse?

Okay, yeah, I give up...

Well, if an artist not only doesn't try and get her costume right, but can't even be bothered to be consistent from panel to panel within the pages of the same issue... What's the point of fighting? Nobody at DC cares. Why should I?

From THE FLASH #235 art by Freddie E. Williams II

This is the last time I will ever bring up the fact that Wonder Woman gets no love or respect.



Probably.

While I'm on a roll...

The DC Solicitations for March came out on Christmas Eve, and I was kinda caught up with a thousand other things and didn't really take a good look at them until I was reading the Previews catalog. Oh, I'm hot. What is this:

At least Scott Kolins attempted to get the W's right for COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS #8, but what-on-earth reference was he using that he missed the W belt? Scott, read this.
I don't know what Mauro Cascioli was thinking while painting the cover to TRIALS OF SHAZAM #12. Apparently, he's a big Alex Ross fan. Hey, Mauro, here's a clue: Alex Ross does not like Wonder Woman. He hates her. He never draws her as she should be, only however he feels like drawing her. Next time you have an opportunity to draw/paint Wonder Woman, pick up an issue of her series. Forget about Alex Ross.

Yes, I'd like some cheese with my whine!

ARRGH!
I got the DC Direct Wonder Woman Series 1 actions figures awhile back. And I was so irritated, that I decided to not talk about them until I calmed down. Apparently that isn't going to happen, so...
WTH? On the left is the prototype image that was released as a preview for the figure line. In the center is the same prototype from the back of the package. On the right is the actual figure.
WHERE THE HELL DID THE EAGLE HEAD GO!?
I know that a prototype is sort of a this-is-basically-what-the-figure-will-look-like. And usually changes are mostly made when the prototype has some sort of error. But this one was right! Why was this stupid change made!? I'm so irritated!!
Hey stupid DC Direct sculptors, read this!!
Meanwhile, I hate you.

Wonder Woman's Costume 101 - It's in the Details

I've always gotten angry when someone doesn't take the time to get Wonder Woman's costume right. I don't know why. It's not like she looks like someone else if an artist misses a detail. But they never do that with Superman or Batman.
And I'm not talking about doing a redesign. I mean, for example, when John Byrne restyled Diana's outfit, if she had made an appearance in another title and the artist there just decided to ignore what was current and do their own thing. I don't know if that happened then, but it's just an example.
Batman and Superman always look the same (barring artistic styling), but Wonder Woman is at the whim of whatever the artist wants to do. Jim Lee is the worst. Every time he draws Wonder Woman she's wearing a different outfit. And never the same one twice. Alex Ross blew it big time with the cover to JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #12, he drew everyone in their current, modern, up-to-date outfits...well, everyone except for Wonder Woman. Go figure. She lucked out and got the tired, old standard Alex Ross-style look. I so would have bought that poster...

So what am I whining about? A couple days ago I said George Perez got it right in BRAVE AND THE BOLD #7.
I was wrong.
I guess I just wasn't paying attention. I was so happy that he got the eagle head and tail on the breastplate, that I guess I stopped looking.
Anyway, here's what he drew along with my adaptation of what he should've drawn:
If you don't see the differences, then you're probably just like everyone else.
It's time to take y'all to school. Class is in session.

WONDER WOMAN 101
Beginning near the end of 1982, Wonder Woman's eagle breastplate was replaced by one that looked like the one drawn by George Perez below on the left. Two W's stacked on one another with "branches" that extended from the sides. The "branches" were separated by third branch stuck inbetween. This is the way it remained until the end of INFINITE CRISIS and a redesign by Terry Dodson.
Terry Dodson's design (above, right) changed the placement of the third "branch." Now the branches of the two W's were next to each other, with the third placed below them. He also added an bird's head and tail to the W's to pay tribute to the eagle WW wore during the first 40 years of her existence. In BRAVE AND THE BOLD 7, George did get the eagle's head and tail, but he drew the two W's in a way that was familiar to himself, instead of the current, proper way.
Terry also gave Diana a double-W belt (overkill?). The W's actually form the belt. This is another mistake George made, he drew the belt as two W's with the belt extending from the sides of the W's. That one is a little nit-picky, and I'll go soft on it. But the breastplate should've been right, especially coming from a master of detail like Perez.

So -- Does she or doesn't she?

When Donna Troy returned from the dead in DC SPECIAL: THE RETURN OF DONNA TROY, she had stars in her hair:


But since then it's been kinda hit or miss. Some artists, like Pete Woods in AMAZONS ATTACK, continue to include the stellar coiffure:


Meanwhile Jim Calafiore (and the other artists) on COUNTDOWN, omit the twinkle:


It would really be nice if the editors/artists/whoever at DC would get together and decide which is the correct way to do it.

And don't get me started on how many artists fail to try and draw her costume correctly. I mean, really, is it that hard for the editors (or whomever) to give the artists references that show there's an eagle on Donna's choker and that the stars do not extend all the way down her legs? And no highlights...it's a star field, not fabric, for cryin' out loud!!!





Oops, I guess I got started! :P

UPDATE to "So -- Does he or doesn't he?"

As I was thinking about it, I realized Roy used 5 quick-glue arrows in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 11. FIVE! I mean, how many arrows does his arrow-holding-thingie hold anyway? He can make room for 5 of the same arrow? Is there that big a demand for the quick-glue arrows?

Wonder Woman: "Oh no! Amazo's attacking!"
Batman: "Roy! The quick-glue arrows! Now!"

I mean...? I dunno. Just something that popped into my head...

So -- Does he or doesn't he?

Okay, so we had two comics come out this week that contain conflicting information -- or plot devices, whatever...

In AMAZONS ATTACK 4, Roy Harper makes this proclamation:


By "standard-model" I'm assuming he means regular, plain old arrows with points on the ends. And it seems as though those would be the only types of arrows with which he had to fight.

But then in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 11, he's using some arrows that seem kinda gimmicky and not so "standard-model."


So -- I just wonder which is more accurate?