Sunday, December 27, 2009

New Costumes for Catwoman

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! Consider this part one of my Holiday post, there's more to come later but its still not quite ready--with all the partying this time of year its hard to keep self imposed deadlines because who can find time to actually sit down and write? You might notice that this time instead of using pencil crayons, I did the colours (flats) in Photoshop. That way if I want to polish any of them digitally, step one is completed. At any rate, back to Catwoman and some of my ideas for her look. They range from the practical to the impractical--that's the beauty of comics, if it makes sense internally you can get away with almost anything. For my first look for Selina I opted for the practical. Her mask is actually a helmet, complete with night vision, heat vision, 360 degrees vision and a targeting option. The suit is reinforced black leather with gray piping, designed to resist blunt and piercing weapons attacks. She wears short clawed gray gloves and gray low heeled boots. I also took the liberty of adding a utility belt. It makes sense that in the course of an evening she'd need more than a few accessories so I thought she deserved her own utility belt to keep them in. She also carries a knife but I see this as less of a weapon and more as a utility tool. Knives can come in handy when committing thievery, and she is armed with her traditional weapons: claws and a cat o' nine tails. As I was thinking about design I was also thinking about story, and why she might adopt the various looks I had in mind. These next two looks would require some re-invention of the character where she actually possessed cat like powers. Taking inspiration from native legends of skin-walkers I developed the look of a Catwoman who drew her powers from the skins of the cats she wore as her costume. These skins were recovered from a poacher and when Selina comes across them she becomes Gotham's Guardian of Cats, as well as a cat burglar to fund her various charities. Dyed black as needed she wears the combined skins of lion, jaguar and cheetah--giving her great strength, speed and a natural affinity for climbing and heights. Armed not only with the claws of the cats she cherished, Catwoman still carries her traditional cat o' nine tails to subjugate the humans who dare to come between her and her goals. Instead of a mask she wears the head, skull and mane of the lion, adding to her feral visage. Make no mistake though, this Catwoman is a cunning and crafty creature and wild though she may look, she never loses control. For my next look I drew inspiration from the Egyptian Goddess Bast and gave Selina a more Egyptian look to match. This time she draws her powers from Bast and wears her mask in the Goddess' honour. Gifted by Bast with the gifts of the great cats, Selina, once more becomes a guardian and protector of felines, as well as a thief to defy human society and keep her pact with great Bast and protect the animals she cherishes above all others. She wears a black leather reinforced body suit, with an Egyptian styled kilt and belt. She wears bracelets of gold and her claws, like the Catwomen of T.V. are also gold. She wears her hair in a short bob, dyed blue black, and kept back by the mask she wears. I should confess that my "first" Catwoman was Julie Newmar so I've always sort of gravitated to that look. I indulged myself a little with the gold claws in this Egyptian look but in my next look I drew my inspiration from Julie Newmar as Catwoman and the colouring from my landpeople's cats, of which two are black and white. The look may be a little impractical but I think its fun. She wears a leather body suit, half black and half white, with contrasting opera length leather clawed gloves and contrasting thigh high, high-heeled boots. Her hair is allowed to fall free, though curled up at the ends. She wears a white and black cat styled domino mask and white and black ears are secured in her hair. I've also given her a huge fluffy, animatronic tail that she can brush with various pheromones to instill fear or desire, love or hate in those she encounters on her nightly prowls. This version of Selina Kyle is much more about having fun at the expense of "the man". Catwoman to a certain degree has always been about an independent woman who flaunts traditional values to take up a life of crime. Armed with razor sharp claws, a cat o' nine tails and a generally misandrist attitude Catwoman is more than sex symbol because she reminds us that sex comes with the risk of being played. Catwoman, like the creatures from whom she draws her name and look is an unattainable object of beauty and desire unless you're willing to play the game on her terms. I think that is why Selina is always comes back to Bruce, he can't help but be drawn into playing her games and she delights in her cat and mouse games with the Batman. But then again, what version of Catwoman doesn't?

Join me on Wednesday (Jan 6) to take a look at the various costumes worn by every one's favorite weather witch, the mutant X-man known as Storm. But first check back on New Year's Day for part two of my Holiday Post.


Catwoman, Selina Kyle, Batman, Bruce Wayne and all related symbols, insignia, costumes etc, are all © Trademarks of DC Comics and the images reproduced here are used only as illustrations for the purpose of costume critique and the promotion of DC Comics

Ororo Munroe, Storm, the X-Men and all related symbols, insignia, costumes etc, are all © Trademarks of Marvel Comics and the images reproduced here are used only as illustrations for the purpose of costume critique and the promotion of Marvel Comics

8 comments:

  1. You know how much I love you, right? So, here's the thing. Catwoman's claws should be gold-colored or even gold-plated, but not gold. Gold is too soft a metal, and will easily become warped and marred; it also doesn't hold a really sharp edge. Go with titanium, or something.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I definitely prefer the original, because it has not that excessive quantity of details. Also the comic's characters normally doesn't have complicated costumes, is not typical... well except by Generic Viagra Monster, bu he was a curious case.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Travis let me tell you something, Generic Viagra Monster have a weird suit because it was aerodynamic... and about the new costumes fro Catwoman I'll say the first option is the best one, because the other ones have an excessive quantity of details.

    ReplyDelete