Towers of Power
Today, Comic Art Friday reminds you that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As the husband of a five-year breast cancer survivor, I can't stress enough how desperately the world needs a cure for this pernicious disease. If you have a few extra dollars burning a hole in your pocket this week, consider making a donation to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation — good people doing good work in support of women.
Of every eight American women, one will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. That one could be your wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, friend, lover… or yourself. Learn to self-examine. Discuss your personal risk factors with your doctor. And urge all the women in your life to do likewise.
Speaking of breasts...
When the conversation turns to the subject of breasts in comics, sooner or later the focus points (no pun intended) to Power Girl.
In today's post-Comics Code industry, female characters with imposing grillwork appear at almost every turn. But in the kinder, gentler days of comics' Bronze Age — the 1970s — most superheroines sported a sleeker, nothing-above-a-C-cup look. Power Girl was a noteworthy exception. From her debut in the pages of DC Comics' mid-'70s revival of the original superteam, the Justice Society of America, unto this very day, Power Girl has always been drawn with a set of mammary appendages that would make a porn starlet jealous.
Credit for PG's most prominent design feature goes to Wally Wood, one of comics' greatest artists and co-creator of Power Girl (along with writer Gerry Conway — now one of the producers of Law & Order: Criminal Intent — and pencil artist Ric Estrada). Wood, a man possessed of both a talent for depicting the feminine figure and a wicked sense of humor, decided that he would give his creation increasingly abundant bosoms every time she appeared, until someone on the DC editorial staff took notice and ordered him to stop. According to legend, several issues passed before Wood's editor finally said, "Woody, what the heck are you doing to Power Girl?"
But Power Girl's Brobdingnagian breasts remained.
The twin towers of Karen Starr (Power Girl's secret identity) are fully in evidence in this pinup by longtime Legion of Super-Heroes artist Jeffrey Moy. She's teamed here with the man who gave Nicolas Cage his name: Luke Cage, Power Man.
Give a group of knowledgeable fanboys the task of naming the artists who draw the cutest girls in comics, and Jeff Moy will likely appear on many of the resulting lists. Although he mostly works in the video game industry today, Moy's long run on the Legion saga remains a fond memory for aficionados of that venerable supergroup.
Here's Karen again, this time rendered by the charming pencils of up-and-coming talent Brian Shearer, creator of the delightfully clever GravyBoy series.
I like the way Brian manages to lend Power Girl a certain buxom quality without robbing her of her athleticism or making her look disproportionately top-heavy, as many artists are wont to do. Brian's subtly whimsical style works nicely with a character whose appearance started as an artist's inside joke.
We round out our Power-fest with this gorgeous portrait by Robb Phipps, here borrowing a page from the sketchbook of the reigning king of "good girl" artists, Adam Hughes.
It's worth mentioning that Power Girl was originally intended to be an alternate-universe version of Supergirl. Over the years, PG's backstory has suffered from the mucking about of a host of writers, such that it's now completely unclear who she really is or what her origins are. Fortunately for Power Girl fans, writer Geoff Johns and artists Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti are making an entertaining attempt to resolve poor Karen's continuity problems in the current storyline of JSA Classified, a comic I recommend with enthusiasm to fans of Power Girl, and of classically styled superhero stories in general.
That's your Comic Art Friday. Remember: October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Spread the news to the women you love.
Of every eight American women, one will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. That one could be your wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, friend, lover… or yourself. Learn to self-examine. Discuss your personal risk factors with your doctor. And urge all the women in your life to do likewise.
Speaking of breasts...
When the conversation turns to the subject of breasts in comics, sooner or later the focus points (no pun intended) to Power Girl.
In today's post-Comics Code industry, female characters with imposing grillwork appear at almost every turn. But in the kinder, gentler days of comics' Bronze Age — the 1970s — most superheroines sported a sleeker, nothing-above-a-C-cup look. Power Girl was a noteworthy exception. From her debut in the pages of DC Comics' mid-'70s revival of the original superteam, the Justice Society of America, unto this very day, Power Girl has always been drawn with a set of mammary appendages that would make a porn starlet jealous.
Credit for PG's most prominent design feature goes to Wally Wood, one of comics' greatest artists and co-creator of Power Girl (along with writer Gerry Conway — now one of the producers of Law & Order: Criminal Intent — and pencil artist Ric Estrada). Wood, a man possessed of both a talent for depicting the feminine figure and a wicked sense of humor, decided that he would give his creation increasingly abundant bosoms every time she appeared, until someone on the DC editorial staff took notice and ordered him to stop. According to legend, several issues passed before Wood's editor finally said, "Woody, what the heck are you doing to Power Girl?"
But Power Girl's Brobdingnagian breasts remained.
The twin towers of Karen Starr (Power Girl's secret identity) are fully in evidence in this pinup by longtime Legion of Super-Heroes artist Jeffrey Moy. She's teamed here with the man who gave Nicolas Cage his name: Luke Cage, Power Man.
Give a group of knowledgeable fanboys the task of naming the artists who draw the cutest girls in comics, and Jeff Moy will likely appear on many of the resulting lists. Although he mostly works in the video game industry today, Moy's long run on the Legion saga remains a fond memory for aficionados of that venerable supergroup.
Here's Karen again, this time rendered by the charming pencils of up-and-coming talent Brian Shearer, creator of the delightfully clever GravyBoy series.
I like the way Brian manages to lend Power Girl a certain buxom quality without robbing her of her athleticism or making her look disproportionately top-heavy, as many artists are wont to do. Brian's subtly whimsical style works nicely with a character whose appearance started as an artist's inside joke.
We round out our Power-fest with this gorgeous portrait by Robb Phipps, here borrowing a page from the sketchbook of the reigning king of "good girl" artists, Adam Hughes.
It's worth mentioning that Power Girl was originally intended to be an alternate-universe version of Supergirl. Over the years, PG's backstory has suffered from the mucking about of a host of writers, such that it's now completely unclear who she really is or what her origins are. Fortunately for Power Girl fans, writer Geoff Johns and artists Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti are making an entertaining attempt to resolve poor Karen's continuity problems in the current storyline of JSA Classified, a comic I recommend with enthusiasm to fans of Power Girl, and of classically styled superhero stories in general.
That's your Comic Art Friday. Remember: October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Spread the news to the women you love.
Labels: Breast Cancer Awareness, Comic Art Friday
SwanShadow was randomly pounding the keyboard at 1:19 AM
0 insisted on sticking two cents in:
Post a Comment
<< Home