Superhero of the Month - Ross Radke's X-23

Ross Radke - 19/20

Congratulations, Ross Radke -- winner of the Superhero of the Month X-23 contest! Ross has submitted to several previous contests, and this is his first win here at SHotM. And what a win it was! Ross's Laura Kinney scored about as close to perfect as it comes. This contest was not sponsored, but Ross's entry will be included in our one-year anniversary contest, and he has the option of joining us for judging next month's contest.


Judging this month was done by the Superhero of the Month staff, Alex and Mitch.


Alex: Pretty much perfection. Gritty, mysterious, beautiful, dangerous. But here's what sells me most with this redesign, though: how much she looks like Wolverine without looking like Wolverine. The attitude and Logan-esque clothes tie her to her origin, but she's definitely her own character here. There's everything to love about this: the jacket, the "X"-ed gloves, the torn skirt and tights, and those amazing boots. Well done, Ross!


Mitch: It's dirty, it's western, it's punk, it's wonderful. And it seems really thought out too, which is always a good plus. Love the gloves and the stylization on the boots. Heck, the Wolverine stripes on the jacket and boots are just subtle enough. And the biggest question I had was "do the stripes connect into an X", which thanks to his other picture, I know they do. My only problem is I wonder if the hands might be a bit too heavy visually with the jacket's straps, the spikes on the gloves, and the X on the back of the gloves. But that's easily ignored. This is fantastic.


Check out the Runners-Up after the jump!

Joy Christian Juyo - 17/20

Alex: I like the kind of faux-samurai thing going on here. A few people mentioned chopping off Laura's hair for different reasons, including combat strategy. Those are fine and sensible, but I think the hood is a good way to keep her long hair and keep it out of reach. Though it's arguable that the hood causes the same problem. Aesthetically though, I love it. The tiger stripes and other Wolverine homages are well-done, while making the character stand out from her genetic template.

Mitch: Now it may be the thigh high boots, but something about this screams "classic X-Men."  But that's alright. It seems to seamlessly mix the X-Men feel with a bit of ninja dress in there. And that shade of red and yellow just looks so nice and striking. I can definitely see this on the cover of something.

Josh Gowdy - 16/20

Mitch: I liked a lot of things in this one: the shoes, the collar/zipper, the X, the muted colors.  They all work very well together to create something you'd think a professional killer could wear. What bugs me though are the shoulders. It kind of broke up the rhythm you had going there. And I'm really curious as to where the back connects or what it looks like.

Alex: I really like the darker color scheme. Overall, I enjoyed all of the changes made here. The boots are functional and appropriate, and I love the long gloves. But, like Mitch pointed out, the only thing that I kind of find distracting are the bra straps. I would just assume support is built-in. Solid piece, though.

Dimitrios Kasdaglis

Alex: Black and orange need to go together more often, as this so aptly displays. I love the jacket and the "X" design that is implied with the orange sections. I also really enjoy the flared pants, but I can't help but wish they were as dark as the jacket. I can't help but wish there was a shirt on underneath the jacket, too. I mean, I'm not a prude, but the color contrast between the small amount of skin revealed and the clothing tends to draw my eye right at her navel, and away from the many fantastic elements this redesign has to offer. Nonetheless, tiny nitpicks of an overall effective redesign.

Mitch: I could definitely see this not as a regular costume, but a good alt. The X shape of the jacket is brilliant. I like how you included a tiny zipper on everything that could zip. The subtle stripes are a nice touch, though it'd be nice to have them repeated somewhere else so they aren't just poking out of the jacket.

Warren Newsom - 15/20

Mitch: You certainly have a pretty strong vibe here. The stripes here look less like Wolverine's and more like camo, which I think works nicely.  The suspenders are practical and something I don't think I've seen in a cape comic in quite a while. But you kind of lose them in maroon. The lace armband is a interesting touch and if it were in a comic, I'd expect it to have some important backstory, The boots aren't really working for me though. They just don't seem to fit into the same style as the rest of the outfit.

Alex: Caitie mentioned that she looked like a wrestler in your redesign, and I have to agree. The redesign is interesting, and I like a lot about it. I particularly like the lace band on the one arm. The one thing I'm kind of lost on are the half-suspenders. It immediately sent me to the Captain America movie redesign; while it looks cool, I'm lost in the functionality of it. Nonetheless, it's a great redesign that I'd maybe like to see taken a step or two further.

And there it is! What a great contest. X-23 is a bit of a lesser-known character, so we didn't get as many submissions as we have in the past, but those that we did get were fantastic. Green Lantern is up next. If you're on Twitter, please help spread the word by including a link to Superhero of the Month, and use the hashtag #SHotMGreenLanternContest. Let's blow this thing up!