This is it -- the final post in the
Superhero of the Month &
Girls Read Comics Birds of Prey contest! And like the
final Starfire post
last month, this one's a doozy -- 21 eye-popping entries! Check them out!
"Black Canary: A high-fashion inspired costume, rather than a trampy-looking costume that she's been wearing since the beginning.
"Batgirl: Post-injury
Barbara back in action. The costume is inspired by a back brace, protecting and
supporting her back as she continues fighting crime."
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| Edgar Binuya's Big Barda & Black Canary |
"For Black Canary, I wanted to really play up the fact that she is a
rider, so I referenced moto wear. This lead me to race girls which, I
thought, would be a cool look for her. I went with an all leather
romper with a short cut to -- of course -- show off the fishnet stockings. For Big Barda, I know I wanted her to show more skin like she does in
her 'red bikini' costume; she is invulnerable, after all, and doesn't
need all that armor. I had in mind scantily clad warrior females from
various fantasy and sci-fi works and noticed a typical silhouette that
those designs created, and used elements of her existing costume to keep
her recognizable."
"I pictured Black Canary with more of a 'streets' look, so I gave her a
biker jacket and biker pants. I also gave her a symbol and a mask as all
good heroes should. I wanted her a little more plump and muscular
becuase she's more of a fighter, and also needs a big diaphragm for her
voice. I never understood the origins of her sonic powers, so in this
version she had her voicebox/throat/jaw replaced with cybernetics after
an accident; she can do a number of different attacks, change her voice,
and her jaw opens up like a snake when she yells, alleviating the
problem of being gagged. She's very plain in real life, and creates this
other persona by putting on contacts, a fake wig(attaches to her mask),
changing her voice, and wearing a fake breasts plate made of silicone
and Kevlar to protect her chest and diaphragm.
"Huntress I made tall and lanky; she's studied to be an acrobat and
uses more stealth than brute force. She doesn't see the need or purpose
to emphasize her sexuality, so she wears a full body suit and uses
little touches like yellow eyes, fake teeth and a fake matty wig to make
her look scarier, almost like a
demon. She uses her heavy cloak for a scary atmosphere and to hide her
bigger weapons, like her sniper crossbow. She's more into long range,
using nets, grappling hooks and crossbows of various sizes to hunt and
capture her enemies from afar, then gets in close to scare the crap out
of them. She's also very plain in real life to hide her identity, and a
little goth.
"Huntress and Black Canary are friends and partners who work well
together. Canary is a short ranged fighter, while Huntress takes out foes
long range. Canary flirts as the good cop while Huntress terrorizes as bad
cop. But there's also a tension between the two because Dinah loves
playing the persona of the Black Canary she created, while Helena has a
lot of anger and hates what she has to become night after night."
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| SilverLocust's Batgirl & Poison Ivy |
"Barbara’s not the Dark Knight. She’s had a lot happen to her, but she’s always been more about hope, and I think taking her back to the purples and yellow, as opposed to black emphasizes that. I also wanted to make the Bat symbol a part of the suit, like the suit was designed with the symbol in mind. In an animated version of Batgirl they had included a tunic/skirt versus just the pants, and I always liked it; it seemed to include a playful, less serious side to the character I always appreciated. I wanted to bring that side of Barbara out again.
"For Ivy, her clothing is a manifestation of her powers. Ivy’s naked at all times, like Mystique and the Ray. The covering of herself would be dictated by Ivy’s environment and the situations around her, much like the environment changes the appearance of a garden. In a case where she was happy, she would radiate the beauty of nature: bright colors and flowers. In a situation where she was angry or displeased I think we would see it manifested as needles and thorns -- something more dangerous and dark."
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| Spidophile's Batgirl & Power Girl |
"My idea with Batgirl was to make her more batlike. The mask was made to look like the fangs of a bat, and the folding wings on her arms replace her cumbersome cape. The lightweight armor is purely practical, except for the helmet which sports her 'bat ears', and the clawed design on her boots mimicks the three-clawed toes of a bat. Barbara's whole color scheme is dark so as to blend in to the night, her only spots of color being her glittering eyes and hair.
"With Power Girl, I thought her costume should lean more on 'Power' than 'Girl'. I kept the original colors, because for me white in a costume shows raw power. All the holes have been removed, so instead of an awkward gap in the chest that creates an aura of inexperience and vulnerability. She's garbed in a seamless white jumpsuit that brings out her natural fierce beauty. The red shoulders give the idea of a cape. Anyone who's ever played with Glow Sticks know that when waved in the air really fast it creates the illusion of a ribbon of light -- that's the idea behind the glowing gloves and boots, achieving the same effect with her super speed."
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| Marta Seara's Big Barda & Black Canary |
"Big Barda has a good outfit, but I think that maybe it would be a bit impractical in somemissions, so I've tried to make a lighter version, mixing her outfits and with the idea of a material that would stretch and adapt to her movements.
"Black Canary's is a gift from Oracle, leaving behind her motorcyclist uniform. I have been thinking that even if she is not affected by her canary cries, maybe it will be a good idea to give her wear headphones that will activate when she uses her meta-abilities to protect her to from going deaf in time. Her 'wings' help her jump and move between buildings."
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| Cookiepoppet's Power Girl & Black Canary |
"I wanted to keep the essence of both the original costumes. Black
Canary still has her corset, boots and jacket and Power Girl has her classic colours
plus nods to her ‘window’ on her boots and gloves."
Michelle Sciuto really shot for the moon and sent in a redesign featuring each of the core Birds of Prey:
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| Michelle Sciuto's Black Canary & Starling |
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| Michelle Sciuto's Lady Blackhawk & Manhunter |
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| Michelle Sciuto's Oracle & Misfit |
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| Michelle Sciuto's Power Girl & Huntress |
Editor's Note: Michelle didn't leave any thoughts on her designs.
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| Rory's Batgirl & Black Canary |
"I re-imagined Birds of Prey as a 'Vigilante Scooter Club': Tough and sporty roller derby-type girls with DIY costumes that are functional, but also fashionable enough for Gotham's trendiest dive bars. For a smart, design-conscious woman like Barbara Gordon, a utility belt just isn't very stylish. Instead she has a more functional and fashionable messenger bag, with plenty of room for a Bat-laptop, Bat-tazer, Bat-tonfa, and any other Bat-device the plot might require, and her scooter is festooned with a variety of high tech electronics. Black Canary plays Punk to Batgirl's Mod; the fishnets are more about attitude than sexuality. An experienced and dangerous street-fighter, she isn't afraid to use brass-knuckles or kubotan to keep the odds in her favor, and boxing wraps help keep her knuckles protected from even the hardest skulls. These two might not see eye to eye on technology and fashion, but they do agree, jump-boots are excellent for kicking you in the face. These characters are smart, strong and empowered, I wanted the design and style to reflect that. Also, Birds of Prey, like every 'Vigilante Scooter Club', needs a logo/patch for their jacket, Black Canary shows it off in a bonus image."
"Huntress: The take on Helena's origin I've
always liked most is that she is the daughter of a Mob Boss and a
devout catholic (to the point she almost became a nun), and has her
fair share of catholic guilt. In the end though, she choose not to
become a nun, rather she donned the spandex to fight crime and to try
steer her family straight. She's a brawler and a weapons expert, she
needs protection, not a strangely exposed stomach and a mask that
suitably conceals her identity. It's the kind of fertile ground that
leads to great storytelling; not everyone should have Batman's
origin right?
"Oracle: Before the Joker left Barbara in a coma with a broken spine, she was
in peak physical condition and fought crime as Batgirl, so it makes
sense that she would want to return to that former health. She's also a
geek and a master strategist, at least on par with Batman, but with too
much compassion to use his extreme methods. So in a world full of super technology, it only makes sense she would seek to heal her body. The
exo-skeleton she wears is more than just a frame for a highly advanced
computer and a range of clever tech devices, it is slowly repairing the
damage to her body. However, there are limits to how long she can wear
it, so she stills spends some time with either crutches or in a
wheelchair."
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| Jorell Rivera's Black Canary & Vixen |
"I looked to traditional superhero design, as well as contemporary
women's fashion for Canary and Vixen's new looks. I gave them both masks
and capes just because I've always liked that visual aspect of
superhero design, and I wanted blend the over the top elements of that
genre with more down to earth fashion. For Canary, I really wanted to
emphasize the bird aspect of her character, so I put feathers all
over her face and body as I thought that would look cool. Her
cape can also double as armor for when she gets into really nasty
battles. For the color scheme, I've always liked the blue/black she's had for most of her time in comics, so I kept to that, with some
yellow added for contrast. I also thought her dark colors would
contrast nicely with Vixen's brighter design. Speaking of Vixen, I
moved away from the skintight look she's had for awhile and looked to
modern African fashion (with a little Silk Spectre thrown in) to
create something loose and stylish for her to wear. I
liked the color scheme Vixen had before, so I kept that to maintain a
little continuity between designs."
"I've always found the Huntress costumes to be overly fussy and bulky so i
decided to simplify and streamline her look; I also decided to give her
tech goggles (which would include H.U.D., night vision, infrared etc.)
rather than a mask. The stylised H on her chest carries back over her
shoulder to become the cape. I always loved the main Power Girl costume so
didn't want to stray too far from that. I kept the colour scheme and
decided to play with the fashion aspect of it and give her some clothing
that could relate back to her alien origin, whilst trying to keep it
superheroish, rather than techie and futuristic, hence the gloves,
scarf/shawl/cape and skirt that you wouldn't really get on 'Earth'
superheroes."
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| Jamie Rimmer's Huntress & Big Barda |
"Huntress: I like the conflict of this character; religious, yet also
sticking to her own moral code, unafraid to get her hands dirty. Her
story reminds me somewhat of the fabled Knights Templar, killing in the
name of God, so I wanted to bring this in a little with the design. I got
rid of the cape in an effort to tie more into religious symbology -- the
gown, the crosses -- whilst attempting to give her a modern look.
"Big Barda: One of the most awesome (and underused) Dx characters IMHO. I wanted to make her design much like
her -- bold and strong. I made her tall and hopefully powerful, with a hint of a cheeky smirk. I
always lied Kirby's use of the primary colours and simple patterns, so
this costume is more than an homage to the legend himself."
"Canary's redesign combines elements from her original
iconic costume and her more modern combat suit. No fishnets, but rather a
mesh pattern on her gloves/boots. She is also carrying a small leather
jacket for when she needs it. I picture Canary as a more enthusiastic,
swashbuckling kind of hero, and tried to throw in a little fun into her
design. I designed Huntress to come across as more chilling and threatening.
Ominous cloak, darker colours and sleek, yet powerful boots and gloves.
In a throwback to her Catholic origins, she gets a nun-like hood instead
of her pointy mask."
"I had two main things in my mind when creating this version of
the characters: Keep them younger -- around late-teens-to-early-twenties
(sort of a
Birds of Prey: Year One), and to emphasis the team aspect by
unifying their costume designs."
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| Ross Radke's Oracle & Big Barda |
"I wanted to draw the two biggest extremes -- Oracle, the thinker, and Big
Barda, the bruiser. It was a fun challenge to streamline Barda's garish
costume a bit, she's one of my favorite DC characters as far as
appearances go."
"When I think of the Birds of Prey, I think about a group of strong, independent, warrior women who command respect, and personally, I find it more realistic to portray them without showing off every inch of skin possible. These two are some of my favorite Birds, and I like the idea of teams having uniforms, but the birds have never done that, and it wouldn't fit them to do that. That said, I chose to make their uniforms similar without being all matchy-matchy. When I was looking up Lady Blackhawk, I found that she was well trained in all sorts of combat and weaponry so I ran with that: WEAPONS, WEAPONS ,WEAPONS! With Hawkgirl, I have always liked her colors, but I thought a little armored breast plate and goggles vs. a giant weirdo headdress...I went with goggles."
Editor's Note: David's image is HUGE, so please click on it to get all the detail possible!
"Black Canary: I don't think that Canary's signature is so much her
fishnets, there have been a few variations of her costume without them.
I think it's her legs, and I decided to accessorise them in some really
long socks. I made the top of her costume a single piece, rather
than a corset and jacket; I wanted to merge the two. Whilst leather is
still awesome, I wanted to add some texture to her outfit with the
sleeves being quilted.
"Huntress: I've never
really been a fan of Huntress's costume. It never seemed to fit her
namesake or history. I, for one, was quite happy that the New 52 reboot was
going back to Huntress's roots and following Helena Wayne, though, when I
saw the costume, I couldn't help but think it was a wasted opportunity.
She's the daughter of Batman and Catwoman, for crying out loud. I
decided to give her a Catwoman cat suit, loosing
the cape and decreasing the size of her mask. Both were ridiculously
big. I tried to bring aspects of her original design into this simpler
version: The white cross, hints of purple and a sexy flash of flesh. I
also gave her the Adam Hughes Catwoman pixie cut."
There you have it! Lots of great stuff in here; it's going to be another tough time for the judges!
Let us know what you think in the comments below! Check out
all of the Birds of Prey submissions we've run over the course of the month, and stay tuned for our next contest announcement in the coming days, and the announcement of this month's winner on March 31!
Editor's Note: I was mobile most of the day and was excited to see the Superhero of the Month mailbox fill up as I was out and about. I've tried to post this in a timely manner after the deadline, but if there's anything I've missed -- in this or any post -- please shoot me a message and let me know. Sometimes in getting posts up, details slip through the cracks, and I'd like to ensure everyone is happy. Thanks! -- AG
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