Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Barda of the New Gods

This is the 18th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Barda is one of the New Gods characters created by Jack Kirby in the early 1970's. There were two planets, a nice one called New Genesis, ruled by High Father, and a hellscape planet called Apokolips, ruled by Darkseid. Barda was born on Apokolips and raised in and groomed by the sadistic Granny Goodness in one of her orphanages. Barda became the leader of an elite team of terrifying female warriors called the New Female Furies. However, she ended up falling in love with a man who also grew up in the orphanage and became an expert escape artist, Scott Free. The two of them escaped together, and learned that Scott was actually the son of High Father, traded to Darkseid for peace. The two of them settled on earth and operate as superheroes and Scott also as the escape artist performer, Mr. Miracle. The two of them have worked with the Justice League, and Barda with the Birds of Prey occasionally. It wasn't until her appearance in Birds of Prey that I really warmed up to Barda, when it was pointed out that the weapon Barda uses, her megarod, looks like a golden adult toy. I really fell in love with Barda and Scott Free in the Eisner Award Winning Mister Miracle maxi series by Tom King & Mitch Gerads, which really explores the PTSD and trauma Scott and Barda carry with them from growing up in a brutal and violent and pschologically terrorizing environment.

This illustration is a special entry in this series, because it was created in collaboration with the uber talented Kristina Sunshine, a professional makeup artist and lead singer of the band, Bullseye Womprats. Kristina came up with the makeup design for this illustration of Barda specifically for this look and also served as the model for Barda's facial features. Kristina is one of the most talented and hard-working people I've ever met in my life. Legend has it that Barda was originally inspired by Lanie Kazan from her Playboy Magazine shoot around the time the New Gods were created, so I definitely wanted to give Barda a fuller figure in respect to that origin. The look was a really delicious challenge, because Barda's look is a really BUSY design. There's two shades of blue along with red, yellow, and black. When I first encountered the character, I couldn't tell if the big helmet that she wore was a helmet or her hair. There was SO MUCH going on. In light of that first impression, I knew that for my take, her hair needed to be really big to pay homage to the helmet that she wears. The first costume that Barda appeared in was basically a red bikini with a headband that looked like little strung-together gold coins or disks. Although her hair covers most of them, the red straps from that outfit are incorporated into this design, as well as the disks. Barda's usual costume has a blue scale mail base, and I used it for inspiration for her jewelry, with pieces of scale mail as her earrings, necklace, and bracelets. It was an absolute joy and honor to be able to collaborate with my dear friend on this. I offer a huge THANK YOU to Kristina Sunshine for her invaluable contributions!

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Barda of the New Gods" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
Illustration ©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Photograph ©2021 Kristina Sunshine. Used with Permission
Barda ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Catwoman

This is the 17th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Catwoman is a character that revels in her independence. And while she does enjoy a liberal amount of independence from other people, she still needs others and lives in a society that affects her. Catwoman was created in the 1940's to be a villain, but the character really hasn't been portrayed consistently as a villain in around thirty years. Currently, she's practically Mrs. Batman. And while she's known for her expertise at breaking and entering, she's also a formidable hand-to-hand combat opponent. She's always exhibited admiral qualities worth emulating. I should know. In high school, I wrote a thirteen page research paper on why Catwoman was a positive role model. And yes, I did get an A grade on it.

For my take, I took influences from several different looks Catwoman has had throughout the years. For many years, starting in the 1940's, her costume consisted of a purple dress with slits in the skirt and a green cape. In the 1960's, the Batman TV show happened, and she went through a couple different looks before circling back to the purple dress and green cape look in the 1970's, just with a longer skirt and cape, higher boots, and a deeper cut in the decolletage. The purple dress with splits here defeinitely pays homage to that look. Instead of a green cape, I utilized green jewelry to introduce that color into the design. The purple I used was a warmer purple, closer to the color used in her 1990's costume. The corset is a take on the corset worn by Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman in the movie Batman Returns. The lace-up sandal boots also nod to that costume. The cat ears on her head are a nod to the Catwoman costume from the 1966 Batman TV series, embellished with black diamonds here. The haircut and makeup are inspired by early designs by Joelle Jones during her run on the Catwoman comic book.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Catwoman" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Catwoman ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Lois Lane

This is the 16th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

In the past few years in the United States, certain superheroes have come to mean more to me because of the particular ideals and values that they stand for. For instance, while the President of the country had an enormous history of spouting misogynist speech, Wonder Woman, a hero who stands for the empowerment of women especially, became even more important to me. Likewise, as that same President continued to spew a mountain of provable lies and call members of the free press enemies of the people, the character Lois Lane meteorically rose in importance to me. Reporters like Julie K. Brown, who did most of the leg work on the Jeffrey Epstein story, and Victoria Brownworth, an independent reporter whose work advocates for truth and justice are real treasures to our society. I see in Lois Lane the same spirit that these women have, and that is a relentless search for the truth and commitment to exposing the powerful who prey, exploit, and harm those with less power. That's what superheroes do, and that's why Lois Lane deserves to stand alongside the other heroines of the DC Universe.

A lot of thought went into creating this look for Lois Lane, which is, I believe, the first time that I've ever really drawn her. It's ridiculous that it's takine me this long to do that. The color purple has become associated with Lois Lane in the last few years, and since purple is my favorite color, of course I was going to use it. Ever since Superman: The Animated Series, Lois Lane has frequently been depicted having violet eyes. I did not want to deviate from that detail that provides more purple to the experience. Details were important, so she has a wedding ring on her finger to visually show her marriage to Clark Kent/Superman. She has lovely "S" symbol earrings to also nod to her status as a member of the "Superman Family." And her mask has a Logo for the Daily Planet on it. For the dress, I imagined that it would be a dress that could be worn to the office in the day along with a jacket or sweater, and then by itself for a fancier red carpet look. I love the pairing of the light lilac purple with rose gold, and gave her a matching phone, which I see so many reporters use nowadays as their recording devices. Her hair is a fresh long bob with a little wave to it. It's nice, but you know she doesn't have a lot of time to spend on her hair - not even for special occasions. I wanted to show that this is a woman who doesn't have the advantage of having super speed to help her manage her busy schedule. It's also a call back to one of my favorite portrayals of Lois Lane, Terri Hatcher on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Lois Lane" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Lois Lane ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Hawkgirl

This is the 15th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Hawkgirl is one of those characters who had been burdened with a complicated origin for decades - until recently. Her origin is tied to Hawkman's. In another life, Hawkman was an evil guy doing bad things for an evil godlike being. Then he fell in love with an angel and changed his ways. The angel was punished for falling in love with a mortal and fell from Heaven. As penance for his deeds, Hawkman would reincarnate across time and space until he could make restitution for what he had done. The angel would incarnate alongside with him as his soulmate. Pretty easy so far. The two would incarnate, be intensely drawn together, and oftentimes die an early death in trying to do good. 

And then along comes Hawkgirl. Because the souls are incarnating throughout time AND space, the angel incarnates twice at the same time - one as a woman named Shayera Thal (the red-headed Hawkwoman) on the planet of Thanagar, and second as a woman named Kendra Saunders on earth. Kendra is Latina and formally lead an elite squadron of pilots called the Blackhawks that had its origins in WWII. However, because she's incarnating twice during the same time period, the romantic soulmate draw to Hawkman doesn't seem to exist with Hawkgirl (Hawkwoman has that covered). She's now left to explore herself in a lifetime completely untethered to Hawkman. So far, it seems she and J'onn J'onnz, the Martian Manhunter, have developed feelings for each other.

For her look, I was inspired by red carpet music awards looks by Christina Aguilera, and mixing that kind influence in with the crazy costume design that Hawkgirl has had through the years. Her Hawkgirl look was created in the early 1940's and modelled off of Hawkman's look, so that's why there are SO MANY COLORS in it. And like with Supergirl and Power Girl in this series, I'm really interested in using pinks and magentas in the design instead of red and dark reds. The top is an homage to the harness that Hawkman wears as part of his costume, and as Hawkgirl's costume often features a bare midriff, I opted to continue that design element into this look.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Hawkgirl" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Hawkgirl ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Power Girl

This is the 14th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Power Girl is not a household name superhero, but when I tell you about her, you'll feel like you already know her. Power Girl is Kara Zor-L, the "Supergirl" of Earth-2. Remember how Supergirl's rocket arrived later than Superman's by mistake? Well Power Girl's arrived even later, and I guess something didn't go 100% with the suspended animation, because she arrived pretty grown and also *gasp* had ideas of her own. She refused to be defined by Superman, so instead of calling herself Supergirl and wearing his symbol, she called herself Power Girl and left her chest devoid of the S-shield. In her civilian identity as Karen Starr (Yes, a white woman named Karen with short hair - she was created in the 70's. It's not her fault.), she owns her own tech company. As Power Girl, she basically has all of the same powers as Superman. Operating on Earth-2, she was a member of the Justice Society of America (JSA), and was a close friend of the daughter of Batman & Catwoman, the Huntress. Whether on Earth-2 or Earth-1, Power Girl is always a force to be reckoned with.

I really enjoyed working on this design. Originally, I was going to give her a sleevelesss look with a turtle-neck, but I had also been wanting to do a asymmetrical shoulder look for this series, and when I realized that would mimick the line of the rope that her cape is attached to that cuts across her chest on her superhero costume, it seemed like the perfect choice. I also was inspired by the loincloth style skirt that she wore in her appearance as Power Woman in the Kingdom Come series by Mark Waid and Alex Ross. I also really like her haircut, because I think it's sexy and youthful while being much shorter than how I've depicted Power Girl in my artwork in the past. I think it suits her perfectly. The charms on her bracelet also contain some "Easter Eggs," like an Earth-2 Superman symbol, and Aquaman symbol alluding to her Post-Crisis origin as the grand-daughter of ancient Atlantian sorceror, Arion, and a Harley Quinn diamond because Amanda Connor & Jimmy Palmiotti wrote & drew a wonderful Power Girl series and they also have had her interact with Harley Quinn as a friend during their handling of Harley's stories. Also, since working on my Supergirl design and realizing during that work that the color pink is almost NEVER used on DC Heroines, I couldn't pass up the chance to turn what is traditionally red on her costume into a magenta and bring in the pink to a really fun eye makeup look.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Power Girl" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Power Girl ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Zatanna

This is the 13th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Zatanna is a powerful magic wielding member of the Justice League, currently operating in the magaical division known as Justice League Dark. She was raised by her father, Giovanni 'John' Zatara, a stage magician who actually performed real feats of magic. Her mother was named Sindella, and was from a race of magical humans called Homo Magi, which totally sounds like the name of a bar for gay witches. Since DC Comics hates it when women have a relationship with their mothers if their name isn't Wonder Woman, Sindella faked her death to leave her daughter and husband to go live with the Homo Magi again. (Insert eye roll here.) Zatanna, like her father, is a stage illusionist who usues actual magic. She usually performs spells by saying the words backward (phoenetically, not backwards sentence word order). He stage outfit is usually similar to a stage magician's outfit, a tuxedo (often with a top hat) but substituting fishnet stockings for a pair of slacks. In recet years, her costume has been less formal, and consisting of things like pleather pants, a boustier, and a trenchcoat with some fishnet gloves. Also exciting, the recently announced plans to make a Zatanna solo movie. My hope is that it will rely heavily on the 2003 graphic novel Zatanna: Everyday Magic.

For this design, I wanted to allude to elements of a tuxedo, but instead of short shorts, to include a skirt to dress it up. The skirt shape is inspired by the silhouette of the skirt that RuPaul wore in the Supermodel music video and maxi single cover. And while the tuxedo/fishnets costume is more most well-known look, I've always been a fan of George Perez's "superhero sorceress" costume from the 1980's that was blue, white, and black with red accessory elements. I've borrowed elements from that look to include in this one. For this design, I wanted the boustier to allude to a tuxedo shirt.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Zatanna" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Zatanna ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Green Lantern

This is the 12th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Jessica Cruz survived the murder of her friends in the woods on a camping trip but still had to deal with the trauma of that event. Despite that trauma, she managed to become a member of the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic force that protects the galaxy and its various planets. (space police) Each Green Lantern has a ring whose power is fueled by the courage and will power of the ring bearer. The rings can allow their bearers to fly, shield them from almost anything, provide protection and air in outer space, shoot force beams, create constructs, and more. The rings have to recharge from a power battery that looks like a literal green lantern every so often.

A Green Lantern's costume is usually black, white, and green, but with this look, I wanted to focus on the light aspect of the character and leave out the black elements. Since light is such an important theme in the Green Lantern lore, I wanted to create a garment that was constantly shimmering in the light with all of the sparkles.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Green Lantern" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Green Lantern ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Dr. Light

This is the 11th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Dr. Light is my favorite DC hero from Japan. Kimiyo Hoshi is not only a brilliant scientist, but a superhero and a single mother. The fact the she is a mother as well as a superhero reminds me of the many women that I grew up around and even worked with who were mothers and also in the military. Like those women, Dr. Light espouses that saving the world is also saving her children. She is a powerful member of the Justice League who can absorb and project light(including light energy beams), fly, create holograms, and even make hard light constructs. She's incredibly powerful, and I wish that she was used more often. In recent comics, she seems to be American, rather than from Japan, or at least lives in America, having been previously married to the villainous male Dr. Light.

In designing a look for her, I wanted to incorporate both of her looks. He original look was a black and white costume. In the 90's, her costume became white and yellow. In my opinion, there aren't many interesting costumes with only two colors. I like to use black, white, and yellow when I depict Dr. Light. In lieu of her wearing a cape, I opted to give her a wrap and a lovely back-skirt. For her facial features, I used Japanese actor, model and singer, Ueto Aya, as my inspiration.

With the recent violent and murderous bigotry that Asian Americans are facing, I hope DC Comics uses this version of Dr. Light more in their stories (check out the recent Generations Lost & Generations Found comics). #StopAAPIHate I also hope she appears in the DC Asian Pacific Spotlight special issue coming in May.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Dr. Light" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Dr. Light ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Isis

This is the 10th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

There are very few Muslim heroes in the DC Universe, and even fewer of them appear on any sort of regular basis. One of my favorites, is Isis, Adrianna Tomaz, whom I really enjoyed in the 52 series. She had strength, flight, speed, toughness, and could control the weather, the earth, and nature. Pretty powerful, yet she still mangaed to get fridged in that story, and then it was terrible story after terrible story about her coming back to life and being a corrupted version of herself. I am willing to bet that if her stories were written by women of color, they wouldn't have gone that way. Fortunately, the TV series Legends of Tomorrow, gave us a new version of Isis in Zari Tomaz, who commanded wind powers via an amulet that looked like the one Isis wears. Zari was vocal and proud about her Muslim faith and a really great character. I liked that her powers were divorced of Black Adam's involvement, and that she was able to stand on her own without his character. My ideal Isis is a combination of the two.

For her depiction, I wanted to visually honor Muslim beliefs. Whether Adriana Tomaz is Muslim or not (I think it's pretty darn likely that she was), it's hard to think that her character would travel throughout the Middle East helping others dressed like she was in the 52 series with the bare midriff and short skirt, especially while Black Adam is fully clothed below the neck. It's a very unequal visual pairing. It's rumored that Sarah Shahi will be playing Isis in the upcoming Black Adam movie, and if that's they case, I'd love to see her costumed to something more like this design, you know, minus the face mask. Visually, she is one of my favorites in this series.
 
Thank you for taking the time to experience my work here!
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Isis" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Isis ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Batgirl

This is the 9th entry that I've posted in this series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Batgirl is Barbara Gordon, daughter of Police Commissioner James Gordon, a gymnast, tech whiz and gifted with an eidetic memory, Barbara Gordon became Batgirl out of the desire to do GOOD in the world and for her city. Modeling a costume off of Batman, she set out on her own to fight crime. Batgirl traditionally wears a cowl, which doesn't translate well into formal wear. As of late, she's had an odd pair of bat ears just sticking out of her hair. It's a look I detest, in fact. At least for Batgirl. Instead, I opted to dress for Barbara Gordon, giving her Batgirl elements in the colors and bat smybols. I was hugely inspired by amazing artist and clothing & jewelry designer - and style icon - Stephanie Buscema(you really should check out her work at www.kitschywitchdesigns.com) with her hair and glasses. I wanted to give Barbara a hip look using some retro elements. I couldn't bring myself to use scalloped edges, mimicking Batgirl's cape, or to even use a cape, but I did go with a batwing sleeve design...which would be more noticable if her arms were lifted. *sigh* I also really like taking style elements from different eras, and mixing them together, all with a modern spin on them.

Thanks for taking the time to enjoy my work!
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Batgirl" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Batgirl ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Supergirl

This is the 8th entry that I've posted in this series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Supergirl is a very well-known superhero. She's Superman's cousin who was sent by her parents to protect baby Superman when he got to Earth, but her spaceship ended up going off course and arrived several years after Superman's own ship did. She awoke from her suspended animation to find that baby Kal-El was no longer a baby, but a full-grown Superman...and now she's kinda living in his shadow as a real refugee on the planet Earth.

There were some specific references that I wanted to hit and elements that I wanted to use in my depiction of Kara Zor-El, Supergirl, for this series. I wanted to emphasize her being younger than characters like Wonder Woman by getting away from the long gowns while still keeping a red carpet element to the look. The dress was inspired by Kryptonian crystals and the dress that singer Lisa Loeb wore in her music video for the song "Most of All." The hair was inspired by a couple of looks Taylor Swift donned in her music video for the song "Look What You Made Me Do." It was very important for me to take inspiration from performers whose music has a stong following with female fans and whose work is very feminine-positive.

That also lead to another major design aspect that I felt was very important to use: the color pink. It is very bizarre to me the way that the character of Supergirl has been curated for decades, of being a character that should ideally appeal to girls, but seems to be terribly frightened of scaring its boy audience away by leaning to hard on the "girl" half of her name. Supergirl has sported many different looks throughout the years, and to me, there seems to be a very conscious bias in the tones of red used in costume designs for her. The blue can run the gamut from light to dark, but the reds seem to be forbidden from ever being too light to be misconstrued as pink. (In fact in the weeks of anticipating writing about this, I could only come up with two superheroines in the DC Universe who had pink in their costumes - Crush, daughter of Lobo and a member of the Teen Titans, has a punk design and her pants are maybe magenta, sometime a dark hot pink; and the character Looker from the 1980's Batman and the Outsiders comic, who I think was eventually turned into a vmpire creature of the night, so no more "girly" pink for her either.) It is bizarre to have so many teenage heronies in their universe and for there to be what comes across as an absoulte fear of using pink in their designs at all. As if a color could keep them from being tough or strong. So yes, my Supergirl incorporates pink into her costume, maybe more of a dusty rose, but certainly not "red." She wears "ballet" slippers inspired from her 1970's costume design, and just because she's wearing pink doesn't mean that she's isn't Kryptonian strong. I hope to see these false definitions of strength challenged in the near future in actual canonical depictions of this character. It's one thing that I strive to do in my work.

Thank you for taking a look! 
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Supergirl" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Supergirl ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Mera

This is the 7th entry that I've posted in this series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

I'd say Mera is rather well known, after having been portrayed by actor, Amber Heard in both the Justice League and Aquaman movies. Her character has been around since the early sixties. She has the power of hydrokinesis, which can manipulate water - especially to make it hard. My favorite scene in the Aquaman movie was when she used an entire wine cellar as a weapon and took out evil Atlantean soldiers with wine because of her powers. She is super strong, tough, can breathe underwater and swim really fast. She is currently married to Aquaman in the comics and has also been Queen of Atlantis at times too.

This look came about because I really wanted to do one of someone's back, and showing off the curving line of her back and then a gorgeous train for this mermaid silhouette for someone who's basically a superhero mermaid. I fell into a whole other world rendering her hair, and I did not mind. I had so much fun creating the pearls that went in her hair and her bracelet and the "straps" of her scaled dress. She's one of my favorites in this series.

Thanks for chosing to spend time with my work!

"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Mera" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Mera ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Black Canary

This is the 6th entry that I've posted in this series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Black Canary is not nearly as well-known to the general public as she ought to be. She SHOULD be the second most famous DC Heroine after Wonder Woman, but alas, she's never had a "Bat" or "Super" attached to her name, and she's never had a live-action realization that TRULY did the character justice and accurately depicted her. She one of the best combat fighters in the DCU, but she also has a powerful sonic "Canary Cry" that has even been known to bend steel. Black Canary's origin is...complicated (where she somehow became her own mother at some point - don't ask!). Let's just say her mom was Black Canary back in the day, and Dinah Lance is the Black Canary of TODAY, and often with Huntress and Barbara Gordon (Batgirl/Oracle), they make up the core of the superheroine team, The Birds of Prey!

Black Canary has been traditionally depicted in dark blue costumes with fishnets or black costumes with fishnets. Sometimes no fishnets (not as fun and visually interesting), but many "black and blue" motifs with some yellow here and there, so that's what I went with for this look. I wanted to have a black leather look that honors her black leather-wearing, street-fighting history, but she's also been depicted as a singer, so I wanted to meld the leather with a "lounge singer" look to get what you see here. 

Thanks to taking the time to view this!

"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Black Canary" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Black Canary ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Huntress

This is the fifth posted entry in this PSA illustration series to promote the pro-social and pro-health concept of mask wearing during the pandemic and depicts superheroes in "red carpet" takes on their superhero costumes.

This is the last one for Black History Month, but I think she's only historically notable on that front for being a character who has been portrayed as white for decades, and in recent years, due to Universe/Reality resets, has become a woman of color. The story is the same - Helena Bertinelli was the daughter of a mob boss who survived her family's mafia execution and trained herself to avenge them. In the Rebirth continuity, we learn that her father was a caucasian Sicilian man and her mother was a black woman. When finished avenging her family, Helena fights crime as Huntress and is a school teacher by day.

Design-wise, I was really inspired by the AMAZING hair a friend of mine has always rocked. I wanted to try to bring that look here. This piece also marked two Firsts for me - the first time I've ever done hazel eyes (I love how they turned out!) and the first time I've ever done French tipped nails. (Oolala!) I was also wanted to bring a little bit of influence from the Huntress costume that Mary Elizabeth Winstead wore in the Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey movie, so there's a *little* iridescence going on with the purple. Violet Vengence! 

Thanks for taking the time to experience this!

"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Huntress" by Kevenn T. Smith
 Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Huntress ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Bumblebee

This is the fourth posted entry in this PSA illustration series to promote the pro-social and pro-health concept of mask wearing during the pandemic and depicts superheroes in "red carpet" takes on their superhero costumes.

This entry is also tying in with Black HistoryMonth - Bumblebee is Karen Beecher, a brilliant scientist. While Nubia was the first superheroic black woman to appear in mainstream comics in 1972, it wasn't until 1974 when Storm appeared in X-Men comics over at Marvel that the first actual black woman superhero premiered, because Storm was a code name and a persona. In 1975, in the pages of Teen Titans, Bumblebee became the first bonafide black woman superhero in the DC Universe.

Karen was dating a man named Mal Duncan, who worked with the Teen Titans, but for some reason, they never invited him to become an actual member. So, Karen put together an anti-gravity suit with "stinger" beams and dubbed herself Bumblebee, attacking the Teen Titans in an effort to give Mal a chance to be the one who sends her packing - just to make him look good. They discover her identity, and then...yep, they invite HER to become a member of the Titans. (The Teen Titans were kinda' jerks.) Eventually Mal did joint the Titans, and the two were married.

Over the years, Bumblebee has gone through changes. They've made her single again, she's had the power to shrink down to the size of a bee, for a while was STUCK at the size of a bee. In Rebirth, they gave her powers, so she was no longer reliant on technology. Check out the recent issue number 2 of the fantastic miniseries, "The Other History of the DC Universe" by John Ridley, who wrote Twelve Years a Slave. The entire issue is from Karen & Mal's point of view, and it's outstanding. It'll also make you really not like Roy Harper.

For this look, I wanted something less "opulent" and something slightly more "working class." The look homages her second Bumblebee costume, that I feel like she had the longest, and her design from the Teen Titans cartoon, that also ended up being adopted in the comics.

Thanks for taking a look!
 "Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Bumblebee" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Bumblebee ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Vixen

This is the third posted entry in this PSA illustration series to promote the pro-social and pro-health concept of mask wearing during the pandemic and depicts superheroes in "red carpet" takes on their superhero costumes.

This entry also ties into Black History Month, as Vixen was the first full-time black female member of the Justice League of America. Vixen is not just a superhero, who can access the abilities of ANY animal (speed of a cheetah, proportional strength of an army ant, flight of a condor, regeneration of a Gekko, etc.), but she's also a supermodel. Honestly, though, I feel like she's rarely ever depicted actually LOOKING like a supermodel. I'm here to rectify that. I used Angolan model, Maria Borges, as my inspiration and guide for the features in my rendition of Vixen, because I have no idea if Maria Borges can act, but by golly she has the LOOK. (Seriously, let's put it out into the universe that Ms Borges will even cosplay as Vixen!)

Vixen's power comes from the totem that she wears around her neck. Usually, Vixen is an African woman from the fictional country of Zambesi who has spent a while living in America, but the issue of Truth & Justice that came out in February of 2021 featuring her seems to suggest that she IS American...which has me wondering if they're now using the set-up from the TV show Legends of Tomorrow, where Vixen's grandmother operated as Vixen as well, and the modern-day Vixen, Mari McCabe, was adopted and raised in America? Either way, she's in my Top 5 favorite DC Heroes, and I LOVE her!

"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Vixen" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Vixen ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Nubia

This is the second posted entry in this series of PSA type illustrations to promote the pro-social and pro-health concept of mask wearing during the pandemic and depicts superheroes in "red carpet" takes on their superhero costumes.

This entry also ties in with Black History Month, as Nubia was the first super heroic black woman depicted in mainstream US comic books in 1972, two years prior to the appearance of Storm in 1974 in the X-Men book over at Marvel Comics. She debuted in a 3 part story in the Wonder Woman title. She initially started out being an antagonist, but ended up as an ally. Her origin is that she is the twin of Diana, Wonder Woman. When Queen Hippolyta was sculpting Diana before she was brought to life, she actually sculpted two babies, one using darker clay, which was Nubia. When the two baby sculptures were brought to life, the god Mars (Ares) kidnapped the infant Nubia and ended up raising her on a far-off island of warriors, where she became one of the fiercest warriors there. Years later, she showed up on Paradise Island to defeat the Amazons and Wonder Woman, but ended up rejecting Mars and his conditioning. She showed up later in an issue of Supergirl and an issue of Super Friends, where she had become the Wonder Woman of Africa.

Lately, Nubia has been showing up in her own back-up story in Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman by L.L. McKinney and Alitha Martinez, where I took the design cues here from. Also available is a Young Adult graphic novel also written by L.L. McKinney entitled "Nubia: Real One." Later in 2021, DC Comics will be putting out a comic called "Nubia and the Amazons," and I cannot tell you how excited I am for that!

"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Nubia" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Nubia ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Wonder Woman

Back in the day when I was in high school, there were two things that I loved to draw the most often: superheroes and fashion. My local comic book shop asked for artwork for a fund raising auction to raise money for the Cleveland Food Bank, and the theme was "The Pandemic." I wanted to apply those two things that I used to draw all the time and mix them into "The Pandemic." And so, this new "PSA" series was born mixing "red carpet" takes on superhero looks along with face coverings to promote a pro-social and pro-health message. Some of the pieces in this series go for a more literal take, while others go further away from the origins, but still strive to retain recognizable elements of that character's visual identity.

The first entry is more of the former than the latter. As my favorite superhero and the biggest superheroine in the DC Universe, Wonder Woman is of course leading the line. Mermaid silhouette gowns have always been my favorite. I really wanted to take Wonder Woman's look and "Plus It Up," and at the same time, figure out a way to incorporate the magic lasso beyond just hanging as a coil at her hip. So please enjoy the illustration, and I hope you are inspired to keep yourself and those around you safe during the current COVID-19 Pandemic that we are going through and will be for some time. And stay tuned for for installments in this series!

"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Wonder Woman" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith 
Wonder Woman  ©DC Comics

"The Fury of the Crimson Waste" by Kevenn T. Smith

This new Rebel illustration features "The Crimson Fury," a rebel who was the defender of the desert area on the planet Etheria known as The Crimson Waste. This was an area that Horde member, Scorpia came from. Crimson Fury appeared in only one issue (#10) of the UK She-Ra comic book. He seemed to have quite the rivalry with a Horde official named Count Sneer. Crimson Fury also had a green falcon named Talon that helped him out, hence the whistle worn on a chain around his neck and the leather wrapped forearms.

I like Crimson Fury's Lawrence of Arabia inspired look. I did make a few design alterations here and there. I added a few more small details to try to bring more "red" into his look. I mean, if you're going to call yourself "The Crimson Fury," it'd be a good idea to have some more crimson in your look. That's just smart branding. I also darkened the tone of his skin. the comic book had him lily white, and if someone was in the sun a lot, it's more "believable." Plus, I wanted to add a little more diversity to the skin tones of the Great Rebellion and show a heroic male with a darker skin tone in this line. Also, for only having one obscure appearance, I didn't feel like that was an area that I needed to be a slave to the limitations of the original media and time period.

This illustration of The Crimson Fury is available on a multitude of products at my Redbubble store, including (but not limited to) t-shirts, prints, posters, cards, skirt, dresses, kids' & babies' clothes, hoodies, scarves, bags, iPad & iPhone cases & skins, Samsung Galaxy cases & skins, pillows, bath mats, face masks, and more! Click on the picture to go to this piece at my store.

"The Fury of the Crimson Waste" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2020 Kevenn T. Smith
Character ©Mattel 2020

"The Monkey's Aunt" by Kevenn T. Smith

One of my mom's favorite all-time celebrities is Annette Funicello. Because of that, we grew up in our house being exposed to Annette movies and music. Hers was the first autobiography I ever read when I was in junior high. I have thought a lot about why my mother gravitated toward Annette (obviously at a young age), and I haven't asked her, but I do suspect a reason or two. Annette Funicello was a kind person with a loving heart and a cheerful disposition. She was often demure and really didn't seem to think she was all that. I think that's what appealed to my mom at a young age and even now. My mother is a kind person with a loving heart and a cheerful disposition. In the Universe, like attracts like. When I think about myself and my own sense of optimism and my endeavors to be kind and cheerful, I truly think it's because of my mother - and in turn Annette.

And so with that, I did this illustration as a present for my mother for her birthday. It's an illustration inspired by the opening sequence of the classic Disney movie, "The Monkey's Uncle." My mother mentioned liking her look in that scene, especially with the blue headband. (Could that also be the origin of my love for headbands too?) In that sequence, Annette's character, Jennifer, is singing on stage at a college party with a little-known band at the time named The Beach Boys. Time and focus being what they are, I wanted to concetrate on just Annette (for mom) in my illustration, but I rendered the background to resemble elements of the set for that sequence with the room colors and party decorations. I also wanted Annette to look happy and singing. The reason that I titled this piece the way I did, was because in the song she sings in this scene, some of the lyrics are: I love the mokey's uncle, and I wish I were the monkey's aunt.

This illustration is now available at my Redbubble store on many products, such as t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, kids' & babies' clothes, dresses, skirts, scarves, prints, posters, cards, stickers, bags, iPad/iPhones cases & skins, Samsung Galaxy cases & skins, buttons, journals, pillows, and many, many more. Click on the picture below to go to the store and browse the many products this illustration appears on.
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2020