Dave Cockrum & Legion of Super-Heroes
Oct. 5th, 2012 10:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kybearfuzzFirst, let me say that I think Dave Cockrum was an amazing artist who helped create and/or re-designed many of the characters I loved as a kid -- The X-Men, The Legion, etc. I'm about to channel my inner Tim Gunn though.
Over the last few weeks I bought several hardbound compilations of "The Legion of Super-Heroes," specifically the Cockrum and Mike Grell years in the 1970's. These are issues that introduced new costumes for several Legionnaires, but also strengthened certain personalities and made the individual characters more unique. While most costumes were pretty good, some were odd and questionable.
Karate Kid's uniform became his definitive look. Duo Damsel donned her first orange-purple outfit that coolly divided in color when she split into two bodies (designed by a reader mainly, I know). Sadly, she got married and retired soon after it was introduced, so it wasn't seen much. I personally loved Phantom Girl's bell-bottomed costume. Lightning Lad and Timber Wolf got new outfits that are well known.
Some of the unusual ones though are signs of the time, in my opinion. Saturn Girl's pink bikini outfit was awful and didn't go with the character's personality of being cold and reserved. Around this time, Shadow Lass suited up in a black bikini, but being from a desert world and having a wilder personality, this was believable. Cosmic Boy's bustier outfit wasn't very practical, I did like that it showed off some skin. Conversely, Colossal Boy's outfit was overdone. In an emergency I bet it took him forever to get dressed.
Granted, these are just my opinions. Any other readers from this era have a comment or so?
Over the last few weeks I bought several hardbound compilations of "The Legion of Super-Heroes," specifically the Cockrum and Mike Grell years in the 1970's. These are issues that introduced new costumes for several Legionnaires, but also strengthened certain personalities and made the individual characters more unique. While most costumes were pretty good, some were odd and questionable.
Karate Kid's uniform became his definitive look. Duo Damsel donned her first orange-purple outfit that coolly divided in color when she split into two bodies (designed by a reader mainly, I know). Sadly, she got married and retired soon after it was introduced, so it wasn't seen much. I personally loved Phantom Girl's bell-bottomed costume. Lightning Lad and Timber Wolf got new outfits that are well known.
Some of the unusual ones though are signs of the time, in my opinion. Saturn Girl's pink bikini outfit was awful and didn't go with the character's personality of being cold and reserved. Around this time, Shadow Lass suited up in a black bikini, but being from a desert world and having a wilder personality, this was believable. Cosmic Boy's bustier outfit wasn't very practical, I did like that it showed off some skin. Conversely, Colossal Boy's outfit was overdone. In an emergency I bet it took him forever to get dressed.
Granted, these are just my opinions. Any other readers from this era have a comment or so?
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Date: 2012-10-05 05:17 pm (UTC)While it may be the costume he died in, Karate Kid did have a very distinct look that was amazingly original :)
While I love Swan's work as classic, I really enjoyed Keith Giffen's work up to the time before and after the Great Darkness Saga, before it turned into the sloppy mess best suited to Ambush Bug. When Giffen drew Timber Wolf's uniform as that low-cut chest area with all that fur, I was in love. It was probably the first time (except for Wolverine) that a hairy chest hero was prominently on display all the time. :)