Firestar Galleries Uploaded

Photo by John Hudson

Over 100 new images of my FIRESTAR cosplay have been uploaded to AmberUnmasked.com! There are 3 separate galleries so that viewers can choose of their own volition which gallery they want to see (I'm not the internet police so if you like to look at boobs, well, I think it's your responsibility to monitor your internet activity): a full costume "G" rated gallery, a "PG-13" striptease gallery, and an "R" nudes gallery which is in the members only area.


One of the questions I am asked most frequently is,  "Who is your favorite character?" It's not a simple answer. Overall, I always say Batman. But when it comes to who did I like to play as a kid, well it was half Wonder Woman and half Firestar. I watched a lot of Superfriends and Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends. I "flew" around my cousin's backyard and leapt from the top of his swing set. I can't recall ever being Hawkgirl or Supergirl. I think we did our share of Wonder Twins but it was the norm for me to be Wonder Woman or Firestar and I rarely strayed. I didn't like change in my playing pretend rules.

Presenting The Nerdy Bird as Ravager

Although I have been terribly upset about missing Comic Con International in San Diego yet again, I have still managed to participate through my joint ventures with Jill the Nerdy Bird. Last year I helped her with creating the perfect Dexx Starr (Rage Kitty) which was brought up on stage by Dan DiDio. This year, Jill wanted to be Rose Wilson aka Ravager from the Titans. (I don't know who to credit for the photo but thank you person on twitter).

This suit was on par with the Big Barda as far as difficulty. It was also my first time working with sequins. Lesson learned: even though they are described as "stretch" sequins, they only stretch 2-way not 4-way like traditional spandex. Hence we had some fitting issues since Jill and I were over 6 hours apart when I had to construct it making it impossible to do a proper fitting; but as you know, she could wear a burlap sac and be smokin' hot so a little bit of improper fit isn't a devastating thing for someone like Jill. The part I designed and constructed is the bodysuit. Jill came up with the accessories and wig (which is so gorgeous!).

Jill did all the shopping for the fabric for which I am grateful. We couldn't find the properly spaced sequins in silver so here's where our experiment worked out. I know lots of people spray paint their utility belts and boots with Krylon Fusion so I suggested it to Jill. She painstakingly covered the beige sequins in an appropriate metallic silver. I said it wouldn't be necessary to have it perfectly coated because the original color would give the illusion of some battle wear and shading.

I also had to move back to New Jersey a week ago and my sewing equipment is in boxes. I hope that the rooms here can be set up soon so that I can get back to spandex. There is a certain character that I would like to create for NYCC in October but it would be challenging in different aspects and also cost quite a bit due to the amount of material and accessories. I'm not announcing it because I worry that I can't afford to do it.

Some work in progress images:

The "New" Wonder Woman 600 video commentary

New Wonder Woman!

Ok, everyone is talking about it! It's Wonder Woman's biggest news in decades. Jim Lee, co-publisher of DC Comics has given Wonder Woman a new "modernized" look, while new writer to the series J. Michael Straczynski (JMS) is giving her a new origin story. I'm more bother by the new non-Grecian origin than the costume and people are saying that the plan is that this will only last a year. And now I admit that I won't be at the comic shop to get my copy of #600 until some time this weekend.

Now, if you refer to this really old post from 2007 (see image below), I created something rather similar in scope only I wasn't up to sewing jackets yet.

So again, let me just say that ripping off Superman's origin and making it "new" for Wonder Woman is perhaps the worst JMS writing I've ever heard. This is his and DC's way to erasing all the craptastic plotlines that have been this latest volume of the Wonder Woman comic book series. (Sorry, I just didn't get Gail Simone either).

I like the corset and the gauntlets and belt. I can't quite tell what's going on with the boots by the sketch. The jacket is what I would label as "meh" meaning I'm not cringing at it but I don't find it at all necessary. The black pants are the only part that REALLY bother me. It's just a cheap ass way of "modernizing" for a movie. She doesn't need black pants. There would be absolutely nothing wrong if she wore navy pants. It's the same reasons why I dislike the Bucky Cap costume (and I'm not crazy about his condom covered headpiece but that's another story).

As for the numbering, I'm annoyed anytime a book is renumbered because I file my books like a librarian in sequence. She does deserve the #600. In this case, I'm ok with it. However, I find the new #1 of Green Arrow completely unnecessary. There's nothing wrong with just labeling a story arc: Issue #57, Part 1 of 6 of blah-blah-blah. Why all the stupid #1s? Because a book with a #1 on it sells more copies; bottom line: it's about money not about continuity or jumping on points.