Adventure Comics 397 Redux!

I love comic book cover redux projects (the late, great COVERED blog was one of my favorites). I also enjoy costume redesigns (see PROJECT: ROOFTOP for many examples, both pro and fan). I wanted to marry the two concepts by doing a version of ADVENTURE COMICS #397 from 1970. The cover (by Mike Sekowsky and Dick Giordano) depicts Superman's cousin, Kara trying to select a new outfit. In that issue, Supergirl's costume (the same one she'd worn since her debut in 1959) was destroyed, and for the next few years, she embarked on a fashion adventure that woulda' made Katy Keene proud, donning new outfits until finally settling on a puffy sleeved hot pants number.

So, here's a project that I undertook over two years ago, but have been waiting to post because it turned into something much bigger than I originally intended. Rather than do all the costume redesigns myself, I enlisted a bunch of artists (some pals, some just people whose work I like) to jam with me on this redux, and I was more than thrilled with the results.

From left to right, the contributing artists are Jon Morris (whose new book, THE LEAGUE OF REGRETTABLE SUPERHEROES is a must for any fanboy's shelf), Dean Haspiel (one of the few cartoonists whose breadth spans Harvey Pekar and the Fantastic Four, among many others), Stephen DeStefano (who bounces between working in animation, comics, and drawing Popeye for licensing), Kristen McCabe (gape in awe here and here), Bob Fingerman (he of MINIMUM WAGE fame, among other great graphic novels), and Jackson Publick (creator of the always genius THE VENTURE BROS.). My huge thanks to all of these talented folks for indulging me in this project.

In fact, I was so happy with the finished product that I offered it to my editor at BACK ISSUE! Magazine, Michael Eury, thinking that maybe he'd squeeze it into an appropriate issue somewhere. Instead, Michael decided to dedicate an entire issue to the Girl of Steel (or Maid of Might, as she's sometimes known), and used the jam piece for the cover of BI! #84 (on sale now)!

And yes, there's a PRINCE STREET NEWS about Supergirl's sartorial history inside the issue as well, which I will post in a few weeks... but for now, here's the ADVENTURE 397 redo, a closer look at my designs (one of which went unused), and the BI! cover alongside Sekowsky's original comic book cover.