Sailor Pluto. Oh man, what a classy lady. She fights evil, guards the door of time, AND basically plays the role of Team Mom to the Sailor Scouts while actually being one of Sailor Saturn’s three moms. I’ll finally be getting the chance to costume as her at Katsucon in February and I just couldn’t help putting together an outfit for her. I decided to do something a little more subtle, hence the scarf with the dark red accents instead of just a plain red one. (Pee Ess: Bonus points if you recognized that I tried to mimic her hair style just for fun.)
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White Sweater: Express
Silk Scarf: Burberry
Skinny Black Pants: Max Studio
Patent Heels: Kenneth Cole
Earrings: Macy’s
I know. It’s not a geeky fashion outfit post but I promise that we’ll get back to those soon. This book was just too good not to write about!
Yesterday saw the start of another Marvel NOW book with the release of New Avengers #1 written by Jonathan Hickman and with pencils by Steve Epting. This was the first book announcement for new Marvel NOW ongoings to really catch my attention several months ago and it’s the book that I have been anxiously awaiting ever since. And boy oh boy did it deliver!
New Avengers reunites the biggest time bomb of a team in recent comic book memory: The Illuminati. No but really: this team is the WORST idea ever. Just ask the Black Panther. He’s objected since the group was first proposed and he still objects even now as he pulls them together. These men are the rich, the geniuses, the powerful, and some of them are even kings. That many egos in a room is bound to backfire spectacularly one day even with Captain America playing referee. This issue shows Iron Man, Captain America, Namor, Doctor Strange, Black Bolt, and Mister Fantastic all arriving in Wakanda and answering T’Challa’s summons. (See what I meant about a lot of egos?)
Hickman uses this first issue to beautifully set up both the book and arc, making it fairly accessible to readers who might be newer to the Illuminati. (If you’re remotely intrigued by the Illuminati, I’d definitely suggest going and checking out the wiki entry just so you have a more completely idea of their history.) At the same time, the issue doesn’t feel like it was a filler introduction but instead tells its own story.
The last six pages of this issue are absolutely stunning and I don’t mean that purely from an artistic standpoint. Everything about them is perfect from the words, to the art, to the lettering. It drives home not just how desperate T’Challa is to save the world but also the caliber of team he’s reuniting. If anything, his invitation to Namor should emphasize the gravity of the situation. “Save me from what we are about to do” reads the final words of this issue. They’re going to save the world but who knows what the consequences might be. In all honesty, buying this issue is worth it even if it’s just so you can read these last six pages. (Yes, they are that perfect.)
What I’m really looking forward to about this book though is the team itself. Throughout Bendis’s run on the the Avengers, I always found myself intrigued by any Illuminati plot line because it’s wonderful watching all them play off each other while trying to save the world. This is really the first time we’ll be seeing them work more as a team instead of a secret society and I think it will be those team dynamics that make this book great. I want to see the friction between T’Challa and Namor. I want to see Tony and Reed play ‘I’m the smartest person in the room’. I want to see how Steve is going to adjust to being a part of this group. I want to see how a team with three kings works. This is a book that is as much about how the team works together as it is about the plot. If I want to read about a team that works well together most of the time then I’ll pick up my X-men or Avengers books. But that’s not this team. Let’s see this team get out there and save the world or possibly destroy it.
In short, the first issue of this book absolutely lived up to my expectations and I cannot wait to see where Jonathan Hickman takes us on this wild ride. Illuminati Assemble!
Just wishing everybody a wonderful holiday, and a happy new year!
We want to thank all our readers and supporters from the bottom of our horribly glittery hearts —
we’ll have a lot in store for you when we get going again in 2013! Cheers!
— Bria and Lin
Welcome to Cosplay Tuesday! Every week we feature one of our costumes and talk a little more in-depth about it. This week, we’ll be turning the spotlight on Bria’s Genderswapped Captain Hammer from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.
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Hands down, the best part about this costume is all the cheesy facial expressions I got to make.
As far as putting this costume together, there wasn’t that much involved beyond buying the t-shirt although that did take a little bit of digging to find it in the screen accurate colour. From there, it was a matter of making come decisions about how exactly I wanted to genderswap this particular character. I’m not terribly fond of the genderswaps that automatically assume a skirt or shorts or a bare midriff because I don’t always think that fits the character. However, with Captain Hammer, I could absolutely see that happening. Therefore, my first version of this costume ended up involving some tiny olive green shorts and heeled boots. It ended up not working out well for two reasons: 1) I didn’t like how it looked and 2) It decided to snow during Halloween last year. So off to my closet I went again and settled on wearing these cargo pants and my motorcycle boots and ended up really loving this version of the costume. To top it off, this version of the costume ended up being MUCH more practical for work that night.
I finally got a chance to take some real pictures in this costume this summer with my favourite photographer ever, Heather of Zhobot. Completely by accident, we ended up finding the perfect location for the photoshoot: a kids’ playground. I can truthfully say that I looked absolutely ridiculous trying to ride tiny little toy motorcycles and swinging on the swing set but thankfully no one else was there to see me. I’m also pretty sure that I whacked my head on the little clubhouse a few times but there was no lasting brain damage.
All in all, it was a really fun shoot and I’d love to wear this out to a convention one day when I finally have room in my ridiculously busy costume schedule. (Any takers for boy!Penny or girl!Horrible?)
“These? Are not the hammer. The hammer is my… waaaaait a minute.”
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You can check out more of Bria’s costumes over at her costume gallery.
Navy and silver and white seem to be in this season which is just begging for a Ravenclaw inspired post even if the Sorting Hat did put us both in Slytherin. And hey, we may be rather partial to black but we don’t discriminate against blue and navy. So check out some of the fashion pieces we found that gave off that Ravenclaw House vibe.
Well, you can’t keep us completely away from black so let’s start with this cute coat from Desigual!
I’d apologise for this next dress from ASOS but it is the most Ravenclaw thing I have ever stumbled upon that wasn’t a Hogwarts uniform. Navy, feathers, and lace? Yup. That’s So Ravenclaw.
Heading out to a fancy dress party for work? Maybe these two dresses from Little Mistress and River Island might fit the bill for something cute yet Ravenclaw.
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Or maybe your Christmas party is a bit more relaxed this year and hems can go a little higher. ASOS has you covered and so does BCBG with their sequin dress.
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Not a dress person? That’s okay because we found some super cute skirts for you too from Desigual and Herve Leger. (And check out those shoes that Herve Leger paired with the ombre skirt!)
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Ravenclaws are know for their intelligence and their long hours in the library so let’s turn away from the parties and look for something a bit more suited for studying or perhaps even the office. First up is this adorable sweater dress from kate spade.
Or how about this jacket from Burberry?
I can never resist adding a little Elie Saab in here so check out this dress from his SS RTW 2013 collection. It’s probably not Hogwarts appropriate though. ;)
And just for the fun of it and to close us out, how about some kate spade accessories?
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And that’s all folks! Find anything that you’d love to have make its way into your closet? Let us know! And also let us know if you’d like us to do some inspo posts for the other Houses. We’ll probably do Slytherin (duh) but if you’d like to see Gryffindor and Hufflepuff too, we’d certainly be game!