Arisia's Costume

[Ragnell]

I normally like Ivan Reis' art, and well, everything about the art in GL#13 was wonderful. Except for Arisia's costume.

I stayed away for posting about it for a while. I reread it. I tried to get used to it. I am sorry, I just can't get over it.

It's just.. not as good as the old one. Or even the Warrior one (the mauve with the diamond-cut chest window). Arisia had a pretty heart-shaped costume before with a soft skirt. And then, she went glamorous in Warrior, but still pretty tasteful. Even with a diamond-shaped window it seemed soft (perhaps it was the color).

Here, the skirt is really thin, and dark-colored so it looks smaller anyway, but the top (which is light-colored and so will stand out more) opens up. All of the lines are sharp rather than rounded or smooth. There's no closure on the top. My eyes scream to see it. Too modern art.

And rather sleezy. She's popping out of it. I figure the point was to make her seem as mature as possible, but it's not necessarily to that extent. I mean, with Soranik the exaggerated V-neck is not so bad but given the costume composition on Arisia it's [b]way/b] too much. All the slit serves to do is emphasize the size of her breasts to the detriment of the rest of her body. (When do we get a male character with similar effects for his butt? And a lot of skin? Where's my Hal in short-shorts shots? You're not even trying to get more female readers, are you?)

It would have been better off with a Power-Girl type window, or something from her warrior days than simply an open top like that.

[Dan Loayza]

I agree. I'm all for sexy women in comics, but this new outfit is just too much.

[Augustine]

I didn't find anything wrong with it myself, it looked similar enough to her old one. I'm glad that she has something different, I rather like how the Lanterns can make their own style of uniforms if they so wish, gives them added personility.

Besides the lady is 250 years old....I think she's old enough to decide what to wear

[Wally West888]

I didn't find anything wrong with it, I thought it was the same as it normally is.

[Ohoni]

I like her costume. It makes her look slutty. Is she not supposed to look slutty?

[GLJeans]

Nothing wrong with a little cheese.

I like the rounded lines also, but this costume is just fine. I'd give her a look if she passed by me in a parade.

[Atom]

I like the new costume. No issues with it here.

[Astroape2000]

I like the costume a lot!! I think it's her best one yet.

[Lord malvolio]

I love it!

[Lundonj]

I have to respectfully disagree with Ragnell's take on the 'sleezy' aspect of the costume. I know a number of women who dress in a similar manner, but they consider themselves empowered rather than sleezy. I think it always comes down to the character of the person, or in the case of comics -- the character of the character.

Specific to comic costumes, the skin tight gear on men and women, shirtless heroes like Conan and bikini-wearing warriors like Red Sonja will always be a part of this genre.

If any characters were losing sleep over perception, I doubt Superman, Spidey and Batman would wear the underwear on the outside.

Arisia isn't a sleezy character at this point, despite the current look.

The years I worked at my friend's store, I used to worry about that perception, until I sold copies of Tomb Raider, Red Sonja, and the old Xena series to women. And I asked why they were buying some of the stuff with what I thought were some fairly exploitive looking covers. The answers were almost all the same. Essentially observing strong female characters can wear whatever they want. In the case of Red Sonja, the readers echoed the character's feeling -- if the male foes in the book want to underestimate Red, because of the way she is dressed, she has already won.

So, I don't worry as much about those kinds of perceptions anymore. Certainly, some readers (male and female) will be offended by the looks of the characters, but most people go beyond Superman's pajamas and read for the adventure.


-Don

[mrumsey]

I have to respectfully disagree with Ragnell's take on the 'sleezy' aspect of the costume. I know a number of women who dress in a similar manner, but they consider themselves empowered rather than sleezy. I think it always comes down to the character of the person, or in the case of comics -- the character of the character. Specific to comic costumes, the skin tight gear on men and women, shirtless heroes like Conan and bikini-wearing warriors like Red Sonja will always be a part of this genre. If any characters were losing sleep over perception, I doubt Superman, Spidey and Batman would wear the underwear on the outside. Arisia isn't a sleezy character at this point, despite the current look. The years I worked at my friend's store, I used to worry about that perception, until I sold copies of Tomb Raider, Red Sonja, and the old Xena series to women. And I asked why they were buying some of the stuff with what I thought were some fairly exploitive looking covers. The answers were almost all the same. Essentially observing strong female characters can wear whatever they want. In the case of Red Sonja, the readers echoed the character's feeling -- if the male foes in the book want to underestimate Red, because of the way she is dressed, she has already won. So, I don't worry as much about those kinds of perceptions anymore. Certainly, some readers (male and female) will be offended by the looks of the characters, but most people go beyond Superman's pajamas and read for the adventure. -Don

Lundonj

Well put and I'd agree there. I wouldn't think of her as sleazy unless she acted or was sleazy. I see her more as a woman who is comfortable with who she is and how she looks and has the confidence to dress that way. Same way I look at Starfire.

[Ion_flux]

I just read the issue, I honestly don't think it is that bad.

[jafabian]

I'd rather see her in a standard GL uniform. And I'd like to see her de-aged back to how old she was originally as well. I never liked the circumstances that put her closer to Hal's age.

[Dax]

I loved the costume. No issues here.
However i do kind of see Starfire when i look at her, probably because she has gold skin.
I'm also glad Ivan made her ears smaller, they were waaay too big back in the GLC days.

[holo2]

the skirt needs to go.....for a thong!

[carmine007]

the only problem with her costume is that their is too much of it.
make it a tube top and a thong