In other words, welcome to lady Avengers week!
We'll start off with some vintage art, from my customego boxes: as you may recall, I used to customize Mego action figures...hundreds over the years! Among them, fewer Marvel, and fewer Avengers, and fewer still, lady Avengers.
But I did do a few versions of the Scarlet Witch (earlier drafts sold, final draft is still in my collection). I always liked the Scarlet Witch and my custom was pretty much an early triumph of mine, turning a corner from "ugh" to "wow."
I also customized an impressive Tigra. I LOVE Tigra...not because she's a sexually charged anthropomorphic diva, but because her tagline was "...the were-woman!" So if a werewolf is a man who turns into a man-wolf, is a were-woman a man who turns into a man-woman? Anyway, I sold the custom in my big custom purge.Let's not forget She-Hulk...but I customized her in her Fantastic Four uniform, so let's forget her for this entry.
Lastly, I customized a Ms. Marvel. Primarily because I stumbled upon a minty Mego Health Spa Dinah-Mite for $5, where on eBay the very rare figures fetched over $50 at the time. To not put the figure to waste, presto, Ms. Marvel. The custom turned out horribly, but, the figure is rare, so I won't give it up.
By 2001, I was also drawing comics a lot as well, having decided to give
it my all. The more serious I became about comics, the less time I had
for customizing for fun. I had several customs mid-finished, but then sold off most of the parts. Among the abandoned projects were the Black Widow and the winsome Wasp.
I'm kind of in the mood to remake Ms. Marvel circa 1977, which would be more Mego-appropriate...love the giant scarf and exposed midriff. But I don't think I have any material left and I doubt I could even operate the customizing machine any longer!
As far as box art goes, it's pretty weak. I was struggling with photoshop coloring mixed with apathy...driven by some force to complete the customs, as if anyone cared.So, Tigra, Ms. Marvel, Black Widow, and Wasp all have not-great drawings for me at the time, with lousy coloring. I can tell by looking back at these drafts my heart wasn't in it any longer. The She-Hulk (which I think I also sold) and the Scarlet Witch each had a better showing from me...good for me at the time figure drawing, with much improved digital coloring.
In case you're wondering about the man Avengers, I also customized a Hawkeye (sold), Vision (sold), Black Panther (sold). In fact, the only Avenger I officially have left in my collection is Scarlet Witch, whom I deemed an "essential" Avenger for reasons I'll explain later in the week. True, I still have the Ms. Marvel, but only because I won't yet part with the rare figure.
My goodness, you're not still reading, are you?
2 comments:
You know Spider-woman has been an avenger for years now, no? :p
HA—
(1) Yes, I made a Spider-Woman Customego...but I think, at the time, she was not an Avenger.
(2) I customized her a la the Mego era, 1978.
(3) On the box I made for her, I used the cover to her premier issue, rather than my own art.
Maybe I'll be writing about her this week, time will tell!
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