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Fan-Art Special: Stephanie Brown

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Stephanie Brown, how we miss you! Many fans fell for Stephanie as she grew and matured, inhabiting the roles of Spoiler, Robin IV, and Batgirl III. Since the launch of DC's New 52 initiative, Stephanie Brown's only appearance has been in Batman, Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes!, and that issue was explicitly stated to have taken place pre-New 52. With Stephanie out of the picture for now -- it is comics, so never say never, right? -- we asked readers to send in their Stephanie Brown fan art, depicting her in any of her identities. Here's what we got.

Warren Newsom
Gabzillaz
JBadgr
Chou-roninx
Torisora
Beowulf716
Steve Andrew
Michelle Sciuto

Michelle Sciuto

Michelle Sciuto

Michelle Sciuto


Michelle Sciuto
Editor's Note: Michelle sent me so much stuff, and all of it was fantastic. Some of it fit more into the redesign/re-imagining category, and so I didn't post it here, but you really should check out her deviantArt page for her Neo-Victorian Spoiler, Robin and Batgirl versions of Stephanie, her future Stephanie, Tiny Titans Steph, and loads more!


x-Venzia-x
KrisSmithDW
Joe Lozanno
Andrew Charipar
There it is! Thanks to everyone who participated. While we generally focus on redesigns, it's fun to see artists take on established designs with their own styles. 

Readers! What do you think? Did you enjoy this little break from the norm? Would you like to see more Fan Art Specials? It wouldn't be something we'd do all the time, maybe twice a year; for example, we might do a Fan Art Special in lieu of an "anything goes" redesign month if we did another contest spanning two months, like we did for the Avengers contest earlier this year. Sound off in the comments and let us know what you think!

Notice: Revised Submission Guidelines

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Usually, if there's something I don't think is working on Superhero of the Month, I'll wait until someone else points it out to see if anyone else notices what I'm seeing. As such, something I've noticed has further been brought to my attention.

While everyone is very enthusiastic about their designs, we frequently get thoughts on designs that run for several paragraphs. In my opinion, the biggest draw of this site is the art, and this sentiment was reflected with the following statement I received in an email:
I just want to look at the image, grade its quality as a drawing and as an interpretation of a classic figure and maybe see one or two sentences. That's it. I don't like these that come with a full page biography.
From time to time, we do run contests where back story as an explanation is appropriate and may require a bit more input than otherwise expected; take, for instance, our Aquaman contest, which delved into What If? territory of alternate history and origins. In this case, explanatory back story is completely appropriate. In most cases, however, the intent is to redesign the character in a manner that is recognizable so that the new, better look could be easily integrated into comics. This is reflected in the following revised point of our submission guidelines:
5. Include your preferred name, website (if applicable) and any thoughts you may have on your redesign. Thoughts should reflect the process of your redesign and explanation that may not be entirely clear based solely on the illustration (i.e. "Batman's glowing gauntlets are also electrified weapons"), not revised character history or origins. Your thoughts on your art should be limited to a couple of short paragraphs, and may be edited for length or clarity.
 Now, I certainly hope no one thinks that we're not appreciative of the process many of you have put into back story and revision. We do. It takes a lot of creativity. However, in several cases the text is as lengthy as some of the images when everything shows up on the site, and it breaks up the art.

Thank you all for continuing to make Superhero of the Month a great place to share art on a monthly basis. Here's to another great month!

OFFICIAL CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT: DAREDEVIL [Updated]

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Art by Greg Land
"The Man Without Fear", Daredevil really is unique among superheroes considering he's legally blind. Much like pre-New 52 Barbara Gordon, though, Matt Murdock doesn't let this setback get the best of him, and uses his unique abilities to fight crime in one of the toughest parts of New York.

Also, he has a pretty killer costume.

Your challenge for August is to try and top the traditional reds Murdock dons to become The Man Without Fear. For inspiration, you may want to look to his original yellow costume, or somehow try to make this look cool.

Submissions are due between August 1 - Friday, August 24 by 8:00 PM MDT, and the winner will be announced August 31.

Any questions, comments, concerns or jokes can be sent to superheroofthemonth@gmail.com. Good luck!

Editor's Note: I fully realize this switch was something that came last minute. Submissions have been down the last couple of months, and I thought it might generate more competition if we put up a hero people are a bit more familiar with that had been fan-suggested before, and who has actually had a history of costume switches in the past. We may be able to work the original plan in another time. Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused. - AG


[Update]

Because of other things going on, all submissions will be posted at the same time on either Friday, August 24 or the next day. This is something of a change of pace, but it will help me juggle some other important things I've got going on for the time being. Superhero of the Month will not be a "dead zone" during the interim. There's a new Redesigned feature coming, as well as another announcement, and maybe some other fun stuff to keep us all busy. Just be sure to look for all the Daredevil art on August 24 or 25.

Superhero of the Month: Joker Little's Nolanized Penguin

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Congratulations Joker Little on an amazing, decisive win! With said win, Joker Little's entered into our Superhero of the Year contest, and has the option of joining us next month as a guest judge.

This month's contest was judged by Alex and Taylor of the Superhero of the Month staff, Andrew Asberry, comic reviewer for Batman-News.com, Craig Payne, winner of our Avengers Contest, and Ross Radke, winner of our Doctor Octopus contest, with commentary provided by Alex, Andrew, Craig and Ross.

Joker Little's Nolanized Penguin - 42/50
Alex: One of my favorite pieces that was submitted. After seeing Penguin as a pretty ruthless gang leader in Arkham City, I could buy this grisly version of the character, albeit sans the tattoos -- those just aren't doing it for me. I love the glassy, blind eye, though. This was one of three that I scored a 9/10 this go-round, and in spite of the things that didn't work for me, I'd have scored it a 10 if I could see the whole character.

Andrew: Perfect really. It's a Penguin that's fresh and interesting and one that would fit within Nolan's more grounded interpretation of the Dark Knight legend. I like the white hair so much that I now think it should become a staple of the character. I hope that Mr. Little has this framed on a wall somewhere, it's really beautiful. 

Craig: This was one of my favorite redesigns in the contest. Joker Little's artwork was fantastic on this piece. He has managed to capture the Penguin's exaggerated features while at the same time making it believable. The use of the simple leather jacket and white t-shirt works well and is a great visual nod to his traditional tuxedo, and the disfigured eye is a great substitute for the out of date monocle. The prison tattoos are a great addition and fits in really well with the character. A well deserved win.

Ross: First, this is an amazing piece of artwork. Since my familiarity with Penguin is mostly the creepy Burton version, I see where you tried to take this in the Nolan universe. The nose, hair and eye work. What doesn't work for me is the leather jacket, which reminds me more of a decrepit old Arthur Fonzarelli than an mobster or whatever Penguin is supposed to be. The tattoos seem sort of arbitrarily slapped on.

Check out the round0up of the Top 5 after the jump!

Read more »

Open Call for Redesigns

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Every now and then we post redesigns of anything you want to send to us in a semi-regular Redesigned feature. I've picked up a handful over the last couple of months, and will be posting them this Saturday. If you've got anything you'd like to add to the post, please send them in to superheroofthemonth@gmail.com by 6:00 pm MDT on Friday, August 10. They can be any hero or villain, and are not limited to usual submission guidelines, other than the designs not being anything too adult-oriented (i.e. nude "designs").

Don't forget that we're also accepting submissions for this month's Daredevil contest, which will be posted together in one big post. Details on the contest can be found here.

Redesigned: August 2012 Edition

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Redesigned is a semi-regular feature showcasing redesigns that have been sent to us that aren't part of our regular contests.

The first few come from Superhero of the Month regular Thomas Fummo, who had this to say about his designs:

"I recently finished an essay on Contemporary Black Cinema and its parallelisms with the history of Milestone Comics. Inspired, I did some redesigns of Milestone's three most famous characters.

Thomas Fummo's Static
"I was inspired by some of the redesigns I saw on Project: Rooftop for the Dwayne McDuffie tribute. I wanted to simplify the costume, incorporating elements from both of Virgil's costumes. I also changed the mask somewhat, as -- in the TV series at least -- his dreads caused him major problems in keeping people from associating Virgil and Static as the same person. I thought a bandanna-type mask might help him hide them better, especially with the coat's hood up as well.

Thomas Fummo's Hardware
"I tried to de-clunkify his armour, which always looked a tad over-complicated to me. I hope I've still managed to keep the essence of the character.

Thomas Fummo's Icon
"I tried to make him look as regal as possible - considering the character's reputation as a bit of a no-nonsense stiff. As many people in the past have noted that the New 52 Superman's cuffs and collar make him look too regal, I decided to adopt them in Icon's outfit. I also removed the straps and replaced them with some alien-looking markings."

We also received this fun Spider-Man redesign:

Travis Lockhart's Spider-Man
Editor's Note: The inversion of the webbing and blue areas definitely makes for an interesting take. There are more images -- as well as an animated version of this Spidey in action -- here!

While technically fan art of the new Amazing Spider-Man redesign, this piece was just too awesome to not share:
Sarah Meissner's Spider-Man
We've also picked up some redesigns and fun new takes on other characters recently, starting with this take on Poison Ivy from our Batman Movie Villains contest winner:

Joker Little's Poison Ivy
Alex Melchor's Teens of Prey
"It's a minor redesign costume-wise, but a conceptual redesign for a legacy Birds of Prey team... the Teens of Prey! Left to right: Spoiler (Stephanie Brown), Speedy (Mia Dearden), Oracle, previously known as Proxy (Wendy Harris), and Black Bat (Cassandra Cain)."

Joe Lozanno's Image Comics Tribute
"This drawing goes to say thanks to the 'founding fathers of Image'."

Craig Payne's Starfire
"I started this redesign for the Starfire contest back in February but didn't get it finished in time for the deadline. Finally got it finished a while back so thought I'd share it."

Craig Payne's Scarecrow
"This was a redesign I did a little while ago. If I hadn't been judging the Batman Movie Villains contest I might have considered entering it, though I'm not sure how if it would've fit into any of the movie universes.

"His story is that after years of mutilating torture and brutal experimentation at the hands of the doctors of Arkham Asylum, the man known only as The Scarecrow, has become physically deformed and mentally scarred. Metal blades have been bonded to his bones making him a living weapon."

Justin DeVine's Phantom

Catwoman & Marvel NOW! Redesigns

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Hey, everyone! Thanks for sticking around with us this month. Daredevil submissions are coming in slowly but surely (send yours in soon!), but there's still plenty going on to make things interesting. Recently, there's been some official redesigns pop up on the web that I wanted to discuss.

Our friends over at Batman-News.com have started covering the upcoming Injustice: Gods Among Us game, and recently posted video and stills featuring Catwoman:



Personally, this redesign doesn't fire on all cylinders for me. The boots here look goofy, as do the half-sleeves, not to mention that the corset is completely extraneous. I appreciate the idea of protective armor, but personally, I think the Arkham City design handled this much, much better.

Across the pond, John Cassaday has rolled out some designs for Marvel's NOW! initiative, and they were featured on MTV Geek. Let's take a look:

Havok
Rogue
Scarlet Witch
Personally, I'm not familiar enough with Havok to make an assessment on this design, but I like Rogue's enough. It's reminiscent enough of past designs, but I'm not big on the tunic/skirt look she's rocking. As for Scarlet Witch, I like the upper half of the redesign, but I'm not wild about the length of what looks like an overcoat. It looks like it could be cumbersome, and doesn't evoke the cape well at all, in my opinion.

But hey, what do you think? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned for more from Superhero of the Month!

Daredevil Results

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Hey, everyone! After a little change of posting policy, we're back with all of the Daredevil submissions we received over the course of the month! I've had some questions as to why we switched things up. The story is, I applied to graduate school this month. So while I got all my stuff together, I thought it might be best to make it easier on myself by posting everything at the same time. For now, this is not a permanent policy, and we'll be back to normal next month, posting several submissions at a time throughout the month. That said, let's check out what we picked up!
Dan Barrett
"For my version of Daredevil I obviously wanted to play up the devil aspect of his name (all the better to terrify criminals). I also wanted to make the mask reflect his blindness. Finally I gave his feet a cloven hoof look because it seems like he could have better balance and it would give him a bit of grip when he scrambles up walls (like a mountain goat)."

Brian Post
"For my Daredevil design I first asked myself who Daredevil is. I came up with the idea that he is a blind guy who does fancy parkour and beats the crap out of street thugs. I tried to reflect these thoughts in the design. Streamlined, red, with crimson accents. A single yellow "D" because 2 "D's" looked too crowded and abstract. A hood that is reminiscent of a boxer's robe hood, just like Matt Murdock's father would have worn. His billy clubs are attacked to a small pack on his back, making it more balanced for him when hes jumping rooftops. And finally his eyes are covered by a blindfold to enhance that idea of blind justice to the crooks he beats down."


Joe Lozanno
"Judge Murdock is in pain every minute of the day he spends at the courthouse due to his hyper senses. Everybody knows he suffers severe color blindness, he is albino and people think that is the reason of his bad temper. When he is not working, he is Daredevil. He wears a tech-helmet that allows him to control his sense. He is a mild manered crime fighter. Every body knows he is a blind superhero because he makes no use of his vision. I made this drawilng listening a song called 'titanium' so I put Titanium on DD face. And I think the city of NY is part of the comic so I made an effor to put Kingpin office ont the background."

Eiji
"I chose to give him a short sleeve form fitting bodysuit that exposes his arm more with some padding on his upper arm. I also gave him short padded gloves given his background in boxing and the need to protect one's knuckle when he's just a normal human being using his fists as a primary weapon. The boots are made with soft materials for maximum mobility range with shock absorbing padding lining the sole and the bottom given how much rooftop strolling and acrobatic he does. Red vest over the body suit with some more padding exposed and underneath, without the popped collar he just look like a gymnast. I also redesigned the logo with a stylized upper case and lower case D to make a tiny devilish shape that looks the similar upside down. I really liked the yellow in the original color scheme, the modern iteration seem too monotonous for me, so I incorporate it as much as I can, including the the logo

"The mask/cowl completely covers his upper face, leaving the ears, nose and mouth expose, Dark patch over the eye area because with out it his face looked unfinished. The horns are more protruding because it also serve as high frequency ultrasound emitter that Daredevil uses to echolocate."

J. Chris Wong
"I was trying to make the original costume even more '60's mod-influenced.  Plus, I made the character female."


Peter Foglesong
"The inspiration for the design was a simple concept: 'Hipster Daredevil'. But it ended up turning into a fairly sensible, modern, DIY style street level outfit."

Josh Montreuil
"I've read that Daredevil's original yellow costume was made from Jack Murdock's old boxing gear... this is sort of a modern riff on that idea, with almost every part of the costume based on boxing or gym clothes. Though it's primarily informed by Matt's father, there's also some allusion to the Frank Miller ninja stuff with the oni print on the sweatshirt and the use of a Stick-style bo staff instead of the billy club. It fits a contemporary retelling of his origin, or yet another Born Again-style story where Matt is stripped of his resources & is forced to start over from the ground up."

Justin Crisostomo
"The wraps on my Daredevil's hands reflect the wraps found in boxing and other hand-to-hand combat martial arts (as well as gymnastics). Both his arm wraps and blindfold are made from his father's boxing robe. The emblem on his chest is the letter 'D' in braille, and the braille at the top of the image spells out 'Daredevil.'

"I've always loved the idea of a superhero like Daredevil whose strengths are derived from a perceived weakness. My redesign embraces Daredevil's identity as visually impaired, and if my version of Daredevil had his own comic, you bet each page would have braille on it, and each cover would be embossed (the text and the image)."

Shang Protum
"Matt Murdock's eyes are usually covered with dark glasses, so I feel it would only be appropriate that's the only part you can see of his alter-ego. Also, I've always thought that keeping the eyes or mouth visible increases the superhero's honesty-appeal. I would have given him some kind of a helmet (all rooftop acrobats should have one!) but it seems like it'd take away from the 'Man With No Fear' tag. The short cape recalls the jacket/cape worn by motorcycle daredevils. It should look good while the hero is in mid air, and keep out of his way while he's doing complicated acrobatics. The existing DD is hard to compete against, so I thought of a horned circle as an alternate logo."

Yifan Jiang
"I wanted a straightforward clean design, I wanted to visit all DD's costumes (yes, even the armor) and mix them up.This suit is more stealthy, more functional. Simple blocks of colors are used to make it look old school while details suggest it's modern."

Cantas Karatas
"Some stuff about Daredevil confused me, like why he has a sonar power like bats after his accident. He should really a blind guy, and maybe Tony Stark and he are friends. Tony gives him this suit with nano technology that he can see with."

Christian Burns
"My Daredevil design takes inspiration from both Japanese oni and from samurai armor, taking into account Matt Murdock's training in martial arts by Stick and The Chaste, his and The Chaste's prior interactions with the ninja order The Hand, and the 'devil' part of his motif (hence the Japanese oni inspiration). He wields two hanbo, which can join together into a traditional bo staff. Lastly, his ears are exposed to take advantage of his enhanced sense of hearing, and the palms and fingers of his gloves (as well as the soles of his shoes are made of an electroconductive fabric that allows him to accurately use his enhanced sense of touch. I did include the eyes on his costume, since most of his enemies don't know that he's blind."

David Karrow
"Bright red was waaaaay to easy to spot in even the dark, so I'm keeping it simple matte dark red and black."

Connor
"I wanted to give him a different look and put it in a different setting, I was inspired by a daredevil crossing Niagara Falls."

Thomas Crielly
"I decided to remove the iconic DD symbol and horns, stripping the costume back before redesigning it. I've darkened the base red -- thought he would be a bit scarier without the bright superhero red. I've given him fingerless gloves so that when 'reading' things with his fingers it makes a bit more sense practically and removed the eyeholes (since he is blind and doesn't actually need them) making him a bit more disconcerting to criminals he encounters. I've also added abstract devil/hornhead piping - which is more visible at night (see below).

Thomas Crielly's "Nighttime Version"
"It's the same costume just showing how it would appear in the dark rather than daylight."

Craig Payne
"Daredevil's red costume has always been one of my favorite superhero costume designs. The simple minimalist design, monochrome colour scheme and logo are just perfect and are difficult to improve on. I wanted to keep my redesign simple and retain the red colour scheme. I subtly changed his mask to make it look a little more aggressive. I added the yellow portions to the costume as added protection and as a nod to his original costume."


Winston Gambro
"I focused on making his costume more realistic. Since his upgrade to the red suit I haven't seen any major changes in his wardrobe, I always disliked tights on heroes so I tried to militarize him and make his costume seem more armored."

Joshua Daniel
"I pictured his costume a much more makeshift, ragtag ensemble with odd bits and pieces sewn together and tears from fights he's previously had. This makes sense since he's blind and might not be able to make and repair his costume precisely, but also instill a kind of craziness into his Daredevil persona. Instead of the regular mask, he wears black over mask to shield his whole face and a custom devil mask. I like to imagine he sculpts these 3D masks himself and has a varied collection depending on his mood. I also made his truncheon more of a demon claw. I wanted a more demon personal that would instill fear into criminals, as Daredevil has always been more extreme to me."

Dimitrios Kasdaglis
"A blind-folded demon. A Dare-devil!"

Anthony Farrar
"I wanted something that was more fierce to look at. I wanted a more imposing figure. The horns are forged of vibranium, allowing DD to absorb ambient sound so that he doesn't suffer from sensory overload when fighting, say, Klaw. It also allows him to strike the horns to enhance his own sonar sense of echolocation. The masked face provides a buffer against olfactory or taste overload from gases. The costume itself is textured vibranium mesh Kevlar that reduces impact, strikes and energy attacks. The symbol on his chest is a dual representation of a back to back DD, and also a demon's head. I replaced the billy club with a trident that has an extendable chain, so that it may be used as a Manriki Gusari as well a grappling hook. The body of the trident is segmented and each segment contains something DD might need: caltrops, smoke bombs, throwing darts laced with a sleeping agents, etc. -- kind of like his own utility belt."  

Thomas Branch
"I went with a monk/ninja look."

And there you have it! What do you think? Let us know in the comments below which Daredevil is your favorite and why, and stay tuned for the contest winner, as well as the contest announcement for next month. (You can get a little preview and head start now by checking out the calendar!)

OFFICIAL CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT: SAVAGE DRAGON

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For September, we're going to switch things up a bit and unleash you all a little more by having our Savage Dragon contest  submissions be full-fledged re-imaginings. Your Dragon can be more of a dragon. Make him a her. Be creative. Be interesting. Have fun!

With your submissions, please include a brief* blurb detailing your re-imagining.

Submissions are due September 22 by 8:00 PM MDT, and we'll be posting submissions as usual throughout the month. Depending on scheduling, the winner will be announced on September 29 or October 1.

While the "redesign" aspect doesn't necessarily need to be followed (though straight-up redesigns are welcome), all other submission guidelines do.

Good luck!

*Really, blurbs should be brief. Two paragraphs of a handful of sentences each, max. Blurbs will be edited for length if they're taking up more room than the artwork.

Superhero of the Month: Josh Montreuil's Daredevil

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Congratulations to Josh Montreuil, winner of August's Daredevil competition! Josh edged out the competition and will have a spot in our Superhero of the Year showdown this December!

Judging this competition was Alex from the Superhero of the Month staff, and special guest judge Shelby Peterson, editor and designer for (the fantastic!) website Retcon Punch! Below are our thoughts on the Top Six. Enjoy!

Josh Montreuil - 17/20
Alex (7): I actually really enjoy Daredevil designs that utilize the yellow he originally wore, so this racked up quite a few points for the nice blend of yellow, red and black. Unfortunately for me, I feel like this is more of a strict Year One-style design, and not something that would carry over years later. But if someone pitched me this as an origin concept, I'd be sold.

Shelby (10): This was definitely my favorite submission. It's functional and believable (assuming Daredevil is a real person), and it calls back to his roots with the boxing gear in a way I really like. Plus, it just looks good!

Check out the full article for the rest of the Top Six!

Read more »

Savage Dragon Results - Part 1

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We're back with the first submission to our Savage Dragon contest! Check it out:

Cantas Karatas
"I wanted to make Savage Dragon more like a dragon and change his skin to a suit dominated by red, but with accents of green like the original."

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to submit your version of the Savage Dragon soon! Check out the Official Contest Announcement for details!

Savage Dragon Results - Part 2

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Here we are! The final batch of Savage Dragon submissions!

Joe Lozanno
"'I´ve made too many Savage Dragons , this is the one liked more. Red is a superhero color (see Superman and Shazam), and to change from green to red is very common nowadays. I like the 'cop' heroes. (cops do a great job, and as they exist in the real world; they deserve some homage). While I made this drawing I listened to 'cotton fields' , from the Creedence Clearwater Revival ('didn´t you tell that she is dressed in cotton?')."

Peter Foglesong
"In late 19th century Japan, Lars "The Cur" Erikson is a luckless convict sentenced to hard labor overseas for his crimes against the British crown. Left to die at sea by his jailors, he is rescued by a legendary Japanese water deity - the great dragon Watatsumi. Equally displeased by the invasion of his great nation by Europeans and by the responding actions of his human descendant, the Emperor, Watatsumi wishes to visit Japan and make his will known again.

"But unable to travel away from the water for an extended period of time, the ancient sea god offers Eriksen a deal -- become his avatar so that he may freely walk among his people, and in return he will give the gaijin enough power to wreak his revenge on their common enemies. Now they travel the islands of Japan as one, a strange amalgam of man and god, East and West, an enigma known to the modern people as Ryu Satsubatsu - The Savage Dragon."

G. Golembiski II
"I'm a huge fan of Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon series, so I was excited to take a crack at this. I tried to retain the core of Erik's character - proportions and fin. What I wanted to add was an emphasis on 'Dragon'. So I added reptile scales and texturing to him. I also thought 'fire breath' as well, which came in the form of a flaming sword. The look was influenced by a fusion Indian and Chinese weapons, face painting, clothing, and ornamentation. To me it still feels like this Dragon could be an action hero character, but set in a different time or era."

There you have it! Really a small month, but the submissions we got were phenomenal. Let us know what you think in the comments, and stay tuned for winner and October contest announcements in the comming days! Also be sure to check out Savage Dragon Results - Part 1!

OFFICIAL CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT - RAVEN

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Raven ©/™ DC Comics
When we started out with 2012, our goal at Superhero of the Month was to try to shake things up and give readers more of a say in who we would redesign over the course of the year. As the last fan-suggested character this year, we're proud to present Raven as your redesign challenge for October!

Since her introduction in the 1980's, Raven's costume has remained relatively the same, with some tweaks for the Teen Titans animated series and an overhaul for the One Year Later story line. Wearing the same thing over the course of nearly 32 years begs for a change.

Superhero of the Month contributor Sarah Meissner, who suggested this contest, said:

Personally, Raven is one of my favourite heroes in the DC universe. I think she is such a complex character, with such potential for redesigns. Her clothes and style in animated TV shows are a little bland. I thought she might fit nicely into the month of October because of her type of heritage.
Earlier this year, we tackled Raven's Teen Titans teammate, Starfire, with spectacular results, so hopefully this contest will bring out much of the same ingenuity that we saw back in February. All standard rules and guidelines apply. Raven redesigns are due October 23 by 6:00 PM MST. The winner of the contest will be announced on Halloween. Good luck!

Superhero of the Month - Peter Foglesong's Savage Dragon

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Savage Dragon results, wrapped up in a little bow. Congratulations to Peter Fogelsong, and thanks to those that submitted to the contest!

Judging this month was done by yours truly. More on that after the jump!

Peter Fogelsong - 9/10
A great reinterpretation and back story. There are elements of the original that are present, and don't make this reinterpretation entirely unrecognizable, but it strays so far off the beaten path that there are a breadth of story ideas that are simply beckoning for their time to shine. Well done!

See how the others rank up by clicking on the full post!

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Raven Results - Part 1

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We're back with the first batch of Raven redesigns! Check them out!
T.Branch
Editor's Note: T.Branch didn't leave any thoughts on his redesign.

Spidophile
Editor's Note: Spidophile didn't leave any thoughts on her redesign.
Wendy-Self
Raven already has a really cool design in the comics so this was really challenging to make my design look original but at the same time stay true to the spirit of the character. I wanted a calmer and more serene character design for my take on Raven. Being raised by a spiritual race it made sense to me to have a very plain costume which is modest and humble, but still practical for working, praying and studying around the Temple of Azarath. As Raven was kept hidden from the outside world, I tried to reflect this in her costume by adding the veil over her face and by covering as much of her skin as possible, as if even her costume itself is trying to shield her from outside influences (or keep her powers locked inside, you decide). I kept the cape to add a touch of elegance (as magic users in comics always seem to have fantastic fashion sense) and stuck to the blue and the gold of her traditional costume, but the little touches of red also hint at her demonic origins.
teen4roxtar
The redesign I have made for Raven is almost full-body for protection, as she lacks physical powers as such (eg: does not have tough skin like fellow Titan Starfire or Superboy) but has the two off-the-shoulder sleeves so it isn't all business. As many will agree, the costumes usually designed for superheroines are usually on the skimpy side, which only brings forth the complaints of leaving vulnerable areas bare. I have made sure this is not the case with Raven, but tried to keep it elegant and attractive all the same without showing too much skin.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to check out the Official Contest Announcement for details on this month's challenge! See you again soon!

Raven Results - Part 2

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We picked up some more Raven submissions! Here they are for your weekend enjoyment!

Sarah Meissner
To me Raven has always looked scary. In some comics she is shown to be average looking, and in others to be gorgeous. I thought I would use the more pretty side of raven's different redesigns. She mostly wears one color, so I thought I'd add a splash of color to her design. The cloak I like the most, because she wouldn't wear white. That's why I left the inside of her cloak black.
Joe Lozanno
'I see Raven as an ugly duckling, aching from bipolar disorder. I like when she is able to control her mood, when she behaves with the aid of a loving religion (she is a nun), good friends, good habits, calm . But if you destroy her fragile environment, she breaks down, and havoc is around the corner. In this picture I tried to reflect her father's world as the world behind the mirror,so the image on the mirror is her the way her father expect her to be. The "astral eyes" represent her father's eyes controlling every minute of her life when she is not strong enough to close them. Her fashion is from GAP, I see her as a young woman that buys cheap, informal clothes and is not worried about them. Her dark side wears black and red in style.
Samuel Szymanski
I loved the Teen Titans TV show and for me raven was the most fun to draw out of all of them, so here's what I did.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to check out all the Raven submissions we've picked up so far! All Raven submissions are due by Tuesday, October 23 at 6:00 pm MDT, so be sure to send yours in soon. Check out the Official Contest Announcement for details, and stay tuned to Superhero of the Month for more Raven redesigns!

Raven Results - Part 3 [Updated]

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We keep having Raven submissions pop in, and they've all been great so far. Today's fantastic submission is no exception.

Tory Cunningham
I stuck closer to the comic's version because of the impracticalities her costume offered, such as cloth getting tangled in between her legs or high heels when trying to run. I wanted to simplify it so I created a back version on the "dress" where it wouldn't get in the way and boots making it easier for travel.
Update - 10/17

This came in last night, A couple of new submissions came in, and being so close to Tory's submission, I figured it'd be better to just update this post, rather than hold off for a new one.

James Crabb
I'm most familiar with the Raven from the animated Teen Titans; I loved her outfit so I wanted to keep in tune with that theme. I wanted to do some bird elements so I added wings to the boot, as well as winged out the cape. I didn't put Raven in a hood, but there's an assumed one in the back. I also wanted to play a bit on her Azarath heritage, so I gave her a crown of Trigon horns.
Alex Melchor
The idea behind the redesign was to keep her sense of sobriety, giving nods to practicality, elegance and a bit of gothness that's always been part of her personality, even if her usual comics attire is basically a night dress and a fantasy cloak.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to check out all the Raven submissions we've received so far! Be sure to send in your Raven submission soon -- the deadline for this month's challenge is October 23, so one week from today! Check out the Official Announcement for details.

Raven Results - Part 4

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The last batch of Raven designs are in, and there's some amazing stuff in here! 

Alex Smith
I thought I might give her a more textured gothy look; regular clothes with a touch of super-hero thrown in. from the get-go I wanted her cape to look like wings and her hair to mirror her old hood.

Xerina
The first time I saw Raven the word "sorceress" came to my mind almost immediately; so when I had to redesign her for me it was an obvious choice. As Raven is dark and mysterious I kept the most iconic color and features of her; the hoodie, the belt, the cloak and the blue, but for the rest I played with the concepts I was inspiring in. The leather wrist, neck and arm bands together with the leather corset and the boots were to keep all the some sort of medieval sorceress mood, and also to give her more support and covering, as she is indeed powerful and a warrior she deserved a little more protection, but at the same time I wanted her to look attractive in the mysterious way she is, so for that I kept the design as elegant as possible in showing her skin. The colors are simple as she is not a person that (intentionally) draws attention. Finally the feathers were used as a direct inspiration in tribes, where the reflection of these ornaments meant power, royalty or mystic and also to do an allusion to her name.
Brian Post
I always thought of Raven as a weird chick who marches to the tune of her own drummer. Socially awkward, not caring what anyone else thinks of her. Kind of goth, kind of punk. My redesign tries to speak to all of that. Black greasy hair, raven feathers everywhere, and no hood, because hoods suck when it comes to peripheral vision.
Sebastian von Buchwald
Being that I was so close to the deadline before I even started thinking about this, I just had to go with my gut here and it worked out rather well. I don’t know a whole lot about the character so I tried to keep the basic elements of her costume intact to avoid straying too far from the look of the character.
Joshua Daniel
I gave Raven a more toned down look. I'd picture her as someone who's withdrawn and doesn't really like people, but also has a bit of a flashy side she likes to hide. I gave her a big hoodie/coat instead of the cloak so she could slink away and disappear into the crowds if she wants, but she keeps her shiny belt and high boots for when she wants to let loose. I also gave her a scarf for when she wants to hide her face and kept the jewel as a kind of scarf holder/clamp. Her hoodie can have long sleeves or act as fingerless gloves.
 Also of note, there are a couple of guys who were granted extensions (We do that! Find out here!), and I'll be updating this post as soon as their submissions come in over the next day or two.

What do you think of these designs? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to check out all of the Raven redesigns we've received so far! Stay tuned for the aforementioned update, as well as a new contest announcement that's unlike anything we've done before. We'll also be announcing the winner of this month's contest on Halloween.

OFFICIAL CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT - SUPERHERO REDUX

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Since Superhero of the Month started, we've grown from a site that gathered a baker's dozen entries for our first contest, to one that's picked up dozens of submissions in our contests since. We strive to choose a new hero for artists to design every month, but as people discover us, they also may discover that their favorite hero has been redesigned here before.

Aw, shucks? Never!

Whether you missed the opportunity before or just want another go, we're letting you choose any of the first 12 heroes or villains we presented for our first year for our contest this November (see full list below). 

We ask that you stick by the guidelines of each original Contest Announcement, as well as the standard contest guidelines. A couple of rules specific to this contest: 

1) You may not re-submit a piece you submitted for the original contest.

2) You may submit a piece that was either late, or otherwise featured on the site as part of our Redesigned feature.

3) While this is something of a free-for-all, we're going to limit the number of designs you may send in to 3 per contestant. Extra designs may be submitted, but will be ineligible for contest competition.

Submissions are due Friday, November 23 by 6:00 pm MDT. As always, feel free to email us or post a comment if you have any questions. Good luck!

Click below to see the full list of eligible characters for our Superhero Redux contest!
Read more »

Raven Results and Forward

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Hey, everyone. There have been some questions regarding the Raven results. They'll be coming forth soon. I'm trying to determine a few things with regards to Superhero of the Month, and for the time being all I can ask for is your patience.

In the meantime, please remember that Superhero Redux is ongoing for November!
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