New Look for Wonder Woman

I just happened across an article on the CBC about a new costume for Wonder Woman. I have very mixed feelings on this subject.

The classic version of Wonder Woman's costume is pictured to the left. I personally feel that superhero costumes need to be somewhat functional; fighting crime in a one-piece with what must be the ultimate Wonderbra (pun intended) doesn't seem very functional to me.

At the same time though, the whole outfit really works and has become the defining look of the character. When a costume gets redesigned, especially on an iconic character like Wonder Woman, enough elements of the original look to make the character instantly recognizable must remain.


The image to the right is Wonder Woman's new look. This isn't the first time Wonder Woman has been redesigned, but looking at this new outfit, I doubt it will be the last.

I like that the top is no longer strapless; it makes a lot more sense from a functional standpoint. I also like the addition of pants.

That is all that I like about this costume.

While I like the addition of pants, I really don't like the solid black. Wonder Woman is a bright, shining superhero, the inspirational equivalent of Superman. While dark pants with almost no contrasting colours are starting to become a fad in superhero costumes (the redesigned Captain America and the Thor movie costume, for example), it is too bad this trend is hitting Wonder Woman.

Her bracelets and tiara are included in the outfit, but the tiara seems kind of small. The bracelets are just hideous; sometimes simpler is better, and this is a perfect example of why.

The original look draws heavy influence from the American flag, and this look does not, which would be a bonus except Wonder Woman has been wearing the flag for something like 60 years. It has become a part of the character, plain and simple.

Has Wonder Woman had worse outfits than this? Yes, she has. But I really hope that this look does not last for long; if I had just seen this image on its own I would not have known this was the new look for Wonder Woman. I would have thought it was a poorly-designed fan drawing.

Speaking Greek in English

While attending the BCBC 40th Anniversary celebration this past week-end, I got to spend some time with my good buddy Riker. Riker is turning 8 years old this year (I hope I've got that right; I can barely keep my own age straight), and is growing up fast! He is quickly becoming schooled in the art of trash talking; he challenged me to a game of torpedo ball and then promptly called me "old man". My former name of "JayBoaz" (as the Westman kids usually call me) has been replaced with "old man". I perhaps made the mistake of asking Riker if that meant Sarah is the old lady...

Anyway, while sharing lunch together, Riker and I were quizzing each other on Transformers. I have fond memories of the Transformers cartoon from my childhood, and actually have it on DVD. Riker has borrowed my Beast Wars DVDs before, and now he and his dad are working through their own set of the Transformers cartoon. Riker also spends time reading about the Transformers on-line.

So Riker would ask me "Who do you think my favourite Predacon is?" I would proceed to rattle off several Predacons from the Beast Wars series. Waspinator. Inferno. Rampage. Finally I guessed Quickstrike and was right.

So we went back and forth, me guessing Riker's favourites, then Riker guessing mine. At one point, when discussing Decepticons, Sarah tried to participate in the Decepticon debate by suggesting Optimus Prime. Riker and I looked at each other, partially amused and partially shocked. We informed Sarah that Optimus Prime is an Autobot, not a Decepticon.

I then thought about it for a moment, and asked her, "It sounds like we're speaking another language, doesn't it?" She confirmed that yes, the nuances of Cybertronian lifeforms were an alien language to her.

Clearly our schools need to spend more time on the important things in life, like the difference between an Autobot Headmaster and a Predacon Transmetal.

Book Review: Robin Hood, King of Sherwood

I'll be up front before I review this book, the author is actually a friend of mine. We have both been participants on a story-writing message board for many a year now (at least 10), and have collaborated together on on-line projects before. Regardless, I thought this book was outstanding.

This is an origin story of Robin Hood. In the beginning of the book, Robin is not the leader of the Merry Men. However, he is still the Robin that we all know and love. He is a master of the bow, a charming rogue, and a man of character.

I don't want to spoil the story, but we very organically see Robin adopt his mission to rob from the rich to give to the poor. The story never feels like an origin story, which often attempts to shoehorn in certain story beats in an awkward manner to make it match the end product.

Many stories today feature shades of grey, where it is sometimes hard to distinguish the heroes from the villains. Not so here. The villains are vicious pieces of work, both dastardly and cruel. Our heroes clearly are not, though they are not afraid to kill when necessary (a reflection of the time the story is set in, as that was the way of things). It is refreshing for the heroes to be just that, heroes.

The only negatives I have about the book are that some plot points are not wrapped up by the end; though it is important to note the author did not rush to tie them up neatly (and improperly) with a little bow in the space allotted (which would have cheapened the story). This is addressed in the afterword, that if sales are sufficient there will be another volume or two published. From personal experience I know the author has a tendency to plan a single story that then sprawls into multi-part epics, so I wasn't surprised by this. As long as the rest of the story gets published, it will all work out just fine.

I also found the odd section to be rather, well, wordy. This book is historical fiction, and as such the names and terminology of the times are used throughout the book. In the opening chapter I felt it was a little heavy on this, but to be fair it may be because the author is English, the book is set in England, and I've never been there. Generally this is a strength of the book, not a weakness, just that opening chapter was a bit heavy.

All in all, this is a fantastic read for those who love adventure and right versus wrong (as opposed to law and order). I give it 4.5 arrows out of 5.

Canadian Television

I read an article today about Alberta's Culture Minister making comments that "Canadian TV is crap".

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2010/06/16/calgary-blackett-banff-television-comments-backlash.html?ref=fh,www.mymanitoba.com

He's taking a lot of flack for it, but honestly, I can't really say that I disagree with him (before he backpedaled). When I think of good Canadian programming (excluding sports coverage, which is excellent), I have trouble thinking of a lot of candidates. The ones that come to mind are:

Corner Gas
Canada's Worst Driver/Handyman
Battle of the Blades
Dragon's Den

Honorable mentions to programs that have been out of production for a few years - Royal Canadian Air Farce, the Red Green Show, The Littlest Hobo, and old school Degrassi

I really can't think of any other Canadian programs I really enjoy watching, to be honest. I think one of our problems is Canadian programming has to feature the best Canadian for the job. Compare that to the United States, where it's not the best American for the job, it's the best person for the job, period.

I have to wonder if we cut down on the Canadian quotas (for crew, actors, etc) in our television and film industry, if that would in fact strengthen what we have.