Doug: It's been a loooooooonnnnngggggg time since we've called in the fashion police around here. Today's victim, er... examinee... is the Winsome Wasp herself -- Janet van Dyne Pym. Rather than spend hours of our own time spelunking through the Avengers DVD-ROM in search of all of Janet's costume changes (when we could be writing a bunch of other missives to throw your Bronze Age way), we've included the link to the totally awesome Avengers poster that George Perez and Tom Smith produced back in 1993. Clicking on it should take you to the website that's doing the hosting, and you'll be able to get a much larger image. Doug: So today's Dressed for Success is sort of a do-it-yourself job. What we'd like you to do is to see the larger image and check the periphery of the poster -- you'll note that Perez included the Wasp in 30 different costumes! It's really a fun history lesson (and speaking of the history of the team, Perez has expressed his regrets that when he drew this he did not include the characters in their classic costumes, but clothed them in what was current at the time. I, too, wish he'd done the former). Then come back here and let us know which costumes you liked/didn't like, and which ones bring back fond memories. After a day or so, Karen and/or I will get back on and give a summation as to whether the greater BAB community deemed Ms. Van Dyne a Success or a Fashion Disaster.
Have fun!
Really? No one has a particular preference for the purple costume, second from bottom left, or the one-legged white costume third across the bottom?
ReplyDeleteMust be No-Pulse Saturday out there...
Doug
All right, I'll bite: out of the many smart outfits Jan has worn, I think my personal favorite is the one she wore during the "Nights of Wundagore" story. I think on the poster it's the one over the V on the bottom left, right next to the white number Doug seems to like so much. Very sleek, simple, sensible and classy with no pointless frills, like sashes, skirts, pointy shoulder-pads or whatnot.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, sorry for the delay in responding. I'm about 7 time zones away from you, Doug (and about 8 or 9 from Karen...)
See, I knew we could count on our resident Croatian to get something going around here! :)
ReplyDeleteI like that costume you chose, Edo. I think of all the images Perez depicted, I'm probably most partial to the basic red/navy blue (or black, depending on how you see comic book colors) that is actually right before the purple get-up I cited.
Oh, and as me "liking so much"... I can only reflect on my raging adolescent hormones the first time I laid eyes upon the purple suit I mentioned, that Jan had created to stir up ol' Hank -- she did, all right... led right into Bride of Ultron!!
Doug
Yeah, I liked the one-legged costume from @#190, i think Perez drew it.
ReplyDeleteI like the C. 2003 black and yellow suit, the one they designed the Marvel Legends after (with really short hair). But I wish they had gone with a more classic costume for the ML figure.
Always hated the purple/green suit from Secret Wars.
starfoxxx
My favorite is the almost entirely black one with the yellow V-neck. Second from the bottom on the right. She was wearing that during some of the Roger Stern issues in the 1980s and I thought it looked snazzy, plus the color scheme works for the name "Wasp" whereas most of the other seem not to take into consideration who the character is.
ReplyDeleteThe costume that says "Wasp" to me is the red and yellow outfit with the high collar from the Buscema era. However, I liked the checked mini-dress from the first Crimson Cowl/Masters of Evil storyline!
ReplyDeleteI was amused to see Barry Smith's hippy get-up for Jan but there are some real eyesores in that poster: Wanda's swimsuit, Namor's Jae Lee- Aquaman swipe. And Deathcry.Oh God. Deathcry.
I liked the yellow and red costume John Buscema used, as in the "Lady Liberators" story. But it fits her character that she's never stuck with one costume for very long, but then, excepting the period when he was mostly Yellowjacket, neither has Hank.
ReplyDeleteRather sheepishly I have a fondness for the original, with the pointy cap.
ReplyDeleteJanet, Janet, Janet..
ReplyDeleteI had that Avengers poster up for years, In fact, I really need to get it up again in my basement..
As for favorites.., yes the purple number is a particular favorite (such a shame she couldn't afford any more material..).., but I'd go with the classic red/yellow costume from the Buscema days.
Having started my Avengers collecting in '73, I didn't have any exposure to Janet or Hank until a couple of years later (Triple Action was running the Kooky Quartet line-up in '73/74...).
Yes the purple/green Wars costume, along with the 'missing-leg' white suit had to have been the worst.
There was a special issue a few years back which recaps the Wasp's first ish and #213 (WHY do they always have to reprint THAT issue..??), where Hank dons 'the Wasp' identity and it includes 2 pages displaying all the outfits.
I lke the purple one on the bottom, third from the right, and the purple one on the top, third from the right, but my favorite is the yellow & red on on the top for, furthest to the left. I'm just a sucker for the yellow & red thing, I suppose.
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