Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Huntress

This is the fifth posted entry in this PSA illustration series to promote the pro-social and pro-health concept of mask wearing during the pandemic and depicts superheroes in "red carpet" takes on their superhero costumes.

This is the last one for Black History Month, but I think she's only historically notable on that front for being a character who has been portrayed as white for decades, and in recent years, due to Universe/Reality resets, has become a woman of color. The story is the same - Helena Bertinelli was the daughter of a mob boss who survived her family's mafia execution and trained herself to avenge them. In the Rebirth continuity, we learn that her father was a caucasian Sicilian man and her mother was a black woman. When finished avenging her family, Helena fights crime as Huntress and is a school teacher by day.

Design-wise, I was really inspired by the AMAZING hair a friend of mine has always rocked. I wanted to try to bring that look here. This piece also marked two Firsts for me - the first time I've ever done hazel eyes (I love how they turned out!) and the first time I've ever done French tipped nails. (Oolala!) I was also wanted to bring a little bit of influence from the Huntress costume that Mary Elizabeth Winstead wore in the Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey movie, so there's a *little* iridescence going on with the purple. Violet Vengence! 

Thanks for taking the time to experience this!

"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Huntress" by Kevenn T. Smith
 Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Huntress ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Bumblebee

This is the fourth posted entry in this PSA illustration series to promote the pro-social and pro-health concept of mask wearing during the pandemic and depicts superheroes in "red carpet" takes on their superhero costumes.

This entry is also tying in with Black HistoryMonth - Bumblebee is Karen Beecher, a brilliant scientist. While Nubia was the first superheroic black woman to appear in mainstream comics in 1972, it wasn't until 1974 when Storm appeared in X-Men comics over at Marvel that the first actual black woman superhero premiered, because Storm was a code name and a persona. In 1975, in the pages of Teen Titans, Bumblebee became the first bonafide black woman superhero in the DC Universe.

Karen was dating a man named Mal Duncan, who worked with the Teen Titans, but for some reason, they never invited him to become an actual member. So, Karen put together an anti-gravity suit with "stinger" beams and dubbed herself Bumblebee, attacking the Teen Titans in an effort to give Mal a chance to be the one who sends her packing - just to make him look good. They discover her identity, and then...yep, they invite HER to become a member of the Titans. (The Teen Titans were kinda' jerks.) Eventually Mal did joint the Titans, and the two were married.

Over the years, Bumblebee has gone through changes. They've made her single again, she's had the power to shrink down to the size of a bee, for a while was STUCK at the size of a bee. In Rebirth, they gave her powers, so she was no longer reliant on technology. Check out the recent issue number 2 of the fantastic miniseries, "The Other History of the DC Universe" by John Ridley, who wrote Twelve Years a Slave. The entire issue is from Karen & Mal's point of view, and it's outstanding. It'll also make you really not like Roy Harper.

For this look, I wanted something less "opulent" and something slightly more "working class." The look homages her second Bumblebee costume, that I feel like she had the longest, and her design from the Teen Titans cartoon, that also ended up being adopted in the comics.

Thanks for taking a look!
 "Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Bumblebee" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Bumblebee ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Vixen

This is the third posted entry in this PSA illustration series to promote the pro-social and pro-health concept of mask wearing during the pandemic and depicts superheroes in "red carpet" takes on their superhero costumes.

This entry also ties into Black History Month, as Vixen was the first full-time black female member of the Justice League of America. Vixen is not just a superhero, who can access the abilities of ANY animal (speed of a cheetah, proportional strength of an army ant, flight of a condor, regeneration of a Gekko, etc.), but she's also a supermodel. Honestly, though, I feel like she's rarely ever depicted actually LOOKING like a supermodel. I'm here to rectify that. I used Angolan model, Maria Borges, as my inspiration and guide for the features in my rendition of Vixen, because I have no idea if Maria Borges can act, but by golly she has the LOOK. (Seriously, let's put it out into the universe that Ms Borges will even cosplay as Vixen!)

Vixen's power comes from the totem that she wears around her neck. Usually, Vixen is an African woman from the fictional country of Zambesi who has spent a while living in America, but the issue of Truth & Justice that came out in February of 2021 featuring her seems to suggest that she IS American...which has me wondering if they're now using the set-up from the TV show Legends of Tomorrow, where Vixen's grandmother operated as Vixen as well, and the modern-day Vixen, Mari McCabe, was adopted and raised in America? Either way, she's in my Top 5 favorite DC Heroes, and I LOVE her!

"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Vixen" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Vixen ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Nubia

This is the second posted entry in this series of PSA type illustrations to promote the pro-social and pro-health concept of mask wearing during the pandemic and depicts superheroes in "red carpet" takes on their superhero costumes.

This entry also ties in with Black History Month, as Nubia was the first super heroic black woman depicted in mainstream US comic books in 1972, two years prior to the appearance of Storm in 1974 in the X-Men book over at Marvel Comics. She debuted in a 3 part story in the Wonder Woman title. She initially started out being an antagonist, but ended up as an ally. Her origin is that she is the twin of Diana, Wonder Woman. When Queen Hippolyta was sculpting Diana before she was brought to life, she actually sculpted two babies, one using darker clay, which was Nubia. When the two baby sculptures were brought to life, the god Mars (Ares) kidnapped the infant Nubia and ended up raising her on a far-off island of warriors, where she became one of the fiercest warriors there. Years later, she showed up on Paradise Island to defeat the Amazons and Wonder Woman, but ended up rejecting Mars and his conditioning. She showed up later in an issue of Supergirl and an issue of Super Friends, where she had become the Wonder Woman of Africa.

Lately, Nubia has been showing up in her own back-up story in Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman by L.L. McKinney and Alitha Martinez, where I took the design cues here from. Also available is a Young Adult graphic novel also written by L.L. McKinney entitled "Nubia: Real One." Later in 2021, DC Comics will be putting out a comic called "Nubia and the Amazons," and I cannot tell you how excited I am for that!

"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Nubia" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Nubia ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Wonder Woman

Back in the day when I was in high school, there were two things that I loved to draw the most often: superheroes and fashion. My local comic book shop asked for artwork for a fund raising auction to raise money for the Cleveland Food Bank, and the theme was "The Pandemic." I wanted to apply those two things that I used to draw all the time and mix them into "The Pandemic." And so, this new "PSA" series was born mixing "red carpet" takes on superhero looks along with face coverings to promote a pro-social and pro-health message. Some of the pieces in this series go for a more literal take, while others go further away from the origins, but still strive to retain recognizable elements of that character's visual identity.

The first entry is more of the former than the latter. As my favorite superhero and the biggest superheroine in the DC Universe, Wonder Woman is of course leading the line. Mermaid silhouette gowns have always been my favorite. I really wanted to take Wonder Woman's look and "Plus It Up," and at the same time, figure out a way to incorporate the magic lasso beyond just hanging as a coil at her hip. So please enjoy the illustration, and I hope you are inspired to keep yourself and those around you safe during the current COVID-19 Pandemic that we are going through and will be for some time. And stay tuned for for installments in this series!

"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Wonder Woman" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith 
Wonder Woman  ©DC Comics