Kevenn T. Smith 12/20/21 Kevenn T. Smith 12/20/21

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Finale

I spent a year working on all of these individual designs and the setting for this composite piece. When I was working on it, several times throughout the year of 2021 I wondered if this piece would be obsolete or no longer relevant by the time I finished all the planned entries. Sadly, the answer is that it's more relevant than ever. With the Omicron variant being five times as transmissible as the already more transmissible Delta variant, whether you're vaccinated or not, the best way to help protect yourself and others (after being vaccinated) wearing a mask when having to be near others. Being vaccinated and wearing a mask are the best ways to stop the spread of this virus. I wish this piece was obsolete so that life could get back to the way things were before the pandemic happened.

Prints of this piece are available directly from me. Fill out the "Contact Me" form at the left of this page to contact me regarding a print and inquire about pricing.

Pictured Left to Right starting at the bottom, Row 1: Black Canary, Huntress, Barda, Isis, Donna Troy, Nubia, Lois Lane, Wonder Woman, Artemis, Vixen, Katana, Batgirl, Zatanna, Mera

Row 2: Ice, Omen, Power Girl, Flamebird, Hawkgirl, Dove, Bumblebee

Row 3: Fire, Dr. Light, Starfire, Catwoman, Batwoman, Raven, Supergirl, Green Lantern

Row 4: Red Tornado

Right-click on the thumbnail below and open it in a new tab to see a larger image size. Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece and this series. I hope it inspires you to wear a mask.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
All characters ©DC Comics

Kevenn T. Smith 7/26/21 Kevenn T. Smith 7/26/21

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Artemis

This is the 25th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

At the time of this posting, the Delta Variant of the COVID-19 virus is posing a real threat upon the world. It is even more contagious than previous iterations of the virus, and the World Health Organization recommends mask wearing regardless of vaccination status.

If this writing had an audio option, this is where I would cue up Mariah Carey saying, "And now for the deluxe." This entry is one of the last six entries in this series that I had planned and considered "bonus material" of "deep cut" characters. Artemis of the Bana Mighdall Amazons was created in the mid 1990's, thus she's a redhead with an impossibly long flowing ponytail that never seems to hinder her in her adventures. The Bana Mighdall tribe of Amazons had split off from the Themiscyran Amazons thousands of years ago, before they were lead to Paradise Island. The Bana's (as they became known) were unwilling to give up their desire for revenge against men. Eventually, they ended up settling in Egypt and developed a worship of some Egyptians gods, who erected a mystical sandstorm around their city of Bana Mighdall (which translated to "The Temple of Women"). The Banas became a very warrior-like and violent tribe, adopting modern weapons and kidnapping men to use as breeding stock. Their tribe's champion was call Shim'Tar. As Artemis grew, her best friend and love, Akila, competed against Artemis for the right to become Shim'Tar, but Akila ended up winning that title before eventually meeting her death. Eventually, the Banas agreed to help the evil sorceress Circe attack the Themiscyran Amazons. Artemis was 14 at the time and was the only Amazon who protested the decision before the Bana Council. They should have listened, because they were betrayed by Circe, and all Amazons were cast into a demon dimension where the two tribes were forced to join forces fighting off demon hordes for ten years.

Eventually, Wonder Woman convinced Circe to return the Amazons to their own dimension. However, Queen Hippolyta began having visions of Wonder Woman dying, so she arranged to have a new Contest for the title of Wonder Woman and she secretly had the Amazon sorceress Magala cast a spell that siphoned Diana's powers off to Artemis when they were near each other. This caused Diana to lose the Contest, and Artemis won and became the new Wonder Woman for a time. Artemis was brash and had no patience for complex situations and problems that she blamed Diana for not fixing in the world. Her time as Wonder Woman was short, as she ended up dying fighting the White Magician. With her last breath, she gave Diana the Gauntlet of Hermes, which she used to increase her strength, thus giving Diana the power that she needed to defeat the White Magician. Since it's comic books, Artemis ended up returning from the dead, and she maintains an uneasy and sometimes slightly antagonistic relationship with Diana. Currently, the Bana Mighdall are back to being based in Egypt, and Artemis, seems to be their champion, or at least a trusted agent, as she is currently appearing in the new Wonder Girl title.

This look pulls mostly from Artemis' current "DC Rebirth" costume, which in itself is a black, red, and gold rework of her Requiem costume, a look she wore when she was first resurrected and joined a group of demon hunters. the footwear is a callback to her time wearing the Wonder Woman costume. Her mask pattern is a variant on the theme that the other Wonder Woman characters in this series have featured.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Artemis" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Artemis ©DC Comics

Kevenn T. Smith 11/26/10 Kevenn T. Smith 11/26/10

Superhero Artwork Merchandise by Kevenn T. Smith

Just in time for the Holiday Season, you can buy cards, prints and posters of some of my past superhero illustrations seen on this website!

Wonder Clubbing by Kevenn T. Smith. This illustration is available as prints. Please use the "Contact Me" form at the top-left of this page to request one and inquire further about pricing and sizes.

Here, Kitty, Kitty! by Kevenn T. Smith. This illustration is available as prints. Please use the "Contact Me" form at the top-left of this page to request one and inquire further about pricing and sizes.

A Boy and His Dog by Kevenn T. Smith. This illustration is available as prints. Please use the "Contact Me" form at the top-left of this page to request one and inquire further about pricing and sizes.

Double Transformation by Kevenn T. Smith. For sale as T-shirts, Skirts, Hoodies, Kids' & Babies' Clothes, Posters, Throw Pillows, Tote Bags, Studio Pouches, Mugs, Travel Mugs, Photographic Prints, Art Prints, Framed Prints, Canvas Prints, Metal Prints, Greeting Cards, Laptop Skins and more! Please use the "Contact Me" form at the top-left of this page to request and inquire about pricing and size options.

All artwork and images ©Kevenn T. Smith 2010

Kevenn T. Smith 11/8/09 Kevenn T. Smith 11/8/09

Built Like An Amazon: Artemis of Bana Mighdall Artcard by Kevenn T. Smith

This artcard showcases Artemis of Bana Mighdall in her Requiem costume that seems to have made a comeback in DC Comics' recent publications. Artemis is from the Middle Eastern tribe of Amazons from the hidden city of Bana Mighdall. At one point, Artemis ended up beating Princess Diana of Themiscyra for the title of Wonder Woman. Artemis served as Wonder Woman for a short time. The Amazon sorceress, Magala, had put a spell on Diana on the behest of Queen Hippolyta that would transfer half of Diana's strength and speed when they were near each other. Artemis' stint as Wonder Woman was short-lived, and she was killed by the villain, The White Magician. However, death cant keep a tough Amazon down, and Artemis ended up clawing her way out of hell and her own grave.

Artemis has proven to be a popular character in the Wonder Woman franchise. She's more headstrong and less compassionate than Diana, but her heart is in the right place. She ended up becoming the leader of the Bana Mighdall Amazons on Themiscyra. Aretmis has just returned to Themiscyra in the Wonder Woman title, and her future roll remains to be seen.

For this piece, I went back to Ed Benes' original drawings of Artemis in the Requiem miniseries, as well as Nicola Scott's take on the costume in the recent Secret Six storyline. In some of Benes' early drawings, he had the green lining at the decolletage make a "w" shape. I like that element to help visually tie Artemis into the Wonder Woman family, and as a former Wonder Woman, I believe she's entitled to wear a "w" symbol - even a simplified one. I left of the skull on her headband because I thought that element was excessively 90's. Instead, I opted to repeat the tripple-arrow "A" symbol that the Requiem costume has on the sternum area. I really liked the seams and the side-lacing that Nicola Scott added to the costume in the Secret Six issues, as well as the kneecap armor she gave the boots. The sword is the special demon killer sword that Artemis ended up having in the Byrne run of Wonder Woman that was also included as an accessory to the Artemis action figure that DC Direct made.

This artcard is available as cards, postcards, and a small matted print at RedBubble.com!
Artemis of Bana Mighdall by Kevenn T. Smith ©Kevenn T. Smith 2009

4.25 x 5.5 inches cardstock.

Pencil, ink, and Prismacolor pencil.

Kevenn T. Smith 9/25/08 Kevenn T. Smith 9/25/08

Wonder Clubbing For Wonder Woman Day III

This piece, entitled "Wonder Clubbing," is one that I did for the silent auction for Wonder Woman Day III to benefit two domestic violence shelters and a women's crisis line. I wanted to do a piece that showed Wonder Woman and her closest friends having fun and enjoying themselves, so I depicted them dancing at a club with a couple of admirers. One of my goals for this piece was to also include characters close to the hearts of Wonder Woman comic book fans like Artemis, Etta Candy, Donna Troy, and in a way, Circe.

This illustration is available as prints. Please use the "Contact Me" form at the top-left of this page to request one and inquire further about pricing and sizes.