girl power

Recently, DC Comics announced they were launching a new line of books and products called "Super Hero Girls" aimed at girls age 6-12. It's really kind of exciting, as the comic industry has done a poor job of engaging women throughout their history. Finding a strong heroine who is not over-sexualized or who doesn't simply play a supporting role is not easy.


I can't say I gave it much thought before having a daughter, when as a boy, I had all the heroes I could ask for. When Nat came along though, I began looking for a heroine who could play the roll in her life that Superman and He-Man did for me in my youth. We have enjoyed She-Ra and Supergirl through the years, but the one that my daughter loves the most is Wonder Woman.

With Free Comic Book Day coming up, I thought it was the perfect time to finish this project I've been working on. You may have seen my son become both Superman and Captain America, and my daughter embraced her inner Amazonian for Halloween, well now she has been fully integrated into Wonder Woman's history with an appearance on the cover of the classic Sensation Comics #1! The process is the same as it was with Action Comics #1, only this time, we get some bullet deflecting bracelets!






It starts with a sketch...

Ink it in, and get rid of any left over pencil lines...

Before I started adding color, I made sure I could get my daughter in the pose I would need. This part takes more than a steady hand with a pencil, but an eye for posing, a little minor skill with Photoshop, or a basic editing software like Pixlr, and a subject willing to pose several times until you get the photo just right. 

This photo was only the third take, and was as close to the original pose as we were going to get. A little Photoshop magic to lift her arm a touch and clip her from the background comes next. I also sized her on a page to fit the positioning of the cover and added the bracelets we forgot to wear for the photoshoot.

Now you can print it out and make sure it lines up on your page, then start filling in the color.

Once the color is complete, layer the two images and frame it up to add to your kid's wall!

With this on your wall, the next time someone tells your daughter that girls can't be superheroes, she'll definitely know better!