Monday, April 19, 2010

X-Ladies '88

As requested, here are the X-Ladies of '88, from memory.



I think these designs were very interesting. Everything that followed sartorially on the X-Men books was studied and militaristic or spray painted naked ladies, but these costume designs show a very careful adherence to different mid-80s pop subcultures. Dazzler is a sort of post-disco creature, Rogue has the big hair of the Bangles, Psylocke was a sort of wafty English ballet-goth and Storm a "Voices Carry" style MTV punk! When I drew them, they looked like they were dance students loitering outside the school for gifted prancers. It's a look you see carried through all those Paula Abdul-choreographed videos of the late 80s!

Note: the X-"Men" of this era look for the most part like they are attending one of the more fringe nightclubs in New York's meatpacking district. This was the period where Colossus stuck to mostly just belt-and-underpants.

24 comments:

Usby said...

I'm sure Alison Goldfrapp has worn at least a couple of these outfits

mordicai said...

This is pretty amazingly great. Sullen after a lecture by dull old Mister Summers!

K said...

I like! I don't think I knew about the X-Men in the 80s, but the dance-students comparison is very apt. As a little girl doing ballet then, I had a deep yearning for a kingfisher-blue catsuit (which I never got).

Apropos of several days ago: Joanna Newsom's dress is *exactly* what I want to wear this summer. I always covet the clothes you draw (though maybe not the X-Women's getups now that I'm no longer eight).

Mazz said...

This is great! I love it! But there's a big gaping hole where Jubilee should be :o)

John A said...

Jubilee was a bit later than these outfits, please don't make me reveal that I know exactly what number issue she was introduced in (Uncanny 244).

Mazz said...

Haha sorry, I didn't mean to potentially jeopardize your coolness or social standing.

Unknown said...

British Psylocke is best.

ELLIE said...

John! Wonderful! I wish I was aware of the XMen in '88, but alas, I was a year off being alive. So much I've missed.

Dewey said...

I love Psylocke's sandwich! (That would make for a confusing bumper sticker)

Stephanie said...

John, do not be embarrassed. I know exactly what issue GAMBIT was introduced in, for crying out loud. (Uncanny X-Men #266, although this actually preceded by X-Men Annual #14.)

Unknown said...

Do you remember thinking you would never ever pull off a style so bitchin as Longshot's mullet & leather jumpsuit?

David Nett said...

To the reader who was not yet alive in 1988: you made me weep. I'm at work, miss, in my putty-colored cubicle and you made me weep.

Also, later in life those X-Ladies will understand that Mr. Summers' boring lectures were meant to help them. They'll look back on it at acknowledge his wisdom.

Unknown said...

This is the most perfect X-men fan art ever. I share your sentiments :)

Her Holiness said...

I am resisting the temptation to look the costumes up in my copy of the Ultimate Guide to the Xmen... Thank you for complying to our requests to make more pictures :)

Unknown said...

Before I read your post, I thought they looked like bored students standing outside on break. Nice. And I do not remember the issue numbers, but I did have a stack of Uncanny X-Men, and Gambit WAS my favorite.

Daniel Danny Dan said...

This is a little slice of awesome. Dance students? Hmm, here I thought they were in jail. Seems more likely for those saucy minxes!... Minxi?

My favorite era, hands down, and the fellas were simply back-up to these four.

Anonymous said...

This post isn't about this blog entry at all, but about BAD MACHINERY.

I like it better than ScaryGoRound.

There, I said it.

I find the characters adorable. The storylines are engaging. The humour is better-structured.

The plots have a beginning a middle and an end.

I know you got a lot of hate mail when you ended ScaryGoRound, so I thought I would chime in and say that the new strips is wonderful.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the old SGR. But what you've created here has its own magical and wonderful vibe. I hope you are winning back some of the "haters".

I can't believe I just used the word "hater" in a sentence... and I'm not even 15.

Guillermo Biasini said...

Love it! They have indeed some interesting clothing design right there.

Carlos Merino said...

http://guttercomics.blogspot.com/2010/04/las-chicas-de-la-patrulla-x-en-los-80.html

Christophe said...

Hey John... Not to split hairs but where is the good old Republic of Ireland (sponsored by Dr. Pepper: "What's the worst that could happen?") in your preorders for recklessly yours. I fear oversight has thrust us into the UK & Nth America basket thus ignoring hundreds of years of realpolitik, the birth of guerrilla warfare and terrorism and yet, I feel it would be slightly unnecessary to pay an extra £1.50 sterling just to make a political point.

Care to clarify, thanks,

Christophe

John A said...

Christophe

Alas the Royal Mail rates have been brutally jacked up of late, it's the best part of £3 just for Air Mail stamps to the R.O.I, plus your padded envelope, plus Paypal/ credit card fees, plus labels, plus printer ink, plus tears. I used to be able to charge for Europe like a domestic order, rising costs mean I can't any more.

I've held book prices at £10 for 7 years, I hope this is some consolation!

John A said...

PS in a lot of cases, due to running out of stock here in the UK, the cost of shipping still doesn't actually cover what it cost to get you the book!

Christophe said...

Ah, no that's perfect John. We take our place at the table of world nations with no little embarrasment.

Natacha Bustos said...

That`re so cool ñ_ñ