With Halloween around the corner, we dove into our closets and skimmed the surface of the internet to find quick and easy costumes to please all manner of costume and cosplay enthusiasts! Our focus today is on Ariel from The Little Mermaid! In her human form, obviously. Unless you want to freeze your seashells off, which is totally your business.
Skirt | Top | Shoes | Corset | Wig | Lipstick | Bow
Sure, you could head over to Hot Topic and get their short and screen printed version. But we’re going for authentic and affordability over here!
When you break it down, there are four key elements to Ariel’s human look, and they’re not as hard to find as you may think. A quick trip to Amazon will yield you a blue chiffon maxi skirt and flowy bohemian top. If you’re really a stickler for screen accuracy, you could always dye the top a powdery blue with a quick trip to the fabric store. Otherwise, just pair those two items with a basic black overbust corset from the Halloween store or the internet and you’re almost done! Once those items are out of the way, now is the time to search through your closet. If you don’t own basic flats or the ribbon to make a hairbow, toss them in your cart for a few extra dollars.
Keep the makeup neutral with some bold elements, like a bright red lip and big false lashes to play up Ariel’s wide-eyed innocence. We like Bite Lipsticks, but really, any red will do so long as it doesn’t clash.
Grab a long red wig with a heavy bang as your last Amazon purchase, brush out the curls to get a little beach wave going, and hairspray the bangs as high as you dare. Just a little twirl here and a yank there and voila! You’ve got an aesthetically pleasing configuration of hair that humans go nuts over.
Take costume to the next level by grabbing a fork from the kitchen and running it through your wig or convincing another person to tag along as your Eric! At this rate, you’ll be kissed by sunset for sure.
Planning on making this costume? Doing some other DIY awesome? Want to check out the rest of our BOO-It-Yourself Halloween Costumes and Decor? Show me all your spook-tacular creations on Twitter @SubCultured or come party like its 1599 in our Discord server! When you’re done, wind down with Ten Family Friendly Halloween Movies to help lull the kiddos into a candy coma! Afterward, you can set the mood with Five Albums to Flesh Out Your Halloween Playlist and huddle under the covers with Netflix and Chilling – Halloween Movie Edition.
BOO-It-Yourself Halloween Costumes – Terra from Teen Titans!
BOO-It-Yourself Halloween Costumes – Misa Amane
BOO-It-Yourself Halloween Costumes – L from Death Note!
BOO-It-Yourself Halloween Costumes – Regina The Evil Queen!
BOO-It-Yourself Halloween Costumes – Amaterasu
BOO-It-Yourself Halloween Costumes – Connie Maheswaran
With Halloween around the corner, we dove into our closets to find quick and easy costumes to please all manner of costume and cosplay enthusiasts!
Our focus today is on the sun goddess, Amaterasu, from The Wicked + The Divine.
Dress | Necklace | Bracelet | Wig | Shoes | Eyes | Lips
Like a pop idol version of the Childlike Empress, the modern day version of the sun goddess Amaterasu from The Wicked + The Divine seems to be all about the bohemian life. But a famous goddess always has expensive tastes, so the theme of this DIY costume is finding the balance.
We took some liberties with Amaterasu’s getup and found a long sleeved lace dress with just enough detail to look both easy and expensive at the same time. If you’re not used to accessories, for this Amaterasu Halloween costume, go gaudy. We chose a large gold statement necklace and paired it with a faux pearl hand chain. For the shoes, our minds wandered from festival staples like gladiator shoes and fringe booties before settling on another great compromise, suede heels with rhinestones for a psuedo expensive touch. Add a curly red wig with heavy bangs from your favorite wig shop, top it with a gold filigree headband, and you have completed your outfit!
The main staple of this costume is the multicolored eye makeup, so we chose Kat Von D’s Mi Vida Loca eyeshadow palette, which has a color wheel to help you achieve this look. Now that your eyes are on point, dab on some Obsessive Compulsive Lip Tar in the shade Radiate and go do just that!
Want to take your Amaterasu Halloween costume to the next level? Add a toy microphone and black out contact lenses for the full effect of a rock goddess!
Planning on making this costume? Doing some other DIY awesome? Want to check out the rest of our BOO-It-Yourself Halloween Costumes and Decor? Show me all your spook-tacular creations on Twitter @SubCultured or come party like its 1599 in our Discord server! When you’re done, wind down with Ten Family Friendly Halloween Movies to help lull the kiddos into a candy coma! Afterward, you can set the mood with Five Albums to Flesh Out Your Halloween Playlist and huddle under the covers with Netflix and Chilling – Halloween Movie Edition.
Daku Con 2018 Photo Gallery
Daku Con 2018 Convention Recap!
Colorado Anime Fest Wrap Up
Sneaky Zebra at Blizzcon 2015!
Creepiest Cosplay at NYCC 2015
With Halloween around the corner, we dove into our closets to find quick and easy costumes to please all manner of costume and cosplay enthusiasts!
Our focus today is on the determined Connie Maheswaran from Steven Universe!
Skirt | Top | Shoes | Bow
The strawberry to Steven Universe’s biscuit, Connie Maheswaran’s upbringing leads her to don a more comfortable attire. To snag Connie’s style, there are a few options to be found for a mint a-line skirt, but we chose Zappos as the closest, as it seems like a place Mrs. Maheswaran would allow her daughter to shop. If a plain white tee is somehow missing from your closet, no worries, Forever 21 has them on the cheap along with all sorts of fun socks to choose from. Ever the practical gal, head to Target to snatch up galoshes to keep your feet dry no matter what Beach City throws your way.
Have perfect vision and no use for prescriptions or readers? That’s okay, Connie does too. While you’re at Target, grab some sunglasses with round frames and pop the lenses out. Voila!
Want to take your Connie Maheswaran costume to the next level? Grab a toy violin, make Connie’s favorite book, The Unfamiliar Familiar, or have a friend join you as Steven Universe, jam buds style!
Planning on making this costume? Doing some other DIY awesome? Want to check out the rest of our BOO-It-Yourself Halloween Costumes and Decor? Show me all your spook-tacular creations on Twitter @SubCultured or come party like its 1599 in our Discord server! When you’re done, wind down with Ten Family Friendly Halloween Movies to help lull the kiddos into a candy coma! Afterward, you can set the mood with Five Albums to Flesh Out Your Halloween Playlist and huddle under the covers with Netflix and Chilling – Halloween Movie Edition.
Daku Con 2018 Photo Gallery
Daku Con 2018 Convention Recap!
Colorado Anime Fest Wrap Up
Sneaky Zebra at Blizzcon 2015!
Creepiest Cosplay at NYCC 2015
Last month, metal band Veil of Maya grabbed a new singer and fictional female inspiration for their recent album, Matriarch.
Arguably among top ten best metal albums of 2015, no one member in Veil of Maya’s roster is overshadowed in this new direction. This time around, the entire band’s talent is showcased more evenly than in previous albums. Graduating from six string baritones to sevenS and upping the ante with recently acquired vocalist Lukas Magyar, Veil of Maya’s Matriarch delivers a little little less flash while still holding on to the thrashy-ness that fans have grown to love.
Though Magyar’s high screams, low growls, and clear vibrato are brought to the table on a glorious china plate encased in a catchy melody sandwich, the introduction of the first clean vocals since the band’s inception isn’t the most notable change from previous vocalist Brandon Butler, who left the band during Matriarch’s inception due to “creative differences.”
While Veil of Maya has always included little easter eggs in their track titles, such as the Game of Thrones headnod “Winter Is Coming Soon” from their 2012 album Eclipse, Martiarch goes further by being their first album to follow a female inspired theme. Guitarist Marc Okubo fit the album’s concept around strong female characters from different fictional genres.
“All the tracks are named after powerful female characters that I found interesting,” he explains. “I always make code names for whatever songs I’m writing, and this time they all stuck to a theme.”
Fans will recognize some of their favorite characters as title tracks scattered throughout the album, from Final Fantasy VII‘s “Aeris,” to the mother of dragons, “Daenerys” from Game of Thrones, and even a few lesser known fandoms, such as “Lucy”and her split personality “Nyu” from Elfen Lied. As a huge fan of Brian K. Vaughan, Okubo’s “Three-Fifty” pays homage to Y: The Last Man‘s Agent 355, and he is currently reading the immensely popular Saga. Cue me on the edge of my seat waiting to hear Okubo riff some justice to the character Alana.
Although Okubo wrote the album to fit into his theme, new vocalist Lukas Magyar penned the lyrics separately and has only within recent months acquired the Internet to catch up on shows like Attack on Titan, with Matriarch‘s single named after the female protagonist, “Mikasa.” Watch the official video from Sumerian Records below, and be prepared for the tasty chorus to get stuck in your head for weeks. Sorry not sorry.
Matriarch also features less of the band’s old signatures, choosing instead to limit the vocals and blast beats to more appropriate timing. When used more sparingly, this enables the songwriting to effectively place pieces to create a better dynamic, rather than barrage the ears with consistent noodling. Though this is outside of the box for Veil of Maya, the execution is effortless as usual and there’s no doubt the album is a sleeper. There’s a song for every fandom, and obviously “Daenerys” is the best, because I’m 100% biased.
Veil of Maya’s Matriarch can be purchased here and tickets for the Summer Slaughter tour are on sale now at TicketFly. If you attend the Dallas date, don’t be surprised by the small, dark-haired gal bopping around. Just wave.
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Warner Brothers announced a slew of films yesterday morning, essentially challenging Marvel with their upcoming movies. So what’s all on the table? Aside from the previously slated Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them (now to be a trilogy), here’s what we can expect through 2020 from WB.
2016
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
We’ve been privy to several released photos and plot lines from Zack Snyder’s gritty, filtered upcoming movie featuring a grizzly, buff, Batfleck and the chiseled jaw of Henry Cavill for some months now, yet I’m not alone in feeling blah toward the upcoming flick, even with the addition of Gal Gadot (whom I adore) as Diana of Themyscira. Inspired by Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight, we can probably expect something a bit darker than what we’re used to!
Comic Recommendation: Frank Miller’s Dark Knight books, or maybe Kingdom Come for a slighter older take on the Trinity
Suicide Squad
Again, gritty seems to to be the word of the year over at the studio, so who makes up the roster of this flick of bad guys directed by David Ayer? Deadshot seems to be the obvious choice, but my money is on Harley Quinn making her first ever movie appearance, as well as Black Manta, and the Wall herself, Amanda Waller. I’m all up for bad guys tearing shit up, but as long as there’s some FUN to it!
Comic Recommendation: Keith Giffen’s or Adam Glass’s Suicide Squad
2017
Wonder Woman
FINALLY. It’s been an unforgivable amount of years, but thank the old gods and the new, that our warrior is finally getting her own movie. Sure, it’s two years away, but it’s HAPPENING. Gal Gadot will again be donning the tiara as she battles her way through who knows what, but with the rumors swirling around that Diana’s origins will be in line with her New52 ones, we can except some amazing battles. Hopefully Brian Azzarello or Gail Simone will be on hand to assist with the script, so we can get the Wonder Woman we deserve. PLEASE DO NOT FUCK THIS UP, WARNER BROTHERS.
Comic Recommendation: Brian Azzarello’s Wonder Woman
C’mon, guys. A whole movie of this? Solid gold.
Justice League
There’s not much to be said about this ensemble film. Will it rival the Avengers? Who knows. Will Martian Manhunter make his appearance? I fucking hope so. Will it be along the lines of the Justice League: War animated film, so our team spends the film sputtering insults at each other? Pass.
Comic Recommendation: Brad Meltzer’s Justice League of America
2018
The Flash
It’s not news to some that this cinematic Flash would be different from CW’s Flash, but for some it was quite the nasty shock that Ezra Miller (of Perks of Being a Wallflower fame) will be donning those red tights. No word yet on what sort of story we might see, but MAYBE we can get a different Flash instead of Barry Allen, since he’s basically covered in the television show. Mayhaps a twist on The Flash: Rebirth!
Comic Recommendation: Geoff John’s The Flash: Rebirth
Aquaman
I had tons to say about Aquaman, but when I found the photo above my wits left me. We know Jason Momoa will be outfitted in the green and gold of DC’s “lamest” superhero, and I personally wish to see the New52’s storyline on the big screen. It handles all the misconceptions about Aquaman, while rendering him a certified badass. This is definitely in my top two “must see” flicks on this list so far, simply because it was getting lonely being the only Aquaman fan!
Comic Recommendation: Geoff John’s Aquaman
2019
Shazam
We got confirmation that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson would be wearing that shiny, white cape of Billy Batson’s alter-ego, but this is the movie I’m least excited to see. It has potential for laughs, as Shazam gets the job done with a child-like wonder, but my main concern is how strong the story will be. There’s so many questions too, such as will the rest of the Marvel family appear? Will he just be called Shazam, or will we know him by Captain Marvel (not to be confused by Marvel’s Captain Marvel), if the copyright is still in place? Will Black Adam be the big bad?
Comic Recommendation: Jeff Smith’s Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil
Justice League 2
Again, there’s not much to go one, except rumors, but if rumors are all I have, so be it. Speculation places Darkseid as the blue-faced villain of the first Justice League movie (joining other blue faced nemeses like Apocalypse, from Fox’s X-Men, and Thanos, from Marvel’s cinematic universe), so I will use my tiny bit of internet to plead for Starro or Amazo or Vandal Savage! There’s so much out there, just waiting to see a tiny slice of the general population. So much. It’d be amazing as a comic fan to see some of it played out in all its glory.
Comic Recommendation: Mark Waid’s JLA: Tower of Babel
2020
Cyborg
Of all the people in the DC Universe, I was most surprised by this announcement. Victor Stone isn’t a character that you normally see solo (normally he’s on the Teen Titans roster), but a teenager with a genius level intellect will be a nice addition to all the burly men (and one woman) we will so far be seeing! Ray Fisher doesn’t have much under his belt aside from a handful of Broadway shows, but he’s set to make his first appearance in the Batman v. Superman movie, giving us a peek at what we can expect in 2020.
Comic Recommendation: Geoff John’s Teen Titans or Judd Winnick’s Titans
Green Lantern
As much as I would love this Green Lantern movie to feature John Stewart (cause let’s all admit, 90% of the Ryan Reynolds GL was trash), I think that would be hopeful to the point of foolishness, given DC’s track record of being wholly ignorant of what we, the fans, want. TWO blockbuster filmed led by black men in the SAME YEAR, would be absolutely mind blowing, and tons of people are already fans of John Stewart, having grown up on the animated Justice League series. Let’s make this happen, DC. Representation matters!
Comic Recommendation: Geoff John’s Green Lantern: Rebirth or John Starlin’s Cosmic Odyssey
Overall, this is exciting, and I’m very much cautiously optimistic of what the future holds. There’s still stand alone Batman, and Superman films that haven’t been announced yet, so with these PLUS all that Marvel is bringing to the screen…well, let’s just say my wallet is going to be a lot lighter, assuming I like what I see from trailers, and so forth. My only thing is…I hope both studios think of the younger people, and involve some of the teenager teams, like Teen Titans, and the Runaways or Young Avengers.
What movie are you most excited for?
Editor’s Note: Leia will be glad to help you find the comics referenced above, just tweet at her (@ladyvader99)!
REVIEW | The Batman Who Laughs – #1
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Emerald City Conversation with Jen Wang
REVIEW | Doomsday Clock #2
A-Force #1 hits shelves May 20th
Dr. Lepore,
Allow me to preface this letter by saying your accolades and background are far and above my own, as I am but a woman in the comics industry, in particular a woman who manages a comic book store. I’ve carried your book, “The Secret History of Wonder Woman,” in my shop to great success, and I was interested to read your thoughts on A-Force, a comic that has my female customers absolutely excited to pick up.
I’ve never been so disappointed.
Aside from the glaring lack of research and absence of any actual insight from professionals in the industry, there are problems with your article that could have been solved with a simple Google search. For example, you state, “The A-Force is a race of lady Avengers, led by She-Hulk, who come from a “feminist paradise,” but I don’t know what that could possibly mean, because they all look like porn stars.” This isn’t the first time a hero like She-Hulk has come under fire for her appearance, and it certainly won’t be the last, but this is a problematic sentence. Without researching a little about She-Hulk, and learning she is in fact one of the most feminist heroes we geeks have, you reduce her (and based on your sentence structure, everyone else on the team) to a porn star, like they can’t be feminists or heroes.
Later, you liken the costume of the complex, three dimensional character of Pepper Potts to a shirt one would borrow off a boyfriend, even if that boyfriend is genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist Tony Stark, just because you can see the outline of her breasts. I wish that were the end to the disservice, but you then go on to claim Nico Minoru, a sorceress once considered for the Sorcerer Supreme, is lame, perhaps due to her fashion choices, and that Thor and Loki, just became women, when in fact Norse mythology is remarkably genderfluid. Is any of this apparent based on a first issue of a new series that is packed characters who, combined, have been in print for over 100 years? No. But what costume design or breast size would communicate any of that to a new reader or 4th grade boys?
Perhaps you were concerned with how much of female superheroes are drawn for the male gaze, which is a completely valid concern. Let’s talk about how to fix that. How do we reclaim She-Hulk from the fantasies of teenage boys, if that’s all a grown woman like yourself sees when she opens A-Force? I pictured She-Hulk as she is and turned an imaginary boob-dial in my head to reduce her cup-size… and my stomach churned. It felt like body-shaming a powerful character that I adore, and would adore no less if she had a different figure than the one she’s had for almost 25 years. I understand your superficial criticism, but not your implied solution.
There are definitely still strides to be made by Marvel in both its cinematic universe and comics themselves, in character costume and characterization, but the writers in mention, Joss Whedon and G. Willow Wilson, are doing something greater than “re-inventing” the female superhero. They are attempting to diversify the people we see as super heroes in our media. G. Willow Wilson, writer & co-creater of the latest Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan, is responsible for a groundbreaking series that has been consistently breaking print and digital run records featuring a minority: a Muslim teenager. This series in particular marks the first time I’ve seen girls and women of a Muslim background even come into my shop, PURELY BECAUSE they can see themselves in Kamala. Let’s say the mother of one of these girls reads The New Yorker and sees the heroes Kamala is fighting alongside likened to porn stars. Do you see how this could be detrimental to something so good? Again, you harp on She-Hulk for not being an example of a “better female character” when Jennifer Walters is single-handedly a demonstration of “what women might be if they were freed from fears of judgment and the threat of physical danger.” She is an accomplished lawyer, a respected member of the Avengers, and secure in her appearance without having to sacrifice her sexuality, so tell me…how is she not one of the best female characters we have?
A-Force is marketed as a team of able superheroes of all ages, shapes, and sizes, and is something to be lauded, not ridiculed because they happen to have breasts. Do they not have identities? Do they not matter because their superhero moniker doesn’t have “-man” tacked on at the end? Sure, I’ll be the first one to agree that I wish their armor/costumes weren’t plastered to their perky boobs all the time, because the point that that is what Captain Comics and Mr. What took away from the issue at the breakfast table shouldn’t be ignored. Granted, pre-teen boys aren’t the biggest demographic purchasing comics in this modern age, but at least here I can agree that it’s unfortunate that their view of what women can be as superheroes is clouded by their cleavage size.
I had hoped there’d be some more mention of the plot, as America Chavez has also recently come onto the comic scene (and another girl of color, no less), and become a fan favorite, but it looks like your unfamiliarity with everyone minimized what was taken in, story wise. I urge you to judge our female characters less harshly in the future because the industry has come a long way since the creation of Wonder Woman, and I suggest you pick up a couple of books and become a fan through their stories, and not dismiss them for the skin they show. Most shops will have softcover copies of Ms. Marvel: No Normal or She Hulk: Law and Disorder, or hell, you can always tweet at the vast network of female comic retailers (@LCSValkyries), or myself, and we’ll all be glad to give you recommendations to broaden your appreciation of the modern female superhero.
Lastly, Jessica Rabbit’s iconic line is symbolic of the prejudice she is subject to based on her sexualized appearance. It’s ironic you use it in your article as a closing statement, where you’ve done the same to the cast of A-Force.
Sincerely,
Leia Calderon
REVIEW | The Batman Who Laughs – #1
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Review | The Lost Path by Amélie Fléchais
Emerald City Conversation with Jen Wang
REVIEW | Doomsday Clock #2
Top 10 Comics of 2017