So, I’m cleaning and I find a random issue of AMAZING HEROES from 1989. I leave it out and save for…bathroom reading later in the day. I see that THE BEAT (before she went by that name) has a column in this issue and one of the subjects is BAT-MOVIE HYPE. How timely. So, here’s what “the Princess” had to say on the topic back before some of you kids were even born.

batmania: I swore I wouldn’t write about Batman anymore, but I can’t help it !!! Batman is everywhere! At Once.

Here in LA, the bat symbol has become synonymous with the city’s underground scene. Just as the (no doubt at least sub-consciously WATCHMEN-inspired) happy face was the symbol of last year’s Acid House music craze in Britain, the Bat Signal rules in LA. A little giveaway touting a hotline for the hottest new dance clubs is called the Batline and sports that ever-ubiquitous Bat Signal. the LA club scene is littered with kids in bat-shirts and hand-painted Joker jackets. Warner’s must be spending all of the profits from the Batman comic just on policing the bootleggers and trademark-infringers.

A recent tour of Melrose Avenue (LA’s Mecca of overpriced haute camp and black-dressed hipness) reveals that it should be renamed Batman Boulevard. An antique shop features nothing but honest-to-gosh 1960’s plastic Batman toys in its front window. Bat-symbol rings, t-shirts, and earrings appear in every gloom-rock boutique worthy of the name. The Golden Apple reigns as “Bat-man T-shirt headquarters” selling a dizzying assortment of styles.

Batman is so hot he sizzles. I dunno, it’s kinda weird…almost like the Sons of the Batman have come to life or something.

Of course, it’ll all end when the movie comes out…

Posted by Mark Coale

Are you ready for one more symposium? This one is open to the public and free with museum admission. It’s at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and covers even more aspects of the comic book’s influence on culture. Among those appearing: Alex Ross, Paul Levitz and Adi Granov. All programs are in The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium. More info here.

Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy

This all-day event of lectures and panel discussions brings together leading international scholars, critics, and designers to discuss the world of costumes and comics. Themes include the appropriation of the uniform, the adaptation of superhero costumes for the screen, the creation of modern mythologies, and the role of the superhero as metaphor in contemporary society.

LECTURES

10:00 am E Pluribus Unitard: Notes toward a Theory of Superhero Costuming. Peter Coogan, director, The Institute for Comics Studies

10:30 am Writers Panel: Danny Fingeroth, author, Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero; Richard Reynolds, author, Super Heroes: A Modern Mythology; and Paul Levitz, president and publisher, DC Comics

11:45 am The Boys in the Hoods: The Costumed Vigilante as Urban Dandy. Scott Bukatman, associate professor, Department of Art and Art History, Stanford University

2:00 am Costume Designers Panel: Geoff Klock, assistant professor, Borough of Manhattan Community College; Adi Granov and Phil Saunders, illustrators and concept designers, Iron Man; and Gordon Smith, costume designer, X-Men films.

3:00 am Artists Panel: Alex Ross, comics artist; John Cassaday, comics artitst; Stanford Carpenter, assistant professor, Visual and Critical Studies, School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

4:00 am The Gods of Greece, Rome, and Egypt Still Exist—Only Today They Wear Spandex and Capes! Michael Uslan, executive producer, The Dark Knight

In our report on the Met Fashion Institute’s superhero fashion show, we erroneously wrote that the 12-foot high statues of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman would be on display for a while. Alas, they were only there for the one day, so we count ourselves very fortunate to have seen them at all. However this does beg the question of what will now be done with the statues? According to Paul Levitz DC is “trying to find a good home for them.” The statues are probably too big and fragile to transport so an appearance at San Diego might not be feasible..but it would be cool.

Speaking of eh Met fashion show, Peter Sanderson has a 5000-word essay on the opening, plus 2000 more words on Iron Man and what not.

There are a number of costumes in the exhibition that explicitly work variations on Superman’s “S” emblem. But the majority of the clothes in this show do not demonstrate direct influence from the comics. Rather, the “Superheroes” exhibition shows comic book artists and fashion designers following parallel paths in working along various themes. Hence, the section called “The Aerodynamic Body” compares the sleek uniform of the Silver Age Flash, suitable to a man who runs at super-speed, with bodysuits from Nike and Speedo intended for athletes. “The Patriotic Body” segment deals with American flag motifs in the uniforms of Captain America and Wonder Woman as well as costumes from the House of Dior. The Maguire Spider-Man costumes appear alongside fashions utilizing webbing motifs designed by Giorgio Armani, John Galliano, Jean Paul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler and others. (Armani even pointed out in an interview that he was not thinking of Spider-Man when he designed the costume in the show.)

Since you couldn’t make the press preview, reading Peter’s column is pretty much like being there.

The comics and fashion seem to be the hot topic this week, so we’ll round up some more links.

ITEM! Paul Levitz writes about the Superhero show at the Met and answers a question I had sought the answer to:

When I walked into the Met yesterday morning, it was under the gaze of a set of 12 foot high statues of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, cast digitally from our licensing department maquettes modeled on the Jose Luis Garcia Lopez art that has been a core of our style guide program for so many years. Apparently the output process is fairly faithful, digitally fabricating them in 4 foot long segments, so that only a sculptor’s final polish was needed.

ITEM! Torsten Adair sent us a ton os comics/fashion links!
DC/Bapes sneakers. (Above.) They’re on sale and if they came in boys sizes, we’d be tempted.
Bape DC-themed hoodie with Bat-ears.
Ka-boom comics balloon hoodie. For the ladies.
Hot Topic gets in the act.
Will we see millions of these at Comi-Con?
Darth Vader is Dead hoodie. Do you really want to get into the conversations this will start?
And finally, the hat everyone needs:

ITEM! AKAChris posts a scan of a story from Details by Michael Chabon on female superheros. Pull quote above. Is Chabon writing a BOOK on superhero fashions or something? This is the third lengthy essay on the subject we’ve seen in recent months.

ITEM! It seems Gwyneth Paltrow’s high heels have captured the imagination of a war-ravaged nation.

ITEM! People keep sending me clips on the show like this one.

Before the ultra A-list fashion gala at the Met for the Superhero: Fantasy and Fashion exhibit, we attended the press preview earlier in the day. The place was packed with a particular kind of New York crowd that sneaks into such things: a mix of legit press, pushy cameramen in cargo vests, bizarre, aged socialites with fuschia hair, and so on. They gathered in a hall filled with antique marble statues to hear remarks by Vogue’s Anna Wintour, a tiny wisp of a woman as see-through as the glass of water she carried — surely her meal for the day — and fashion icon Georgio Armani. The crowd was also addressed by Nathan Crowley, the production designer or BATMAN BEGINS and THE DARK KNIGHT, who had designed the rather startling environment for the 60 or so costumes/outfits that make up the show.

And oh that show. On the one hand, it marks the ascendance of superheroes/comics to yet another level of cultural acceptance. It’s a shocker to see giant Alex Ross photo murals hanging in the Met, only a few yards, as the crow flies, from Velazquez’s marvelous Juan de Pareja (our favorite painting at the Met), or to see Adi Granov credited for the design of Iron Man, or to see Christopher Reeve’s form near ancient marble Apollos.

On the other, it was yet another “Pow! Bam!” interpretation of comics; the fashions on display at the Met are the most lurid, fetishistic imaginable, and that was the intent, as the wall texts make clear. John Galliano, Jean Paul Gaultier and Thierry Mugler are the main notes, as a procession of spandex girdles, bustiers, and codpieces present an alarming vista of futuristic battle. Forget grim ‘n’ gritty, as show organizer Andrew Bolton put it in his remarks, the show embodies the “tough, hard-edged glamour of the 80s.” The fashions on display are fantasy all the way– spider-webbed dresses, jaunty gas mask ensembles, giant leather shoulder decorations. No surprise that Armani’s main comment about the show was his wonderment that these fashions had actually been included in collections.
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Last night was the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Annual Costume Institute Gala, and this year it was co-chaired by George Clooney, Julia Robert, Giorgio Armani and Anna Wintour. A head-exploding collection of the biggest stars in the world, the annual gala rivals the Academy Awards for star power: Tom and Kate, Posh and Becks, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, Tom and Giselle, both Olson twins, designers, Venus WIlliams and so on. Now why are we bothering to write about this? Because they all came out for “Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy” a superhero themed costume show that has temporarily turned the Met into a superhero outpost. We’ll have our own review of the show in the next post, but suffice to say that most people wore sparkly stuff to at least keep a little of the superhero theme going.
Reporters who were allowed in picked up on the superhero theme:

Vera Wang, yet another designer, with the model Karolina Kurkova, pointed out that she hadn’t worn a dress with superhero shoulder pads, or even a bra, “but maybe I would have if I was 10 years younger.”

Then Gisele Bündchen (in Versace), passed by, saying, “I want to take that Wonder Woman costume down and wear it right now, but it would probably be too revealing.” Her escort, Tom Brady (in Tom Ford), quickly commented, “I want her to wear the Wonder Woman outfit.”

It went on like this for an hour or so until the final crush of late arrivals. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was followed by Donald and Melania Trump, Karl Lagerfeld in a shiny silver-sequined blazer (“I’m shinier than the heroes,” he said), then Marc Jacobs, Janet Jackson, Donatella Versace and Donna Karan.

And Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes came through, looking perfect. “I’ve always just loved comic books,” Mr. Cruise said. “I dig those characters.”

For our money, Only Wintour, in a specially made outfit by Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, really upheld the theme of the evening. Marvel and DC both supported the show, and Alex Ross art was on display everywhere, but it’s unknown if any of our kind were on hand to revel in the star-studded evening of glamour and spandex.

A few more pics in the jump.

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One last IRON MAN item. It seems the ridiculous stilettos worn by Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts are spawning their OWN fashion movement:

Looks like movie stars really do influence the buying habits of the many minions.

Selfridges, the London department store, has seen a nearly 35% increase in sales of hyper-high heels since Gwyneth Paltrow strutted them down multiple red carpets for the Iron Man promotional tour this week.

With 7-inch spikes, it’s no wonder they’re called “fetish” heels; a pair by Alexander McQueen is particularly popular.

Just call it “Iron Ankles.”

NEW YORK – TOKYO has more on Uniqlo’s Spring line of manga-themed t-shirts:

This is not just some token nod to the daily expanding manga phenomenon in the US, but a truly informed and deeply realized tribute to the diversity of manga straight from its native country. From Golgo 13 to Urusei Yatsura, the 50 year history of some of the manga industry’s most celebrated publishers is represented and celebrated in this shirt collection. Not only are the shirts gorgeous, but the display itself is a sight for otaku and manga fan sore-eyes.

WE WANT ONE.

Reminder: manga is the new mainstream!

Gwyneth Paltrow is on the cover of this month’s Vogue…and so is Iron Man’s helmet! Wacky! (Paltrow co-stars in the Iron Man movie, in case you forgot.) We’re told the insides contain more comics coverage but we haven’t been able to drop by one of New York’s rapidly-vanishing newsstands to check it out yet.

The New York Times jumps on the comics/fashion connection with a preview of the Metropolitan Museum’s upcoming superhero fashion retrospective:

On Tuesday, Mr. Bolton was testing out some of the outfits that are planned for the show, opening May 7, on high-gloss mannequins that were designed to lend a “2001: A Space Odyssey” effect. A black vinyl mesh dress by the London designer Gareth Pugh, from his spring 2007 collection, with robotic-looking pyramids sprouting from the shoulders and arms, was likened to Batman’s armor. There were lots of Spider-Woman dresses from Giorgio Armani, Jean Paul Gaultier and Julien Macdonald, as well as high-tech athletic uniforms, including the controversial Speedo LZR suit, which has raised questions as to whether its design is performance enhancing, for swimming.

“Sometimes designers are attracted to superhero costumes quite literally,” Mr. Bolton said. “And sometimes they are attracted to what they represent — they represent the ultimate metaphor for fashion. They represent transformation.”

Actress Chloe Sevigny models the Tezuka-inspired t-shirts from Japanese retailers Uniqlo..

This latest T-shirts have been designed in collaboration with iconic Australian artist Keith Harring, artist Jean-Michel Basquiat as well as a line devoted to the 50th anniversary of Manga magazines (the coolest Japanese comics) as seen on Chloe here in the campaign shots which you will be seeing, everywhere, from now!

Would Tezuka have approved of the “I am so stoned I cannot spell ‘I’” look that Sevigny displays here? Or would he have been inspired by the “I can make finger shadows!” hand gestures? Does this have anything to do with BLACK JACK?

Nylon Magazine previews the new line of DKNY men’s wear which sports art by Paul Pope.

Dear friends, The Beat has been blogging for nigh on four years now, and when we began, our goal was to put comics culture into the context of real world culture, and make cartoonists feel good about themselves by treating the medium as a place of ideas and influence, not the island of misfit toys. Now it appears that this movement may have gone too far. Just as the literary acceptance of comics began with the infamous New York Times mag cover story, the Times may have officially made this THE DAY COMICS JUMPED THE SHARK.

The evidence? A FASHION spread (above) on Indie cartoonists taken at Splat:

A PARADE of awkward TV and movie antiheros — think Ugly Betty, Velma from “Scooby-Doo,” McLovin from “Superbad” — has given nerdism a boost in cachet. Now come their off-screen counterparts, the crowd at Splat!, the graphic novel symposium that took place on Saturday at the New York Center for Independent Publishing in Midtown. The cartoonists, publishers, librarians and manga fanciers in the crowd elevated the overtly scholarly Poindexter look to a retro art form.

Skipping the requisite gadgetry (Bluetooth headsets and the like), most cultivated an aura of benign self-neglect. Overstuffed messenger bags, weathered cords, Converse sneakers and trilbys contributed to the effect. Tousled hair, windbreakers and spectacles, too, played a part in transforming these studiously nondescript characters into brashly confident avatars of cool.

Turns out Paul Pope isn’t the only cartoonist with a designer collectin coming out. Chris Butcher links to many photos of the Spring prada line which contains numerous designs by none other than James Jean. Much more in link.
Now, if only the models didn’t look like the Olsen twins channeling the Stepford Wives.

Starting in September, you will be able to purchase DKNY jackets, hoodies and tees emblazoned with the art of Paul Pope in the 2089 line. We sincerely hope that these will be in sizes that people larger than Paul Pope can wear.

DKNY Jeans announces today a new collection co-designed by famed graphic novelist Paul Pope called 2089. The line fuses the world of comics and fashion by creating a cohesive narrative which emerges through prints and graphics on clothing to create a truly unique application of this art form.

The scene is New York City, circa 2089, 100 years from the date of DKNY’s creation. The story, like much of Pope’s influential work, sets a futuristic love story against the collision of nature and industry. The prints are updated camouflage, and the graphics on tees, jackets and hoodies melds sci-fi with the prehistoric.

DKNY Jeans president Kevin Monogue says, “Working with an exciting artist like Paul on something so unique to the market keeps DKNY Jeans connected to our consumer’s interests and also allows us to offer him innovative products and ideas. Identifying two mediums that have similar aesthetics and developing ways to meld them is part of the DNA of the DKNY Jeans brand. We are really excited about 2089.”

Paul Pope is equally enthused, “I see this line as a way of stealing Pop back from Warhol. We’ve seen comics endlessly pillaged in the high art world and adapted to film, for better or worse. We’ve seen comics images quoted in fashion and copied in street art. Comics has a cultural currency all its own. But this is maybe the first time an actual cartoonist has been given the chance to launch his own brand, to build it from concept on up, to do it within the bounds of an established label such as DKNY Jeans. “

The 15 piece collection is comprised of jackets, hoodies, pants and tee shirts, which tell different segments of the story. The graphics on the pieces vary from all over prints to one statement piece, to a new take on camouflage. The line retails from $32 for tees, to $145 for a military jacket. They will be sold in Department stores across the country beginning September 2008.

Michael Chabon goes on for pages and pages about superhero costumes in The New Yorker’s new Style issue:

Now the time has come to propose, or confront, a fundamental truth: like the being who wears it, the superhero costume is, by definition, an impossible object. It cannot exist.

One may easily find suggestive evidence for this assertion at any large comic-book convention by studying the spectacle of the brave and bold convention attendees, those members of the general comics-fan public who show up in costume and go shpatziring around the ballrooms and exhibition halls dressed as Wolverine, say, or the Joker’s main squeeze, Harley Quinn. Without exception, even the most splendid of these getups is at best a disappointment. Every seam, every cobweb strand of duct-tape gum, every laddered fish-net stocking or visible ridge of underpants elastic—every stray mark, pulled thread, speck of dust—acts to spoil what is instantly revealed to have been, all along, an illusion.

Rick Veitch has printed up a new batch of t-shirts based on his classic superhero noir, BRAT PACK. To promote the shirts, he’s created a whole gallery showing how classic images might have been improved by the aaddition of a Brat Pack t-shirt.

See more images and find out how to buy your own shirt here.

The Golden Age of Underoos via Jezebel. Note comments in which women go on and on about how they used to wear Wonder Woman Underoos. Do they even still make this kind of stuff for little girls any more?

MAC cosmetics, a brand near and dear to The Beat, is collaborating with Parisian grafitti artist FAFI, and the resulting theme has a very comical bent. More art in the link. The limited edition shades goes on sales in February; we’re especially artial to that shimmering fuschia, although it’s so 80s.

Spotted via vinyldolly.

Okay we have NO idea what this Lindsay Lohan-meets-Superheroes photo shoot is for, but the pics are all over the blogtabs, and they are too good to pass up. Of couse, what with Spider-man’s marriage breaking up recently, there could be even more to this than meets the eye. Or perhaps the troubled starlet has found her knight in shining purple pants!
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Via Same Hat!

Following up on a previous post here that mentioned a retro Marvel t-shirt, reader “Donnie” found a picture of it.
Cap is definitely Byrne; at first we thought Wolvie was Cockrum, but on second thought the long ears are Byrne-era, too.

Rounding up a bunch of photos or cartooners spotted about the globe, conquering all in their path.

Via Jeff Newelt, photos from the Paul Pope Diesel Party in Hollywood celebrating the release of PULPHOPE
and debuting new original PP screenprints on sale at Diesel’s Melrose location:

Pope, James Jean and David Silverman, director of THE SIMPSONS MOVIE.
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Speaking of superheroic dressing methods, they are about to get the highest accolade possible: a show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art:

The Metropolitan Museum will get a healthy dose of pop culture next spring when The Costume Institute opens its next exhibition, “Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy” on May 7, 2008.
Met curator Andrew Bolton tells WWD, “Originally, it was based on clothing that provided wearers with superhuman powers and that quite literally extended the the natural abilities of the human body, but over the years, we became more interested in the superheroes as metaphors for sex, power and politics.”

Can you say MUST SEE? Mark your calendars.

Spartan Deluxe Adult. Also available: Spartan gal in long toga or an Immortal in a mask.

Wait, speaking of Paul Pope, the increasingly fashionable artist debuts some giant murals he created for the LA Diesel store this Thursday. The Diesel store on Melrose will be displaying 12 huge, 20 x 35 inch, silkscreened prints. Isn’t that cool how we linked all these items together?