I’m giving you a break from Heroes talk. Last night was one of the funniest nights I’ve had in ages. I saw Eddie Izzard Stripped US tour.

Some of you may be familiar with Eddie’s Executive Transvestite look. He’s quite the eye-catcher. He’s well known for his long eyelashes, magenta lips, carefully coifed hair and high heels. He broke into the US almost ten years ago with the Emmy winning ‘Dress to Kill’. That’s not to say he’s only been around for ten years, cause he hasn’t, that was just the first time most of the US thought, “Whoa. Who is this guy? He’s great!”

Last night he was on. There was a simple desert backdrop. He bounded onto the stage wearing a red lined black tailcoat, black tee, jeans, and a pair of converse. The makeup was subtle with an emphasis on the eyes. The opening joke was perfect for hooking the local audience. The show was filled with his typical stream-of-consciousness jokes and digression. It was wonderful. A little dancing. A little technology. And a short encore to finish the evening. Eddie was on stage for almost 180 minutes without an intermission or an opening act. Stamina, my friends.

Heh, Teehee. There was this table and it was a surprise! Hahahahaa. You had to be there, sorry.

Eddie Izzard has not just made his mark as a fantastic sexy comedian but as a strong dramatic actor too. He has starred in stage productions, Hollywood blockbusters, and currently co-stars with Minnie Driver in FXs “The Riches”. If you haven’t watched “The Riches” yet I encourage you to give it a try. It’s dark. There are many layers and many gray actions. Right and wrong are constantly warring for a middle ground. He portrays the father to a family in hiding…from its family. They’re travelers who want out but don’t know quite how to accomplish the exit.

I was originally drawn to Eddie Izzard for his wit. His look was a bonus. The first time I saw him out of costume he wore tight pleather pants, platform heels, and a brightly colored chengosam. His lips were vivid and his eyes were mesmerizing with their thick black liner and long lashes. He is a master at committing to a style and making it work. He makes the clothes work for him. They are a way to express himself, but they are not him. Make sense?

In a recent interview with William Smith, Eddie talked about being known as a transvestite, “I refuse to use the word ‘drag’ because I’m just wearing a dress — it’s not a costume.” While the transvestite is Eddie, he doesn’t want people to only see him as a bloke in a dress.

I want you to feel that confident when you step out. Whether you’re in your street clothes, business suit, or Jane Jetson costume…believe you make those clothes look good. It’s all you.

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I talked with Sanford Greene a bit and he was just as friendly as I remember him being. He’s very excited about work. I was worried about his passion waning like so many artists and writers, but no him, not yet. The Industry has not got Mr. Greene down.

Most of my time speaking with Sanford Greene was to talk about costumes and the looks he creates for characters. There wasn’t a simple aha! answer to his process. He just works it out, plays with possibilities until he captures the essence. But where does he start? He starts with fashion and music magazines to get a good feel for current trends in youth culture. He checks MTV occasionally too. Then he mocks up sketches to work out the kinks.

I told Sanford Greene (penciler) and Nathan Massengill (inker) that I was trying to make the Wonder Girl armor. They were thrilled. I have their blessings and their good luck wishes. That means quite a lot. I hoped to find out from Mr. Greene what the material was he had in mind for the white part of Wonder Girl’s armor. He laughed. Turns out he hadn’t had anything specific in mind other than it looked good. He suggested it would probably be a heavy cloth or leather. I’m glad he said that because I was worried it might be a layer of armor. I wasn’t looking forward to making that. After much talking about design and industry we agreed it should be a leather-like material. So that’s that. The artist himself has given me suggestions and a green light.

At Heroes Con he was pushing his latest project, a Method Man comic book. I think it’s a big step for comics because it has the potential to bring in a lot of new readers. His work is dynamic. It doesn’t look like every other comic you pick up to read. It’s different and hard to pigeonhole. There is a certain animation feel to his art, but I don’t care about that. I like it because it’s good. It’s pretty and sets itself apart. Each of his projects have their own identity. Even in his own work things change and evolve.

If you pick up one his comics and are taken aback by the look, don’t give up on it. Give it another try the next day and the day after that. You’ll begin to see the appeal.

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Well things have wrapped up here at Heroes Con. It was a great weekend. I had a wonderful time and met a lot of incredible people. I can’t wait to go through all my pics and see what I captured.

I sat in on a panel by Savannah College of Art and Design about character design. It was very informative about motivations and costume design. I talked details with Wonder Girl artist Sanford Greene. He is excited about my attempt to create the armor costume.

I’ll tell you more this week after I’ve rested up and edited some photos. I hope your weekend was as packed full of incredible moments as mine was.

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Day One is over and Day Two is winding down. Heroes Con has been a blast. I’ve seen some great costumes including Elseworld Wonder Woman, Iron Fist, and of course Iron Man. The folks here are organized and friendly. I haven’t run into any person not-in-the-know. Well done, Heroes Con.

Heroes Con is first a comics convention. All the other goodies just make it sweeter. Goodies? Nickelodeon Magazine put on a nice panel for kids that included a 3-D presentation. I have my paper glasses to prove it. I’ve gotten to chat with some of my favorite writers and artists. Kelly Sue DeConnick and Steven Niles (30 Days of Night) are friendly folks willing to talk about story or industry. Speaking of…I sat in on the State of the Industry panel yesterday. I was “this close” to Dan DiDio. It was tempting, but I didn’t kick him in the shins. Turns out he’s an okay guy as long as he’s not making decisions. Heehee.

There was a quick draw competition yesterday evening. I entered it for moral support. The munchkinette was nervous. I sat next to her and she did fine. In fact, her drawing of Bat Girl took 3rd place and won her some cool art gear. The munchkin drew a page full of Venoms and earned Honorable Mention and free comic book. Very awesome. But I digress…and brag.

I talked with some Klingons, some 501st folks, and many more people. Tonight is the benefit art auction, but I won’t be there. I’ll be attending the Can’t Stop the Serenity and Equality Now event this evening. There will be food, a movie, and a costume contest with a certain gal participating.

Pictures and such will follow in a few days. Have a great weekend!

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I’m in Charlotte, NC in the Hilton Business Center blogging from Heroes Con.

I’m very excited to be here this weekend. I have my nifty press pass, my ThatCostumeGirl ID, and my camera. There are a lot of great panels planned for this weekend, including serveral with Dan DiDio (grrrr). Yes, he’s troublesome but one must listen to him to find out the DC goods. There are hundreds of artists, creators, and execs…not to mention fans…milling about the convention floor. I’m giddy.

Yes, I will be taking pictures of costumed and non-costumed persons. I will do my best to get any info I can about the process for designing hero costumes and all sorts of other question bumping around in my brain.

Also, I have comic books that need autographs. It’s been my experience that comic book folks are friendly and accommodating. Shouldn’t be a problem.

Anyway, lots to do and see. I’ll be back later to fill in the details.

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I finally have a body form.

Mannequins and sewing forms are a little pricey. What’s a hobbyist to do? While make your own of course! I used the duct tape method of creating the form. The gals over at the WolfPack suggested this method and website. You need an oversized tee, a roll or two of duct tape, and a helper. Be kind to your helper. They have the hard job in this endeavor.

Go to the bathroom before you get started. It might take a while. You get to try to stand still while the tape is jerked from the roll…it’s sticky stuff. You will be squeezed and immobile. I found I couldn’t raise my arms because my rib cage was taped down. Wrapping the sides was a little frustrating because of this. We made three layers. After I was cut out of the form, I put a hanger in it and taped up the seam. Lastly I filled it with stuffing so it wouldn’t collapse in on itself.

I like my form. It’s still smells like duct tape. But I like it. I can’t wait to use it to mold my body armor.

I must thank ManWithPez for all his help on this project. The tape was more than a little hard to work.

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