Project Rooftop announced the winners of their 2008 Fights, Flights, & Tights contest. The winner is the cutest Robin I’ve ever seen. Lucky for Batman she’s around to take care of the bad guys.

The runners-up were Joker Hefner and a playful Harley Quinn. I like when people have fun with the characters. The Joker even has a more formal suit for the big showdown with Robin and Batman. Head on over to the Project Rooftop site and check out the notable entries. DC characters ruled the list this year. Does that mean their designs are bad or are they just popular characters? Hrm. There’s another Robin and Harley Quinn, as well as a Riddler. Supergirl and a female Blue Beetle round out the honorable mentions. Very cool.

One of the more impressive entries is the Steampunk Justice League group. They’ve made over Superman, Powergirl, Green Arrow, Catwoman, and even the Joker. Check out their flickr page to see all the creative costuming.

She-Hulk is a formidable character. She’s a strong, intelligent, capable woman. I like She-Hulk. I could never be She-Hulk though as I’m too short. That doesn’t mean I can’t do a little research for you so you can be She-Hulk.

The first step is to decide which version of She-Hulk you want to be. You can be the big green hero or the big green lawyer. If you want to be the hero you need to pick a costume. When I think of She-Hulk, I picture the white and purple leotard. Jennifer at Becoming She-Hulk chose the Fantastic Four version. It’s up to you.

Let’s start with the lawyer as this is doable without body paint (your choice). You’ll need a business suit, green gloves and green tights, green wig, and green makeup. So that the greens will be similar, I suggest buying them a company that specializes in colored accessories. If you opt to dye them yourself, be aware that different fabrics take the dye at different intensities. Next apply the green makeup to your face and neck. This can be accomplished with standard cream makeup. Blend the green with another color, like white, to match the color of your gloves and tights. Use a sponge applicator and set the makeup with translucent powder. The last step is putting on your wig. You need a long hair green wig. Wigs cannot be dyed. However, they can be sprayed with temporary hair color. Doing so will make the fibers stiff. If a wig is outside your budget, use the spray color on your own hair.

All other forms of She-Hulk require body paint or a full body unitard. Body paint requires another set of hands to apply it to the hard-to-reach areas. I’ve searched the Cosplay forums looking for the best body paint. Reading everyone’s opinions and looking at their costume results, I’m going to recommend Aquacolor. I have no first hand knowledge of body paint, but this seems to have consistent results and easy application. There are liquid paints for use in air brush guns if you’d prefer. Also consider using a setting spray.

Her costume is a purple and white leotard. She wears purple fingerless gloves and purple and white athletic shoes. The no-sew option is to buy a zipper front leotard then paint it the appropriate colors. Spandex cannot be dyed at home so paint must be used. Look for paints that won’t crack with the stretch of the spandex. Otherwise you can use a bathing suit or dance pattern to sew a purple and white leotard. Buy a pair of $1 purple gloves and cut out the fingers. Some costumers wear colored gloves instead of paint on their hands. Test the makeup on your arm or leg to get the application down and to find out how well it holds up to movement.

If you’re adventurous, you can use liquid latex. A few costumers at Cosplay use latex instead of body paint. Research which method fits your budget. She-Hulk will be an impressive costume. Good luck!

I decided to give the Fights, Flights, and Tights contest a try. I started working on the costume a little late in the game since I hadn’t decided which superperson I was going to try to redo. I eventually picked Starfire. Starfire’s a sweet girl from another world who wears a bathing suit as a costume. Well, not an actual bathing suit but she shows more skin then Wonder Woman. I thought it could be interesting to try to create a more modest outfit for Starfire.

In the cartoon series Teen Titans, Starfire was given a completely new costume. It is cute and age appropriate. Perfect for a teen on the go frighting crime. I thought she could use something different as a woman attracting stares from men and glares from their wives.

I started with the idea that she would wear pants. She does a lot of flying and needs to have things covered. I realize she has a different sense of modesty and body image than us silly earthlings, so I wanted to leave some skin showing. The top keeps her high collar yet shows her midriff. I’m not into the boob window or the super v-neck styles some artists give costumed females, but I acknowledged the trend by adding cutouts along the collar bone. Starfire is one of the heroes that wears gauntlets. My version also has gauntlets.

Things about my changes that aren’t really changes just me working with what I have. She has long red hair and when she flies she leaves an energy trail that makes her hair look longer than Godiva’s. I don’t have a long hair wig. I have my hair but it isn’t red. I felt it was more important to have the red hair contrasting with the purple suit than my long hair. So, short red hair wig. You’ll notice I don’t have any shoes. I thought boots would be the best thing to do. However, since I started so late on the project and finished right at the last moment, I didn’t make boot covers. I know, how can I submit a costume without shoes? I did. You can imagine knee-high purple boots. A dark purple similar to some of the accent color.

What do you think? I won’t know if I placed in the contest for a few weeks. For my first entry, I think I did okay.

It’s Halloween! Do you have a costume on yet? I know some of you do, good for you.

I’ve uploaded a few of our favorite costumes to the io9.com Costume Show. Have a look at the great costumes people have made.

I posted Seymour and Dr. Horrible. Additionally, we finally got a good picture of Yorick from Y the Last Man: the costume that was too hot for Dragon Con. I hope you like them.

I’ve received lots of entries for the costume contest. You still have time to send in pictures. Get out the camera tonight and take lots of pictures!

Have fun!

Today is October 26, 2008 and the Third Annual Wonder Woman Day. Two incredible events are being held in Portland, Oregon and Flemington, New Jersey. These events raise money for domestic violence programs by auctioning artwork from top artists. Featured guests include current Wonder Woman scribe Gail Simone, past Wonder Woman cover artist Adam Hughes, and current Wonder Woman artist Aaron Lopresti. All proceeds are given to the shelters and community programs. Artists from comics, animation, and fine arts donate one-of-a-kind artwork for the auctions.

Andy Mangels, author and curator of the Wonder Woman Museum, has produced the event since its inception in 2006. He believes Wonder Woman holds a unique position in popular culture as a comic, novel, animation, and television icon. She symbolizes peace and strength: an ideal mascot for National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Stacy Korn of Comic Fusion produces the New Jersey event. The public will be able to meet artists, take pictures, win prizes, and dress up as and meet their favorite heroes.

It’s a fantastic event that draws people from 4 to 80 years of age. In its inaugural year they raised more than $15,000. Artists and collectors had such a wonderful time supporting the first year, in 2007 they almost doubled the funds at $27,000. Hopefully 2008 will continue the trend with more needed funds. The event has been such a success in Portland that Mayor Tom Potter has declared October 26th Wonder Woman Day and encouraged all residents to observe the day.

Collectors from all over the world get in the act on Wonder Woman Day. See the full list of participating artists at the Wonder Woman Day website. Featured here: Alexander Chung and Ibrahim Moustafa.

Check your local comic shops to see if they’re promoting the event.