Good Hair Day

Okay, let's jump right in and look at hair! Yay! This is the evolution of May 'Mayday' Parker's hair:

For her first outing in What if #105, May rocks this nifty number designed by Ron Frenz. Part punk, part modern-day geeky, part coolest-kid-in-playground (plus I really like those glasses!)

 Pat Olliffe carries this look over into Spider-Girl #1, with a few tweaks.

I like how unique this look is. How many women in comics wear their hair short? It makes sense for May, as a basketball player to have shorter hair. The scruffy nature of it really suits May in these early issues.It sticks around until #11, where it changes...

Notice it's neater and appears shorter, a bit 'harder' I feel, as well. Again, short hair fits May's character, but makes May seem distant and maybe even cold. Fittingly, this was around the time May was having difficulties keeping her life in balance, often missing out on time with friends, surely appearing less friendly their eyes.

Issue #25 signals the first big change to Mayday's overall appearance. I adore this look, it's a definite favorite, and it stuck for quiet some time. I like the way her hair remains manageable in length but now has a more ;feminine look to it. Confidence is what the hair says to me, something May will slowly gain over the next 30-odd issues.

Following battles with Seth and the hugely destructive events of Marked for Death, May certainly shows doubt in her abilities and her role as a hero. Spider-Girl #67 leaves us with a May who is shaken, but not beaten. I like this shift in style. May is literally letting her hair down, but it stays practical under a mask.

With a few tweaks and changes here and there, May keeps this look for the remainder of the original series, ending with issue #100. May promises her mother and father she will retire for the time being. Understandable, considering her near-fatal stabbing.

Big change comes in Amazing Spider-Girl #1. Our heroine has been out of the hero-biz for a few months, campaigning for president at Midtown High, volunteering at a shelter for abused women, and even manages to score herself a boyfriend. But most notable of all, May has let her hair grow long. May seems more mature. But she also seems more....conventional, I guess. Considering the huge revelation's and heart ache to come, this look feels right, in retrospect. Initially, I didn't like this take on Mayday, but after a re-read of everything from #1 right up to Spider-Girl: The End I like the contrast. May is not only the daughter of Spider-Man, but also the daughter of Mary Jane, an amazing woman in her own right, and I like the way this look harkens to classic Mary Jane.

Thoughts?

Until I stop over-thinking hair, I remain

frogoat 

Vocabulary and comics

More than likely, yeah.

I was thinking about words today. Heck, I was even thinking in words today. I'd go so far as to say I was speaking words today. So, anyway! I got to thinking about how my vocabulary grew as a kid, being kind of sheltered as I was growing up. Of course, I realized it was through reading comics. I'd read them, stumble on a word I'd never heard of and reach for a dictionary....and then sometimes a thesaurus. Stan Lee, Roger Stern, Tom Defalco, Alan Moore....the list of  lexicographers goes on. I learned such great words as cranium, superfluous, cerebral cortex, epidermis, incognito, incongruous, ruse, fascade, nuff said, hoo-ha, and even a few phrases, like, 'let's get outta here!', 'He's finally gone', '______ is really, truly dead and will never come back', 'Feeling loose and slamming heat' and finally, 'It's a Spider-Girl world'. That last one is still true. 'Cancelled' was often bandied around whenever Spider-Girl was mentioned, yet they used the clearly-made-up word 'Un-cancelled' a heck of a lot more.

Until I stop learning, I remain

frogoat