Why do I like Mera?

In this last install of "Why do I like..." I talk about the beautiful Mera. This is a character I feel very passionately about. Not only her royal origin and amazing powers make me like her, but also the fact that despite many tragedies, she keeps on going, never giving up. The great piece below is by Ramona Fradon.

Regal. That's Mera. There are very few royal heroes in the DC Universe (Wonder Woman, Aquaman, GeoForce, and Prince Gavyn - Starman - are some of them), but Mera is the only one who's a sovereign of two worlds. In Xebel, her home dimension, she inherited the crown after her parents died; and it was precisely trying to defend her throne and her people that Mera came to Earth. Once here, she met King Arthur of Atlantis, Aquaman, who she eventually married becoming queen of the Earth seas as well.

Very few know and understand the burden and responsibilities that come with being the monarch of a vast kingdom, much less two. Even so, Mera has found in herself the courage and strength to do it, while at the same time trying to have a normal family. Unfortunately, this road of sacrifice has not been kind to her, and fate has put her through many, many trials; but Mera has learned to emerge stronger from each one of them, and even more determined to continue the good fight. Her incredible water manipulation abilities make her the submarine equivalent of a Green Lantern, and as such, she is the pure representation of power for good.

Why do I like Hawkwoman?

In this second install of the three day essay block, I explore my favorite comic book character. She is beautiful and powerful, she comes from the Polaris star system, she is the winged wonder. The pencils below are by artist Steve Lieber.

Shayera Thal is definitely not a damsel in distress. As a thanagarian police officer, Hawkwoman (or Hawkgirl, depending on how early or later in her career we are talking about) is trained in hand-to-hand combat, a weapons expert, and a superb detective. Thanks to the advanced culture from her home planet, Hawkwoman also has knowledge of revolutionary technologies, and thanks to the absorbascon in hers and Hawkman's spaceship, she can talk all of Earth's languages, and even communicate with animals. Her body can adapt to the rigors of outer space, and her strength is above human levels.

But it is none of these that make Shayera Thal a great character. It is her sense of justice and order that makes her unique. She can be as tough as the fiercest warrior in battle, but at the same time has a compassion and nobility greater than that of the humans she has sworn to protect.

Why do I like Batgirl?

As we celebrate the first year of Chicas de Rojo, I wanted to do a three day block that hopefully explains why this blog exists in the first place; I'll do so using an essay format. The art below is by Ramona Fradon, known mostly by her long tenure in the Aquaman book back in the old days.

Why do I like Batgirl? More precisely, why do I like the Barbara Gordon Batgirl? Batgirl is a hero because she wants to be one; it is her choice. She wants to help people and fight the bad guys. She doesn't do it because she feels it is a responsibility for having super powers (like Superman); she doesn't do it because she was raised to be a warrior (like Wonder Woman); and especially, she doesn't do it because her life was surrounded by tragedy and loss (like Batman). Ever since she was a little girl she wanted to be the best she could be, and to her, that meant to be a hero. Batgirl had it right from the beginning.

Batgirl is extremely smart, has photographic memory, is a computer genius, a consumated martial artist, and her willingness to help others go beyond her super hero identity; as a civilian, Barbara Gordon became the youngest congresswoman in history. Batgirl is a hero through and through!

Wendy meets the SuperFriends

Marvin and Wendy were invited to join the SuperFriends in a kind of "internship"; there they met the Justice League of America members. It was the early seveties and these events took place circa JLoA # 130. Surprisingly, the out-of-continuity SuperFriends book was actually more aware of DC continuity than current books such as Countdown, JLA, or Final Crisis.

Anyway... on their first day, the interns were introduced to the SuperFriends, when suddenly, young Wendy realized something, and she had to ask...

HeroClix :: Mera

Today is the last lesson on HeroClix 101. HeroClix battles are played out on maps, overlaid with a grid of 35mm x 35mm squares. These maps come in two different sizes 3ft by 3 ft (36" by 36") or 2ft by 3 ft (36" by 24"). The maps used are of different locations found in a typical comic book story. The older maps were generic places but recently the maps have taken on more comic book Specific places, such as the Justice Society Museum.

This is a HeroClix custom Mera. Unfortunately, the queen of Atlantis does not have a figure, but very ingenious folks have come up with pretty smart and neat ideas to bring her to life, such as this cool figurine in which Mera uses her power over water to carry her through the air... perfect!

HeroClix :: Hawkwoman

Let's learn more about HeroClix: The statistics associated with each figure are all printed on a dial that serves as the base for the miniature. When a piece takes "damage", its base is turned a number of "clicks" clockwise, revealing altered stats to correspond to the damage it has taken. Pieces have point values representing how powerful they are. Opposing teams are restricted to a predetermined total point value, which is usually a multiple of 100.

This is the HeroClix Hawkwoman figure that belongs to the "DC Icons" set. Many things are cool with this figure: The crossbow is very representative of the first adventures of the Hawks in the silver age; the wings and the helmet are simply awesome; and of course, the transparent stand to simulate flight is just perfect!

HeroClix :: Batgirl

HeroClix is a collectible miniatures game produced by WizKids, Inc. Players construct teams of heroes and villains and play out a battle between the teams turn-by-turn on a grid map.

Each HeroClix figurine is modeled in roughly zero scale and has five statistics associated with it: Attack Value, Defense Value, Speed, Damage, Range.

This is the HeroClix Batgirl figure that belongs to the "DC Unleashed" set. Classic Barbara Gordon look, with batarang in hand, tiny but cool.

CGI Block :: Mera

This is the reason why I had not posted any CGI images of the redheads before: you CANNOT find Mera art! But finally I was able to discover a beautiful piece at http://www.urbanmythproductions.com by a talented artist named Leif E Ekholm.

This stunning Mera is part of a composite titled "Lord of Atlantis", which of course features the royal couple of the Seas contemplating the city of Poseidonis .

Mera looks simply astonishing in her bright green suit. It is really cool how the light reflects of her costume. It is a great image. Too bad there isn't more art out there with the queen of Xebel.

Next in Chicas de Rojo: Heroclix