Back in March, Marvel released a line of gorgeous variant covers highlighting some of their dynamic female characters, including She-Hulk, and now a powerful cosplay recreation has been carried out in admiration of the original art. Sought after comic book artist Jen Bartel was behind the eight vibrant variant covers released throughout Women's History Month, and with this new show of fan love, it's obvious her work hasn't been forgotten.
Throughout this year, both Marvel and DC have released countless variant covers celebrating their diverse casts of characters. From DC highlighting their LGBTQ+ heroes, to Marvel giving the stage to their AAPI heroes through Inhyuk Lee's covers, to celebrating the women that make these stories what they are, these leaders in comics have been providing the space for their diverse characters and creators to be showcased in stunning and imaginative ways. In the case of Marvel's commemoration of Women's History Month, they gave Jen Bartel the reigns to reimagine eight of their heroes in a new light, and the results were stunning; so stunning that her work is still being heralded through flattery's greatest form: imitation.
For Bartel's variant covers she chose to draw each character in the style of the decade in which they first debuted, while also paying tribute to their heritage. By doing this she managed to create beautiful works of art that were fashionable, powerful, and fitting for the characters all at the same time. Considering She-Hulk made her first comic appearance in 1980, Bartel went with an '80s inspired oversized suit and vest combo with big hair and big earrings that saluted the fashion of that era. The look was so stunning that it has now sparked a fan of Bartel's art, and presumably of Marvel and She-Hulk, to cosplay as her take on Jennifer Walters. Cosplayer Claire, and self-proclaimed "general nerd girl," posted her take on the '80s inspired She-Hulk look to Twitter, claiming that she and her friends were inspired by Bartel's art.
Check out the cosplay look below!
Although it's not an exact replication, it still ticks all of the boxes and then some. From the green skin to the wavy green wig, necklace accent, color scheme, and even background shadows, the cosplay does a fantastic job of embodying Bartel's art and the character herself. Even the general stance, expression, and mood emanating from She-Hulk are present in Claire's imitation. It's an impressive piece of work in terms of both its similarities to the original and in how generally awesome the final outcome is. Even Bartel herself reposted the tweet with a fitting "Omg!" Claire, photographer Andrew Walt, and anyone else involved in this creation should be proud.
They should also be proud of creating such a badass cosplay that isn't just another recreation of a costume from the mainstream. By choosing to create this based on a stand-alone variant cover, it makes it more unique while simultaneously giving a welcomed shout-out to the artist who put in the work to create the original. Not many people would choose such a specific take on a character, but they were inspired by Bartel's one-off variant, and it definitely paid off. Hopefully, there will be more awesome cosplay to come from this group, as their take on '80s inspired She-Hulk was without a doubt a total smash (pun intended).
Source: @VampKittyClaire