Amber Love 14-JUNE-2012 Today’s VODKA O’CLOCK interview is with the always charming author and co-host of CRAZY SEXY GEEKS podcast, ALAN KISTLER. Today’s episode is sponsored by Audible.com. Start your free trial today!
Download on iTunes or listen here.
* Catsuit/Fashion discussion – 5:00
* Alan’s Books and corporate chatter – 33:00
* Alan’s upcoming projects with plans for bringing more female protagonists to the world – 1:00
This week Alan and I thoroughly discuss superhero fashion focusing on the history of the “catsuit” or “super spy suit” worn by such characters as Catwoman, Emma Peel, Modesty Blaise, Underworld’s Selene and Marvel’s Black Widow. We get into the debate about things people said about Wonder Woman wearing pants and comparisons to male hero fashion.
When Alan and I met at a party in New York City, my mind was instantly blown learning that he not only writes a column about fashion but specially about superhero fashion! I began my first costuming blog, HeroFashions back in 2006. My connection to Alan was sealed that night. He even seems to like me despite my intolerance of DOCTOR WHO.
“They’re all these nude Romanesque figures with details painted on them,” Alan said about the traditional super/spandex style of costume. “There are little details where even for superhero comics, I get so annoyed when I see pictures of Phoenix or Spider-Woman and I can see the bellybutton.”
Since the 1940s, the catsuit has found its way into haute couture but maintains popularity for the average person in athletic uses. THE AVENGERS television show had several female sidekicks to Steed but it was Emma Peel that resonates with pop culture’s fans for the catsuit wearing heroine movement. The male equivalent seems to be the black turtleneck with cargo pants or military style BDU’s.
“In DOCTOR WHO in the 1960s, one of his companions Zoey wore this very reflective silver catsuit which frankly looked very cool in the black and white era of DOCTOR WHO.” ~AK
The current style for DC’s Catwoman bloosomed with CATWOMAN: YEAR ONE. There was also a grey version. Alan and I talk about the moments when Selina’s costume had the “feature” of a tail which other artists negated with the securing of her whip around her waist or hooked to her side.
“It made sense for there to be a zipper there, frankly, because then you can have these fun little scenes where Selina’s trying to get information or trying to convince someone to let her do something and can she just zip down her top a little bit – never too far because Selina never actually gives you what you want; she just likes to tease you, but it made sense for that character to do that and to have a suit that would let her do that.” ~AK
Who would win the Halloween Wars – the new Anne Hathaway Catwoman vs. Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow? Alan wagers that Catwoman’s popular variations will deaden the sales whereas the mainstream public only knows of one version of Black Widow which had impressed non-comic fan moviegoers.
Alan’s book include the THE UNOFFICIAL GAME OF THRONES COOKBOOK, THE UNOFFICIAL SPIDER-MAN TRIVIA CHALLENGE, and THE UNOFFICIAL BATMAN TRIVIA CHALLENGE through Adams Media and are available on Amazon. If you’re curious about the legal freedom for things “unofficial,” Alan talks about the positive feedback he’s received so far on all his books from people connection with the corporate entities.
TRIVIA DRINKING GAME? OF COURSE!
The trivia books have standard questions, multiple choice and True/False. Each is broken into chapters and the answer keys are at the end of the chapters. My version of an Alan Kistler Trivia Drinking Game would be a point system: True/False (1 point), multiple choice (2), open ended questions (3) and at the end of the chapter the person with the most points is treated to a round of drinks or can choose to make others do shots.
Also, if you catch the part where I mention a new STAR WARS themed cocktail I created over the weekend, the steps for how to make the GOLD BIKINI MARTINI are on my YouTube Channel.
LINKS:
Alan Kistler on Twitter
Alan Kistler Official Website
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AmberUnmasked.com and Vodka O'Clock Podcast. Author of The Farrah Wethers Mysteries, comic book short stories, prose, and non-fiction. Cosplayer and figure model.