Kilts

I will occasionally read blogs that are oriented toward the readers of comic books. I'm not personally a reader of them, though I may occasionally leaf through a graphic novel at the bookstore, but I'm usually intrigued by the intensity of what people people write about -- how seriously they take all of this. It's clearly lightyears beyond the casual assumptions and plot lines (if you can even call them that, in retrospect) of my youth. Now, the good guys aren't always good, by any means, and they don't always win, either. Comics still talk about majestically powerful villains with supremely evil plots, and all of that, but they also talk about things that, frankly, would never have occurred to me. One of the topics that I've seen come up from time to time, lately is: what exactly does Supergirl wear under that cute little skirt?

Apparently, some of the people who draw for DC comics have been trying out different looks for her over the years, and one question that they've never satisfactorily resolved, past the color of the outfit, whether she should have gloves, even if she has a navel, is: why doesn't the skirt fly up when she's landing? It's as if the thing is made -- well, of steel; nicely pleated, but not subject to winds, gusts, or anything else. One or two artists have suggested that there's something frilly under there, but what? Tired of this question, one editor apparently said Oh, the hell with this, and had her drawn with what appears to be a pair of red bike shorts -- with just a suggestion of a skirt. People were aghast and titillated. Was this legal? Wasn't part of the image supposed to be this sexy yet demure blonde who could bend steel but still had to watch it when she crossed her legs?

It's been quite some time since the thought of Supergirl's panties struck me as erotic -- heck, even the word 'panties', when I was a kid, was, ah, exciting -- but these people aren't (most of them) approaching the question from an erotic perspective. The writers who really wanted to write Supergirl stories -- ones that were the equivalent in heft with the Superman and other stories -- seem to like the idea of just ditching the fourteen-year-old boy fantasy model. The artists seem to feel that the way it was is the way it should be, steel skirt and all. There are discussions on the subject. There are polls. There are even petitions .

No word on what the fourteen year old boys think.