The Big Halloween Post, Part I

So, Saturday was a great day Halloween wise. I'll post more on it later, but for right now I'm going to finally post the winners for this year's Halloween contest. As noted, it was a fun experience for me, and there were many of the outfits I'd like to transform into Eve's wardrobe, but time and reality forced me to make a decision. So, here are Hallowed Eve's outfits for the 2007 Halloween season:

The first Halloween constume was designed by my middlest nephew Paladin, and in fact the title of this variation is Paladin Eve. It's hard to say exactly what drew me to the two outfits I chose, except that generally both challenged my perception of a character I had created. Paladin's original design was stunning in visual appeal, as I've already noted, recalling the great age of Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, with a nod to the Charlton comic era as well (a dash of Blue Beetle here, some New Gods, a sprinkle of Black Orchid, some Nightshade) but ultimately arriving at a totally original design. The pumpkin drones were my embellishment on the theme, as is the Jack-O-Lantern (inspired by this year's other winner coming up next). Since I dropped the story requirement, I realized I could make up my own. So, on the surface, this Eve comes from the future, sending her cybernetic pumpkin drones out to destroy, seemingly in an indiscriminate manner, priests. The spirals on Paladin Eve's torso and legs represent one soul murdered, sort of like her medals of "honor." That's the front story, but, I guess you'll have to stay tuned for the back story. (Interestingly, even Darwin 665 knows of this legend, but what more he knows, who knows?)

Which brings us, inversely, to an Eve from the past, with the following winner:

This is Keith's winning design, which I've titled Moulin Scourge. She's a combination Louis XIV and Moulin Rouge stunner, replete with her revealing undercarriage (which I don't know how to spell, some French term I never learned), a detail that, along with the wig covering Eve's pumpkin head, put this one over the top for me and resulted in the outfits's selection. Keith provided a few details for Moulin Scourge, namely that she disables her adversaries with an array of coloured wig powders. I extended the concept to make Eve a protector and restorer of Doll Souls, indicated by the tiny doll skulls at her feet. According to legend the souls inhabit the wig powder until they are unleased on offending priests. What is the deal with Eve and priests? Time will tell, but this vision of Eve arrives from the past, a fitting bookend for Paladin Eve. Feared from the courts of Versailles to the streets of Victorian England, and even in the French Quarter of New Orleans, this scourge is one being best left un-encountered. Oh and one more thing...why does this Eve carry and revere a rag doll of Infidels Inc.'s Jack? Further, why does Paladin Eve still have the doll, sealed in a cybernetic pumpkin container, far into the future? Does even Jack know the reason?

Stay tuned, true believers. (Ok, I promise, no Pow! Biff! or Sock!) ;

Now, to sum up this year's contest, both of the winners this year made me think outside the box, well outside what I had envisioned for Eve, and when I reflect on this, I realize that was a big part of this sort of experiment for me. Plus they were so intricate as to drive me insane during the creative process, and of course, I love that sort of artistic torture. In the end, the devil's in the details.

Also, here's the template if you want to play with printing the dolls yourself. I don't know how the scale will work, because I don't know how the blog deals with that, but in the real world everything works, trust me I've spent hours refining the ideas, so I hope they work somehow here.

One more thing...Happy Halloween!