Artist Matt Cowan used a bit of math to explain superheroes. Take a look at Matt's deviantART page to see if the equations jibe: Link - via Notcot

Ladies Night Hinge Wallet – $14.95

Are you planning your next girls night out? Make sure your personal items are well protected with the Ladies Night hinged wallet from the NeatoShop. Your friends will Marvel at your ability to be so fashionably geek.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more super Wallets, Purses & Coin Bags!

Link

(YouTube Link)

This young champion of justice is named Riley, and she’s sick and tired of all the toy marketing gimmicks that keep girls from buying the superhero toys that they really like.

Watch as she explains what all the pink at the toy stores really means, and I’m sure you’ll agree that she is totally right. Let girls enjoy their superhero toys already, or Riley’s going to grow up and take you all down!

–via ComicsAlliance

If you saw this poster outside the theater advertising an upcoming release, wouldn’t you expect the film to be some sort of avant garde silent film with a science fiction twist?

Created by French designer Greg Guillemin, they’re minimalist and moody, and their retro style could be the inspiration for a new alternative universe storyline. Silver Surfer fighting the Nazis in WWII, now that would be an interesting tale to tell!

Link –via DesignTAXI

Superhero Bust Banks – $15.95

Saving your pennies is hard work. Don’t trust your coins to just any piggy bank. You need a Superhero Bust Bank from the NeatoShop to protect your loose change. These banks mean business.

The Superhero Bust Bank is available in:

• Spider-Man (shown)
• Wolverine
• The Hulk
• Iron Man
• and Captain America

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Superhero items.

Link

(YouTube Link)

Spiderman hasn’t come to save the day, he’d rather go around annoying people while capturing all the fun on video camera. In Poland, Spiderman hits the streets and harasses the people he once saved, using his arsenal of silly string and lasso to really tick them off. You’d think this wannabe superhero would be in better shape, considering how often he has to run from the cops!

-via ComicsAlliance

We sell some pretty cool aprons over in the Neatoshop, including some superhero ones, but just in case we don’t have exactly what you’re looking for, check out Bethany Sew-and-Sew’s shop. Bethany makes customized aprons in superhero styles and more. She even has some Princess Peach, Mario and Alice In Wonderland ones that are simply adorable.

Link Via Craftzine

Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website.

Madame Fatal is hardly up there in the pantheon of famous and beloved comic book superheroes. Batman, Superman, Iron Man, Captain America, and the Fantastic Four probably never lost any sleep over this rival comic hero possibly replacing them in their fan’s hearts.

Madame Fatal (sometimes spelled “Madam Fatal”) is a fictional character and superhero active during the Golden Age of comic books. Madame Fatal was created and originally illustrated by artist/writer Art Pinajian. The debut of the character was in Crack Comics #1 (May 1940). This was a crime/detective anthology published by Quality Comics. Madame Fatal continued in the series until issue #22, but was not at all popular or well-received.

The character later appeared in a few DC Comics, after they had purchased the rights to the character in 1956, along with a bulk buy-out of all the Quality Comics characters. Even so, Madame Fatal was never much seen except for a few brief appearances and passing mentions from other comic book characters.

Madame Fatal is notable for being a male superhero who dressed up as an elderly woman to fight crimes. As such, he was the first cross-dressing comic book superhero. (Interestingly, later that same year, The Red Tornado became the first female cross-dressing superhero (superheroine?). The Red Tornado proved to be much more popular and successful than Madame Fatal.

O.K, the basic premise goes like this: Richard Stanton is a highly intelligent, highly athletic, successful, world-famous actor. He is dapper, middle-aged, blonde, Caucasian (aren’t all superheroes?) and smokes a pipe. His daughter is kidnapped and he needs the help of police, who get nowhere at all. During the kidnapping ordeal, his wife dies of a broken heart. So, Stanton (as do many other superheroes during their genesis) decides to don a disguise, take on an alter ego, and take matters into his own hands.

He adopts the identity of a red-cloaked, elderly woman who carries a red walking stick. The red cane is used as her main weapon, and this, along with his (her?) superior intellect, athleticism, and deductive crime-solving abilities, helps Madame Fatal become a crime fighter and superhero. Using this disguise, he is able to save his daughter.

Richard Stanton decides to retire from acting and devote his life to conquering crime and criminals as the red cane-wielding Madame Fatal.

The Madame Fatal character was ridiculed, because of the cross-dressing angle, from the very beginning. An article in Cracked lists Madame Fatal as one of the “7 Crappiest Superheroes in Comic Book History.” Many modern readers interpreted the cross-dressing of Madame Fatal as a thinly-disguised attempt to actually portray comic’s first gay superhero, although this angle was never expressly acknowledged. Creator Pinjian’s actual intentions regarding the character are unknown.

Madame Fatal had a short life span. The character was very briefly mentioned in later comic books, but there have been thinly-veiled references to Madame Fatal over the years. The most recent time Madame Fatal was mentioned (or seen) was in DC Comics in 1999. The character was the butt of a gay joke (no pun intended, I swear). A scene in an August 1999 issue of Justice Society of America depicts the funeral of the first Sandman. Wildcat wonders whether his own funeral “will be like the time they buried Madame Fatal here, and no one turned up for the funeral but the touring cast of La Cage Aux Folles?” That would seem to imply the fact that Madame Fatal is dead in the DC Comics universe.

Madame Fatal probably suffered the most gut-wrenching type of death any comic book character can experience. More excruciating than death by gun, knives, clubs, or being lowered into a pool of acid.

Madame Fatal suffered the very worst type of death -death by unpopularity.

Superhero Building Blocks Baby Snapsuit - $17.95

Congratulations on your new baby!

Are you ready to provide your bundle of joy with the proper superhero education?  Get your little darling off to the right start by dressing him in the Superhero Building Blocks Baby Snapsuit from the NeatoShop.  Your baby will recognize his DC superhero logos in no time.

Be sure to check out all super Snapsuits available at the NeatoShop.

Link

Sure, you might have a fabulous garden with gorgeous blooms and a pergola to die for. But it’s missing one thing: a garden gnome superhero to keep it free from villainous slugs and evil aphids. Luckily, Instructables user ThePapierBoy has a step-by-step tutorial so you can create your own. Be sure to let us know if you do. If you’re wondering where to perch your SuperGnome once you’ve made him, the Papier Boy has this advice: “It best to place them in an area where they can get a good view of the entire yard and any particular trouble areas.”

Link via Geeks are Sexy

Sure, things get stale but are superhero redesigns generally a good thing? Well, whether or not you agree with the perpetual rebrand/redesign/reboot that comic book companies and Hollywood like to do, there’s one thing for sure: why let them have all the fun?

CollegeHumor decided to try their hand in redesigning their favorite superheroes, but things turn out just a bit strange (though I think they nailed it with this Captain America): Link – via Geektress

If you’re a villain-in-training or just really interested in how to stop a fictional character with real tools, then this is the gallery for you. From Captain Planet’s susceptibility to pepper spray to the one thing outside of Kryptonite that can stop the Man of Steel, Dvice celebrates Superhero Week by revealing weaknesses for puny mortals to exploit. Link

Did you have a hard night on the town? It’s time to peel off your boots,  fill up your Ladies Night Mug from the NeatoShop, and relax.  We all know that being a female superhero can be exhausting.   The laundry can wait.  Your superhero husband can fluff and fold his own damn cape.  You deserve a little break.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more amazing Glassware & Drinkware.

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It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no it’s a flying cutout of a superhero remotely controlled. See video at the link.

Due to the low weight to surface area and that it has a high wing like a Piper cub with a low center of gravity. In addition, he has plenty of vertical tail surfaces due to the double side bodies; which adds to the stability.

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Sacha Goldberger took a fanciful series of photographs of his grandmother Frederika in a super hero costume. The 91-year-old was delighted with the project. You see her here stopping traffic; other photos show Super Mamika campaigning for office, flying into buildings, and even one where she’s in bed with Superman! Mrs. Goldberger’s real life story is a fascinating read as well. After the photo shoot, “Mamika” attracted thousands of fans on MySpace and elsewhere. Link -Thanks, Alice!

What’s more awesome than superhero costumes for Halloween? How about these Cubeecraft’d Avengers (made for Dragon*Con 2010). Here’s the Boxed Avengers by Jared Cain over at Fashionably Geek: Link

Got a superbaby at home? Then don’t clothe ‘em in just regular baby clothes – get ‘em the DC Comics Superhero Baby Snapsuits over at the NeatoShop. You’ve got the selection of 7 super heroes to choose from: Link | More Fun Baby Snapsuits

DeviantART member kreugan wondered how Princesses from classic Disney movies would fare as comic book super heroes. They look awesome! See all eight princesses at her gallery. Link -via Buzzfeed

Weird Worm has a list of the Top 5 Terrible Superhero Sidekicks, starting with this one:

Demolition Man
As Seen In: Daredevil, Captain America

As an aspiring athlete, Dennis Dunphy undergoes strength augmentation from the questionably named Power Broker, Inc. to the point where he can lift fifteen tons. Unable to think of a reasonable scenario where he would need to lift fifteen tons, he returns to the world of sports only to find that other badminton players are made very uncomfortable by musclebound men. Now too strong for normal athletes, he joins a wrestling league for super-beings like the Beyonder and the Thing.

After the super-being wrestling league collapses (who would have guessed there wasn’t a market for that?) he becomes one of Captain America’s many, many sidekicks. After he is abducted by Power Broker and forced to undergo strength augmentation again, the strain of his new rippling abs causes a heart attack. Now a sidekick to the unsung hero ‘Heart Failure’, Demolition Man settles with managing Captain America’s hotline, making him the first super-secretary in the history of fiction.

Link

Pulling off a wish like this one required a big story, and a lot of heart. And so, with a note of panic in his voice, Spider-Man explained the dilemma: “Dr. Dark” and “Blackout Boy” had imprisoned the Seattle Sounders in a locker room at Qwest Field. Only Electron Boy could free them.

Erik got into his red-and-blue superhero costume, and called on the powers of Moonshine Maid, who owns a DeLorean sports car. For good measure, more than 20 motorcycle officers from the Bellevue Police Department and King County and Snohomish sheriff’s offices escorted Electron Boy to Seattle.

“They shut down 405 — they shut down I-90,” marveled Moonshine Maid, aka Misty Peterson. “I thought it would just be me, in the car.”

At Qwest Field, Electron Boy was directed by frantic fans to the Sounders locker room, where the entire team was shouting for help behind jammed doors. With a little help from Lightning Lad, the alter ego of local actor Rob Burgess, Erik opened the door with his lightning rod. The Sounders cheered.

That’s just the beginning of the story. Dr. Dark and Blackout Boy had also trapped a city worker in a bucket truck and stalled elevators at the Space Needle. Erik rescued everyone, helped police arrest the bad guys, and accepted a key to the city. Link to story. Link to photographs. -via I Am Bored

(image credit: Dean Rutz/The Seattle Times)

Also, Electron Boy has a Facebook page.

What if Shakespearean costumes were designed by an artist who drew superheroes? That would never happen, right?

In 1969, Sheldon Feldner contacted Marvel Comics, asking if one of Marvel’s artists would be interested in designing costumes for a production of William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar by the University Theatre Company at Santa Cruz at the newly-built Cowell College of the University of California at Santa Cruz.

As luck would have it, the Kirby family had recently moved to California, and Stan Lee recommended that Feldner contact Jack Kirby.

Jack Kirby {wiki} was the creator of such characters as Captain America, The Fantastic Four, and the X-Men. But he went to work designing not only the costumes but also a poster for the student production. His sketches, and some pictures of the actual costumes, are posted at the Kirby Museum. Link -via Metafilter

Illustrator Cliff Chiang took remixed classic 12" album covers into their comic superhero counterparts. The Breakfast Club? Meet the Teen Titans (obviously!). Check out how he turned Prince into Batgirl and Flashdance into Elekra: Link

Growing up Heroes is a fascinating tumblr blog by Belgian comic book fan Franz Donovan, where people submit their old childhood photos of themselves dressed up as superheroes. From Wired’s Underwire Blog:

Donovan pictures his online scrapbook as an exercise in nostalgia. “Growing Up Heroes brings back vivid memories of our own attempts to be heroes when we were uncomplicated, over-imaginative, nerdy kids,” he said.

The only things lacking are the "after" photos of these people all grown up: Link – via The Zeray Gazette

If I had a Christmas tree, this would be one of the ornaments on it.  It just makes sense (Spidey Sense?) that the Webslinger would be hanging out there.  Get a load of this and other superhero tree-trimmers at Walyou.

Link.  Photo from appaloosa‘s Flickr stream.

While the reality of a Marvel Superheroes theme park in Dubai is tentative (now projected to open in 2012), Chimera Design has produced a series of illustrations depicting the concepts and general look of the park.

Most of Marvel super-heroes will have their own attractions including the Fantastic Four, Hulk, Iron Man, X-Men, Silver Surfer and of course Spiderman in what will be probably a different ride than the Spiderman ride at Universal Islands of Adventure. Also, according to a a recent post of Brady Mac Donald of the L.A Times “Off-site testing has already begun on three of the planned attractions: “Flying with Spidey”, “Fantasticar” and “X-Men: Danger Room”.

Take a peek at Stark Laboratories, the City of Superheroes, Crater Lake, and other rides depicted.

Link.    Image: Chimera Design

What would Robocop, Hellboy, Batman and other comic characters look like if they had beards? You don’t have to wonder anymore. Behold Croatian illustrator Vanja Mrgan‘s series "Bearded": Link – via Laughing Squid

We’ve featured the customized My Little Ponies before on Neatorama, but Laura Hudson of Comics Alliance has a compilation post that is too good to pass over. Some of them are amazingly detailed!

Here’s her selection of 21 Awesomest Superhero Mods for My Little Pony: Link – Thanks Laura!

Aquaman, Flash and Spider-Man round out the groomsmen. Ten bridesmaids will be Amazon warriors — in comic mythos, Wonder Woman is an Amazon princess — with spears, togas and sandals.

Two weeks ago, LaFore and Lucchese made an emergency trip to Jersey, down and back in one day, to tweak her costume.

“Paramount to having a successful wedding is having the bride feel pretty,” he said.

He and volunteer carpenters built a Fortress of Solitude altar in a rented warehouse space in Portland. They’ll be married by Kieschnick’s father, dressed as Jor-El, Superman’s dad. Part of the script borrows from Kryptonian wedding vows. The couple will break character to say, “I do.”

The two met while working on a theatrical production in Oak Ridge, Tennessee seven years ago. They have been planning the wedding for 18 months. Link -via Fark

(image credit: Amber Waterman/Sun Journal)

Update: See more at Tony and Srah’s wedding blog. Link (Thanks, Tony!)

Take, for instance, the Red Arrow, a 20-year-old guy in Hong Kong who tries to "bring happiness to people and become the salt and light of the world" by handing out toys to poor children.

… or Superbarrio Gómez, a Mexican "real-life superhero" who wears red tights and a Lucha Libre wrestler’s mask to organize rallies and protests and file petitions against forced evictions in Mexico:

For more real-life superheroes, check out the World Superhero Registry | Post at the Laughing Squid – via Rue The Day

Bangkok, Thailand, is turning into Gotham City with violence, fatalities, and social upheaval during the "red shirt" riots.

It seems that Batman has now come to the rescue, fighting crime and breaking tension in Bangkok. Although his alias is not Bruce Wayne, he steps up in the time of need for his country. See him in action in this YouTube clip. Go Batman!

Last week, as anti-government protesters clad in crimson stormed the capital’s streets, some guys hijacked a gas truck and parked it in an otherwise quiet neighborhood. They were pursued by soldiers and assumed (according to Thai media reports) that the military wouldn’t fire into an area containing a massive container of liquid fuel.

Then, out of nowhere, Batman steps into the crowd and surveys the scene.

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by streetattack.

Inspired by the Gotham by Gaslight comic book by Mike Mignola and Brian Augustyn (a Batman comic set in the 1880s), Sillof created a set of steampunk superheroes (famous members of the Justice League set in Victorian Era!)

Link – via Boing Boing