The Thrill of the Hunt

On November 28th, Thanksgiving Day, a friend of mine emailed me a link reviewing Walgreens-exclusive DC Super Hero Dolls, and asked me if I could get my hands on them for his daughter. (This was in the middle of me cooking the family feast and trying to get a book published. Hey, no big. I am Mighty.) What with one thing and another, I wasn't able to get out to look for them until Sunday evening. Six Walgreens stores later... I have two complete sets; one for my friend's daughter, one for me. It's been ages since I went on a hunt like this, and I had honestly forgotten how much fun it was.

The box says Series 1, but I don't hold out much hope that there will be a Series 2. (However, if anyone at The Marketing Store is listening, I would love to see Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Huntress and Black Canary. For starters.) The box also says these are "posable" dolls, but that's a bit of a stretch.

 
The 5-inch dolls have enormously oversized heads and tiny little bodies. Different costumes are molded for each doll, with a fair amount of detail, particularly for such small bodies. The arms are articulated at the shoulders, their heads move at the neck, and their eyes open and shut -- that's it for articulation. The forearms are a little "Popeye." Oddly, they are also bow-legged and pigeon-toed. They will stand up on their own, despite being top-heavy. They're a little creepy, to be frank. They're rated for children 4 and up.

 
• Wonder Woman's cape and tiara are removable, and she has a molded lasso. Her eyes are bright blue.
• Batgirl's cape and mask are removable. Her eyes are bright blue.

• Catwoman's mask and goggles are removable, and she has a belt molded to look like a whip that is a separate piece. Her eyes are lime green. 
• Supergirl's cape is removable. Her eyes are bright blue.

Catwoman has serious hat-hair.

The heads, being hollow, have seams that are a little too obvious. But these are $5 dolls ($4.79, to be exact), so a little imprecision is expected. The hair only covers the tops of their heads, making it really thin on the back. Since they all have long hair, it doesn't really show. The accessories are interchangeable since the heads are all the same.  I am amused by the painted eyebrows, which give each doll a slightly different expression. Batgirl has the mildest expression, with no cocked brow. The plastic eyelids don't match the plastic faces on any of my dolls but Catwoman, but since I don't plan to display them lying down, it won't matter.

For scale, that's Mortal Kombat Sonya Blade (1994), 3-3/4" tall.

Would I buy more of these, if given the opportunity? Yes. Hell, yes. At this price? They're weird and creepy, but still my ladies, so yes. Rather than display them with the rest of the collection, I might need to make a shadowbox vignette for them all to be in, comic book style. (But after the holidays... I still have to make 13 Sesame Street dolls, decorate the house, bake cookies, plus all the other housewifey stuff.)

The Skirt of Awesome

There's not a lot to choose from if you want to make stuff with superheroine-themed fabric. Princesses, sure, but strong and kick-ass women, not so much. (You're spoiled for choice if you like your heroes to be male.) *sigh* HOWEVER, fear not, lovers of Batgirl, Wonder Woman or Supergirl! Camelot Fabrics (based in Quebec, formerly Camelot Cottons) has your back!

http://camelotfabrics.com/girl-power-main.html

There are 10 different designs in the line, I bought 4 of them in sufficient quantity to make a skirt. (I review the pattern here.) This weekend I made it, and a matching beret. 



I also sent feedback to Camelot. 

I have fabric I believe you designed, featuring Wonder Woman, Supergirl and Batgirl. And that's awesome - except it's too girly (in my opinion) and doesn't seem to be available anymore. There's a ton of fabric with superheroes, and there's a lot of geeky women out here who'd love to see MORE superheroines; She-Hulk, Storm, Spider-Woman from Marvel to name a few. You have the licenses from the 2 biggies - what do you say? How about some more heroines? Merci Beaucoup!

And received this awesome reply (I <3 Canadians):

Thank you very much for your feedback.  We are very happy to hear that you like what we have done thus far with our designs, and we are always trying to improve.

I have forwarded your comments to our design team…ya never know what they might come out with next!  Stay tuned!!

Also wanted to make sure you are aware that our “Girl Power” line is still very much available in many quilt shops, online, or in major fabric retailers.   Let us know if you are having trouble locating some.

This was awesome on a couple of levels. First, that the fabric is still available, even if it's hard for me to find. I can get it online, even if I can't find it locally. Second, that they let the designers know that at least one person wants more. I'm hoping to pick up more of this fabric when I'm in Ontario in a couple of weeks. 

I also found some Wonder Woman fleece at Joann's, and made a beret out of it, too (cozy warm!) Actually, I made two; one for the daughter of a friend.

The round rainbow motif was just about perfect for the beret top.
I bought a yard, and from that, was only able to get 2 beret tops that
were not on a cut or on the selvages.

Showing scale. Manufactured by Camelot Cottons (on the selvage).

I bought it at my local Joann's, but I see Hancock Fabrics has it on their website as on sale/discontinued. Get it while you can, even if it IS pink! The Joann's website shows the same fabric on white (which I had not seen or I probably would have gotten that instead). Camelot Fabric's website shows the same design in flannel but no fleece. Anywho, if you're lucky enough to find it, grab it while you can.

Bottom line: when you see something like this, heroines depicted through one license or another, I feel it's important to send a message to the manufacturers and licensors that this is something marketable. If we as consumers buy these products, they will make more (in theory, anyway). Vote with your wallet!