We’ve made it to day 30 of this year’s Jack Kirby Tribute Month! I wasn’t sure I would make it this far, but here we go. It’s still Granny Goodness’ Orphanage week, featuring characters who grew up in that institution on Apokolips. And today’s prompt is Mad Harriet of the Female Furies!
Like all the Furies, her first appearance was in Mister Miracle #6 (the infamous “Funky Flashman” story). And she shows evidence there of living up to her name!
She’s a challenge to draw, because while visually memorable, once you get beyond her face and hair, her metallic clawed gauntlet and power spikes, it was like the remainder of her outfit didn’t seem to be quite fully nailed down. Figuring out what the rest of her looks like was a challenge, so I took what cues I could from various panels scattered across several stories.
I was also unsure what color to make her lips, as the colorist back then kind of didn’t bother to give them a color. But going with kind of a blue-black for the highlights seemed fitting to me.
One more day left in this year’s Jack Kirby Tribute Month! What’s up next? You’ll have to come back tomorrow to see!
I don’t think I ever noticed that it was Mad Harriet’s hands and power spikes that brought her first appearance. Talk about not burying the lead regarding a character. I like the coloring you have done to MH’s lips. It brings out the severity of the character more clearly. The lip coloring also also draws attention to her weapons for me. Good choice. I also like the coloration of the “tattoos” around her eyes as you have done them. That choice also elevates the pure meanness of MH.
Thanks Mark.
Glad you liked my take on Mad Harriet. Yeah, the reference shots I was looking at, it kind of felt like Jack was going for something there with the lip coloring, that maybe the colorist at the time didn’t pick up on. Black lips seem like kind of a quick visual cue that there’s something different or “off” about a character, so it definitely works for a character like Mad Harriet.
Jack’s primary vision for her as a character seemed centered around her face and hair. I get the impression of a collision in Jack’s mind between some kind of Kabuki mask and a witch doctor mask.