#30 Black Cobra (6)
Here was the toughest of the seven Black Cobras. #3 was pretty tough, but this one…I knew I wanted a female version of the Black Cobra in here, but the execution could have gone either way.
Concept: Ms. Cobra/Renae Hornsby-Collis – the Bronze Age Black Cobra.  #5 is her father; #3 is her uncle.  She becomes Black Cobra in the mid 70’s when her father never returns from Vietnam. Typical 70’s heroine (Colleen Wing/Misty Knight by way of Dave Cockrum/John Byrne). She becomes a mother and retires, but vows to continue the legacy with her son, Devon. She is very protective of her son, but she trained him for this.
Design: Let’s take these one by one.
(#1) As per my concept paragraph above, I wanted the early version to be very similar to the 70’s heroines, since that was her primary decade of exposure. Sexy, but functional. Not easy, so kudos to real comic book artists that do this kind of thing every day. The bare midriff was a staple of the times, and I had to get the cobra design on there somewhere, so the boots were chosen. (DESIGN REMOVED)
(#2) I have this idea that after a certain point (maybe the 80’s) she changes her tune and becomes a more martial arts centric character. I should have put the logos on the boots, but since I had the spot on her chest, I put it there. She begins to look like she’s embracing her part in the legacy of the character.
Art (above) by Ricardo Venâncio!
(#3) Here, we have her in her mentor role, and I wanted to show her all grown up, a little older and wiser. The pants harken back to Black Cobra #2, which, again, is an effort to call back to her legacy. Note that there’s no cobra logo on her. Since she’s not out in the field, I figured she didn’t need one, but we can always put it as a patch on her arm.
Copyright © 2010, Vito Delsante.
Category: Superhero
About the Author (Author Profile)
I'm not exactly sure what I should put here, so here goes. I'm a writer, written for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dynamite Entertainment, AdHouse Books, and Simon & Schuster, among others and his stories have been reprinted in other countries. Mostly concentrating on creator owned work right now, so the challenge suits me just fine. I live in Queens (Astoria/LIC), NY with my wife, Michelle, and two dogs, Kasey and Kirby. I'm not sure what else needs to be said, but I'm sure I'll keep changing this. Oh, here's something. I contribute to the Project Rooftop site. The RetroFix column was kind of my idea, so I feel like that experience will help me out here.Subscribe
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