When I was a kid I used to strap tin foil to my head and wrists and pretend to be Wonder Woman, trying to get my skipping rope to loop into a lasso. Let’s just say being a superhero is harder than it looks.
Friday night I got to see Wonder Woman live in person at the Dragonfly in Hollywood for the Comic Book Girls Burlesque Show put on by alternative model and burlesque performer / producer Courtney Cruz.
My friend Eliza Bane aka Eliza Engle, who, aside from embodying W.W., also has her own interior design business, kicked so much ass twirling around in her red cape and dominating the catwalk to a compilation of Wonder Woman themed music. The patriotic background projected behind her made me feel like maybe this country is heading in the right direction after all!
Wonder Woman rockin’ her erotic golden lasso!
Do not mess with Wonder Woman!
Sin Fistedas played Tank Girl and not only had a crazy metal grinder that smoked and sparked in an orgy of lo-fi pyrotechnics, but she also had a huge phallic confetti gun that she shot out at people. The last burlesque show I went to was in a red velvet plush environment and everyone was straight out of the 1940’s. Times have changed, people!
Giving new meaning to the term “Grinder.”
Wow.
Richard’s favorite performance was Storm played by Jessabelle Thunder. She strutted her stuff to AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck,’ which by the way, used to be my ring tone. I know, I’m practically a burlesque performer.
The whole catwalk crowd were Thunder-struck!
The night was hosted by “Fuck You Dave,” who I thought was a complete asshole off the top, as he belittled Wonder Woman and introduced her as Linda Carter. But after many more of those types of comments, people were chanting, “Fuck you, Dave!” at which point I remembered seeing his stage name on the flyer and realized that it was all a schtick! Excellent.
You all know how I can’t stand mean people, but I love yelling, “Fuck you!” in a crowded nightclub while drunk!
Fuck you, Dave!
Daisy Meadows as Aqua Man, looking slightly less than manly I’d say….
Vampirella rocked the undead to Black Sabbath’s Electric Funeral.
I’m actually not sure who this performer below was – somebody help me? But I the African American and Asian Nazis were very surreal.
I got to meet Elisa Teague of the Cupcake Quarterly, an old-school fully bound pin-up magazine that harkens way back to the classic ‘adult’ modeling days. She won the costume contest as a ‘Mars Attacks’ woman, and she had to stop to talk to me because, frankly, she couldn’t move very fast in this dress.
Here is Elisa Teague with Eliza Bane, Debbie Quinn and Andrea Reese. How awesome is her costume?
The night opened up with the deliciously heavy rockabilly band Psychocharger who set the tone with their dirty rock and roll, tattoos and clown make-up, which was kind of sweated off by the time this picture was taken. I had been picturing red velvet and vaudeville, so the bone-chilling strains of rock, punk and surf all rolled into one were a surprise, but I have to say, made me feel right at home.
I wish I had more performer photos. Blame the bartender who was free-pouring my Stoli Screwdrivers. But here’s the list of performers – maybe someone else has pics?
Eliza Bane as Wonder Woman Charlotte La Belle Araigne’e Vampirella Jessabelle Thunderas Storm Scarlet O Gasm as Silk Spectre Olivia Bellafontaine as Ava Lord from Sin City Kristina Nekyia as Spiderman Courtney Cruz as the Joker Kitty Cadillac as Catwoman Daisy Meadows as Aqua Man Sin Fistedas Tank Girl Kira Von Sutra as Poison Ivy
The Devil’s Playground rocks.