Saturday, November 28, 2009

Rest in Popularity

I've been listing goth girls of TV cartoon shows. But let's go to other 
media and know the most popular goth girls there, from dolls to comics.

Emily the Strange (apparel). She must be the most popular goth girl icon I know. She came to life in the early 1990's and quickly became a beloved counterculture icon all around the world. In her earliest years, she was a quiet but sharp-witted stranger, slinging philosophy and cultural observations in a series of hand-screened t-shirts and stickers. As her presence grew and became a standard in the cultural underground, Emily's own story began to emerge in a series of gift books, then comic-books and graphic novels, and now a novel series for young adults. Emily's not your average thirteen year-old-girl. Pink is her worst nightmare...she wears the same black dress every day. She loves math and science. Her best friends are her four black cats: Mystery, Sabbath, Miles and Neechee! She's into rock and punk. Emily is so anticool she's cool... a subculture of one, and a follower of no one but herself.
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Death from The Sandman (graphic novel). Death is the second eldest of "The Endless", a family who embodies the powerful aspects of the universe. There's Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Despair, Desire and Delirium. In the stories, Death is both the end of life and a psychopomp. She also visits people when they are born. But one day every century, Death lives (and dies) as a mortal, in order to understand the value of the life she takes. Being Death, she's possibly to be the most powerful of the Endless; bound by no rules; feared by the Furies; and may survive the end of the universe. Though most personifications of death is the Grim Reaper or some shady stranger, here Death is a goth girl, who is, ironically, pleasant, down-to-earth, perky and kind-hearted. Her look was inspired by co-creator Dringenberg's goth friend, Cinnamon.
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Monster High (dolls). This is the most popular Mattel fashion dolls liked by goths. Who wouldn't like monster-inspired dolls with goth chic fashion? Though they have that Bratzy look and preppy attitude, their character designs and the plot setting are indeed gruesomely awesome. The main characters are Frankie Stein (the "fragile" new girl/monster), Draculaura (a hemophobic perky vampire), and Clawdeen Wolf (the werewolf fashion diva). There's also Lagoona Blue (sporty daughter of the Gill-Man) and Ghoulia Yelps (the nerdy zombie girl). Their main mean girl is none other than the mummified Egyptian princess, Cleo De Nile. There are many more scary characters from Monster High in their webtoons, books and film. Check them out here: http://www.monsterhigh.com/
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Devi D. from Johnny the Homicidal Maniac (comics). Devi first appeared in the Meanwhile comic, Somewhere Else, where she was dating a guy with irritable bowel syndrome. She then appeared in the main plot as Johnny's love interest. They first met in a bookstore where she works until Devi asked him out. Nny liked her so much to the extent of murdering her so he can "immortalize" their sweet moment. But Devi is the only character who was able to beat him up and ran away. From that horrible experience, Devi  became a paranoid and locked herself up in her apartment where she spent most of her time painting. Devi then got her own spin-off entitled I Feel Sick as continuation where she battles the same psychotic forces in her life, in the form of a painting of a doll. In the story, she became a graphic designer for the evil Nerve Publishing while her insane best friend, Tenna, tries to persuade her to go out more. It was revealed that Devi is an introverted goth and had a lot of bad dates.
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Misa Amane from Death Note (manga/anime). Okay, we're going to anime. Misa is a true goth. Not gothic, not lolita, not emo,  not cosplayer; She's not the silent moody girl, not the dark good girl, not creepy little girl, not magical demon girl. She's goth. In the story, Misa is a popular Japanese model and actress. She is immature, hyperactive and happy-go-lucky. A shinigami named Gelus fell in love with her and died as consequence. Then she had two shinigamis, Rem and Ryuk. Misa is completely devoted to Light although the feeling is hardly mutual, since Light merely views her as a rather annoying asset and uses her. He also sees her as a bad person who killed innocent people.Her look was inspired by gothic lolita, but the creators wanted more goth and rock in her to convey the gothic and dark imagery of the Shinigami.

Germaine from Neurotically Yours (webtoon). Germaine is the owner of Foamy, a neurotic talking squirrel. She's in her twenties and tries to be a professional poet, but her poetry is never appreciated. She spends her time on her computer, reading mystic books, meditate with witchcraft, hang out in coffee shops and of course, with her annoying pet Foamy. She got issues about her weight, which as episodes progress, she gains more and more. She's a feminist and complains about pervy guys and slutty girls. Ironically and disappointingly, she herself became one. She's originally the main character but Foamy the squirrel became more popular because of his angry rants against society. There are many more goth webtoons in Newgrounds: http://www.newgrounds.com/collection/goth.
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Anyone know a goth girl as the central character in a video game?
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