Spider-Girl Contest, Part Four: The Winners

This is it, part four of our run-down of entires to the Spider-Girl contest, where we will announce the Grand Prize Winner! (See part one, part two & part three for the previous entries.)

There's no particular reason why these were chosen as the winner and runner-up, just that they both seemed right to me as I liked both the actresses chosen and the reasons given.


Our runner-up is David Welsh, whose choice is Joan of Arcadia co-star Becky Wahlstrom. David writes:

She's smart as a box of whips, has a compelling physicality and puckish sense of humor, and shows a mastery of the kind of subtext that would suit a character with a secret identity. Also, I would like for her to become a very big star, snapping wispy starlets in half as she makes her ascent.

For second place, David wins our (previously unannounced) second-place prize, a copy of the first Spider-Girl digest! Congratulations David!




And now the moment you've all been waiting for: our Grand Prize winner!

First place goes to Nik Dirga, whose choice is actress Zooey Deschanel. Nik writes:

Not exactly a household name, she's been in Almost Famous, Elf, All The Real Girls and this summer's Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy adaptation. I think she projects a keen intelligence and slight but not overpowering cynicism, qualities also present in Spider-Girl. She's optimistic but not naive -- check out her performance in the Will Ferrell comedy Elf, as the Christmas-hatin' crank who (of course) develops true holiday cheer by the end, even chiming in on a Christmas carol or two. Now, that whole Grinch-becomes-grinner thing is pretty clichéd, but damn if Zooey didn't sell me on it in that little turn. Or take her performance in Almost Famous as William Miller's jaded sister, another excellent turn that takes a small role and gives it a little more complexity. I think the best comic adaptations are those where the actors/actress give a subtle oomph to their portrayals -- see Maguire's Spider-Man, Jackman's Wolverine, McKellen's Magneto -- not quite winking at the audience, but the reverse -- making the most extraordinary ideas and actions believable through the humanism of their performances.

As our Grand Prize winner, Nik gets copies of the first two Spider-Girl digests, containing the first twelve issues of the comic. Congratulations Nik!



That wraps things up for us. Thanks to everyone who entered, and a special thanks to Johanna Draper Carlson, who provided one of the prizes. This was a lot of fun, and hopefully I'll run another contest in the not-too-distant future.