Mild-mannered bookkeper leads double comic life
Kim Green (as the Silver Banshee) and her daughter Cierra Jones (as Jaylah) pose before the Star Trek Galactic Federation symbol at the Alamo City Comic-Con. The mild-mannered Green, who is the office manager of The Highlander, has a geeky side that only comes out at Comic-Con.
By Frank Shubert
Publisher
The Highlander
One of the highlights of every Comic-Con International: San Diego, which wrapped another successful four days of fun and games in July, is the amazing cosplay by those in attendance.
For those who are uninitated in the ways of geekdom, cosplay — a blending of the words costume and play — is the art of dressing up as and imitating a character from a fan's favorite movie, book, comic, graphic novel or video game and the San Diego Comic-Con can be likened to the Super Bowl for cosplay enthusiasts.
A similar scene was played out not long ago in San Antonio as thousands of comic book fans, gamers and self-identified "geeks" descended upon the Mission City to show their enthusiasm for the latest fantasy heroes, heroines, villains and the artists who created them.
Among those fans at the Alamo City Comic Con (ACCC) lurked a mild-mannered bookkeeper from the Highland Lakes named Kim Green. Her extraordinary talents in office managing, accounting and collections were augmented by her participation in a body-painting exercise and modeling demonstration which transformed this tall, lithe Texan into the Silver Banshee.
“I have always been a geek at heart and I have been modeling since I was 12 years old,” said Green, who serves as office manager for Highland Lakes Newspapers, which includes The Highlander and the Burnet Bulletin.
“Since I have been a cosplay fan for years, it was a natural progression to body painting.”
Green, a veteran of many comic book conventions – or Comic Cons, has participated in body-painting demonstrations twice. Her recent favorite, the Silver Banshee, is a super-villain featured in many DC Comics and on television shows for years.
Thanks to the anything-goes style of fantasy storytelling, and depending on which back story you read, the Silver Banshee, whose alter ego is Siobhan McDougal or Siobhan Smythe, can be a servant of evil, battling Superman and Supergirl, or has sometimes joined forces with the DC Superhero Girls to fight for good, a skill set that comes in handy for a busy office manager in the business world today.
“Kim came on board a few months ago and immediately produced results for us in the accounting and records keeping department,” said Highlander editor and publisher, Frank Shubert. “She's one of the most pleasant and engaging people I've ever met and has been a huge help to our entire staff.”
The body-painting phenomenon has been growing for years due to the incredible expansion of comic book movies, television series, comic conventions and video games around the world. Once a convention enjoyed by only a fringe group of devoted followers has become a vast community of fans who take this hobby very seriously, including kids, adults, couples, soccer moms, writers, artists and business professionals.
An estimated 100,000 fans attended this year's ACCC, considered the seventh largest in the U.S. after only its fifth year in existence. It rivals the San Diego Comic-Con, which just brought a $150 million dollar economic impact to California.
Green's daughter, Cierra Jones, is a body-painting model as well. During the ACCC, her body-painting demonstration included prosthetics and transformed her in to Jaylah, a lead character from the 2016 movie “Star Trek: Beyond,” portrayed by Sofia Boutella.
Green said it can take anywhere from two to eight hours to be painted, depending on the complexity of the character's appearance. The cost can be anywhere from $250 up to $5,000 for a professional body paint job and the paint must be applied over clothes and skin in order to create the right effect. Add to that the length of time spent in costume and it sounds like it could be an arduous ordeal to return to normalcy after a convention.
“Fortunately, a hot shower and some scrubbing and I'm just Kim again!” Green said.
One of Green's other passions is being a devoted grandmother to her granddaughter, Jones' daughter Lylie Lynn, who also attended the ACCC.
So the next time you open your billing statement from the Highlander or Burnet Bulletin, try to remember the mild-mannered office manager who sent it to you. It's best to stay on her good side … and let the Silver Banshee call the other guys!
