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| Images copyright DC COMICS |
'Twas in WOOLWORTHS on a dark, late-afternoon - possibly around October or November of 1967 - that I spied the above comic while on a shopping trip with my mother and brother. It was swiftly purchased and eagerly read from cover to cover, leaving a deep impression on me. Or to be more precise, 'twas the curvaceous figure of VI LANCE, the gorgeous red-headed stunt girl in the ROBIN backup tale, that so captivated my eight-year old self.
I remember taking the comic with me on a family visit to my grandparents a day or two later, and being entranced with Vi's womanly charms throughout the entire evening. I could hardly tear my eyes away from the four-colour cutie, and had 'butterflies' in my stomach all night long, to say nothing of a gormless, loved-up expression on my freckled kipper in the best KEN REID tradition. How can a simple drawing have such an effect on someone?
I'd like to be able to put my somewhat extreme reaction down to the fact that I was only a kid - but, truth to tell, I find myself not entirely immune to those same drawings 46 years later, so can't pin my early lustful longings on mere youthful 'exuberance'. Could've been worse, I suppose. At least it wasn't Robin I fancied.
If you have any memories of this particular comic, feel free to share them in the comments section.
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I reckon DC & Marvel play on these adolescent stirrings nowadays just to sell their comics! Have you seen Supergirl and Ms. Marvel in recent years? I get a lot of emails trying to tempt me to buy today's comics and I've asked myself the question, " Are the super-heroines of today TOO sexy? And what are they going to be like in the future? Stark naked?" If I were a super-villain and had to face Wonder Woman or Carol Danvers I would not be able to concentrate enough to fight, my eyes would come out on stalks, saliva would be dripping from my mouth (he gets about, that Ken Reid!). Even at my wise (?) old age, I have been SORELY tempted to click on "BUY" myself!(drool, drool!)
ReplyDeleteWhen you think about it, JP, they actually ARE stark-naked - their costumes often look as if they've been painted on their bare skins. (I only bought Supergirl comics when I was a kid because I fancied her, not because the stories were particularly great.)
ReplyDeleteI actually felt the same kind of... stimulation while reading the Vi Lance story back then. To my eight-year-old mind, this stuff seemed like soft-core porn. While looking at this blog post, I thought that Vi had some (admittedly slight and superficial) resemblance to Stefanie Powers. But, checking the dates, it appears that the comic would have been on sale at least two months before "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E." premiered. The only other TV characters who might have been an influence (afair) were Emma Peel and Honey West. And don't even let me get started about...stimulation from TV heroines and villainesses, including, of course, Stefanie, Diana Rigg, and Julie Newmar.
ReplyDeleteIn 1966-67, some long-time Batman fans complained that the comics were getting too silly. I recall a comment in the letters-to-the-editor column, complaining that the cover of #184 looked like a grim "Dark Knight" suspense thriller, but that both stories were more like the campy TV show. The comics never got quite that self-consciously silly, but the camp comedy influence was noticeable. Or, it is now. At the time, I didn't notice the difference. Most kids back then thought of Batman as a serious action-adventure series in both media. It seemed just as dramatic as "Gunsmoke" or "The Rat Patrol." Our parents watched Batman and were probably laughing their heads off. -TC
ReplyDeleteNow I wish that there had really been a Stunt Girl TV show, with Stefanie Powers or Ann-Margret as Vi. -TC
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of a villain not able to concentrate enough to fight while facing a scantily-clad heroine, that actually happened in Detective Comics #371 in the late 1960's. Batgirl ripped her tights and showed off her legs, distracting the crooks long enough for Batman and Robin to subdue them. Another example of the TV/camp influence. And I admit that I got turned on (well, to the extent that an eight-year-old could be) by Vi Lance. By today's standards, that story is tame, but, back then, it seemed suggestive and daring, especially for what was still basically a children's medium. -TC
ReplyDeleteI was talking to someone recently about picking up comics in Woolies only to be told that "they never sold comics" so good to know I wasn't dreaming this - I do recall thinking that a female spy character (cant recall her name) in Leo Baxendales humour strip, "Eagle Eye Junior Spy" stirred up a few innocent feelings when I was about 8 ish, however it wasn't until I first saw (Johnny Romita's version of ) Gwen Stacey in Spider-man at the mature age of around 11 years old and later Gene Colans Black Widow that it all got pretty weird for me (thankfully I'm now too old to be affected by characters like Power Girl in comics otherwise Id be in a truss by now!!) I think the 80s early 90s were perhaps the most overtly sexualised re women in comics (Image comics version !!) and I've never understood folk (ok teenage boys) that buy swimsuit editions of comics or lists like the "Buyers guide to the 100 Sexiest Women in Comics" especially when my Gwen is only number 89 (not that I bought this edition it was in my dentists waiting room .........honest)- McScotty.
ReplyDeleteThe usual great comments - thanks, guys. TC - I have that particular ish and will put it on the blog one day. McScotty, Woolies definitely sold comics at one time. I remember them in the '60s, but not the '70s, so they may have phased them out by then.
ReplyDeleteFor me it would have been Lee Meriwether as Catwoman in the 1966 movie. I can even remember the exact scene in the movie when I had that 'crush flush' feeling. It was when Catwoman was ordering several hench men down the stairs in the villains hideout on the pier located I think on that famous pier where Batman tries to throw the bomb from. What would Frued make of it all?
ReplyDeleteRegards Ken.
Ah, Lee Meriwether - now you're talkin', Ken. There's a photo of her somewhere on this blog.
ReplyDeleteKid's July 21, 2010 blog post has that Lee Meriwether photo. -TC
ReplyDeleteJohn Buscema (pencils) and Sal Buscema (inks) really made the Enchantress look hot in Avengers #84.-TC
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments, TC.
ReplyDeleteSo, here I am again, I have come back from the future, inside a time-travelling Dalek and I am still no wiser as to what happened in the lead story!
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm just going to have to travel even further back in time, - back to 1967 and read my own copy again!
Or hunt one down on eBay, JP. Don't worry - TC will probably be along again at some stage to tell you what happens in the ish.
ReplyDeleteI see he's dropped by already! He must have a massive pile of comics in front of him!
DeleteH'mm, I wonder if his massive pile is bigger than my massive pile?
ReplyDeleteNo massive pile, just a laptop so I can look up stuff at GCD, Wikipedia, and Mike's Amazing World of Comics. And a near-photographic memory for esoteric trivia, although I can't remember anything that's important.
ReplyDeleteI've got a photographic memory, TC - but it hasn't developed yet. (Boom-boom!)
ReplyDelete