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Continuing in the same vein as the previous two posts, here's yet another one about my youthful crushes on comic strip cuties. (This was originally Part 19 of my FAVOURITE COMICS Of The PAST series.)
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'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 50-odd 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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Quite clearly not Bob Kane - any idea who did the artwork on the tale in question?
ReplyDeleteThe first tale is pencilled by Sheldon Moldoff and inked by Joe Giella, and the second is pencilled by Chic Stone and inked by Sid Greene, BS.
ReplyDeleteOh, and the cover is by Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella.
Would you believe...I almost mentioned Vi in my comment yesterday, but I'd already listed about half a dozen heroines and villainesses, and decided that was enough for one post.
ReplyDeleteThe Stunt Girl story seems innocuous now, but when I was eight, it seemed almost daring. I thought she was hot, although, of course, I didn't fully understand what I was excited about.
Were your "crushes" at this age (8- 10 years old) restricted to comic book characters, what about pop/ film stars etc or even more importantly "real" girls. I remember my first crush like yesterday I was about 9 years old and an ex student at my primary school was visiting my teacher (Mrs Simpson) the ex student (Marjory)was training to be a teacher herself and was about 18 years old, I was to say the least taken aback when I saw her. My first crush on a fellow pupil in my class came the same year and not on one girl but 2 girls at the same time (brave eh?) Barbra and Eilidh ( I wont use there surnames to protect the innocent lol) I never got the guts to ask either of them out sadly/Of course back then to have a girlfriend at 8/9 years old was strange almost unheard off unless it was as "pal" (girls were yukky though we secretly liked them but couldn't understand why) nowadays by 9 years old some kids act like they are in adult relationships .
ReplyDeleteSame with me, TC. I felt 'tingly' looking at these sort of 'girl' pics, but I couldn't have articulated what I was reacting to. Paper dolls, eh?
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I fancied Jean Marsh as Sarah Kingdom in Dr. Who, Diana Rigg as Emma Peel in The Avengers, maybe even Valerie Singleton in Blue Peter, and probably quite a few actresses whose names I didn't know at the time, PM. I preferred women to girls 'cos, let's face it, girls just don't have the curves that women do. There were a couple of girls in my class I was (secretly) 'sweet on' (one named Susan), but it wasn't the same as my women crushes. With girls my age, I felt attracted to them in some indefinable way, but it wasn't the pure unadulterated lust I had for Susan Storm and Supergirl, etc.
(I feel much better now, doctor. Talking about it was helpful.)
My childhood crushes were Diana as Emma Peel, Stefanie Powers as April Dancer, and Julie Newmar as Catwoman. AFAIR, the first time I ever felt "tingly" was while watching Julie on Batman.
ReplyDeleteAnd, AFAIR, I liked all of the Doctor's female companions: Jo Grant, Romana, Sarah Jane Smith. But my favorite was Leela.
Yeah, I liked Stefanie and Julie as well - Louise Jameson (Leela) was more a teenage crush. No doubt there were numerous others, TC.
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