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| Images copyright DC COMICS |
A while back, in a rare mad moment of indiscretion, I somewhat impetuously revealed my schoolboy crush on SUSAN STORM (aka The INVISIBLE GIRL), but I have an even more shameful confession to make. I could never quite remain faithful to sweet Susie, swiftly switching my fickle infatuation 'twixt a succession of four-colour cosmic cuties whenever my attention was diverted by some slinky, seductive temptress provocatively posing and pouting at me from whatever captivating comic I happened to be rabidly reading at the time.
SCARLET WITCH, SATURN GIRL, The WASP, and MARVEL GIRL were just some of the many superpowered seductresses to whom I felt oddly drawn - unlike them, who were awesomely and alluringly drawn (little pun there) and stirred such strange sensations in my stomach. Another was KARA, alias SUPERGIRL (who actually bore a striking resemblance to both Susan and Saturn Girl), and - whether drawn by JIM MOONEY or KURT SCHAFFENBERGER - she set my young pulse racing with passions I didn't quite understand and would've been unable to 'express' had the divine diva magically sprung to life in front of me. (7 year old boys are probably much more clued-up on such 'affairs of the heart' nowadays, I imagine.)
Anyway, in tribute to Kara, here's a selection of images carefully culled from my comic collection to hopefully give you an idea as to why the heavenly honey so transfixed me. Curiously, I never found her secret identity of LINDA DANVERS quite so attractive. Strange what effect long blonde hair and a short skirt can have, eh? (Looking at Linda now though, she's actually quite striking. (Oh no! I thought I'd grown out of it.)
ADVENTURE COMICS #384, which heads this post, is an odd little tale, lounging in the 'land of latent lesbianism' (and transvestism), perhaps without even being aware of it, and presumably going straight over the heads of kids who read it back in the day. Reading it today as an adult, however, it seems unbelievable that the editors didn't spot the inherent implications of the story at the time.
Anyway, did anyone else out there harbour such secret desires for sexy statuesque superheroines, or was I the world's only paper pin-up perv? Please tell me it ain't so! (Go on, 'fess up. You'll feel better for it.)
For another reminiscence in a similar vein, click here.
Supergirl and the female Legion members were attractive, but I don't remember getting particularly turned on by them. I always thought of them as cute, rather than as beautiful or sexy.
ReplyDeletePoison Ivy was supposed to be seductive, but, in her two Silver Age appearances, she came across more like a cute girly-girl than a femme fatale.
Janet Van Dyne/the Wasp was very attractive the way she was drawn in the late 1960s-early 1970s.
The Black Widow, the Enchantress, and the Iron Maiden "set my young pulse racing with passions I didn't quite understand and would've been unable to express" at the time. Femmes Fatales were not common in Silver Age comics, probably because the Code forbade portraying villains as glamorous or attractive. So Marvel and Tower were pushing the envelope. But then, both publishers seemed to be aiming at a slightly older audience than DC. Not adults, of course, but maybe adolescent boys.
Adventure #384's subtext probably would have gone over my head when I was ten. It seems obvious enough now, though, and I don't know how the creators could have been unaware of it.
Always a pleasure to read your comments, TC, and I'm sure other readers feel the same.
ReplyDeleteAs for the subtext of Adventure #384, it would certainly have gone over my head at ten - and probably a few years down the line as well. Occasionally, a DC drawing of a female pushed my buttons, but that was probably because I was a wee perv when I was younger, more than as a result of the artist's intentions. In the '70s though, Rose from Rose & the Thorn got me all a-tingle. Oh dear, how sad was I?
Rose never did much for me, but I liked Thorn. Which alter ego you prefer may be a sort of Rorschach test.
ReplyDeleteI've always liked 'em tough and feisty.
Oops, I got them confused, TC - I meant to say The Thorn (must've beeen the leather mini-skirt), though there was the occasional drawing of Rose that did it for me as well.
ReplyDeleteWell, comics women are intentionally drawn that way, aren't they? (Or used to be.) I couldn't single out any character in particular, but I remember the cover of Uncanny X-Men #334 made a young, new-to-comics me think 'gosh'.
ReplyDeleteThese days I might be more likely to think 'how is her thigh longer than her entire upper body...?' Ah, the nineties.
You just know I'm going to have to go and look at that cover now, don't you, WJB? I don't have the issue so I'll Google it, and if it's as good as you suggest, I'll most certainly goggle at it as well.
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