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For a drawing, Supergirl is quite an attractive young woman, wouldn't you say, Criv-Kids? That's probably why I purchased this 1971 Super DC Giant #S-24 64-page ish (not counting covers), so's I could admire her in that mini-skirted costume. (Or maybe I'm kidding.) This comic mag reprints a quartet of tales originally published in Action Comics #s 295 to 298 from 1963, which constitute a complete four-part story from the first to the last.
Modern comics don't do much for me these days, being too dark, too grim, in some cases, too gay (Superman's now got a son who plays for both teams - strewth) and too boring. There are sometimes exceptions of course, but they're few and far between. That's probably why I prefer older comics from the '60s, '70s, '80s, and '90s, a time when superhero comics weren't trying to be storyboards for movies and weren't pursuing an agenda to influence society to accept the tastes of a militant minority, bent on reshaping civilization to their own often dubious notions.
So, let's take a glance at what comics looked like back in 1963 and '71, when their only purpose was to entertain the young and young-at-heart, eh? Oh for these days again - or am I the only person who thinks this way? Feel free to leave a comment if you so desire, especially if, like me, your heart beat a little faster on sight of Supergirl in her skater-like costume when you were a kid. And did you prefer Jim Mooney's or Kurt Schaffenberger's artistic rendition of the Maid Of Might or were you more of a Curt Swan man? Tell the world!
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16 comments:
This coming Sunday (Feb 22nd) is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kenneth Williams. He died in April 1988 only nine days before my sister died.
We're grateful Kid, but that little super cutey would surely crush us mere mortals in an intimate encounter. Only Clark would be up to the job, me thinks? Hope you're keeping well...
Shame about your sister, as I've said before, CJ. Do you think of her every day or would that be too painful for you? I've got a couple of cassettes of Kenneth Williams reading an abridged version of The Wind In The Willows and very nice it is too.
Gasp! They're cousins, AAW, we can't be having that sort of thing in a comic. Not dead yet, but could always do with keeping better, same as everyone.
I think of my sister and parents every day, Kid, but not usually very deeply as they seem like quite distant figures now. I've got a beer mug that belonged to my sister which I use now and then. I last used it at Christmas when I bought some cans of beer and cider.
It's nice that you continue to remember them, CJ. Don't be dropping that beer mug now, it'd be a shame if it got broken.
Kid, it's strange to think that Kenneth Williams has now been dead for nearly 38 years which is longer than the entire time he was famous (less than 34 years). It's the unstoppable march of time.
Indeed, CJ. It often amazes me how many things that yet seem recent to me actually happened anything from half to two-thirds of my life away.
As for the art, I always liked Kurt's slicker style. Mooney was very good with any genre. The thing I always noticed was his (Mooney) tendency to always have the women in his work with their hand hovering in front of their face. Kinda always made them look weak & sad.
I enjoyed Jim Mooney's Supergirl stories in the early 1960s Action Comics. I thought Supergirl was pretty, but I was blond when I was a nipper and opposites attract, so I always preferred dark-haired girls ...
Yeah, he often drew them (or so it seems in memory) looking as if they were about to stifle a sigh (or a yawn). Still pretty though.
As you can see from my avatar photo, Al, I was blond too as a young 'un and still had a hint of it as a young teenager when the sun hit it. Hey, blonde-haired gals, dark-haired-gals, I liked 'em all (Wanda, anyone?), though I'd never admit I fancied girls when I was younger. For some odd reason you were considered a sissy if you did. As an adult, wasn't too keen on redheads, though I made an exception for Jean Gray.
Tough choice between Mooney and Schaffenberger. KS is technically better, but the Supergirl stoires he did were IMO nothing very special. JM got to illustrate a lot of good fantasy-tales from guys like Siegel and Binder, so he has a stronger association with "Good Supergril stuff," especially what you were talking about, stories with a sense of fun.
Sometimes I look at JM's Supergirl, GP, and think 'drool' and sometimes I look at KS's and also think 'drool', but it's a fluctuating choice between both versions on different occasions. That reminds me - I need to buy a new drools cup.
I also might venture that Mooney put a little more emphasis on the Boobie Factor-- not size, but just-- je nes se quois? One fannish story was that JM would draw SG's figure nude in the pencils before sketching in the rudiments of the costume for the inker to finish.
This'll perhaps sound daft, GP, but he drew some great profile shots of her fabulous figure, which had a strange effect on my youthful self. Still does today, in fact. (I'm such a saddo.)
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