Something for the girls
Something for the girls |
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Page 13 of 17  Panel from Sensation Comics (1945). Art: HG Peter. With our stoic star in bondage. Superheroines and jungle queens aside, American publishers were finding other ways to capitalize on the female market. For youngsters, a number of'wholesome adventure' comics appeared, the foremost titles among them published by an organization called The Parents' Institute. Their most popular offering, Calling All Girls (1941), was half-comic and half-magazine, and mixed strips centred around 'morally proper' role models, such as nurses and historical heroines, with articles on etiquette and 'back to school fashions', and comments from 'Advisory Editors' such as Shirley Temple. The idea behind the title was to offer an 'educational and uplifting' alternative to other comics on the shelves, much in the same way as Britain's Girl in the 1950s.'2 Other Institute hits for girls included Polly Pigtails (1946) and Sweet Sixteen (1946). For slightly older female readers, there developed a market in what became known as 'teen comics'. The leaders in this field were undoubtedly Archie Publications. Their Archie comics had been a big hit, especially among adolescent boys , and in the 1950s they were not slow to diversify with titles aimed at girls in a similar age range. In particular, the supporting characters were given comics of their own: thus, Suzie in 1945, Katy Keene in 1949 and, most popularly, Betty and Veronica (the blonde and brunette rivals for Archie's affections) in 1950. These were all created on similar lines, starring cute women in bobby sox, and concentrating on 'dating' disasters and misunderstandings. They pictured an idealized adolescence wholly obsessed with the issue of lust versus true love - though always within a highly moral context. Only Katy Keene offered something slightly different due to the comic's emphasis on clothes and fashion. The star's nickname was 'the Pin-Up Queen', and her wardrobe was as much the focus of attention as the plots. Readers were encouraged to send in their own fashion designs for Katy to wear.  Wonder Woman (1960) |