Silver Age Super Girls

Remember, in 1959 frequency modulation was the new thing and even in LA there were very few FM stations. The transistor was only two years old. But all of that would change quickly as transistor radios appeared and a 19.7 kilohertz pilot tone was incorporated into FM transmitters. FM receivers locked onto it and flip-flopped in sync with the transmitters 19,700 times a second between the right and left channels and thus stereo was born. When your car radio sees the pilot tone, it turns on the little stereo light.

ace191 wrote: When your car radio sees the pilot tone, it turns on the little stereo light.

Do car radios still have this indicator light?

ace191 wrote: Remember, in 1959 frequency modulation was the new thing and even in LA there were very few FM stations. The transistor was only two years old. But all of that would change quickly as transistor radios appeared and a 19.7 kilohertz pilot tone was incorporated into FM transmitters. FM receivers locked onto it and flip-flopped in sync with the transmitters 19,700 times a second between the right and left channels and thus stereo was born. When your car radio sees the pilot tone, it turns on the little stereo light.

I'd forgotten all about that. Probably because my first car was a 1957 VW (old when I got it) which I drove most of the way through the 60's. Got my driver's license in 1964 on my 16th birthday, already had that VW, and drove that thing another hundred thousand miles.

All with an AM radio that ran on German valves (tubes). Then rebuilt an old MGB also with an AM radio. From there graduated to high-powered motorcycles. No radios. Didn't own a car with an FM radio until 1976.

Shadar

Here's a Silver Age character who's always appealed to me:

13. DUMB BUNNY (ATHENA TREMOR)

First appeared in: "The Coming of the Costumed Incompetents," Showcase 62 (May - June 1966)



Dumb Bunny was a member of the Inferior Five, a parody super-hero team that had its own title for a couple of years in the 1960's. She was very strong and very, uh, blonde, and she wore a bunny costume -- not very PC, but this was 1966.

The I-5's parents were members of a World War II era super-hero team called the Freedom Brigade -- a foreshadowing of the "legacy" concept that DC would later use in comics such as Infinity Inc and JSA.



("Princess Power" was a Wonder Woman knock-off.)

When Awkwardman trips and falls, Dumb Bunny helps him get back up:



Merryman really "digs" Bunny's outfit!

Later, the I-5 battles a cash-strapped mad scientist and his jerry-built contraptions:



To me, the high point of their series was issue #5, in which the I-5 time-travels back to the French Revolution:



The story is a clever mash-up of A Tale of Two Cities and The Scarlet Pimpernel -- though I wonder how many readers would have caught all the references to those novels.

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The Inferior Five hasn't had its own comic since the original series ended in 1968, but they've appeared from time to time in other comics -- usually in cameos, but sometimes in full-length stories, such as an issue of the Bat-Mite mini-series (2015):



Note that her nom de guerre has been changed to Tough Bunny (I would have gone with "Buff Bunny" for the alliteration) but she's still a little shy in the IQ department:



Apparently I'm not the only one who remembers Dumb Bunny fondly: There's a fair amount of Dumb Bunny fan-art at deviantart and elsewhere on line. Here's a drawing I commissioned from Michael Dooney a few years ago, which larafan kindly colored:



(Does anyone recognize where I swiped the gag from?)

And here's a comely cosplayer as DB:

I remember DB, and she had potential, but even in the 60’s I thought she was a bad dumb blonde joke. Penthouse Comics later did an x-rated character inspired by DB who was more fun.

That commission of yours is better than anything in the comics. A perfect portayal of someone with more muscle than brain. We should call her Ms. Oops.

Shadar

My 2001 truck has a stereo light, my 2008 car does not.

I like the whole concept of Dumb Bunny, name and all.

Why can't we have a little fun once in awhile?

That cos player was adorable.

shadar wrote: I remember DB, and she had potential, but even in the 60’s I thought she was a bad dumb blonde joke. Penthouse Comics later did an x-rated character inspired by DB who was more fun.

That commission of yours is better than anything in the comics. A perfect portayal of someone with more muscle than brain. We should call her Ms. Oops.

Shadar

Or Ms. Oopsie-Doopsie?

Even in the original series, despite all the "dumb blonde" jokes, it was sometimes implied that Bunny wasn't as dumb as she appeared -- or at least that what she lacked in "book smarts" she made up for in "people smarts."

And here's a page from a 2010 issue of The Brave and the Bold:



Dang -- this gives me an idea for a Dumb Bunny story that would fit right into the current workshop ... with no time to write it.

Dumb Bunny love! Here's an old quick con sketch and a commission I got-

Look who showed up in the latest issue of Scooby-Doo Team-Up -- sadly, only for a couple of panels. (I admit it -- this title is on my pull list, mainly because it often features characters from long-neglected corners of the DC Universe.)



The "D" is gone from her belt, so maybe she's just "Bunny" now?

And I swiped the idea for my commission from this classic "Far Side" cartoon:

The Scooby-Doo comics have a lot of cool meetups. Their depiction of the Shazam family was one of the best I've seen in a while.

Got to say this disscusion got me to start working on something about the inferior five as well.

With the twist being in 2018 , my idea is to gender swap all the characters- to kind of playing with the idea of superheros who aren't perfect in a world that demands it. Otherwise a mostly Female team is well...inferior.

of course with this being Case Dumb Bunny becomes there token male character.

14. A look at the super-daughters who appeared in some of the "imaginary stories" from Silver Age Superman titles:

a. SUPERMAID (LOLA KENT)

Appeared in: "The Son of Jimmy Olsen," Jimmy Olsen 56 (October 1961)

Lola Kent is the daughter of Superman and Lois.






Jimmy Olsen, Jr is smitten by Supermaid but regards Lola as a "drip." Eventually, however, he falls in love with her (before learning of her other identity) and they get married. (Since Jimmy, Jr's mother is Lois's sister Lucy, he and Lola are first cousins -- a point never brought up in the story.)

b. JOAN SUPERMAN

Appeared in "Lois Lane's Outlaw So," Lois Lane 46 (January 1964)

Joan is the daughter of Superman and Lana Lang -- whom Superman married on the rebound after Lois married a reformed Lex Luthor. (And yes, she goes by "Joan Superman" -- as if "Superman" was a family name.) She woos Lois's "outlaw son" Larry Luthor in the hope of getting him to give up his criminal ways -- unsuccessfully at first, but eventually he reforms and the two of them get married.






c. SUPERLASS (LISA KENT)

Appeared in: "Love Is Blind," Lois Lane 91 (April 1969)



Dig that hip teen lingo!

*sigh* (Adds more things to the comic buying wish list...)

I'd known about most of these, but not all of them. They're (naturally) the kinds of things I collect, I'd just forgotten about them. I mostly remember the non-silver age Superman Family stories about Mr. and Mrs Superman and their daughter.

I love no sense of continuity (not the point) and no need to be tied to the other future stories as it was in flux. (Counterpoint to Kingdom Come which DC kept trying to see if it could make happen.)

IIRC they never revealed who Superman's wife was that led to the ancestor Laurel Kent in Legion. (I never liked the Manhunter retcon either.)

So Thanks.

So many interesting offspring of Kal El, all seemingly with his Kryptonian genetics dominant.

Too bad he could never get it together in the mainstream comics. I mean, he's the last (male at least) from an amazing race of superbeings (under yellow suns anyway). He should be working very hard to keep Kryptonian genetics alive. These panels are just a hint of what's possible.

But no, he is either bound to Niven's rules, or he just prefers to keep it in his pants. Even then, he and Wonder Woman should have strengthened the race of heroes. Not to mention lovely Kara. Not to forget Maxima, who lusted after his genetics. Many others too.

But thanks to the comics code and all, we only get a glimpse of the possibilities in these alternative stories

What I do find interesting is that most of his offspring in the alternative pages are young females. I could guess at the reasons (most writers were male during this period), but I won't elaborate.

Other than to say that Superman has a spectacular disregard for continuing the best bloodline in the universe. Kryptonians are weird.

shadar wrote: What I do find interesting is that most of his offspring in the alternative pages are young females. I could guess at the reasons (most writers were male during this period), but I won't elaborate..

I recall an imaginary story in which Superman had twin sons , one of whom had super-powers while the other didn't. I've sometimes thought of writing a variation on that tale where the super twin is a girl. (I did play with that dynamic a bit in a story about Jan and Jace, the brother and sister sidekicks in the "Space Ghost" cartoons.)

shadar wrote: So many interesting offspring of Kal El, all seemingly with his Kryptonian genetics dominant.

Too bad he could never get it together in the mainstream comics. I mean, he's the last (male at least) from an amazing race of superbeings (under yellow suns anyway). He should be working very hard to keep Kryptonian genetics alive. These panels are just a hint of what's possible.

But no, he is either bound to Niven's rules, or he just prefers to keep it in his pants. Even then, he and Wonder Woman should have strengthened the race of heroes. Not to mention lovely Kara. Not to forget Maxima, who lusted after his genetics. Many others too.

In current DC continuity he DID get it on with Lois and has a son named Jon. Though technically, it's the pre-flashpoint Superman who replaced the post-flashpoint DC52 Superman. Ditto for Lois Lane. (You have to love comic book plots. I do think it's a mistake for the Flash move to be Flashpoint.)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Samuel_Kent

Jon is around in the comic Superman a lot and was in Super Sons with Damian Wayne (Batman and Talia's kid).

Super Sons was just canceled though (along with Supergirl) because Brian Michael Bendis moved from Marvel to DC and got whatever he wanted and he wanted Superman. All the Superman-related titles were axed while Bendis takes over. Hopefully later we'll get a new Supergirl title (it wasn't like the current one was all that good).

I actually like the married Clark/Lois w/ kid dynamics far better than I thought I would. It's made for some really good Superman stories. It also changes the dynamic between Superman and Batman (two fathers whose kids hang out). The double date issues of Clark/Lois and Bruce/Selina was great.

This is part of DC/Marvel waking up and realizing that couples (even married ones) and having a kid doesn't have to spell doom for a comic.

It'll be interesting to see what Bendis does with Clark/Lois/Jon. But considering that during the "no married couples" (let alone kids) phase of Marvel/DC. The two remaining couples were Reed/Sue (with Kids) and the Bendis Created Jessica Jones w/ Luke Cage (also with a kid). So while they were nuking couples, Bendis was one of the few writers who got to create one and keep them around.

TwiceOnThursdays wrote: This is part of DC/Marvel waking up and realizing that couples (even married ones) and having a kid doesn't have to spell doom for a comic.

I miss Ralph and Sue Dibny. I'd love to see them star in a series where they investigate crimes and solve mysteries set in neglected corners of the DCU.

argonaut wrote:

TwiceOnThursdays wrote: This is part of DC/Marvel waking up and realizing that couples (even married ones) and having a kid doesn't have to spell doom for a comic.

I miss Ralph and Sue Dibny. I'd love to see them star in a series where they investigate crimes and solve mysteries set in neglected corners of the DCU.

You’re not the only one. Love Ralph and Sue, and that’s a fantastic idea.

I would love to see you run with that idea.

"Don't move! Everybody stay in your groove!" - best superhero catchphrase ever?

Agent00Soul wrote: "Don't move! Everybody stay in your groove!" - best superhero catchphrase ever?

They tried so hard to capture the vernacular of the late Beat era as it morphed into the Hippie era. The Beatniks had some absolutely wonderful language. Hippies, not quite so much.

But as usual, the Beat era was mostly over by the time the comics picked it up, and then everything was exaggerated, but that phrase also made me smile.

Yes, everything was definitely groovy, man. That was before reggae turned it to "mon".

Shadar

shadar wrote:

Agent00Soul wrote: "Don't move! Everybody stay in your groove!" - best superhero catchphrase ever?

They tried so hard to capture the vernacular of the late Beat era as it morphed into the Hippie era. The Beatniks had some absolutely wonderful language. Hippies, not quite so much.

But as usual, the Beat era was mostly over by the time the comics picked it up, and then everything was exaggerated, but that phrase also made me smile.

Yes, everything was definitely groovy, man. That was before reggae turned it to "mon".

Shadar

Comic authors do stuff like this to this day. It's just naturally very hard for 30+ year-old adults to stay on top of quickly changing teen slang. Putting the slang of the Beats - the Silver Age writers' usual background - into the bodies of mods and hippies is the most famous. Heck, Mad Magazine still had some strips with Beat talk when I was a kid as late as the mid-1970s. But older writers have been putting out of date words into the mouths of kids since comic books got big I think, We've seen it in the Golden Age with the Fawcett and Archie titles talking old slang and more recently in things like Young Justice.

OT but worth mentioning, what always amazed me about Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby in the Silver Age, was how ahead of their time they were with their psychedelic art in Dr. Strange and Thor. The teenagers themselves were only just getting into it at the time, but Ditko and Kirby we both in their 40s at that point I think.

Some imaginary super-daughters who've appeared more recently::

1. KARA KENT (appeared in Superman & Batman: Generations 3 -- 1999)



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2. LARA LANE-KENT (appeared in Adventures of Superman 638 -- 2005)



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3. LARA LANE-KENT (appeared in Injustice: Gods Among Us, Year Three 14 -- 2015)



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