Themes in boys' comics

[comixminx]

It occurs to me that one popular theme in boys comics that didn't seem to appear in girls' comics so often was that of the 'villain as hero'. Of course outlaw heroes like Robin Hood who battled for truth and justice against a corrupt authority had plenty of female equivalents - notably those who fought the Nazis in occupied Europe during WW2. Where boys' comics differed significantly, however, was in their tendency to elevate out-and-out criminals to headline status: for example the Spider and the Steel Claw, both of whom started out on the wrong side of the law before they eventually reformed. And beyond those there was a whole range of robbers and killers who were 'mad, bad and dangerous to know' like the Black Sapper, Black Max, Dr. 'Ratty' Rat and the Waxer - not to mention the real-life murderer and burglar Charlie Peace in Buster! Admittedly these strips often included representatives of law and order who pursued the villain and occasionally frustrated his schemes, but there was never any doubt who the real star was!

As a matter of interest can anybody think of any female master criminal who had her own strip in a girls' comic? (I suppose there are one or two evil witches that might qualify)

Villain as hero, hmm. You're right, this is a gap in girls' comics compared to boys comics. In "The Slave of Form 3B", evil brunette Stacey (with a Louise Brooks bob) is clearly the main character and is as villainous as you like, but she is of course a school girl and as such not really what you'd call an out-and-out criminal (yet). You also get girls who fall afoul of the law and end up on its wrong side, but again that's not the same as what you are saying. There were some very dramatic and striking villains, eg the spider-woman from Misty who was defeated by schoolgirl cat-priestess Nicola, but once again not the same as you are saying.