Why are men collecting old girls' comics these days?

[DavidKW]

I was talking to an secondhand shop owner who revealed that men are collecting old girls comics & annuals. Not only that but she said that quite its a lot of "alpha" males too. Anyone know why this is?
My theories: perhaps it's becuse of the lack of decent action girls on tv & in comics?
Lack of good role models for their daughters (and let's face it what's left of girls' comics today - product placesment and all too pink & wanting to make girls pink & princessy - feels lik we've gone backwards in time!)
Good artwork and plot/story lines too (cases in point: Mike Noble working for Sally comic; the quality of The Avengers (60s tv series) strip both in Diana & the growing up of Emma Peel in June & SF - better than TV Comic's appalling quality).
Or just seeking good escapism & nostalgia with good quality strong [positive females?
Or there's nothing on TV?!
Am just curious as to this..

[Digifiend]

Quality writing and artwork are appreciated regardless of the target audience.

[felneymike]

I collect any old comics / story papers!

I think girls had it best from about 1920 to maybe 1980, mind you. Before that it was mostly Jane Austen-style romance, and after it was Grange Hill-style seriousness. Then again there was Starlight Nell, Moll Cutpurse and so on during the days of penny dreadfuls, and Daisy Fairfax, Girl Detective in the 1890's!

[tony ingram]

I think it's basically because, for all Major Eazy's posturing, if you'd made him an 13 year old aspiring gymnast who was slowly going blind while living with an abusive foster parent who was trying to steal his inheritance and was simultaneously trying to protect a lame racehorse hidden in the forest from being shot-he'd have cried like a baby.

Those girls were cool.

[Phoenix]

I was talking to an secondhand shop owner who revealed that men are collecting old girls comics & annuals. Not only that but she said that quite its a lot of "alpha" males too. Anyone know why this is?

I have bought all my thousands of Thomsons' story papers for girls for research purposes, although I will admit also to enjoying many of the serials.

[stevezodiac]

Its mainly the gothic style stories that I enjoy - The Little Princess/Matilda type stuff - orphaned young girls who are put into homes run by despotic, sadistic governesses and how the girl manages to retain her values. a very grown up approach to children's fiction. Its like Alf Tupper who placed honour and integrity above all. No matter how broke he was he would not accept charity. War, Football and Motor Racing were enjoyable but it is always nice to read something with a different slant.

[matrix]

Quality writing and artwork are appreciated regardless of the target audience.

I Agree with Digi's quote, and just to elaborate a little as someone who has a girls comic collection, i do not see them as girls comics, i see them as just comics.
I read them for their social history, pop content etc, they offer a good balance to my collection.
When reading a story i am looking at the artwork, fashions, any buildings or cars etc that may be in the strip, they offer a very diverse range of story content and some are quite educational.I am hoping that my daughters will appreciate them one day.

My collection is mainly from the seventies.

[DavidKW]

I agree with most of those theories - though who is Major Eazy?
I don't regard these as strictly girls' stories either - they're great well-told plotlines with a heroine at the forefront & girls who like to always get stuck in, be adventurous & get their hands dirty (never worry about broken fingernails!). The artwork's always good high quality & detailed.
Also think many of them are great at capturing the mood & feel of the times they're written in (best of June & SF did captured the 60-early 70s in a bottle very well).
Plenty of good role-models today for girls in them, unlike today - too much pink, princessy & manfactured pop-stars is what I notice.
Somebody also said she thinks most men actually prefer to read about women & girls to be plucky, practical action girls than pink girly types obsessed with looks.
My favourite era is the 60s/early 70s.
I think a lot of the concepts & stories in these comics with make fantastic ideas for TV shows in various sorts of formats. I recently had a go thinking of some & how they'd be done - came up with a mini-TV schedule (for one of them I outlined a few episode ideas too).

[tony ingram]

I agree with most of those theories - though who is Major Eazy?

A fairly bog standard military maverick from the pages of Battle Picture Weekly.

[felneymike]

Major Eazy was Cursed Earth Coburn set about 200 years further back in time!

I must say, the "everyday" settings is also one of the things that attracts me to girls' comics (though it is not exclusive to them). Somehow a drawing of a fictional street scene feels more "alive" than a mere photo. It's like you're really looking into a 70's suburb!
There's very little of that about in British comics these days, though The Boss in the DFC had a nice non-magical, contemporary setting. Also the Japanese comic (available widely in Britain, not always among the manga) called Professor Munakata's British Museum Adventure is set in modern-day Britain, lots of police Ford Focus estates speeding around! (Incedentally Bakuman is a great window into modern, everyday Japan).
I aim to do similar things in my own comics in future, with a secret agent story that's full of car chases and a "gritty" (though still Boys' Own) police story set on a rough London estate.

[DavidKW]

Thanks for that - I was never into War comics, but I read about this Major Eazy. Does sound a bit bog-standard James Coburnesque character.

I do like looking at football strips & action motor racing & some Boys Own is good too. Just to think though that women do things like play football, race cars, box, DJ and so on - such a shame there aren't girls' comics showing them doing these things now, providing positive role models.

I think another think the girls' comics capture well is some of the language & terms used at the time. No one would say Oh Golly, and I never knew that the term A Dilly meant a stupid person.

I think a lot of the idea concepts in the old girls' comics could still be used & adapted well today, as comic strips or TV series. I'll reveal my ideas soon.

[DavidKW]

Just will say - in my quiz league I got a question right relating to a girls' comic - I'm not living this down!

It was on which comic the Four Marys was in (Bunty of course). I pointed out - in fact I knew from there - that they were on those Uk comic stamps and that I rwad about them in the papers when Bunty folded.

Collecting these comics isn't something you can brag about in the pub!

[stevezodiac]

The Four Marys would make a good name for a pub.

[Shaqui]

Because, like myself, I suspect we all read our sister's comics (and she, mine!) and in retrospect we realise a lot of comic artists and writers we know and respect also contributed to that genre. I wish I had saved all my sister's Buntys and Mandys and Judys. All she has now are the annuals, and she's given them to her daughter (my niece)...

That's not to say some of the stories are still fairly cracking good reads too!

[Phoenix]

Collecting these comics isn't something you can brag about in the pub!

I'm sure there are many things that men can be ashamed of doing, David, but collecting girls' comics certainly isn't one of them. You have to stand up for what you believe in to gain and maintain respect.