Comics UK

Interesting R4 programme - the depiction of women in comics and animation, featuring discussion by the usual suspects (Paul Gravett etc). Worth a listen, even though it's a bit depressing (albeit not unexpected) how few of the characters discussed were actually dreamt up by ladies...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... o_Be_Wild/

Interesting programme. Shame it ended by mentioning that there are women cartoonists around but it didn't bother actually interviewing any! (With only Posy Simmons getting a name check.)

Lew

Pfff! What's the point of interviewing women? All we ever think about is bags and shoes, after all

As a complete aside, can anyone tell me anything about the Modesty Blaise theme song? I know that tune from somewhere else, but I can't think where and it's driving me mad!

I liked hearing about Betty Boop and Minnie..

never thought Minnie was such a different character...surely there were tomboy girl characters before?

Peter Gray wrote:I liked hearing about Betty Boop and Minnie..

never thought Minnie was such a different character...surely there were tomboy girl characters before?

Not to that extent as I recall. Not in comics anyway, although my knowledge of pre-1960s comics is limited to the few back issues I have. Kashgar might know better?

Lew

Depends if Calamity Jane featured much in the Western craze of the 50's

There was also a tomboy-ish character called Paddy McNaught in the School Friend (or at least in the 1957 annual) who was an Irish detective's assistant. In a departure from the story papers i normally go on about, this one was actually in comic form!

And Charles Hamilton no doubt wrote at least one into his army of characters

I think Minnie the Minx was one of the very first "tomboy" characters in comics as opposed to "mischievous little girl" characters of which there were several like Little Lulu, Little Audrey, Little Lotta etc Minnie (inthe early years at least) was probably more wild than Dennis the Menace

LauraH wrote:As a complete aside, can anyone tell me anything about the Modesty Blaise theme song? I know that tune from somewhere else, but I can't think where and it's driving me mad!

Hi Laura, I think the tune was used in a Gorillaz song, 'Rock Da House' thats the closest thing I can think of!

Nice documentary would have been better with a few of comics female faces interviewed

It's interesting how often comics are discussed on radio, - the medium that's so inappropriate for it. Bob Monkhouse and Denis Gifford did a three part series about Radio Fun comic several years ago and it was so frustrating and ultimately pointless not to be able to see the strips they were enthusing about!

I suppose radio is better than nothing, and it's great that such programmes do come along. However I always feel that by its very nature such audio documentaries can only serve as nostalgia pieces for listeners already familiar with the comics. Perhaps that's why this latest documentary only focused on strips they felt the listener would know: Modesty Blaise, Jane, Minnie the Minx etc.

However I still think it would have been good to state that after years of men drawing girl's comics we now have a woman drawing for a boy's comic. (Laura's Robin Hoodie in Toxic.) There were others too: Angie Kincaid (was Angie Mills) drew Slaine for 2000AD, and Julie Hollings drew for Revolver. (Or was it Crisis?) Although admittedly Revolver wasn't really a boy's only title.

The programme also neglected to mention the many women editors that have worked and continue to work in British comics, but perhaps they just wanted to focus on the strips.

Lew

Peter Gray wrote:I liked hearing about Betty Boop and Minnie..

never thought Minnie was such a different character...surely there were tomboy girl characters before?

Didn't Pansy Potter have tomboyish tendencies...?

The dandys tomboy dinah mo drawn by ron spencer and the beanos ding dong belle drawn by bill holroyd and didnt dennis the menace have a cousin who was just like him same spikey hair and striped jumper ect?

Steve THANK YOU! That's the one! Absolutely no excuse for me not remembering, I even have that Gorillaz album XD

Re Pansy Potter - I'm not terribly up on the older characters, but didn't she use her strength to help people in trouble, whereas Minnie was like Dennis and *caused* trouble? Maybe a distinction needs to be drawn here between tomboys and troublemakers.

Lew, if they wanted to talk about artistic role reversal they really should have pointed out that after years of men drawing sexy ladies for the benefit of their mostly male audience, we now have a large number of female manga artists in Japan, America and the UK drawing pretty boys for the benefit of other women!

's no' just other women!

I beleive the majority of hentai (if you don't know what it is, don't google it at work) is drawn by women too. Straight ones at that... but as the New Penny Magazine said in 1901 "East and West shall go on wondering at each other for a long time to come"

Just referring to Thomsons 'tom boy' girls Beryl The Peril in the Topper predated Minnie by some months and Smudge in the Dandy who first appeared in 1947 might also reasonably qualify. I think you could also make a fair case for including the Broon Bairn, around since 1936, in a list of tom boy characters as she frequently outdid her brothers, the twins, when they indulged in rough and tumble games. She also displayed had a native craftiness which wouldn't have put Minnie to shame either.

Of all the 'chix' that have appeared in comics over the years non quite had the same effect on me as 'Go Granny Go' I think it must have been Brian Walkers artwork that made a comic about an old lady appeal to me as a kid, very frenzied style not many people can pull that off. The fact that she was Dennis the Menaces gran helped too!