This funny, beautifully drawn (mis)adventure of cute, sexy Torchy, is early in the series. It was the fourth Torchy story published, appearing in Modern Comics #54 (1946). The artwork is by Torchy’s creator, Bill Ward.
Friday, November 18, 2016
Number 1973: Queen Torchy
This funny, beautifully drawn (mis)adventure of cute, sexy Torchy, is early in the series. It was the fourth Torchy story published, appearing in Modern Comics #54 (1946). The artwork is by Torchy’s creator, Bill Ward.
Ward is, of course, as I love to mention, known for his shoe fetish which isn't in full effect here yet. I first saw his artwork in Cracked without knowing any of the previous work (I was just a dumb kid then, don't blame me!) or his fetish work, but it was obvious what his focus was.
ReplyDelete... but, I have to say, there's a lot of great panels in this. Other than the impossible women Ward drew (great bad girl art in it's own right), the racing car panel, the punch at the end (very dynamic, something a lot of folks in the 40s couldn't do.) Ward could have done great super-hero work.
BTW: "Get in trouble for minding her own business." I don't think stealing is minding your own business!
I'm not sure when I first encountered Ward, but it in the late fifties or early sixties. I think I saw Ward's work in those old Humorama digests that as a 12-year-old I sneaked looks at in the magazine store.
ReplyDeleteI always thought Torchy (and Pussycat) had powers over gravity; that they could move fast in 5" spike heels without toppling forward from the weight of their chests. Maybe they were superheroes after all!
Paula Klaw, who with her brother Irving released all of those fetish photos of girls in exotic underwear, said Bettie Page was a natural in those super-high heels. Another super gal!
But there was always my former coworker, Peggy, who said those shoes were just an update of Chinese foot binding. "Men do it to subjugate women; they make the shoes and the women are dumb enough to buy them!" Very political, our Peggy.
Most men give very little thought to high-heeled shoes, which is a key to understanding the real reasons that most women wear them. With men being literally thoughtless about the shoes, they misperceive women wearing them. First-and-foremost, they perceive the women as longer-legged. Secondarily, the posture of these women is changed to suggest sexual availability.
ReplyDeleteSo, generally speaking, these shoes aren't about men controlling women, but about women seeking to out-compete rivals, by tricking male perceptions. (An analogy could be drawn with Volkswagen's programming vehicles to fool emissions tests.)
Because high-heeled shoes are not good for the body (mostly because of the effect on posture), I used to get into arguments with my second girl-friend, who wanted to wear them exclusively. Proportional to her body, her legs were remarkably long, but she was quite petite.