Monday, December 20, 2021

Number 2585: The uplifting story of Ginger and Ickky

In the splash panel of today’s story Ginger seems not too hot on buying a pair of spike heels, but a couple of pages later we see her in platform shoes. Her boyfriend, Ickky, feels threatened by her added height, and has to do something about it. It reminds me of an old advertising campaign for Adler Elevator Shoes, whose shoes could add 2 inches to a guy’s height. The slogan was, “Now you can be taller than she is.” They don't mention, “Unless she is wearing 3" or 4" heels or platforms, that is.”

Ginger was published, as you have probably noticed, by those folks who gave us the Archie comics dynasty. Ginger lasted only 10 issues from 1952 to 1954. The artwork here is by Harry Lucey.

“Shoes Your Partner” is from Ginger #6 (1953):






at

2 comments:

  1. Rick2:36 AM

    Couldn't help but notice that the cobbler (yes, I'm old enough to remember cobblers) calls Ickky Iggy. I guess that's because of his heavy Italian accent? Personally I'd prefer being called Iggy to Ickky any day.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Daniel [oeconomist.com]3:04 AM

    Small wonder that Ginger didn't last. Its principal characters — Ginger, Bunny, Tommy, and Ickky — were jerks.

    The illustration in this case is nice enough, but the script doesn't have any really funny moments; it seems like filler.

    I am reminded of the asphalt-spreader boots worn by Boris Karloff when costumed as the Monster in Frankenstein. I'm also reminded of the shoes that Donald Joseph Trump wears to give greater apparent height to him, which shoes result in rather off-putting forward-pitched posture.

    I don't know whether it's still the case, but some years ago it was made fashionable amongst young men to wear dress shoes with thick and otherwise somewhat oversized soles. I was initially baffled, but came to realize that their underlying purpose was to make these guys seem taller.

    The height of an average American man born in 1930 was about 68.3 inches (173.4 cm). It seems that average height across age groups peaked in the mid-'90s, and has declined as a result of immigration and changing ethnic composition. I've become taller than average during a span over which I did not grow at all.

    ReplyDelete

I have gone to comments moderation to try to eliminate spam. Please be patient while I get to your comments for posting.