Number 2283: Fighting Females Week: Miss America

We begin a theme week: Fighting Females Week, three stories of women who can serve up a punch, and I don’t mean the kind of punch one sips at a garden party.

First up, Miss America, who was a character created by Otto Binder, appearing in Marvel Mystery Comics. Here is what Don Markstein’s Toonopedia has to say about her: “She was originally Madeline Joyce, beautiful teenage ward of radio tycoon James Bennet. Even before getting super-powered, she was passionately devoted to the cause of justice, and didn't mind an occasional fistfight to achieve it — and she wished she had a man's strength, so she could achieve more. In Marvel Mystery #49 (November, 1943), she and Bennet visited a Professor Lawson, whose experiments with electricity Bennet was underwriting. Lawson claimed to have gained awesome power when lightning struck a strange contraption he had built. That night, during a thunderstorm, Madeline tried to duplicate his feat. Lawson found her unconscious and, unable to face Bennet, destroyed the device and himself with it. But Madeline recovered quickly, as powerful as she'd hoped, and soon embarked on her career as a scourge of evildoers.”

This Miss America episode is from Marvel Mystery Comics #54 (1944), credited to writer Otto Binder, and Charles Nicholas with a ? as artist.

Number 2208: Here she is...Miss America!

Besides being the name of a beauty pageant, Miss America was a superheroine for Timely Comics in the 1940s. You can read her origin story by clicking on the link below. This Miss America was created by Otto Binder and Al Gabriele. As drawn, she was a cute young woman, and I assume meant to bring female readers to Marvel Mystery Comics, where she first appeared.

You can read more about Miss America in Don Markstein’s Toonopedia.

Since I have nothing better to do than sit around and think of stuff like this, at the time Otto Binder was writing scripts for Fawcett Publications, turning out a steady stream of stories about Captain Marvel and the rest of the cast of that comics universe. I have always wondered if, when going from publisher to publisher to turn in scripts, someone would give Otto a nudge and ask about the competition. Perhaps Otto thought of the wartime poster, “Loose Lips Sink Ships!” But then, people are apt to gossip in work settings, and I think it would be at least one way to keep up with what the other guys were doing. Call it an early and primitive form of hacking to steal trade secrets.

Written by Otto Binder, drawn by Charles Nicholas. From Marvel Mystery Comics #54 (1944).

The origin of Miss America. Just click on the thumbnail.

Number 1166: The All-American flying, two-fisted, butt-kicking girl

Miss America was one of the patriotic heroines of World War II, created for Marvel Mystery Comics in 1943. You can read her history here. Otto Binder is credited for her creation, as he is for these two seven-page backup stories from Marvel Mystery Comics #52 and #56, both 1944. The Grand Comics Database credits Charles Nicholas with pencils and inks.

I like Miss America, and I like the earnest attempt to create a super character for girls. Miss America is slim and svelte, looks like a teenager, but looks can be deceiving. She can fly, put a grown man out with her fists, and give the heave-ho to enemies of Uncle Sam.

I found these stories online in about 2003, and saved them. They were only 500 pixels wide. I have enlarged them to 725 pixels. If you are the person who put these online originally I'd like to hear from you, give credit where it's due.

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Today is the release date for Zombies, yet another book in Craig Yoe's fantastic series of comic book reprints.

This time Craig has teamed up with one of the great bloggers, Steve "Karswell" Banes of The Horrors Of It All. I've followed Steve's blog since its inception, and his knowledge of horror comics of the 1950s is unparalleled. Craig was right to get Steve to help, because in my opinion there isn't anyone more qualified.

I haven't seen the book, and yet I'm recommending it. Readers who've read my past reviews of the series know how highly I prize these books from Yoe, not just for their contents, but for their permanence. When you buy a Yoe book you are buying a guarantee of a quality product, printing, paper, binding...there is no skimping, but the books are very affordable. You can't afford to miss them, that's for sure.

Go to Amazon.com or Yoe Books to order. If you're fortunate enough to have a great comic shop locally that carries these books, please support them.

Number 680


Scourge of the Nazis! The origin of Miss America


After a long hiatus, Miss America returns to Pappy's, this time with her two-part origin story from Marvel Mystery Comics #'s 49 and 50, from 1943.

Her look was a bit different in her earliest adventures. I like the hood; later on it changed and looked like a beanie perched on her hair.

According to the Grand Comics Database, the origin was written by Otto Binder. Part 1 in Marvel Mystery #49 was drawn by Al Gabriele, and Part 2 by Charles Nicholas.

I've shown some other adventures of Miss America, a very entertaining second banana feature from 1940s Timely Comics. Click on "Miss America" in the link below to see the others. I took the scans from the internet about 2003, on a website devoted to Miss America. I'm glad I saved these because I believe the site is gone. The only thing I did to the scans was enlarge them from 500 pixels to 600 for easier reading.

Number 414


Miss America and the Shocker


Miss America, as the blurb on page one of this story tells us, is 16-year-old Madeline Joyce. In the best comic book tradition, Madeline had an accident in her scientist uncle's lab and got super powers. This particular story is from Miss America #2, 1944, a different format from issue #1, which was a standard comic book. In #2 Miss America, the super-heroine, was featured in this one story, while the magazine was filled out with other features that would appeal to girls. "Comics. Movies. Stories. Charm."

Speaking of charm, the cover girl, according to the Grand Comics Database, is Dolores Conlon. She looks several years older than Madeline's 16. The use of the photo is to give it a non-comics look, a technique Timely used in the 1940s on several of their titles. The toothsome Dolores was sure to draw attention on a crowded newsstand. I'm sure a lot of girls bought this issue, but I wouldn't doubt quite a few boys bought it also.

The artwork on the story is credited by Grand Comics Database to Ken Bald.

I took these scans from the Internet. According to the "properties" of this jpeg file, I originally downloaded it in 2003, from a site devoted to just this heroine. I am unable to find the site now, nor do I know who did the scans. If you know, please tell us so we can give proper credit.

The only thing I did was enlarge the pages from 500 pixels to 650 pixels, which is easier for me to read. I also posted another story from the aforementioned website, from Miss America Comics #1. You can see it here.