Heroines (Super and otherwise)

They're lithe!
They're lovely!
They're law-enforcing!
They're ladies who kick serious butt for justice!
12 classic covers from the Golden Age of Comics show that, even in the 40s and 50s, women did much more than bake cookies!
Click HERE to examine the evidence!

Their names strike terror into the lawless...
Vooda!
Tiger Girl!
Taanda: White Princess of the Jungle!
Rulah!
Princess Pantha!
Luana!
Liane: Jungle Goddess!
Lana: Queen of the Amazons!
Judy of the Jungle! (Say wha--?)
and several more unclad, but deadly, beauties!
No need to go on safari to find it! Just click HERE to order!

Dr Wertham condemned her in Seduction of the Innocent!
Adolescent boys worshipped her!
She was THE ultimate comic book pin-up!
See why with a dazzling dozen of her best Golden and Silver Age covers!
Click HERE to peruse!

A dozen Grrrls who KNOW what they want, whether for good or evil, will adorn your wall in full-color spendor if you Click HERE

"Señorita Rio" was the code-name given to popular Hispanic-American film actress Rita Farrar (real name: Consuela Maria Ascencion De Las Vegas), as she performed espionage against Axis agents in Central and South American countries, using a tour to promote her movies as a cover.
She was proficient with weapons, and could handle herself in perilous situations, requiring rescue by male associates far less frequently than most heroines of the Golden Age.

Based on real-life actress and World War II pin-up queen Rita Hayworth (who most people don't realize was Hispanic-Irish-American! Her real name was Margarita Carmen Cansino), Señorita Rio started as a backup feature in Fight Comics #19, and took over the cover slot as of #37 for a year.
After that, she remained as a backup, at least, until #71, when she retired from espionage and returned full-time to her acting career.

The first few Señorita Rio stories were illustrated by noted Golden and Silver Age artist Nick Cardy, but the bulk of her tales were rendered by one of the few female artists of the era, Lily Renee, who did spectacular work in every comics genre: sci-fi, adventure, superhero, war, western, horror, and romance!

If you're a gal who wants to show off a classic example of female empowerment, or a guy who's confident enough in his masculinity to display a strong (and voluptuous) woman, head over to see Señorita Rio by clicking HERE!

Jane Arden: Crime Reporter ran from 1927 to 1968, predating other female reporters like Brenda Starr: Reporter and Superman's Girl Friend: Lois Lane by over a decade.
She's best-known as the FIRST American comic character to have a World War II-related storyline when her writers tossed out the strip's ongoing gangster plotline in a single daily strip and sent her to cover the warfront on September 25, 1939, less than a month after Germany invaded Poland!
Like most major 1930s-1950s comic characters, she was multi-media, with a radio show that ran for two years, a low-budget b-movie (that didn't do well enough to warrant a series) and comic books.
We've digitally-restored and remastered the best of her comic book covers for a new line of collectibles for any woman or girl who wants to display a strong, positive role model (who also carries a gun and looks fab!)
Click here to see her line of goodies!

In the 1940s-50s, one of the most popular genres in comics was the "jungle hero", the most famous one of all being Tarzan!
A horde of imitators followed, with some interesting variations, including an entire sub-genre--the "jungle heroine"!
While many had weird names like Sheena, Rulah, or Zoot, one of the best-illustrated was known only as Cave Girl!
Rendered by noted "good girl" artist Bob Powell, Cave Girl cut a svelte path thru Africa's villains (including Amazons) for four exciting issues!

Click HERE to see her line of goodies!

Back-to-school never looked so exciting as when Jet Dream and her pals adorn your girl's garb and goodies!
Choose from shirts & tops, magnets, schoolbags, pins, mousepads, journals, and other accessories.
Click HERE to see their line of goodies!

The 1970s saw the rise of Black action heroes and heroines on the big screen.
Most of the films were set in the US, particularly in the big cities like New York, LA, or Chicago.
Of the various films, only one series took the lead character out of the "urban jungle", the Cleopatra Jones duology, starring 6'2" former fashion model Tamara Dobson as a kick-ass government troubleshooter in the James Bond / Matt Helm vein!
Jet-setting around the world, Cleo dealt with crime in Europe and Asia as well as the good 'ol USA with a style and flair that would have made 007 himself proud!
Cleopatra Jones and Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold were grindhouse staples in the 70s, often playing together on double bills, which made sense since Cleo was the only Black female character to have a sequel film!
(Yes, action-goddess Pam Grier did more films, but she always played different characters!)
There were rumors of a third Cleo film, but since the higher-budgeted sequel didn't do as well as the first film, Cleo's third appearance was never produced!

Click HERE to see her line of goodies!

"Cairo Jones" was supposed to be a male detective, but because fiction in general, and comics in particular, were already flooded with them, Cairo became a FEMALE detective, the first one created for comics!
Miss Jones made only one appearance outside of her newspaper comic strip, in a one-shot comic book reprinting the first strip storyline. It is from that issue that we've digitized and remastered the cover art we offer on our line of kool kollectibles!
Click HERE to see her line of goodies!

Beginning on January 18, 1970, Friday Foster was the FIRST mainstream syndicated comic strip to star a Black woman. (Jackie Ormes' legendary 1940s Torchy Brown strip was, unfortunately, only published in Black-owned newspapers which had relatively-limited circulation.)
It was also the FIRST mainstream comic strip to star a Black title character, male OR female! (the humor strip Quincy by Ted Shearer debuted later in 1970!)
The series was a combination of adventure, soap-opera, and social commentary, about former fashion model-turned-photographer's assistant (and later professional photographer) Friday Foster.
Supporting characters included photographer Shawn North (her boss and later business partner) and millionare playboy/romantic interest Blake Tarr.
Besides the strip, there was a one-shot comic book in 1972, and a feature film in 1975 (a year after the strip was canceled) starring action-movie goddess Pam Grier as Friday, Thalmus Rasulala as Blake Tarr, Yaphet Kotto as Detective Colt Hawkins, plus Eartha Kitt, Jim Backus, Godfrey Cambridge, and in one of his earliest roles, Carl Weathers, as an un-named assassin!
Click HERE to see an incredible array of goodies!

She wasn't the first superheroine, but she was the first to be created by a woman!
Conceived, written, and illustrated by cartoonist Tarpe Mills (who dropped her first name "June" from her published credit), Miss Fury started life in 1941 as a newspaper comic strip.

Wealthy socialite Marla Drake was preparing for a costume ball when she discovered a friend was going to wear the same costume as her!
Horrors! Social ruin!
Francine, her maid, hastily suggested an alternative--she should instead wear a black panther skin (sent to her by her uncle) which had previously been used as a ceremonial robe by an African witch doctor.
Strangely enough, it fit Marla perfectly!
En route to the party, Marla encountered an escaped criminal and kicked his, well, you know...
Police and reporters initially referred to her as "Black Fury", but she called herself "Miss Fury" in notes attached to crooks she caught.
(The name "CatWoman" was already in use! ;-) )

Two items of note:
1) The panther hide didn't give her any super-powers, as such items tend to do in comics!
(Another Golden Age character, Cat-Man, whom Tarpe occasionally illustrated, did receive powers including agility, night vision and the gift of nine lives from his first cat-costume!
Villains would kill him, but he'd return to life by the story's end to avenge himself.
Someone figured out the "nine lives" idea would only work for nine issues, and it was dropped, but the other super-abilities remained.)
Marla was a gifted athlete, and, that combined with the visual shock value of the costume, enabled her to defeat foes. (Ask another wealthy socialite, Bruce Wayne, about his similar and equally effective strategy!)
2) Unlike most Golden Age heroines (Wonder Woman, Black Cat, Phantom Lady, et al), who seemed to wear skimpy swimsuits to battle evil, Miss Fury's costume totally covered her (but extremely tightly)!
The series spun off into comic books in 1942, but only as reprints of the newspaper strips (albeit with new covers by Mills).
Sadly, unlike most other adventure strips, there were no other spin-offs like movie serials, radio shows, or even a Big Little Book or two!

The newspaper strip ended in 1952, but Tarpe Mills continued to work as a comic illustrator for various publishers, including Marvel Comics!
Her last published work was a new cover for a graphic novel reprint of Miss Fury in 1979. She passed away in 1988.

Click HERE to see Miss Fury's line of goodies!

Click HERE to see her line of goodies!

Debuting in Exciting Comics #51, Miss Masque was another of the line of rich socialites-turned-masked crimefighters in the Golden Age which included The Shadow, The Batman, and The Green Hornet!
Diana Adams had no superpowers or abilities, just her keen deductive mind and a pair of .45 automatics. And, unlike her male contemporaries, she didn't have a sidekick or aides!
Clad in bright red cape, mini-dress, gloves, and slouch hat, she pursued criminals and saboteurs thru several issues of Exciting Comics, appearing on the cover only once (#53) during her run, before transferring over to America's Best Comics, where she teamed up (on the covers) with other heroes, most notably The Black Terror, even though they didn't appear together inside the comic! (They all had seperate strips!)
Also, she seemed to lose parts of her wardrobe when she changed homes, as her fedora disappeared along with the midriff of her costume, making her predate the trailer-trash look of Britney Spears by decades!
(Maybe it was her summer ensemble!)
When superheroes faded away after the end of World War II, so did Miss Masque.
Since the 1990s, she's been revived by several publishers, most notably, by writer Alan Moore of Watchmen fame in DC Comics' America's Best Comics imprint (ironic, eh?), and artist Alex Ross in Dynamite Entertainment's Project SuperPowers series as well as a mini-series under her new code-name of Masquerade!. She's also now part of a team of red-robed heroines called The Scarlet Sisters
Click HERE to see her line of goodies!

Click HERE to see her line of crime-fighting collectibles!

She was the princess of a far-off land, come to America after winning an athletic tournament!
She was super-strong, near-invulnerable, and could fly for short distances!
Equipped with exotic weaponry, she battled evil and constantly rescued her non-super powered boyfriend!
And, she wore a red-yellow-blue costume with a revealing top and VERY short blue shorts!
Sounds like Wonder Woman, doesn't it?
But, it's NOT!
It's MOON GIRL!
"WTF!!!" you may exclaim! "Who's 'Moon Girl'?"
Well, I'll tell you...
A young European aristocrat, known to all as Moon Girl or Princess of the Moon, is told of her family's legacy of woman warriors who can only marry men who defeat them in battle. She is also given a magic jewel (a moonstone) which enhances her already-considerable athletic abilities.
When Prince Mengu from an adjacent kingdom is smitten by the beautiful princess, he attempts to win her hand by defeating her in combat.
Good luck, Chuck!
She kicks his arse, but is herself smitten by his studliness.
Having learned Mengu went to America to get over his failure and heartbreak, she followed him to a private school where he took a teaching job under the name Lionel Manning. Moon Girl assumed the name Claire Lune, got another teaching job at the same school and reunited with Mengu / Lionel.
She agreed to help him toughen up in order to win her, and the two together romped around the city in matching tights getting exercise by battling evil menaces from gangsters to giant robots! (Beats doing laps at the gym!)

The origin tale you just read about was a backup story in the humor comic The Happy Hoolihans #1. After another appearance in another humor comic, Moon Girl was given her own title.
That comic book was originally called Moon Girl & the Prince.
As of #2, it became just Moon Girl as Prince Mengu disappeared from all but the lead story in each issue.
When #7 came out, it became Moon Girl Fights Crime, the Prince was gone entirely, and the backups became true-crime tales narrated by Moon Girl. The lead stories were still Moon Girl adventures.
Two issues later (#9), the book became a romance title, A Moon, A Girl, Romance! (The final Moon Girl story appeared in the back.)
Finally, as of #13, the book shifted gears into science fiction and became Weird Fantasy!
Curiously, though almost all of EC's output over the years has been reprinted in both comic and book form, AFAIK, Moon Girl has yet to appear, except as a footnote in Weird Fantasy reprints!

While we're not reprinting the comics (the copies we have are slabbed), we ARE offering some kool collectibles with two of Moon Girl's best covers emblazoned on them!
And if the demand is great enough, we'll offer the other six, as well!

Get in on the ground floor with Moon Girl...before she kicks YOUR butt!
Click HERE to see her line of goodies!

One of the most notorious Golden Age characters, Phantom Lady was also one of the first costumed superheroines, beating out Wonder Woman (who debuted in All-Star Comics #8) in 1941 by several months!

Like a number of 1940s comics characters, she was created by an independent comic book studio for an established publisher, in this case, Quality Comics, debuting in Police Comics #1 which also featured the first appearances of Plastic Man, FireBrand, and The Human Bomb.
After a year, her strip was canceled by Quality, and the character was offered to Fox Comics, where she was promoted to her own comic, which started with #13, since it took over the numbering of an already existing title.

Click HERE to see her line of good-girl goodies!

Click HERE to see her line of goodies!

Click HERE to see her line of goodies!

Click HERE to see her line of goodies!

Back-to-school never looked so exciting as when Tiger Girl adorns your girl's garb and goodies!
Choose from shirts & tops, magnets, schoolbags, pins, mousepads, journals, and other accessories.
Click HERE to see her line of goodies!

Spies have always been popular in fiction.
Girls have always been popular in fiction.
So, it stands to reason that girl spies would be popular in fiction, right?
Not quite...
With the notable exception of Modesty Blaise, female secret agents have not been able to hold the spotlight, despite several high-quality attempts to crack the glass ceiling of spydom!

In comics, the short-lived 1950s Undercover Girl series from Magazine Enterprises was probably the best of the femme-spy genre.
Featuring art by luminaries like Bob Powell, Gil Kane, and Dick Ayers, the series detailed the adventures of government agent Starr Flagg against spies, saboteurs, and criminals.
Starr could shoot and fight (And, as you can see from the art, ride a motorcycle, one-handed yet!) as well as any male agent, but could also play helpless and innocent to throw the baddies off-guard...until she could kick serious butt!

Whether it's leaping onto a car to stop escaping criminals, retrieving stolen money from armed thieves, or rescuing her helpless male assistant, our hard-boiled heroine can make any girl look sharp with her line of clothing and accessories!

Click HERE to see her line of goodies!

Show those tacky old tops and accessories who's boss with these hard-kicking designs showing Martial Arts Girl Power!
Clothing, book bags, and other goodies that will have your grrrl tossing bad taste and tackiness into the dirt.
Click HERE to see an magnificent array of martial-arts goodies!

There's more to life than kicking butt and taking names...
Some days you want to just be pretty, not dangerous.
Pick from clothing, journals, cards, magnets, pins, etc. with a very feminine touch.
Click HERE to see an array of romantic goodies!

After a year, her strip was canceled by Quality, and the character was offered to Fox Comics, where she was promoted to her own comic, which started with #13, since it took over the numbering of an already existing title.
Her costume was modified by legendary "good girl" artist Matt Baker to expose more of her (ahem) assets and a number of covers featured her being captured and tied up by evildoers.
It is this version which became notorious by becoming one of the primary examples in Dr. Fredric Wertham's crusade against comics detailed in his book Seduction of the Innocent.

Click HERE to see her line of naughty goodies!