The one, the only...

[psychopathicus_rex]

Just about everyone here has a favorite character of theirs. Probably everyone in the world does, when you come down to it - at least, the parts of the world exposed to various forms of popular entertainment. And for some, things go a little beyond that - the character is not simply our favorite; we are mildly (and sometimes not so mildly) obsessed with them. We will gush about them at the slightest opportunity. A fond smile crosses our faces when we think of them. They are our capital-F FAVORITES.
So which one is mine? Well, I have several, really - Tintin, the Phantom Blot, various others. Recently, however, it's mainly been this one:



Yes, the Blonde Phantom. Mistress of my nerdy little heart.



My *cough* relationship with the Blonde Phantom is a little strange. See, the thing about BP is... well, she's obscure. VERY obscure. She's a Golden Age character who's never been reprinted, and who the general public knows almost nothing about. She's best known to most people as 'Weezy', She-Hulk's middle-aged gal-pal back during the legendary Byrne run - and she was way past her prime at the time, and seldom spoke of her hero days (she's since been re-youthened, I'm happy to say). So basically, if you know who she is, you are a nerd. More than that, you are a nerd par excellence. Everyone reading this is now officially and irrevocably a nerdly nerdly nerdish type. Congratulations - you've arrived. Send in your box-tops for the free badge and handbook.
Seriously, though, she is REALLY obscure, and I probably would never have heard of her if it weren't for scans_daily. Back on (I think) the original board, someone posted a couple of BP stories, and that was it - I was hooked.
Since then, I have read exactly ZERO Blonde Phantom stories - no complete ones, anyway. But my faith has been strong. I've found a page over here, a few panels over there, a few covers... Basically, I comb the web periodically hoping against hope that THIS time, someone will have posted something I haven't already seen. Hope springs eternal.
Doubtless you are asking yourself the obvious question - 'why?' Well, I don't really KNOW why, that's the thing. Sure, she's sexy and everything, but so are zillions of other comic book characters. Sure, she's got an interesting costume, which is always a plus for me, but again, there are lots of others. So - why?
I don't know - nor do I care. I love the Blonde Phantom. I love how she defies all logic by fighting crime in high heels and an evening dress. I love her spunk and sassiness, and her refusal to back down in what was then more than ever a male-dominated field. I love how she takes on crooks with nothing but a good aim and a quick uppercut. I love 'er. She's my gal.
Anyway. In order to spread the love (and in hopes that someone may have something new of hers to share), I have here a few covers featuring her. (Unfortunately, I don't know who the artists are).



I kinda wish I did, 'cause MAN, is that a great shot.



Another great 'vertical' shot. Makes BP look like a bit of a klutz, though.



Well, that looks uncomfortable. Think that looks uncomfortable? I'd say it looks uncomfortable. Ouch.



Her acrobatic skills are legendary...



Frankly, I'm not sure what's going on in this one, but it's certainly a striking image.



Just hangin' out with the fellas, shootin' a little skeet - indoors... Hey, this is how superheroes relax, all right?
(Incidentally, the woman in yellow is Sun Girl, another early Marvel heroine. I think she was briefly the Human Torch's sidekick.)



Never underestimate the Blonde Phantom! (Also, I love Slug's sheepish expression. He's all 'uh, boss, you ain't gonna like dis...')
BP's latest appearance (that I know of, anyway) was during Marvel's 70th anniversary celebration a little while back, when they printed one-shot adventures of their older characters. Here's the cover, and a variant:





That latter one is puuuuurty.
And finally, check this out:



Now is THAT an entrance or what? I had that one as the background on my desktop for the longest time - it's just so kickass.
For legality:



So, any other fans of the character out there? Have I converted anybody? (He asks hopefully.)

Comments

[maxisanacorn]

I like her look. Very spy, espionage with a domino mask twist. I feel she could be done as a movie, and yet, the movie would actually be good, don't you think?

[psychopathicus_rex]

Oh, HELL yeah, 'twould be awesome! In fact, back when Scarlet Johanssen was talking with Marvel about playing the Black Widow, one of the other possible superheroes they suggested was the Blonde Phantom, so - there's hope! Not much, but... hope!

[blackruzsa]

It would definitely be awesome as a movie.
Although the domino mask thing XD Hilarious when you think how many people it's fooled.

[psychopathicus_rex]

As a whole, yes, but in this case, it's not really all that surprising that it worked. In most cases where it's used, the wearer of the mask is male, and usually doesn't bother to change anything other than his clothes, so yeah, it's pretty obvious that S.E. Cretidentity WITHOUT the mask is really not that different from S.E Cretidentity WITH the mask. Here, though, it's a bit more effective, because she really does look a LOT different with her hair up in a bun and wearing cat's-eye glasses.

[qob]

I do makeup and costuming. I helped a gal do the Black Cat. Blond wig, Domino mask, she was unrecognizable.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Exactly - it's amazing how much difference these little things make. I once overheard a guy with a beard talking about how he'd shaved it off once, went around town saying 'hi!' to his friends, and wasn't recognized. The moment he grew it back in - 'Hey, man, where've you been? Haven't seen you for weeks!'

[blake_reitz]

She also makes some great appearances in an issue of Marvel Adventures, teaming up with Hawkeye, and an issue of The Age of the Sentry, in which she's the new leader of the Avengers!

[psychopathicus_rex]

Yes, those are great, too! (If memory serves, both of them were posted on here a little while back.) She's all over the place in Marvel Adventures - she's also the head of a detective agency in MA Spidey, and, as I recall, Chat's boss. Now if only she'd show up again in the MAIN MU...

[stubbleupdate]

I posted those on here a few months ago (and had somebody saying that she should go on dates with all of the guys from the Avengers and have that as her "thing" *facepalm*)

[psychopathicus_rex]

I don't think there'd be anything wrong with her having DATED a few of the Avengers - she's a strong, attractive woman; why shouldn't she have gone out with a few of her fellow super-types? - but I agree, having that as her 'thing' would be rather objectionable. She's a woman who knows what she likes, but she's no good-time girl.

[jkcarrier]

According to comics.org, the covers to Blonde Phantom 13, 14, and 20 are by Syd Shores, #17 is by Ken Bald and Al Bellman, and #21-22 are by Charles Nicholas. Marvel Mystery #88 is possibly Don Rico, and All-Winners #1 is unknown.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Thanks! Research saves the day!

[jarodrussell]

So, any other fans of the character out there?

Oh, yeah. I'm not a huge fan...by virtue of having read only a small sample of her appearances...but I am a fan of her, though as a DC boy, my heart belongs Diana Drake and Libby Lawrence. :)

That last page, wasn't that a dream she was having rather than an actual duplicate?

[psychopathicus_rex]

From what little I've read of the rest of this story - and it IS little - no, it's not a dream. There's some sort of mad scientist - a FEMALE one, which was a rarity back then - named Dr. Demise who makes a duplicate of her.. somehow, and - that's pretty much all I know.

[crabby_lioness]

Lovely! You might also enjoy the 70s Catwoman, who also fought in a ballgown and heels.

[psychopathicus_rex]

I think hers was a little bit different - it was, if memory serves, slit up BOTH sides rather than one, and much more flowing. It was almost like a cape worn down at the waist - at least, that's how it was drawn. Still impractical, but...

[junipepper]

Hmm, she appears to have had a breast enhancement procedure in honor of the 70th anniversary...

Seriously, though, she does have a weird kind of appeal. I can't see her ever hitting my favorites list, but she -- the whole look, and I guess the attitude -- makes me smile. :-) I'd go see the movie!

[psychopathicus_rex]

I'm glad she's made you smile!

[ejne7]

God damn it, the boobs on the "All Select Comics" cover make me cross.

Otherwise, this is damn cool. That very first cover's my favourite.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Yeah, that modern cover's a little ridiculous, I agree - she's wearing an evening dress, fercryinoutloud; it's not SUPPOSED to cling, let alone be second-skin tight. And yes, those are... not very well-drawn breasts.
And as for the other one, it's not my FAVORITE, but artistically-speaking, it's pretty awesome, I agree. I've always liked these old covers that take place right in the middle of an action scene - that one is almost like a frame from a movie.

[junipepper]

See my point, above, regarding the boob job... I'm glad I'm not the only one who was a bit put off by those. :-)

[aaron_bourque]

Bare your midriffs!

[psychopathicus_rex]

Hey, if you got it, flaunt it - and she has a VERY nice midriff...

[aaron_bourque]

I don't mind, really (at all), and that's a distinctive and sexy shape, but it's just so blatant.

[psychopathicus_rex]

True, but there are much worse out there. Compared to some of the outfits that, say, Emma Frost has worn, this is practically prudish.

[aaron_bourque]

Or Jim Lee's Huntress outfit . . .

[psychopathicus_rex]

Indeed. The Blonde Phantom is a classy dame - she would never stoop to such levels.

[pallas_athena]

Looking at those wonderful old-school covers, so much of the figure's dynamism comes from how her clothes, especially the fabric of her skirt, are drawn.

The All Select cover does its best to pay homage-- they get the slightly twisted figure, and the face is almost right-- but it fails because the artist has basically drawn a nude figure with a skirt sketched in over it not realising that it's both sexier and more effective if the clothes look like clothes (and if the gown looks like silk rather than cheap-ass stretchy stuff.)

[psychopathicus_rex]

There's definitely a clash of styles there, yeah. The seductiveness of a good old-fashioned slinky dress are lost on some people, I fear.

[his_spiffynesss]

The last time she got any real page time at Marvel was during Byrne's Sensational She Hulk run. She'd grown older and played Jennifer's sidekick through a lot of the run. She did get a youthening thanks to the Mole Man, and was dating Jennifer's father for a while.

[arilou_skiff]

Well, she appears semi-regularly in the Marvel Adventures stuff.

[joasakura]

Damn, some of the images got overloaded on photobucket.

But these are AWESOME <3

[psychopathicus_rex]

Glad you like them! I personally think there's an EXUBERANCE to Golden Age covers that has yet to be matched in modern days. Even when the inside artwork was no great shakes, they always put a lot of work into the covers.
And yeah, sorry about the overload. Photobucket assures me that things will be back to normal by the fifteenth, so if you're curious, check back then and they should be back in place.

[tahngarth.livejournal.com]

Wow, this is surreal. I have actually been thinking about golden age Marvel/Timely comics a lot recently, and then I see this post. It's nice to see there are other golden age fans out there who aren't 70 years old (at least I assume you're not).

Blonde Phantom is an interesting case for a character. She was arguably the only really successful female character Marvel had in the 40's. They had tried their hand at female leads briefly during the pre-war and WWII years, but never with much luck (with characters like the Claire Voyant Black Widow). After the war, desperate to find new sales gimmicks, they began publishing a large amount of female lead strips. Blonde Phantom had (if I recall correctly) the longest run in terms of stories of any of them.

Where things get really interesting is in the timing. Now, your knee-jerk reaction is that Marvel was trying to do a quick knock-off of Black Canary. I mean, their names are similar, their cover identities are similar, they're both in love with a private eye who thinks they're mousy... Even the original Dinah Drake mask looks similar to Louise's.

The thing is, Blonde Phantom debuted almost a full year before Black Canary. So if anything, DC/National were taking a leaf from Marvel's book. :)

The main reason we haven't seen much of Blonde Phantom, even considering her (relative) success during her publication, is mostly because almost all golden age revivals at Marvel happened due to the efforts of Roy Thomas, fanboy-turned-writer and creator of the Invaders. And he stayed almost exclusively in the war era, during which Blonde Phantom had not yet appeared. The Invaders really set the stage for the increased use of golden age characters at Marvel, and thus not appearing there usually means you're a lot more obscure.

Somebody noted that several of thsoe covers were done by Syd Shores, which sounds likely. Shores was the artist chosen to take over the art duties on Captain America Comics when Joe Simon and Jack Kirby were lured away to work for DC, and he thus adopted Kirby's weird, dark style as much as he could. You can see the influences Kirby had even this early in the history of comics, just in the style of covers and internal illustrations. Shores was quite a good draftsman himself, really, and I like his stories a lot too.

Anyway, lovely post and great initiative. Loving all those GA covers!

[psychopathicus_rex]

Sounds like good enough logic. She WAS (briefly) a member of the All-Winners Squad, though (at least, as shown in She-Hulk, she was), so you'd think someone would see the possibilities.
And no, I'm not 70. Not even close.
Glad you liked them! Golden Age is my favorite age!

[fredneil.livejournal.com]

Sounds like good enough logic. She WAS (briefly) a member of the All-Winners Squad, though (at least, as shown in She-Hulk, she was)

According to the stories from the 40s-there were only two-she wasn't.

I just know her from She-Hulk, which is enough for me to share your affection for her.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Well, from the '40's, no, but if the Invaders series could retroactively place an entire superteam into the middle of WW2, I'd think she could be squeezed easily enough into an already-existing team.

[feyandstrange]

It's so wrong that my first objection to these is "How does she swing around on a rope holding a firearm and not have those mules fall off? Ankle strap heels for crime-fighting!"

She looks like an awesome character, and is that skirt so much more impractical than a cape, really? I think I'd add evening gloves vs. rope burns, since she seems to swing on ropes a lot - but I'd be darn tempted to get one of my costumer friends to make me that dress.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Glad you like her! Always happy to spread the BP love.
You will note, though, that in the panel I posted, she DOES appear to be wearing ankle straps. As for opera gloves (which I presume is what you meant), I've actually seen her wearing those in several pieces of fanart. I personally prefer her without, 'cause I'm a purist, but they DO go well with her dress... Mmm... *blinks* Uh, 'scuse me.
Regarding the practicality of the dress - it depends on how it's drawn, really. There are a few covers I didn't include where the thing looks like it's practically dragging on the ground, which obviously WOULD make it rather impractical. As it's drawn here, though, I don't think it'd be much of a problem - if it were a tight dress, sure, but it's a loose one that doesn't restrict her legs.
I've seen a few online pictures of people cosplaying as her. From what I've heard, it's a pretty easy costume to make, since all you really need is a cheap red dress to cut to size. (Also, if one wishes to be exact, those little starbursts on her outfit are supposed to be made of metal - or edged with metal, at least; there's a bit where she's tied up by the bad guys and escapes her bonds by sawing through them with one of the starbursts.)

[brallaqueen.insanejournal.com]

Bandwidth exceeded :( :( :(

[psychopathicus_rex]

I know; I'm sorry. According to Photobucket, it should all be back up by the fifteenth, though, if you're still interested by then.