[Quirky Quokka]

Hi all

This fortnight’s selection is something a little different.

Heroines Showcase #17

I came across this issue of a fanzine called ‘Heroines Showcase’. Lots of interesting stuff in there, but I’d especially like to focus on the short article by Trina Robbins that starts on p. 5 entitled ‘Women Who Drew Heroines (Mills, Renee & Hopper)’.

https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=64907

The other two selections feature art by some of the women mentioned in that article.


Miss Fury #3

The fanzine article had a good rundown of Miss Fury, created by Tarpe Mills, so I thought we’d start with that one. This is a serialised story from the Sunday papers, that takes up most of the issue. Although it’s a continuing story, I picked this issue because it ends at a satisfying point. Some unique side characters in this one too. Mills also wrote the stories.

https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=71478


Planet Comics #37

There are a variety of stories in this one, but I’d especially like to draw your attention to ‘The Lost World’, with art by Lily Renee; and ‘Mysta of the Moon’ and ‘Gale Allen’, both with art by Fran Hopper.

https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=18821


I’ll look forward to your comments.

Cheers

QQ

[The Australian Panther]

Looking forward to this!
Especially Miss Fury!
Cheers!

[crashryan]

Heroines Showcase #17

This was a pleasant surprise. Back in my fan days I was one of those who disdained The Heroine Addict (that was really its original title...read the indicia!) as a hangout for heavy-breathing Good Girl Art fans, sometimes known as the Cape and Cleavage Crowd. Judging by one of the letters of comment the fanzine did have that "slightly fetishistic outlook" earlier but by this issue it had morphed into a perfectly respectable old-school fanzine. The quality of the articles varied but I genuinely enjoyed reading the issue.

I read Trina Robbins' survey of Mills, Renee, and Hopper with interest. I'd seen excerpts from Black Fury here and there but didn't know much about the larger picture. It's a fascinating strip which I'll talk about later when I look at her comic book reprint. I was more familiar with Lily Renee and Fran Hopper. Trina makes an interesting point about their weak drawings of men. It's possibly fallout from the tradition of steering female art students toward "women's subjects" like fashion and children. You draw best what you draw most. I've always wondered whether the female Fiction House artists were annoyed by always having to draw busty, underdressed women.

As we know, this essay was just the beginning of Trina's researches into women comic creators. She's uncovered a lot of important history during her career.

Cat Yronwode's Leikio Wu essay almost makes me want to dig up the comics and read them. Though I was still an active fan when Master of Kung Fu came out, the comic didn't grab me. I blew hot and cold on Doug Moench. He was obviously trying to map new territory and had many unique story ideas. He also (in my opinion) had a penchant for overwriting. Not as bad as Don McGregor, but he still could spread the Sturm und Drang a bit thick. Paul Gulacy's art also put me off. He clearly was knocking himself out trying to be the next Steranko. But his figures were awkward and ill-proportioned, getting better or worse depending on which photo he was working from. He improved his finish in later years but never managed to lose the weird figures.

I was never a fan of the Superman Family, so the Supergirl article was all news to me. There's something a bit dodgy about the relationship between Supergirl, Biron the Centaur, and Comet the Super-Horse. It sounds like something William Marston would have dreamed up.

The other articles were typical fanzine stuff. I second Deby Dunn's judgement that "very little is known" about Darkstar. I'd never heard of her.

[crashryan]

Planet Comics #37

I enjoy Planet Comics because I like plates-and-rivets era pulp s-f. This doesn't mean I think they're good. They're just fun. In small doses.

Planet Comics is mostly about the art. Fiction House scripts were all rather diagrammatic. For some reason the writers had trouble pacing their stories. Often they'd waste panels on minor scenes, then cram two panels' worth of action into a single drawing. Fiction House writers certainly weren't the only Golden Age authors with these problems. But they were so common in FH titles that I speculate that the same writer(s) turned out a great number of scripts across all the company's magazines.

As for this issue, the cover advertises a story that's not in the book. Joe Doolin's drawing isn't bad, but the lady in the monster's grip looks like she suddenly remembered she didn't turn off the astro-stove before leaving the planet.

The Lost World was one of the few Fiction House series that made a stab at having a continuing storyline. However there was little episode-to-episode consistency. Lily Renee's splash panel is great. Her figures are good throughout the story. Well, maybe not the silly-looking sponge monsters. Renee doesn't put any effort into backgrounds except on our page 6. There she gives us a strong sense of place as well as a unique spaceship.

In this story Hunt Bowman is a bullheaded fool. He repeatedly ignores Lyssa's sensible advice and just as she predicted he gets them into a mess of trouble. It's been a long time since I read any "Lost World" episodes so I don't remember if Hunt is always such a bozo.

Mysta of the Moon is one of those Fiction House characters who supposedly have distinguishing characteristics--in her case, a mind "schooled to peace and freedom" and "full of all knowledge"--yet said characteristics are never used in her stories. Fran Hopper delivers a nice art job. I prefer her to Lily Renee because of Hopper's experiments with dramatic lighting.

The Red Comet's incomprehensible story was a "classic" tale "redrawn by request?" Whose request? The editor's? This is a classic, all right: a classic lousy Planet Comics story. The script contradicts itself a dozen times in a half-dozen pages. I recognized Joe Doolin's inking and wondered why the figures don't look like his. The GCD says it's because John Celardo pencilled the story and Doolin inked. I'd thought Doolin only inked his own pencils.

Space Rangers is the third story in the issue to end with an army of creatures dissolving. The disaster scenes might have been impressive had the art been better. I wonder why the earth returned to its proper orbit just because the Flame Nazis croaked.

Fiction House never figured out what to do with Gale Allen. She was a lone spacer, the sidekick to a male space ranger, and the leader of a "Girl Squadron" that seemed to have a hundred nameless members. Fran Hopper's excellent art makes the story look way better than it is. Bless my soul, if that bald bozo says "Bless my soul" one more time I'll sacrifice him to the Mountain God.

Star Pirate's story isn't much better than the others, but Murphy Anderson's cartoony art makes it worth while. Anderson's art style sure changed radically over the years. It's difficult to see any of the smooth classical drawing for which he became famous. Unlike the issue's other artists Anderson put work into backgrounds and decor. His is the best art in the issue despite its weird anatomy.

[Quirky Quokka]

Heroines Showcase #17

This was a pleasant surprise. Back in my fan days I was one of those who disdained The Heroine Addict (that was really its original title...read the indicia!) as a hangout for heavy-breathing Good Girl Art fans, sometimes known as the Cape and Cleavage Crowd. Judging by one of the letters of comment the fanzine did have that "slightly fetishistic outlook" earlier but by this issue it had morphed into a perfectly respectable old-school fanzine. The quality of the articles varied but I genuinely enjoyed reading the issue.

Hey Crash - You get a gold star for reading the whole thing and another star for having heard of it before. I thought it was too obscure for anyone to know about  Some of the fan art is probably still on the 'good girl' side, so it must have been raunchier back in the day. This was the only issue on the CB+ site, so it was easy to pick which one to use   

As we know, this essay was just the beginning of Trina's researches into women comic creators. She's uncovered a lot of important history during her career.

Is this a good time to confess that I'd never heard of Trina Robbins? (Please don't stone me.) But I have done a quick search and realise that I really must look into her art more. I did find out a fun fact that not everyone might know. She is apparently the first of the three 'ladies of the canyon' mentioned in Joni Mitchell's song and album of the same name. That is one of my all-time favourite albums, but I had to go back and remind myself of the lyrics. The first verse is:

"Trina wears her wampum beads
She fills her drawing book with line
Sewing lace on widows' weeds
And filigree on leaf and vine
Vine and leaf are filigree
And her coat's a secondhand one
Trimmed with antique luxury
She is a lady of the canyon"

Then in the last verse when Joni is summing up the three women, she says:

"Trina takes her paints and her threads
And she weaves a pattern all her own"

Joni Mitchell was also a brilliant artist in her own right and did a lot of her own album covers. There are images of hundreds of her artworks on this link from her website. (But I digress).

https://jonimitchell.com/paintings/

I was never a fan of the Superman Family, so the Supergirl article was all news to me. There's something a bit dodgy about the relationship between Supergirl, Biron the Centaur, and Comet the Super-Horse. It sounds like something William Marston would have dreamed up.

I watched a doco on comic books that had a whole episode on Marston and Wonder Woman. I was never able to look at those early Wonder Woman comics again in the same way. The Golden Lasso takes on a whole new meaning. I don't think I've read any of the early Supergirl comics, but she's had a big upsurge in popularity in recent years, maybe due to the TV show and the animated show. The young girl I helped with reading really loved the 'Superhero High' chapter books that feature a lot of the heroines and antiheroines as teenagers (including Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Supergirl, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and others). Her favourite was Supergirl. But though the stories are probably aimed at pre-teen girls, I wonder if Supergirl is drawn for boys? There is no way she can fight crime in that boob tube and micro mini skirt - LOL

A couple of years ago, I read the graphic novel 'Supergirl: Being Super' written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Joelle Jones. Great art and story. I looked around to try to work out which other Supergirl graphic novel follows on, and apparently there isn't one. Aargghh! Darn you, DC and your lousy continuity!

I'll look forward to your comments on the others.

Cheers

QQ

[paw broon]

Heriones Showcase is a new one on me, despite there seeming to have been a British version. I noted the loc from Howard Stangroom - a name from the past. And Martin lock as the British agent. 
I fondly remember reading those early Supergirl stories in Action Comics. Daft but highly enjoyable for me was the, soon to be, Legion of Super Pets.  Looking back it was all very daft and typical of a lot of DC re-using ideas.  so instead of Krypto we get Streaky.  But Comet, Beppo and later Proty?  Too much?  Not at the time imo.
I'd need to dig out the issues but didn't Linda have a robot Supergirl a well.  Hidden in a hollow tree?
Her costume in the early stories was much more demure.
And then there was Power Girl. Quite deliberately designed to appeal to lads.  Can I digress a bit here?  My favourite superheroine costume is that of the original, and greatest Batwoman - Kathy Kane.

[crashryan]

Trina Robbins...is apparently the first of the three 'ladies of the canyon' mentioned in Joni Mitchell's song and album of the same name.

Well, stone the crows! I had no idea Trina Robbins was the Trina in the song. I'm a fan of Joni Mitchell, especially her earlier folkier albums...she started to lose me when she got into jazz in the mid-1970s. Her song "For the Roses" has always resonated with me. It evokes the conflicting emotions of every creator working in a commercial field, not just musicians:

In some office sits a poet
And he trembles as he sings
And he asks some guy
To circulate his soul around...

[SuperScrounge]

Heroines Showcase #17

Cover
Nice wraparound.

Women Who Drew Heroines (Mills, Renee & Hopper)
Trina apparently didn't know Tarpe did work for Centaur & Funnies Inc. before starting her comic strip. A nice article though.

In The Dark
I was not familiar with this character. I might have seen her in the odd comic here and there, but I don't think Marvel ever did much with the character after her run in Champions.

The Heroine Review Supergirl In Action
Nice overview.

The Lovely Charms of Leiko Wu Mistress of the Master of Kung Fu
Interesting. Although having never read Master of Kung Fu how much of this analysis is accurate or the author reading into the actual stories, I couldn't say.

Sun Girl
Interesting.

Nice newsletter. Some nice artwork throughout the issue as well.

[SuperScrounge]

I don't think I've read any of the early Supergirl comics

I believe Showcase Presents Supergirl Volume One & Two reprints the Action Comics stories mentioned in the article (in B&W rather than color.) They weren't too bad.

[Quirky Quokka]

Trina Robbins...is apparently the first of the three 'ladies of the canyon' mentioned in Joni Mitchell's song and album of the same name.

Well, stone the crows! I had no idea Trina Robbins was the Trina in the song. I'm a fan of Joni Mitchell, especially her earlier folkier albums...she started to lose me when she got into jazz in the mid-1970s. Her song "For the Roses" has always resonated with me. It evokes the conflicting emotions of every creator working in a commercial field, not just musicians:

In some office sits a poet
And he trembles as he sings
And he asks some guy
To circulate his soul around...

Yes, that's a great song. I only had that album on a cassette tape I'd copied from a friend (oops) though I did buy the ones I could get my hands on. And I agree with you re the albums. I lost her round about the Mingus album, but 'Blue', 'Hejira' and 'Ladies of the Canyon' are still three of my all-time favourites. I saw her in concert in the 1980s and had a seat in the middle of the second row. I was mesmerised with her guitar playing. Brilliant musician as well as her other talents. My friends and I were groupies who hung around the stage door until her car left the building. She waved at us. Maybe 'cause we were the only ones at the stage door. Obviously not as big in Brisbane in the 80s as she was in California in the 60s/70s - LOL 

Cheers

QQ

[Quirky Quokka]

Heriones Showcase is a new one on me, despite there seeming to have been a British version. I noted the loc from Howard Stangroom - a name from the past. And Martin lock as the British agent. 
I fondly remember reading those early Supergirl stories in Action Comics. Daft but highly enjoyable for me was the, soon to be, Legion of Super Pets.  Looking back it was all very daft and typical of a lot of DC re-using ideas.  so instead of Krypto we get Streaky.  But Comet, Beppo and later Proty?  Too much?  Not at the time imo.
I'd need to dig out the issues but didn't Linda have a robot Supergirl a well.  Hidden in a hollow tree?
Her costume in the early stories was much more demure.
And then there was Power Girl. Quite deliberately designed to appeal to lads.  Can I digress a bit here?  My favourite superheroine costume is that of the original, and greatest Batwoman - Kathy Kane.

Thanks Paw Broon - It's interesting that the League of Super Pets has been resurrected recently for movies and comics. The girl I read with, loved a sample comic I picked up at Free Comic Book Day last year that featured them. She also loved the Superman and Krypto graphic novels when she was a bit younger. I'm not familiar with Comet, but look forward to reading those early issues. Here's a trailer for the movie:

https://www.imdb.com/video/vi144491033/?ref_=tt_vi_i_1

I came across Power Girl recently, and I think she is definitely drawn for the lads. I picked up a recent Supergirl comic, again for the girl I read with. It was in a sealed bag, so I couldn't flick through it first. Holy Dooley. They were both wearing the skimpiest costumes, and Power Girl's chest was so eye-poppingly huge, it made Dolly Parton look flat-chested. I popped it in the charity bin without giving it to my young friend - LOL

I did like the Kathy Kane outfit. She featured in a couple of stories in the 'Batman of the Fifties' volume I picked up at the library. But the 1960s/1970s Barbara Gordon will always be my Batgirl.

Cheers

QQ

[The Australian Panther]

She is apparently the first of the three 'ladies of the canyon' mentioned in Joni Mitchell's song and album of the same name.

Not being too familiar with Joni Mitchelll, can you tell me who were the other two?

  It's interesting that the League of Super Pets has been resurrected recently for movies and comics

Marvel also has 'the pet Avengers'
https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Pet_Avengers
That would seem a natural for Disney!

I came across Power Girl recently, and I think she is definitely drawn for the lads.

Here is a good read on PowerGirl, featuring all her costumes.
Fashion Disasters: Power Girl
https://bookriot.com/fashion-disasters-power-girl/
Imagine being a real human female and having to dress like that.
Melissa Benoist had to do that.

Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) Costume Evolution Compilation 1080P BD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AONWn_Ywt0M
'PANTS!'

In this context we should mention ther DC version of Mary Marvel. DC has done some pretty tasteless things to this character over the years. 

[paw broon]

Going off on a tangent, again, I loved Lockjaw and Lockheed.
The piece on Power girl is a good read.  Thanks.
"PANTS"!!!.  Here that means awful, bad, not good. As in, "Aw here, that's pure pants". But as I haven't watched much of the tv shows, I didn't realise there were all the costume changes.
The brevity of superheroine costumes is not a new thing, as we all know. 
As for tasteless, DC and other companies, and especially Dynamite, have all been there at times.  Dynamite just a bit more than others.  Although Femforce takes the biscuit.

[Morgus]

Q.Q., this was a really well chosen selection. Up until now, I’ve never really paid attention to the fanzine section. Imagine my surprise when there’s an article by Trina Robbins! Good historian. Your library should have a copy of her book on women cartoonists. And Miss Fury is something I’ve been MEANING to read, but it kept getting put off...like lowering my dietary fat and raising my dietary fibre.
A lot of the Sci-fi strips run out of interest for me half way through,I wind up muttering ‘get the hell to the point’. But I read all until the end. Miss Fury was the best of the lot and even juggled the mandatory explanation panels with a deft touch. Nice transition from newspaper to comic book. The other three were a notch above the usual, with what Berke Breathed used to call the intergalactic cocktail waitress look. Laughed out loud at pages 4 and 5 of Mysta, trying to be ‘inconspicuous’ while standing a full head shorter than the clones and also a ‘full figure gal’. Yeah, nobody would notice that.
I’d give a lot to spend an afternoon or two with Robbins over that comic book collection of hers she mentions. They missed an opportunity when Renegade or Eclipse didn’t get her to draw Ms. Tree. in the 80’s. That would have been something.

[SuperScrounge]

Miss Fury #3

Cover
Interesting that they chose to emphasize Hitler there with his head sticking up above the title border, which is even odder since it's either a "picture" of Hitler, or Hitler standing behind a window, but his head sticks up, not the glass or frame. I suppose without Hitler the reader wouldn't be sure she's fighting Nazis, since there are no swastikas on their uniforms.

Main Story
When she woke up we saw her wearing a bra, but putting on her costume she's braless, which makes one wonder if she wears anything under that costume.

For the most part the editing was done well enough that panels that reprint a previous day's info was avoided, but there were some slip-ups.

Fun story, nice art.

Junior Chetnik
Okay text story.

- - -

For those who wanted to read Tarpe Mills earlier comic work here's a list of stories and series that I gleaned from the GCD. (There may be more stories by her, but these are the ones indexers credited to her.)

The Vampire in Amazing Mystery Funnies (Centaur) v2 #2 reprinted in Masked Marvel (Centaur) #2

The Golden Apples in Funny Picture Stories (Centaur) v3 #2

Diana Deane in Hollywood series ran in Star Comics (Centaur) v2 #2, v2 #5, v2 #7, v3 #8, v3 #9, v3 #10, v4 #1

Daredevil Barry Finn series ran in Amazing Mystery Funnies (Centaur) v2 #4, v2 #5, v2 #9, v2 #11, v2 #12, v3 #1

The Cat Man series ran in Amazing Man Comics (Centaur) #5 & #8

The Ivy Menace in Amazing Man Comics (Centaur) #6

Fantastic Feature Films series ran in Target Comics (Novelty / Premium / Curtis) v1 #1-12, v2 #1

Ted O'Neil series ran in Prize Comics (Prize) v1 #1-3

Jaxon of the Jungle series ran in Prize Comics (Prize) #v1#1-6

The Purple Zombie series ran in Reg'lar Fellers Heroic Comics (Eastern Color) #1-12

Mann of India series ran in Reg'lar Fellers Heroic Comics (Eastern Color) #1-12

[Quirky Quokka]

Hi Panther

Not being too familiar with Joni Mitchell, can you tell me who were the other two?

The other two women mentioned are Annie and Estrella, but my quick search the other day didn't reveal any details about them. Joni apparently wrote the album while living in Laurel Canyon, so I assume the other women are people she knew, but maybe aren't famous. Because of the mention of wampum beads, I always assumed that 'Trina' referred to a First Nations woman. Here's a link to the lyrics if anyone has any ideas about the other two women.

https://www.google.com/search?q=ladies+of+the+canyon+lyrics

Here is a good read on PowerGirl, featuring all her costumes.
Fashion Disasters: Power Girl
https://bookriot.com/fashion-disasters-power-girl/
Imagine being a real human female and having to dress like that.
Melissa Benoist had to do that.

Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) Costume Evolution Compilation 1080P BD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AONWn_Ywt0M
'PANTS!'

In this context we should mention the DC version of Mary Marvel. DC has done some pretty tasteless things to this character over the years.

Thanks for those links. Believe it or not, I think Power Girl's chest was even bigger in the comic I put in the charity bin. I probably made some teenage boy very happy - LOL It was just ridiculous, and definitely not aerodynamic for flying. I also hated the Wonder Woman costume in the 90s where she wore the skimpy bikini bottoms that were always riding up. There's no way she could comfortably fight crime in those things. Gal Gadot's costume is much better.

It must be time for Superman to wear a pair of Speedos 

Cheers

QQ

[Quirky Quokka]

Q.Q., this was a really well chosen selection. Up until now, I’ve never really paid attention to the fanzine section. Imagine my surprise when there’s an article by Trina Robbins! Good historian. Your library should have a copy of her book on women cartoonists. And Miss Fury is something I’ve been MEANING to read, but it kept getting put off...like lowering my dietary fat and raising my dietary fibre.
A lot of the Sci-fi strips run out of interest for me half way through,I wind up muttering ‘get the hell to the point’. But I read all until the end. Miss Fury was the best of the lot and even juggled the mandatory explanation panels with a deft touch. Nice transition from newspaper to comic book. The other three were a notch above the usual, with what Berke Breathed used to call the intergalactic cocktail waitress look. Laughed out loud at pages 4 and 5 of Mysta, trying to be ‘inconspicuous’ while standing a full head shorter than the clones and also a ‘full figure gal’. Yeah, nobody would notice that.
I’d give a lot to spend an afternoon or two with Robbins over that comic book collection of hers she mentions. They missed an opportunity when Renegade or Eclipse didn’t get her to draw Ms. Tree. in the 80’s. That would have been something.

Hey Morgus

I'm glad you liked it. I think this one was probably the pick of the fanzines on the site, but great to see some zines up there. And it introduced me to Trina Robbins. I'm adding her book to my wish list now. (It's a long wish list).

This issue of Miss Fury made me want to read the rest. I think the site has all of them except for No. 1, which is a shame. Would be good to see the origin-story. Maybe it's rare, but there must be some collector out there. And be sure to let us know if Trina asks you over to look through her collection. That would be awesome!

I had to laugh at the 'intergalactic cocktail waitress look'. That is exactly what Mysta looks like in that first panel. You could easily replace that weapon with a tray of drinks, and she wouldn't look out of place  And she certainly does look inconspicuous in that line-up of soldiers ... not.

Cheers

QQ

[Quirky Quokka]

Miss Fury #3

Cover
Interesting that they chose to emphasize Hitler there with his head sticking up above the title border, which is even odder since it's either a "picture" of Hitler, or Hitler standing behind a window, but his head sticks up, not the glass or frame. I suppose without Hitler the reader wouldn't be sure she's fighting Nazis, since there are no swastikas on their uniforms.

Good spotting, SuperScrounge. I hadn't noticed that. Yes, maybe it was just there to remind us that she was fighting Nazis. Did putting Hitler on the cover sell comic books in the same way that Princess Di on the cover sold Women's magazines (at least in Australia and the UK)?

For the most part the editing was done well enough that panels that reprint a previous day's info was avoided, but there were some slip-ups.

Yes, that makes a big difference. I was reading a Phantom compilation of Sunday comics recently, and I don't think any of that sort of editing was done for the compilation. It became really repetitive after a while. I thought the girl would never get out of those shark-infested waters.

For those who wanted to read Tarpe Mills earlier comic work here's a list of stories and series that I gleaned from the GCD. (There may be more stories by her, but these are the ones indexers credited to her.)

And thanks for all of those examples of Tarpe Mills' work. I'll have to check them out.

Cheers

QQ

[The Australian Panther]

It must be time for Superman to wear a pair of Speedos 

In fact, what he was originally drawn wearing was a pair of vintage men's swimming trunks.
How do I know? For one thing, I have photographs of my father and his brothers wearing them.
Examples here.
https://vintagedancer.com/mens-fashion-history/vintage-mens-swimsuits-history/
Try the '1937 swimwear' in particular.
So, no, he doesn't wear his underwear on the outside.

Must be just about due for a fashion comeback, I think! 

[The Australian Panther]

The other two women mentioned are Annie and Estrella, but my quick search the other day didn't reveal any details about them.

Well, about Annie I found virtually nothing, but this is the story about Estrella Berosini, which is worth looking at in detail.

In late October, Joni flew to Coconut Grove, Florida, to sing at a club called the Gaslight South. Also performing there was a 15-year-old blues singer named Estrella Berosini, the daughter of a Czech trapeze artist. Estrella, who had grown up touring with the circus, was belting out Bessie Smith and Lightnin’ Hopkins, alternating sets with Joni, who was trilling, “I had a king in a tenement castle.”

Biding his time in the Grove was David Crosby, who’d just been kicked out of the group that had essentially created folk rock, the Byrds. His father, Floyd Crosby, was a Hollywood cinematographer who had won a Golden Globe for High Noon and spent time sailing the high seas—which David was now planning to do. He was about to embark on his new sloop, The Mayan.
Estrella had been watching Joni’s set, and she was knocked out by the new songs of her nine-years-older colleague. She told her friend David to catch Joni. According to Estrella, David took a quick look through the curtain—where, Estrella recalls, “Joni was wearing a black dress with gold and blue sparkles, and over her long, straight hair she had an Indian bell necklace; she looked medieval”—then turned back to her and said, “She’s just another blonde chick singer.” Estrella said, “No—you’re wrong! Listen to her words.” Startled (Estrella believes) that an unknown kid would dare tell a Byrd what to do, David went back for a second hearing. By the end of the evening, he was in love not only with Joni’s singing but also with Joni. (Joni repaid Berosini by making her “Estrella, circus girl, comes wrapped in songs and gypsy shawls,” one of the three women in “Ladies of the Canyon.”) Within days, he had won her. As Estrella recalls, “David made up for his shortcomings with that Cyrano de Bergerac charm. They were both smitten; they both had that glow.” Joni stayed on Crosby’s boat for a time. Estrella observed Joni’s survival skills, in a context the younger woman well knew. “You never show fear to an animal—that’s a rule in the circus. It’s the same with rock ‘n’ roll men. To get far, a woman must never show fear. And Joni didn’t.”

Nice story!

[crashryan]

David Crosby[...]his father, Floyd Crosby, was a Hollywood cinematographer who had won a Golden Globe for High Noon and spent time sailing the high seas

I learn something new every day. I never paid much attention to the back stories of popular musicians, even those I enjoyed, like Crosby, so I'm surprised to hear he was the son of an award-winning cinematographer with connections to New York society. I looked him up on Wikipedia and learned that he "flunked out" of high school--not an easy feat in the USA. Then I looked up the high school and discovered that it's an old, elite private school which presently costs $24,000 (£19,270) a year to attend!

The "Canyon" in Joni Mitchell's song isn't far from where I live. Laurel Canyon was a big celebrity hangout beginning in the old Hollywood days and became a counterculture haven in the 60s and 70s--upper class counterculture, at least. Many, many big name LA rock and folk artists had homes there. In the 70s a local gang formed to handle the drug distribution, culminating in the sensational "Wonderland Murders" of the early 80s. Life in the big city.

[Morgus]

Even better, 'Crash, Floyd won the Oscar for his work in TABU, and did those Roger Corman/Edgar Allan Poe movies in the early 60's. (Yes, my fellow reading group members from the UK, Nicholas Roeg still did the best one with MASQUE OF RED DEATH.) I don't know of David wound up with the Oscar after his father's death, the Academy has made it tougher to pass them down from family member to member and likes to get them back.
'Panther, Little Steven was saying the other day how the 60's and early 70's are going to be studied like the Renaissance was, so there are probably any number of cool stories like that one still to come out.
Q.Q.: your idea about the spandex has been done. The intrepid Japanese had Ken Utsui 'pack his junk' so to speak in STARMAN, a Japanese TV show that remains a cult hit. The producers thought the tight fit would make the show's hero more popular with the teenage girls. It worked, and too well. Ken was a serious actor who died a thousand deaths over the girls following him around like border collies. The shows plots make Planet comics look like 2001 A SPACE ODESSY.

[SuperScrounge]

Planet Comics #37

The Lost World
Nice alien Pickelhaube helmets the enemy has.

Not bad, although I believe the Constitution is locked in an environmentally controlled case, so put the torn pieces back in a broken case probably won't save it for long.

Mysta of the Moon
The plan could destroy the universe!!! Talk about the writer having no sense of scale. How can any mortal destroy something so big that it takes billions of years for light to cross it?

If Gor wanted beautiful women why not grow plantwomen instead of plantmen? 

The Red Comet
Eh, okay. Kind of a cross between a superhero and a sci-fi adventurer.

The Invaders
I figured out the "twist" ending long before the end.

Space Rangers
Well, I guess we've only got one year to force the Germans to live on a small tract of land for this story to come true.  That 'history book' doesn't seem very historical.

Well, what do you know, the villain's plan is literally 'human-caused global warming'. 

Page 4, panel 6. Oh, no! Those monsters killed the last surviving jungle girl!!! 

Well, this was one of those "fun to make fun of" stories.

Gale Allen
Sounds like a 1940s movie star.

I hope this story isn't typical. Gale felt like a supporting player instead of a lead.

Star Pirate
Page 2, panel 1. I laughed when I saw the guy with the blue shirt, red cape and spitcurl, given that decades later Murphy Anderson would draw a similar looking character. *cough*Superman*cough* And later in the issue he drew some Hawkmen, no Katar Hol & Shayera, but oh, well. 

Interesting to see his earlier, more cartoony style. I'm more used to his later more realistic style.

[Quirky Quokka]

The other two women mentioned are Annie and Estrella, but my quick search the other day didn't reveal any details about them.

Well, about Annie I found virtually nothing, but this is the story about Estrella Berosini, which is worth looking at in detail.

"In late October, Joni flew to Coconut Grove, Florida, to sing at a club called the Gaslight South. Also performing there was a 15-year-old blues singer named Estrella Berosini, the daughter of a Czech trapeze artist. Estrella, who had grown up touring with the circus, was belting out Bessie Smith and Lightnin’ Hopkins, alternating sets with Joni, who was trilling, “I had a king in a tenement castle.”

Biding his time in the Grove was David Crosby, who’d just been kicked out of the group that had essentially created folk rock, the Byrds. His father, Floyd Crosby, was a Hollywood cinematographer who had won a Golden Globe for High Noon and spent time sailing the high seas—which David was now planning to do. He was about to embark on his new sloop, The Mayan.
Estrella had been watching Joni’s set, and she was knocked out by the new songs of her nine-years-older colleague. She told her friend David to catch Joni. According to Estrella, David took a quick look through the curtain—where, Estrella recalls, “Joni was wearing a black dress with gold and blue sparkles, and over her long, straight hair she had an Indian bell necklace; she looked medieval”—then turned back to her and said, “She’s just another blonde chick singer.” Estrella said, “No—you’re wrong! Listen to her words.” Startled (Estrella believes) that an unknown kid would dare tell a Byrd what to do, David went back for a second hearing. By the end of the evening, he was in love not only with Joni’s singing but also with Joni. (Joni repaid Berosini by making her “Estrella, circus girl, comes wrapped in songs and gypsy shawls,” one of the three women in “Ladies of the Canyon.”) Within days, he had won her. As Estrella recalls, “David made up for his shortcomings with that Cyrano de Bergerac charm. They were both smitten; they both had that glow.” Joni stayed on Crosby’s boat for a time. Estrella observed Joni’s survival skills, in a context the younger woman well knew. “You never show fear to an animal—that’s a rule in the circus. It’s the same with rock ‘n’ roll men. To get far, a woman must never show fear. And Joni didn’t.”

Nice story!

Great detective work, Panther. Now we just have to track down the elusive Annie. I didn't realise that Joni was in a relationship with David Crosby. I'd only heard about her relationship with Graham Nash. Must have led to some awkward moments, but gave them all fodder for some great songs.

https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/joni-mitchell-doomed-relationship-with-graham-nash/

Cheers

QQ

[Quirky Quokka]

Planet Comics #37

Mysta of the Moon
The plan could destroy the universe!!! Talk about the writer having no sense of scale. How can any mortal destroy something so big that it takes billions of years for light to cross it?

Gale Allen
Sounds like a 1940s movie star.

I hope this story isn't typical. Gale felt like a supporting player instead of a lead.

SuperScrounge, I have no trouble with a mortal causing the collapse of the whole universe. Isn't that what happens on Dr Who every second episode? 

And Gale Allen appeared with her Girl Squadron in earlier ones, so this one might not be as typical. I'm not sure if she had dropped the Girl Squadron by this time, or if this just happened to be a solo effort. Maybe some of the other smart cookies can fill us in.

Cheers

QQ