As a young teenager my comic book purchases were pretty much predicated on a sliding scale based on my interests. At the top of my list was to purchase any comic with superheroes followed by barbarians, science fiction, humour, horror and lastly , and only at a pinch anything related to girls comics (this included Supergirl comics and of course love stories) . One such last ditch comic purchase on a week where there must have been few comics in the spinner racks to my liking was for "Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane" issue 117. As it turned out this was a pretty interesting read, not for the Lois Lane tale, but for the back-up feature The Rose and the Thorn.
I have never hidden my affection for DC comics at this time and in particular there numerous back up tales which regularly featured a host of interesting characters. To be honest, I’m not sure how much I actually enjoyed reading the Rose and the Thorn strips at this time (reading this one with new eyes, its not great) but I do rememebr finding the character utterly fascinating even although I found it unfeasible that a character that had no actual superpowers apart from being athletic and being prolific with a combat daggers and a barbed wire whip , could so easily take down the notorious 100 gang all on her own.
This was actually the second version of the Rose and the thorn character which was created by Robert Khanigher and artist Ross Andru who would draw most of her tales at this time (but not this particular issue). This Rose and Thorn was Rhosyn "Rose" Forrest (these names were really terrible) the daughter of Metropolis police officer Phil Forrest, who was killed by a criminal gang named The 100. When Rose slept her Thorn personality would emerge and stalk the streets as a vigilante, attempting to bring The 100 to justice.
This issue of Loise Lane is cover dated November 1971 so I would have probably picked this up on or around April/May 1972 on one of my many excursion to the local newsagents after school. I suppose as I would have been approaching 13 years of aged around this time this could have explained my interest in this scantily glad thigh length boot wearing female crime fighter. The story itself “ The Ghost with Two Faces “ illustrated by the late great Rich Buckler, is pretty basic as Rose Forrest goes on vacation to the seaside and , as the Thorn, defeats a band of kidnappers but it still must have resonated with me as I remember picking up several Lois Lane comic after this time which featured Rose and the Thorn back up strips. I even tracked down Lois Lane issue 114 where Lois meets Rose and Thorn, a comic I stil have in my collection.
I was probably about seven years old when I walked into my local newsagents in Cambuslang (near Glasgow) with my pocket money firmly he...
Following on from my last post featuring some of my favourite Marvel comic book covers from 1973, I thought I would show some of DC's ...
Nearly a half-century on I still consider 1973 to be the year that cemented my destiny in becoming a lifetime comic book fan. It was a yea...
I think our comic collecting must have run on parallel tracks, McScotty. Like you, I ended up buying Lois Lane comics in 1971/72 when all of my usual comics purchases had been exhausted and it was still a week to go before the new DCs came in on the last Thursday of the month. That "25-cent/48-52 Page" period from mid 1971 to 1972 was the apex of the Bronze Age for me.
ReplyDeleteDick Giordano did a great rendering of Lois on the cover of 114, which I'm sure helped me pick that book as well!
The Lois Lane comics of that period were great, and the storyline also wove in Morgan Edge as introduced in Kirby's 4th World, so I came to regard the the Lois Lane books as an extension of that universe.
I remember liking the Rose and Thorn backups, although not so much that they made a lasting impression on me. I'll go back and take a look as I have reading copies of those issues buried in on of the long boxes.
I was always intrigued by some of those Lois Lane covers at the time - DC always had great covers that made you want to check them out, most by great artists like Dick Giordano and Nick Cardy . I had forgotten about the Morgan Edge/4th World stories in Lois Lane but as I wasn’t a big fan of Kirby’s 4th World series at this time (apart from Jimmy Olsen) I probably just let it pass me by. I loved DCs 52 page comics they were great value with strong main stories and great back-ups like Batgirl and Jason Bard in Detective comics and Elongated Man in The Flash etc.
DeleteI think I loved The Thorn simply because of the way she looked, McS. You can read about my discovery of her here - https://kidr77.blogspot.com/2017/04/part-fifty-of-favourite-comics-of-past.html
ReplyDeleteYeah I think Thorns appearance certainly was a big part of the characters attraction to myself as well, but at the time I found the whole concept of her split personality and the 100 etc. really novel and intriguing.
DeleteAnd heres me thinking you were a one (fantasy) woman man, poor Invisible Woman she’ll be gutted you had a thing for Thorn as well! 😊. I will check out your Rose and Thorn post later Kid.
Susan Storm, Janet Van Dyne, Supergirl, The Thorn, Scarlet Witch, Venus, Marina, Atlanta Shore, The Black Widow, etc., McS. I was a fickle little fecker and no mistake.
DeleteChecked it out yet, McS? Then leave a comment on it if you'd be so good - it only got two at the time.
ReplyDelete