The cover of Detective Comics 371 (Jan. 1968) is frequently mocked for trivializing women. Batgirl is shown fretting about a run in her tights while Batman and Robin need her help in a fight.
But then you know the old adage about judging a book by its cover. The point of Gardner Fox’s story inside is exactly the opposite.
DC’s Julius Schwartz-edited titles consistently portrayed women as smart, capable and professional, particularly when compared to titles edited by others. So it was no surprise to me, even back then, that Batgirl’s apparent silly vanity was a sham. I’d only have been surprised had it been otherwise.
In Batgirl’s Costume Cut-Ups, Barbara Gordon is troubled when, by reflexively adjusting her mask when it was knocked askew in a fight, she leaves herself vulnerable to a kick from a crook.
Worrying that her vanity — her “instinctive female reaction” — had betrayed her, Batgirl is determined to improve her performance, despite reassurance from Batman that she’s doing fine as a crimefighter.
Ultimately, during a fight with the nine members of the Sports Spoiler gang, the Dominoed Daredoll pauses to ostentatiously repair a tear in her tights.
“What a pair of gams!” exclaims one of the crooks. The Terrific Trio wades into the distracted gang, with Gil Kane’s artwork making the finish brisk, dynamic and even, at times, winsome.
After Batman and Robin somewhat condescendingly reassure her that her “vanity” came in handy this time, Batgirl spares their vanity by refraining from revealing that the “accidental” rip in her tights was her plan all along — strategic jiu jitsu.
Back at the library, Barbara thinks “I didn’t have the heart to tell Batman and Robin that I tore my tights deliberately — to give me an excuse for showing off my leg and distracting those crooks!”
Finally, Batgirl is just as “ditsy” as Lt. Columbo is “befuddled,” and for the same reason.
Paul Zuckerman wrote:
ReplyDeleteI think Batgirl pretending to B&R that she would stop to fix the run on her tights was perhaps Fox's sly comment on MALE vanity --including our titular heroes who were always supposed to be the exemplar of the way to act. As many women have said over the years, they often have to make the male feel in charge, even when not. Happily, over the years, Barbara and B&R have had a more honest relationship and this story can be best explained by its origins in the earliest days of the full-flowering of the women's movement to full equality.
Schwartz' depiction of women was always progressive, though, as you say. Unlike Lois and Lana, who would repeatedly do stupid things and act selfishly, Schwartz' women were always capable and loyal. Even or perhaps especially Sue, who, although she didn't work and would easily buy out an entire store of clothes, was nonetheless on the ball, easily equal to Ralph in all ways. Women were respected in Schwartz books; they weren't always elsewhere.
Cheryl Spoehr wrote:
ReplyDeleteI am on her side, if you ever have had to put up with a run in your stockings, the moment you start your job,you know how annoying it is. And everyone asks you " did you know you have..." YES! yes I do know, thank you, but the boss won't let me take an hour's drive home,and another back,to fix it. When my skin condition made panty hose out of bounds, it was back to garter belt and stockings, until the management allowed us "girls" to wear 👖pants!
Bob Doncaster wrote:
ReplyDeleteNext issue Batgirl breaks a heel.
Harmony Gates wrote:
ReplyDeleteThe bit about Batgirl adjusting her mask reminds me of one of the 1940s Batman serials where Batman is clearly realigning his mask during fight (so that he can see more clearly through the eyelets) and gets hit by one of the thugs. Schwartz was a complicated fellow...I recall a number of women in the industry claiming physical sexual harassment (or at least attempts) after his passing.☹
I replied:
People don't always consistently practice what they preach, but that doesn't necessarily invalidate what they preach.
Tom Howley wrote:
ReplyDeleteHeh -- "What a pair of gams!!" Even for 1968, it's like that particular goon accidentally time-warped in from 30 years in the past-- And the fact that a glimpse o' revealed leg-skin would pull him outta the fight--! Boss: "Focus, Bruiser!! FOCUS!!!! !@#$%&%$#@! " Also-- Not really Robin's best work on the cover, there. . . Ha!
ReplyDeleteEd Erkes wrote:
Your point is 🎯. Iris West, Carol Ferris, Alanna, Zatanna, Jean Loring, Shayera Hol, all those Julius Schwartz women—these were all highly competent career women who took a back seat to no one.
Burns Duncan wrote;
ReplyDeleteWhen I read this, I was relieved that the run was a ruse, because it had always seemed that super-hero tights were of a material that wouldn't "ladder" like that.
Vinnie Tieto wrote:
ReplyDeleteThis came out a couple of months after Neal Adams started doing covers for DC. He quickly became my favorite (and still is) but I have to say that those Infantino/Anderson covers were also quite attention-grabbing for this time period.