Created by Marvel in 1972 as a
feminist heroine (Shanna the She-Devil and
Night Nurse debuted simultaneously),
the Cat joined a seemingly endless line of cat-themed females, from DC’s Catwoman,
to Harvey’s Black Cat (and Marvel’s Black Cat), to DC’s Cheetah, to Republic
Studios’ Panther Girl, to Archie Comics’ Cat Girl, to Dell’s Tiger Girl to,
arguably, Ian Fleming’s Pussy Galore, “the female who is all feline,” according
to Goldfinger’s movie trailer.
As the Diversions of the Groovy Kind blog noted, “Written by the soon-to-be-Mrs. Herb (Incredible Hulk) Trimpe, Linda Fite with art by the incomparable
team of penciler Marie Severin and inker Wally Wood, The Claws of the Cat #1 (Aug. 1972) had all the earmarks of another
hit for Marvel. A likable, realistic, tragic lead character thrust into the
role of a superhero. Story wise and art wise, The Cat #1 was a wonderfully crafted tale that could have come
straight from Marvel's Silver Age heyday, but given a ‘modern’ 1970s
sensibility. Fite’s plot was heart-wrenching and moody; her dialogue straight
from the Roy Thomas/Gerry Conway/Denny O'Neil school of ‘relevance.’ The art by
Severin and Wood was lush and as moody as Fite’s story. It should have been a
smash hit.”
For somebody who reportedly didn’t
care for superheroes, Wally Wood certainly knew how to draw them. His figures
are models of convincing clean-limbed power. But the title’s feminism, while
well intentioned, may have been a little too heavy-handed. To be effective, the
social message has to be in service of the story, and not the other way around.
My own private theory is that the
title failed because the heroine didn’t have the traditional alliterative superhero
name, like Peter Parker, Clark Kent, Matt Murdock or Jessica Jones.
Greer Nelson. Meh. Try Greer
Garson. Now there’s a name which with
to conjure.
Then you must have liked Marvel Premiere #42 (June 1978), where Tigra was mis-identified as Greer Garson!
ReplyDeleteI did indeed!
DeleteWell, she was Greer Grant before she got married! There were probably many reasons the book didn't find an audience. Issues 3 through 4 were very underwhelming stories. I didn't know until recently that Roy Thomas helped plot the first issues. I think Linda was okay at scripting, but not plotting. The origin may have been a bit heavy-handed regarding feminism, but it made some good points.
ReplyDelete