Friday, September 27, 2013

Why Should I be Tortured?

Let's start our week taking a look at Golden Age Green Lantern #13, which has the awesome origin of Dinah Mite, Sound Effects Person:


Why should you care?  Well, she is apparently a huge deal in Alan Scott's life and we just overlooked it for the previous 12 issues:


I share Dinah's surprise.  It's not like we've ever seen them dating or anything.  As far as I know, Alan just launched right into marriage.  I applaud Alan for his gusto-going, but I just don't know that marriage should be your opening volley when it comes to courting.

But it doesn't end there.  Doiby Dickles has is warm for her form as well:


What is going on here?  Is it her accent?  Is it the jaunty way she wraps a rag around her head?

I know, you're waiting for something that will explain away all this.  It doesn't happen:




See that "The End" down there?  The story is apparently over, and the next story makes no reference to any of this.  I can only assume this continues in the next issue, but it really disrupts the flow when GL is betrothed in one story and he clearly isn't in the next.

I was going to get all righteous and wonder why Dinah thinks GL would want to marry her, but heck... everyone else in the story with a "Y" chromosome seemed to be booking chapels and deejays.

But note that she pledged herself to the one guy who didn't ask.  Let's see Yael 'splain the logic in that one!

And now, the premiere of our latest CMNS meme, That's a Fair Question (tm!).

Thusly:


That's a Fair Question.  (tm!)

Here's a fun bit of history:


I guess a bunch of kids were dropping out of school and just continuing their role in the war effort.  That's really interesting, because I can't think of anything the government programs for kids these days that would be called a "war job."  The things we learn when we read old comics!

And there was also a battery shortage:


That doesn't surprise me too much, but it still interests me when manufacturers take out ads to explain why you can't easily buy their stuff.

Cool stuff!  See you tomorrow!

6 comments:

MarvelX42 said...

Is the guy in the tub being hazed? Is that supposed to make kids wanna sign up? I don't know how the picture is connected to the text really, aside from one of the guys holding a flashlight which uses said batterys.

MarvelX42 said...

Also, I have tried web searchs and I can't find anything anywhere about a DC character named "Dinah Mite". I mean even if it was a one off character, you would think that someone who was going to marry a superheroe that has stood the test of time such as Scott's version of GL would be listed at least on the official DC comics web site, but I couldn't find any mention of her.

Yael said...

Wait, me? I'm the resident expert on sexual harassment, now? Oh boy...

Listen, I'm no expert, I really ain't. But the way I see it, it's pretty easy - what you pointed it is still harassment, especially if he tells her he isn't interested. The problem, of course, is that because it's woman-on-man we're supposed to see this as funny, because how could a big strong man let himself get harassed? Har har har, look at him dominated by a woman, har har har!
And this, kids, is why sexism is bad for men, too.


(But seriously now, I do feel uncomfortable ending up as 'the person who talks about sexual harassment'. In the future, howzabaout we stick to easier topics, like how absolutely ridiculous that hair thing she's wearing looks?)

Yael said...

...pointed *out

(proofreading is your friend!)

Adam Barnett said...

I was more thinking along the lines of "Why, if a woman has three guys that DO want to marry her, did she 'choose' the guy who DIDN'T ask?" It presumptuous more than it is anything else :-)

Yael said...

Oh, that's easy, then. She didn't choose any of those three guys because she wasn't interested in them. :)
She appears to be pretty screwed up, romantically, really. I mean, it's cool that she's breaking gender stereotypes by being attracted to fragility rather than to strength, but that last panel seems to suggest it's kind of a mothering thing, which is somewhat creepy. Make up your mind, lady, do you want a partner or a kid?