The Story of JANE (or a reasonable facsimile, thereof...)

[cartoonjoe2004]

Some miscellaneous Jane strips from 1937 and 1939.

[cartoonjoe2004]

Jane's home newspaper, the Daily Mirror, was, for the first thirty years or so of its existence, a somewhat staid newspaper, although it did model itself after American periodicals like The New York Daily News and The New York Post, especially in regards to its treatment of the comic strip, of which it had several (in addition to Jane and the aforementioned Pip, Squeak and Wilfred, there was Beelzebub Jones, Buck Ryan, Ruggles, Belinda Blue Eyes {think "British Orphan Annie"}, and the American transplant Thimble Theatre, featuring Popeye the Sailor!).

Around the mid-to-late 1930s, the Mirror became a left-leaning liberal paper, and the headlines became more sensational as a result (it's no coincidence that Jane started losing more and more of her clothes at this time as a result). The change in attitude is best exemplified by the two Mirror pages reprinted below.

The first image (July 7, 1938) details a near riot at a Lady Godiva festival, where the young girl portraying Godiva is nearly accosted by an overly moral zealot, who gets clobbered by the attending crowd for his trouble; the next front page (April 22, 1939) has a swimsuit-clad starlet plastered next to a story about the coming war (although one can't help but think that the headline to the right of the pin-up was put there for a dual purpose...after all, wouldn't she cause your "Allied Front" to GROW, too?)

More about Jane soon1

[simonlintworm]

Cartoonjoe, I am very interested if you would be willing to make a Jane cartoon, you know In addition to Miss Truth...

[cartoonjoe2004]

Originally Posted by simonlintworm

Cartoonjoe, I am very interested if you would be willing to make a Jane cartoon, you know In addition to Miss Truth...

Hmmm...now THERE'S a thought...

[cartoonjoe2004]

Here are a few more examples of Jane's Journal's gradual transformation into Jane.

30 June 1936: We're not quite in London, and no where near France, but we DO get to see Jane's underpants for the first (but certainly not LAST) time...

4 February 1937: Jane has visitors while she's dressing (she really should close her curtains!);

28 May 1937: Stripping off at the seaside;

23 June 1937: Losing her top at the sea;

6 July 1937: An embarrassing distress call;

15 October 1937: Once again, close your curtains!!;

6 December 1937: The very first (not discounting the 28 August 1937 strips) full-frontal nudity (and another example of Jane's nude modeling stint);

15 December 1937: More embarrassment!;

20 December 1937: A rather odd punchline;

17 June 1938: Jane has more peepers while she's in her bath!!

In my next update: The War years!

[solarking]

I just love this series! Thanks cartoonjoe2004! Looking forward to your next Jane post.

[cartoonjoe2004]

A couple of videos you may find interesting:

Jane www.britishpathe.com/video/jane shows cartoonist Norman Pett creating a typical Jane episode from 1943, using a model who is definitely not Chrystabel Leighton-Porter (try not to giggle as Pett looks around for his "rubber"); and Jane and Pett www.britishpathe.com/video/jane-and-pett ,which shows Pett actually sketching Miss Leighton-Porter (with Fritz in arms) as she poses---and STRIPS---for the artist. Quite fascinating to see the creative process around this feature.

[glass]

A couple of videos you may find interesting:

Thanks for a nice bit of interesting history! The lady is quite sexy.

[foxbat1155]

Please! I beg of you! Help me find Janes granddaughter! When I was 13, I found these old magazines, I have not found them since, I want to find 1985 JANE Again online! Please help me! I am on a quest!

Anything you have please send msg to any info please!!!! or leave here in this thread!

[cartoonjoe2004]

Try here for a start:

http://surebeatsworking.blogspot.com...n-m-burns.html