“I could be the catalyst that sparks the revolution. I could be an inmate at a long-term institution. I could dream to wild extremes, I could do or die, I could yawn and be withdrawn and watch the world go by.” From What A Waste, written by Ian Dury and Rod Melvin.
If you’ve been to the supermarket lately — perhaps you just won the state lottery — you’ve probably noticed Halloween is upon us. Big bags of tiny candy bars marked “fun” abound, many containing ersatz pumpkin poo. We should acknowledge the likelihood that without Halloween, we might not have Wonder Woman around.
Like much of what I write this might seem idiosyncratic, but even if I’m overanalyzing history a bit, this claim has merit. In the 1940s, Wonder Woman was one of the most visible comics characters in America. She had her own comic book, was cover-featured in the monthly Sensation Comics anthology title, shared covers on Comic Cavalcade with Green Lantern and The Flash, was a member of the Justice Society of America — although, of course, she spent the war years as the JSA’s secretary. She even had her own daily newspaper comic strip for a couple years.
Then World War II ended. Before long the paper shortage ended and, slowly, rationing was retired. The returning generation of family members sold their daddy’s companies to mammoth, soulless, money-grubbing conglomerates. Those outlets that had been selling comic books — candy shops, drug stores, newsstands, railroad stations — were being replaced by shopping strips and malls where the profit from ten-cent comic books wouldn’t mean shit to a tree. Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo: Halloween’s Other Princess”
I was a wee child, a kitchen table conversation happened that, I gather, was not meant to include me. My sister, seven years my senior, was talking about some sort of a problem with body tenderness. My mother suggested perhaps she should use a training bra.
As I grew into my role as a hyper-involved pop culture historian, I came across various articles and resources that explained to me that “training bras” were sold to girls so that they might grow into the self-image of womanhood while they were awaiting the more physical image of womanhood. Like it or not, they were gonna become consumers and that was what the “training” part was all about.
