| Jane | |
|---|---|
 The cover of a 2009 reprint volume of some of the Jane comics [1] | |
| Author(s) | Norman Pett |
| Current status/schedule | Defunct |
| Launch date | 5 December 1932 |
| End date | 10 October 1959 |
| Alternate name(s) | Jane's Journal, Or the Diary of a Bright Young Thing |
| Genre(s) | Humour |
| Followed by | Jane, Daughter of Jane |
Jane is a comic strip created and drawn by Norman Pett exclusively for the British tabloid newspaper The Daily Mirror from 5 December 1932 to 10 October 1959. [2]
Jane was born when artist Norman Pett made a wager that he could create a comic strip as popular to adults as the strip Pip, Squeak and Wilfred was to children.
Jane was first published by Norman Pett, on 5 December 1932 as Jane’s Journal – The Diary of a Bright Young Thing, Pett drew her until 1948. Mike Hubbard began assisting Pett in 1946, and succeeded Pett. [3]
Originally Pett's wife Mary modelled for him, [4] but in the late 1930s, she abandoned modelling in pursuit of golf. Pett then teamed up with Chrystabel Leighton-Porter whom he met while she was modelling for a class in Birmingham in 1939. [5]
Originally entitled Jane's Journal, Or the Diary of a Bright Young Thing, [6] the salacious comic strip featured the misadventures of the title ingenue. The heroine had a habit of frequently (and most often inadvertently) losing her clothes. Her intimate confidant was a pet dachshund named Fritz. Her full name was Jane Gay, a play on the name Lady Jane Grey. [7]
The strip became very popular during the Second World War and was considered morale-boosting, [8] inspiring a similar American version, Milton Caniff's comic strip Male Call . Until 1943, Jane rarely stripped beyond her undergarments, but then she made a fully nude appearance when getting out of a bath and clumsily falling into the middle of a crowd of British soldiers. [9]
Norman Pett's assistant Michael Hubbard continued, beginning in 1948, to develop the cartoon's original storyline until ending in 1959 – with charmer Georgie giving Jane a happy marriage and ending the series. [10] The Mirror tried to revive the character on several occasions. One such comic strip was Jane, Daughter of Jane, who was apparently the original's grown-up offspring, but she lacked her mother's charm and innocence. Another attempt was made during the 1980s.
During 1945, King Features Syndicate attempted to distribute Jane in the United States. [11] However, the nudity was too much for prudish American audiences, and the attempt ceased during 1946. [12]
Other comics in the tradition of, and possibly inspired by, Jane include Sally the Sleuth, [13] Male Call and Little Annie Fanny . [14]
The strip inspired an eponymous stage play during the 1940s, with Chrystabel Leighton-Porter playing the character of Jane.
Leighton-Porter also featured in a 1949 movie, The Adventures of Jane , [15] directed by Edward G. Whiting. A 1987 movie, Jane and the Lost City , starring Kirsten Hughes in the title role, was directed by Terry Marcel.
A television series was made by the BBC between 1982 and 1984, featuring Glynis Barber in the title role. The first season was titled simply Jane, while the second was titled Jane in the Desert. [16] Despite the early evening scheduling slot, the show was decidedly risqué with Jane continuously stripping down to her underwear, including stockings and suspenders. At the end of the second series' closing episode she appeared topless momentarily. Despite considerable publicity in the press at the time of its original screening, the show became somewhat obscure and has never had a commercial video or DVD release. The show was briefly revived during 1985 as a three-part sequence shown over a single morning on Breakfast Television but without Glynis Barber in the main role.
During and after World War II, Chrystabel Leighton-Porter performed a striptease act as the character of Jane. In the war, it was compulsory for actors and entertainers to join ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association) whose job it was to organize entertainment for the troops, and although Chrystabel's audience were mainly soldiers, she was never asked by ENSA to perform on the front line. Chrystabel explained:
I think they felt that my show was a little too risqué, and perhaps risky to put on for a theatre full of lusty troops! It was different when I did stage shows in provincial theatres, because although there was a lot of boys there, there was always a lot of general public too. As well, it was in a slightly more controlled environment really. [17]
The content of the act varied due to restrictions set in by local censors.[ citation needed ]
In World War II, one of the two 380 mm BL 15-inch Mk I naval guns comprising Wanstone Battery, which was installed at Dover and was capable of firing across the English Channel into German-occupied France, was named Jane after the comic strip character. [18]
Glynis Margaret Payne Johns was a British actress. In a career spanning seven decades on stage and screen, Johns appeared in more than 60 films and 30 plays. She received various accolades throughout her career, including a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Laurence Olivier Award. She was one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood and classical years of British cinema.
Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst was a British suffragette born in Manchester, England. A co-founder of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), she directed its militant actions from exile in France from 1912 to 1913. In 1914, she supported the war against Germany. After the war, she moved to the United States, where she worked as an evangelist for the Second Adventist movement.
Dalia Messick was an American comic strip artist who used the pseudonym Dale Messick. She was the creator of Brenda Starr, Reporter, which at its peak during the 1950s ran in 250 newspapers.
Male Call is an American comic strip series created and drawn by Milton Caniff on a volunteer basis, exclusively for US military publications during World War II. The strip began January 24, 1943. Caniff continued Male Call until seven months after V-J Day, bringing it to a conclusion on March 3, 1946.
Glynis Barber is a South African actress. She is known for her portrayals of Sgt. Harriet Makepeace in the British police drama Dempsey and Makepeace, Glenda Mitchell in EastEnders, DCI Grace Barraclough in Emmerdale, Fiona Brake in Night and Day, and Soolin in Blake's 7. In 2022, she joined the cast of Hollyoaks as Norma Crow.
Drabble is an internationally syndicated comic strip that appears in about 200 newspapers. Kevin Fagan created the strip in 1979 and remains the sole writer and artist. The strip centers on the Drabble family, and is set in a fictionalized version of the greater Los Angeles area.
Lucky Cow is a syndicated comic strip created by Mark Pett and distributed by Universal Press Syndicate. It focuses around the fictional fast food chain Lucky Cow and its workers. In the strip, the restaurant's advertisements advocate obesity and unhealthy eating habits.
Mervyn Oliver Haisman was a British screenwriter of film and television. Prior to this career he worked as an actor and managed a theatre company as well as working in insurance.
Broom-Hilda is an American newspaper comic strip created by cartoonist Russell Myers. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, it depicts the misadventures of a man-crazy, cigar-smoking, beer-guzzling, 1,500-year-old witch and her motley crew of friends.
The Comet was a weekly British comics periodical published by J.B. Allen and later Amalgamated Press and Fleetway Publications from 20 September 1946 to 17 October 1959. Initially a children's newspaper, The Comet was transformed into a boys' adventure comic in May 1949 by editor Edward Holmes when J.B. Allen were purchased by Amalgamated Press. Also known as Comet Comic, The Comet Adventure Weekly, Comet Weekly and simply Comet as various points the title continued until October 1959, reaching 580 issues before being merged with another AP boys' comic, Tiger.
The Ugly Dachshund is a 1966 American comedy film directed by Norman Tokar, written by Albert Aley, and starring Dean Jones and Suzanne Pleshette in a story about a Great Dane who believes he is a dachshund. Produced by Walt Disney Productions, the film was based on a 1938 novel by Gladys Bronwyn Stern. It was one of several light-hearted comedies produced by the Disney Studios during the 1960s. The animated featurette Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, was attached to the film in theatrical showings.
Notable events of 2000 in comics.
Chrystabel Jane Leighton-Porter was the model for the Second World War Daily Mirror newspaper cartoon heroine Jane which boosted morale during the Blitz. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill suggested that Jane was "Britain's secret weapon".
The Adventures of Jane is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Edward G. Whiting. It is the film version of the stage show based on the comic strip Jane originally created by Norman Pett. It was written by Alfred Goulding and Con West. The cast included Chrystabel Leighton-Porter, who played Jane, and Michael Hogarth, who played Tom Hawke. It was filmed in Brighton, East Sussex, England.
Piccadilly Jim is a 1936 American romantic comedy film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring Robert Montgomery, Frank Morgan, Madge Evans and Billie Burke. The film is based on the 1917 novel Piccadilly Jim written by P. G. Wodehouse.
Kathleen O'Brien (1914–1991), was an Australian comic book artist, book illustrator and fashion artist. O'Brien is most notable for her 1943 comic strip, Wanda the War Girl, the first Australian comic strip to present an account of life during and after World War II from a female perspective.
Jane is an early 1980s British animated and live-action military comedy television series. It was produced for two series, in 1982 and 1984. Set during World War II, it was based on a comic strip created by Norman Pett and first published in the Daily Mail in 1932. The series was produced in 10-minute episodes. The cast included Glynis Barber, Bob Danvers-Walker, Max Wall, Dean Allen, Robin Bailey, Suzanne Danielle, John Bird, Frank Thornton and Clive Mantle. Graham McCallum won BAFTA Awards for Best Graphics in 1983 and 1985 for his work on the two series.
Norman Pett was an English artist who, in 1932, created the famous cartoon character Jane for the Daily Mirror.
Notable events of 1932 in comics.
Jane Bond is a British comic character who has appeared in the strip "Jane Bond - Secret Agent", published by Fleetway Publications and IPC Magazines. The character, a globetrotting secret agent, first appeared in the girls' anthology title Tina on 25 February 1967, drawn by Mike Hubbard. After Tina was cancelled "Jane Bond - Secret Agent" continued in the merged Princess Tina until 1970.
