Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Happy holiday weekend to all my U.S. of A. buds, and happy plain-ol' weekend to the rest of ya! Ol' Groove's going with a patriotic theme for the next three days--hope ya dig what I call my RED, WHITE, AND GROOVY WEEKEND!
Let's kick things off with a weird little number incredibly illustrated by Steve Ditko. I dunno if
Liberty Belle was created by Sturdy Steve, author/editor Joe Gill, or both--whoever it was must'a been getting in the Bicentennial mood (must've been all those
Bicentennial Minutes CBS-TV was layin' on us at the time). Though the name isn't original (DC laid claim to it way back in the Golden Age and, under the writing/editing of Roy Thomas made her an integral part of DC's history in the 80s
All-Star Squadron), the costume sure is (and it's a darn sight cooler than
Wonder Woman's new Jim Lee-designed outfit)! Thanks to Charlton's wacko coloring, Ditko's
Liberty Belle looked more pink, white, and blue than red, white, and blue--which is doubly weird since model agency entrepreneur Caroline Dean spent the whole story fighting Communists! Gill's story was a mish-mash of 60s-style "red smashing" and 70s style feminism and martial arts, which, coupled with Ditko's 60s-style fashions gives the whole thing a kind of ...I dunno...timeless look. I have no idea exactly what Steve and Joe had in mind when they created this esoteric-yet-entertaining feature for the back of
E-Man #5 (August 1974), but Ol' Groove would have loved to have seen more. From the Files of the Forgotten, here comes
Liberty Belle in her one-and-only appearance as she battles to defend "Freedom's Star"!
Let's kick things off with a weird little number incredibly illustrated by Steve Ditko. I dunno if Liberty Belle was created by Sturdy Steve, author/editor Joe Gill, or both--whoever it was must'a been getting in the Bicentennial mood (must've been all those Bicentennial Minutes CBS-TV was layin' on us at the time). Though the name isn't original (DC laid claim to it way back in the Golden Age and, under the writing/editing of Roy Thomas made her an integral part of DC's history in the 80s All-Star Squadron), the costume sure is (and it's a darn sight cooler than Wonder Woman's new Jim Lee-designed outfit)! Thanks to Charlton's wacko coloring, Ditko's Liberty Belle looked more pink, white, and blue than red, white, and blue--which is doubly weird since model agency entrepreneur Caroline Dean spent the whole story fighting Communists! Gill's story was a mish-mash of 60s-style "red smashing" and 70s style feminism and martial arts, which, coupled with Ditko's 60s-style fashions gives the whole thing a kind of ...I dunno...timeless look. I have no idea exactly what Steve and Joe had in mind when they created this esoteric-yet-entertaining feature for the back of E-Man #5 (August 1974), but Ol' Groove would have loved to have seen more. From the Files of the Forgotten, here comes Liberty Belle in her one-and-only appearance as she battles to defend "Freedom's Star"!
Hey Groovster!
ReplyDeleteI'll pass this onto Roy & see what he saids. I'll see if he has anything to add.
That new Kirby banner up top is freaking awesome to see and the Liberty Belle story was a nice holiday diversion too.
ReplyDeleteLiberty Belle (the Charlton version) is red, white and cool! Wish we could've seen more of this groovy character from Ditko, Gill & company.
ReplyDelete