{"id":775,"date":"2010-04-05T13:46:31","date_gmt":"2010-04-05T18:46:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/?p=775"},"modified":"2021-01-26T17:31:50","modified_gmt":"2021-01-26T22:31:50","slug":"silver-age-comics-jimmy-olsen-the-roughneck-and-i-still-hate-lucy-lane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/?p=775","title":{"rendered":"Silver Age Comics: Jimmy Olsen the Roughneck (and I still hate Lucy Lane)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>by Robert Gillis 5\/2010<br \/>\n<em><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">What was so special about the silver age of comic books? Read about it <a href=\"http:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/?p=32\">HERE<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The amazing Adam at <a href=\"http:\/\/comicsmakenosense.blogspot.com\/\">Comics make No Sense<\/a> beat me to running this silver-age gem, but it&#8217;s been on my to do list for a year. The story is from Superman&#8217;s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #61, published in June, 1962, and while I agree with Adam that it is indeed, &#8220;&#8230;the most bitch-slap-centric, and therefore perhaps one of the most awesome, stories in the history of the medium,&#8221; there is SOOOOO much more to make fun of in this story, that it reads as almost a PARODY of silver age stories (and that my friends, takes work). So click on the panels to read them&nbsp; and then let&#8217;s get right to the comments.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06116.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-806 size-full\" title=\"jimmyolsen06116\" src=\"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06116.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1096\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06116.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06116-218x300.jpg 218w, https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06116-747x1024.jpg 747w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>For the eight hundred and ninth time, Lucy is standing up Jimmy.&nbsp; And she\u2019s not even gentle about it.&nbsp; Why?&nbsp; Because she is evil.<\/li>\n<li>Jimmy\u2019s freckles seem to grow in panel three.&nbsp; Suddenly&#8230; along came a spider to sit down beside her.&nbsp; Jimmy, Lucy just dumped you.&nbsp; It\u2019s a freaking spider.&nbsp; Let it scare her.&nbsp; Servers her right.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cBut as Jimmy lunges forward\u2026\u201d yes, LUNGES to get the big bad horribly scary spider\u2026<\/li>\n<li>Panel 5: Lucy doesn\u2019t say, \u201cHow dare you hit a woman!&nbsp; How dare you hit me!\u201d&nbsp; Nope, she says, &#8220;What makes you think you\u2019re the kind of He-Man who can push a girl around and get away with it?\u201d&nbsp; Again, Lucy is condoning the violence if the guy is a He-Man.&nbsp; Man, what a bad message for kids and adults.<\/li>\n<li>I think the use of \u201cApache\u201d is probably racist (or at least, offensive) these days.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cA likely story!\u201d they said that a lot in the Silver Age!<\/li>\n<li>One more thing &#8211;all the other people in the club are looking, but that\u2019s about it.&nbsp; I mean, Jimmy just HIT her, and they\u2019re just looking.&nbsp; Jerks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06117.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-807 size-full\" title=\"jimmyolsen06117\" src=\"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06117.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1111\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06117.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06117-216x300.jpg 216w, https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06117-737x1024.jpg 737w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The next day, Jimmy is wearing the same clothes but certainly &nbsp;not due to any walk of shame.&nbsp; Now, before Jimmy goes to the party, he had to do a story on \u201cGoofy\u2019s Ark,\u201d yet another example of the kind of hard-hitting journalism the Daily Planet was famous for back in the Silver Age.<\/li>\n<li>Notice the huge and obviously heavy anchor of death which hangs like a sword of Damocles over the ticket booth and the poor guy with the hat.&nbsp; Smart to place a HUGE ANCHOR on a ship that doesn\u2019t need one because it\u2019s not really a ship.<\/li>\n<li>Lawsuit waiting to happen.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cShy Shelia\u201d the ostrich &nbsp;has her head in the sand for 48 hours because she\u2019s ashamed of being associated with Jimmy Olsen.<\/li>\n<li>Keep an eye on \u201cSlap Pappy\u201d the kangaroo.&nbsp; Hi-Jinks will ensue, you betcha!<\/li>\n<li>There are so many dirty jokes possible about the anteater with the five foot tongue that we\u2019ll just move on.&nbsp; But you know you thought it and you should be ashamed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06118.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-808 size-full\" title=\"jimmyolsen06118\" src=\"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06118.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1098\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06118.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06118-218x300.jpg 218w, https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06118-746x1024.jpg 746w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>And now we\u2019re into the fun part of the story!&nbsp; The kangaroo is loose!&nbsp; The Goofy\u2019s Ark manager and no one else seems to notice, except for the doofus who points it out to his kid that Bappy is now following Jimmy but doesn\u2019t bother to tell Jimmy.<\/li>\n<li>Panel 2: Classic Silver Age.&nbsp; Jimmy doesn\u2019t notice that a %$#@^&amp;! KANGAROO jumped into the back of his convertible?&nbsp; How do you not notice that?!!!<\/li>\n<li>So the kangaroo follows Jimmy &#8212; who is so&nbsp; clueless he doesn\u2019t realize that a KANGAROO is shadowing him \u2013 all the way to Lois\u2019 apartment building.&nbsp; But it\u2019s understandable Jimmy doesn\u2019t notice, because he has such deep thoughts on his brain: \u201cWhy is she always attracted to good-looking guys with money?\u201d&nbsp; Jeepers, woman sure are mysterious.<\/li>\n<li>Also notice that Jimmy climbs the STAIRS, because if Jimmy got into an elevator &#8212; nah, he STILL wouldn&#8217;t notice the kangaroo.<\/li>\n<li>So we enter Lois\u2019 apartment and the kangaroo has somehow managed to mingle through the crowd (stopping only for some hors doeuvres and a Doctor Pepper) &nbsp;and make its way to Lois\u2019 bedroom, where he watches the party\u2026<\/li>\n<li>Panel 4: &nbsp;A rare occurrence of realism in a Silver Age comic book: An accurate depiction of EXACTLY &nbsp;how hard twenty and thirty something\u2019s partied in the era of drugs and free love: By playing children\u2019s birthday party games like pin the tail on the donkey.&nbsp; Man, those were wild times.<\/li>\n<li>Panel 5: Again, will keep things family friendly and ignore that Lucy is heading into a bedroom blindfolded.&nbsp; This was a different time, kids, and people thought differently back then.<\/li>\n<li>LOVE the kangaroo still hiding behind the door.<\/li>\n<li>Why in the name of God does Lois have 8&#215;10 head shots of her boss and co-workers in her BEDROOM?&nbsp; And they\u2019re signed, for crying out loud.&nbsp; The picture of Superman, I understand, but Perry White?&nbsp; And on the night stand\u2026 Jimmy?&nbsp; Could it be that it was the other Lane sister carrying a torch for&nbsp; certain bow-tied cub reporter?&nbsp; Er, no.<\/li>\n<li>Then again, we all keep 8&#215;10 glossies of our boss and co-workers in our bedroom, right?<\/li>\n<li>LOVE the kangaroo, still hiding behind the door.<\/li>\n<li>Oh\u2014notice that Lois follow Lucy into the room and is watching.&nbsp; So she should see what happens next, right?&nbsp; WRONG!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06119.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-809 size-full\" title=\"jimmyolsen06119\" src=\"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06119.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1105\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06119.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06119-217x300.jpg 217w, https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06119-741x1024.jpg 741w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cListen!&nbsp; Lucy\u2019s calling!&nbsp; Something must have happened!\u201d someone says.&nbsp; Gee, ya think??!!! Where the hell is Lois, who said she was watching?&nbsp; Did she lose interest in the game?<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;To Lois, from her pal, Jimmy Olsen.\u201d&nbsp; Geez.<\/li>\n<li>And the kangaroo quickly bounds out the window before anyone can see him!&nbsp; See also: Mr. Snuffleupagus.<\/li>\n<li>I\u2019m not surprised no one noticed Jimmy eating a sandwich in the kitchen \u2013 after all, this is the same group of reliable witnesses who failed to notice that a KANGAROO had followed Jimmy into the apartment.<\/li>\n<li>You\u2026 you\u2026 bully!&nbsp; No need to swear, Lucy.<\/li>\n<li>Lois has known Jimmy for years \u2013 does she stick up for him?&nbsp; Nope.&nbsp; Is she mad because her sister accused him of hitting her?&nbsp; Nope.&nbsp; Does Jimmy REALLY try to explain and defend himself?&nbsp; Nope. &nbsp; Useless.<\/li>\n<li>So the falsely accused girlfriend-batterer does what all girlfriend-batterer\u2019s do the next day \u2013 he travels to see one of his fan clubs, where all his admirers also wear bow-ties just like he does.<\/li>\n<li>Mark Waid once pondered, how bad does a kid\u2019s self-esteem have to be that his hero is Jimmy Olsen?<\/li>\n<li>So wearing the same clothes for a third day, Jimmy cleverly shows us that he has masks of his co-workers \u2013 just like all normal people do.<\/li>\n<li>Anyway, I think it\u2019s interesting that Jimmy has a Perry White mask that has a cigar sticking out of the mouth, a Superman mask, and strangest of all, what appears to be a\u2026 wait for it\u2026 Jimmy Olsen mask.&nbsp; Because there are so many situations where you might have to disguise yourself\u2026 as yourself.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06120.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-810 size-full\" title=\"jimmyolsen06120\" src=\"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06120.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1092\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06120.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06120-219x300.jpg 219w, https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06120-750x1024.jpg 750w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ha, Ha!&nbsp; A Jimmy in the box!&nbsp; Who would have thought of that?&nbsp; Answer: EXACTLY NO ONE.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cHooray for Olsen!\u201d&nbsp; Um, why?<\/li>\n<li>So Jimmy\u2019s groupies see him off at the airport, and of course, Lucy is there, because when you\u2019re assaulted by a kangaroo you go right back to work the next day.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI never struck you!\u201d&nbsp; (Except for that time at the club and the table slipped while I was brushing away a spider.)<\/li>\n<li>So Jimmy handcuffs himself.&nbsp; Kink aside, doesn\u2019t that seem like a bad idea if something happens to the plane and you\u2019re HANDCUFFED while it\u2019s crashing? (See also Kate Austin in the \u201cLost\u201d pilot).<\/li>\n<li>I\u2019m betting at least half the stuff in Jimmy\u2019s boxes violate TSA rules.<\/li>\n<li>Panel 5: Thank you, Basil Exposition.<\/li>\n<li>Panel 6: Thank you, Basil Exposition.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06121.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-811 size-full\" title=\"jimmyolsen06121\" src=\"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06121.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1101\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06121.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06121-217x300.jpg 217w, https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06121-744x1024.jpg 744w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>So Jimmy misinterprets Lucy\u2019s pulse-taking and gets up \u2013 carrying the Jimmy-in-the-Box.&nbsp; Um, Why?&nbsp; Well, to make the next panel possible!<\/li>\n<li>Panel 3: Best\u2026 Slap\u2026 Ever.<\/li>\n<li>What would make everyone really happy at this point is if Jimmy would be taken into federal custody for assaulting a stewardess.<\/li>\n<li>Look Lucy, I\u2019m handcuffed!&nbsp; So, I, ummm\u2026 So I couldn\u2019t have\u2026 Um\u2026 {cough} Loser {cough}<\/li>\n<li>Panel 5: Does anyone say \u201cBah!\u201d anymore?<\/li>\n<li>Panels 5 and 6 \u2013 here\u2019s a travel tip: The next time you bring one of the most poisonous, deadliest snakes in the world on a plane, maybe write \u201cDANGER!&nbsp; DEADLY SNAKE\u201d on the side of the box, and by the way, um, pack them in something stronger than cardboard!<\/li>\n<li>Hmmmm&#8230; &#8220;Snakes on a Plane.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Panel 6: Thank you, Basil Exposition.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cIt\u2019ll strike in the direction of any high-pitched sound!\u201d&nbsp; Good thing we\u2019re at a nice, quiet AIRLINE RUNWAY!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06122.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-812 size-full\" title=\"jimmyolsen06122\" src=\"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06122.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1101\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06122.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06122-217x300.jpg 217w, https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/jimmyolsen06122-744x1024.jpg 744w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Panel 1: Jimmy: \u201cFinally, a REAL REASON\u201d to smack Lucy!<\/li>\n<li>Doesn\u2019t the snake guy have something that can help him contain the snake, like a hook, or something?<\/li>\n<li>Why didn\u2019t Jimmy just call Superman as soon as the snake broke loose?&nbsp; Ohhh, right, because this way it funnier.&nbsp; Sigh.<\/li>\n<li>Swoosh!&nbsp; Superman saves the day in his tiny cape, and commends Jimmy for smacking Lucy.&nbsp; Just wrong.<\/li>\n<li>And now everything is fine!&nbsp; Lucy conveniently forgets the spider slap, the gut-punch from Bappy the kangaroo, and the Jimmy-in-the-box.&nbsp; Sure, she has a massive shiner, a broken jaw and probably some cracked ribs, but everything is just swell now.<\/li>\n<li>And I\u2019m sure the people in the Apache Dance Club, the guests at Lois&#8217; party, Lois, the fan club at the air port, and the entire flight crew will all understand that it was all a harmless misunderstanding.&nbsp; Yeah, right.<\/li>\n<li>Nothing like a near death experience to help you get past days of false accusations and seething hatred.<\/li>\n<li>And so concludes this Silver Age story of Lucy, who is certainly bi-polar, and Jimmy Olsen, a passive-aggressive batterer.<\/li>\n<li>Um, how exactly did this get past the Comics Code Authority?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I once heard a DC comics artist say that a lot of the stories of this era were written after three-martini lunches.&nbsp; I believe him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Robert Gillis 5\/2010 What was so special about the silver age of comic books? Read about it HERE The amazing Adam at Comics make No Sense beat me to running this silver-age gem, but it&#8217;s been on my to do list for a year. The story is from Superman&#8217;s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #61, published [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[155],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-comicbookhumor"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=775"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7196,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775\/revisions\/7196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}