This is GIRL. It was launched in 1951 as a sister title to EAGLE, and I have a lot of love for it. Comics of this period are endlessly fascinating in how they look outward; the world was there for the taking, and this was a generation that both would – and could – take full advantage of it.
Launched by Marcus Morris who, incidentally, turns out to have been responsible for launching the British version of COSMO (!), GIRL told the stories of girls and women who did great things. It was a mixture of comic, short-story, factual and ‘how to’ pieces, and was regularly collected in numbered editions. Number five, for example, includes such delightful things as ‘how to make a Tyrolean belt’, ‘Christmas in the Land of Pinatas and Posatas’ and my little heart exploding of joy.
As great at these are (and they are, trust me), it was Three Sisters of Haworth that caught my eye. The story is by Pamela Green and Kenneth Gravtt, and drawn by Eric Dadswell. I’m guessing you already know who the three sisters of Haworth are, but the subtitle will give it away if you don’t: The True Story of the Brontës Who Wrote Some of Our Finest Literature. Note that our there. It’s often in the small detail that good work shows itself: these stories are collective. I’m part of it. You’re part of it.
Three Sisters of Haworth is a fairly standard recollection of the Brontës lives. It steps up, however, in the following panels:
How absolutely amazing is that? It’s so brilliant. It captures the spirit of Wuthering Heights (a book which I reviewed here) and also tells your young readers to fight for their dreams. I would frame it if I could. I probably will. It’s outstanding work.
If you’re interested, you can see a few more panels from the comic here, and if this sort of thing floats your boat, the annuals themselves are regularly available on the second hand market (and not for that much either!).
Daisy May Johnson 