In Review: The Misadventures of Jane

The Book: Charts some of the cartoon (mis)adventures of Britain's first and best-loved World War 2 pin-up - the scintillating, blue eyed, blonde-haired, clothes-phobic cartoon legend that is Lady Jane Gay. This collection features two full strips (no pun intended) - "N.A.A.F.I. Say Die!" and "Behind the Front", first published during the second world war, and some bonus features from the magazine Jane's Journal, including pin up art and an eight page full colour adventure.

The Review: When we interviewed collection editor David Leach last month it was clear then that The Misadventures of Jane - hopefully the first of a series if sales are good - was a labour of love. We're not disappointed: not only does this hardback collection offer two full stories, including Jane's first full 'strip' for her thousands of adoring fans who followed her adventures avidly in the Daily Mirror; the bonus features, which include a delightful, whimsical colour section and a fascinating contemporary feature n the strip's creation are a delight.

Created by Norman Pett for the Daily Mirror in 1932, using Christabel Leighton-Porter as the model (named Chrystabel or Crystabel Leighton-Porter on some sites, if you're the kind of person who will go off looking), the ever patriotic Jane wasted no time in joining up following Britain's entry into the war. It is two of these adventures that take up the bulk of the book, offering a fun, often fast-moving and comedic adventure as Jane battles spies and Nazis in her own inimitable, often chaotic but much-loved fashion. Modern political correctness may balk at the star's regular state of undress, sometimes caused by the most unlikliest of circumstance, but Jane herself more than proves she's a match for any of the men she's pitted against, be it at a sleepy army camp where the local handyman looks like Hitler (because he had his moustache before the dictator and is damned if he's shaving it off) or on the front line in more, shall we say, active service.

Jane is fun, joyous whimsy, and a fine example of British newspaper adventure strip - a creation that held its four-million strong audience for over 25 years, the original strip running until October 1959, and reportedly provoked outrage against the newspaper that published it when it tried to axe it.

This first volume stories is well chosen, and the quality of reproduction is much better than their previous appearance some years back, in Jane At War, although of course there are the usual, inevitable problems from greyscale drop out and muddying of line due to the age of the source material. Perhaps some collector of the original strips will step forward and remedy this minor issue - which does not diminish the enjoyment of the stories - for future volumes.

The inclusion of items from the rare and much sought-after Jane's Journal is also welcome, as this material has not been widely circulated in print for over 60 years. The quality of these pages is superb and a real bonus.

While the content of the book is of course what fans will buy it for, there are some wonderful touches to the finished product: remove the dust jacket, for example, and you'll find a gorgeous embossed Jane image on the deep red book cover, a hidden delight.

As I said, it's clear that a lot of work has gone into making this a memorable and well-presented collection and the result is a fine book that will appeal to many newspaper strip fans, setting a benchmark for the the presentation of such material for the future. Let's hope further collections follow.


More Reviews:


• Lew Stringer


"Edited by David Leach, The Misadventures of Jane is another top quality book from Titan that is sure to appeal to aficionados of newspaper strips, glamour art and wartime memorabilia."

• Steve Holland on Bear Alley


"Overall it's a nice selection. Even the strips that have appeared before are reproduced better (and on far superior paper) than in the Jane at War collection. An excellent feature from the pages of the Canadian magazine The Maple Leaf (18, 19 & 24 July 1945) offers a detailed background to the strip and an excellent introduction to Pett and his work."

Web Links


• Let's Talk About Jane

An interview with collection editor David Leach

• Lambiek: Comic Creator Norman Pett


• Norman Pett at Work

Videos from Pathe, published on Bear Alley

• Wikipedia: Jane


• Go Comics: The Unforgettable Jane

• The original GI Jane


A good short biography of Christabel Leighton-Porter

• Daily Telegraph Obituary for Chrystabel Leighton-Porter: The Death of Jane, the model who helped win the war


• New York Times Obituary


"When she reflected on the comic strip's popularity, Mrs. Leighton-Porter chose not to dwell on the risque. 'I think it was because Jane was a bit girl-next-doorish, a bit of England for the boys,' she said. 'Jane became a cult thing really, and I think wives and girlfriends were glad that their boys had something to get a kick out of.'

• CNN Obituary

Let's Talk About Jane

Titan Books will be releasing The Misadventures of Jane, an eagerly-awaited collection of the classic strip and other material featuring the World War 2 pin up heroine, later this month.

Charting the cartoon (mis)adventures of Britain's first and best-loved World War 2 pin-up - the scintillating, blue eyed, blonde-haired, clothes-phobic cartoon legend that is Lady Jane Gay - the book, edited by David Leach, looks set to be one of the best archive titles of British newspaper comic strip in recent years.

Created by Norman Pett for the Daily Mirror in 1932, using Chrystabel Leighton-Porter as the model, the ever patriotic Jane wasted no time in joining up following Britain's entry into the war. Following a brief stint as a chauffeur, secretary and with the W.A.A.F.S. Jane finally joined Army Intelligence in 1941 where she stayed off and on for the remainder of the war battling 5th columnists and Nazi spies. The original strip ran until October 1959 and has been revived and adapted into other media several times, but it's Jane's war record that is remembered most fondly by her fans: there are even rumours that after the character first stripped in full for the first time in 1943, her actions inspired the British forces in North Africa to advance five miles!

downthetubes caught up with the ever-busy David Leach for a quick chat about a project that has proven a real labour of love...

downthetubes: If you’re talking to a comics fan who’s never heard of Jane and needs convincing to buy the collection, how would you pitch it?


David: Jane was the world’s first super-model, Page Three girl and pin-up. She predates the Vagas girls, Betty Gable, Rita Haworth and Lana Turner as the military’s pin-up of choice by a couple of years. Pilots painted her on the nose cones of their aircraft, she received wedding proposals, and van loads of knickers.

The Ministry of Defence recognised her importance as a troop morale boaster, so much so, advance copies of her adventures were printed so submariners could carry on reading her adventures, even at sea. She was read by over four million readers every day!

Jane was the envy of the American GI and the German high command and was the first cartoon character to go not only topless but nude in a national newspaper and yet she was never smutty or crude. Indeed there’s a strange chaste innocence about Jane and her penchant for losing her clothing at the drop of a hat.

downthetubes: How did you first come across the Jane strip (no double entendre intended...)?

David: As a lad aged 13 I brought the Jane at War book and read up about her. The then editor of the Daily Mirror was a friend of my parents and I talked to him about her. Then at Titan 33 years later I was made the editor of a new collection and started to do some new research.

downthetubes: What does this new Titan collection contain?

David: The great thing is, there’s nothing new in it! I went the other way and discovered material that’s not been seen in over 60 years!

I discovered that Norman Pett, the artist had published several full-colour, war-time booklets called Jane’s Journal filled with glorious pin up art and full colour cartoon strips. I got permission to reuse some stunning artwork and cartoon strips.

Then I found an article written for the Canadian Armed Forces newspaper – The Maple Leaf – written about Norman Pett and got permission from the Canadian government to reprint that! And illustrated it with photos of Norman at work in his studio, sketching his model, Christabel Leighton-Porter.

Jane in a strip published on 9th May 1945. © The Mirror

downthetubes: How long has it taken to put this collection together?


David: Over a year! We’ve tried really hard to find the best source of material to scan from and the amount of correction we did was at times nothing short of heroic.

downthetubes: Are any of Norman Pett’s family or descendants still alive? Did you contact them?

David: No, alas not, however we did talk to ‘Don’ Freeman’s (the writer’s) family. They pointed out that Don was abbreviated from Gordon and not Donald.

downthetubes: What was the hardest thing when it came to sourcing material?


David: Finding good quality strip material, we had to use existing scans of the strips and also the Mirror’s own impressive digital archive.

downthetubes: What’s your favourite element of the collection?

David: The pinup art: I was so proud to have discovered it, I hadn’t realised it existed, I’d seen black and white reprints in a book about Christabel and went on to do some digging. Also, visiting the Mirror’s comic archive in Watford, I sent three blissful days just reading old archived comic strip. It’s as close to heaven as I’ve ever gotten.

downthetubes: There’s a lot of Jane material that has never been collected – are there plans for further volumes?


David: Well, if the first book does well, then there’s more than enough material to do more volumes, I’ve recently found another period feature on Pett and Freeman which I’d love to reprint and I’ve got lots more lovely pin-up art to use up. We’ve only scratched the surface of Jane – she started in 1932 and went on until 1959! That’s 27 years of material to reprint. And not forgetting the fact she, came back in the 1980s, although in a far more raunchy strip.

downthetubes: If Jane returned today, which British comics artist would you hire to draw it?


David: Well, John M. Burns drew her in the 1980s and no one draws comely women quite like John.

Jane strips bare for the first time - a first for a national newspaper. © The Mirror.

downthetubes: Do you think it’s true the British army advanced five miles in North Africa after Jane stripped in full for the first time in the Mirror?


David: Of course I do! Jane was a thoroughly decent gal and would never lie!


• The Misadventures of Jane is on sale from 24th September.

• The Unforgettable Jane: online article on GoComics

Tube Surfing: 21 October 2008

• Titan is to release a collection of Jane strips from the Daily Mirror later this week and over on Bear Alley Steve Holland has cast his expert eye over the various stories which made up the strip’s run. The article includes a full listing of her stories.
Jane: The Misadventures of a Bright Young Thing is published by Titan Books on 24 October 2008. You can buy it from amazon.co.uk (ISBN 978-1848561670)

• (via Forbidden Planet International): Phill Jupitus continues his series talking to a variety of cartoonists for Radio 4, this week meeting Charles Peattie and Russell Taylor, creators of the financially obsessed City businessman Alex. As with the first two parts (with Gary Trudeau and the Cartoonists With Attitude group) there is also a permanent link. If you missed the show show or forget to use the BBC's "Listen Again feature" before it expires (it has a seven day window) you’re still covered.

• downthetubes is pleased to report that contributor John Freeman is now writng British comics news items for the SciFi Channel UK web site.

• The first issue of Liam Sharp's new project, Gears of War, has sold out! "I'm so delighted," the British artist says via his deviantart blog. "It's been an age since I last had a sell out comic - Death's Head Gold in fact, from '93 I think. Thankfully I hear Diamond are putting in an order for more, so if you missed it make sure to go and reserve a copy!"
There's a new site up with art for sale from Gears of War but Liam warns it's selling really fast. "My head is spinning!" he says. Check it out at: gowart.weebly.com

• Talking of Death's Head, Marvel UK fan blog It Came From Darkmoor has a detailed psoting on the appearance of Doctor Necker, creator of Minion aka Death's Head II in a recent issue of Marvel's Nova, written by Dan Abnett (also the writer of Death's Head II back in the 1990s) and Andy lanning. So, any chance Marvel is finally bringing Death's Head intot he mainstream Marvel Universe? Read the full post...