What do you think?
The Misadventures of Jane
She was the world's first pin-up girl and glamour model. She teased, thrilled and titillated a generation of fighting men, her likeness graced bombers, tanks and tattoos and at the height of her popularity she was enjoyed by over four million readers a day!
The new Jane anthology, the first in 20 years collects, together a year's worth of classic cartoon strips as well as some extremely rare, full-color pin-up art not seen in print for over sixty years.
The new Jane anthology, the first in 20 years collects, together a year's worth of classic cartoon strips as well as some extremely rare, full-color pin-up art not seen in print for over sixty years.
- GenresComicsGraphic Novels
160 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2009
About the author
Norman Pett
6 books2 followersBorn in Birmingham, the son of John Ernest Pett, a jeweller, William Norman Pett fought in the First World War before being invalided out of the forces.
He then studied art at the Press Art School founded by Percy Bradshaw and a school that developed many famous cartoonists. Later, he taught art at the Mosley Road Junior Art School and at Birmingham Central School of Art.
In 1932 he set out to produce a comic strip that would rival the famous 'Pip, Squeak and Wilfred' and thus his legacy was launched with his cartoon heroine Jane. It began in the Daily Mirror on 5 December 1932 and was to continue unabated until 10 October 1959.
By that time Jane had become an international icon and one of the most popular cartoon characters of the 20th century. She often, in the performance of her patriotic duties of course, found herself in her underwear, complete with stockings, having her clothes blown off by bombs, exhibiting herself in her bath and other titillating activities, all of which further endeared her to her adoring public. And it was all done in the best possible taste!
For the first few years of Jane's existence, Pett's wife Mary modelled for him but eventually he started to use professional models instead, the most famous of whom was Mary's immediate successor, Chrystabel Leighton-Porter who Pett discovered working in a Birmingham telephone exchange. She most famously modelled for him during World War Two.
Until the war, Jane had a short daily funny story, but at the start of the war, she became a continuous story, this after JHG ("Don") Freeman had been hired by the Mirror to add some depth to the story lines. And Pett told Pathé News in 1943, "The turning point in Jane's career, when she became a success, was when we turned her from a daily joke into a continuous story. In other words, when she was stripped in both senses of the term."
Pett retired from drawing Jane after drawing her for 16 years in 1948, and the strip was continued by Michael Hubbard until its demise in 1959.
Gerry Wolstenholme
July 2015
He then studied art at the Press Art School founded by Percy Bradshaw and a school that developed many famous cartoonists. Later, he taught art at the Mosley Road Junior Art School and at Birmingham Central School of Art.
In 1932 he set out to produce a comic strip that would rival the famous 'Pip, Squeak and Wilfred' and thus his legacy was launched with his cartoon heroine Jane. It began in the Daily Mirror on 5 December 1932 and was to continue unabated until 10 October 1959.
By that time Jane had become an international icon and one of the most popular cartoon characters of the 20th century. She often, in the performance of her patriotic duties of course, found herself in her underwear, complete with stockings, having her clothes blown off by bombs, exhibiting herself in her bath and other titillating activities, all of which further endeared her to her adoring public. And it was all done in the best possible taste!
For the first few years of Jane's existence, Pett's wife Mary modelled for him but eventually he started to use professional models instead, the most famous of whom was Mary's immediate successor, Chrystabel Leighton-Porter who Pett discovered working in a Birmingham telephone exchange. She most famously modelled for him during World War Two.
Until the war, Jane had a short daily funny story, but at the start of the war, she became a continuous story, this after JHG ("Don") Freeman had been hired by the Mirror to add some depth to the story lines. And Pett told Pathé News in 1943, "The turning point in Jane's career, when she became a success, was when we turned her from a daily joke into a continuous story. In other words, when she was stripped in both senses of the term."
Pett retired from drawing Jane after drawing her for 16 years in 1948, and the strip was continued by Michael Hubbard until its demise in 1959.
Gerry Wolstenholme
July 2015
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
July 1, 2015
When Jane made her first appearance in the Daily Mirror on 5 December 1932 on a month's trial, artist Norman Pett would never have visualised the cartoon strip (and I use the latter word advisedly) would run for 27 years, finally ending on 10 October 1959. Pett himself gave up drawing the cartoon in 1948 and it was subsequently continued by Michael Hubbard.
Six years after Jane was launched the Daily Mirror chairman Harry Guy Bartholomew hired a young writer, JHG ("Don") Freeman to revamp the strip. Freeman introduced an ongoing continuity that turned Jane from a daily cartoon into a racy, adventure strip that made Jane one of the most significant cartoon characters of the 20th century. Accompanying her was Fritz, her pet dachshund, a breed of dogs favoured and bred by Pett.
Pett was quoted as saying, 'I always liked drawing girls. Girls are always popular and dogs are always popular. Some cartoonists draw horses and mice. You never get tired of girls or dogs. Put the two together I thought and it seems a sure winner.' He was not wrong.
Initially Pett's wife was the model for Jane until she took up golf quite seriously. And then Pett discovered, working in a Birmingham telephone exchange, Chrystabel Leighton-Porter, then a 23-year-old, eight-stone blonde who had once been chosen as 'Britain's perfect woman'. She was later succeeded by Betty Burton, who also acted as Pett's secretary, with Jane's shapely legs being modelled on those of Doris Keay, who also checked the scripts before they were sent to the Mirror.
Jane became an international star when World War II broke out as the cartoon was syndicated to millions of Americans and Canadians as well as going out to India, the Scandinavian countries and anywhere else where editors were partial to an attractive female who frequently found herself dishabille!
Jane was used as propaganda during the war and, amongst her other activities, she acted as a British agent in an airline factory and an ersatz queen in the Balkans. And in all these patriotic duties she frequently found herself down to her undies, managed to show her legs above the knee often, dress and undress on numerous occasions, have her clothes blown off by bombs and exhibit herself in her bath on a regular basis. These activities were what endeared her to her adoring public and, of course, they were all carried out in the best possible taste!.
This volume brings together a full year's continuous stories of Jane and also includes some extremely rare pin-up art of her and a full colour comic strip taken from a series of pin-up books called 'Jane's Journal', which was first published by Norman Pett between 1946 and 1948 and is here republished for the first time in over 60 years.
The whole certainly keeps the home fires burning and though Jane is simply a comic strip character, she does have plenty of sex appeal. No wonder that pin-ups of Jane have apparently been asked for by servicemen and civilians of every nationality - except Eskimos!
Six years after Jane was launched the Daily Mirror chairman Harry Guy Bartholomew hired a young writer, JHG ("Don") Freeman to revamp the strip. Freeman introduced an ongoing continuity that turned Jane from a daily cartoon into a racy, adventure strip that made Jane one of the most significant cartoon characters of the 20th century. Accompanying her was Fritz, her pet dachshund, a breed of dogs favoured and bred by Pett.
Pett was quoted as saying, 'I always liked drawing girls. Girls are always popular and dogs are always popular. Some cartoonists draw horses and mice. You never get tired of girls or dogs. Put the two together I thought and it seems a sure winner.' He was not wrong.
Initially Pett's wife was the model for Jane until she took up golf quite seriously. And then Pett discovered, working in a Birmingham telephone exchange, Chrystabel Leighton-Porter, then a 23-year-old, eight-stone blonde who had once been chosen as 'Britain's perfect woman'. She was later succeeded by Betty Burton, who also acted as Pett's secretary, with Jane's shapely legs being modelled on those of Doris Keay, who also checked the scripts before they were sent to the Mirror.
Jane became an international star when World War II broke out as the cartoon was syndicated to millions of Americans and Canadians as well as going out to India, the Scandinavian countries and anywhere else where editors were partial to an attractive female who frequently found herself dishabille!
Jane was used as propaganda during the war and, amongst her other activities, she acted as a British agent in an airline factory and an ersatz queen in the Balkans. And in all these patriotic duties she frequently found herself down to her undies, managed to show her legs above the knee often, dress and undress on numerous occasions, have her clothes blown off by bombs and exhibit herself in her bath on a regular basis. These activities were what endeared her to her adoring public and, of course, they were all carried out in the best possible taste!.
This volume brings together a full year's continuous stories of Jane and also includes some extremely rare pin-up art of her and a full colour comic strip taken from a series of pin-up books called 'Jane's Journal', which was first published by Norman Pett between 1946 and 1948 and is here republished for the first time in over 60 years.
The whole certainly keeps the home fires burning and though Jane is simply a comic strip character, she does have plenty of sex appeal. No wonder that pin-ups of Jane have apparently been asked for by servicemen and civilians of every nationality - except Eskimos!
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review