DC Female Heroes - then and now.

[caj]

If you look back to the 1960s or 1970s and compare the most popular female DC heroes then with now, what differences would we see.

Here (in no particular order) is who I remember being popular in the 1970s (add any I missed): Who would be the top females today?

Wonder Woman
Supergirl
Batgirl
Black Canary
Saturn Girl
Phantom Girl
Hawkgirl
Mera
Zatanna
Power Girl
Huntress

[MajorHoy]

. . . Here (in no particular order) is who I remember being popular in the 1970s (add any I missed): Who would be the top females today?

Wonder Woman
Supergirl
Batgirl
Black Canary
Saturn Girl
Phantom Girl
Hawkgirl
Mera
Zatanna
Power Girl
Huntress

Thorn should be on there; she had a back-up series in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane in the early 1970s.

-------------------------------------------------

[MajorHoy]

Also, here's the cover for Adventure Comics #416 (March 1972), a.k.a. DC 100 Page Super Spectacular #10, which was a thick all-reprint issue:


And on the inside back cover they listed who was on the wraparound outsider cover:

[Mai Zen]

If you look back to the 1960s or 1970s and compare the most popular female DC heroes then with now, what differences would we see.

Here (in no particular order) is who I remember being popular in the 1970s (add any I missed): Who would be the top females today?

Wonder Woman
Supergirl
Batgirl
Black Canary
Saturn Girl
Phantom Girl
Hawkgirl
Mera
Zatanna
Power Girl
Huntress

I would say the list from You would be longer today. We could add:
-Starfire
-Raven
-Cassandra Cain
-Jessica Cruz
-Batwoman
-Arguably Harley perhaps?

Now what I hope is that DC could develop their female heroes to be more famous in General Audiences level and not just on comic book fandom. I do wish we could see more DC Female heroes that instantly recognizable to general folks like Lara Croft, Hermione Granger, Princess Leia, and the alike

[Jim Kelly]

In the 1960s and early 1970s, National Periodicals had a big line of romance comics. These appealed mainly to girls and women and I avoided them--but I really wish I had got them--Gene Colan, John Romita, Bob Oksner! At least if my sisters had bought them, they probably would have given me them second hand--but they were mainly into Harlequins and historical romances (Jean Plaidy)--shucks!

My understanding is that romances made a lot of money for the publisher. Which makes sense--they had this whole female market to draw on. But they let them die off--maybe because of low sales or maybe because the male editors just didn't understand them.

Lois Lane and Wonder Woman (also Supergirl in ACTION COMICS and ADVENTURE COMICS) were often lumped in with the romance comics market--which explains why so many of their stories were nothing more than soap opera theatrics. The romance comics themselves were anthologies by default, but there were several ongoing series in the different titles.

Mary Robins, R.N. (with beautiful Romita art) was in YOUNG LOVE. Bob Oksner created April O'Day for GIRLS' LOVE STORIES, about a young starlet (possibly Angel O'Day's sister--they both had white hair). There was an ongoing soap opera called "Reach for Happiness," in SECRET HEARTS, set in the fictional town of Danville Corners, with art by Gene Colan. And there were other ongoing features like those.

And speaking of Bob Oksner, we can't forget that Angel O'Day had her own comic called ANGEL & THE APE. As the series went on "& THE APE" was diminished in importance until the final issue (7) just had MEET ANGEL on the cover. That went along with a whole explosion of teen humour in the late 1960s, meant to capitalize on the popularity of Archie comics. Another series was DEBBI'S DATES (which sounds a lot like A DATE WITH JUDY, a very long lasting D.C. title based on a radio show, movie and T.V. show). And other teen humour comics featured leading ladies. On top of that were the other types of humour comics--obviously THE ADVENTURES OF JERRY LEWIS (co-starring Witchy) and BOB HOPE (co-starring Zombia Ghastly), but also THE INFERIOR FIVE (Dumb Bunny) and Silver Shannon in "The Maniaks" (SHOWCASE--later on in POWER COMPANY).

For more regular action-adventure there's Alanna of Rann, Dolphin (SHOWCASE), Lilith (TEEN TITANS) and STARFIRE (not that one and not that other one) created by David Michelinie and Mike Vosburg. Also Lady Cop (1ST ISSUE SPECIAL) and Black Orchid (ADVENTURE COMICS/THE PHANTOM STRANGER). If not for the Implosion, we could include Vixen in this but she was forced to wait until the 1980s for her official debut (although house ads for her cancelled comic did appear in 1978).

P.S. Other than Black Orchid, I didn't get into all the horror comics women--Eve, the Three Witches in THE WITCHING HOUR, Madame Xanadu . . . and then there's Lady Blackhawk and Mademoiselle Marie in the war comics and the women in the westerns . . .

[Jim Kelly]

In my haste to respond, I stupidly overlooked two of my all time favourites: RIMA, THE JUNGLE GIRL (adapted from the novel GREEN MANSIONS)--a beautiful series with amazing Nestor Redondo art, but short lived, although she did later show up on SUPER FRIENDS--and Sugar Plumm, co-star of the long running SUGAR AND SPIKE by Sheldon Mayer. It was only cancelled because Mayer's eyesight was failing, but that didn't stop him from creating Black Orchid for ADVENTURE COMICS--later, after eye surgery, Shelly returned to Sugar Plum and Spike Wilson and produced more comics for the export market--which were later published in digests.

On the Western front are Madame .44 and Cinnamon. Fresh from her gig on Saturday morning T.V. (paired with the SHAZAM! series and played by Joanna Cameron), Andrea Thomas starred in her own comic book, THE MIGHTY ISIS. Among the New Gods, we shouldn't forget Big Barda--a commanding presence in MISTER MIRACLE.

There were several women and men introduced as supporting characters in the Superman books during the 1970s, but Melba Manton has the distincton of appearing twice in her own feature--once in SUPERMAN'S GIRL FRIEND, LOIS LANE, and again in SUPERGIRL.

Kathy Kane did return as Batwoman and Betty Kane as Bat-Girl. This didn't go over so well for Kathy as Denny O'Neil hired a hitman to kill her off; however Betty benefitted by stealing Jimmy Olsen's Flamebird codename (or actually Ak-Var's by then) and restyling herself as Bette (which, of course, means beast in French--she could have called herself Bête Noire).

[caj]

I think you'd have to add Catwoman to today's list, as she surely was NOT a heroine back in the day.

Troia
Starfire
Raven
Omen
The female Green Lanterns
Stargirl
Hawkgirl (Kendra)

[Vakanai]

What is Harley's status right now, villain hero antihero antivillain? Because she's one of the most popular and probably the most popular in whatever category she falls under - and whether some fans like it or not I think DC often pushes her in a more heroic antihero or at least antivillain role in outside media, many view her (rightly or wrongly) as a hero.

[Jim Kelly]

I think you'd have to add Catwoman to today's list, as she surely was NOT a heroine back in the day.

In the 1970s, Selina Kyle straddled the line between villain and hero. She along with most of the traditional costumed villains was retired for a bit in the Julie Schwartz Batman comics of the early 1970s--but she had a two-issue team-up with Diana Prince (in WONDER WOMAN 201 and 202), where she was more of an anti-hero. Because Bruce was in love with her, Selina never went that far in her misdeeds and at heart could be a good person, someone he could save from a life of crime. I think many readers really did think of Catwoman as a hero. Not to mention, in the early 1950s, she did come over to the good side and become Batman's partner. Then, abruptly in her last two stories, she went back to crime before being taken away by the Comics Code. By 1979, Selina was back to being a sometime partner with the Batman, while still being in a grey area. I think that's the best position for Catwoman--she shouldn't be a law-abiding hero--she should be somewhat shady, but with her own moral code.

Troia
Starfire
Raven
Omen
The female Green Lanterns
Stargirl
Hawkgirl (Kendra)

Now you're confusing me because, these were all characters that turned up in the 1980s or later. Whereas you wanted 1960s and 1970s women in your original post. Yes Troia was the new-fangled version of Donna Troy, but she wasn't called that in the 1970s. And bleh O bleh Men bleh (excuse me while I throw up) that's a latter day codename for Lilith. But the whole point of Lilith and Mal in the original TEEN TITANS run was that they were regular folks--not super-heroes, not codenames, not costumes--they were themselves and they were there to ground the Titans who had gone through a bad experience and were trying to find a sense of normalcy in their lives.

Katma Tui did feature in some Green Lantern stories in the 1960s and 1970s, but she didn't get a big profile until after Crisis in THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS--which is when other female Green Lanterns started to show up.

[caj]

Please read the OP again. I listed some female heroes from the 1960s and 70s and then asked who would be some female heroes of today.

[Jim Kelly]

Please read the OP again. I listed some female heroes from the 1960s and 70s and then asked who would be some female heroes of today.

Oh, well, that's different. Never mind. [As Emily Litella would say.]

[Stanlos]

If you look back to the 1960s or 1970s and compare the most popular female DC heroes then with now, what differences would we see.

Here (in no particular order) is who I remember being popular in the 1970s (add any I missed): Who would be the top females today?

Wonder Woman
Supergirl
Batgirl
Black Canary
Saturn Girl
Phantom Girl
Hawkgirl
Mera
Zatanna
Power Girl
Huntress

If we go by the few all femme stories from Pre-Crisis, the roster was:

WW
Zatanna
Black Canary
Starfire
Wonder Girl
Raven
Supergirl
Phantom Lady
Power Girl
Huntress
Madame Xanadu

The most used Earths from that unusual and superawesome event were Earth 1, Earth 2, Earth X, and Earth Immortality.

Fast forward to Post Crisis, the major femmes seemed to be:

WW
Donna Troy
Power Girl
Vixen
Kimiyo Hoshi
Black Canary
Mary Marvel
Fire
Ice

Crimson Fox was in the all femme JL event before the last one but I don't even know what her deal is nowadays. Same for Argent and Prizm of an era of Titans, and the YJ femmes also seem lost to us. Hawkgirl and Hawkwoman are similarly off a bit but Hawkgirl seems to be better off than Hawkwoman.

Because "today" is still being defined or whatever it is kind of hard to say. Certainly, Jessica Cruz would have to be among the most popular femmes given how her star has soared.

[Digifiend]

Mary Marvel was around in the 70s, she was just an AU character until Crisis. As such she could've been on the list in the first post. Donna Troy also should've been there, who was part of the Titans from 1965 onwards. Bumblebee was also around in the 70s Teen Titans comics, and Lilith Clay, though she wasn't called Omen yet.

As for today, you can add Darla Shazam (starred in two movies after all), Miss Martian (was a main character in a cartoon), Steel (Natasha Irons, currently in two comics and slightly renamed to Natalie in Superman & Lois), the two female Green Lanterns (Jessica Cruz, who's been in multiple cartoons, and Jo Mullein, who was one of the leads in the GL comic before the current one), Raven, Starfire (New Teen Titans was the top selling title of it's era and they gained more fans thanks to the cartoon), Hawkgirl (was on the last two Justice League rosters and currently has a solo), Jesse Quick (who's been in Titans, JLA and JSA), Avery Ho (the female Flash, from New Super-Man's Justice League of China).

And yeah, Catwoman and Harley Quinn should be included.

[kcekada]

[QUOTE=MajorHoy;6538345]Thorn should be on there; she had a back-up series in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane in the early 1970s.

Those were great stories and should be collected! I can't help but feel if she was a Marvel character, she'd have become more successful. Recent attempts to revive her have all fallen flat.

[MajorHoy]

If we go by the few all femme stories from Pre-Crisis, . . .

But you may be moving the bar a bit.

Original post said:

If you look back to the 1960s or 1970s and compare the most popular female DC heroes then with now, what differences would we see...

By extending it to "pre-Crisis" you've pushed things out to 1985, and several ladies who have some popularity were introduced towards the early 1980s such as Starfire (Koriand'r), Raven, Katana, Jade, and several more, not to mention the Dinah Laurel Lance version of Black Canary was established in the early 1980s.