Given Wonder Woman's status as the "first female superhero," why isn't Black/Miss Fury as popular?

[The S0/\/\@7ic Si/\/\[]Dl370n]

This has been eating at the back of my mind for some time. People often cite Wonder Woman as the first female superhero, but Miss Fury debuted half a year before her.

Not only did she debut first, she's also the first superhero created by a female creator.

http://www.salon.com/2011/07/26/trina_robins_imprint/

That's pretty huge in itself, isn't it?

So, with all that said, why didn't she take off like Wonder Woman did?

[Justice Prince]

Technically wasn't Bullet Girl actually the first female superhero? She was just a sidekick though so I could see why people wouldn't count her. Miss Fury looks like and interesting character and I'd love to get a look at some of her old comics some day. My only guess as to who Wonder Woman took off instead was that it had the patriotism thing going for it. The fact that it was written by a man might have helped too.

[AmiMizuno]

This has been eating at the back of my mind for some time. People often cite Wonder Woman as the first female superhero, but Miss Fury debuted half a year before her.

Not only did she debut first, she's also the first superhero created by a female creator.

http://www.salon.com/2011/07/26/trina_robins_imprint/

That's pretty huge in itself, isn't it?

So, with all that said, why didn't she take off like Wonder Woman did?

Sometimes it's the timing and the story. Diana had somehow got the appeal of the popular. Many female and male characters in the golden age have been forgotten. Yea Miss Fury had half a year but I think the war had lot more affected on Diana's character.

[Justice Prince]

I think also the reason why she might not often be counted as the first female superhero is that she only appeared in newspaper strip format as far as I can tell.

[Pinsir]

First does not mean most popular/best/famous, etc. There was a superhero before Batman called 'The Bat' and he was pretty much the same.

Also the original WW is unequivocally one of the best Golden Age comics. The book just had much better talent. Same with why Batman probably did better than The Bat.

[7-Love]

Don't forget about Nelvana of the Northern Lights. She was one of the first superheroines before Wonder Woman too.

[daBronzeBomma]

First means nothing if you can't sustain it.

[Mark]

Also Miss Fury wasn't really a crime fighter, she just happened to keep stumbling into adventures.

[The S0/\/\@7ic Si/\/\[]Dl370n]

Is there a good gauge as to what the critical response to both stories were at the time?

Is it also possible the fact that there was a female creator involved might have potentially held the character back?

[daBronzeBomma]

Is it also possible the fact that there was a female creator involved might have potentially held the character back?

Possible? Sure, just about ANYTHING is possible, after all.

Likely? Probably not.

Black Fury/Miss Fury was created by artist June Mills as a comic-STRIP character in April 1941. June Mills published under the gender-obfuscating pseudonym Tarpé Mills. Black Fury looked an awful lot like some later version of Catwoman. Her comic strip ran from 1941 - 1952, so can't really say she didn't get a good run.

Chances are that the combination of Wonder Woman's later success as a hero and Catwoman's later success as a villain might have made her appear somewhat redundant. Also, there was another, unrelated male Black Fury comic-BOOK character John Perry also published in April 1941, forcing her name change to Miss Fury. And even a THIRD, unrelated Black Fury published in May 1941 named Rex King. Her name was a liability from the beginning.

Also, unlike other superheroes, she didn't revive after "Dr." Fredric Wertham purge of superheroes in the 1950s.

[The S0/\/\@7ic Si/\/\[]Dl370n]

The examples of Batman and the Bat, plus the success of later characters with similar designs (i.e. Catwoman), have me wondering.

Might Wonder Woman and Batman's larger success also have to do with with having the backing of larger publishing and media companies?

[Justice Prince]

The examples of Batman and the Bat, plus the success of later characters with similar designs (i.e. Catwoman), have me wondering.

Might Wonder Woman and Batman's larger success also have to do with with having the backing of larger publishing and media companies?

DC did have a tenancy to hinder other comic companies as much as they could. So they could have had a part why the character didn't survive.

[Darius]

This has been eating at the back of my mind for some time. People often cite Wonder Woman as the first female superhero, but Miss Fury debuted half a year before her.

Not only did she debut first, she's also the first superhero created by a female creator.

http://www.salon.com/2011/07/26/trina_robins_imprint/

That's pretty huge in itself, isn't it?

So, with all that said, why didn't she take off like Wonder Woman did?

There are like 3 books on this subject. It boils down to WW being well received by young boys. She wasn't a typical female character of the times and people found that appealing. Of course the not so subtle sexuality of the character probably helped quite a bit too. She was drawn in an old fashioned Victorian pornographic style, by an artist who came from a more mature background. He was like 30 years older than his contemporaries in comic books.