Mizzelle's Menagerie

Let’s Discuss Comics: Spider Widow

revsoncorp:

I’d like to share with the Tumblr-verse my favorite obscure Golden Age character, the Spider Widow! Wealthy and beautiful sportswoman Dianne Grayton fights crime, usually Axis spy plots, in the guise of a wicked old witch.  At her behest are only brains, athleticism, and an endless supply of trained black widow spiders!  No wonder they call her “the Grandmother of Terror!”

Frankly, I adore the Spider Widow. Her strips are short, make effective use of horror tropes, and even include a fair about of meta-commentary on Golden Age cliches. And that character design! In a sea of beautiful debutantes who fight crime in swimsuits, the Widow really stands out with her unique, scary, and not-at-all-practical design. (We here at Revson Corp. are particularly fond of heroines who carry on the good fight despite being badly dressed for it.)

The Spider Widow’s adventures were written by Frank Borth, and they were published in Feature Comics (a Quality Comics magazine) from #57 to #71. DC purchased publishing rights for all the old Quality characters decades ago, but they never made use of the Spider Widow, even though Feature Comics headliner Doll-Man has been in the DCU ever since the first Crisis.

Her Golden Age adventures are public domain, and presumably the name could be used by anyone now (even if DC owns the rights, they are unlikely to pursue them). However, with the DCU rebooting, we may yet see a Grayton decedent assuming the mask of the Widow. Quality heroine Lady Luck is in the new Justice League after decades of anonymity, and though she has thus far remained in golden age obscurity, the Spider Widow is exactly the kind of oddball that Geoff Johns and Grant Morrison have reinvented for the modern DCU time and time again.

Reprinted in this post is the entirety of Dianne’s first adventure, ripped from the pages of Feature Comics #57  (1942), with added commentary by yours truly. Enjoy!

(The images are distored on Tumblr. Click through for full-size!)

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