''Jane'' is a
comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
created and drawn by
Norman Pett
Norman Pett (12 April 1891, Kings Norton, Worcestershire – 16 February 1960, Sussex) was an English artist who, in 1932, created the famous cartoon character ''Jane'' for the ''Daily Mirror''.
Early life
Pett was born on 12 April 1891 in Kin ...
exclusively for the British
tabloid newspaper ''
The Daily Mirror
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'' from 5 December 1932 to 10 October 1959.
Creation
Jane was born when artist
Norman Pett
Norman Pett (12 April 1891, Kings Norton, Worcestershire – 16 February 1960, Sussex) was an English artist who, in 1932, created the famous cartoon character ''Jane'' for the ''Daily Mirror''.
Early life
Pett was born on 12 April 1891 in Kin ...
made a wager that he could create a comic strip as popular to adults as the strip ''
Pip, Squeak and Wilfred
''Pip, Squeak and Wilfred'' was a British strip cartoon published in the ''Daily Mirror'' from 1919 to 1956 (with a break c. 1940–1950), as well as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' in the early years. It was conceived by Bertram Lamb, who took the role ...
'' was to children. Originally Pett's wife Mary modelled for him, but in the late 1930s, she abandoned modelling in pursuit of
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
. Pett then teamed up with
Chrystabel Leighton-Porter
Chrystabel Jane Leighton-Porter (born Chrystabel Drury on 11 April 1913 – 6 December 2000) was the model for the Second World War ''Daily Mirror'' newspaper cartoon heroine ''Jane'' which boosted morale during the Blitz. Prime Minister of the ...
whom he met while she was modelling for a class in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
in 1939.
Characters and story
Originally entitled ''Jane's Journal, Or the Diary of a Bright Young Thing'', the salacious comic strip featured the misadventures of the title
ingenue. The heroine had a habit of frequently (and most often inadvertently) losing her clothes. Her intimate confidant was a pet
dachshund named Fritz. Her full name was Jane Gay, a play on the name
Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey ( 1537 – 12 February 1554), later known as Lady Jane Dudley (after her marriage) and as the "Nine Days' Queen", was an English noblewoman who claimed the throne of England and Ireland from 10 July until 19 July 1553.
Jane was ...
.
The strip became very popular during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and was considered morale-boosting, inspiring a similar American version,
Milton Caniff
Milton Arthur Paul Caniff (; February 28, 1907 – April 3, 1988) was an People of the United States, American cartoonist famous for the ''Terry and the Pirates (comic strip), Terry and the Pirates'' and ''Steve Canyon'' comic strips.
Biography
...
's comic strip ''
Male Call
''Male Call'' is an American comic strip series created and drawn by Milton Caniff on a volunteer basis, exclusively for US military publications during World War II. The strip began January 24, 1943. Caniff continued ''Male Call'' until seven ...
''. Until 1943, Jane rarely stripped beyond her undergarments, but then she made a fully nude appearance when getting out of a bath and clumsily falling into the middle of a crowd of British soldiers.
Norman Pett's assistant Michael Hubbard continued, beginning in 1948, to develop the cartoon's original storyline until ending in 1959 – with charmer Georgie giving Jane a happy marriage and ending the series. The ''Mirror'' tried to revive the character on several occasions. One such comic strip was ''Jane, Daughter of Jane'', who was apparently the original's grown-up offspring, but she lacked her mother's charm and innocence. Another attempt was made during the 1980s.
Recurring characters
*Jane Gay – heroine and 'Queen of the Undie-World'.
*Fritz – Jane's faithful
dachshund.
*Georgie Porgie – Jane's boyfriend (later husband).
*The Colonel – Jane's commanding officer and friend.
*Lola Pagola – Jane's arch-enemy, also a
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
spy.
*Thelma – The Colonel's demanding and suspicious wife.
*Dinah – Jane's good friend. Dinah works with
NAAFI
The Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI ) is a company created by the British government on 9 December 1920 to run recreational establishments needed by the British Armed Forces, and to sell goods to servicemen and their families. It runs ...
.
Jane visits America
During 1945,
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...
attempted to distribute ''Jane'' in the United States. However, the nudity was too much for prudish American audiences, and the attempt ceased during 1946.
Other comics in the tradition of, and possibly inspired by, ''Jane'' include ''Sally the Sleuth'', ''
Male Call
''Male Call'' is an American comic strip series created and drawn by Milton Caniff on a volunteer basis, exclusively for US military publications during World War II. The strip began January 24, 1943. Caniff continued ''Male Call'' until seven ...
'' and ''
Little Annie Fanny
''Little Annie Fanny'' is a comics series by Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder. It appeared in 107 two- to seven-page episodes in ''Playboy'' magazine from October 1962 to September 1988. ''Little Annie Fanny'' is a humorous satire of contempora ...
''.
Adaptations
The strip inspired an eponymous stage play during the 1940s, with Leighton-Porter playing the character of Jane (see Jane on Stage). Chrystabel also featured in a 1949 movie, ''
The Adventures of Jane
''The Adventures of Jane'' is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Edward G. Whiting. It is the film version of the stage show based on the comic strip '' Jane'' originally created by Norman Pett. It was written by Alfred Goulding and Con We ...
'', directed by
Edward G. Whiting. A 1987 movie, ''
Jane and the Lost City
''Jane and the Lost City'' is a 1987 UK film, based on the British newspaper strip '' Jane'' by Norman Pett. An adventure comedy set during World War II, the film was directed by Terry Marcel, and stars Kirsten Hughes in the title role, Sam Jone ...
'', starring
Kirsten Hughes in the title role, was directed by Terry Marcel.
A
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
was made by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in the title role. The first season was titled simply ''Jane'', while the second was titled ''Jane in the Desert''.
Despite the early evening scheduling slot, the show was decidedly risqué with Jane continuously stripping down to her underwear, including stockings and suspenders. At the end of the second series' closing episode she appeared topless momentarily. Despite considerable publicity in the press at the time of its original screening, the show became somewhat obscure and has never had a commercial video or DVD release. The show was briefly revived during 1985 as a three-part sequence shown over a single morning on Breakfast Television but without Glynis Barber in the main role.
act as the character of Jane. In the war, it was compulsory for actors and entertainers to join
) whose job it was to organize entertainment for the troops, and although Chrystabel's audience were mainly soldiers, she was never asked by ENSA to perform on the front line. Chrystabel explained:
The content of the act varied due to restrictions set in by local censors.
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* . Reprints 531 daily strips from October 1943 to June 1945.
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* with the editor of the 2009 "Misadventures of Jane" collection.