''Jane'' is a

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

created and drawn by Norman Pett exclusively for the British

tabloid Tabloid may refer to: * Tabloid journalism, a type of journalism * Tabloid (newspaper format), a newspaper with compact page size ** Chinese tabloid * Tabloid (paper size), a North American paper size * Sopwith Tabloid The Sopwith Tabloid an ...

newspaper '' The Daily Mirror'' from 5 December 1932 to 10 October 1959.

Creation

Jane was born when artist Norman Pett 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 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 We ...

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 The dachshund ( or ; German: " badger dog"), also known as the wiener dog, badger dog, and sausage dog, is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The dog may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired, and comes in a variety o ...

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 opposi ...

and was considered morale-boosting, inspiring a similar American version, Milton Caniff's comic strip '' Male Call''. 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

. *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, editori ...

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'' 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 Jo ...

'', 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, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

was made by the BBC between 1982 and 1984, featuring Glynis Barber 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.

Stage burlesque show

During and after

World War II 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Chrystabel Leighton-Porter performed a

striptease A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper" or an "exo ...

act as the character of Jane. In the war, it was compulsory for actors and entertainers to join ENSA (

Entertainments National Service Association The Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) was an organisation established in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during World War II. ENSA operated as part of the Navy, ...

) 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.

Collections

* . * . * . * . * . * . Reprints 531 daily strips from October 1943 to June 1945. * .

References

External links

* * * * . * with the editor of the 2009 "Misadventures of Jane" collection.
"Jane and Pett": 1945 British Pathé newsreel of Norman Pett drawing Christabel Leighton Porter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jane (Comic Strip) Adult comics Adult comic strips BBC Television shows British comic strips Erotic comics Adventure comics Humor comics 1932 comics debuts 1959 comics endings Comics characters introduced in 1932 British comics characters Female characters in comics Comics about women Comics adapted into plays British comics adapted into films Comics adapted into television series Daily Mirror