09 July 2020

Breaking Reality With Jane

While we're out cavorting with Western Gals, let's visit with one of the more delightfully Odd girls in her Jane At Dream Castle adventures.



Now, i grant you that Jane might not look like she fits in the group at first glance, but when she's not at Dream Castle she lives on a Ranch with cowboys and everything. I mean, Seriously. But we'll get to that.

Jane had an even dozen trips to the Dream Castle published, with only 4 pages each. So we'll break it into two sets and run them all. 

Let's get started, eh?










Obviously, Little Nemo was a big influence here on Stan Schendel's scripts and August Froehlich has illustrated a lovely little world. But what truly makes this comic different is our star - Jane. 

You see, Jane grew up to be Batgirl
And Wonder Woman
And Ginger & Mary Ann. And Betty & Veronica, and Sabrina, too!
And even Miss Grundy.

Meet Jane Webb:



When Jane talks about the TM Bar Ranch in the comics, she's talking about Tom Mix's ranch where she lived as one of the Straight Shooters. From 1936 - 1941 she was one of the stars of the Tom Mix Ralston Straight Shooters radio show. 

A year after she started with Tom, she began a 20 year run as Peggy Gaylord on the original radio version of The Guiding Light, along with many other radio roles. But it's from the 1960s & '70s that most of us comic geeks might know her work. That's when she started doing voice work for animation and played the roles listed above, along with dozens of others.

So, the little girl from the comics grew up to be in cartoons. That's some fine reality twisting there, Jane.
We Salute You!

And we'll be back with the second half of her Dream Castle adventures tomorrow.

And, yes - we'll get to that splash panel that tops the page...


page art by August Froehlich from Tom Mix Comics #s 1-6 (1940, 1941)

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