September 17, 2009 

Take a Memo, Lois.

Be more like this character:

While only apparently making one appearance here in New Adventure #22, Operator 23, aka G-Woman was a self-sufficient female spy in a time when most female spies were just love interests with a badge. For example, in Siegel and Shuster’s “Spy” Sally Norris mostly exists for Bart Regan to make out with (in front of his boss) in the last panel. Dorris West of “Red, White, and Blue” was a pretty capable spy, but always needed the boys to do the heavy lifting.

G-Woman, on the other hand, is like Sally O’Neil in that she doesn’t need a man to do her dirty work. A pity she never made it past her first appearance.

Oh and I don’t want to neglect my favorite bit on this page – the male secretary showing her in. This is almost subversive for the time.


  • Dr. Novakaine

    The editors took one look at it and said “We'll let it slide this time, but portray women as strong and competent again and we'll kick you into the next century.” It was a real tragedy.

  • AuroraMoon

    they actually did the same thing with an female captain character on the original star trek, I believe.

  • michaeltm

    New Adventure Comics #22, published 1937

    '…a hurried summons to the office of her chief:'

    “June, you've got to help! My hair won't curl in this Washington humidity; my foundation is caking; I look like an absolute whale in this new dress and I haven't a thing to go with it!”

  • Naryldor

    In the next panel, our hopes of having found (at long last) a non-sexist Golden Age comic are shattered when we learn that all the director needed from “Operator twenty-three” was a tuna sammwich.

  • madwoman

    Maybe it's because I was raised by an old-time feminist, but I take issue with them calling Ms. Justis the only “girl” member of the blah blah blah. She's obviously at least 50 years old or pregnant, considering how she's holding her back like that. Hardly young enough to be called a girl. Would they call that secretary there a boy?

  • michaeltm

    'Would they call that secretary there a boy?'

    Of course not! How much more obviously Caucasian could he be?

  • http://sezaarsez.wordpress.com/ sezaar

    The first officer in the pilot episode with Captain Pike instead of Kirk was a woman, Spock was a crew mate.

    Apparently they (audience or producers or…, can't remember) disliked Spock but they disliked the female first officer even more so Spock got promoted to first officer. Officially it was set years later so as to explain why Pike and half the crew were replaced.

  • AuroraMoon

    I just realized— what's with the odd shadows in this picture? It looks more like soot than actual shadows…

  • HellRazor

    Actually, you've got it all wrong.

    What he meant to say was “Go right in, Twenty-Three. The Chief is expecting you… TO MAKE HIM A SAMMWICH.”

  • HellRazor

    Naryldor : In the next panel, our hopes of having found (at long last) a non-sexist Golden Age comic are shattered when we learn that all the director needed from “Operator twenty-three” was a tuna sammwich.

    CURSES! You beat me to it!!!

  • Dierna

    Operator 23 meet 007….

  • Dierna

    I recently read a Star Trek comic where Capt Kirk becomes Admiral and the first thing he does is lift's a weird rule where women weren't allowed to captain starships, explaining away why in TOS there weren't any female starship captains…it's cuz they weren't allowed to command a ship!

  • MIchael

    I think Alan Moore already wrote that scene…

  • dandyforsdyke

    It's Switchboard Operator 23 to give her her full title.

    As for the sooty shadows – that's what happens when women don't know their place! That office is filthy.

  • http://sezaarsez.wordpress.com/ sezaar

    Diod that secretary later joined Kraftwerk?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXa9tXcMhXQ

  • http://kddr.blogspot.com/ Your Obedient Serpent

    Man, I want scans of that whole comic. If it's her only appearance, hasn't it fallen into the public domain by now?

  • Blurgle

    Oh, dear. It's not AT ALL subversive for a man to be shown as a secretary in this time frame. If anything, it was normal for a high-ranking official to have a male secretary. Women secretaries were for the lower ranks. Even Presidents had male secretaries until right about this time period.

  • Anonymous

    Oh, dear. It’s not AT ALL subversive for a man to be shown as a secretary in this time frame. If anything, it was normal for a high-ranking official to have a male secretary. Women secretaries were for the lower ranks. Even Presidents had male secretaries until right about this time period.

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  • Elwood

    Well he has to hold the door open for her…otherwise how with he be able to stare at her butt if he doesn’t.

  • Blakeneyd

    Blurgle is right…women secretaries at one time were a new concept, and there was concern as to whether they would be as “competent” in the job as a male secretary. (Perhaps it was feared they would collapse into hysterics if the boss found a ‘typo’.)

    And adult women were referred to as “girls” right up into the ’70′s.