"Doll Girl" in the Comics

[Kara Dollgirl]

Hello Friendly Bigs and Littles,

I don't know if someone has already posted this information or not. I do recall reading a thread about SW's in comics and I didn't see it there, but the people here are so thorough that I would be surprised if that was actually the case. But I will go ahead anyway, in case some of this might be new.

As far as I have been able to ascertain, the first superhero who used a shrinking power was named "Doll Man", and he first appeared in Quality Comics in 1941 (predating the more famous Ray Palmer (the Atom) and Hank Pym (Ant-Man). Here is some information from Wikipedia:

The secret identity of Doll Man, "The World's Mightiest Mite", is research chemist Darrel Dane, who invents a formula that enables him to shrink to the height of six inches while retaining the full strength of his normal size.[3] He was the first example of a shrinking superhero, and also one of the few that was unable to change to a height in between his minimum and maximum sizes (though artists would fail to keep his scale visually consistent). His first adventure in Feature Comics #27 involves the rescue of his fiancée, Martha Roberts, from a blackmailer.[4] He subsequently decides to fight crime and adopts a red and blue costume sewn by Martha.[5] Years later, somehow Martha's wish to be able to join him in his small size comes true, and now possessing the same shrinking powers, she becomes his partner known as "Doll Girl" in Doll Man #37.[6] He also has the aid of "Elmo the Wonder Dog", a Great Dane who serves as his occasional steed and rescuer, and the "Dollplane", which was deceptively presented as a model airplane in his study when not in use.[7] In his adventures published during World War II, Doll Man was also frequently depicted riding a bald eagle.

This is of course interesting, but not as much to us here on SWB as the fact that his fiancee' Martha Roberts, wanting to help Darrel in his work (like any good heroine from that time period) finds a way to shrink herself down to 5 1/5 inches high and becomes his partner "Doll Girl" (for some reason I just LOVE that name!). Here is some info on her character:

After refusing to pay Falco any more blackmail money, Martha was kidnapped by Falco and rescued by the "doll man". Finding that through intense concentration Dane could affect his height, he decided to begin to fight crime as the Doll Man, often assisted by Martha (who also became his scientific research assistant).[4]

Several years later, while wishing and concentrating about being able to shrink down to aid Doll Man, Darrel also was thinking about the same thing and suddenly, Martha's height and weight dwindled down until she was on the same scale as Doll Man. She began to team with Doll Man as Midge, the Doll Girl.[5][6] She fights "the Skull, the Druids, the Count de Grasso, and the houngan Dr. Voodoo.[7]

This team-up happened in Doll Man #37 in 1951, and the duo were a tiny team until about 1956 when Quality Comics went out of business and DC bought the rights to many of their characters, including "Doll Man". However, after this time, the character of "Doll-Girl" disappeared from the stories and when Martha appeared afterwards, she was back to her traditional role of assisting her husband with needed research. I supposed DC decided they didn't need another woman superhero, because they already had so many.

Below are some images I was able to find of Doll Girl (and Doll Man),along with some panels from a few of the comics. It's interesting to note that while the cover of #37 shows Doll Girl tied up and helplessly waiting for rescue like a good 1950's heroine, in the story it's actually Martha who saves Doll Man from certain death. Pretty progressive for 1951!

Kara

[Some Wanderer]

Her origins sounds a bit similar to one Janet Van Dyne.

[Kara Dollgirl]

Her origins sounds a bit similar to one Janet Van Dyne.

Yes, they do!

However, Ant-Man and The Wasp were not created until 1962 and 1963, respectively, so Martha was one of the first female superheroes and the first to have a shrinking power. Shrinking Violet, of the Legion of Super-Heroes, was not created until 1961.

Kara

[Some Wanderer]

I'm aware of when Ant-Man and Wasp debuted, but I didn't know Doll Man and Doll Girl predated them or most of the size shifters for that matter. In any case I thought the similarities between Wasp and Doll Girl's origins was interesting.

[Kara Dollgirl]

I'm aware of when Ant-Man and Wasp debuted, but I didn't know Doll Man and Doll Girl predated them or most of the size shifters for that matter. In any case I thought the similarities between Wasp and Doll Girl's origins was interesting.

That's fine, and I didn't know any of this stuff until I started looking into it. It does beg the question of who was borrowing from whom (if there was any borrowing done).

There was a similar problem when the film Sci-Fi film "John Carter" came out in 2012. Everyone dished the film because they thought it was derivative of "Superman", "Star Wars" and other modern Sci-Fi films. Of course, most people did not realize that the John Carter novels were written by Edgar Rice Burroughs (the creator of "Tarzan") circa 1912 (over 100 years ago). So again, who was first and who was borrowing from whom?
Kara

[Some Wanderer]

That's the million dollar question. Then again is it borrowing or being inspired by past work? John Carter (which I actually liked the movie) for example would help influence the creation of Adam Strange: a character from DC Comics. In the case of Doll Man and Doll Girl perhaps they did influence other size shifting characters, but the likes of Atom and Ant-Man took the concept a step further.

[Kara Dollgirl]

That's the million dollar question. Then again is it borrowing or being inspired by past work? John Carter (which I actually liked the movie) for example would help influence the creation of Adam Strange: a character from DC Comics. In the case of Doll Man and Doll Girl perhaps they did influence other size shifting characters, but the likes of Atom and Ant-Man took the concept a step further.

I agree that it's often difficult to draw a line between borrowing and inspiration. These kind of things happen all the time in the arts. I just thought it was unfair that "John Carter" was accused of being derivative of more modern Sci-Fi concept when Burroughs was actually there first. Anyone who thought the creators of the film were borrowing from films with which they were familiar with probably didn't do their research to find out which came first. They just assumed the films they were familiar with and loved came up with the ideas first. Even "Star Wars", as good as it was, borrowed from Kurasowa's "The Hidden Fortress". I guess there is nothing new under the sun.

Kara