Jane Arden was a woman newspaper reporter in the early-to-mid 20th century. Back then, newsmen often referred to their female colleagues as “sob sisters”, and their assignments were weighted toward “soft” news such as society goings-on and advice columns. But Jane’s reporting was as hard-hitting as any man’s. And she wasn’t content to write about crooked politicians and organized crime — she was more interested in putting the bad guys out of business. Sort of like Brenda Starr, who became famous for exactly that. But by the time Brenda came along, Jane had been doing it for more than a year and a half. Jane’s daily strip started Monday, November 26, 1928. It was distributed by The Register & Tribune Syndicate, which later experimented with putting a comic book section in Sunday papers, starring The Spirit. Jane’s supporting cast included a chubby, less accomplished reporter named Tubby, no relation to Little Lulu’s friend; and her cute, star-struck assistant, Honey Chile. She also worked with Police Inspector Murphy, who took care of the tedious arresting job, after Jane had done the important, fun stuff, bringing the illegal activities to light. Jane’s comic was more popular overseas than in America, but it still had enough of an American following to spawn media spin-offs. In 1937, she became the subject of a weekly radio show, with Broadway actress Ruth Yorke in the title role. A movie about her adventures, starring Rosella Towne, was released March 18, 1939. The radio show lasted a couple of years, but the movie, though apparently intended as the opening shot of a series, fizzled. And of course, there were comic books. Harry “A” Chesler reprinted her in Feature Funnies starting with its first issue (October, 1937) and continuing even after Quality Comics took over and renamed it Feature Comics. Quality also ran her in Crack Comics #1-25 (May 1940 through September 1942). St. John Publishing Co. gave her a title of her own filled with her reprinted adventures. The newspaper comic went on for another 20 years, until 1968.
Description Jane Arden was a woman newspaper reporter in the early-to-mid 20th century. Back then, newsmen often referred to their female colleagues as “sob sisters”, and their assignments were weighted toward “soft” news such as society goings-on and advice columns. But Jane’s reporting was as hard-hitting as any man’s. And she wasn’t content to write about crooked politicians and organized crime — she was more interested in putting the bad guys out of business. Sort of like Brenda Starr, who became famous for exactly that. But by the time Brenda came along, Jane had been doing it for more than a year and a half. Jane’s daily strip started Monday, November 26, 1928. It was distributed by The Register & Tribune Syndicate, which later experimented with putting a comic book section in Sunday papers, starring The Spirit. Jane’s supporting cast included a chubby, less accomplished reporter named Tubby, no relation to Little Lulu’s friend; and her cute, star-struck assistant, Honey Chile. She also worked with Police Inspector Murphy, who took care of the tedious arresting job, after Jane had done the important, fun stuff, bringing the illegal activities to light. Jane’s comic was more popular overseas than in America, but it still had enough of an American following to spawn media spin-offs. In 1937, she became the subject of a weekly radio show, with Broadway actress Ruth Yorke in the title role. A movie about her adventures, starring Rosella Towne, was released March 18, 1939. The radio show lasted a couple of years, but the movie, though apparently intended as the opening shot of a series, fizzled. And of course, there were comic books. Harry “A” Chesler reprinted her in Feature Funnies starting with its first issue (October, 1937) and continuing even after Quality Comics took over and renamed it Feature Comics. Quality also ran her in Crack Comics #1-25 (May 1940 through September 1942). St. John Publishing Co. gave her a title of her own filled with her reprinted adventures. The newspaper comic went on for another 20 years, until 1968.
