Varoomshka's a surprising comic strip heroine for the 'right-on' Guardian newspaper, and there were protests from some members of staff, apparently. Though hardly a feminist role model in appearance, her creator John Kent used her as a vehicle for some smart political satire. It ran for ten years starting in '69. This annual is from '72. His obituary is here.
Used to love Varoomshka when I was a kid, in my parents' Graun. Never understood a bloody word though...
ReplyDeleteWas it my imagination, or did they run a similar but short-lived strip in the 1980s, called Zelda?
I don't know about that, Tim. Grauniad-reading parents? My Dad read the Express, and Alistair MacLean...you can see what I was rebelling against...
DeleteI think that was my main deprivation as a child; I had so little against which to rebel. Not only were my parents relaxed and liberal, they also had pretty good (if orthodox) taste in books and movies and music. I was raised to a soundtrack of Ella, Sinatra and Basie. No wonder I'm so screwed up...
DeleteI had a great respect for The Guardian and used to read it when in my late teens. I bought the 1972 Varoomshka annual because I loved John Kent's clean graphics. The juxtaposition of a sexy blond female with hard politics seemed a new stance. I used to combine this with "Week Ending" on BBC Radio 4, broadcast late every Friday evening. My friends couldn't see the humour in either Varoomshka or Week Ending, and never understood why I was laughing at them both.
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