Tigra The Were-Woman!

Making comics for girls seems relatively easy these days. There are lots of comics which feature women in strong lead roles, and that's no accident, but it has been long in coming to a medium which for many years targeted kids. I guess the expectation back in the day was reinforce the existing norms of society which held women in check both socially and legally. The latter has been much improved despite recent high-profile setbacks in health care, but the former is harder to negate. The "Women's Lib" movement of the 70's was instrumental in this regard though now it is heckled from the peanut gallery and folks will chide women for "going too far", as if it were possible to go too far in seeking equal rights and protection. 

Beware! The Claws of the Cat was very much of that movement. Created intentionally to bring a woman into costume and into a comic book of her own. At that time Marvel had exactly none. A quick survey of the "Distinguished Competition" found only Wonder Woman. Superhero comics were for boys and romance and Archie comics were for girls. Marvel's intent was to create a female superhero written and drawn by women. So Linda Fite got the scripting gig and Marie Severin got the penciling job. Longtime purveyor of sexy dames Wally Wood inked the well-crafted debut. We meet a mousty housewife named Greer Nelson who is at a loss after her cop husband is killed and seeking a direction finds Dr. Joane Tumolo who wants to use Greer as a candidate in some science experiments to enhance a woman's powers. She does and after some complications the Cat is ready to purr. 

The Cat series is sadly a short-lived one. Like its companion comics Shanna the She-Devil (which went five issues) and Night Nurse (which went four) the comic is given the axe after many artistic changes (Alan Lee Weiss, Bill Everett, etc.) and only four brief issues. 

Attempts the cross-promote the series in Marvel Team-Up came too late to save the series. But the end was not to be for Greer Nelson. Gerry Conway and Jim Mooney are the team on this one. 

Giant-Size Creatures introduced Greer in another role, Tigra the Were-Woman. In a story by Tony Isabella and Don Perlin, she teams up (sort of) with Werewolf by Night who is smitten with her despite his generally ferocious nature with most folks. Turns our Greer and Dr. Tumolo are kidnapped by Hydra (the all-purpose evildoers at Marvel) and further it is revealed that Tumolo is a member of a hidden race of Cat People who have lived alongside mankind all this time. Greer is hurt and to save her she is changed into Tigra. Needless to say, between them Tigra and Werewolf rip and tear Hydra a new butthole. 

Now adopted into the monster world, it's logical Tigra's next stop is Monsters Unleashed where in a handsome story by Chris Claremont and Tony DeZuniga she helps defeat the evil life-stealing sorceress above posing with her rat attendant. (I suppose the story might have been done after this piece art.)

It's not long before Tigra gets her own series. The art in this debut issue is by Will Meugniot, an artist who will distinguish himself with some excellent good girl artwork. This is not top-flight stuff. In the first part of a longer yarn by Tony Isabella, Tigra gets involved with Rat Pack, a gang of pillagers who prey on small towns and are led by a mysterious gent named Joshua Plague. 

The momentum of the series was immediately undercut by a fill-in issue featuring some lusty Frank Robbins work in a story showcasing Tigra against Kraven the Hunter. They try to make this story fit the flow of the storyline but it's a clumsy attempt. 

Will Meugniot is back and Tigra is again on the trail of the Rat Pack. Now she has the help of Red Wolf and his wolf buddy Lobo. 

After they work out their differences, Tigra and Red Wolf keep after the Rat Pack. John Byrne steps in to draw this issue and this is an excellent example of his early work. 

The Tigra series wraps up but not before Tigra has to find a way to defeat the Super Skrull. Jim Shooter wrote it and George Tuska drew this final Tigra Marvel Chillers episode. Great Kirby cover!

Our next stop is Marvel Two-In-One in which Tigra seeks Ben Grimm's assistance to stop a renegade Cat Man dubbed The Cougar. Another solid tale by Bill Mantlo with art by Sal Buscema and Don Heck. Love that Jack Kirby cover as well. 

Marvel Team-Up is the next stop. This issue features a return bout with Kraven in which it takes both Tigra and Spidey to bring the Hunter low. The comic features a crisp Chris Claremont script and some outstanding Byrne artwork whose version of Tigra is my favorite to this point. 

She's back in a solo story in an issue of Marvel Premiere with Mike Vosburg and Ernie Chan sharing the art duties on this Ed Hannigan and John Warner story. Dr. Tumolo dies in this comic but that's only the beginning as the Cat People themselves and all humanity are threatened by a feline fugitive from the High Evolutionary's "New Men" project. 

It's Tigra and Spidey again, this time confronting the return of Tigra's oldest foe. Readers of The Cat series will be pleased I suspect. This is flavorful tale by artist Kerry Gammil and writer J.D. Matteis. 

The volume closes out with a stunning four-part Tigra tale drawn by Mike Deodato Jr. and written by Christina Z. In this tale Greer enters the police academy to go undercover and infiltrate a vigilante group of rogue policemen called "The Brethern of the Blue Fist". She fights many a ferocious battle both as Tigra and Greer before getting to the bottom of this corrupt gang of cops. It also turns out that her late husband might have been involved with them. Deodato produces some outstanding artwork in this one, very moody and atmospheric. Above average for the era. 

All in all, this was a great little package full of both warm reminders and several surprises. Tigra is a remarkable character, at once sexy and exceedingly dangerous. Even in her Cat mode Greer Nelson proved to be one of the sexiest superheroes. Did the title do much for women's liberation, in the end I suspect it depends on who you ask, but I say absolutely. 

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