There's likely little doubt that the sexiest crimefighter of the pulp era was Lars Anderson's Domino Lady. The stunning masked beauty fought against crime and dark forces only six times in the year 1936. Appearing in Saucy Romantic Adventures five times and once in Mystery Adventure Magazine, both publications by Movie Digest Inc., a small firm which specialized in pulps with a sexy gloss. The volume contains a great introduction by Bernard A. Drew and a nifty essay by Will Murray about the mysterious author Lars Anderson who might or might not be real, probably was. We get neat piece by the artist Jim Steranko about his take on Domino Lady as well as one-page biography of the important artist. This is a Vanguard Productions book which has produced other Steranko material. Steranko produced a cover as well many double page spreads for this volume. He created a new image for each of the six classic stories as well as one more.
"The Domino Lady Collects" is the first story from the May issue of Saucy Romantic Adventures. In it we encounter our heroine Ellen Patrick while she is in the middle of stealing a gem owned by a ruthless tycoon who looks to exert his will on the community at large. We learn that Ellen is seemingly motivated by the murder of her father Owen Patrick who was a crusading politician looking to end the corruption and graft which held sway in the city. Now dressed in a slinky black evening gown, white cape and a domino mask while clutching a deadly pistol, she seeks to bring corrupt powerful men down. When she's finished, she leaves her calling card which reads "Compliments of the Domino Lady".
"The Domino Lady Doubles Back" is the second story from the very next issue and we find her after another corrupt tycoon. She has sent warning that the Domino Lady will strike during a costume party the rich man is throwing. She has double duty trying to slip away and become Domino Lady and steal a notorious jewel collection while at the same time giving attention to and avoiding the attention of a police officer who is also a good friend. Domino Lady is a brash Robin Hood type who steals from the rich to share their hoarded wealth with the many needy in the area.
"The Domino Lady's Handicap" is a tale about horseracing. Ellen is dear friend with two siblings, one a man who races horses and has a winner ready to run and the other a woman who is a famous actress it seems, but her stage name is never mentioned. The latter is being blackmailed with unfortunate love letters, and the blackmailer wants the highly favored horse to lose. So, the Domino Lady invades the sanctum of the blackmailer who has a few surprises waiting for her. We are treated to a most exciting race in the last chapter.
"Emeralds Abroad" is a snappy tale in which we find Ellen aboard a ship returning from Hawaii. We see her snuggled up with an old beau who is now working on the ship, and we soon enough learn of an heiress with some dazzling emeralds which were snatched out of the eyes of an idol long before. The rich lady is married to one of the political villains which the Domino Lady battles so she takes it on herself to lift the gems. Her schemes are complicated by the presence of another jewel thief on the ship. Ellen dons a white gown in this story for the first time.
"Black Legion" is arguably the most brutal of the Domino Lady stories. A gang of villains called the Black Legion is terrorizing the land and high-ranking officials seem connected. Domino Lady fights to rescue a friend of hers who is also an investigator for the District Attorney's office. He is captured by the Legion and Ellen in her guise as Domino Lady sneaks into rescue him and gather evidence which will bring down the scoundrels. She uses her gun more than in any adventure to this point. Also of note is that the costume changes officially becoming a white gown with a black cape. It's suggested by either combo of white and black or black and white is deemed valid.
"The Domino Lady's Double" is a yarn which was originally intended for Saucy Mystery Tales but when that magazine was cancelled the story was shifted over to Mystery Adventure Magazine. It is the last original Domino Lady tale from 1936. In this story the Domino Lady seems to be robbing the Japanese Embassy and a man is killed. Ellen learns of this and of course knows she didn't do it. She suspects she's been set up by the political bosses she's been successfully harassing throughout her career, and it turns out she's right. There's quite a bit of death and even a smidge of mayhem in this final 30's Domino Lady outing.
"Aroused, The Domino Lady" is a new story for the collection written by Steranko for this collection. Sadly, it doesn't read as smoothly as the Lars Anderson originals though it is full of background information about our heroine. We meet her Dad, and see how he was set up and killed by the political machine which lorded over California in the 30's. We met Ellen as she is working through her grief and deciding to take action against these corrupt leaders. We learn she was inspired to some degree by another California vigilante, Zorro. We learn what inspired the "Domino Lady" codename. The story by Steranko is a bit more pointedly fetishistic than the vintage pulp yarns which paint the Domino Lady with a mythic glow but rarely leer at specific aspects. It's a fine story that does what it's supposed to do, explain the Domino Lady's character but I didn't find it as much pure fun to read. The art though is still typically Steranko stunning.
In the 90's Rob Wilbur lifted the Domino Lady from obscurity to fashion a handful of comic stories for Eros Comix. These are soft-porn outings in which our barely dressed heroine fights Nazis and dinosaurs and cavemen among other things. They are frothy fun for what they are.
In more recent years Moonstone Books has been the home for Domino Lady adventures. She has appeared in both prose and comic publications, often sharing the spotlight with some other rarely seen pulp hero. She even has a few team-ups with Sherlock Holmes as well as Lee Falk's The Phantom. Readers respond to her slinky outfit which hugs her sumptuous curves with maximum effect. Though she slinks around in white exclusively these days to maximize the allure.
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