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Monday, March 30, 2015

THE COMING OF...STEVE DITKO'S SQUIRREL GIRL !!!

 
“I don’t need luck. I eat nuts.”


Popular of late, probably with her appearances in Deadpool, is Steve Ditko's Squirrel Girl. Ditko plotted the story and drew her for Marvel Comics. Co-creator Will Murray wrote the introductory story, published in Marvel Super Heroes #8 Winter Special.

Squirrel Girl's ability to communicate with squirrels is surprisingly effective and has allowed her to defeat major supervillains, such as the villainous Doctor Doom. She was a member of the Great Lakes Avengers for much of the duration of that group, and later began serving as nanny to Danielle Cage, the daughter of Luke Cage and Jessica Jones.
Her creation and inspiration came from Doc Savage author Will Murray, wanting to cut loose from the serious drama of the X-Men titles and bring back the light-hearted anything-goes joy of comic books. Isn't it about time we need some old fashion. 


Will Murray has since described the character's genesis: "Actually I created Squirrel Girl in script form without any artist input. Tom Morgan was originally going to draw it, but when he dropped out, I requested Ditko and got him. Ditko did a great job in bringing my baby to life. He invented that knuckle spike. It wasn’t in the script.
 
"I based Squirrel Girl ironically enough on a long–ago girlfriend who read comics and was into "critters"—wild animals of all types. Coincidentally, she was big Ditko fan. I think I got the idea because I had a bunch of squirrels running around my roof and sometimes coming in through my open bedroom window and inspiration struck."


Doreen Green, a.k.a. Squirrel Girl, is originally from the Los Angeles, California. She is first seen ambushing Iron Man in a forest, hoping to impress the veteran hero and become his sidekick. The 14-year-old mutant introduces herself and her pet squirrel, Monkey Joe, and displays her abilities (all squirrel-themed.) After she rescues Iron Man, from Doctor Doom, with the help of a horde of squirrels, Iron Man states that while she is too young to fight crime, but will put in a good word for her to the Avengers when she is older.

Squirrel Girl is a mutant, and evinces a variety of mutations which align with the squirrel theme. She as a  furry, prehensile tail roughly 3–4 feet in length, sizable buck teeth, which are strong enough to chew through wood, and superhuman strength and agility, enabling her to jump between trees with ease. Her fingers have sharp claws on them, assisting her with climbing, and she possesses retractable "knuckle spikes" roughly 2-3 inches in length on each hand. Most importantly, she is capable of communicating with and understanding squirrels.



Marvel Super Heroes #8 Winter Special
"The Coming of...Squirrel Girl"
In an Iron Man feature, Squirrel Girl tries to hook up with Iron Man, as his sidekick and the two end up facing Doctor Doom.
Squirrel Girl and Monkey Joe next in G.L.A. (Great Lakes Avengers) #1.



G.L.A. #1
"Great Lakes Avengers"
Origin of Mr. Immortal and the Great Lakes Avengers along with the death of Dinah Soar.
Four issue mini-series written by Don Slott with art by Paul Pelletier & Rick Magyar.

I Am An Avenger #1
"Welcome Home, Squirrel Girl"
Squirrel Girl comes home to New York City.
Written by Alex Zalben with art by Tom Fowler.


This original Ditko & Murray story was reprinted in Marvel Visionaries: Steve Ditko.  It also includes Steve Ditko Spider-Man original art, Speedball, Hulk, Daredevil, Iron Man & Doctor Strange stories! Highly Recommended!!! You don't want to miss this stuff!!!




 Live Large My Friends!

Thank You!

 

2 comments:

  1. How is it "ironic" to base a character on someone you know?

    Also, too bad later artists took away her gawkiness and lack of curves and turned her into Standard Superheroine Body Girl.

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    1. Thank you for your comments. I appreciate the feedback and will get back to you soon on Kabuki. I have affinity for the female superheroes, especially ones outside of Marvel & DC.

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