Madame Strange was aptly named because she was a decidedly atypical Golden Age super-powered heroine. Bearing more than a passing resemblance to Wonder Woman, Strange appeared in the three issues of Great Comics - a somewhat uncertain title that included wartime adventures, “funnies” and the ambiguous figure of Madame Strange herself. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Strange came pre-packaged as it were: she had no alter-ego or true identity and was clearly already well known by the criminal fraternity and the spies and double agents she fought, as well as the intelligence agencies and the general public. Possessed of super strength and speed, and a large amazonian stature, the mysterious Strange struck fear into to all her opponents and with good reason - in addition to her ability to punch people out, Strange was armed with a set of deadly throwing knives with which she regularly and dispassionately despatched villains and also happily mowed them down with road vehicles, or blew them up with hand grenades or bombs from the air, if those methods of extrajudicial killing were what came to hand. Strange had none of WW's compassion, or even the determination to bring spies and saboteurs to justice in the manner of, say Phantom Lady - as far as Madame Strange was concerned, there was a war on and enemies of the USA deserved whatever they got - usually death.
What also made Strange distinctive was the extraordinary artwork of Chuck Winter, who portrayed the heroine as strong, muscular and intimidating, but nonetheless sexually appealing - an aspect developed in her third and final outing (although possibly not by Winter) when Strange’s bikini-and-boots style costume was dropped without explanation in favour of a well-fitting trouser outfit, replete with riding crop, which made her look a little like a lion-tamer. She also belatedly developed an alternative identity, as a girl reporter, whose assignments provided the entreés for Strange’s heroics. A curiously unloveable character, therefore, Strange and her knives did not survive the demise of Great Comics (the last issue of which was published in January 1942) and she remains a short-lived curiousity, albeit a decidedly intriguing one.
The page featured is from the Madame Strange adventure, The Plot To Capture Hawaii, published in Great Comics #1 (November 1941).
Source: comicbookplus
