A Chicago Spanking Review Non-Spanking Special Presentation:

Skygirl Struts Her Stuff

Normally, a discussion of a comics heroine who should have been spanked but wasn't would be confined to the bulletin board, but in this case we have so many examples to present we really need the control that only our own coding can give a webpage. We are currently (October 2010) in the middle of our search through old Fiction House comic books, which had plenty of Jungle Girls - and a feature called "Skygirl" in Jumbo Comics that we had nearly forgotten about. Skygirl may not have been the greatest aviation adventure strip in the world, but no other heroine assumed spankable poses as often as she did.

Sheena was Jumbo's headliner, on the cover of every issue. It goes without saying (although we've said it here) that a large part of the Jungle Girl's appeal was a feral sexuality partly manifested through skimpy outfits. But Sheena could at least honestly claim to offer stories of jungle adventures - simple but serviceable tales where the heroine was menaced by unfriendly tribes, dangerous beasts, or evil white guys. Skygirl, on the other hand, was so obviously T & A masquerading as adventure (a good definition of Good Girl Art, by the way) that the result was unintentionally comical.

Yes, she had sex appeal, but Sheena also faced genuine, if unsophisticated, menaces. On this cover alone she's confronted by (1) man in danger; (2) crazed female with spear; (3) no fewer than eight spotted hyenas!

In contrast, the biggest problems Skygirl had were keeping her clothes on, something at which she usually failed, and keeping her bottom turned up while bending over, which she did very well indeed, and at every opportunity.

As we mentioned, Skygirl (Ginger Maguire) seemed to have trouble keeping her clothes on. Here a villain has pinned her blouse to the wall with a knife, so what else could she do except shed her clothes? (Yeah, we know: pull the knife out of the wall, rip the fabric loose, etc., but that wouldn't have advanced the "plot" the same way).

Let's take another look at Ginger's face, because it's going to be our last chance for a while. Much of the time the artists (Alex Blum and Matt Baker) had her "assume the position" leaving her face invisible while emphasizing another portion of her anatomy. Even this shot draws attention to her bustline.

This is a pretty mild example of what cameramen in the movies call "bun shots", and if it were the only one, it might be completely innocent. However, there were many more such examples - many more - and they were a lot more blatant:

Ginger had some flying skills, as we may (or may not) have noticed in the page above where she briefly pilots a plane in her underwear, but as she flies through a window here it's another of her assets that's on display.

Ginger was a waitress (when she wasn't flying) whose duties would not ordinarily have required her to scrub the floor, yet she was often seen on her hands and knees - often enough to make it suspicious.

Here, she's not even scrubbing the floor, but a counter! Most of us would probably do this from a standing position, but not our Skygirl - she figures the way to go about the job is to climb up on the counter and wave her bottom in the air. Works for us - this is Chicago Spanking Review, not House Beautiful.

Interestingly, the positions are ideal for paddling: her head up, arching her back and turning her bottom up. The artists were probably not spankos, but just realized the bottom is most attractive when presented in this fashion.

And again: arch your back and stick it out, Ginger! If only someone had brought a paddle along ...

And again! This time, she's awfully close to the man standing in front of her. Probably there was no intention to suggest a sexual act, but there sure as hell was an intention to showcase her rear end.

Then there were many times when our Ginger found it necessary to bend over (while facing away from us, naturally). Let's take a look at a few.

Of course, the only correct way to swing an axe is to bend over as much as possible - just ask any lumberjack or fireman. We can't help wondering if the British comedian Benny Hill, who featured a lot of "bun shots" on his T.V. show, saw any of these comics as a young man.

Another common motif was to have Ginger inspect some part of an aircraft - a part that was close enough to ground level that she had to bend over to look at it. The positioning here is flawed because her knees are bent, but again she manages to keep her head up. After this, she must have realized the benefits of looking as spankable as possible, because ...

... next time she needed to open a hatch, she bent all the way over, keeping her knees straight and back well-arched. Not many people would open a hatch that way - it's difficult to arch the back once the hands are lowered past the knees - but our Ginger never shirks her duty.

Ginger, like any trained fighter, knows the one thing you must do during a fight is to bend over as far as possible. Again, her knees are straight, head up, and back arched - perfect position for paddle or cane.

The first thing we noticed about the panel at left was that Ginger's hair had been miscolored blonde instead of red. O.K., it was the second thing we noticed.

At right, Ginger finds a newspaper - on the ground, of course, which requires that she bend over to pick it up. She must have gotten a little behind in her reading.

There's nothing like the old "aircraft inspection" excuse to put our Skygirl's aeronautical knowledge on display. This one could actually be used in a paddling instruction manual - it's that perfect. Really, it's as if the paddler has instructed her, "Bend over and place your hands on your knees. Look up, Ginger - that's right. Hold it just like that."

Finally, we have this splash page that exemplifies both of Skygirl's principal motifs: losing her clothes and bending over! In a scene so contrived and unlikely it's positively ludicrous, a bird (probably a Great Horny Owl) is pulling up Ginger's dress as she holds on to an airplane - in flight! As if that weren't enough, she's positioned bending over as far as possible, and with her legs well apart. If she were standing on the ground instead of flying horizontally, her fingertips would reach the floor, which is about as extreme a paddling position (in terms of presenting her bottom) as she could possibly assume. We laugh when we see this, then cry when we remember no paddle was actually applied (sigh).

Ripley over at SpankingPanels.com came up with one more. This one is quite similar to the preceding example; in fact, it's pretty much the same thing except Skygirl's legs have been rotated so as to be vertical rather than horizontal. From this angle, we get a better view of the tail assembly.

10/10/2014 Update: We located the original source for Ripley's contribution above (Jumbo Comics #106) and have rotated it so that Skygirl's legs are vertical to present her in the best possible paddling position!

12/02/2011 Update: At left we see Skygirl under some baddie's arm, from Jumbo Comics #130. Her face is upside-down, but we recognized her anyway from her, er, other attributes.

Above, our Skygirl nimbly climbs through an airplane hatch with her best side toward the camera in Jumbo Comics #96.

(Left) Continuing our story in Jumbo Comics #96, having exited the hatch Skygirl parachutes down to earth and makes a graceful landing. Not a spanking position, but it reminds us that the artists never missed a chance to focus their attention on that portion of her anatomy which first touches down here.

(Below) Going back to Jumbo Comics #80, Skygirl steps out onto the wing of an automobile that doubles as a diner and which has now transformed itself into an airplane. Before you start complaining that this makes no sense even by comic-book standards, remember that narrative clarity and logic are far less important than showcasing Ginger McGuire's rear end - at least if you're reading this particular strip. We altered the color balance of the image on the right and also reversed it so it would be easier for right-handers to imagine themselves spanking her.

Posted by the Web-Ed on 12/02/2011.

10/10/2014 Update: At this point, we've reviewed every issue of Jumbo Comics, and while there were no Skygirl spankings, there were a few more instances of Ginger gratuitously bending over which we'd like to bring to you now. At left, she's flying through the air once more, fanny first.

Below left: Ginger is all scrunched up under a desk somehow, and seems very frightened, yet she has the presence of mind to stick her rear end out.

Below right: Ginger crawls on her hands and knees between the legs of some crook (on top of a dirigible, yet!) in the exact position used for what children call "The Spanking Machine." Coincidence? Too bad the crook didn't take advantage of the opportunity to give her a few good whacks.

Posted by the Web-Ed on 10/10/2014.

From Jumbo Comics #81 (click to double-size).

Most pilots would fly a plane sitting in the pilot's seat, but not our Ginger - standing behind the seat forces her to bend over to keep both hands on the stick. True, she's facing towards us for once, but even so her pose is significant. And yes, it's quite possible that something else is being suggested here!

This one's a little different: the most unusual thing is how Ginger (hair miscolored blonde again) has placed her parachute over her rear end, which is not the way they're usually fastened. Even so, the artist managed to define her buttocks clearly with a strong (and slightly misplaced) line.

Here we have Ginger on her hands and knees once again. Looks like she's trying to distract a Japanese agent. At least she succeeded in distracting us.

From Jumbo Comics #81. Posted by the Web-Ed on 10/10/2014 (click to double-size).

Finally, we have Ginger in a more OTK-like positioning, perfect for OTK fans! We took the liberty of reversing the image for the convenience of right-handed spankers. Note again how the buttocks are very carefully defined and accentuated for erotic purposes. We may use this one again when we write our article on Eroticism in Art.

Well, that's probably all there is for Skygirl, and we don't expect the character to be revived (although she's got potential!), but we'll always remember her fondly. A commission of Ginger getting thorougly spanked or paddled is also a possibility if we ever have money again.