Lady Cop: A 70s Comic that Tried (and Failed)

[@ThatRandomEncounterGuy]

This is fairly simple to explain: Liza is Lady Cop, the other two in her class are given the names Girl Cop and Female Cop, and the female officer that recommended her for the force is named Woman Cop. It's so disappointing that we'll never get to see this intricate worldbuilding and sublime writing past the one issue.

[@KTF0]

Police Lass and Pig Harlot were already taken.

[@EverydayYounglife]

Obviously one is Police girl and Lady Black Cop

[@gaminawulfsdottir3253]

I just assumed that "lady cop" was a generic descriptor (she was a lady cop, not THE Lady Cop), but it was fun watching Guy Comic Book Presenter make much of it in his witty way.

[@dirus3142]

If the captain of the precinct is a woman she would be called matriarch cop.

[@NoJusticeNoPeace]

I assume this is the same force where Flute Cop and Axe Cop work.

[@MisterSiza78]

What's her arch enemy, man criminal?

[@difficultbastard]

Patriarchal pat Though he doesn't rob banks, he is often found openly taunting women in train carriages, sitting with his legs apart, or maliciously turning air conditioning up in offices.

[@vijaz5559]

Such Evil Man!

[@owenwalker1774]

Gentlemen Thug

[@MarioUcomics]

Asmin Siza Boots Man is true main villian

[@macoy3943]

Laddie Con

[@JK-kt3tk]

"Cool it! That girl's underage! Don't you realize you can have the book thrown at you?" Lady Cop, I don't think that's the big problem here.

[@hazydaze9921]

for real: "don't do that, it's wrong because you might get caught!"

[@darkartsdabbler2407]

"You! Don't commit murder with that firearm, don't you realize it's unregistered?"

[@pictonomii3295]

@@darkartsdabbler2407 You can't steal that car, the taillight is out.

[@TJ347]

I'm awaiting a Lady Cop and Night Nurse crossover.

[@RawbeardX]

PhD in karate? I'm not even mad, that's amazing

[@Unworshipediety]

Hey, that's all you really need in this life.

[@mayssm]

"So...what belt do you have?" "Belt? I have a Doctorate in Karate. Belts are for weak."

[@PyromaniacDelta]

Her doctoral thesis was on the application of a fist to your face. She knocked out the review board. Took them an hour to wake up and tell her that she'd passed.

[@mikekazz5353]

Lady cop: that's Dr. Officer. Lady cop to you, I didn't beat up my professor/Sifu just to be called lady.

[@ianfinrir8724]

Unfortunately, she misunderstood what "defending your thesis" means. It was a damn bloodbath.

[@trafficjamzombie1]

Very nice touch on keeping your shirt unbutton in honor of Lady Cop. It's the little things!

[@truefanforum3273]

I've noticed something in this comic: Lady Cop has no equipment. No radio, gun, nightstick, handcuffs, or anything else. No wonder she had to learn to fight with a hat, that's all she has. Who's in charge of the equipment at her precinct?

[@lo1bo2]

Slight correction: She has cuffs stored at the back of her belt at 6:40. Chris didn't show it, but she used them in the attempted rape scene. But other than that, she's on her own!

[@truefanforum3273]

lo1bo2 Ah, I see it now, my apologies.

[@mayssm]

Back in the 70s, cops rolled with whatever gear they wanted. Some wielded .44 magnums. Some shotguns. Others .50 caliber machine guns. A few others just a simple judo outfit and nunchakus.

[@Akkbar21]

She could remove her clothes and use them as weapons. We can hope Anyway.

[@timeliebe]

Some guy, who probably figured if she got beat up or sexually assaulted, that would put an end to all that "wimmen on the police force" nonsense! A lot of early female cops had to put up with an INCREDIBLE amount of hazing by the male officers they worked with and for.

[@dantheface2986]

Can't wait for the gritty Lady Cop reboot

[@razgaros]

@Logan Waltz But then people would just fuck with her for shits and giggles. The first time it's surprising, the second time the psycho is prepared and this does'nt end well.

[@benderbendingrodriguez420]

"I'm *obviously* a hot cop" LOL that one got me good, course you are chris;) great vid as always

[@tonebone7449]

I love the fact that you assumed your "younger viewers" already knew what VD was, but had to explain the pay phone.

[@hisalexness8478]

You’re kinda putting me off drawing my comic ‘Male Midwife’....!

[@omiorahman6283]

OOF

[@damienscanlon5585]

"That part's for dad when he's reading to the kids!" 🤣 That was hilarious!

[@sharkfinbite]

Issue 2. Lady cop meets... Police Man!

[@WoodsAreBeautiful]

What, what kind of name is police man, imagine if we referred to our law enforcement as Police men and police women

[@kyleolson8977]

It's actually supposedly not a rip-off of Police Woman - but the original title was going to be Police Woman while in development and was changed when the Angie Dickinson series came out.

[@JamesBurrTV]

Wouldn't throwing a grenade into a trash can just turn it into a massive shrapnel bomb?

[@richmcgee434]

Hush, you.

[@lo1bo2]

How dare you apply real world physics.

[@MichaelMcCallister097]

JamesBurrTV trash cans are actually known to stop explosions. That’s why trash cans were issued in all the trenches during WWII. It saved many lives back in the day.

[@michaelpytel3280]

Not a Vibrainium - Nth Metal trash can !

[@Arkayjiya]

Not necessarily. Not only is the trash can a little bit resistant, but on top of that the energy from the explosion tends to follow the path of least resistance, which would in fact be the open upside. The bottom might get pierced or detached because the grenade would reach it and its flat surface near the centre of the explosion would take a hard hit, but the sides? They're circular which would help distribute the force of the explosion, so they'd be the last to give in and turn into shrapnel. Of course throwing grenade in a trash can isn't an exact science (especially since there can be anything inside the can which can make the the explosion completely unpredictable), but most likely her call was the correct one.

[@blackphoenix77]

"That girl doesn't look underage!" That's what gets a lot of dudes in trouble with the law.

[@dadoctah]

"Before I molest you, I'm going to need to see some ID."

[@OtakuD50]

Why didn't we get a full run of Hal the Insecure Boyfriend?

[@johnnymclinden3432]

I am sold. You got a fan for life bud.

[@kristbane]

The spinoff series "Lady voter" is also good.

[@qrissy3742]

RisingRedTide LOL

[@behindthescenesphotos5133]

I always thought The League of Women Voters sounded more like a superhero team or sports association than anything else. Just a little too grandiose-sounding for what it is.

[@edwarddillon5886]

12:32 Thank you for posting my artwork Chris, I truly appreciate it. I really enjoy your entertaining videos while I am painting.

[@qrissy3742]

Edward Dillon- Awesome piece you did!

[@edwarddillon5886]

@@qrissy3742 Thank you very kindly!

[@FrankLightheart]

The biggest flaw with the comic is that it simply ends too soon. In a lot of stories that address social issues, you start off showing the problem in action before the main character goes about solving it. Lady Cop, as a progressive comic about confronting sexism, does a lot of showing the casual sexim of people in the city, but ends before it can really challenge it. I'd like to think that if the story was allowed to continue, Lady Cop would have confronted things like the insecure boyfriend who wants her to quit, or the public's general attitude of seeing her as a strange novelty.

[@jnnx]

FrankLightheart Oh, you sweet summer child...

[@truefanforum3273]

Hat based martial arts? Ah you must mean hat-fu, taught to her by that legendary master of the style, Odd Job.

[@Xehanort10]

Kung Lao and Oddjob were her teachers in the art of hat fu.

[@truefanforum3273]

@@Xehanort10 Well, at least she learned from the best.

[@luisayala5914]

I recently found this channel and I gotta say I love it so much. So much workbyou put in. ❤

[@psychodeviant8903]

"Sure thing......... LAAAADY COP?!?"

[@echozgus]

The street payphone was the place Clark Kent used to change into Superman

[@christianninsananda9626]

What is Badger doing up there!?!?!?!

[@HelterSkelter117]

I was thinking the same thing. Badger is awesome!

[@mcgrewism]

Lets give that grenade thing some credit; that's the captain america play but with the benefit of not blowing herself up!

[@lsgreger2645]

You have to review Spiral Zone! I loved the cartoon in the 80s (or at least the kick-ass opening theme), but never knew it was made into a comic book.

[@allluckyseven]

Speaking of opening themes, one that was really awesome (and that I had to look up again on YT) is the theme for Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors. * drools *

[@lsgreger2645]

@@allluckyseven I have to admit, I never seen the show. I didn't get cable as a kid, so if it wasn't on the big three (ABC, NBC, and CBS) I wasn't able to watch. Although, I fell in love with the Jayce show/toyline when Toy Galaxy did a review of the toyline. Retroblasting channel did a huge retrospective on the show and toyline. In the final video, he admits that collecting the toys are a pain because there is no definitive source of complete sets of these toys since they had a lot of interchangeable parts, so he decides to break down all the items in the original leases of the toys. Definitely a must watch if you are into the show or toy line.

[@NoJusticeNoPeace]

A very, very bad one.

[@milmil5350]

@6:03 yep. *This is playing out like all anime do.* 😃 *1)* girl is presented as a "badass". *2)* girl is sexually assaulted (possibly raped) for fanservice, but author acts like we're supposed to take this part of the story seriously. *3)* rinse and repeat steps 1 & 2 in every chapter, episode, &/or story arc until the series' end.

[@beaniepq]

*coughs* Kill la Kill *cough*

[@T-Jex]

"Why would you do if i get stabbed in the toe? Rub my neck with aloe vera?"

[@winstonheard9769]

Was the underaged girl really “sexy,” or just on trend with fashion? And where was it stated that her boyfriend was an adult? Maybe he was a kid too?

[@justbny9278]

We may never know

[@DrewLSsix]

Winston Heard Still statutory rape🤷‍♂️

[@winstonheard9769]

@@DrewLSsix against whom?

[@kelseyyerger6408]

@jason lewis Actually they could both be charged with statutory rape if they are both underage.

[@gerbill13]

" I kissed the sheriff but i did not snog the depute . "

[@cha5]

Gerbil13 🤣

[@omiorahman6283]

Lol

[@andresmartin67]

Re watching your video and that tp price would be so valuable in this days

[@jacob_ian_decoursey_the_author]

"Now I'm not an EMT. I'm obviously a hot cop."

[@MountainDewComacho494]

In that scene where she is in the Police Academy, the two other women look like twins with the exact same look on their faces. Their color is just slightly different.

[@Jolar70]

Oh man, I found "Lady Cop" years ago at a convention in Boston! I instantly loved it because it's all the things I happen to love between 15 cents and 25 cents; it's misguided (like; already too-old Stan Lee writing Spiderman stories about drug addiction in the late '60's!), also the romance comic artists were ALWAYS the true craftsmen of the trade (they were obviously schooled artists rather than nerds who learned to draw from other comic books), and it's awkwardly sleazy in an era of "Death Wish", yet back when comics were still considered entertainment for children only! I live in NYC now and that was certainly the city that was "worse than Gotham" from the late '60's through the early '90's (from LSD to heroin to PCP to crack, and always vodka). We needed Lady Cop! Not L.A. Angie-fucking-Dickinson! Lady Cop was like a tiny broken mirror in a Barbie play set.

[@richardranke7878]

I remember buying Lady Cop right off the stands. I liked the art and the story was-okay.

[@filipe19991]

Are you sure this isnt Black Canary´s comic where Dinah Drake becomes a cop like her husband. But somehow DC didnt allow this move and just create Lady Cop because the comic has already done.

[@ffnendhgrgd]

"So you want Lady Cop to look heroic and proud on the cover?" "No! God no!"

[@Professional_NerdNonsense]

Came here because of today’s livestream. Hilarious and informative video! 😂

[@tonyhill1141]

My mom was the first female officer for a small city in 1966. Her CB handle in 1975 was Sgt Pepper after Angie Dickinson.

[@captorofsin86]

Fun episode! Can't wait to see the other entries

[@artbikescomics5804]

Awesome comic review and brief history of women in the police force.

[@twistedwell9568]

It was a little while before I noticed your shirt is unbuttoned xD xD

[@allluckyseven]

Chris, you always makes me head straight to comicvine so I can read more about what you're showing on your videos. This John Rosenberger was an amazing artist. It's so sad that, although he drew quite a few comics, he didn't get to draw much of note. In superhero comics, at least. A couple Wonder Woman comics, one Brave and the Bold comic, one Supergirl comic and a few others, lesser known.

[@timeliebe]

If somebody hasn't told you already, it's a beanie - it was very common among college underclassmen back in the early part of the 20th century.

[@carbonscythe]

The whole "head snapping towards the punch" is getting that still happens today. I throw my arms in the air every time it happens

[@RobotRockRod]

Wow, amazing artist. His anatomy is one f'kn point.

[@fixfund]

To be honest, contrary to you, i see that this comic has good background story,and case story, good drawing , good morale exposed, the weird thing is she calls “phd” in karate. I guess its unfortunate that many people just dont give the comic for good chance. I guess too many comics superhero at that time

[@timeliebe]

Lady Cop shows up years later as Chief of Police of Ivy Town in Gail Simone's run on ALL-NEW ATOM with Ryan Choi in the title role. I just realized that was 17 years ago-and Gail was very supportive of Tammy's and I's writing. Unfortunately, Marvel felt differently.

[@kolbewilliam7542]

Oh my god when you had the buttons undone I laughed my ass off great episode. I seriously loved the art in this also

[@freehouse5006]

Wish I'd won that toilet paper. I could really use it right about now.

[@darkartsdabbler2407]

I want “Hal the Insecure Boyfriend” as a card in magic the gathering

[@Unworshipediety]

Your sarcastic deadpan sense of humor hits on all levels! XD

[@macsnafu]

I just recently re-read Lady Cop. Didn't know you were going to cover it! It wasn't bad, but yeah, Kanigher was trying to hard to be a modern (70s-style) progressive in his twilight years. If he had stuck with a vengeance angle, or even a good mystery to solve, I think it would have been better. But at least Rosenberger's art was pretty enjoyable. I've seen a few other Rosenberger stories, and it's a shame he didn't get to draw more.

[@jakeproven256]

1:49 to 2:02 The reason for Lady Cops face being near the DC logo is probably because DC had the main characters faces on a lot of their books at the time. It was similar to how Marvel had the main character in the box at the top left for their books.

[@Akkbar21]

And now Tom King is using this character in a new miniseries.

[@Flowtail]

Spiderman/Hulk, you say? Now THAT is a comic i'd be interested in reading

[@ComicTropes]

Fif Gallag I reviewed it a few months ago in the episode titled Marvel Toilet Paper.

[@pedrovieira-ri7lk]

2:03 isnt that Bill Finger? I mean, in the Super friends Wiki they use that picture in Bill Finger´s page

[@markleach679]

As usual a brilliant episode absolutely hilarious

[@CruderQuotient1]

I love comics that are created to cash in on trends (Luke Cage/Iron Fist come to mind) wouldn’t mind seeing an episode dedicated to that trope

[@AC-gb7do]

CruderQuotient1 Shang Chi was another character that cashed in on trends, but I still think he’s a great character even now.

[@robertb.7772]

I watched a "Columbo" from '78 or '79 recently. He investigates this female lawyer, and in one scene talks to one of the male lawyers at the firm: "I don't know how you do it." "Do what?" "Work for a woman." The man then goes on to explain that, well, she's the best in the business and so forth... - Yeah, the 70s were a very different time. I think "Lady Cop" at least tried, and I respect it for that. I think it had potential.

[@nickfilms8828]

Honestly would love to see Lady Cop in the next Suicide Squad movie would be a really funny character to have in there

[@salvation7362]

Never been this early before, nice!

[@agu-k8m]

h

[@jjclaxton1652]

I love that she went to the beach on her break

[@kylecarter1599]

Don't blame Kannagher for being inspired to make his own version of Police Woman. If he didn't make Lady Cop, we wouldn't be getting Danger Street and scene transitions like Darkseid and Highfather hugging to Lady Cop's printer not working.

[@IncredibleMD]

But, hey, the cover is pretty cool, at least? You're right about the art. That'd make a pretty good print.

[@richmcgee434]

Hat-based martial arts expert? Clearly we missed the part of her origin story where she travelled to Lidsville. Ah well, perhaps when they release the Lady Cop Year Zero series.

[@hatednyc]

Robert Canneker (spell check) looks like he got the idea for Lady Cop from his life on the mean streets with that slash mark on his face

[@thezabgoth7426]

IIRC 1st issue special also the introduction of the Mikal Tomas Starman.

[@David_6324]

At the 1:00 mark you mention that the cover scene doesn't take place within the issue. Then, at the 10:40 mark, the scene (albeit brief) does actually take place, with a panel that duplicates the cover, depicting a large man attacking Lady Cop with a chain..

[@LikaLaruku]

The 80s manga series "You're Under Arrest" "Tank Police" "Bubblegum Crisis" "Gunsmith Cats" & "Dirty Pair" succeeded where this failed. Ultra violence sells.

[@hazydaze9921]

this comic seems to be: "She's... doing her job as a police officer, *gasp*!" The sarcasm in this video was great. A bit of an odd assumption that the underage girl's boyfriend isn't also her age. Why would it have to be statutory rape? Isn't it more likely they're the same age?

[@LadyDeirdre]

I think the ice cream vendor was surprised to see a female patrol officer in what seems to be a pretty rough neighbourhood. At this time, they were usually assigned to nicer areas. The grocer... yeah, I think she made the right call. Brain damage sets in far faster than hypovolemic shock. But overall, this is pretty painful. And i definitely agree about her boyfriend. How insecure can you get?

[@Dale_The_Space_Wizard]

I'm looking forward to the Lady Cop Animated movie.

[@MtzGerardo]

And there were creating in those time more heroic versions of cops even with one that didn't got out or exist in comics "Super Cop" and instead they put Robo Cop but I don't know if this Super Cop exists in the Heroes Multiverse

[@thenamedoesnotmatter]

I really hope Lady Cop can cross over with Ms. Officer from the Lil' Wayne song.

[@jrox1904]

I think this book had some good ideas that just needed to be delivered a bit better

[@jotaferreira4848]

Man oh man...do you know you comics! Great vid! A big thx from Brazil! :)

[@cigarobsession]

Congrats to my brother Brad!

[@LiterallyGraphic]

I actually live in a city where people use pay phones fairly regularly. It's odd.

[@Googaliemoogalie]

8:38 Whomever the hat possesses gains the proportional strength of a hat!

[@johnminehan1148]

Nice cover by Dick Giordano. First Issue Special was a confusing title; what it was was Showcase, a title they thought was clunky (!?).

[@MrHantz101]

Much like our host Chris, I'm not an EMT either. But it seems to me that giving chest compressions to someone with multiple stab wounds would just squeeze the blood out of them much faster, no?

[@ploopplaap3436]

Hey man, been following your channel for a while, haven’t watched everything, but I just wanted to say what you do as a channel is pretty cool

[@dreddpiratebromando5953]

This could work if it went full parody like in Black Dynamite

[@AllNoneBlakCox]

one of my favorite comedy episodes

[@jakeproven256]

2:03 That's not a picture of Robert Kanigar, that's a picture of Bill Finger, Co-Creator of Batman.

[@ianbyrne465]

I honestly think that every lame golden age/silver age character can be made better with some better writing. Lady cop for example. Have her in a city that's rife with crime and corruption. She's got it bad. A relationship that's toxic but she doesn't even realize it, a dead-end job, nothing to show for it. Her two roommates are comparably living much fuller lives and working better jobs (what those are is up for decision) One day, they're murdered and Liza barely manages to escape joining them. A mix of fear for a returning killer and a desire to avenged her roommates' deaths leads her to join the police force. She's met by a system of corrupt officers that don't want to bring this woman into the force, but she works and trains harder than everyone else in the academy and rises to the top of her class. From there, you can have her facing criminals and trying to work around the deep rooted corruption. Stationed in menial police work, but still finding herself getting into deeper trouble since she's just so damn good at being a cop

[@andersonic]

Was an issue of Badger a contender for crappiest comic? It would be a shame to put people off discovering First Comics, to the extent that's even possible now. Even fans of John Ostrander might never read Grimjack.

[@edward2962]

I have not read this comic, but I do remember seeing ads for it in old DC Comics. Having said that, just by looking at the panels you've shown, I wanna guess the inks are by Vince Coletta?

[@funeralbillii9172]

Wait, those boots, the Ace of Spades cards...IT WAS LEMMY!!

[@shirleydowning3612]

Love your cap!

[@TheRealNormanBates]

11:18 that's not Lady Cop. That's Coffy.

[@1971thedoctor]

There was three comics by Jack Kirby the third is the underrated Dingbats. But seriously I did like Jack’s Manhunter and Atlas. Sometimes one issue is all you need.

[@matthinton19]

So does the dad who punches her in the face ever get arrested or just allowed to get off as he hugs his daughter

[@danethanor]

Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane comic had superman on all the covers i think and probably in the stories too as did Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen comic.

[@kevinconnor4228]

I watch many episodes repeatedly. So funny.

[@Remholder]

This is one of those things that is out of my usual grabs regarding comics, but I want to own it, just to be like, "yeah, DC's lady cop? I own it. 😎"

[@Ben-rz9cf]

"...the rare form of martial arts which is hat based" LOL

[@saladinbryant563]

Awesome episode! I want this crazy comic.