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Domino Lady
Domino Lady
From Indiana Jones to The Shadow, he's visualized more classic fictional icons than any other American artist and now he's added another, in a spectacular volume which incorporates four favorite Steranko themes: pulp fiction, noir mystery, art deco, and beautiful women. A new painted cover showcasing equal parts danger, intrigue, and sex appeal. Each adventure pits the sultry femme fatale against vicious gangsters and secret societies, all of which are captured by evocative Steranko double-page title illustrations. And as a SPECIAL BONUS, he has also authored a new thriller that reveals the sin-tillating secrets of the Domino Lady's lethal origin for the first time ever She's the quintessential 30s pulp vixen, a masked manhunter in a noir deco world, right out of a Warner Bros. thriller in a handsome format.
- GenresPulp
112 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
19 people want to read
About the author
Jim Steranko
297 books50 followersJames Steranko is an American graphic artist, comic book writer-artist-historian, magician, publisher and film production illustrator who has work for decades till the present.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 3, 2023
These original tales of the Domino Lady are a treat. Simply being a dame in a world of masked tough guys makes her stand out, but Lars Anderson (whoever he or she actually was) made her a little different still.
Like many of the pulp characters, she swore vengeance on the criminals who took a loved one from her. Unlike the others, Ellen Patrick quickly became addicted to the adrenaline rush and took on cases that helped a friend or just piqued her interest enough to get involved.
The final tale is penned by Jim Steranko himself. It was good, but I didn't like it nearly as much as I thought I would. His attempt to flesh out the Domino Lady's origin left me just a bit cold. Perhaps that is part of her appeal, her origin in the 30s had enough mystery about that the reader was left to wonder about certain points. I don't think Steranko did Miss Patrick any favors by addressing them.
Still, his gorgeous artwork throughout the book more than makes up for it.
Update and Edit with mild spoilers: Just finished rereading the book and I have a little more appreciation on what Steranko did in the last tale. There are still two adjustments I'm stuck on (Ellen's Mother leaving rather than dying and her world tour wound up in Egypt not Japan). He does give Ellen a greater skill in the martial arts than in the original stories, so I can get behind that. However, I still enjoy the original tales better than Steranko's.
Absolutely recommended for lovers of the Domino Lady, Steranko, or the Pulps in general.
Find it! Buy it! READ IT!
Like many of the pulp characters, she swore vengeance on the criminals who took a loved one from her. Unlike the others, Ellen Patrick quickly became addicted to the adrenaline rush and took on cases that helped a friend or just piqued her interest enough to get involved.
The final tale is penned by Jim Steranko himself. It was good, but I didn't like it nearly as much as I thought I would. His attempt to flesh out the Domino Lady's origin left me just a bit cold. Perhaps that is part of her appeal, her origin in the 30s had enough mystery about that the reader was left to wonder about certain points. I don't think Steranko did Miss Patrick any favors by addressing them.
Still, his gorgeous artwork throughout the book more than makes up for it.
Update and Edit with mild spoilers: Just finished rereading the book and I have a little more appreciation on what Steranko did in the last tale. There are still two adjustments I'm stuck on (Ellen's Mother leaving rather than dying and her world tour wound up in Egypt not Japan). He does give Ellen a greater skill in the martial arts than in the original stories, so I can get behind that. However, I still enjoy the original tales better than Steranko's.
Absolutely recommended for lovers of the Domino Lady, Steranko, or the Pulps in general.
Find it! Buy it! READ IT!
June 25, 2019
COUNTDOWN: Mid-20th Century American Crime
BOOK/Novella 159 (of 250)
Otto Penzler, in his collection entitled "The Big Book of Female Detectives" points out that "One of the staples of the pulp magazine era as a plethora of costumed characters, largely due to the enormous success of the Shadow...what was unusual was a female masked avenger, but the Domino Lady filled the bill." Little is known of this author (there is another, modern author by this name). But there are some touches, as when Ellen Patrick is preparing for a night out in which she'll play her masked avenger, and her frock is described as "...a smart creation of brown satin, fitted snugly about her white throat after the Russian fashion..." leading one to think we're probably reading a female author. I don't think many male crime authors would have referenced the cut of Ellen's dress 'after the Russian fashion' in 1936, at which time googling varieties of ladies' fashions would have been impossible. Also, the design is fit so that the dress itself can be converted quickly into avenger mode (...black, backless, and daringly cut in at its decolletage...) and back, and it's all nicely written, so the author knows about women's clothing and cuts/designs, etc. Ellen/Domino's seduction of her victim feels just right also, from a woman's point of view, and original for this genre/time period.
HOOK - 3 stars: "Glittering sunshine was vainly attempting to bore its way through the closely shuttered Venetian blinds protecting the bedroom windows of an apartment on Willshire Blvd...the fragrant buds of a California spring were shooting into life...A tousled blonde head...a damp, cerise mouth, opened in a delicate yawn..." Okay, minus 1 star for the cliched 'climate report' opening. But, oh, that 'cerise' (bright red, I had to look it up in the dictionary) mouth is sexy and very feminine, so I've learned a new word: plus 1 star for a 3-star hook.
PACE - 3: Lars understands novella material thoroughly, and treats it right.
PLOT - 4: Water rights? Fixing an election? Mysterious documents? And the Domino Lady even has a hypodermic syringe under her cape! Lots of fun here in just a few pages.
CAST - 4: This female avenger could get by in her "black velvet negligee which hid her youthful body more completely that the silk nightgown had disclosed it" but she goes for it, guns and syringes and the works, and she's a refreshing read. 4 stars for uniqueness. There are a few other good characters, but Lady Domino is the star.
ATMOSPHERE - 2: A Penthouse on Wilshire Blvd has a huge terrace with a "panoramic night view of Hollywood and vicinity" but little else. I wanted textures of carpets and artwork. A little too light in the area of atmosphere for me.
SUMMARY: 3.2, a fun and unusual read. I think I'll look for more adventures by our lovely lady 'to-the-rescue' of societies' ills.
BOOK/Novella 159 (of 250)
Otto Penzler, in his collection entitled "The Big Book of Female Detectives" points out that "One of the staples of the pulp magazine era as a plethora of costumed characters, largely due to the enormous success of the Shadow...what was unusual was a female masked avenger, but the Domino Lady filled the bill." Little is known of this author (there is another, modern author by this name). But there are some touches, as when Ellen Patrick is preparing for a night out in which she'll play her masked avenger, and her frock is described as "...a smart creation of brown satin, fitted snugly about her white throat after the Russian fashion..." leading one to think we're probably reading a female author. I don't think many male crime authors would have referenced the cut of Ellen's dress 'after the Russian fashion' in 1936, at which time googling varieties of ladies' fashions would have been impossible. Also, the design is fit so that the dress itself can be converted quickly into avenger mode (...black, backless, and daringly cut in at its decolletage...) and back, and it's all nicely written, so the author knows about women's clothing and cuts/designs, etc. Ellen/Domino's seduction of her victim feels just right also, from a woman's point of view, and original for this genre/time period.
HOOK - 3 stars: "Glittering sunshine was vainly attempting to bore its way through the closely shuttered Venetian blinds protecting the bedroom windows of an apartment on Willshire Blvd...the fragrant buds of a California spring were shooting into life...A tousled blonde head...a damp, cerise mouth, opened in a delicate yawn..." Okay, minus 1 star for the cliched 'climate report' opening. But, oh, that 'cerise' (bright red, I had to look it up in the dictionary) mouth is sexy and very feminine, so I've learned a new word: plus 1 star for a 3-star hook.
PACE - 3: Lars understands novella material thoroughly, and treats it right.
PLOT - 4: Water rights? Fixing an election? Mysterious documents? And the Domino Lady even has a hypodermic syringe under her cape! Lots of fun here in just a few pages.
CAST - 4: This female avenger could get by in her "black velvet negligee which hid her youthful body more completely that the silk nightgown had disclosed it" but she goes for it, guns and syringes and the works, and she's a refreshing read. 4 stars for uniqueness. There are a few other good characters, but Lady Domino is the star.
ATMOSPHERE - 2: A Penthouse on Wilshire Blvd has a huge terrace with a "panoramic night view of Hollywood and vicinity" but little else. I wanted textures of carpets and artwork. A little too light in the area of atmosphere for me.
SUMMARY: 3.2, a fun and unusual read. I think I'll look for more adventures by our lovely lady 'to-the-rescue' of societies' ills.
October 21, 2017
The beautiful lady Robin Hood of the pulps!
The Domino Lady appeared in six stories in Saucy Romanic Adventures, Romantic Adventures, and Mystery Adventure Magazine. She was a liberated woman of 1936, a woman not afraid of her sexuality or what society would think about her. These stories were in magazines where the words “saucy” and “romantic” refer to the mere description of her beauty and kissing. Anything else that happens between the Domino Lady and a male friend, takes place very much off stage. No foul language or lurid descriptions that aren’t PG at best were allowed.
The Domino Lady is Ellen Patrick. Her father, Owen Patrick, was a high-level politician in California who fought corruption in politics. He was assassinated by the crooked politicians. Ellen also felt that the authorities were complicit in her father’s murder.
Ellen took on the identity of the masked Domino Lady to fight crime, corruption, and to bring down the false idols in high places. The classic illustrations of the Domino Lady show her in a low-cut white evening dress, a black cape, and a black domino mask. She is armed with a small automatic handgun. She also carries syringes loaded with a powerful knockout drug.
As she has always been depicted in white, I was surprised that in her first adventures she wore a black evening dress with a white cape! There were times when she also wore a small hat with a bit of black veil.
On to the stories, and so I leave a ***Spoilers Alert*** here.
• “The Domino Lady Collects” finds Ellen pitted against a blackmailer…
• “The Domino Lady Doubles Back” deals with a daring robbery at a masquerade ball…
• “The Domino Lady’s Handicap” finds a blackmailer trying to fix a horse race…
• “Emeralds Abroad” has Ellen aboard a ship coming home from Hawaii…
• In “The Domino Lady’s Double,” our heroine is framed for murder…
I like this book a lot, and I give it four stars!
Quoth the Raven…
The Domino Lady appeared in six stories in Saucy Romanic Adventures, Romantic Adventures, and Mystery Adventure Magazine. She was a liberated woman of 1936, a woman not afraid of her sexuality or what society would think about her. These stories were in magazines where the words “saucy” and “romantic” refer to the mere description of her beauty and kissing. Anything else that happens between the Domino Lady and a male friend, takes place very much off stage. No foul language or lurid descriptions that aren’t PG at best were allowed.
The Domino Lady is Ellen Patrick. Her father, Owen Patrick, was a high-level politician in California who fought corruption in politics. He was assassinated by the crooked politicians. Ellen also felt that the authorities were complicit in her father’s murder.
Ellen took on the identity of the masked Domino Lady to fight crime, corruption, and to bring down the false idols in high places. The classic illustrations of the Domino Lady show her in a low-cut white evening dress, a black cape, and a black domino mask. She is armed with a small automatic handgun. She also carries syringes loaded with a powerful knockout drug.
As she has always been depicted in white, I was surprised that in her first adventures she wore a black evening dress with a white cape! There were times when she also wore a small hat with a bit of black veil.
On to the stories, and so I leave a ***Spoilers Alert*** here.
• “The Domino Lady Collects” finds Ellen pitted against a blackmailer…
• “The Domino Lady Doubles Back” deals with a daring robbery at a masquerade ball…
• “The Domino Lady’s Handicap” finds a blackmailer trying to fix a horse race…
• “Emeralds Abroad” has Ellen aboard a ship coming home from Hawaii…
• In “The Domino Lady’s Double,” our heroine is framed for murder…
I like this book a lot, and I give it four stars!
Quoth the Raven…
December 21, 2012
Get this book for the art! Jim Steranko rendered a double page spread for each chapter in a distinctive art-deco style, unlike anything he has done before or since. These are done in black and white and are stunning. As a bonus in The Steranko edition, the art is printed again in full colour at the back of the volume.
April 11, 2021
The Domino Lady was an obscure character who appeared in several issues of 'Saucy Romantic Adventures' in 1936. She'd probably have remained in obscurity, save that her status as the only costumed heroine of the era led to her receiving a fair amount of attention among revivalists. The stories themselves are laughable, with a lack of any actual detecting (she typically knows who the criminal is at the beginning of the story) and endless lingering descriptions of the heroine's perfect beauty (only the lack of any actual sex disqualifies the tales from being considered soft-core porn, as they are written as much to titillate as intrigue).
Nevertheless, this is a fine package which includes all six original Domino Lady stories, along with a new origin (which the stories themselves only hint at) written in prose by Jim Steranko. It also sports several Steranko illustrations as headers for each chapter, along with other illustrations reprinted from the original source.
Nevertheless, this is a fine package which includes all six original Domino Lady stories, along with a new origin (which the stories themselves only hint at) written in prose by Jim Steranko. It also sports several Steranko illustrations as headers for each chapter, along with other illustrations reprinted from the original source.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews