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Jane at War: The Original and Unexpurgated Adventures of the British Secret Weapon of World War Two, Jane of The Daily Mirror
Jane was a comic strip created and drawn by Norman Pett exclusively for the British tabloid newspaper The Daily Mirror from 5 December 1932 to 10 October 1959
- GenresComics
480 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
About the author
Norman Pett
6 books2 followersBorn in Birmingham, the son of John Ernest Pett, a jeweller, William Norman Pett fought in the First World War before being invalided out of the forces.
He then studied art at the Press Art School founded by Percy Bradshaw and a school that developed many famous cartoonists. Later, he taught art at the Mosley Road Junior Art School and at Birmingham Central School of Art.
In 1932 he set out to produce a comic strip that would rival the famous 'Pip, Squeak and Wilfred' and thus his legacy was launched with his cartoon heroine Jane. It began in the Daily Mirror on 5 December 1932 and was to continue unabated until 10 October 1959.
By that time Jane had become an international icon and one of the most popular cartoon characters of the 20th century. She often, in the performance of her patriotic duties of course, found herself in her underwear, complete with stockings, having her clothes blown off by bombs, exhibiting herself in her bath and other titillating activities, all of which further endeared her to her adoring public. And it was all done in the best possible taste!
For the first few years of Jane's existence, Pett's wife Mary modelled for him but eventually he started to use professional models instead, the most famous of whom was Mary's immediate successor, Chrystabel Leighton-Porter who Pett discovered working in a Birmingham telephone exchange. She most famously modelled for him during World War Two.
Until the war, Jane had a short daily funny story, but at the start of the war, she became a continuous story, this after JHG ("Don") Freeman had been hired by the Mirror to add some depth to the story lines. And Pett told Pathé News in 1943, "The turning point in Jane's career, when she became a success, was when we turned her from a daily joke into a continuous story. In other words, when she was stripped in both senses of the term."
Pett retired from drawing Jane after drawing her for 16 years in 1948, and the strip was continued by Michael Hubbard until its demise in 1959.
Gerry Wolstenholme
July 2015
He then studied art at the Press Art School founded by Percy Bradshaw and a school that developed many famous cartoonists. Later, he taught art at the Mosley Road Junior Art School and at Birmingham Central School of Art.
In 1932 he set out to produce a comic strip that would rival the famous 'Pip, Squeak and Wilfred' and thus his legacy was launched with his cartoon heroine Jane. It began in the Daily Mirror on 5 December 1932 and was to continue unabated until 10 October 1959.
By that time Jane had become an international icon and one of the most popular cartoon characters of the 20th century. She often, in the performance of her patriotic duties of course, found herself in her underwear, complete with stockings, having her clothes blown off by bombs, exhibiting herself in her bath and other titillating activities, all of which further endeared her to her adoring public. And it was all done in the best possible taste!
For the first few years of Jane's existence, Pett's wife Mary modelled for him but eventually he started to use professional models instead, the most famous of whom was Mary's immediate successor, Chrystabel Leighton-Porter who Pett discovered working in a Birmingham telephone exchange. She most famously modelled for him during World War Two.
Until the war, Jane had a short daily funny story, but at the start of the war, she became a continuous story, this after JHG ("Don") Freeman had been hired by the Mirror to add some depth to the story lines. And Pett told Pathé News in 1943, "The turning point in Jane's career, when she became a success, was when we turned her from a daily joke into a continuous story. In other words, when she was stripped in both senses of the term."
Pett retired from drawing Jane after drawing her for 16 years in 1948, and the strip was continued by Michael Hubbard until its demise in 1959.
Gerry Wolstenholme
July 2015
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 28, 2018
I've had my copy of 'Jane' for over 40 years now, having been introduced to Petty's cartoons through some reproduction WW2 Daily Mirror newspapers, and this compendium of her 'strips' still holds plenty of charm and interest. First off, it is a wonderful example of graphic novel literature before such a construct possibly existed. Yes, each Jane story has some episodic qualities that means that there are dead ends or unconnected narratives (for example whatever happened to Jane's first wartime beau, Basil?). However the cast of characters, the underlying construct of her war work, and the mise-en-scenes that Jane works through are fairly consistent.
It has to be said that the jokes and comic antics created by Petty are dated and would be considered sexist today, however these are not issues that one should focus on. Instead I think it's only right to concentrate on the historical value and social significance of Petty's work, and how 'Jane' is a vibrant example of the saucy British humour that still resonates today. One has to marvel at the fact that during the war the censors let Petty and the Mirror publish semi-naked images of Jane, revelling in her sex appeal, and thus contributing to the morale of home front and front line alike. I have seen Nazi and other Axis propaganda that exploits sexual content and it is always negative and pornographic. Jane is never this.
Ultimately, I can recommend reading 'Jane at War' on three levels. It's a wonderful compendium of cartoon strips produced by a major graphic novelist talent. Secondly it serves as an excellent insight into British social history during World War II. Finally Jane is an absolute cracker and her scantily-clad adventures are all great fun.
It has to be said that the jokes and comic antics created by Petty are dated and would be considered sexist today, however these are not issues that one should focus on. Instead I think it's only right to concentrate on the historical value and social significance of Petty's work, and how 'Jane' is a vibrant example of the saucy British humour that still resonates today. One has to marvel at the fact that during the war the censors let Petty and the Mirror publish semi-naked images of Jane, revelling in her sex appeal, and thus contributing to the morale of home front and front line alike. I have seen Nazi and other Axis propaganda that exploits sexual content and it is always negative and pornographic. Jane is never this.
Ultimately, I can recommend reading 'Jane at War' on three levels. It's a wonderful compendium of cartoon strips produced by a major graphic novelist talent. Secondly it serves as an excellent insight into British social history during World War II. Finally Jane is an absolute cracker and her scantily-clad adventures are all great fun.
December 28, 2025
one of the few collections of this historic British strip.
For some reason this collection is missing the strip that ran on VE Day (May 8, 1945) where Jane is celebrating that she can finally get out of her uniform, and then a bunch of GIs rip it off her as a souvenir as Smiley cracks a joke.
This might be because it was a last minute addition that interrupted a story due to VE Day, so the strip interrupts D108 and D109 and isn't numbered.
A sad omission for such an important strip and important day.
If you search online you can find a fan made collection that includes it.
Hopefully a proper complete Jane collection will come out one day.
For some reason this collection is missing the strip that ran on VE Day (May 8, 1945) where Jane is celebrating that she can finally get out of her uniform, and then a bunch of GIs rip it off her as a souvenir as Smiley cracks a joke.
This might be because it was a last minute addition that interrupted a story due to VE Day, so the strip interrupts D108 and D109 and isn't numbered.
A sad omission for such an important strip and important day.
If you search online you can find a fan made collection that includes it.
Hopefully a proper complete Jane collection will come out one day.
January 20, 2020
Not as good as I remember then from my teenage years. It's still incredible that these got past the censor in the 1940s!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews