Dirty Pair (1985) Retrospective - Episode 3: Fall in Love Involuntarily! Love Is Russian Roulette.

This chapter is about the Angels infiltrating a rich gambler's mansion in order to retreat a valuable gambling chip named the Golem Poker Chip, currently in the possession of a crime syndicate. The dirty pair have their vacations interrupted because someone tipped off the 3WA about the legendary artifact, making Kei really angry. The girls quickly visit Planet Vega (space Las Vegas) in order to get more info on the chip and gain access to it. 

She would totally do that.

The gals are helped by a cute assistant who isn't what he says he is. Initially they are surprised by him and perhaps a bit attracted to him but they don't fully trust him. Yuri plays a big game of cards and manages to be invited to the villain's headquarters even after losing a lot of money gambling. 

Yuri stepping on a nagging Kei.

Messy trip.

Once at the mansion, the duo encounter a variety of menaces, such as an inhumanly huge fat guy genetically modified to be too beefy for our heroines, who defeat him using their gadgets and powerful kicks. The agents let themselves loose around the mansion, hiding from the thugs and guests, hoping their pets (a little robot and the bear-cat, Mughi) can help them escape.

The dirty pair teasing the bad guys.

Kei at the mercy of the big blob.

The girls celebrate.

Mughi scares people.

They beat the villains on their way towards getting the chip but they accidentally turn on a self-destruct mode, now they have to flee before it's too late. Kei and Sydney have a small romantic moment that's cut short because of the impending explosion, Sydney decides to go after the chip and tells Kei to get to safety. The place blows up and seemingly their chances of getting the chip as well.

Obligatory “dress rip" because practicality beats fashion.

Kei appreaciates Yuri a lot.

Kei and Yuri head for the local airport where they intercept a young man who seems very familiar to them. You see, an old woman and the assistant, Sydney, are seen throughout the episode but they were  in fact one dude who infiltrated the compound, planning to steal the chip. Tipping of the 3WA in order to take advantage of the chaos was part of his plan. The girls call him out on it because Kei recognized the smell of gel both in the old lady and in Sydney. They play heads of tails for the chip and the guy loses. Kei, knowing he is deceitful, changes it for a fake one and keeps the real one, outsmarting the boy. 

Kei having the last laugh.

Deeply entertaining this is yet another example of how dynamic and quick these stories are yet they manage to be filled with good characterization and masterful action set-pieces that makes them lively and always amusing. Enjoyable episode.

Yuri loves to tease Kei.

Giant women from The Iron Skull (1939)

1939 and 1940 were two good years for female characters in comics, this very issue of Amazing Man Comics (number 7) gave birth to one of the first ever female superheroes, but that's another story. Today we are going to give a special mention to two villainesses, the giant women from The Iron Skull. This was a very typical superhero who fought in an alternate history version of WW2 and after an accident he was gifted super strength, resistance to bullets and telepathy.

In this issue, women have gone missing and inspector Bradley is on the case. He gets a special call by the criminal responsible for these kidnappings. The Iron Skull and his sidekick listen to the call and trace the caller with their equipment. They find a woman being kidnapped by a robot but the mechanical being self-destructs. 

Soon after, Iron Skull is given a newspaper that tells the news of female giants who robbed a bank, one of them being recognized by her father. Skull theorizes that the women were injected with something that controls the gland muscles. He goes to Dr. Toyat, a gland expert that happens to be in town, who in fact is the evil mastermind behind the crimes. 

The mad doctor puts the heroes in a cage with the gigantic women. The guys fight the tall ladies as they break down the villain's lair and their surroundings. 

The Iron Skull defeats them by using his amazing superpowers and the colossal women retreat. 

Iron Skull beats up the villain and saves the day, bringing the girls back to their original sizes with no casualties. Well, only the villain, who commits suicide by electrocuting himself. 

Quite an interesting little story, possibly one of the earliest depictions of giant women in comic books, predating the likes of Giganta, Garganta, Natalie Furst, Titaness and Masada. Lovely designs and fun little superhero adventure overall. The concept of a mad doctor using women for his evil plans will also be repeated many times in pulpy stories, that's a favorite of mine, weaponizing the victimized female characters against a hero, it's pretty cool stuff.