Portraits of
She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed
part IV

The Immortal She is truly immortal in that she is easily revamped for every generation's ideal of magical beauty. This Grosset & Dunlap reprint of She, A History of Adventure offers a "flapper" or Busby Burkleyesque portrait of Ayesha, doing a little jazz dance inside the sacred fire. This reissue was a movie tie-in, as the the little white square in the lower right hand corner (too little in this reproduction to read) says, "A RKO Radio Production," which identifies this as a 1935 printing, though no other reference to the film. Flap text begins: "He was a handsome young Englishman. She was a beautiful sorceress. They met in the heart of deepest Africa...."

The Lancer paperback movie tie-in edition shows Ursula Andress in what is likely the most famed of her film roles. The back cover text reads: "An extraordinary tale of blazing adventure & a lost civilization set in the vast deserts of Africa. An unforgettable novel of passion that defied nature's laws & a love that vanquished time. SHE, one of the most popular novels ever written. 83 million copies have been sold in 44 languages. It is a 'must" entertainment for every man, woman, & child. SHE, a major M-G-M release starring Ursula Andress & John Richardson."

She Who Must Be Obeyed easily found her way into pulp magazines, cinema, & even comic books. This rare Golden Age of Comics adaptation of Rider's novel was issued in January 1950, Fast Fiction number 3. This is the first printing cover, evocative & appealing pastels, very artful. The black & white illustrated story was reprinted by Fast Fiction Eclipse Classics in 1988.

The Silver Age of Comics adaptation of She, A Story of Adventure does what the Golden Age version avoided: transforms Ayesha into a standard Tits & Ass comic book amazon. Oh well, it's kind of cool in spite of itself. It's Marvel Illustrated Classics number 24, 1973.