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In June 1970
the politically incorrect comic Iron Outlaw commenced
in Melbourne's Sunday Observer. Written by Graeme
Rutherford and drawn by Gregor MacAlpine, Iron Outlaw
sometimes ridiculed but mostly poked fun at the political
and social institutions of Australia and set about
the ‘Ocker’ image with great relish. At
the same time they highlighted the popularity of
comic book super-heroes, particularly the characters
from Stan Lee's Marvel Comic Group, and imitated
the styles of well-known comic book artists, like
Neal Adams, to reinforce their point. The alter ego
of Iron Outlaw was Gary Robinson, a junior accountant
for the Melvern City Council who was tormented by
the injustices against the good people of Melbourne.
On a visit
to Glenrowan he finds an old Ned Kelly style helmet
and wishes that he had the strength and courage
of Ned Kelly to combat the forces of evil. From
nowhere appears Yum Yabbi the spirit of the bush
and an Aboriginal answer to Britannia. With a winged
kangaroo perched on her head, an Aboriginal kangaroo
motif on her shield, she points a bone at Gary
and by uttering the magic words “Ah hoo la
la” she transforms him into a super
being and presents him with a pair of golden boomerangs.
Gary thinks it is 'Bonzer'.
In typical super-hero
fashion, Iron Outlaw soon gained an off-sider in
the form of Steel Sheila, who is really Dawn Papadopolis,
a council typist. Together they ride the countryside
in Iron Outlaw's orange FJ Holden with mag wheels
and a broad GT stripe. The early stories were restricted
to Melbourne where they mercilessly caricatured Sir
Henry Bolte, the then Premier of Victoria, as Humpo
- The Hunchback of St Paul's, who is determined to
spread doom and gloom by making every day like a
Melbourne Sunday. Called upon by Prime Minister John
Gorton to serve their country, the strip broadened
its area of operation.
A number
of episodes involved the Prime Minister, then William
McMahon, as the super-hero Kokoda Kid - complete
with digger hat and a chest full of medals. The
strip kidded the conservative reputation of Melbourne
in a panel where Steel Sheila was changing out
of her costume. A text box was added to read “In
deference to our sensitive Victorian readers, Dawn
appears nippless”.
With the closure
of the Sunday Observer imminent, Iron Outlaw and
Steel Sheila (as the strip was now called) transferred
to the pages of the Sunday Review in February 1971.
Now in black and white, the strip hit its visual
peak with some stunning artwork by MacAlpine on a
story about the Yellow Peril and featuring Madam
Loo and Warlord Nong. By the time it had finished
in June the same year, the comic had satirised everything
in sight and, in the process, confronted readers
with some of the more unpleasant aspects of our society.
In the final story, Iron Outlaw becomes the dictator
of Australia and imprisoned the incredulous Steel
Sheila - after all, she was only a “little
wog”! Greg and Grae, as they by-lined themselves,
moved on to other fields and the world of comic strips
was poorer for their leaving. |
