Before I begin, I do want to make something clear: I’m not making fun of Lois herself in this trip down the hat-stand. As a character goes, once she hits her stride, the 1940’s Lois is a consistent, hard-headed, go-getter whom I find much more relatable than some of the other ‘leading ladies’ who are appearing in other superhero comics at the same time. Neither The Flash‘s Joan nor The Green Lantern‘s Irene or many others are as realized a character as Lois, although she will sadly lose some of this quality once Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane begins, when she becomes more romance-crazed and her adventures more silly, at least until the 1970’s. Only The Hawkman‘s Shiera Sanders shows hints of the relatively more ‘modern’ woman she will come to be as Hawkgirl (who will evolve considerably over a tangled web of multiple Earths, Crisis series, and retcons to the point where she is a hero on the animated Justice League (2001) and Hawkman does not seem to even exist). Consequently, at least apparently, of all those character and more, only Lois and Shiera have weathered time to become ‘stars’ in their own right instead of mere supporting cast.
But in the 1940’s, Lois is largely a woman working in a man’s career field, trying to use her ‘nose for news’ to break out of her ‘sob sister’ gig (for those unfamiliar with newspaper terms, one of Lois’ early duties is writing an ‘Advice to the Love-Lorn’ column) and into real, headline-making reporting. Yes, her reach often exceeds her grasp, but the fact that Lois would’ve been dead before the decade was out were there no Superman to rescue her doesn’t detract from this; it merely gives the stories an impetus they might otherwise have lacked.
Now, on to the hats!
Lois is actually looking pretty stylish in this ‘feminized fedora’ (I call it that because of the big bow on the back). It gives her a sort of intrepid woman-of-mystery air, something I at least am not used to seeing in Lois, who is about as in-your-face, what-you-see-is-what-you-get as possible most of the time. Even Margot Kidder (Superman: The Movie, Superman II; Kidder appeared in the other two films of that series, but those were not much more than cameos, so far as I know. If you know differently, let me know, as I can’t bear to watch them) got that right.
In the next issue, she’s equally stylish wearing a seashell.
Okay, no; that’s clearly a turban held on the side of Lois’s head by a ginormous hat-pin which she could’ve used as a weapon. Incidentally, this really was a story Joe Shuster penciled himself; Lee Nowak only did finishes and inked it. That tells me Shuster really did enjoy putting Lois in strange hats. Or perhaps they all really were fashionable, but I’m not sure the sort of hard-boiled reporter Lois is trying to be would’ve worn them.
Sigh. That, of course, suggests the sort of character undermining I mentioned happening later has already begun. But we’re here to have fun, or at least I am, so I’ll leave that for now and pretend that Shuster or someone else in the Shuster Shop was friends with a milliner and trying to do them a good turn.
Next up is one of those hats I’m beginning to think of as ‘orca-brims’ because, like a captive killer whale with a long dorsal fin, they stand up for part of their length, then flop over.
And no, she didn’t fall asleep; instead, Clark put Lois under with one of his slowly-growing list of super-abilities. Oh, Siegel doesn’t call it ‘super-hypnotism,’ but those writers who succeed him will.
In the next issue, Lois has another bonnet (I’m guessing again) perched on the back of her head.
I at first thought that the hat was bending in the wind in that second panel. Perhaps that is indeed what Nowak intended, but I think it’s simply shading. I also love how Lois’s hair is done up in a ‘sausage roll’ at the base of the hat. How long does it take her to get it to do that? And I assume that every time she puts the hat on, Lois has to re-do her hair, as she doesn’t wear the hat indoors, and when it’s off, her hair isn’t so tightly rolled.
See?
I don’t know what this next hat is, but it’s odd-looking. This panel also does a good job of depicting those ‘newshound instincts’ of Lois’ that I talked about earlier; her first thought is what a headline the scene will make.
In the last story of that issue, Lois wears what looks like a beret:
But I’ve reversed the order of these panels so you can next see it from the front:
She’s wearing it bonnet-style, complete with that red ribbon to give it a ‘Little Bo Peep’ effect. Oh, Joe, oh Leo, whichever of you drew this, what were you thinking?
Next comes another of those creations I simply cannot describe. I will say that it’s so strange the artist himself doesn’t quite know how to depict it. First he does it this way:
Then he changes it with in his more detailed drawings:
And a side view:
What exactly that’s supposed to be, I have no idea. Once again, if you do, by all means let me know. I’m afraid all I can offer is a No-Prize, plus mentioning your name/handle if you like and where you can be found on the Internet. Still, I know how people go for those No-Prizes, so I expect to hear from you.
For mystery of “The Evolution King,” Lois wears a dip serving dish:
Not convinced? Have a closer look:
Dip goes in the center, and there’s space in the outer bowl for chips and crackers. What else can it be?
She tops that one in the same story, though, with this… something:
A sack? Her Flash Gordon Mongo warrior helmet? Your guess is probably better than mine.
At least I can name what Lois is wearing in the next issue. It’s a green Valentine!
What she’s celebrating, on the other hand… there you have me.
And then there’s this:
The problem with this hat is that the artist (either Novak or Shuster) can’t decide which way that ever-loving upper brim curls. In the panel above it curls down, but in the next one, it’s… up?
And then it’s down again.
Perhaps it’s a mood hat. I know that sort of headgear showed up in Japan a few years back in the form of cat ears, but I had no idea they went back to 1942.
After that. I’m almost relieved to see a bottle cork hat again. Not the same one, of course; this hat is green and sports a nifty fur brim, but I can recognize our old friend from Part 2. Can’t you?
When Lois gets to be lead reporter in place of Clark while he mans her desk as ‘sob sister,’ she matches her elevation with a power hat… I think.
It sports a feather (I believe that’s what that is), a back strap, and ribbons. What more could you want?
For a story that’s a little silly—Lois and Clark are watching a film (one of the Fleischer Superman Cartoons; I presume the point of this story was to drum up attendance for them) based on a comic by some guys called Seigel and Shuster—Lois wears an equally silly hat:
That’s right; she’s wearing a flower pot. At least it’s not orange like the dip-server and the whatsis sack.
And finally, yes, finally! I know this has been a long one, but bear with me: this will have been worth the wait. I’ve said before that Lois rarely exactly repeats herself. This time, however, she seems to be out to prove me wrong.
Why, it’s the return of the blue folded bow-thingy from Superman #15! She must’ve finally run out of space. That’s okay, Lois, we under…
Whoops! How wrong I was!
That’s right, folks; Lois is wearing a cat-hat. In blue. And no, don’t ‘feather’ me: those are cat ears and a tail, they are.
And that’s the end of our survey of the Many Hats of Lois Lane. Or what this entry would’ve been called in the late fifties, with Lois having to wear a new hat every day to save Superman’s life or charm him into marrying her or something. And then Mister Mxyzptlk or the Prankster tricks her into wearing the same hat…
…in short, it’s awful.
I do not claim ownership of any of the partial image representations posted here.