Because these strips feature mid-century cheesecake art, original pages are expensive. But the magazines are still affordable. You can often find a copy of A.U.N.T. Vol. 2, No. 4 on eBay for the price of a pizza. Final Verdict Sizzle (as I like to call the unnamed heroine) is more than just a pair of high heels and a tight pencil skirt. She is a time capsule.
While Ward is often celebrated for his work in Playboy , Humpty Dumpty Magazine (yes, really), and his legendary Toro comics, there is a specific, fantastic corner of his career that deserves a fresh look: The Girl from A.U.N.T. Before we talk about the art, we need to talk about the venue. In the early 1960s, publisher Robert Harrison—the king of the "girlie" magazine—launched A.U.N.T. (often said to stand for "All U Need is..."). It was a men’s adventure/humor magazine designed to compete with Playboy and Esquire , but with a much looser, goofier, and more cartoonish sensibility. Sizzle the Girl from A U N T comic by Bill Ward
And who did Harrison hire to draw the star feature? The Character: The Anti-Secret Agent In the early 60s, the world was obsessed with secret agents (think James Bond and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ). Ward and the editors at A.U.N.T. brilliantly parodied this trend. Final Verdict Sizzle (as I like to call
Tags: Bill Ward, AUNT Magazine, Vintage Comics, Pin-up Art, 1960s Pop Culture, Comic Strip History, Cheesecake Art. Tags: Bill Ward
A typical plot might involve our heroine trying to photograph a secret document, but her high-heel gets stuck in a sidewalk grate. Or she’s tied to a chair (loosely, of course) and escapes because the villain used a silk rope that she easily unties with her teeth.