Lois Lane #75 (July 1967)

The next comic I read was Lois Lane #75, which was published sometime in May 1967.  Buying new comics was a very hit-or-miss proposition for me back then, as my neighborhood candy store didn’t seem to carry titles in a regular basis.  So while I’d read LL #70 and had liked it enough to want to read more of that character,  there was a several month stretch of no Loises at the store–until I happened to catch sight of #75.  Or maybe the LLs just sold out so quickly I’d missed them?

Now, this issue was not exactly memorable, but it did contain something unusual: namely, a new hairdo for Lois! For years Lois had sported  a hairdo that included bangs and adorable side wings framing her face. Frankly, I never saw anyone in real life wearing this sort of hairdo, but it was Lois’ signature look for a long, long time.  Here are a couple of shots of Lois from the 1960s, by Curt Swan (left) and the definitive LL artist, Kurt Schaffenberger (right):

Schaffenberger must have really loved this hairdo because Lois’ blonde sister Lucy also wore the same coiffure; only instead of Lois’ solid curtain of  bangs adorning her forehead, Lucy sported a couple of cute curls.

Compare Lois’ standard hairdo to her rival’s Lana Lang’s. Lana had a lush head of long, lush orange hair–she was comics’ answer to Rita Hayworth!

You know, I never understood why Superman didn’t prefer the hot Lana to Lois, who looked kind of well, old-fashioned.  Well, Supes may have occasionally appreciated Lana’s charms but ultimately he looked beyond superficialities like great hair (I guess x-ray vision really does come in handy).

And in at least one story (LL #60), Lois and Lana’s hair proved to be their best features–or at least their most resilient…

Every so often readers would write in about the implausibility of a young, fashionable, professional  woman like Lois appearing in the exact same hairdo for years.  So Lois Lane Annual #1 (1962) contained a page of  alternate hairdos, with LL editor Mort Weisinger announcing a readers’ contest to determine Lois’ new hairdo.

DC was flooded with entries and many months later in LL #41, Weisinger announced the surprising  results: the fans had  voted overwhelmingly to keep Lois’ hair as it was!  Lois retained the winged hairdo for a few more years, though occasionally she’d be shown in a new hairdo for a few panels, usually when  she went undercover in pursuit of a scoop.

But lo and behold, in  LL #75, Lois had not one but two new hairdos! She’s first seen in what looks like Choice D– the Ruffle-Cut– a “flippy” style similar to what Mary Tyler Moore or That Girl had back then. ( Choice D had actually garnered the least amount of votes in the contest, but that was back in 1963!)   What’s more, she appeared with the flip in the next several issues. Suddenly Lois seemed younger, hipper, and definitely more flirty.  

But there’s more! In #75 she also appeared in a sophisticated updo, which was apparently more suitable for role here as a fashionable dictator (don’t ask…)

Okay, anything significant about Lois Lane #75?  Well, not if you go by the “Lady Dictator” story itself, which was just another in a long line of implausible LL tales. But by updating her hairdo, DC seemed to acknowledge that dinosaur Lois was going to have to change with the times if  she was to remain relevant with audiences.