Sure this recurring feature on the blog is Comic Book Odd, but there’s really nothing odd about the history of female characters being treated as punchlines for jokes.

It’s not a surprise, really. Comic books were mostly written and drawn by guys, particularly in the Golden Age and even into the Silver Age. And although girls bought comic books at a much greater rate back then than in later years, boys were still the targeted readers for comic books.

So you have panels like the one above, poking fun at Janet Van Dyne – AKA The Wasp, one of the founding members of The Avengers.

And this one, taking a shot at everybody except Wonder Woman.

Thank goodness the days of treating women as second-class characters in comics is over, huh?

Right?