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Fans are showing renewed interest in a lesser known Stan Lee comic book series that aired over two decades ago and featured Pamela Anderson in a leading role.
If you’re not well-versed in the lore, Stripperella was a short-lived adult cartoon created by Lee after his departure from Marvel in 2001. The series, which aired just 13 episodes in the summer of 2003, followed a superpowered stripper named Erotica Jones (voiced by Anderson), who led a double life as the secret agent known as Stripperella. Alongside Anderson, the voice cast included equally big names like Two and Half Men’s Jon Cryer, Star Wars’ Mark Hamill, and Kid Rock.
While the source of the renewed interest in Stripperella is unknown, clips from the series have been resurfacing on social media this week, with many comic fans shocked at the discovery of a well-animate, star-studded title they hadn’t even known about. “Stripperella legit was a real show lmao,” one user wrote on X, with another offering a “daily reminder to rewatch Stripperella.” Elsewhere, fans declared that the long-lost series “should have got another season,” or reflected on how “Stripperella was ahead of its time.”
Others were so enthralled by the renewed attention that they declared Lee and the team “need to GO BACK” to their Stripperella roots, adding that the comic book writer “created gold and the general audience who would’ve loved this (people currently in their early to mid-30s) let it die.” Meanwhile, some fans expressed regret that Stripperella seemingly never got its due, lamenting that it wasn’t “taken seriously” and mourning what “could have been the most erotic/lewd cartoon show in American history.”
The broad sentiment, however, seemed to be people either discovering the series for the first time, or relishing in the fact that others had finally caught up to this “underrated” show. “I have always felt so passionate about Stripperella and nobody knows what the f*** it is,” one fan wrote, “finally!”. Interestingly, the clip doing the rounds reflects what Lee intended with the show, since he had always sought to make it more of a comedic satire than a slice of X-rated content (although, it did receive an TV-MA rating in the United States).
The clip sees Erotica Jones trying to dispose of a live bomb, but having trouble doing as every potential disposal site has an innocent bystander in the way. Thankfully, she happens upon a group of orphans trapped in a cave, with the bombs securing their freedom and allowing Stripperella to save the day. While it is currently enjoying a wave of appreciation, Stripperella was met with its fair share of controversy back when it first aired.
The show was divisive among critics, with some labelling it “crude” and “soft-core cartoon porn,” but the reviews weren’t the only source of scandal. The same year it aired, former stripper Janet Clover, who also went by “Jazz” and “Stripperella”, filed a lawsuit against Lee and Anderson, claiming she was the true creator of Stripperella. Clover claimed that she had discussed the idea for the series while giving Lee a “private dance session,” adding more titillating details to an already scandalous show.
Years after its release, Lee added to the Stripperella canon with a mobile comic book series that marked the character’s debut appearance in print form. Given the current state of Hollywood revivals and reboots, we wouldn’t count out the possibility of Stripperella someday making it to screens once again.