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<tr><td colspan=6 bgcolor="#083100"><h1> Women in Comics</h1></td></tr>
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<td><img src="month-women.gif" title="Takeda, Messick, Takahashi, Ormes; Rice, Maroh, Mills, Bechdel; Wu, Oubrerie, Saito, Satrapi"></td>
<td width="3%"> </td>
<td>
<a href="#English">Work in English</a> •
<a href="#1860">1860 </a>
<a href="#1890">1890 </a>
<a href="#1900">1900</a>
<a href="#1910">1910</a>
<a href="#1920">1920</a>f<a href="#1930">1930</a>
<a href="#1940">1940</a>
<a href="#1950">1950</a>
<a href="#1960">1960</a>
<a href="#1970">1970</a>
<a href="#1980">1980</a>
<a href="#1990">1990</a>
<a href="#2000">2000</a>
<a href="#2010">2010</a>
<a href="#2020">2020</a>
<br/><a href="#Latin">Spanish + Portuguese</a>
<br/><a href="#French">French</a>
<br/><a href="#Europe">Other European languages</a>
<br/><a href="#MiddleEast">Middle East</a>
<br/><a href="#Asia">Asia</a>
<p><i>A first stop for people who want to explore, or for French people who just can't think of any female cartoonists. There are over 300 names here.
<p>There are many other resources; the intent here is to present a wide-ranging list on a single page, with some basic information. A link is either to a review or to the work itself.
<p>Ordered by the appearance of their first major work, which I think is more informative than birth date as it puts the work in context. Listed works are intended to be exemplary rather than exhaustive.
<p><a href="contact.html">I'm happy to get corrections or new names!</a> I'm particularly weak in manga, sorry.
<p> —M.R., January 2016
</i>
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<h2><a name="English">WORK IN ENGLISH</a></h2>
<h3><a name="1860">1860</a></h3>
<dt>Marie Duval</dt>
<dd>Actress and <a href="http://www.marieduval.org/home">cartoonist</a>; illustrated <i>Ally Sloper</i> (1867), a lowlife Englishman, written by her husband Charles Ross.</dd>
<h3><a name="1890">1890</a></h3>
<dt><img src="illo/women-oneill.gif" align="right" title="The Old Subscriber">Rose O'Neill</dt>
<dd>A cartoonist as early as the 1880s. Created the first comic strip drawn by a woman (“The Old Subscriber Calls”, 1896). Created the cherubic Kewpies (1905) and drew them in many forms (including a syndicated strip) for a quarter century.</dd>
<h3><a name="1900">1900</a></h3>
<dt>Kate Carew</dt>
<dd>Caricaturist; created <i>The Angel Child</i> (1902); defying the cute babies trend, her protagonist is neither cute nor angelic.</dd>
<dt>Marjorie Organ</dt>
<dd>Artist and cartoonist; created <i>Reggie and the Heavenly Twins</i> (1902)— Reggie, being too short, never got anywhere with the twins— as well as <i>the Wrangle Sisters</i>, about two squabbling sisters.</dd>
<dt>Grace Drayton</dt>
<dd>Illustrator and pioneering American newspaper cartoonist; created features such as <i>The Campbell Kids</i> (1904), <i>Dolly Dimples</i> (1910), and <i>The Pussycat Princess</i>.</dd>
<dt>Nell Brinkley</dt>
<dd>Her illos of active, modern girls (from about 1907) were so popular that the Ziegfield Follies included a line of “Brinkley Girls”. In 1918, created <i>Golden Eyes</i>, a girl whose dog finds a German spy in her back yard, leading to a series of adventures.</dd>
<dt>Margaret Hays</dt>
<dd>Illustrator, writer, and cartoonist; wrote <i>Kaptin Kiddo</i> (1909, drawn by her sister, Grace Drayton); created <i>Jennie and Jack, also the Little Dog Jap</i>.</dd>
<h3><a name="1910">1910</a></h3>
<dt>Mary Hays</i>
<dd>Illustrator; created <i> Kate and Karl, the Cranford Kids</i> (1911), about old-timey children; daughter of Margaret.</dd>
<dt>Fay King</dt>
<dd>Cartoonist (1911) and writer; resisting the trend of cute or pretty creations, her self-portraits look more like Happy Hooligan. Known mostly for single panel cartoons, but created the strip <i> Girls Will Be Girls</i>.</dd>
<dt>Katherine Rice</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Flora Flirt</i> (1913), who is fashionable but generally punished for being too interested in the boys.</dd>
<dt>Edwina Dumm</dt>
<dd>Early newspaper cartoonist; created <i>Cap Stubbs and Tippie</i> (1918) and later <i>Sinbad</i>. Tippie and Sinbad were both dogs. She kept <i>Tippie</i> going for 48 years.</dd>
<h3><a name="1920">1920</a></h3>
<dt>Daisy L. Scott</dt>
<dd>Editorial cartoonist for the <i>Tulsa Star</i>— first regularly published female Black cartoonist.</dd>
<dt><img src="illo/women-hays.gif" title="Flapper Fanny" align="right">Ethel Hays</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Ethel, Flapper Fanny</i> (1924), <i>Marianne</i>. Her flappers were elegant and Art Deco, rather than the florid Art Nouveau types drawn by Brinkley.</dd>
<dt>May Gibbs</dt>
<dd>Australian illustrator and writer; created <i>Bib and Bub</i> (1924), Australia's longest-running comic strip, as well as <i>Tiggy Touchwood</i>.</dd>
<dt>Helen Hokinson</dt>
<dd>Cartoonist for the <i>New Yorker</i> from 1925-47, known for her plump society women. She and her partner James Reid Parker also did a monthly cartoon, <i>The Dear Man</i>, in <i>Ladies' Home Journal</i>.</dd>
<dt><img src="illo/shermund.gif" align="left" title="Spot illo by Shermund">Barbara Shermund</dt>
<dd>Cartoonist and illustrator; contributed over 1200 drawings to the <i>New Yorker</i> and later for <i>Esquire</i>; also did a panel newspaper cartoon, <i>Shermund’s Sallies</i>. Her vivid contrarian attitude is summed up in one of her captions, also used for Caitlin McGurk’s biography of her: <i>Tell me a story where the bad girl wins</i>.</dd>
<dt>Eleanor Schorer</dt>
<dd>Illustrator and cartoonist; created <i>The Adventures of Judy</i> (1926), about a flighty rich girl with a tendency to borrow her father's clothes.</dd>
<dt>Virginia Huget</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Babs in Society</i> (1927), <i>Campus Capers, Miss Aladdin</i>, etc.— stories about fashionable, independent-minded young women. Later took over the adventure strip <i>Oh, Diana</i> and turned it into a teenager strip.</dd>
<h3><a name="1930">1930</a></h3>
<dt>Gladys Parker</dt>
<dd>Fashion designer; continued <i>Flapper Fanny</i> (1931); created <i>Mopsy</i> (1939), about a young urban woman not unlike herself; at one point it was syndicated in 300 papers. Mopsy joined the WAC during WWII.</dd>
<dt>Martha Orr</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Apple Mary</i> (1934), a poor apple seller trying to get by in the Depression. If that wasn't enough, she has to raise her crippled grandson.</dd>
<dt>Fanny Young Cory</dt>
<dd>Illustrator for children's books in the early 1900s; best known for a syndicated girl's adventure strip, <i>Little Miss Muffett</i> (1935).</dd>
<dt>Marge Henderson Buell</dt>
<dd>Created several early strips, but her great success was <i>Little Lulu</i>, created in 1935, which moved as well to comic books and animated cartoons.</dd>
<dt><img src="illo/women-ormes.gif" align="right" title="Torchy">Jackie Ormes</dt>
<dd>Pioneering black newspaper cartoonist; created <i>Torchy Brown</i> (about a fashionable girl who moves from the South to the North; 1937), <i>Candy</i> (featuring a very self-assured maid), <i>Patty Jo and Ginger</i> (featuring a very politically aware schoolgirl) and <i>Torchy Brown: Heartbeats</i>. For an essay on Ormes and her work, see Deborah Elizabeth Whaley's <i>Black Woman in Sequence</i>.</dd>
<dt>Dale Conner</dt>
<dd>Assistant to Martha Orr; when the latter retired, co-created <i>Mary Worth</i> (1938), but got bored drawing talking heads, and passed the art to Ken Ernst. Also created <i>Ayer Lane</i> and <i>Hugh Striver</i>.</dd>
<dt>Anne Cleveland</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Vassar</i> (1938) along with fellow cartoonist Jean Anderson, collecting cartoons about life at the women's college; best known for <i>It's Better With Your Shoes Off</i>, about Westerners adjusting to life in Japan. <a href="http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/anne_cleveland_1916_2009/">Overview here</a>. She has a beautiful, assured, brushy style.</dd>
<dt>Caroline Sexton</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Luke and Duke</i>, about two American doughboys during WWI. We're not in flapperdom any more.</dd>
<h3><a name="1940">1940</a></h3>
<dt><img src="illo/women-brenda.gif" align="left" title="Brenda Starr">Dale Messick</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Brenda Starr</i>, glamorous reporter pursuing global adventures, from 1940 to 1980.</dd>
<dt>Fran Hopper</dt>
<dd>Worked on <i>Jane Martin</i> (1940), <i>Camilla, Mysta of the Moon, Gale Allen and the Girl Squadron</i>, all for Fiction Comics, which enabled female cartoonists— as its male artists had been drafted.</dd>
<dt>Lily Renée</dt>
<dd>Escaped the Nazis, then worked on many of the same titles as Hopper. Created <i>The Lost World</i> (1940), a post-apocalyptic fantasy; <i>Señorita Rio,</i> and <i>Werewolf Hunter</i>. Later drew <i>Kitty</i> and <i>Abbott and Costello</i>.</dd>
<dt>Tarpé Mills</dt>
<dd>Created one of the first female superheroines, <i>Miss Fury</i> (decked out in sexy black catsuit), as a comic strip (1941-52).</dd>
<dt>Neysa McMein</dt>
<dd>Commercial artist; drew <i>Deathless Deer</i> (1942; written by Alicia Patterson); the title character is an Egyptian princess who takes an immortality potion and wakes up in New York.</dd>
<dt>Barbara Hall</dt>
<dd><i>Blonde Bomber</i> (1942), camerawoman who gets into wartime adventures, <i>Girl Commandos</i>, an early multicultural group that fought the Nazis, and <i>Black Cat</i>, a superheroine.</dd>
<dt>Eva Mirabal</dt>
<dd>Muralist; first Native American on this list; her <i>G.I. Gertie</i> was a humorous strip about life in the WAC.</dd>
<dt>Ruth Atkinson</dt>
<dd>Another Fiction House alum; created <i>Patsy Walker</i> (1944) and <i>Millie the Model</i>.</dd>
<dt>Hilda Terry</dt>
<dd><i>Teena</i> (1944) is about a teenage girl. Terry led the fight to bring women into the National Cartoonists Society. Later an animator for baseball scoreboards.</dd>
<dt>Olive Bailey</dt>
<dd>Drew <i>Land of the Lost</i> (1946; written by Isabel Hewson), an adaptation of Hewson's radio program about two children exploring an undersea kingdom.</dd>
<dt>Dorothy Bond</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Chlorine</i> (1947), about a sassy secretary.</dd>
<h3><a name="1950">1950</a></h3>
<dt>Ramona Fradon</dt>
<dd>Drew <i>Aquaman</i> (1951) and <i>Plastic Man</i>, among others, for DC; originated <i>Metamorpho</i>; drew <i>Brenda Starr</i> from 1980-95.</dd>
<dt>Marty Links</dt>
<dd>Created teen-girl-oriented <i>Bobby Sox</i>, renamed <i>Emmy Lou</i> in 1951 when the sox had gone out of style.</dd>
<dt>Marie Severin</dt>
<dd>Colorist for EC in the 1950s, and Marvel in the 60s; moved into art, starting with <i>Dr. Strange</i>; co-created Spider-Woman and Howard the Duck.</dd>
<h3><a name="1960">1960</a></h3>
<dt>Liz Berube</dt>
<dd>Created newspaper strip <i>Karen</i>; worked on DC's dwindling line of romance comics.
<dt>Trina Robbins</dt>
<dd>First published in the <i>East Village Other</i>, 1966. Created anthologies: <i>It Ain't Me Babe, All Girl Thrills</i>, then the long-lasting <i>Wimmen's Comix</i> (1971). Premier historian of women in comics; first female artist for <i>Wonder Woman</i>.</dd>
<h3><a name="1970">1970</a></h3>
<dt>Willy Mendes</dt>
<dd>Worked with Robbins on <i>It Ain't Me Babe</i>; created the psychedelic <i>Illuminations</i> (1971); later moved into painting.</dd>
<dt>Aline Kominsky Crumb</dt>
<dd>Best known for her work with Robert Crumb, her husband; indeed, her frazzled self-portrait is as self-critical as his own. First published in <i>Wimmin's Comix</i> (1972); for some years in the 80s she was editor of <i>Weirdo</i>.</dd>
<dt>Joyce Farmer and Lyn Chevely</dt>
<dd>Put out all-female sex comics, <i>Tits & Clits</i> (1972). Farmer published <i>Special Exits</i>, about her parents' last years, in 2011.</dd>
<dt><img src="illo/women-trots.gif" align="right" title="Trots and Bonnie">Shary Flenniken</a></dt>
<dd><i>Trots and Bonnie</i> (1972) appeared in the <i>National Lampoon</i>, drawn in a deceptive schoolbook style but featuring pure-id stories of drugs, sex, and revolt. Among her other works are graphic novel adaptations of O. Henry and Mark Twain.</dd>
<dt>Lee Marrs</dt>
<dd>Contributed to <i>Wimmen’s Comix</i>; writer for DC; animation director. Created <i>The Further Fattening Adventures of Pudge, Girl Blimp</i> (1973).</dd>
<dt>Mary Wings</dt>
<dd><i>Come Out Comix</i> (1973), first comic book about being a lesbian, and later <i>Dyke Shorts</i>.</dd>
<dt>Sandra Boynton</dt>
<dd>If you grew up in the 70s, you received many of her cards (“Hippo Birdie Two Ewes”), sold from 1973 on. She's written an array of children's and humor books and had a career as a songwriter as well.</dd>
<dt>Melinda Gebbie</dt>
<dd>Underground cartoonist, published in <i>Wimmen's Comix</i> in the 1970s; created the lush visuals for <i>Lost Girls</i>, written by Alan Moore.</dd>
<dt>Roberta Gregory</dt>
<dd>Created lesbian comic <i>Dynamite Damsels</i> (1976). Created <i>Naughty Bits</i> (1991), whose main character was Bitchy Bitch, as well as the fantasy graphic novel <i>Winging It</i>.</dd>
<dt>Cathy Guisewite</dt>
<dd>Aack! <i>Cathy</i> (1976) was a young woman dealing with the "four basic guilt groups"— work, love, food, and Mom.</dd>
<dt>Posy Simmonds</dt>
<dd>British cartoonist with a <i>New Yorker</i>ish style; created a weekly strip (a parody of girls' adventure stories) in <i>The Guardian</i> from 1977. Her <a href="bob47.html"><i>Gemma Bovery</i></a> (1999) is an entertaining modernization of Emma Bovary; <i>Tamara Drewe</i> is an adaptation of Hardy.</dd>
<dt>Lynn Johnston</dt>
<dd><i>For Better or For Worse</i> (1978) is one of the most successful daily strips, appearing in over 2000 papers. (Canadian) </dd>
<dt>Roz Chast</dt>
<dd><i>New Yorker</i> cartoonist since 1978, the muse of a certain exasperated NYC helplessness. Check out her graphic novel <a href="https://zompist.wordpress.com/2016/02/11/cant-we-talk-about-something-more-pleasant/"><i>Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?</i></a>, about aging parents.</dd>
<dt>Wendy Pini</dt>
<dd>Co-creator of the long-running <i>Elfquest</i> series (1978), which puts elves (really pychic space aliens) through thousands of years of history on an earthlike planet.</dd>
<dt>Lynda Barry</dt>
<dd><i>Ernie Pook's Comeek</i> (1979) was found in many an alternative weekly, concentrating on a close analysis of teen girlhood. She's also written two illustrated novels, <i>The Good Times are Killing Me</i> and <i>Cruddy</i>.</dd>
<h3><a name="1980">1980</a></h3>
<dt>Louise Simonson</dt>
<dd>Edited <i>X-Men</i> (1980); wrote <i>X-Factor, New Mutants, Superman: The Man of Steel</i>, and <i>Steel</i>.</dd>
<dt>Dori Seda</dt>
<dd>Underground cartoonist, first published in <i>Weirdo</i> (1981). Most readily available in the collection <i>Dori Stories</i>.</dd>
<dt>Marian Henley</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Maxine</i> (1981), elegantly drawn reflections on life as a single woman.</dd>
<dt>Nicole Hollander</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Sylvia</i> (1981), “The unofficial cartoonist laureate of women’s studies programs around the country” [Audrey Bilger]; often features the title character musing about feminism, daily life, or the news.</dd>
<dt>Ann Nocenti</dt>
<dd>Wrote <i>Spider-Woman</i> (1982), <i>Longshot, Daredevil</i> (where she was known for introducing social issues), <i>Kid Eternity</i>, and <i>Catwoman</i>.</dd>
<dt><img src="illo/bechdel2.gif" align="right" title="Dykes to Watch Out For" width="155" height="187">Alison Bechdel</a></dt>
<dd><a href="bob1.html#2"><i>Dykes to Watch Out For</i></a> (1983) is the mainstay of lesbian comics and an acerbic running commentary on American life. Her memoirs <a href="bob47.html#2"><i>Fun Home</i></a> and <i>Are You My Mother?</i> are highly literate portrayals of a rather eccentric couple of parents.</dd>
<dt>Colleen Doran</dt>
<dd>Created <i>A Distant Soil</i> (1983), an ambitious and ongoing space opera; has also worked on a dizzying variety of DC and Marvel titles.</dd>
<dt>Jennifer Camper</dt>
<dd>Her cartoons about lesbian life from the 1980s were collected in <i>Rude Girls and Dangerous Women</i>. Edited gay/lesian comics anthology <i>Juicy Mother</i>.</dd>
<dt>June Brigman</dt>
<dd>Created pre-teen superteam <i>Power Pack</i> (1984) and drew various other Marvel and DC titles; drew <i>Brenda Starr</i> from 1995.</dd>
<dt>Mindy Newell</dt>
<dd>Wrote <i>Action Comics</i> (1985), <i>Catwoman, Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Wonder Woman</i>, and <i>2000 AD</i>, among other titles.</dd>
<dt>Barbara Slate</dt>
<dd>Created cartoony but adult <i>Angel Love</i> (1986), as well as adaptations of <i>Barbie</i> and <i>Beauty and the Beast</i>; wrote <i>Betty and Veronica</i>; did autobiographical <i>Getting Married and Other Mistakes</i>.</dd>
<dt>Carol Lay</dt>
<dd>First noticed with <i>Good Girls</i> (1987), a parody of romance comics. <A href="bob18.html#2"><i>Story Minute</i></a> is a set of imaginative, stylized vignettes, often lightly fantastical, rarely going as you expect them to. Also created Simpsons comics, and <i>Goodnight Irene</i>.</dd>
<dt>Carol Tyler</dt>
<dd>Alternative artist first published in <i>Weirdo</i> in 1987; her trilogy <i>You'll Never Know</i> explores her father's hidden past in WWII.</dd>
<dt>Kate Worley</dt>
<dd>Writer for the erotic furry comic <i>Omaha the Cat Dancer</i> (1987?).</dd>
<dt>Joyce Brabner</dt>
<dd>Edited <i>Real War Stories</i> (1987) and other activist comics; co-wrote <i>Our Cancer Year</i> (1995), about husband Harvey Pekar's struggle with cancer.</dd>
<dt>Donna Barr</dt>
<dd>Created <i>The Desert Peach</i>, about Rommel's gay brother Pfirsich (1988), and <i>Stinz</i>, featuring a society of centaurs living in a mountain valley in Germany.</dd>
<dt>Nina Paley</dt>
<dd>Created the strips <i>Nina's Adventures</i> (1988) and <i>Fluff</i>; best known for her charming animated movie <i>Sita Sings the Blues</i> (2008).</dd>
<dt>Barbara Brandon</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Where I'm Coming From</i> (1989), featuring Feifferesque talking heads— the first nationally syndicated comic strip by a black woman since Jackie Ormes.</dd>
<h3><a name="1990">1990</a></h3>
<dt>Mary Fleener</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Slutburger</i> (1990) and <i>Life of the Party</i>; her vivid experimental style, influenced by cubism, made a great impact on Scott McCloud.</dd>
<dt>Diane DiMassa</dt>
<dd>Creator of <i>Hothead Paisan, Homicidal Lesbian Terrorist</i> (1991). Well, hey, comics are actually a pretty good way to let off steam.</dd>
<dt>Kris Kovick</dt>
<dd>Essays and cartoons collected in <i>What I Love About Lesbian Politics Is Arguing With People I Agree With</i> (1991).</dd>
<dt>Diane Noomin</dt>
<dd>Various alternative works; won Inkpot Award in 1992. Best known character: Didi Glitz.</dd>
<dt>Dame Darcy</dd>
<dd>Artist, illustrator, and cartoonist, best known for <i>Meat Cake</i> (1992); also created graphic novels such as <i>Frightful Fairytales</i> and <i>Gasoline</i>.</dd>
<dt>Jessica Abel</dt>
<dd><i>La Perdida</i> follows an American girl let loose in Mexico City. Her earlier book <a href="bob13.html"><i>Artbabe</i></a> (1992) reminded me a lot of Jaime Hernandez. She's also done a comic in collaboration with Ira Glass explaining how to put together a radio show.</dd>
<dt>Patty Leidy</dt>
<dd><a href="bob7.html#2"><i>Zero Hour</i></a> (1992) centers on two girls sharing an apartment: the irrepressible Ant and the only slightly more responsible P.J. They're a lot of fun, especially for an old <i>Mad</i> reader: Leidy crams her panels to bursting with activity, and then writes more jokes outside.</dd>
<dt>Jill Thompson</dt>
<dd><i>Fairy Godmother</i> is her most personal creation, and has been adapted to animation. She's probably best known to comics fans for illustrating <i>Brief Lives</i> (1992), and for writing/illustrating Sandman spinoffs <i>Dead Boy Detectives</i> and <i>Li'l Endless</i>. Also drew <i>Wonder Woman</i> and other DC titles.</dd>
<dt>Jana Christy</dt>
<dd>Co-creator of <a href="bob9.html"><i>Very Vicky</i></a> (1993), a singularly odd comic featuring anachronistic sophisticate Vicky, her misfit friends, and God. Now a children's book illustrator. </dd>
<dt>Rachel Pollack</dt>
<dd>Mostly a novelist, but wrote <i>Doom Patrol</i> from 1993-95; also wrote <i>New Gods</i>.</dd>
<dt>Megan Kelso</dt>
<dd>Known for <i>Girlhero</i> (1993), <i>Watergate Sue, Artichoke tales, Queen of the Black Black</i>.</dd>
<dt>Trudy Cooper</dt>
<dd>[Australia] Created the series <i>Platinum Grit</i> (1993); Creates the gorgeous visuals for the sex webcomic <i><A href="https://www.oglaf.com/">Oglaf</a></i> (2009?).</dd>
<dt>Elizabeth Watasin</dt>
<dd>My favorite from the <i>Action Girl</i> artists, and definitely the best artist. Her stories of Susanoo the Brawler are hilarious; her series <a href="bob40.html"><i>Charm School</i></a> focuses on a lesbian romance at a school for teenage monsters. Her early <a href="bob7.html"><i>Adventures of A-Girl!</i></a> (1993) are cute and memorable.</dd>
<dt>Heidi MacDonald</dt>
<dd>Editor for Vertigo and <i>Disney Adventures</i>; instrumental in founding Friends of Lulu (1994).</dd>
<dt>Renée French</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Grit Bath</i> and <i>The Ticking</i>— “French's perverse, malevolent, and creepy portrayal of childhood and the adult world is just amazing.” [Amazon reviewer]</dd>
<dt>Amanda Conner</dt>
<dd>Drew a wide variety in comic books, including <i>Vampirella</i> (1994), <i>Painkiller Jane, Gargoyles</i>. Drew and wrote <i>Power Girl</i> (with Jimmy Palmiotti, 2009); co-wrote <i>Harley Quinn</i> plus <i>Harley Quinn Power Girl</i>, about one of the unlikeliest team-ups ever.</dd>
<dt>Jennifer Berman</dt>
<dd>Satirical syndicated cartoon (<i>Berman</i>) in various alt papers; collected in <i>Why Dogs are Better than Men</i> (1994).</dd>
<dt><img src="illo/molly.gif" title="That Kind of Girl" align="right" width="156" height="184">Molly Kiely</dt>
<dd><i>That Kind of Girl</i> is a lively and inventive piece of erotica; I'd love to see more of her writer protagonist Dez Diva or her irrepressible friend, cowgirl Ruby Justice. Other works include <i>Diary of a Dominatrix</i> (1994) and <i>Tecopa Jane</i></dd>
<dt>Elaine Lee</dt>
<dd>Wrote two volumes of <i>Skin Tight Orbit</i> (1995), fantasy & sf erotica with an edge; much of it plays with virtual reality and other new sexual predicaments people in the far future may fall into. Also wrote <i>Vamps</i> and <i>Starstruck</i>.</dd>
<dt>Hilary Price</dt>
<dd>Created syndicated gag strip <i>Rhymes with Orange</i> (1995). </dd>
<dt>Sarah Dyer</dt>
<dd>Created <a href="bob3.html#2"><i>Action Girl</i></a>, both a manga-influenced teen superheroine and a 1990s comics anthology featuring female cartoonists (1995). Contributed to Superman and Batman animated series as well as to <i>Space Ghost Coast to Coast</i>. </dd>
<dt>Abby Denson</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Tough Love</i> (1996), a story of two gay teenagers, as well as <i>Dolltopia</i>.</dd>
<dt>Deb Aoki</dt>
<dd>Illustrator and cartoonist; created gag stirp <i>Bento Box</i>.</dd>
<dt>Caitlin Kiernan</dt>
<dd>Weird fiction writer; wrote <i>The Dreaming</i> (1996), a spinoff of <i>Sandman</i>, as well as <i>Alabaster</i>.</dd>
<dt>Carla Speed McNeil</dt>
<dd><a href="bob34.html#2"><i>Finder</i></a> (1996) is a very ambitious and beautifully drawn look at a far future society; the main character is Jaeger Ayers, apparently Native American, a tracker and a sort of professional scapegoat. </dd>
<dt>Linda Medley</dt>
<dd><i>Castle Waiting</i> (1996) is a very well drawn medieval fantasy. Previously worked as an artist for DC and Image.</dd>
<dt><img src="illo/forney.gif" title="I Was Seven in '75" align="right" width="133" height="242">Ellen Forney</dt>
<dd>Her <a href="bob38.html#2"><i>I Was Seven in '75</i></a> (1997) is a delightful evocation of childhood; her erotic comics are also worth a look. Also, the autobiographical <i>Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me: A Graphic Memoir</i>.</dd>
<dt>Titane Laurent</dt>
<dd>[New Zealand] Created <i>God's Stuff</i> (1997), mostly reflections on the Bible. </dd>
<dt>Leanne Franson</dt>
<dd>[Canadian] <a href="bob27.html#2"><i>Liliane</i></a> (1997) is near-autobiographical, centering on Liliane, a 'bi-dyke'. Fun and cartoony, though the material not infrequently gets heavy. Works as a children’s book illustrator.</dd>
<dt>Jen Sorensen</dt>
<dd><i>Slowpoke</i> (1998) is satirical political cartooning, reminiscent of Tom Tomorrow.</dd>
<dt>Joan Hilty</dt>
<dd>Chronicles of urban lesbian life— <i>Bitter Girl</i> (1998). Editor for DC and then for her own line Pageturner.</dd>
<dt>Paige Braddock</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Jane's World</i> (1998), the first nationally distributed lesbian-themed daily strip.</dd>
<dt>Phoebe Gloeckner</dt>
<dd>Worked as a medical illustrator; many alternative pieces collected in <i>A Child's Life and Other Stories</i> (1998); graphic novel <i>The Diary of a Teenage Girl</i> dives into 1970s counterculture in SF.</dd>
<dt>Ariel Schrag</dt>
<dd>Created a series of autobiographical comics, starting with <i>Awkward</i> (1999); also worked as a writer for <i>The L Word</i>.</dd>
<dt>Faith Erin Hicks</dt>
<dd>[Canadian] <i>Demonology</i> (1999) deals with a demon girl being raised among humans. <i>Adventures of Superhero Girl</i> is a blend of everyday life and superhero adventures (the twentysomething title character has trouble paying the rent and dealing with her more successful older brother); <i>Friends With Boys</i> is an autobiographical teenage story; <i>The Nameless City</i> is about a city that keeps getting conquered by new invaders. </dd>
<dt>Leela Corman</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Queen's Day</i> (1999), about women on journeys, and <i>Unterzakhn</i>, set in the Lower East Side in the early 1900s.</dd>
<h3><a name="2000">2000</a></h3>
<dt>Shaenon Garrity</dt>
<dd>Editor and cartoonist; created <a href="http://narbonic.com/"><i>Narbonic</i></a> (2000), about daily life in a (female) mad scientist's lab; wrote <i>Smithson</i>, <i>Li'l Mell and Sergio</i>, and <i>Skin Horse</i>.</dd>
<dt>Dylan Meconis</dt>
<dd><a href="http://www.dylanmeconis.com/comics/">Created</a> <i>Bite Me!</i> (2000, about the hard time vampires had during the French Revolution), <i>Family Man</i> (a young academic joins a family-run university in 1768), and <i>Outfoxed</i>.</dd>
<dt>Jennie Breeden</dt>
<dd>Created comic autobiographical webcomic <a href="https://thedevilspanties.com/"><i>The Devil's Panties</i></a>.</dd>
<dt>Kaja Foglio</dt>
<dd>Co-wrote steampunk webcomic <a href="http://www.girlgeniusonline.com"><i>Girl Genius</i></a>.</dd>
<dt>Colleen Coover</dt>
<dd><i>Small Favors</i> (2002) is that remarkable thing, an entirely wholesome porno romp, with an all-female cast. She's worked on several Marvel titles, notably <i>X-Men: First Class</i>, and created <i>Banana Sunday</i> for children. Illustrates <a href="https://zompist.wordpress.com/2016/03/17/bandette/"><i>Bandette</i></a>, about a charming teen girl thief.</dd>
<dt>Emily Flake</dt>
<dd><i>Lulu Eightball</i> (2002) Don't be fooled by the quiet illustration style, which hides a quirky and prickly sensibility.</dd>
<dt>Mikhaela Reid</dt>
<dd>Created <i>The Boiling Point</i> (2002?), mostly political cartoons.</dd>
<dt>Pia Guerra</dt>
<dd>[Canadian] Artist for <a href="bob53.html#2"><i>Y: The Last Man</i></a> (2002).</dd>
<dt>Sophie Crumb</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Belly Button</i> (2002); created “Enid”'s drawings for the film <i>Ghost World</i>.</dd>
<dt>Erika Moen</dt>
<dd>Her <i>Oh Joy Sex Toy</i> started out as graphic reviews of sex toys, but soon branched out to cover all sorts of subjects relating to sex. I don't think anyone else is quite as good at making male and female genitalia <i>cute</i>. Also see her autobiographical comic <i>Dar: A Super Girly Top Secret Comic Diary</i> (2003).</dd>
<dt>Gabrielle Bell</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Lucky</i> (2003), about 20somethings living in NYC; <i>The Voyeurs</i> mixes “autobiography, surrealist magical realism, and spare stories of isolated urban creatives” [Shaenon Garrity].</dd>
<dt>Jenn Manley Lee</dt>
<dd>Created <a href="http://www.dicebox.net"><i>Dicebox</i></a>, about two female factory workers in The Future.</dd>
<dt>Gail Simone</dt>
<dd>Comics writer who has worked on <i>The Simpsons, Deadpool, Birds of Prey</i> (2003), <i>Action Comics, Wonder Woman</i>, and <i>Batgirl</i>. Her list of “Women in Refrigerators”— female comics who are injured or killed in comics as a plot device— put a name to a questionable trope.</dd>
<dt>Petra Waldron (author) and Jennifer Finch (artist)</dt>
<dd><i>Lesbian School Girl</i> (2003), very nicely drawn erotica. Sadly, I can’t find any more info about either creator.</dd>
<dt>Becky Cloonan</dt>
<dd>Drew <i>Demo</i> (2003) and later <i>Conan</i>; created <i>East Coast Rising</i> (about “punk rock pirates”); first woman to draw the main <i>Batman</i> title.</dd>
<dt>Danielle Corsetto</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Girls With Slingshots</i> (2004), mostly humorous comic on the life of twentysomethings.</dd>
<dt>Ursula Vernon</dt>
<dd><a href="bob49.html"><i>Digger</i></a> (2004?) stars a wombat, who goes through a patch of "bad earth" that leaves her loopy, gets chased by threatening hyenas, and surfaces in a temple of Ganesh, whose statue starts to talk to her. And that's only the first issue.</dd>
<dt>Hope Larson</dt>
<dd><i>Salamander</i> (2005) is a fantasy being befriended by a young girl. Web comic <i>SOLO</i>; adapted <i>A Wrinkle in Time</i> as a graphic novel; wrote <i>Who Is AC?</i>. Writer for <i>Batgirl</i>.</dd>
<dt>Leah Moore</dt>
<dd>Wrote <i>Albion</i> (2005), in which old comics characters are imprisoned, and <i>Wild Girl</i>, about a girl who can talk to animals.</dd>
<dt>Spike Trotman</dt>
<dd>Created an alternate history webcomic, <i>Templar, Arizona</i> (2005); wrote <i>Yes, Roya</i>; edited <i>Smut Peddler</i> (erotic comics by women) and Sleep of Reason (horror comics).</dd>
<dt>Marisa Acocella Marchetto</dt>
<dd>Wrote <i>Cancer Vixen</i> (2006) about her battle with breast cancer, and <i>Ann Tenna</i>, about a columnist who tries to reform after a near-fatal car accident.</dd>
<dt>Miriam Katin</dt>
<dd>Created <i>We Are On Our Own</i> (2006), about surviving the Holocaust, and many other graphic novels, often on Jewish themes.</dd>
<dt>Rashida Lewis</dt>
<dd>Black cartoonist; created <i>Sand Storm</i> (2006), about an Egyptian princess fighting for her right to rule.</dd>
<dt>Michelle Billingsley</dt>
<dd>Black cartoonist; created webcomic <A href="http://www.joefunnies.com"><i>Joe!</i></a> (2006), a humorous strip about a mischievious 10-year-old.</dd>
<dt>Stephanie Yue</dt>
<dd>Children’s book illustrator; self-published autobiographical comics (2006).</dd>
<dt><img src="illo/women-sana.gif" align="right" title="X-23">Sana Takeda</dt>
<dd>Drew <i>Ms. Marvel, X-Men, X-Men Fairy Tales</i> (2006), <i>X-23, Monstress</i>— amazing and colorful works.</dd>
<dt>Ashley Woods</dt>
<dd>Black illustrator and storyboardist; created <i>Millennia Wars</i> (2006), about an endless colonial war between humans and elves.</dd>
<dt>G . Willow Wilson</dt>
<dd>Wrote <i>Cairo</i> (2007) and <i>Air</i>; Writer of <a href="bob58.html"><i>Ms. Marvel</i></a>, who is reinvented as Kamala Khan, a Pakistani-American who gets superpowers and then has to hide them from her uptight parents.</dd>
<dt>Marguerite Dabaie</dt>
<dd>Created <a href="http://mdabaie.com"><i>The Hookah Girl</i></a>, about being Palestinian-American, and <i>Voyage to Panjikant</i>, about Central Asians on the 7th century Silk Road.</dd>
<dt>Madeleine Rosca</dt>
<dd>[Australian] Created <i>Hollow Fields</i> (2007), about a young girl accientally enrolled at a school for mad scientists, where the teachers are cruel robots.</dd>
<dt>Nicola Scott</dt>
<dd>Australian; drew <i>Birds of Prey, Earth 2, Secret Six, Wonder Woman</i>.</dd>
<dt>Jillian Tamaki</dt>
<dd>[Canadian] Illustrator; created <i>SuperMutant Magic Academy</i> and (with her cousin Mariko Tamaki) <i>Skim</i> (2008) and <i>This One Summer</i>, about preteen girls.</dd>
<dt>Kate Beaton</dt>
<dd>Creator of the webcomic <i><a href="http://www.harkavagrant.com/">Hark! A Vagrant</a></i> (2008), particularly known for its use of science and history. <i>Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands</i> (2022), about her working in the Alberta oil industry, is much darker.
</dd>
<dt><img src="illo/skadihead.jpg" title="Skadi" align="right">Katie Rice</dt>
<dd>Co-creator (with Luke Cormican, 2008) of <i>Skadi</i>, a barbarian whose noble quest is to defeat and then dine on every beast on the planet, as well as the dark <i><a href="http://campcomic.com/new-readers">Camp Wedonwantcha</a></i>, about a camp where unwanted kids are left. </dd>
<dt>Leah Hayes</dt>
<dd><i>Funeral of the Heart</i> (2008) is a set of fantasy stories, done entirely in scratchboard.</dd>
<dt>Lucy Knisley</dt>
<dd><i>French Milk</i> (2008) and <i>An Age of License</i> both focus on travel; also see <i>Displacement, An Age of License, Relish: My Life in the Kitchen</i>.</dd>
<dt>Molly Crabapple</dt>
<dd>Illustrated <i>Backstage</i> (2008); created steampunk webcomic <i>Puppet Makers</i>; activist and journalist— autobiography <i>Drawing Blood</i>. <a href="https://mollycrabapple.com/">Her website</a>. </dd>
<dt>Allie Brosch</dt>
<dd>Does <a href="http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com"><i>Hyperbole and a Half</i></a> (2009) count as comics? It had better. Her stories are painfully funny, and her account of depression is the best inside account I've read.</dd>
<dt>E.K. Weaver</dt>
<dd>Created <a href="http://tjandamal.com"><i>The Less than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal</i></a> (2009). Amal calls off his arranged marriage, comes out as gay, gets disowned and then drunk, and starts a 3500-mile road trip with TJ. </dd>
<dt>Laurie Sandell</dt>
<dd><a href="bob52.html#2"><i>The Impostor's Daughter</i></a> (2009) is cartoony and light-hearted, but tackles a heavy subject: dealing with a father who's colorful, but an entirely unreliable con man. She's also created a graphic novel about the Madoff scandal.</dd>
<dt>Marjorie Liu</dt>
<dd>Novelist; wrote <i>Dark Wolverine</i> (2009), <i>Black Widow, Astonishing X-Men</i>. Check out her collaborations with Sana Takeda: <i>Monstress</i> and <i>The Night-Eaters</i> (which amusingly combines demon hunting with dysfunctional Chinese family dynamics).</dd>
<dt>Der-shing Helmer</dt>
<dd>Game and comic artist; created <a href="http://www.meekcomic.com"><i>The Meek</i></a> (2009), about a young girl who has to save the world, and the sf comic <a href="http://www.marecomic.com"><i>Mare Internum</i></a>.</dd>
<dt>Leisl Adams</dt>
<dd>Black Canadian storyboard artist, illustrator, video game designer; created webcomic <a href="http://ontheedgecomics.com/comic/ote0001/"><i>On the Edge</i></a>, which say says is based on the question “'If the devil had to get a job, what would it be?' My answer was that he would be a therapist.” Also made the graphic novel <i>Lover's Leap</i>, about a 19th century suicide.</dd>
<dt>Karen Hallion</dt>
<dd>Illustrator and cartoonist since 2009; has done covers for Marvel, Disney, and others.</dd>
<h3><a name="2010">2010</a></h3>
<dt>Rashida Jones</dt>
<dd>Actress and writer; conceived and co-wrote <i>Frenemy of the State</i> (2010), about Ariana, a socialite who is also a CIA operative— though as the title indicates, her relationship with her employers is complicated.</dd>
<dt>Ashley Cope</dt>
<dd>Created webcomic <a href="http://www.unsoundedcomic.com"><i>Unsounded</i></a>, about the “daughter of the Lord of Thieves” and her undead companion.</dd>
<dt><img src="illo/women-carroll.gif" align="right" title="Through the Woods">E.M. Carroll</dt>
<dd>(Canada) Best known for horror graphic novels <i>His Face All Red</i> (2010), <i>Through the Woods</i>, <i>A Guest int the House</i> etc. </dd>
<dt>Joy Ang</dt>
<dd>(Canada) She has some comics which may make you think she can just do simple and cute, and then you notice her completely awesome full-color work. Edits <i>The Anthology Project</i> (2010).</dd>
<dt>Raina Telgemeier</dt>
<dd>Known for autobiographical graphic novels, <i>Smile</i> (2010) and <i>Sisters</i>; co-wrote <i>X-Men: Misfits</i>.</dd>
<dt>Sophie Campbell</dt>
<dd>Created the teen-centered graphic novel <i>Shadoweyes</i> (2010); illustrated <i>Jem and the Holograms</i>.</dd>
<dt>Kate Leth</dt>
<dd>Created webcomic <a href="http://kateleth.com"><i>Kate or Die</i></a> (2010) and several <i>Adventure Time</i> graphic novels; writer for <i>Hellcat</i>.</dd>
<dt>Kelly Turnbull</dt>
<dd>Created webcomic <a href="http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archive"><i>Manly Guys Doing Manly Things</i></a> (2010; about “dudes who are too macho to function in society”), and <a href="http://platinumblackcomic.com"><i>Platinum Black</i></a>.</dd>
<dt>Vanessa Davis</dt>
<dd>Published <i>Make Me a Woman</i> (2010), about growing up and navigating one's twenties, from a Jewish perspective.</dd>
<dt>Tana Ford</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Duck!</i> (2010), about a group of lesbians in Provincetown; best known for drawing <i>Silk</i> (2015) and other work for Marvel; artist for <i>LaGuardia</i>.
</dd>
<dt>Magnolia Porter Siddell</dt>
<dd>Cartoonist and writer, creator of webcomic <i><a href="https://www.monster-pulse.com/">Monster Pulse</a></i> (2011), about monsters made from human body parts by a shady corporation, and <i>The Golden Boar</i>.</dd>
<dt>Elizabeth Pich</dt>
<Dd>Co-creator of webcomic <a href="http://warandpeas.com/"><i>War and Peas</i></a> (2011), gag strips with a morbid sense of humor; created <i><a href="https://elizabethpich.com/Meet-Fungirl-Comics-by-Elizabeth-Pich">Fungirl</a></i> (2021); the name is ironic. </dd>
<dt>Jen Wang</dT>
<dd>Created <i>Koko Be Good</i> (2011)— “Wang’s swooping brushwork, capturing the characters’ limpid-eyed emotion and details of up-until-dawn city life with equal skill, makes this poetic coming-of-age story glow.” [Shaenon Garrity] Also does a webcomic, <a href="http://jenwang.net/whitesnake/"><i>The White Snake</i></a>.</dd>
<dt>Jess Fink</dt>
<dd>In <a href="bob55.html#2"><i>We Can Fix It!</i></a> (2011), Jess lives in The Future, so she puts on a sexy green jumpsuit, borrows her boyfriend's time machine, and goes back to perv out on her younger selves, as well as attempt to keep them from making mistakes. Her <i>Chester 5000</i>, an "erotic robotic Victorian romance", began as a webcomic and has been published as a graphic novel (2011).</dd>
<dt>Afua Richardson</dt>
<dd>Comics artist who has worked on various titles, including <i>Genius</i> (2011) and <i>Pilot</i>.</dd>
<dt>Vera Brosgol</dt>
<dd>Animation artist and cartoonist; created <i>Anya's Ghost</i> (2011), about a girl who befriends a ghost with issues.</dd>
<dt>Margaret Trauth</dt>
<dd>Created <a href="http://egypt.urnash.com/rita/chapter/01/"><i>Decrypting Rita</i></a>, which is cyberpunk dialed up past 11. The beautiful coloring turns out to be coded to help navigate this very complex story.</dd>
<dt>Fiona Staples</dt>
<dd>[Canadian] Created <i>Saga</i> (2012), a sf/fantasy series; illustrated a Western fantasy, North 40.</dd>
<dt>Kyla Vanderklugt</dt>
<dd>Artist for <i>Spera</i> (2012); an expert at full-color adventure work. </dd>
<dt>ND Stevenson</dt>
<dd>(He identifies as bigender, so I’ve kept him on the list.) His comic <i>Nimona</i> (2012) features a supervillain's assistant— a rambunctious teen girl who's also a powerful shapeshifter; it’s been made into an animated movie. With Shannon Watters and Grace Ellis, did <i>Lumberjanes</i>, which “follows a group of five friends who attend Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's Camp for Hardcore Lady Types, where they face supernatural creatures and creepy puzzles” [Bustle]. Now best known as the creator of the <i>She-Ra</i> reboot. </dd>
<dt>Molly Ostertag</dt>
<dd>Drew <i>Strong Female Progagonist</i> (2012; written by Brennan Lee Mulligan; about a young woman who's given up the superheroing in order to study) and <i>Painted Warrior</i> (with Sharon Shinn; about a world suffering under occupation by aliens). </dd>
<dt>Blue Delliquanti</dt>
<dd>Illustrator, created webcomic <a href="bob64.html#2"><i>O Human Star</i></a> (2012), about a
robotics pioneer who comes back from the dead as a robot, and his relationship with his colleague and lover Brendan, and another robot clone of himself who’s turned out to be trans.
</dd>
<dt>Sarah Roark</dt>
<dd>Creator of <i><a href="http://www.afterdaylight.com/">After Daylight</a></i> (2012), a webcomic where the existence of vampires is no longer a secret, and comedy ensues.
</dd>
<dt>Natalie Nourigat</dt>
<dd>Director and storyboard artist who also does comics, notably <i>I Moved to Los Angeles to Work in Animation</i> (2019) and the college memoir <i>Between Gears</i> (2012).
</dd>
<dt>Nara Walker</dt>
<dd>Black cartoonist with a manga-influenced style; <i>Legacy of Light</i> (2012) portrays a frustrated romance between an angel and a demon; <i>Songbirds</i> is a <i>shonen-ai</i> story of a frustrated gay romance.</dd>
<dt>Melanie Gillman</dt>
<dd>Webcomic <a href="http://www.autostraddle.com/drawn-to-comics-as-the-crow-flies-helps-you-relive-your-awkward-camp-memories-205289/"><i>As The Crow Flies</i></a> (2012), drawn in lovely colored pencils, follows a young queer black girl feeling very out of place at a camp filled with white Christian girls. Also see <i>Stage Dreams</i> (2019), about a trans girl and a bandit woman in the Old West who counter a Confederate plot and find the time to fall in love. </dd>
<dt>Nilah Magruder</dt>
<dd>Created <a href="http://www.mfkcomic.com/about/"><i>M.F.K.</i></a> (2012), which starts, like any respectable epic, with sand farmers in the middle of nowhere. Nicely drawn, and doesn't reveal too much at once.</dd>
<dt>Yumi Sakugawa</dt>
<dd>I'd buy these for the titles alone: <i>I Think I'm in Friend Love With You</i> (2013); <i>Your Illustrated Guide to Being One With The Universe</i>.</dd>
<dt><img src="illo/women-kylie.gif" title="Trans Girl Next Door" align="right">Kylie Summer Wu</dt>
<dd><a href="http://transgirlnextdoor.tumblr.com"><i>Trans Girl Next Door</i></a> (2013), extremely cute webcomic about being an Asian trans woman. </dd>
<dt>Tess Fowler</dt>
<dd>Drew <i>Rat Queens</i> (2013), about an all-female band of adventurers, and <i>Kid Lobotomy</i> (2017), about a cursed hotel.</dd>
<dt>Annie Mok</dt>
<dd><i>Screentests</i> (2013) includes a story about trans actress Candy Darling and another about family abuse; <i>Shadow Manifesto</i> depicts street harassment and the emotional results. Heavy stuff, told with an expressionistic flair.</dd>
<dt>Hazel Newlevant</dt>
<dd><i>If This Be Sin</i> (2013) explores queer women in music. "The stories are super sweet and hopeful, but also have a touching gloominess to them." [Sophie Campbell]</dd>
<dt>Annie Wu</dt>
<dd>Drew <i>Hawkeye</i> (2013) and <i>Black Canary</i>.</dd>
<dt>Madéleine Flores</dt>
<dd><a href="https://www.comixology.com/Help-Us-Great-Warrior/comics-series/35137"><i>Help Us! Great Warrior</i></a> (2013): Great Warrior defeats all the monsters she attacks, so you'd better not complain that she looks like a green bean and loves candy. A cute sendup of Conan-style comics, started as a webcomic, now a rather beautiful print comic. </dd>
<dt>Megan Prazenica</dt>
<dd>Animator and cartoonist; created <a href="http://leavemeinlalaland.tumblr.com"><i>Leave Me in La La Land</i></a> (2013), about being young and queer in Los Angeles.</dd>
<dt>Cathy G. Johnson</dt>
<dd><a href="http://www.cathyboy.com">Creator</a> of <i>Jeremiah</i> (2013; which comicsbulletin calls a “Midwestern Gothic”) and <i>Dear Amanda</i>, about a romance between a cis butch and a trans woman.</dd>
<dt>Sarah Andersen</dt>
<dd>Best known for the cartoony <i><a href="https://www.gocomics.com/sarahs-scribbles/">Sarah's Scribbles</a></i> (2013), a comic "for barely-functioning people"; but she is also an <a href="http://www.sarahandersenart.com/">excellent illustrator</a>. Not to be missed: the adorable <i><a href="https://tapas.io/series/fangscomic">Fangs</a></i>, about the romance between a vampire goth girl and an extremely mellow werewolf.</dd>
<dt>Marguerite Bennett</dt>
<dd>Wrote <i>Lobo</i> (2013), <i>Lois Lane</i> (2014), <i>DC Comics Bombshells</i> (2015— a reimagining of the DC universe in WWII where the superheroines come first), <i>Josie and the Pussycats</i> (2017).</dd>
<dt>Maya Kern</dt>
<dd><a href="http://monsterpop.mayakern.com"><i>Monster POP!</i></a> features a college that's half-monster and half-human; the main character is a pansexual cyclops girl named George. The art style is cute enough to eat. </dd>
<dt>Anna Bongiovanni</dt>
<dd>"<a href="http://annabongiovanni.com ">My work</a> tends to be either super upbeat and super queer, or kinda dark, introspective, and weird." <i>Selfie</i> and <i>Grease Bats</i> fall in the first category, <i>Out of Hollow Water</i> (2013) in the second. </dd>
<dt>Anya Ulinich</dt>
<dd><i>Lena Finkle's Magic Barrel</i> (2014) is a comic graphic novel about dating as a single mother.</dd>
<dt>Lucy Bellwood</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Baggywrinkles: a Lubber’s Guide to Life at Sea</i> (2014), on working aboard square-rigged sailing vessels; also <i>100 Demon Dialogues</i>, about her petulant inner critic; and <a href="https://lucybellwood.com/">all sorts of other stuff</a>.
</dd>
<dt>Kelly Sue DeConnick</dt>
<dd><i>Bitch Planet</i> (2014) features a revolt against white men who run a penal colony… do you think there's a message there? Has written various works mostly for Marvel; currently writing <i>Captain Marvel</i> and <i>Avengers Assemble</i>. Wrote <i>Pretty Deadly</i>, about Death's daughter.</dd>
<dt>Katie Skelly</dt>
<dd>Created <a href="http://www.katieskellycomics.com"><i>Operation Margarine</i></a> (2014), <i>Nurse Nurse</i>, and the wicked but beautiful <i>My Pretty Vampire</i>.</dd>
<dt>Seo Kim</dt>
<dd>[Canadian] Did charmingly drawn <i>Cat Person</i> (2014); storyboard artist for <i>Adventure Time</i>.</dd>
<dt>Shing Yin Khor</dt>
<dd>Ongoing webcomic: <a href="http://otherworldscience.com"><i>The Center for Otherworld Science</i></a> (2014), which she tells us is about "a crytozoology institute with questionable ethics". But don't miss the story of trying to use a tribble as a masturbation device…</dd>
<dt>Liz Prince</dt>
<dd><a href="http://www.comicsgirl.com/2014/08/26/review-tomboy-by-liz-prince/"><i>Tomboy</i></a> (2014) is an autobiographical graphic novel about growing up as a girl with, as she says, “gender identity issues”.</dd>
<dt>Mildred Louis</dt>
<dd>Black illustrator and cartoonist; created magical girl webcomic <a href="http://www.agentsoftherealm.com"><i>Agents of the Realm</i></a> (2014).</dd>
<dt>Katie O'Neill</dt>
<dd>Has <a href="http://strangelykatie.com/comics ">several comics</a>; e.g. the adorable queer heroic romance “Princess Princess” makes a nice balance to the sad apocalyptic short “Don't Let Go”.</dd>
<dt><img src="illo/women-cakes.gif" align="right" title="Supercakes">Kat Leyh</dt>
<dd><a href="http://katleyh.com "><i>Supercakes</i></a> (2014) is about girlfriends who also happen to be superheroes, or vice versa. </dd>
<dt>Ariel Ries</dt>
<dd>[Australia] <i>Witchy</i> follows (2014) a young witch named Nyneve in a kingdom run by witches, where your magic depends on how much hair you have. </dd>
<dt>Yáo Xiāo</dt>
<dd>Illustrator; writes webcomic <i><a href="https://www.autostraddle.com/saturday-morning-cartoons-baopu-1/">Baopu</a></i> (2014) for Autostraddle, about a “young queer emigrant”.</dd>
<dt>Emma Ríos</dt>
<dd>Artist for Marvel; drew <i>Pretty Deadly</i> (2014), <i>Mirror</i>.</dd>
<dt>Carey Plietsch</dt>
<dd><a href="http://www.careydraws.com ">Drew</a> <i>Adventure Time: Marceline Gone Adrift</i> and several issues of <i>Lumberjanes</i>; created <i>Keepsakes</i> (2014) and <i>Lost Haven</i>.</dd>
<dt>Aatmaja Pandya</dt>
<dd>Created <a href="http://www.autostraddle.com/drawn-to-comics-aatmaja-pandyas-travelogue-is-the-most-chill-adorable-fantasy-comic-online-312334/"><i>Travelogue</i></a> (2014), about three friends traveling together in a magical world.</dd>
<dt>Jennifer Hayden</dt>
<dd>Cancer memoir, <i>The Story of My Tits</i> (2015).</dd>
<dt>Heather Antos</dt>
<dd>Comics editor; co-creator of <i>Gwenpool</i>.</dd>
<dt>Allysa Verner</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Blown Away</i> (2015), “a sci-fi noir comic book series about weather and friendship”. </dd>
<dt>Samantha Davies</dt>
<dd>Created <a href="http://tapastic.com/series/Stutterhug"><i>Stutterhug</i></a>, seriously adorable wordless comics mostly about animals looking for love.</dd>
<dt>Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu</dt>
<dd>Created <a href="http://mooncakescomic.tumblr.com"><i>Mooncakes</i></a>, about two queer Chinese-American teens who also happen to be a witch and a werewolf.</dd>
<dt>Sophie Goldstein</dt>
<dd>Has created <a href="http://www.redinkradio.com/p/comics.html">a bunch of comics</a>, the best known being <i>The Oven</i> (2015), about a couple that wants a child in a dystopian world with scant resources.</dd>
<dt>Sophia Foster-Dimino</dt>
<dd>Illustrator, animator, cartoonist. <i>Sex Fantasy</i> (2017) showcases odd moments in relationships where we have to imagine the context. </dd>
<dt>Rachael Stott</dt>
<dd>British; artist for <i>Doctor Who</i> (2015), <i>Fantastic Four</i> (2018) and other Marvel comics.
</dd>
<dt>Joyce Chin</dt>
<dd>Has mostly done covers for DC/Marvel/etc (2015 on); artist for <i>Red Sonja</i>.</dd>
<dt>Erica Henderson</dt>
<dd>Best known for her playful drawing of <a href="bob63.html#2"><i>The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl</i></a> (2016); she's also worked on <i>Howard the Duck</i> and the Archie comics.</dd>
<dt>Yishan Li</dt>
<dd>Illustrator with a manga-influenced style; has worked on <i>Batwoman, Blue Beetle, Hellboy,</i> and a number of indie projects such as <i>Swing</i> and <i>Paradox Girl</i>.</dd>
<dt>gg Wong</dt>
<dd>Created <i>I'm Not Here</i> (2017), about a somewhat messed-up Asian-American family, with a gorgeous borderless grayscale style. </dd>
<dt>Olivia Jaimes</dt>
<dd>Reinvigorated <i>Nancy</i> (2018) with an unexpectedly clever Internet-savvy wryness.</dd>
<dt>Ming Doyle</dt>
<dd>Illustrated <i>DC Comics: Anatomy of a Metahuman</i> (2018), and various DC titles.</dd>
<dt>Nnedi Okorafor</dt>
<dd>Sf novelist, writer for <i>LaGuardia</i> (2018), about alien immigration to an alternate Earth; and several Black Panther titles, including the series <i>Shuri</i> (2018).
</dd>
<dt>Jessica Campbell</dt>
<dd>Canadian cartoonist and fabric artist; created <i>XTC69</i> (2018), a sardonic satire of women astronauts seeking men to breed with, and <i>Rave</i> (2022), a story of how Evangelicalism messes up queer girls.
</dd>
<dt>Meredith McClaren</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Super Fun Sexy Times</i> (2019), erotic comics featuring a very diverse selection of superheroes, in a very colorful near-borderless style. </dd>
<dt>Jen Bartel</dt>
<dd>Artist for <i>Blackbird</i> (2019), about secret magic cabals in LA; also plenty of DC/Marvel work. </dd>
<dt>Cayti Bourquin</dt>
<dd>Wrote <i>Paradox Girl</i> (2019), featuring a girl who can teleport any time and place she likes, which is good as half the time she needs to redo the timeline to fix her messups. </dd>
<h3><a name="2020">2020</a></h3>
<dt>Caroline Cash</dt>
<dd>Created <i>PeePee PooPoo</i> (2022), which Cy Beltran calls “hilarious and insightful queer short stories”; as of 2026, the new artist/writer of <i>Nancy</i>. </dd>
<dt>Makee</dt>
<dd>Wrote <i><a href="bob71.html#2">Call Me Emma</a></i> (2025), a heartfelt memoir of her years adapting as a new Chinese immigrant in a New York high school. </dd>
<h2><a name="Latin">SPANISH + PORTUGUESE</a></h2>
<dt>Yolanda Vargas Dulché</dt>
<dd>Mexican writer and telenovelista; at her height her comics sold 25 million copies a month. Most of her comics featured a young black boy named <i>Memín Pinguín</i> (1947). (Unfortunately her artists chose a stereotyped style which would not be acceptable on this side of the border.)</dd>
<dt>Laerte Coutinho</dt>
<dd>Brazilian trans cartoonist, known for <i>Piratas do Tietê</i> (1983; the titular pirates restrict themselves to the river near São Paulo), and the satiric superhero <i>Overman</i>.</dd>
<dt><img src="illo/women-miralles.gif" title="Djinn" align="right"> Ana Mirallès</dt>
<dd>Spanish artist, known for erotic comics; illustated <i>El Brillo de una Mirada</i> (1990); co-created series <i>Eva Médusa</i>; drew <i>Djinn</i> (written by Jean Dufaux).</dd>
<dt>Maitena Burundarena</dt>
<dd>Argentine cartoonist; the major subject of <i>Mujeres Alteradas</i> (1993) is the everyday trials of being a woman in the modern middle class.</dd>
<dt>Alejandra Lunik</td>
<dd>Chilean-born Argentine cartoonist, who stated drawing for children in the 1990s. She has a beautiful stylized line. Her most famous comic is <i>Lola</i> (2011), about a young woman negotiating relationships, work, parents, and feminism.</dd>
<dt>Erica Awano</dt>
<dd>Brazilian artist, best known for drawing <i>Holy Avenger</i> (1999), a comic set in a medieval fantasy world associated with an RPG setting, Tormenta.</dd>
<dt>Cristina Durán Costell</dt>
<dd>Spanish illustator and cartoonist; created several comics with Miguel Ángel Giner, including <i>Una posibilidad entre mil</i> (2009).</dd>
<dt>Mia Rose Elbo</dt>
<dd><i>Becoming Me</i> (2014), webcomic (in English) about Mia, a 20ish queer trans woman in Chile. Drawn in a lovely simple style, sometimes funny, sometimes wrenching. </dd>
<dt>Núria Tamarit</dt>
<dd>Spanish illustrator with a gorgeous style; drew (with Xulia Vicente) <i>Anna Dédalus Detective</i> (2015).</dd>
<dt>Míriam Bonastre Tur</dt>
<dd>Spanish artist; created webcomic <i><a href="https://www.webtoons.com/en/fantasy/hooky/list?title_no=425&page=1">Hooky</a></i>, about a pair of sister-and-brother wizards.</dd>
<dt>Laura Pérez</dt>
<dd>Spanish cartoonist, created <i>Totems</i> (2023) and <i>Ocultos</i>. She draws beautifully and seems happiest in the liminal space between everyday reality and Something Else. </dd>
<h2><a name="French">FRENCH (including Québec)</a></h2>
<dt>Nicole Claveloux</dt>
<dd>One of the first French BD artists, starting with <i>The Secret Journey of Hugo the Brat</i> (1967). Created <i>Grabot, Louise XIV, The Small Vegetable who Dreamed of Being a Panther</i>.</dd>
<dt>Claire Bretécher</dt>
<dd><i>Cellulite</i> (1972) is about a frustrated princess in a parody Middle Ages; <i>Les frustrés</i> is a Feifferesque exploration of how French intellectuals think and relate. With Gotlib and Madryka, founded the comics magazine <i>L'Écho des savanes</i>.</dd>
<dt>Annie Goetzinger</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Casque d'or</i> (1976); artist for series <i>Portraits souvenirs</i>s, <i>Félina, Agence Hardy</i>, etc.</dd>
<dt>Bernadette Després</dt>
<dd>Drew <i>Tom-Tom et Nana</i>, a comic about life in a restaurant, written by Jacqueline Cohen, as well as other books and comics for children.</dd>
<dt>Chantal Montellier</dt>
<dd>Creator of about thirty albums; series include <i>Andy Gang</i> (1979) and <i>Julie Bristol</i>.</dd>
<dt>Florence Cestac</dt>
<dd>Parodic detective <i>Harry Mickson (1982), Les Déblock, Laura et Ludo, Le démon de midi</i>.</dd>
<dt>Jeanne Puchol</dt>
<dd>Created many albums, starting with <i>Ringard!</i> (1983); drew humor series <i>Judette Camion</i>; won Artemisia prize in 2031 for <i>Charonne - Bou Kadir</i>, dealing with the Algerian revolution.</dd>
<dt>Sylvie Rancourt</dt>
<dd>A Québécoise artist who created a remarkable series (<i>Mélody</i>, 1985) about her life as an exotic dancer; her cute style disarms the often creepy behavior that surrounds her.</dd>
<dt>Julie Doucet</dt>
<dd>A Québécoise alternative artist-- mostly dream and slice-o-life stories, in a busy, hallucinatory B&W style; her book was <i>Dirty Plotte</i> (1988).</dd>
<dt>Lynn Paula Russell</dt>
<dd>A British dancer, painter, and actress who has also created beautifully drawn comics mostly in French: <i>Sophisticated Ladies</i> (1990); <i>Vacances d’été, Sabrina 1 & 2, My life: A Sexual Odyssey, Painful Pleasures, The young governess, Beatrice</i>. <a href="http://www.lynnpaularussell.org/index.html">Her website is here</a>.</dd>
<dt>Isabelle Dethan</dt>
<dd>French cartoonist, with a particular flair for ancient Egypt. Created <i>Mémoire de sable</i> (1993), <i>Sur les terres d'Horus, Khéti, fils du Nil, Les ombres du Styx</i>.</dd>
<dt>Arbrelune and Jour de pluie</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Les Marsouines</i> (1997), about a commune of lesbians, their amorous intrigues, and their explorations of lesbian feminist theory. </dd>
<dt>Sandrine Revel</dt>
<dd>Children's series <i>Un drôle d'ange gardien</i> (1998); various adult albums, including <i>Glenn Gould, une vie à contretemps</i>, which won the Artemisia prize in 2016.</dd>
<dt><img src="illo/marjane.gif" title="Persepolis" align="right" width="242" height="214">Marjane Satrapi (41#2)</dt>
<dd><a href="bob41.html#3"><i>Persepolis</i></a> (2000) is a kid's eye view of the Iranian Revolution, which has been turned into a charming animated film.</dd>
<dt>Lucie Durbiano</dt>
<dd>Artist on <i>Lulu Grenadine</i> (2000), creator of <i>Mastic</i>, etc.</dd>
<dt>Johanna Schipper</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Les Phosfées</i> (for children, 2000); won Artemisia prize in 2008 for <i>Nos âmes sauvages</i>.</dd>
<dt>Catel Muller</dt>
<dd>Created children's series <i>Lucie</i> (2003), <i>Les Papooses, Bob et Blop</i>, and many other albums; won Artemisia prize in 2014 for <i>Ainsi soit Benoîte Groult</i>.</dd>
<dt>Lisa Mandel</dt>
<dd>Creator of <i>Nini Patalo</i> (2003), <i>Eddy Milveux</i>, and many other albums; won Artemisia prize in 2009 for Esthétique et Filatures</i>, drawn by Tanxxx.</dd>
<dt>Capucine Deslouis</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Corps de rêve</i> (2004), <i>Boule de neige</i>, artist for <i>Premières fois</i>, etc. Perhaps not fair to count her collaboration with Boulet, <a href="http://www.bouletcorp.com/2015/11/17/le-joli-coco/"><i>Joli Coco</i></a>.</dd>
<dt><img src="illo/aya.gif" title="Aya" align="right" width="204" height="193">Marguerite Abouet</dt>
<dd>Writer of <a href="bob50.html#2"><i>Aya</i></a> (2005; artist: Clément Oubrerie), a depiction of life in middle-class Abidjan (in better days). Aya herself is a little too studious to be fun, but her friends and relatives supply the irresponsible fun.</dd>
<dt>Tanxxx</dt>
<dd>Punk cartoonist; created <i>Rock Zombie</i> (2005) and her self-named series (2007); won Artemisia prize in 2009 for <i>Esthétique et Filatures</i>, written by Lisa Mandel.</dd>
<dt>Catherine Meurisse</dt>
<dd>Only female cartoonist at <i>Charlie Hebdo</i> (from 2005), who escaped being murdered because she was late the day of the attack. Illustrator for other magazines and children's books. Created several albums, such as <i>Mes Hommes de letters, Savoir-vivre ou mourir, Moderne Olympia</i>; illustrated many more, including the series <i>Elza</i>.</dd>
<dt>Aude Picault</dt>
<dd>Creator of <i>Moi je</i> (2005), <i>Les Mélomaniaks</i>, and other albums.</dd>
<dt>Laurel</dt>
<dd>Artist on <i>Le journal de Carmilla </i>(2006), <i>Un crayon dans le cœur, Les enquêtes surnaturelles de Mina</i>; wrote and drew <i>Cerise</i>. Also cofounded a studio creating games for mobile phones.</dd>
<dt>Anne Simon</dt>
<dd>Illustrator; created a dozen albums for children, including the series <i>Gousse & Gigot</i> (2006).</dd>
<dt>Zeina Abirached</dt>
<dd>Lebanese artist writing in French; created <i>Beyrouth-Catharsis</i> (2006) and <i>38, Rue Youssef Semaani</i>.</dd>
<dt>Anouk Ricard</dt>
<dd>Creator of the series <i>Anna et Froga</i> (2007), about a girl and her animal friends, and a large number of other volumes, mostly aimed at children.</dd>
<dt>Pénélope Bagieu</dt>
<dd>Known for her comic blog <i>Ma vie est tout à fait fascinante</i> and for her albums about <i>Joséphine</i> (2008), a thirty-year-old single woman; created wonderful bios of unconventional women in <A HREF="bob66.html#2"><i>Culottées/Brazen</i></a>; has illustrated albums written by Boulet and Joann Sfar.</dd>
<dt>Marion Montaigne</dt>
<dd>Created webcomic <a href="http://tumourrasmoinsbete.blogspot.fr "><i>Tu mourras moins bête</i></a> (2008) and several other albums; Wikipedia says she is known for popular science comics. </dd>
<dt>Sibylline</dt>
<dd>Writer; created erotic series <i>Premières Fois</i> (2008) and other works, including <i>C’est pas toujours pratique d’être une créature fantastique</i>.</dd>
<dt>Nine Antico</dt>
<dd>Creator of <i>Le Goût du paradis</i> (2008), <i>Coney Island Baby, Girls Don't Cry, Tonight</i>, etc.</dd>
<dt>Margaux Motin</dt>
<dd>Illustrator, with a clean elegant line; <a href="http://margauxmotin.typepad.fr/margaux_motin/">her blog</a> has generated several comic albums, starting with <i> J'aurais adoré être ethnologue</i> (2008).
<dt>Chloé Cruchaudet</dt>
<dd>Created <i> Groenland Manhattan</i>, which won the Goscinny prize, <i>Ida</i> (about a 19C female traveler), and <i>Mauvais genre</i>, based on the true story of a man who deserted in WWI and lived as a woman to escape the authorities.</dd>
<dt>Laureline Mattiussi</dt>
<dd>Created <i>L'Île au poulailler</i> (2009), drew <i>La Lionne</i>; won Artemisia prize for 2010.</dd>
<dt><img src="illo/women-maroh.gif" title="Blue is the Warmest Color" align="right">Julie Maroh</dt>
<dd><i><a href="https://zompist.wordpress.com/2016/02/24/blue-is-the-warmest-color/">Le bleu est une couleur chaude (Blue is the Warmest Color)</a></i> (2010) is the heartbreaking story of a lesbian relationship, which has been made into a live-action film. Her next comic, <i>Skandalon</i>, explores the fall of a rock star.</dd>
<dt>Clarie Braud</dt>
<dd>Her comic <i>Mambo</i> (2011) won the Artemisia prize in 2012.</dd>
<dt>Aurélie Neyret (Clo)</dt>
<dd>Drew children's series <i>Les Carnets de Cerise</i> (2012).</dd>
<dt>Barbara Yelin</dt>
<dd><i>Irmina</i> won the Artemisia prize in 2015.</dd>
<dt>Marie Spénale</dt>
<dd>Illustrator and BD creator with <a href="https://spenale.wordpress.com">an ultra-cute style</a>.</dd>
<dt>Marie Ecarlat</dt>
<dd>French illustrator with a <a href="http://marieecarlat.tumblr.com">gorgeous simple style</a>.</dd>
<dt>Tiphaine Rivière</dt>
<dd>Created <a href="bob65.html"><i>Notes on a Thesis</i></a> (2015), a hilarious account of the travails of writing a PhD in Paris. Will not make you want to write a PhD. </dd>
<dt>Florence Porcel</dt>
<dd>Writer and actress; wrote <i>Mars Horizon</i> (2017), the story of a pioneering Mars colony.</dd>
<dt>Héloïse Chochois</dt>
<dd>Created <i>La fabrique des corps</i> (2017), on body augmentation, and wrote a comic on AI.</dd>
<dt>Yudori</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Raging Clouds</i> (2022), a beautifully drawn story showing that you really don’t want to be a smart young bourgeois woman in Renaissance Netherlands.</dd>
<dt>Zelba</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Not on Display</i> (2025), in which the nude famale statues and paintings on the Louvre go on strike. Also known for <i>Ma vie de poulpe, Udama chez ces gens-là, Clinche: deux amis, un combat, une nuit blanche</i>, and other albums.
<h2><a name="Europe">OTHER EUROPEAN LANGUAGES</a></h2>
<dt><img src="illo/women-moomin.gif" title="Moomin" align="right">Tove Jansson</dt>
<dd>Creator of Moomintroll and Moomin Valley. Though well known as a series of children's books, the <i>Moomins</i> also appeared as a classic <A HREF="bob66.html#3">comic strip</a>, starting in 1947.</dd>
<dt>Lina Buffolente</dt>
<dd>Pioneering Italian cartoonist, known for the westerns <i>Liberty Kid</i> and <i>Il Piccolo Ranger</i>, the soap opera <i>Fiordistella</i>, and many other series, beginning with <i>Tom Bill</i> (1948).</dd>
<dt>Erika Fuchs</dt>
<dd>Beloved in Germany as the editor and translator for Donald Duck and other Disney comics (1951).</dd>
<dt>Marie Marcks</dt>
<dd>German cartoonist; <a href="http://marie-marcks.de/">author</a> of <i>Immer ich (Always me)</i>, about the frustrations of a female teenager, <i>Die paar Pfennige (Only a few cents)</i>, on wasting energy;, her autobiography <i>Marie, es brennt! (Marie, it burns!)</i>, and many more.</dd>
<dt>Franziska Becker</dt>
<dd>German illustrator and <a href="http://www.franziska-becker.com/de/">cartoonist</a>, first published in feminist magazine <i>EMMA</i> (1977). Bestsellers include <i>Feministischer Alltag, Männer, Weiber, Feminax und Walkürax</i> (a parody of Astérix).</dd>
<dt>Karine Haaland</dt>
<dd>[Norwegian] Created strip <i>Piray</i> (1996); an intriguing later title is <i>Våre venner menneskene (Our Friends the Human Beings)</i>.</dd>
<dt>Gerrie Hondius</dt>
<dd>Dutch artist; wrote strips <i> De Vriendinnen</i> and <i>De Man in de Straat</i> (1996); autobiographical comic <i>Als Je Je Niks Verbeeldt Dan Ben Je Niks (If You Don't Pretend You're Nothing)</i>. </dd>
<dt>Lise Myhre<img src="illo/nemi.jpg" align="right"></dt>
<dd><i>Nemi</i> (1997) is a Norwegian goth, whose chief interests are fantasy, drinks, and boys, thought the mundane boys she brings home sometimes run screaming later. </dd>
<dt>Barbara Stok</dt>
<dd>Dutch artist; autobiographical webcomic led to first collection <i>Barbaraal Tot Op Het Bot</i> (1998). “Her early comics mostly dealt with loud music, sex and drunkenness, but later on she used other themes like burnout, capitalism and fear of death.“ [Lambiek] </dd>
<dt>Ulli Lust</dt>
<dd>[Austrian] cartoonist, created autobiographical comic strip <i>Heute ist der letzte Tag vom Rest deines Lebens</i> (2000), which won the Artemisia prize in 2011.</dd>
<dt>Coco Moodysson</dt>
<dd>Swedish creator of autobiographical alternative comics, collected in <i>Coco Platinum Total</i> (2001). <i>Never Goodnight</i>, the story of a punk band started by three teenage girls, has been made into a movie.</dd>
<dt>Maaike Hartjes</dt>
<dd>Dutch artist; created <i>Lyla</i> and <i>Maaike's Dagboekje</i> (book form 2002).</dd>
<dt>Liv Strömquist</dt>
<dd>Swedish cartoonist and activist; created series <i> Hundra procent fett</i>, as well as titles like <i>Einsteins fru</i> and <i>Prins Charles Känsla</i>; wrote <i>Drift</i> (drawn by Jan Bielecki), feminist stories of sex.</dd>
<dt>Judith Vanistendael</dt>
<dd>Dutch artist; created <i>De Maagd en de Neger</i> (2007), about her relationship with an African refugee, and <i> Toen David zijn stem verloor</i>, about cancer and death.</dd>
<dt>Sara Granér</dt>
<dd>Swedish cartoonist; created <i>Det är bara lite AIDS</i> and <i>Med vänlig hälsning</i>; her style features grotesque, vividly colored animals.</dd>
<dt>Bianca Bagnarelli</dt>
<dd>Founded imprint Delebile (2010); <i>Fish</i> is a graphically striking exploration of a child's grief.</dd>
<dt>Minna Sundberg</dt>
<dd>Finnish-Swedish; created <a href="http://www.minnasundberg.fi">webcomics</a> <i>A Redtail's Dream</i> (2011), about a young man and his shapeshifting dog, and <i>Stand Still. Stay Silent</i>, about post-apocalyptic Scandinavia. Both are available in English.</dd>
<dt>Edith Kuyvenhoven</dt>
<dd>Dutch artist; wrote <i>Elp de Cavia</i> featuring a depressed guinea pig, <i>Ik, God en mijn oma</i>, about her relationship with her grandmother.</dd>
<dt>Mirka Andolfo</dt>
<dd>Italian artist; created <i>Sacro/Profano</i> (2013); worked on <i>Vampirella</i>; now draws <i>DC Bombshells</i>.</dd>
<dt>Sabien Clement & Mieke Versyp</dt>
<dd>Belgian; Created <i>Skin</i> (2025), a slice of life story, expressionistically drawn, about a middle-aged woman who becomes a nude model, and her instructor who has a chance at a love affair.</dd>
<h2><a name="MiddleEast">MIDDLE EAST</a></h2>
<dt>Nigar Nazar</dt>
<dd>Pakistani, invented <i>Gogi</i> (1970) as a daily strip to comment on issues important to women.</dd>
<dt>Menekse Cam</dt>
<dd>Turkish artist, who moved into political cartoons ~ 1990.</dd>
<dt>Omayya Joha</dt>
<dd>Palestinian; first female political cartoonist for a daily newspaper (1979); winner of Arab Journalism Award in 2001.</dd>
<dt>Lina Ghaibeh</dt>
<dd>Lebanese comics creator, animator, and scholar of comics. Contributed to <i>From Beirut</i>, about life in wartime.</dd>
<dt>Marjane Satrapi</dt>
<dd>see above as she writes in French.</dd>
<dt>Rutu Modan</dt>
<dd>Israeli cartoonist; edited Hebrew <i>Mad</i>, founded Actus Tragicus comics group (1995). Works include <i>Exit Wounds, The Murder of the Terminal Patient, The Property.</i></dd>
<dt>Bayan Yani</dt>
<dd>A <a href="http://blogs.elpais.com/mujeres/2011/05/turquia-humor-femenino-para-un-mundo-masculino.html ">Turkish magazine</a> of comics by and for women, started in 2001. </dd>
<dt>Hana Hajjar</dt>
<dd>Cartoonist for <i>Arab News</i> (2007). "For Saudi Arabia's lone female cartoonist drawing is more than just satire, it's a duty" [<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/10/27/hajjar.female.cartoonist/">CNN</a>]. </dd>
<dt>Doaa Eladl</dt>
<dd>Egyptian political cartoonist, active since 2007; <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/03/29/egyptian-female-cartoonist-pokes-fun-at-fundamentalists/">a sample here</a>. </dd>
<dt>Nadia Khiari</dt>
<dd>Tunisian cartoonist; her creation is Willis the cat.</dd>
<dt>Siham Zebiri</dt>
<dd>Algerian cartoonist</dd>
<h2><a name="Asia">EAST ASIA</a></h2>
<dt><img src="illo/women-sazae.gif" title="Sazae-san" align="right">Machiko Hasegawa</dt>
<dd>One of the first female manga artists; created the newspaper strip <i>Sazae-san</i>, about a Japanese housewife, in 1946. It has also been adapted to anime.</dd>
<dt>Yumiko Ōshima</dt>
<dd>Debuted with <i>Paula's Tears</i> (1968); best known for the series <i>Gu-Gu Datte Neko de Aru</i>. Her <i>Wata no Kuni Hoshi (The Star of Cottonland)</i> popularized the catgirl.</dd>
<dt>Moto Hagio</dt>
<dd>A star of shōjo, who started in 1969; most readily available in English is <a href="bob54.html "><i>A Broken Dream</i></a>. I particularly liked her short “Iguana Girl”. Some key works include <i>The Heart of Thomas, Juichinin Iru!, Poe no Ichizoku</i>, and <i>Marginal</i>.</dd>
<dt>Keiko Takemiya</dt>
<dd>“In the Sunroom” (1970) is perhaps the earliest shōjo story featuring gay boys. Best known for <i>Toward the Terra</i> (an sf series available in English) and <i>Kaze to Ki no Uta</i>.</dd>
<dt>Ryoko Yamagishi</dt>
<dd>Known for <i>Shiroi Heya no Futari</i> (1971, perhaps the first yuri (lesbian) shōjo, though it ends tragically), <i>Hi Izuru Tokoro no Tenshi</i>, and <i>Terpsichora</i>.</dd>
<dt>Riyoko Ikeda</dt>
<dd>Best known for <i>Berusaiyu no bara</i> (The Rose of Versailles, 1972), focusing on Marie Antoinette and her fictional bodyguard Oscar de Jarjayes— actually a woman raised as a man. She has dozens of other series.</dd>
<dt>Sumika Yamamoto</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Ēsu o Nerae! (Aim for the Ace!</i>, 1973), about a girl who wants to be a tennis star.</dd>
<dt><img src="illo/women-ranma.gif" title="Ranma 1/2" align="right">Rumiko Takahashi</dt>
<dd>First published in 1978. Amazingly prolific and approachable, she's responsible for <i><a href="bob4.html">Ranma 1/2</a>, Maison Ikkoku, Lum / Urusei Yatsura, Mermaid Saga</i>, and <i>Inu Yasha</i>. Ranma himself, a boy who turns into a girl when splashed with cold water, could be a dissertation in himself. She is said to be the top selling female cartoonist in the world.</dd>
<dt>Murasaki Yamada</dt>
<dd>Feminist writer, preferred male-oriented magazines for the greater artistic freedom. Known for <i>Talk to My Back</i> (1981), about a failing marriage, and <i>Second Hand Love</i>, whose main story focuses on the ’other woman.’</dd>
<dt>Yukari Ichijo</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Yūkan Kurabu (Yūkan Club</i>, 1982), and <i>Pride</i> (about an aspiring opera singer).</dd>
<dt>Akimi Yoshida</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Banana Fish</i> (1985, centering on a young gang leader), <i>Kisshō Tenny, Yasha</i>.</dd>
<dt>Kyoko Okazaki</dt>
<dd>Created unconventional comics such as <i>Pink</i> (1989): “Yumi is an office lady by day, a call girl by night, and does it all to keep her pet crocodile fed.” [Shaenon Garrity] <i>River's Edge</i> looks at the emptiness of Japanese life in the bubble years.</dd>
<dt>Yumi Tamura</dt>
<dd>Best known for <i>Basara</i> (1990), about a future post-apocalyptic Japan, and a young woman who leads a revolt against its oppressive ruler, complicated by the fact that she and the ruler have fallen in love (neither knowing the other's true position). Other series include <i>7 Seeds, Chicago</i>, and <i>Tomoe ga Yuku!</i>. (Disappointingly, <i>Chicago</i> is not named after the city, but a bar in Tōkyō.)</dd>
<dt>Naoko Takeuchi</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Sailor Moon</i> (1991), one of the best known and best selling shōjo series (subtype mahō shōjo, magical girls), and successful in anime as well. Features one of the first non-tragic lesbian couples in manga.</dd>
<dt>CLAMP studio (Satsuki Igarashi, Nanase Ohkawa, Tsubaki Nekoi, Mokona)</dt>
<dd><i>Mahou Kishi Reiāsu (Magic Knight Rayearth</i>, 1993), in which three young girls are transported to another planet, Cephiro, learn to pilot giant robots, and attempt to find the girl responsible for maintaining Cephiro by prayer.</dd>
<dt>Chie Shinohara </dt>
<dd><i>Red River</i> (1995), about a Japanese teenager who is summoned to the ancient Hittite empire to be a human sacrifice. The story draws heavily on actual Hittite history.</dd>
<dt>Yu Yabuchi</dt>
<dd>Creator of <i>Mizuiro Jidai</i> (1996) , <i>Naisho no Tsubomi, Hitohira no Koi ga Furu.</i></dd>
<dt><img src="illo/women-utena.gif" title="Revolutionary Girl Utena" align="right">Chiho Saito</dt>
<dd>Creator of <i>Shōjo Kakumei Utena (Revolutionary Girl Utena</i>, 1996); Utena attends a school whose focus is a yearly duel to possess the “Rose Bride”— another girl.</dd>
<dt>Fumi Yoshinaga</dt>
<dd>creator of <i>The Moon and the Sandals</i> (1996),<i> Antique Bakery, Ōoku: The Inner Chambers</i>.</dd>
<dt>Arina Tanemura</dt>
<dd>Creator of <i>I.O.N.</i> (1997), <i>Full Moon o Sagashite, Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne, Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura</i>.</dd>
<dt>Natsuki Takaya</dt>
<dd>Creator of <i>Phantom Dream, Tsubasa: Those with Wings, Songs to Make You Smile, Fruits Basket</i> (the second best selling shōjo series; started 1998), <i>Hoshi wa Utau, Liselotte and Witch's Forest</i>.</dd>
<dt>Hiromu Arakawa</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Fullmetal Alchemist</i> (2001; the title character has a metal body due to an alchemy accident) and <i>Silver Spoon</i>.</dd>
<dt>Hwei Lim</dt>
<dd><a href="http://hhhwei.com">Malaysian artist</a> with a luscious eye for watercolors. See especially her series <i>Boris and Lalage</i> (2001). Writer for <i>Mirror</i>, drawn by Emma Ríos.</dd>
<dt>Nakamura Yoshiki</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Skip Beat!</i> (2002), where a girl betrayed by a boy takes her revenge, by making it big in the entertainment industry.</dd>
<dt><img src="illo/women-bisco.jpg" align="right" title="Ouran High School Host Club">Bisco Hatori</i>
<dd>Created <i> Ouran High School Host Club</i> (2002), about a girl who joins a club of gigolos, each of which is a satire of common shōjo tropes.</dd>
<dt>Kaoru Mori</dt>
<dd>Known for exhaustive historical research and spectacular art; created <i>Emma</i> (2002), set in Victorian London, and <i>Otoyomegatari</i>, set in Central Asia.</dd>
<dt>Temari Matsumoto</dt>
<dd>Creator of <i>Just My Luck</i> (2003), <i>The Loudest Whisper: Uwasa No Futari, Shinobu Kokoro: Hidden Heart, Cause of My Teacher</i>.</dd>
<dt>Go Ikeyamada</dt>
<dd>Creator of <i>Get Love!!</i> (2003), <i>Uwasa no Midori-kun!!, Suki Desu Suzuki-kun!!, Kobayashi ga Kawai Sugite Tsurai!!</i></dd>
<dt>Shinobu Ohtaka</dt>
<dd>Creator of <i>Sumomomo Momomo</i> (2004), about warring martial arts clans, and <i> Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic</i>, which starts in a magic-filled medieval Middle East.</dd>
<dt>Katsura Hoshino</dt>
<dd>Created <i>shōnen</i> series <i>D. Gray-Man</i> (2004), about an attack on 19C England by monsters called Akuma.</dd>
<dt>Yuhki Kamatani</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Nabari no Ō</i> (2004), a <i> shōnen </i> series about a depressed boy discovering his ninja powers.</dd>
<dt>Yana Toboso</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Black Butler</i> (2006), a shōnen series about a boy who fights crime in Victorian England with the help of a demonic butler.</dd>
<dt>Ching Nakamura</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Gunjo</i> (2007), about a woman who asks a lesbian friend to kill her husband for her; <i>Chinman</i> (2009), <i>Avare Senki</i> (2011).</dd>
<dt>Jun Mochizuki</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Pandora Hearts</i> (2009): a young aristocratic boy is suddenly thrown into a prison for supernatural beings.</dd>
<dt>Kazue Katō</dt>
<dd>Created <i>Blue Exorcist</i>, a <i> shōnen </i> story about a teen boy who becomes an exorcist in hopes of defeating his father, Satan.</dd>
<dt>Currygom (카레곰)</dt>
<dd>Korean; created webcomic <i>Kubera</i> (2010), about a girl who wants revenge for the destruction of her village.</dd>
<dt>Akiko Higashimura</dt>
<dd>Best known for <i>Kuragehime (Princess Jellyfish)</i> (2010) and <i> Kakukaku Shikajika</i>. “Her work is introspective and thoughtful, with a spare but communicative and graphically bold style.” [Meredith Alden] </dd>
<dt>Kabi Nagata</dt>
<dd>Created <i>My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness</i> (2016), an autobiographical manga, lauded for its intense honesty.</dd>
<hr>
<h3><a name="ack">Acknowledgements</a></h3>
A lot of these comics are on my bookshelf. Sarah Dyer's <i>Action Girl</i>, Roz Warren's <i>Dyke Strippers</i>, and Ted Rall's <i>Attitude 2</i> were early sources for exploration. Maurice Horn's <i>The World Encyclopedia of Comics</i> provided some information.
<p>Trina Robbins has been the great chronicler of women in comics; her latest book is <i>Pretty in Ink</i> (2013). Without it the first decades of this list would be mighty bare. For black women cartoonists, Deborah Elizabeth Whaley's <i>Black Women in Sequence</i> (2016) was eye-opening.
<p>Googling can do wonders, and I haven't kept track of all the sites I found. <a href="http://www.autostraddle.com/drawn-comics-28-queer-women-non-binary-comics-creators-can-support-holigay-season-320527/">This post on Autostraddle</a> and <a href="http://www.autostraddle.com/drawn-to-comics-25-queer-and-trans-women-comic-creators-to-support-this-holigay-season-267596/">this one</a> stood out in highlighting queer and trans women.
<p>Alert readers who've suggested names: Boudewijn Rempt, Adrian Morgan, Dennis Paul Himes, Avery Katko, Hans-Werner Hatting, Narrative Priorities, Antonin Brault, Michael Barenberg, Constanze, Meredith Alden, Cees Huisman, Steve Hawley.
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