Women in comics
Encyclopedia
Although traditionally women artists have long been a minority in the comics business, they have made notable impact since its very beginning, and more and more female artist gain recognition, along with the maturing of the medium.
Women creators have worked in every genre, from superheroes to romance, westerns to war, crime to horror. Their modes of expression and subjects of discussion have expanded as women's role in society has changed. The pressure of market forces may result in more stereotypical depictions of women and their concerns, or they may be shut out by male colleagues due to their frankness and thus resort to alternative publishing routes. However, many still have found mainstream and/or underground success telling the stories they want to tell.
market was in its infancy, William Randolph Hearst
brought the artist Nell Brinkley
over from the competing Denver Post, and although not doing comics herself, her romantic and glamorous imagery became an inspiration to a generation of female comics artists.
Another style popular around the time was cute comics with doll-like round-cheeked children. In 1909, Rose O'Neill
created The Kewpies, a series continuing for decades and widely used in various marketing purposes.
Another cartoonist, Grace Wiederseim (also known as Grace Drayton and Grace Gebbie), worked in a similar vein and, from the 1910s until the 1930s, created a multitude of series with cherubic children bearing names such as Toodles, Dimples, Dolly Dingle, and Dottie Darling. She was also the creator of the "Campbell kids", which Campbell Soup employed for marketing purposes up until the 1930s.
Edwina Dumm
created a long-lasting series in 1918, Cap Stubbs and Tippie
, about a boy and a dog, although the frisky dog soon took over the strip as its most popular character. The series ran until the 1960s.
In the 1920s, the USA underwent an economic boom and widespread social change, leading to the appearance of the "flapper
", a female subculture receiving a lot of media attention at the time. Flappers enjoyed partying, jazz music and free dating, and defied many of the social norms surrounding women at the time. Several female cartoonists picked up on the flapper stereotype, often working in a stylish art deco
style, including Ethel Hays
(with her comic strip Marianne and her famous cartoon Flapper Fanny), Virginia Huget (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Babs in Society), Gladys Parker
(Gay and her Gang) and Marjorie Henderson Buell (Dashing Dot).
In the 1930s, the great depression
had struck the USA, and stories about poor but happy families, and their stoic struggles to make a living, became popular reader fare. Martha Orr created one of the most successful series, Apple Mary, about an old lady selling apples around the neighborhood, in 1932.
The accounts on the series' final fate differs. Most sources state that in 1938, she left it to her female assistant Dale Conner, who renamed it Mary Worth, although King Features Syndicate
's own account claims that Apple Mary folded and Mary Worth was its replacement. In 1940, a new writer Allen Saunders
was brought in, and Conner and Saunders began signing the strip with the joint pseudonym "Dale Allen", which remained after Conner left the series. Mary Worth has proven a successful concept, and is still syndicated around the globe.
In 1935, Marjorie Henderson Buell (signature "Marge") created the comic panel
Little Lulu
, later spawning a successful comic book series by John Stanley
and Irving Tripp
. This character inspired the name for the organization Friends of Lulu
, an organization promoting reading and authoring of comics to girls and women.
In 1940, veteran artist Dale Messick
created the comic strip Brenda Starr
, about a glamorous reporter with a soap opera
-like love life. After Messick left the series, it was continued solely by other female artists.
In 1941, Tarpé Mills
created the superheroine strip Miss Fury for the Sunday pages
. Striking a chord among the readers, she was drawing the strip until 1951.
Jackie Ormes
was the first nationally syndicated female black cartoonist with her series Torchy Brown, created in 1937 as a humoristic adventure strip lasting for three years, and picked up again in 1950 as Torchy Brown's Heartbeats, basically revamped as a black version of Brenda Starr, with the young black eponymous character stumbling onto adventure after adventure, and going from one love interest to another, although the series also took up more serious subjects such as racial bigotry and environmental pollution. The series never became a widespread success, since it was only picked up by black-owned newspapers.
In the 1940s, teen comics became a popular genre. This was a rather down-to-earth genre, mostly comedy-inclined and marketed towards young teenage girls, where young, often gangly, teenagers went through different problems with the opposite sex and dating. Notable artists to mention include Hilda Terry (Teena
, 1941), Marty Links
(Emmy Lou, 1944) and Linda Walter (Susie Q. Smith, together with her husband Jerry Walter on scripts). These three artists all had earlier works in the fashion field. In 1951, after some internal arguments within the organization, Terry became the first female cartoonist to be accepted to the National Cartoonists Society
.
Other successful strips include Cathy Guisewite
's semi-autobiographical Cathy
, about a neurotic city woman and her problems with shopping and romance, and Lynn Johnston
's For Better or For Worse
, about the Patterson household and their family relationships.
Overtly feminist and containing much pointed social commentary in addition to character-based humor, Nicole Hollander
's strip Sylvia
is distributed nationally by Tribune Media Services
, with 19 published books collecting strip selections. Sylvia's strong personality and forcefully critical views distinguish her from less assertive women cartoon characters.
Due to the syndicates
' often strict demands on recurring characters and an unwillingness to risk offending readers, some cartoonists have gone into self-syndication to maintain control of their work. Some long-running self-syndicated comics are the feminist Maxine or Laughing Gas by cartoonist and author Marian Henley (not to be confused with John M. Wagner's Hallmark
character) and the surrealist Way Lay or Story Minute by underground veteran Carol Lay
.
artist Ruth Atkinson Ford (Millie the Model
and Patsy Walker).
One publisher in particular, Fiction House
, used many female cartoonists, both on staff and through Eisner & Iger
, one of the era's comics "packagers" that would supply comic books on demand to publishers testing the emerging medium. Action and adventure-oriented genres were popular at this time, and Fiction House's forte was capable and beautiful female protagonists, working as pilots, detectives, or jungle adventuresses. Women working for the publisher include Lily Renée, Fran Hopper and future romance artists Ruth Atkinson
and Ann Brewster. These stories were frequently written by a female writer, as well: Ruth Roche
, later an editor. Before finding fame as a crime novelist, Patricia Highsmith
wrote for Black Terror
and other comic books.
In the 1950s Marie Severin
, sister of artist John Severin
, was a frequent EC
and Atlas
/Marvel
colorist, later drawing her own stories as well. Her cartoon style made her a frequent contributor to Marvel's Not Brand Echh
satirical title of the late 1960s. Another prolific artist was Ramona Fradon
, who drew Aquaman
and was co-creator of Metamorpho
.
Later artists and writers include Ann Nocenti
(creator of Typhoid Mary
and Longshot
), Louise Simonson
(Power Pack
writer), June Brigman
(Power Pack artist), Gail Simone
(Welcome to Tranquility
) and Devin Grayson (Batman
writer).
movement did eventually attract female artists, being a venue that allowed more mature themes and personal work than the commercial newspaper and comic book industry of the time. A pioneer in this market was Trina Robbins
, a driving force in the creation of the early all-female comix books It ain't me, babe and All Girl Thrills, and later founder of the anthology series Wimmen's Comix
. Robbins has later moved on to a long career in comics, and has written several books about female cartoonists and their comics.
Another all-female comix book series was Tits & Clits Comix
, founded by Lyn Chevely and Joyce Farmer
, who were inspired by the honesty in the underground comix, but appalled by the frequent macho attitude. With the conviction that sex was political, the series was created with the focus of sex and sexuality from a female perspective.
Artists who grew out of this movement include Lee Marrs
(Pudge Girl Blimp about an overweight self-obsessed wannabe hippie girl), Shary Flenniken
(Trots and Bonnie about two precocious girls trying to make sense of their suburban life), Aline Kominsky (The Bunch, autobiographical depiction of her least flattering sides) and Dori Seda
(autobiographical stories).
After the underground scene turned into the alternative
scene, female artists have continued doing personal work, such as Debbie Drechsler
(Daddy's Girl, 1996, about incest and sexual abuse during childhood) and Phoebe Gloeckner
(Diary of a Teenage Girl
, 2002).
The scene's unapologetic attitude also inspired artists outside the US, such as Canadian Julie Doucet
, whose surrealist semi-autobiographical series Dirty Plotte became a worldwide cult favorite in the 90's.
The underground/alternative
market allowed for a more open depiction of sexuality, and in the 70's and 80's open lesbian and bisexual artists started telling their stories in comic book form, such as Mary Wings
(artist of the first all-lesbian comix book Come Out Comix (1973)), Roberta Gregory
(Bitchy Bitch, and frequent contributor to Gay Comix
) and Alison Bechdel
(Dykes to Watch Out For
and graphic novel Fun Home
, 2006).
In the independent market, that began to appear from the 70's, Wendy Pini, together with her husband Richard Pini, started the manga
-inspired series Elfquest
, which soon became a major sleeper hit.
Later artists have followed in her footsteps, such as Colleen Doran
with her fantasy series A Distant Soil
(originally published at the Pinis' company WaRP Graphics
, although Doran left due to copyright disagreements).
Other popular artists include Donna Barr
(Desert Peach, about Erwin Rommel
's fictional gay brother), Jill Thompson
(Scary Godmother
, a friendly witch in a Halloween environment) and Linda Medley
(Castle Waiting
, daily lives of fairytale characters).
.
Tove Jansson
is best known as a book writer, but she did also write and draw comics featuring her characters, "The Moomins" in the 50's, containing the same poetical qualities as her books.
In the UK, Posy Simmonds
started her career in 1979 with the weekly comic strip The Silent Three of St. Botolph' s for The Guardian
about the daily life of three former schoolfriends, which lasted for a decade. She had also written children's books, often in comic form, such as Fred (where later a successful animated special) and Lulu and The Flying Babies. For the 90's and 00's, she has done more serious works, inspired by literary classics, such as Gemma Bovery
and Tamara Drewe
.
market was Liliane Funcken (née Schorils), who, after meeting her husband Fred Funcken (himself a comics veteran), teamed up with him to embark on a long-lasting career for the magazine Tintin
from the 50's up until the 80's, where the couple collaborated on comics and illustration. They have adopted a realistic style, and mostly specialise in historic works.
One of the earliest successful female artists was Claire Bretécher
, who started her career in the 60's and is famed for her humor series Les Frustrés and the co-creation of the magazine L'Écho des savanes
along with Gotlib and Mandryka.
In 1976, the French magazine Ah ! Nana was launched. It was inspired by the feminist underground comix from the USA, published by Humanoïdes Associés and was an attempt to branch out of Metal Hurlant
by the same editor with a majority of female artists. It tried to adhere to the rock'n'roll attitude of the former magazine, and sometimes featured male artists from the magazine, such as Jacques Tardi
and Moebius
. Every issue was built around a theme, such as nazism or homo- and transsexuality. Issue 7, 1978, about sadomasochism was deemed pornography and was forbidden to sell to minors below 18 years of age, a rule which by extension forbade kiosks to advertise the magazine, thus cutting off many of the magazine's market outlets. In the end, this forced the cancellation of the magazine due to bad sales, through means considered by the authors as censorship of a feminist voice. The last issue was issue 9, themed around incest. No similar comics magazine has since appeared in the Franco-Belgian market, but it helped launch or consolidate the careers of Chantal Montellier (gritty, feminist, political sci-fi), Nicole Claveloux (surreal fantasy) and Florence Cestac (funny cartoons).
Another author that appeared during this time was Annie Goetzinger, who worked in a realistic art nouveau
style and drew adventures with female protagonists. She frequently collaborated with Pierre Christin
, and has won two awards at the Angoulême festival
.
In the beginning of the 21st century, Marjane Satrapi
released the critically acclaimed Persepolis about her childhood and coming-of-age in a politically turbulent Iran, and in Europe.
.
, creator of the family-oriented Sazae-san
, launched in 1946 and running in the newspaper Asahi Shinbun for decades.
Comics directed at girls (shoujo manga) have had a long history in Japan, and began to grow out of magazines directed at girls and teenagers throughout the 20th century. These were lifestyle magazines with romantic short stories and fashionable illustrations, supervised by a male editorial staff.
In 1953 the "God of Manga" Osamu Tezuka
published his classic Princess Knight
, with a longer, more complex storyline and a genderly ambiguous protagonist.
The long-running monthly magazines Ribon
and Nakayoshi
did both appear already in the 50's, and the weeklies Shojo Friend
and Margaret
appeared in 1963, so in the 50's and 60's, there were already several comics aimed at women, but most of these were written by men (including Tetsuya Chiba
, Mitsuteru Yokoyama
and Fujio Akatsuka
), and failed to attract a bigger audience, due to their mostly passive and uninteresting characters.
In the 60's, one woman artist in particular, Yoshiko Nishitani
, decided to have teenagers in lead roles, drawn in a glamorous fashion with (earlier a taboo topic) romance as a significant theme. This helped pave the way for a great wave in the late 60's-early 70's when a loose connection of women, later given the name year 24 group
, merged Tezuka's "story manga" narratives with the romantic art style from the girls' lifestyle magazines and, in the process, revolutionized the genre, both in visual experimentation (including montage-like page layouts) and story subjects.
Some of these artists such as Keiko Takemiya
and Moto Hagio
wrote stories featuring young gay male lovers involved in tragic relationships. These stories proved immensely popular and gave birth to the yaoi
genre, still very popular. (Keiko Takemiya
later made the popular sci-fi Toward the Terra
.)
Since then, girl comics have been a flourishing scene, which, in general, has both been created and read by women, has had a notable part of the market, and, as manga is becoming increasingly popular abroad, more and more is making an impact on Western countries.
Later popular artists include the highly prolific and successful Rumiko Takahashi
(drawing primarily shonen stories for boys) as well as the female collective Clamp
.
Japan doesn't only produce comics for children, but also has a seinen (adult men) and a josei (adult women) scene, allowing more mature themes and storylines.
Many of the artists working for this market have gained wide recognition among the alternative comics scenes in USA and Europe, including artists such as Kiriko Nananan
, Moyoco Anno
, Junko Mizuno
and Kan Takahama.
creation
is traditionally male-dominated.
This is a list of women who have been involved with producing comic books and comic strips.
Bronze Age and Modern Age
Women creators have worked in every genre, from superheroes to romance, westerns to war, crime to horror. Their modes of expression and subjects of discussion have expanded as women's role in society has changed. The pressure of market forces may result in more stereotypical depictions of women and their concerns, or they may be shut out by male colleagues due to their frankness and thus resort to alternative publishing routes. However, many still have found mainstream and/or underground success telling the stories they want to tell.
Newspaper comics
In the early 20th century, when the US newspaper comicsComic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
market was in its infancy, William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
brought the artist Nell Brinkley
Nell Brinkley
Nell Brinkley was an American illustrator and comic artist who was sometimes referred to as the "Queen of Comics" during her nearly four-decade career working with New York newspapers and magazines...
over from the competing Denver Post, and although not doing comics herself, her romantic and glamorous imagery became an inspiration to a generation of female comics artists.
Another style popular around the time was cute comics with doll-like round-cheeked children. In 1909, Rose O'Neill
Rose O'Neill
Rose Cecil O'Neill was an illustrator who created a popular period comic called Kewpie.-Early life:...
created The Kewpies, a series continuing for decades and widely used in various marketing purposes.
Another cartoonist, Grace Wiederseim (also known as Grace Drayton and Grace Gebbie), worked in a similar vein and, from the 1910s until the 1930s, created a multitude of series with cherubic children bearing names such as Toodles, Dimples, Dolly Dingle, and Dottie Darling. She was also the creator of the "Campbell kids", which Campbell Soup employed for marketing purposes up until the 1930s.
Edwina Dumm
Edwina Dumm
Frances Edwina Dumm was a writer-artist who drew the comic strip Cap Stubbs and Tippie for six decades and is also notable as the nation’s first full-time female editorial cartoonist, She used her middle name for the signature on her comic strip, signed simply Edwina.One of the earliest female...
created a long-lasting series in 1918, Cap Stubbs and Tippie
Cap Stubbs and Tippie
Cap Stubbs and Tippie was a syndicated newspaper comic strip created by the cartoonist Edwina Dumm. At times the title changed to Tippie & Cap Stubbs or Tippie....
, about a boy and a dog, although the frisky dog soon took over the strip as its most popular character. The series ran until the 1960s.
In the 1920s, the USA underwent an economic boom and widespread social change, leading to the appearance of the "flapper
Flapper
Flapper in the 1920s was a term applied to a "new breed" of young Western women who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior...
", a female subculture receiving a lot of media attention at the time. Flappers enjoyed partying, jazz music and free dating, and defied many of the social norms surrounding women at the time. Several female cartoonists picked up on the flapper stereotype, often working in a stylish art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
style, including Ethel Hays
Ethel Hays
Ethel Hays was an American syndicated cartoonist specializing in flapper-themed comic strips in the 1920s and 1930s. She drew in an art deco style. In the later part of her career, during the 1940s and 1950s, she became one of the country's most accomplished children's book illustrators.-Early...
(with her comic strip Marianne and her famous cartoon Flapper Fanny), Virginia Huget (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Babs in Society), Gladys Parker
Gladys Parker
Gladys Parker was an American cartoonist for comic strips and a fashion designer in Hollywood. She is best known as the creator of the comic strip Mopsy which had a long run over three decades....
(Gay and her Gang) and Marjorie Henderson Buell (Dashing Dot).
In the 1930s, the great depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
had struck the USA, and stories about poor but happy families, and their stoic struggles to make a living, became popular reader fare. Martha Orr created one of the most successful series, Apple Mary, about an old lady selling apples around the neighborhood, in 1932.
The accounts on the series' final fate differs. Most sources state that in 1938, she left it to her female assistant Dale Conner, who renamed it Mary Worth, although King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers worldwide...
's own account claims that Apple Mary folded and Mary Worth was its replacement. In 1940, a new writer Allen Saunders
Allen Saunders
Allen Saunders was an American writer, journalist and cartoonist who wrote the comic strips Steve Roper and Mike Nomad, Mary Worth and Kerry Drake...
was brought in, and Conner and Saunders began signing the strip with the joint pseudonym "Dale Allen", which remained after Conner left the series. Mary Worth has proven a successful concept, and is still syndicated around the globe.
In 1935, Marjorie Henderson Buell (signature "Marge") created the comic panel
Gag cartoon
A gag cartoon is most often a single-panel cartoon, usually including a hand-lettered or typeset caption beneath the drawing. A pantomime cartoon carries no caption...
Little Lulu
Little Lulu
"Little Lulu" is the nickname for Lulu Moppett, a comic strip character created in the mid-1930s by Marjorie Henderson Buell. The character debuted in The Saturday Evening Post on February 23, 1935 in a single panel, appearing as a flower girl at a wedding and strewing the aisle with banana peels...
, later spawning a successful comic book series by John Stanley
John Stanley (comics)
John Stanley was a comic book creator, best known for writing Little Lulu from 1945 to 1959. While mostly known for scripting, Stanley also was an accomplished artist who drew many of his stories, including the earliest Little Lulu issues. His specialty was humorous stories, both with licensed...
and Irving Tripp
Irving Tripp
Irving Tripp , was an American comic book artist, best known as the illustrator of Little Lulu comics....
. This character inspired the name for the organization Friends of Lulu
Friends of Lulu
Friends of Lulu was a non-profit, national charitable organization in the United States, founded in 1994 to promote readership of comic books by women and the participation of women in the comic book industry...
, an organization promoting reading and authoring of comics to girls and women.
In 1940, veteran artist Dale Messick
Dale Messick
Dalia Messick was an American comic strip artist who used the pseudonym Dale Messick. She was the creator of Brenda Starr, which at its peak during the 1950s ran in 250 newspapers....
created the comic strip Brenda Starr
Brenda Starr (comic strip)
Brenda Starr, Reporter was a comic strip about a glamorous, adventurous female reporter. It was created in 1940 by Dale Messick for the Chicago Tribune Syndicate....
, about a glamorous reporter with a soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
-like love life. After Messick left the series, it was continued solely by other female artists.
In 1941, Tarpé Mills
Tarpe Mills
Tarpé Mills was the pseudonym of comic book creator June Mills, one of the first major female comics artists. She is best known for her action comic strip, Miss Fury, the first female action hero created by a woman....
created the superheroine strip Miss Fury for the Sunday pages
Sunday comics
Sunday comics is the commonly accepted term for the full-color comic strip section carried in most American newspapers. Many newspaper readers called this section the Sunday funnies, the funny papers or simply the funnies....
. Striking a chord among the readers, she was drawing the strip until 1951.
Jackie Ormes
Jackie Ormes
Jackie Ormes is known as the first African American woman cartoonist....
was the first nationally syndicated female black cartoonist with her series Torchy Brown, created in 1937 as a humoristic adventure strip lasting for three years, and picked up again in 1950 as Torchy Brown's Heartbeats, basically revamped as a black version of Brenda Starr, with the young black eponymous character stumbling onto adventure after adventure, and going from one love interest to another, although the series also took up more serious subjects such as racial bigotry and environmental pollution. The series never became a widespread success, since it was only picked up by black-owned newspapers.
In the 1940s, teen comics became a popular genre. This was a rather down-to-earth genre, mostly comedy-inclined and marketed towards young teenage girls, where young, often gangly, teenagers went through different problems with the opposite sex and dating. Notable artists to mention include Hilda Terry (Teena
Teena
Teena is a cartoon panel series and comic strip about a teenage girl, created by Hilda Terry. It ran from 1944 to 1966, distributed by King Features Syndicate....
, 1941), Marty Links
Marty Links
Marty Links was an American cartoonist best known for her syndicated comic strip Emmy Lou.-Biography:Born Martha Arguello in Oakland, California, she moved with her family to San Francisco, where she grew up...
(Emmy Lou, 1944) and Linda Walter (Susie Q. Smith, together with her husband Jerry Walter on scripts). These three artists all had earlier works in the fashion field. In 1951, after some internal arguments within the organization, Terry became the first female cartoonist to be accepted to the National Cartoonists Society
National Cartoonists Society
The National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the troops...
.
Other successful strips include Cathy Guisewite
Cathy Guisewite
Cathy Lee Guisewite is the cartoonist who created the comic strip Cathy, about a career woman facing the issues and challenges of eating, work, relationships, and being a mother. As Cathy put it in one of her strips, "The four basic guilt groups."Born in Dayton, Ohio, Guisewite grew up in Midland,...
's semi-autobiographical Cathy
Cathy (comic strip)
Cathy was a comic strip drawn by Cathy Guisewite. It featured a woman who struggled through the "four basic guilt groups" of life — food, love, mom, and work — the strip gently poked fun at the lives and foibles of modern women. Cathy's characteristics and issues both made fun of and...
, about a neurotic city woman and her problems with shopping and romance, and Lynn Johnston
Lynn Johnston
Lynn Johnston, CM, OM is a Canadian cartoonist, well known for her comic strip For Better or For Worse, and was the first woman and first Canadian to win the National Cartoonist Society's Reuben Award.-Early life:...
's For Better or For Worse
For Better or For Worse
For Better or For Worse is a comic strip by Lynn Johnston that ran for 30 years, chronicling the lives of a Canadian family, The Pattersons, and their friends. The story is set in the fictitious Toronto-area suburban town of Milborough, Ontario. Johnston's strip began in September 1979, and ended...
, about the Patterson household and their family relationships.
Overtly feminist and containing much pointed social commentary in addition to character-based humor, Nicole Hollander
Nicole Hollander
Nicole Hollander is an American cartoonist and writer. Her daily comic strip Sylvia is syndicated to newspapers nationally by Tribune Media Services and also can be seen on her blog, BadGirl Chats....
's strip Sylvia
Sylvia (comic strip)
Sylvia is a long-running comic strip by American cartoonist Nicole Hollander that offers commentary on political, social and cultural topics, and on cats, primarily in the voice of its title character, Sylvia...
is distributed nationally by Tribune Media Services
Tribune Media Services
Tribune Media Services is a syndication company owned by the Tribune Company.The company has two divisions, "News and Features" and "Entertainment Products"...
, with 19 published books collecting strip selections. Sylvia's strong personality and forcefully critical views distinguish her from less assertive women cartoon characters.
Due to the syndicates
Print syndication
Print syndication distributes news articles, columns, comic strips and other features to newspapers, magazines and websites. They offer reprint rights and grant permissions to other parties for republishing content of which they own/represent copyrights....
' often strict demands on recurring characters and an unwillingness to risk offending readers, some cartoonists have gone into self-syndication to maintain control of their work. Some long-running self-syndicated comics are the feminist Maxine or Laughing Gas by cartoonist and author Marian Henley (not to be confused with John M. Wagner's Hallmark
Hallmark Cards
Hallmark Cards is a privately owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce C. Hall, Hallmark is the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was awarded the National Medal of Arts....
character) and the surrealist Way Lay or Story Minute by underground veteran Carol Lay
Carol Lay
Carol Lay is the author of a weekly comic strip, Way Lay, which first appeared in 1992 and which runs in the LA Weekly and Salon. It is also printed in daily and weekly newspapers as far afield as Hong Kong and Norway. Lay has been drawing professionally for over 25 years.-Biography:Lay was born...
.
Mainstream comic books
Comic books, as well, have had a number of female artists, such as prolific Golden AgeGolden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
artist Ruth Atkinson Ford (Millie the Model
Millie the Model
Millie the Model was Marvel Comics' longest-running humor title, first published by the company's 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and continuing through its 1950s forerunner, Atlas Comics, to 1970s Marvel.-Publication history:...
and Patsy Walker).
One publisher in particular, Fiction House
Fiction House
Fiction House is an American publisher of pulp magazines and comic books that existed from the 1920s to the 1950s. Its comics division was best known for its pinup-style good girl art, as epitomized by the company's most popular character, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.-History:-Jumbo and Jack...
, used many female cartoonists, both on staff and through Eisner & Iger
Eisner & Iger
Eisner & Iger was a comic book "packager" that produced comics on demand for publishers entering the new medium during the late-1930s and 1940s period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books...
, one of the era's comics "packagers" that would supply comic books on demand to publishers testing the emerging medium. Action and adventure-oriented genres were popular at this time, and Fiction House's forte was capable and beautiful female protagonists, working as pilots, detectives, or jungle adventuresses. Women working for the publisher include Lily Renée, Fran Hopper and future romance artists Ruth Atkinson
Ruth Atkinson
Ruth Atkinson Ford née Ruth Atkinson and a.k.a. R. Atkinson Ruth Atkinson Ford née Ruth Atkinson and a.k.a. R. Atkinson Ruth Atkinson Ford née Ruth Atkinson and a.k.a. R. Atkinson (June 2, 1918 - June 1, 1997 was an American cartoonist and pioneering female comic book artist who helped create the...
and Ann Brewster. These stories were frequently written by a female writer, as well: Ruth Roche
Ruth Roche (comics)
Ruth Ann Roche , also credited as R. A. Roche and Rod Roche, was a writer and editor in the Golden Age of Comic Books. She was also the business partner of Jerry Iger.-Life and Career:...
, later an editor. Before finding fame as a crime novelist, Patricia Highsmith
Patricia Highsmith
Patricia Highsmith was an American novelist and short-story writer most widely known for her psychological thrillers, which led to more than two dozen film adaptations. Her first novel, Strangers on a Train, has been adapted for stage and screen numerous times, notably by Alfred Hitchcock in 1951...
wrote for Black Terror
Black Terror
The Black Terror is a fictional comic book superhero who originally appeared in Exciting Comics #9, published by Nedor Comics in January 1941. Some Black Terror stories were written by Patricia Highsmith before she became an acclaimed novelist...
and other comic books.
In the 1950s Marie Severin
Marie Severin
Marie Severin is an American comic book artist and colorist best known for her work for Marvel Comics and the 1950s' EC Comics....
, sister of artist John Severin
John Severin
John Powers Severin is an American comic book artist noted for his distinctive work with EC Comics, primarily on the war comics Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat; for Marvel Comics, primarily on its war and Western comics; and for the satiric magazine Cracked...
, was a frequent EC
EC Comics
Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books specializing in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, notably the Tales from the Crypt series...
and Atlas
Atlas Comics (1950s)
Atlas Comics is the term used to describe the 1950s comic book publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. Magazine and paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman, whose business strategy involved having a multitude of corporate entities, used Atlas as the umbrella name for his comic...
/Marvel
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
colorist, later drawing her own stories as well. Her cartoon style made her a frequent contributor to Marvel's Not Brand Echh
Not Brand Echh
Not Brand Echh was a satiric comic book series published by Marvel Comics that parodied its own superhero stories as well as those of other comics publishers. Running for 13 issues , it included among its contributors such notable writers and artists as Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Gene Colan, Bill...
satirical title of the late 1960s. Another prolific artist was Ramona Fradon
Ramona Fradon
Ramona Fradon is an American comic book and comic strip artist, known for her work illustrating Aquaman and Brenda Starr, and co-creating the superhero Metamorpho. Her career began in 1950, when it was even more unusual for women to illustrate superhero comics.-Career:Fradon entered cartooning...
, who drew Aquaman
Aquaman
Aquaman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 . Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo title...
and was co-creator of Metamorpho
Metamorpho
Metamorpho is a fictional character, a superhero in the . He is a founding member of the Outsiders, and has also joined multiple incarnations of the Justice League.-Publication history:...
.
Later artists and writers include Ann Nocenti
Ann Nocenti
Ann "Annie" Nocenti is an American journalist, writer, editor, and filmmaker best known for her work on comic books and magazines. As an editor for Marvel Comics, she edited New Mutants and The Uncanny X-Men...
(creator of Typhoid Mary
Typhoid Mary (comics)
Typhoid Mary , also known as Typhoid, Walker, Bloody Mary and Mutant Zero, is a fictional character, a supervillain and enemy of Daredevil and Deadpool in the Marvel Comics Universe. She first appeared in Daredevil #254, and was created by Ann Nocenti and John Romita, Jr....
and Longshot
Longshot
Longshot is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero best known as a member of the X-Men. He was created by writer Ann Nocenti and artist Art Adams.-Publication history:...
), Louise Simonson
Louise Simonson
Louise Simonson, born Mary Louise Alexander , is an American comic book writer and editor. She is best known for her work on comic book titles such as Power Pack, X-Factor, New Mutants, Superman: The Man of Steel, and Steel...
(Power Pack
Power Pack
Power Pack is a fictional team of comic book superheroes consisting of four young siblings who appear in books published by Marvel Comics. They were created by writer Louise Simonson and artist June Brigman and first appeared in their own series in 1984. The series lasted 62 issues...
writer), June Brigman
June Brigman
June Brigman is an American comic book artist and illustrator. She is best known for creating the pre-teen superhero characters Power Pack with writer Louise Simonson in 1984...
(Power Pack artist), Gail Simone
Gail Simone
Gail Simone is an American writer of comic books. Best known for penning DC's Birds of Prey, her other notable works include Secret Six, Welcome to Tranquility, The All-New Atom, and Deadpool. In 2007, she took over Wonder Woman...
(Welcome to Tranquility
Welcome to Tranquility
Welcome to Tranquility is an American comic book series created by Gail Simone and Neil Googe and published by Wildstorm.The series is set in Tranquility, a fictional town in Oregon, which is home to retired superheroes and supervillains as well as their families...
) and Devin Grayson (Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
writer).
Underground, alternative and independent
The underground comixUnderground comix
Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books which are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, including explicit drug use, sexuality and violence...
movement did eventually attract female artists, being a venue that allowed more mature themes and personal work than the commercial newspaper and comic book industry of the time. A pioneer in this market was Trina Robbins
Trina Robbins
Trina Robbins is an American comics artist and writer. She was an early and influential participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the few female artists in underground comix when she started. Both as a cartoonist and historian, Robbins has long been involved in creating outlets for...
, a driving force in the creation of the early all-female comix books It ain't me, babe and All Girl Thrills, and later founder of the anthology series Wimmen's Comix
Wimmen's Comix
Wimmen's Comix, later titled Wimmin's Comix, was an influential all-female underground comics anthology published from 1972 to 1992. Though it covered a wide range of genre and subject matter, Wimmen's Comix focused more than other anthologies of the time on feminist concerns, homosexuality, sex...
. Robbins has later moved on to a long career in comics, and has written several books about female cartoonists and their comics.
Another all-female comix book series was Tits & Clits Comix
Tits & Clits Comix
Tits & Clits Comix was an all-female underground comics anthology put together by Joyce Farmer and Lyn Chevely, published from 1972 to 1987...
, founded by Lyn Chevely and Joyce Farmer
Joyce Farmer
Joyce Farmer is an American cartoonist. She was a participant in the underground comix movement. With Lyn Chevely, she created the feminist anthology comic book series Tits & Clits Comix in 1972....
, who were inspired by the honesty in the underground comix, but appalled by the frequent macho attitude. With the conviction that sex was political, the series was created with the focus of sex and sexuality from a female perspective.
Artists who grew out of this movement include Lee Marrs
Lee Marrs
Lee Marrs is an American comic book writer, animator, and one of the first women underground comix creators. She is best known for her comic book series, The Further Fattening Adventures of Pudge, Girl Blimp, which lasted from 1973 to 1978.-Underground comics:Marrs was a frequent contributor to...
(Pudge Girl Blimp about an overweight self-obsessed wannabe hippie girl), Shary Flenniken
Shary Flenniken
Shary Flenniken is an American editor-writer-illustrator and underground cartoonist. After joining the burgeoning underground comics movement in the early 1970s, she became a prominent contributor to National Lampoon and was one of the editors of the magazine for two years...
(Trots and Bonnie about two precocious girls trying to make sense of their suburban life), Aline Kominsky (The Bunch, autobiographical depiction of her least flattering sides) and Dori Seda
Dori Seda
Dorthea Antonette "Dori" Seda was an artist best known for her underground comix work of the 1980s. Her comics combined exaggerated fantasy and ribald humor with documentation of her life in the Mission District of San Francisco, California.- Biography :Seda was originally a painter and ceramics...
(autobiographical stories).
After the underground scene turned into the alternative
Alternative comics
Alternative comics defines a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to "mainstream" superhero comics which in the past have dominated the US comic book industry...
scene, female artists have continued doing personal work, such as Debbie Drechsler
Debbie Drechsler
Debbie Drechsler is an American illustrator and comic book creator. Her semi-autobiographical graphic novel about incest, Daddy's Girl , was nominated for an Ignatz Award....
(Daddy's Girl, 1996, about incest and sexual abuse during childhood) and Phoebe Gloeckner
Phoebe Gloeckner
Phoebe Louise Adams Gloeckner is an American cartoonist, illustrator, painter, and novelist.-Background:Gloeckner was born in 1960 in Philadelphia, and spent most of her later childhood and young adult life in San Francisco, where her family moved in the early 1970s...
(Diary of a Teenage Girl
Diary of a Teenage Girl
Diary of a Teenage Girl is a series of Christian young adult novels written by Melody Carlson.-Characters:Each of the series' major characters has serious family problems, but find their faith a grounding influence....
, 2002).
The scene's unapologetic attitude also inspired artists outside the US, such as Canadian Julie Doucet
Julie Doucet
Julie Doucet is a Canadian former underground cartoonist and artist, best known for her autobiographical works such as Dirty Plotte and My New York Diary...
, whose surrealist semi-autobiographical series Dirty Plotte became a worldwide cult favorite in the 90's.
The underground/alternative
Alternative comics
Alternative comics defines a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to "mainstream" superhero comics which in the past have dominated the US comic book industry...
market allowed for a more open depiction of sexuality, and in the 70's and 80's open lesbian and bisexual artists started telling their stories in comic book form, such as Mary Wings
Mary Wings
Mary Wings is an American writer, artist, and musician.In 1973 Mary Wings made history by releasing Come Out Comix, the first lesbian underground comic book. She may be best known for her series of detective novels featuring lesbian heroine Emma Victor...
(artist of the first all-lesbian comix book Come Out Comix (1973)), Roberta Gregory
Roberta Gregory
Roberta Gregory is an American comic book writer and artist best known for her character Bitchy Bitch from her Fantagraphics Books series Naughty Bits.Gregory's father was Disney comics artist Bob Gregory...
(Bitchy Bitch, and frequent contributor to Gay Comix
Gay Comix
Gay Comix was an underground comics series published from 1980–1998. Created by Howard Cruse, Gay Comix featured the work of gay, lesbian, and transsexual artists. Much of the early content was autobiographical, but more diverse themes were explored in later editions...
) and Alison Bechdel
Alison Bechdel
Alison Bechdel is an American cartoonist. Originally best known for the long-running comic strip Dykes To Watch Out For, in 2006 she became a best-selling and critically acclaimed author with her graphic memoir Fun Home.-Early life:...
(Dykes to Watch Out For
Dykes to Watch out For
Dykes to Watch Out For was a comic strip by Alison Bechdel. The strip, which ran from 1983 to 2008, was one of the earliest ongoing representations of lesbians in popular culture and has been called "as important to new generations of lesbians as landmark novels like Rita Mae Brown’s Rubyfruit...
and graphic novel Fun Home
Fun Home
Fun Home is a 2006 graphic memoir by American writer Alison Bechdel, author of the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For. It chronicles the author's childhood and youth in rural Pennsylvania, USA, focusing on her complex relationship with her father...
, 2006).
In the independent market, that began to appear from the 70's, Wendy Pini, together with her husband Richard Pini, started the manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
-inspired series Elfquest
Elfquest
Elfquest is a cult hit comic book property created by Wendy and Richard Pini in 1978. It is a fantasy story about a community of elves and other fictional species who struggle to survive and coexist on a primitive Earth-like planet with two moons. Several published volumes of prose fiction also...
, which soon became a major sleeper hit.
Later artists have followed in her footsteps, such as Colleen Doran
Colleen Doran
Colleen Doran is an American writer/artist, film conceptual artist, and cartoonist. She has illustrated hundreds of comics, graphic novels, books and magazines, and dozens of stories and articles, including works written by Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker, Anne Rice, J...
with her fantasy series A Distant Soil
A Distant Soil
A Distant Soil is a science fiction/fantasy comic book series written and illustrated by Colleen Doran, and is the work for which she is best known....
(originally published at the Pinis' company WaRP Graphics
WaRP Graphics
WaRP Graphics, later Warp Graphics, is an alternative comics publisher best known for creating and being the original publisher of the Elfquest comic book series. It was created and incorporated in 1977 by Wendy and Richard Pini. The company title is an acronym formed from the founding couple's...
, although Doran left due to copyright disagreements).
Other popular artists include Donna Barr
Donna Barr
Donna Barr is an American comic book author and cartoonist.She was born in Everett, Washington, the second child in a family of six siblings....
(Desert Peach, about Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
's fictional gay brother), Jill Thompson
Jill Thompson
Jill Thompson is an American comic book writer and illustrator. Probably better known for her work on Neil Gaiman's The Sandman characters and her own Scary Godmother series, she has also worked on The Invisibles, Swamp Thing, and Wonder Woman.-Career:Jill Thompson illustrated The Sandman story...
(Scary Godmother
Scary Godmother
Scary Godmother is a series of children's books and comic books created by artist Jill Thompson and published by Sirius Entertainment in 1997.-Main:...
, a friendly witch in a Halloween environment) and Linda Medley
Linda Medley
Linda Medley is an American comic book author and illustrator, known for her Castle Waiting series of comic books and graphic novels.-Biography and early career:...
(Castle Waiting
Castle Waiting
Castle Waiting is a comic book series created by Linda Medley. It is in a world of fairy tales and mythology featuring a mix of old-fashioned storytelling and more ironic, modern touches....
, daily lives of fairytale characters).
Europe
Although a minority, there have been female artists working in the medium even since its earliest days. One of the earliest female artists was Marie Duval, who, together with her husband Charles Henry Ross, was co-creator and artist of one of the earliest recurring characters in modern cartoons and comics, Ally SloperAlly Sloper
Alexander "Ally" Sloper is one of the earliest fictional comic strip characters. Red-nosed and blustery, an archetypal lazy schemer often found "sloping" through alleys to avoid his landlord and other creditors, he was created for the British magazine Judy, by writer and fledgling artist Charles H...
.
Tove Jansson
Tove Jansson
Tove Marika Jansson was a Swedish-Finnish novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. She is best known as the author of the Moomin books.- Biography :...
is best known as a book writer, but she did also write and draw comics featuring her characters, "The Moomins" in the 50's, containing the same poetical qualities as her books.
In the UK, Posy Simmonds
Posy Simmonds
Rosemary Elizabeth "Posy" Simmonds MBE is a British newspaper cartoonist and writer and illustrator of children's books. She is best known for her long association with The Guardian, for which she has drawn the cartoons Gemma Bovery and Tamara Drewe , both later published as books...
started her career in 1979 with the weekly comic strip The Silent Three of St. Botolph
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
about the daily life of three former schoolfriends, which lasted for a decade. She had also written children's books, often in comic form, such as Fred (where later a successful animated special) and Lulu and The Flying Babies. For the 90's and 00's, she has done more serious works, inspired by literary classics, such as Gemma Bovery
Gemma Bovery
Gemma Bovery is a graphic novel written by Posy Simmonds. Originally published as a serial in The Guardian, it was published in book form in 1999...
and Tamara Drewe
Tamara Drewe
Tamara Drewe is a weekly comic strip serial by Posy Simmonds published in The Guardian's Review section. The strip is based upon a modern reworking of Thomas Hardy's nineteenth century novel Far from the Madding Crowd....
.
France/Belgium
An early veteran on the Franco-BelgianFranco-Belgian comics
Franco-Belgian comics are comics that are created in Belgium and France. These countries have a long tradition in comics and comic books, where they are known as BDs, an abbreviation of bande dessinée in French and stripverhalen in Dutch...
market was Liliane Funcken (née Schorils), who, after meeting her husband Fred Funcken (himself a comics veteran), teamed up with him to embark on a long-lasting career for the magazine Tintin
Tintin (magazine)
Le journal de Tintin or Kuifje , was a weekly Belgian comics magazine of the second half of the 20th century...
from the 50's up until the 80's, where the couple collaborated on comics and illustration. They have adopted a realistic style, and mostly specialise in historic works.
One of the earliest successful female artists was Claire Bretécher
Claire Bretécher
Claire Bretécher is a French cartoonist, known particularly for her portrayals of women and gender issues. Her creations include the Frustrés, and the unimpressed teenager Agrippine.-Biography:...
, who started her career in the 60's and is famed for her humor series Les Frustrés and the co-creation of the magazine L'Écho des savanes
L'Écho des savanes
L’Écho des Savanes is a French comics magazine founded in May 1972 by Claire Bretécher, Marcel Gotlib and Nikita Mandryka. It featured the work of French and international authors and graphic artists in mature-oriented comics over the course of 34 years, but temporarily ended publication in...
along with Gotlib and Mandryka.
In 1976, the French magazine Ah ! Nana was launched. It was inspired by the feminist underground comix from the USA, published by Humanoïdes Associés and was an attempt to branch out of Metal Hurlant
Métal Hurlant
Métal Hurlant is a French comics anthology of science fiction and horror comics stories, created in December 1974 by comics artists Jean Giraud and Philippe Druillet together with journalist-writer Jean-Pierre Dionnet and financial director Bernard Farkas.The four were collectively known as "Les...
by the same editor with a majority of female artists. It tried to adhere to the rock'n'roll attitude of the former magazine, and sometimes featured male artists from the magazine, such as Jacques Tardi
Jacques Tardi
Jacques Tardi is a French comics artist, born 30 August 1946 in Valence, Drôme. He is often credited solely as Tardi.-Biography:After graduating from the École nationale des Beaux-Arts de Lyon and the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in Paris, he started writing comics in 1969, at the...
and Moebius
Jean Giraud
Jean Henri Gaston Giraud is a French comics artist. Giraud has earned worldwide fame, not only under his own name but also under the pseudonym Moebius, and to a lesser extent Gir, the latter appearing mostly in the form of a boxed signature at the bottom of the artist's paintings, for instance the...
. Every issue was built around a theme, such as nazism or homo- and transsexuality. Issue 7, 1978, about sadomasochism was deemed pornography and was forbidden to sell to minors below 18 years of age, a rule which by extension forbade kiosks to advertise the magazine, thus cutting off many of the magazine's market outlets. In the end, this forced the cancellation of the magazine due to bad sales, through means considered by the authors as censorship of a feminist voice. The last issue was issue 9, themed around incest. No similar comics magazine has since appeared in the Franco-Belgian market, but it helped launch or consolidate the careers of Chantal Montellier (gritty, feminist, political sci-fi), Nicole Claveloux (surreal fantasy) and Florence Cestac (funny cartoons).
Another author that appeared during this time was Annie Goetzinger, who worked in a realistic art nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
style and drew adventures with female protagonists. She frequently collaborated with Pierre Christin
Pierre Christin
- Biography :Christin was born at Saint-Mandé in 1938.After graduating from the Sorbonne, Christin pursued graduate studies in political science at SciencesPo and became a professor of French literature at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City. His first comics story, Le Rhum du Punch, illustrated...
, and has won two awards at the Angoulême festival
Angoulême International Comics Festival
The Angoulême International Comics Festival is the largest comics festival in Europe. It has occurred every year since 1974 in Angoulême, France, in the month of January.The four-day festival is notable for awarding several prestigious prizes in cartooning...
.
In the beginning of the 21st century, Marjane Satrapi
Marjane Satrapi
Marjane Satrapi is an Iranian-born French contemporary graphic novelist, illustrator, animated film director, and children's book author...
released the critically acclaimed Persepolis about her childhood and coming-of-age in a politically turbulent Iran, and in Europe.
Asia
Countries with a huge percentage of female comics creators include Japan, but also South KoreaManhwa
Manhwa is the general Korean term for comics and print cartoons . Outside of Korea, the term usually refers specifically to South Korean comics. The term, along with manga, is a cognate of the Chinese manhua...
.
Japan
The first really successful female manga artist was likely Machiko HasegawaMachiko Hasegawa
, January 30, 1920 – May 27, 1992, in Taku, Saga Prefecture) was one of the first female manga artists.She started her own comic strip, Sazae-san, in 1946. It reached national circulation via the Asahi Shimbun in 1949, and ran daily until Hasegawa decided to retire in February 1974...
, creator of the family-oriented Sazae-san
Sazae-san
is a Japanese comic strip created by Machiko Hasegawa. It was first published in Hasegawa's local paper, the , on April 22, 1946. When the wished to have Hasegawa draw the comic strip for their paper, she moved to Tokyo in 1949 with the explanation that the main characters had moved from Kyūshū to...
, launched in 1946 and running in the newspaper Asahi Shinbun for decades.
Comics directed at girls (shoujo manga) have had a long history in Japan, and began to grow out of magazines directed at girls and teenagers throughout the 20th century. These were lifestyle magazines with romantic short stories and fashionable illustrations, supervised by a male editorial staff.
In 1953 the "God of Manga" Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Tezuka
was a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer, activist and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack...
published his classic Princess Knight
Princess Knight
is a Japanese manga that ran through four serializations from 1954 to 1968, as well as a 1967 Japanese children's animated series. It was dubbed into English and brought over to Western audiences in 1970, where it was called Choppy and the Princess. In 1973, this series was dubbed in Portuguese and...
, with a longer, more complex storyline and a genderly ambiguous protagonist.
The long-running monthly magazines Ribon
Ribon
is a monthly Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Shueisha. First issued in August 1955, its rivals are Nakayoshi and Ciao. Its target audience is young girls roughly 9–13 years old. In 2009, the magazine's circulation was 274,167, down from the previous year's circulation numbers of 330,000...
and Nakayoshi
Nakayoshi
is a shōjo manga magazine published by Kodansha in Japan. First published in December 1954, it is a long-running magazine with over 50 years worth of manga publication history. The target demographic for Nakayoshi is aimed at young girls between...
did both appear already in the 50's, and the weeklies Shojo Friend
Shojo Friend
was a shōjo manga magazine formerly published by Kodansha, beginning in 1962. Kodansha used the knowledge gained from publishing magazines aimed at young girls, including Nakayoshi and Shōjo Club, as well as the experience from publishing Weekly Shonen Magazine. Shōjo Friend is considered the...
and Margaret
Margaret (magazine)
is a biweekly Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Shueisha, primarily for girls from 11 to 15 years old, although some stories are read by adult women. It was first released as a weekly magazine in 1963. In 2009, the circulation was 154,584...
appeared in 1963, so in the 50's and 60's, there were already several comics aimed at women, but most of these were written by men (including Tetsuya Chiba
Tetsuya Chiba
is a Japanese manga artist famous for his sports stories.He was born in Tokyo, Japan, but lived most of his early childhood in Manchuria when it was still a Japanese colony during the Second Sino-Japanese War. His father was working in a paper factory during that time they lived in China. One of...
, Mitsuteru Yokoyama
Mitsuteru Yokoyama
was a Japanese manga artist born in Suma-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo. His personal name was originally spelled , with the same pronunciation. His works include Tetsujin 28-go, Giant Robo, Akakage, Babel II, Sally, the Witch, Princess Comet, and adaptations of the Chinese classics Outlaws of the Marsh and...
and Fujio Akatsuka
Fujio Akatsuka
was a pioneer Japanese artist of comical manga known as the Gag Manga King. His name at birth is 赤塚 藤雄, whose Japanese pronunciation is the same as 赤塚 不二夫....
), and failed to attract a bigger audience, due to their mostly passive and uninteresting characters.
In the 60's, one woman artist in particular, Yoshiko Nishitani
Yoshiko Nishitani
Yoshiko Nishitani 西谷祥子 was a pioneering shōjo manga artist who released her works in Shōjo Club and Margaret. According to Matt Thorn, Nishitani "more or less single-handedly invented the school campus romance that remains the mainstay of shôjo manga today", and Robert Petersen regards her...
, decided to have teenagers in lead roles, drawn in a glamorous fashion with (earlier a taboo topic) romance as a significant theme. This helped pave the way for a great wave in the late 60's-early 70's when a loose connection of women, later given the name year 24 group
Year 24 group
refers to one of two female manga artist groups which are considered to have revolutionized shōjo manga . Their works often examine "radical and philosophical issues", including sexuality and gender issues, and many of their works are now considered "classics" of shōjo manga...
, merged Tezuka's "story manga" narratives with the romantic art style from the girls' lifestyle magazines and, in the process, revolutionized the genre, both in visual experimentation (including montage-like page layouts) and story subjects.
Some of these artists such as Keiko Takemiya
Keiko Takemiya
is a Japanese manga artist. She is included in the Year 24 Group. She resides in Kamukura, Kanagawa Prefecture. Takemiya was one of the female authors who in the early 1970s pioneered a genre of girls' comics about love between young men; in December 1970 she published a short story, "In the...
and Moto Hagio
Moto Hagio
is a manga artist born on May 12, 1949 in Ōmuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, though she currently lives in Saitama Prefecture. She is considered a "founding mother" of modern shōjo manga, especially shōnen-ai. She is also a member of the Year 24 Group...
wrote stories featuring young gay male lovers involved in tragic relationships. These stories proved immensely popular and gave birth to the yaoi
Yaoi
In careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-mora word, . The English equivalent is . also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by...
genre, still very popular. (Keiko Takemiya
Keiko Takemiya
is a Japanese manga artist. She is included in the Year 24 Group. She resides in Kamukura, Kanagawa Prefecture. Takemiya was one of the female authors who in the early 1970s pioneered a genre of girls' comics about love between young men; in December 1970 she published a short story, "In the...
later made the popular sci-fi Toward the Terra
Toward the Terra
is a Japanese science fiction manga series by Keiko Takemiya. It was originally serialized in Asahi Sonorama's Gekkan Manga Shōnen magazine, between January 1977 and May 1980...
.)
Since then, girl comics have been a flourishing scene, which, in general, has both been created and read by women, has had a notable part of the market, and, as manga is becoming increasingly popular abroad, more and more is making an impact on Western countries.
Later popular artists include the highly prolific and successful Rumiko Takahashi
Rumiko Takahashi
is a Japanese manga artist.Takahashi is one of the wealthiest individuals, and the most affluent manga artists in Japan. The manga she creates are popular worldwide, where they have been translated into a variety of languages...
(drawing primarily shonen stories for boys) as well as the female collective Clamp
Clamp (manga artists)
, is an all-female Japanese manga artist group that formed in the mid 1980s. Many of the group's manga series are often adapted into anime after release. It consists of their leader , who provides much of the storyline and screenplay for all their works and adaptations of those works respectively ,...
.
Japan doesn't only produce comics for children, but also has a seinen (adult men) and a josei (adult women) scene, allowing more mature themes and storylines.
Many of the artists working for this market have gained wide recognition among the alternative comics scenes in USA and Europe, including artists such as Kiriko Nananan
Kiriko Nananan
is a female Japanese manga artist. She is famous for her realistic josei work featuring understated artwork with a sense of detachment. In addition she has affiliated herself with the "La nouvelle manga" movement. Her first work was published in Garo in 1993. Two of her works have been made into...
, Moyoco Anno
Moyoco Anno
is a Japanese manga artist and a fashion writer, with numerous books published in both categories. Her manga and books have attained considerable popularity among young women in Japan. Though she primarily writes manga of the josei demographic, her most popular series, Sugar Sugar Rune, is...
, Junko Mizuno
Junko Mizuno
is a Japanese manga artist.Mizuno's drawing style, which mixes childish sweetness and cuteness with blood and terror has been termed a Gothic kawaii or kawaii noir style. In addition to her comics, she designs T-shirts, calendars, postcards, and other collectibles...
and Kan Takahama.
List of creators
Many notable female comics creators exist though the field of comicsComics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
creation
Comic book creator
A comic book creator is someone who creates a comic book or graphic novel.The production of a comic book by one of the major comic book companies in the U.S...
is traditionally male-dominated.
This is a list of women who have been involved with producing comic books and comic strips.
Platinum Age (1897–1937)
- Nell BrinkleyNell BrinkleyNell Brinkley was an American illustrator and comic artist who was sometimes referred to as the "Queen of Comics" during her nearly four-decade career working with New York newspapers and magazines...
, creator of the Brinkley Girl - Rose O'NeillRose O'NeillRose Cecil O'Neill was an illustrator who created a popular period comic called Kewpie.-Early life:...
, creator of Kewpie Cartoon and the Kewpie doll - Grace G. DraytonGrace DraytonGrace Drayton was an illustrator who created popular period comics Dolly Dimples and The Pussycat Princess...
, also known as Grace Gebbie Wiederseim - Ethel HaysEthel HaysEthel Hays was an American syndicated cartoonist specializing in flapper-themed comic strips in the 1920s and 1930s. She drew in an art deco style. In the later part of her career, during the 1940s and 1950s, she became one of the country's most accomplished children's book illustrators.-Early...
, artist on Flapper Fanny SaysFlapper Fanny SaysFlapper Fanny Says from Newspaper Enterprise Association was a single-panel daily cartoon series starting in about 1924, with a Sunday page following in 1928. Each episode featured a flapper illustration and a witticism. It continued into the 1940s as Flapper Fanny.At the start, the panel was drawn...
, among other FlapperFlapperFlapper in the 1920s was a term applied to a "new breed" of young Western women who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior...
-themed newspaper and magazine features - Margaret G. Hays (sister of Grace Drayton)
Golden Age/Silver Age (1930s to approx. 1970)
- Nina AlbrightNina AlbrightNina Albright was an American comic book artist during the Golden Age of Comic Books, one of the few woman working in that field during the period....
: Artist for comics packager Bernard Baily StudioBernard BailyBernard Baily was an American comic book artist best known as co-creator of the DC Comics characters the Spectre and Hourman, and a comics publisher, writer, and editor.-Early life and career:... - Ruth AtkinsonRuth AtkinsonRuth Atkinson Ford née Ruth Atkinson and a.k.a. R. Atkinson Ruth Atkinson Ford née Ruth Atkinson and a.k.a. R. Atkinson Ruth Atkinson Ford née Ruth Atkinson and a.k.a. R. Atkinson (June 2, 1918 - June 1, 1997 was an American cartoonist and pioneering female comic book artist who helped create the...
a.k.a. Ruth Atkinson Ford, R. Atkinson: Artist, Fiction HouseFiction HouseFiction House is an American publisher of pulp magazines and comic books that existed from the 1920s to the 1950s. Its comics division was best known for its pinup-style good girl art, as epitomized by the company's most popular character, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.-History:-Jumbo and Jack...
, Timely ComicsTimely ComicsTimely Comics, an imprint of Timely Publications, was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics....
, Lev Gleason PublicationsLev Gleason PublicationsLev Gleason Publications, founded by Leverett Gleason, was the publisher of a number of popular comic books during the 1940s and early 1950s, including Daredevil, Crime Does Not Pay, and Boy Comics.... - Olive Bailey: Artist, Land of the LostLand of the Lost (radio)Land of the Lost was a 1940s radio fantasy adventure, written and narrated by Isabel Manning Hewson, about the adventures of two children who traveled underwater with the fatherly fish Red Lantern...
- Violet BarclayViolet BarclayViolet Barclay , who also worked under the name Valerie Barclay and the married name Valerie Smith, was an American illustrator best known as one of the pioneering female comic-book artists, having started in the field during the 1930s and '40s period historians and fans call the Golden Age of...
: Timely/Atlas ComicsAtlas Comics (1950s)Atlas Comics is the term used to describe the 1950s comic book publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. Magazine and paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman, whose business strategy involved having a multitude of corporate entities, used Atlas as the umbrella name for his comic...
inkerInkerThe inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. After a pencilled drawing is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines... - Toni BlumToni BlumAudrey Anthony "Toni" Blum was an American comic book writer active during the 1930s and 1940s "Golden Age of Comic Books", known for her work with Quality Comics and other publishers and as one of the first female comics professionals in what was then an almost entirely male industry.Known...
: Writer, Eisner & IgerEisner & IgerEisner & Iger was a comic book "packager" that produced comics on demand for publishers entering the new medium during the late-1930s and 1940s period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books...
studio - Linda FiteLinda FiteLinda Fite is an American writer and editor who created the Marvel Comics series The Cat, and who while serving as an assistant to Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee, helped bring fledgling artist Barry Windsor-Smith to the company by responding with an encouraging note to some art he had sent to the...
: Writer, The CatTigraTigra is a fictional American comic book superheroine in the Marvel Comics universe. Introduced as the non-superpowered crime fighter The Cat in Claws of the Cat #1 , she was co-created by writer-editor Roy Thomas, writer Linda Fite, and penciller Marie Severin...
(Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
) - Ramona FradonRamona FradonRamona Fradon is an American comic book and comic strip artist, known for her work illustrating Aquaman and Brenda Starr, and co-creating the superhero Metamorpho. Her career began in 1950, when it was even more unusual for women to illustrate superhero comics.-Career:Fradon entered cartooning...
: Artist, AquamanAquamanAquaman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 . Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo title...
and MetamorphoMetamorphoMetamorpho is a fictional character, a superhero in the . He is a founding member of the Outsiders, and has also joined multiple incarnations of the Justice League.-Publication history:...
(DC ComicsDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
); also, Brenda StarrBrenda Starr (comic strip)Brenda Starr, Reporter was a comic strip about a glamorous, adventurous female reporter. It was created in 1940 by Dale Messick for the Chicago Tribune Syndicate....
comic stripComic stripA comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
(1980–1996) - Ray HermanRay HermanRay Hermann was a publisher, editor, writer, penciller, and inker whose career spanned fron 1940 to 1955...
: 1940s editor at Holyoke Publishing and elsewhere. - Patricia HighsmithPatricia HighsmithPatricia Highsmith was an American novelist and short-story writer most widely known for her psychological thrillers, which led to more than two dozen film adaptations. Her first novel, Strangers on a Train, has been adapted for stage and screen numerous times, notably by Alfred Hitchcock in 1951...
; Nedor/Standard/Better Comics and others - Fran HopperFran HopperFran Hopper, née Frances Deitrick, also credited as France, was an American comic book artists active during the Golden Age of Comic Books. She was one of the comic artists working for publisher Fiction House, drawing many of their prominent titles, including Jane Martin, Glory Forbes, Camilla,...
: Fiction House artist - Virginia Hubbell: Charles BiroCharles BiroCharles Biro was an American comic book creator and cartoonist. He is today chiefly known for creating the comic book characters Airboy and Steel Sterling, and for his 16-year run on the acclaimed 1940s series Daredevil Comics for Lev Gleason Publications.-Biography:Charles Biro studied art at...
's ghost writer, Lev Gleason PublicationsLev Gleason PublicationsLev Gleason Publications, founded by Leverett Gleason, was the publisher of a number of popular comic books during the 1940s and early 1950s, including Daredevil, Crime Does Not Pay, and Boy Comics....
' Crime Does Not Pay - Pauline Loth: Timely/Atlas artist
- Lee MarrsLee MarrsLee Marrs is an American comic book writer, animator, and one of the first women underground comix creators. She is best known for her comic book series, The Further Fattening Adventures of Pudge, Girl Blimp, which lasted from 1973 to 1978.-Underground comics:Marrs was a frequent contributor to...
: Artist-writer for Star ReachStar ReachStar Reach was an influential, American science fiction and fantasy comics anthology published from 1974 to 1979 by Mike Friedrich...
, elsewhere (1970s) - Elizabeth Holloway MarstonElizabeth Holloway MarstonElizabeth "Sadie" Holloway Marston was an American psychologist who was a career woman at a time when it was difficult for women to be so. She was involved in the creation of the comic book character, Wonder Woman with her husband, William Moulton Marston...
: involved in the creation of DC Comics character, Wonder WomanWonder WomanWonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986.... - Ruth McCully: Fiction House lettererLettererA letterer is a member of a team of comic book creators responsible for drawing the comic book's text. The letterer's use of typefaces, calligraphy, letter size, and layout all contribute to the impact of the comic. The letterer crafts the comic's "display lettering": the story title lettering and...
- Marion McDermott: St. John PublicationsSt. John PublicationsSt. John Publications was an American publisher of magazines and comic books. During its short existence , St. John's comic books established several industry firsts. Founded by Archer St. John , the firm was located in Manhattan at 545 Fifth Avenue. After the St...
editor - Tarpe MillsTarpe MillsTarpé Mills was the pseudonym of comic book creator June Mills, one of the first major female comics artists. She is best known for her action comic strip, Miss Fury, the first female action hero created by a woman....
, pseudonymPseudonymA pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of June Mills: Cat-ManCat-Man and KittenCat-Man and Kitten were a pair of superhero characters created by Charles M. Quinlan and Irwin Hasen and first published in 1940 by now-defunct Holyoke Publishing...
(Holyoke Comics), Miss Fury - Ramona Patenaude a.k.a. Pat: artist, Blue BeetleBlue BeetleBlue Beetle is the name of three fictional superheroes that appear in American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939.-Publication history:...
(Fox Comics) - Lily RenéeLily RenéeLily Renée Wilheim Peters Phillips, , often credited as L. Renée, Lily Renée, or Reney, is an Austrian-American artist, writer, and playwright...
a.k.a. Reney (Lily Renée Wilhelms Peters and Lily Renée Phlllips): Fiction House and St. John PublicationsSt. John PublicationsSt. John Publications was an American publisher of magazines and comic books. During its short existence , St. John's comic books established several industry firsts. Founded by Archer St. John , the firm was located in Manhattan at 545 Fifth Avenue. After the St...
artist - Ruth RocheRuth Roche (comics)Ruth Ann Roche , also credited as R. A. Roche and Rod Roche, was a writer and editor in the Golden Age of Comic Books. She was also the business partner of Jerry Iger.-Life and Career:...
: generally credited writer of Phantom LadyPhantom LadyPhantom Lady is a fictional superheroine, one of the first female superhero characters to debut in the 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books. Originally published by Quality Comics, the character was subsequently published by a series of now-defunct comic book companies, and a new version of the...
(Fox Comics) - Marie SeverinMarie SeverinMarie Severin is an American comic book artist and colorist best known for her work for Marvel Comics and the 1950s' EC Comics....
: Prolific ECEC ComicsEntertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books specializing in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, notably the Tales from the Crypt series...
and Marvel Comics artist - Marcia SnyderMarcia SnyderMarcia Snyder was a comic book artist and newspaper cartoonist who worked for the Binder Studio, Timely Comics, Fawcett Comics, and Fiction House during the Golden Age of Comic Books....
: Fiction House artist - Daisy Swayze: Fawcett ComicsFawcett ComicsFawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s...
letterer; sister of artist Marc SwayzeMarc SwayzeMarc Swayze was an American comic book artist from 1941-53 for Fawcett Publications.He is best known for his work on Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family during the Golden Age of comic books for Fawcett Comics, and is the co-creator of Mary Marvel with writer Otto Binder... - Janice Valleau: Quality ComicsQuality ComicsQuality Comics was an American comic book publishing company that operated from 1939 to 1956 and was an influential creative force in what historians and fans call the Golden Age of comic books....
artist - Tatjana WoodTatjana WoodTatjana Wood is an American artist and comic book colorist.- Biography :Tatjana's father was Jewish, and her mother was Christian. During World War II, she and her brother, Karl Joachim Weintraub, were sent to an international Quaker boarding school in Holland...
: Shazam Award-winning colorist - Dorothy WoolfolkDorothy WoolfolkDorothy A. Woolfolk née Dorothy Roubicek was a pioneering woman in the American comic book industry. The first female editor at DC Comics, one of the two largest companies in the field, she is credited with helping to create the fictional metal kryptonite in the Superman mythos.-Early life and...
a.k.a. Dorothy Roubicek: DC Comics' first woman editor
Bronze Age and Modern AgeModern Age of Comic BooksThe Modern Age of Comic Books is an informal name for the period in the history of mainstream American comic books generally considered to last from the mid-1980s until present day...
- Laura AllredLaura AllredLaura Allred is a comics artist who is best known for her work with her husband, Mike Allred, as a colorist.-Awards:* 1995: Won "Favorite Colorist" Wizard Fan Award* 1998: Nominated for "Best Colorist" Eisner Award, for Red Rocket 7...
- Fiona AveryFiona AveryFiona Kai Avery is a comic book and television writer. Avery was hired as a reference editor for the fifth season of Babylon 5, and later continued in that role for the failed spin-off Crusade...
- Samm BarnesSamm BarnesSara "Samm" Barnes is a television and comics writer, as well as a television producer.-Biography:Though born in Great Britain to Michael and Bridget Barnes, Barnes was raised in Canada, first in Ottawa, then Toronto and finally Vancouver....
: Marvel Comics writer - Donna Barstow: Writer and cartoonist, The New YorkerThe New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, and: What Do Women Really Want? Chocolate! (2004, NBM PublishingNBM PublishingNBM Publishing is an American publisher of graphic novels. The company specializes in non-superhero comic genres and has translated and published over 150 graphic novels from Europe and Canada, as well as several works by Americans...
) ISBN 1-56163-383-6, and Love Me or Go to Hell: True Love Cartoons (2005, Andrews McMeel UniversalAndrews McMeel UniversalAndrews McMeel Universal is an American corporation based in Kansas City, Missouri. It was founded in 1970 by Notre Dame alumni Jim Andrews and John McMeel as Universal Press Syndicate and was renamed in 1997 to AMU to reflect the diversification that had taken place since its founding...
) ISBN 0-7407-5698-2 - Anina Bennett: Writer, editor at First Comics and Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
. Co-creator of Heartbreakers - Amber BensonAmber BensonAmber Nicole Benson is an American actress, writer, film director, and film producer. She is best known for her role as Tara Maclay on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but has also directed, produced and starred in her own films Chance and Lovers, Liars & Lunatics...
: Writer, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
) - Karen BergerKaren BergerKaren Berger is an American comic book editor. She is best known as the Executive Editor of DC Comics' Vertigo imprint.-Biography:...
: Editor, DC Comics' Vertigo imprint - Maddie BlausteinMaddie BlausteinMadeleine Joan Blaustein was an American voice actress...
: Writer, Milestone Comics' HardwareHardware (comics)Hardware is a fictional character, a comic book superhero published by DC Comics. An original character from DC's Milestone Comics imprint, he first appeared in Hardware #1 , and was created by Dwayne McDuffie and Denys Cowan... - Nicole Boose: Editor, Cable & DeadpoolCable & DeadpoolCable & Deadpool was a comic book series published by Marvel Comics beginning in 2004. The title characters, Cable and Deadpool, shared the focus of the book. The series was launched following the cancellation of the characters' previous ongoing solo series. The book's mix of humor, action, and...
(Marvel Comics) - June BrigmanJune BrigmanJune Brigman is an American comic book artist and illustrator. She is best known for creating the pre-teen superhero characters Power Pack with writer Louise Simonson in 1984...
: Artist and co-creator, Power Pack (Marvel Comics); Artist Brenda Starr comic strip (1996-) - Sarah ByamSarah Byam-Biography:During the 1990s Byam wrote a variety of comic books for different publishers. This writing includes the series Mode Extreme and Black Canary. She also wrote individual stories for Elfquest, What If, Glyph and other publications....
: Writer, Black CanaryBlack CanaryBlack Canary is the name of two fictional characters, DC Comics superheroines created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Carmine Infantino. The first Black Canary debuted appeared in Flash Comics #86 . The first Black Canary was the alter-ego of Dinah Drake, who took part in Golden Age adventures...
(DC Comics), Mode Extreme (Marvel/RazorlineRazorlineRazorline was an imprint of American comic book company Marvel Comics that ran from 1993-1995. It was created by filmmaker and horror/fantasy novelist Clive Barker, with its characters existing in one of the many alternate universes outside the mainstream continuity known as the Marvel...
) - Kat Cahill, Writer and creator, I Hate Gallant Girl (Image ComicsImage ComicsImage Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
/ShadowLineShadowLineShadowline is a partner studio of Image Comics established by Image co-founder Jim Valentino. The name is an homage to Valentino's character, ShadowHawk.-History:...
) - Roz ChastRoz ChastRosalind "Roz" Chast is an American cartoonist and a staff cartoonist for The New Yorker. She grew up in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, the only child of an assistant principal and a high school teacher who subscribed to The New Yorker. Her earliest cartoons were published in Christopher Street...
: New Yorker staff cartoonist The Party After You Left: Collected Cartoons 1995-2003 - Meloney Crawford Chadwick: Harris Comics editor
- Bobbie Chase: Marvel Comics editor
- Joyce Chin: Artist, Wynonna Earp (IDW),
- Nancy A. CollinsNancy A. CollinsNancy A. Collins is a United States horror fiction writer best known for her series of vampire novels featuring her character Sonja Blue. Collins has alsowritten for comic books, including the Swamp Thing series, Jason Vs...
: Writer, DC/Vertigo's Swamp ThingSwamp ThingSwamp Thing, a fictional character, is a plant elemental in the created by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson. He first appeared in House of Secrets #92 in a stand-alone horror story set in the early 20th century . The Swamp Thing then returned in his own series, set in the contemporary world and in... - Amanda ConnerAmanda ConnerAmanda Conner is an Irish-American comic book artist and commercial art illustrator. She began her career in the late 1980s for Archie Comics and Marvel Comics, before moving on to contribute work for Claypool Comics' Soulsearchers and Company and Harris Comics' Vampirella in the 1990s...
: Artist, The Pro (Image Comics), Disney's Gargoyles (Marvel Comics) - Colleen CooverColleen CooverColleen Coover is a comic book artist, based in Portland, Oregon. She is probably best known as creator of the lesbian-themed erotic comic book Small Favors from Eros Comix, illustrator of the comic book limited series Banana Sunday from Oni Press, and for illustrating several short stories in...
: Writer and artist. - Joanna Davidovich
- Rosario DawsonRosario DawsonRosario Isabel Dawson is an American actress, singer, and writer. She has appeared in films such as Kids, Men in Black II, 25th Hour, Sin City, Clerks II, Rent, Death Proof, The Rundown, Eagle Eye, Alexander, Seven Pounds, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and Unstoppable.-Early...
: Writer and co-creator, Occult Crimes TaskforceOccult Crimes TaskforceO.C.T.: Occult Crimes Taskforce is an American four-issue comic book mini-series about the eponymous team of fictional police officers. It was created by actress Rosario Dawson, writer David Atchison and illustrator Tony Shasteen...
Image ComicsImage ComicsImage Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains... - Renae De Liz, Artist, Rogue Angel: Teller of Tall Tales (IDW PublishingIDW PublishingIDW Publishing, also known as Idea + Design Works, LLC and IDW, is an American publisher of comic books and comic strip collections. The company was founded in 1999 and has been awarded the title "Publisher of the Year Under 5% Market Share" for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 by Diamond Comic...
) - Tania del RioTania del RioTania del Rio is an American cartoonist working mainly in comic books. She is a graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design with a BFA in animation....
: Artist/Writer, Sabrina the Teenage Witch (Archie ComicsArchie ComicsArchie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
) - Rachel DodsonRachel DodsonRachel Dodson is an American comic book inker and colorist, who often works with her husband, Terry Dodson. Her work includes Marvel Knights Spider-Man and Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil that Men Do for Marvel Comics and Wonder Woman for DC Comics.-External links:* on Wizard...
: Inker, Marvel and DC - Colleen DoranColleen DoranColleen Doran is an American writer/artist, film conceptual artist, and cartoonist. She has illustrated hundreds of comics, graphic novels, books and magazines, and dozens of stories and articles, including works written by Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker, Anne Rice, J...
: Writer and artist, A Distant SoilA Distant SoilA Distant Soil is a science fiction/fantasy comic book series written and illustrated by Colleen Doran, and is the work for which she is best known....
(Image ComicsImage ComicsImage Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
) - Valerie D'OrazioValerie D'OrazioValerie D'Orazio is an American comic book writer and editor.She formerly worked as an assistant editor at Acclaim and DC Comics. At Acclaim Comics she helped edit Shadowman and Magnus Robot Fighter and at DC Comics she assisted on such titles as Justice League of America and Identity...
: Assistant editor, DC ComicsDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner... - Leigh Dragoon: Artist, By the Wayside
- Jo DuffyJo DuffyJo Duffy, sometimes credited as Mary Jo Duffy is a comic book editor and writer, known for her work for Marvel Comics in the 1980s, and DC Comics and Image Comics in the 1990s.-Biography:...
a.k.a. Mary Jo Duffy: Writer and Marvel Comics editor - Jan DuursemaJan DuursemaJan Duursema is an American comic book artist known for her work on the Star Wars comics franchise. She was the creator of Denin and Vila from Naldar, the Twi'lek Jedi Aayla Secura and the Kiffar Jedi Quinlan Vos....
: Artist, Star Wars: LegacyStar Wars: LegacyStar Wars: Legacy is an American comic book series set in the Star Wars universe. The series, published by Dark Horse Comics, is written by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema, and illustrated by Duursema and others, with inks by Dan Parsons and color by Brad Anderson...
(Dark Horse Comics) - Mary FleenerMary FleenerMary Fleener is an American alternative comics artist, writer and musician from Los Angeles. Fleener's drawing style, which she calls cubismo, derives from the cubist aesthetic and other artistic traditions...
: Artist and writer, Slutburger - Robin FurthRobin FurthRobin Furth is the personal research assistant to Stephen King and the author of Stephen King's The Dark Tower: A Complete Concordance, which was published by Scribner on December 5, 2006...
: Plotter, The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born (Marvel Comics) - Shaenon K. GarrityShaenon K. GarrityShaenon K. Garrity is a webcomics writer and artist, best known as the creator of Narbonic. She is one of the most prominent cartoonists in the Modern Tales network of commercial webcomic sites, and became the site's editor on August 1, 2006...
: Writer, Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' Marvel Holiday Special - Megan Rose GedrisMegan Rose Gedris-YU+ME:dream:YU+ME:dream is a manga-styled webcomic about a teenage girl called Fiona who spends all her time dreaming, until she meets Lia, who she falls in love with...
: Writer, artist and creator, I Was Kidnapped by Lesbian Pirates from Outer Space (Platinum StudiosPlatinum StudiosPlatinum Studios, Inc. is a publicly traded media company based in the United States. It controls a large independent library of comic book characters, which it seeks to adapt, produce, and license for all forms of media including print, film, online, mobile / wireless, gaming, and merchandising...
) - Devin Grayson: Writer, ArsenalRoy Harper (comics)Roy Harper is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics Universe. He was known for over fifty years as Green Arrow's teenage sidekick Speedy. He first appeared alongside his mentor in More Fun Comics #73...
, Batman: Gotham KnightsBatman: Gotham KnightsBatman: Gotham Knights was a monthly, fictional comic book series published by DC Comics. The original intent of this book was to feature the exploits of Batman and his extended family - Alfred Pennyworth, Batgirl, Nightwing, Robin, Oracle, Catwoman, etc...
, CatwomanCatwomanCatwoman is a fictional character associated with DC Comics' Batman franchise. Historically a supervillain, the character was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, partially inspired by Kane's cousin, Ruth Steel...
, Nightwing (all DC Comics) - Pia GuerraPia GuerraPia Guerra is an award-winning Canadian comic book artist best known for her work as co-creator and lead penciller on the Vertigo title Y: The Last Man.-Career:...
: Artist, Vertigo's Y The Last Man - Sandra Hope: Inker, World of WarcraftWorld of WarcraftWorld of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
(WildStormWildStormWildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
) - Eva Hopkins: Writer, colorist and co-creator, Dark Ivory (Image Comics)
- Heidi Hughes: Writer, The Voyages of The SheBuccaneer (Great Big Comics)
- Judith HuntJudith HuntJudith A. Hunt, originally from Washington State, is an illustrator/painter/cartoonist/designer who has produced a diverse array of artwork for books, magazines, television, comics, videos, and toys. She has worked as an art director and staff illustrator/designer for magazine companies...
: Co-writer,co-creator, artist EvangelineEvangeline (comics)Evangeline is a 1980s comic book co-created and written initially by then-husband and wife team Chuck Dixon & Judith Hunt, with pencils by Hunt inks by Ricardo Villagran. Letters were by cartoonist and letterer Ed J...
(ComicoComicóComicó is a village and municipality in Río Negro Province in Argentina....
)1984 and online comic Evangeline (August 2008) - Lora Innes: Writer, artist and creator, The Dreamer (IDW Publishing)
- Jenna JamesonJenna JamesonJenna Jameson is an American entrepreneur and former pornographic actress, who has been called the world's most famous adult-entertainment performer and "The Queen of Porn."...
: Creator and plotter, Shadow HunterShadow Hunter (comics)Shadow Hunter is a three issue comic book limited series by Virgin Comics and porn star, entertainer and author Jenna Jameson. It is part of Virgin Comics' Voices line, which allows celebrities to create their own comic books. The story was conceptualized by Jenna Jameson and Witchblade writer...
(Virgin Comics) - Jenette KahnJenette KahnJenette Kahn is an American comic book editor and executive. She joined DC Comics in 1976 as publisher, and five years later was promoted to President. In 1989, she stepped down as publisher and assumed the title of Editor-in-Chief while retaining the office of president...
: editor and executive, DC Comics - Carol KalishCarol KalishCarol Kalish was an American writer, editor, comic book retailer, and sales manager. She worked as Direct Sales Manager and Vice President of New Product Development at Marvel Comics from 1981 to 1991...
: executive, Marvel Comics - Annette Kawecki: Marvel Comics letterer
- Barbara KeselBarbara KeselBarbara Randall Kesel is an American writer and editor of comic books; her bibliography includes work for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Crossgen, Image Comics and Dark Horse Comics.-Biography:...
a.k.a. Barbara Randall Kesel: Writer, Rogue Angel: Teller of Tall Tales (IDW Publishing) - Sheila Keenan: Executive Editor, Scholastic Graphix
- Caitlin R. KiernanCaitlin R. KiernanCaitlín Rebekah Kiernan is the author of many science fiction and dark fantasy works, including seven novels, many comic books, more than one hundred published short stories, novellas, and vignettes, and numerous scientific papers.- Overview :Born in Dublin, Ireland, she moved to the United States...
: Writer, Vertigo's The Dreaming - Kim KrizanKim KrizanKim Krizan is an American writer best known for her work on Before Sunrise and Before Sunset , for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and a Writers Guild Award....
: Writer, BOOM! Studio comics - Elaine LeeElaine LeeElaine Lee is an American actor, playwright, comic book colorist and comic book writer.-Theatre:She received a 1980 Daytime EMMY nomination for her role on NBC-TV’s The Doctors and was a founding member and artistic director of Manhattan-based theatre company, Wild Hair Productions.Wild Hair began...
: Writer, Vamps (DC Comics), Saint Sinner (Marvel/Razorline) - Stephanie Lesniak: Artist and co-creator, Blazin' Brandy (Scrap Pictures)
- Linda Ly: Writer, Grimm Fairy Tales (Zenescope Entertainment)
- Cynthia MartinCynthia MartinCynthia Martin is a comic book artist best known for her work on the Marvel Comics Star Wars title during its waning years in the mid-1980s. She was one of the few women working in mainstream American comics during that time....
, artist for (among others) Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
's Star Wars - Laura MartinLaura MartinLaura DePuy is an award-winning colorist who has produced work for several of the major comics companies, including DC Comics, Marvel Comics and CrossGen.-Career:...
: Colorist, PlanetaryPlanetary (comics)Planetary is an American comic book limited series created by writer Warren Ellis and artist John Cassaday published by the Wildstorm imprint of DC Comics...
(DC Comics/WildStormWildStormWildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
), Astonishing X-MenAstonishing X-MenAstonishing X-Men is the name of three X-Men comic book series from Marvel Comics, the first two of which were limited series. The ongoing series began in 2004, with its first run written by Joss Whedon and art by John Cassaday. It was then written by Warren Ellis with art by Phil Jimenez. Daniel...
(Marvel Comics), RuseRuse (comics)Ruse was a CrossGen comic book title. It ran for twenty-six issues from November 2001 to January 2004 before it was forced to end by the bankruptcy of CrossGen...
(CrossGenCrossGenCross Generation Entertainment, or CrossGen, was an American comic book publisher that operated from 1998 to 2004.CrossGen Comics, Inc. was founded in 1998, by Tampa, Florida-based entrepreneur Mark Alessi who sought to create a comic book universe that was uniquely varied but also connected by a...
) - Tara McPhersonTara McPhersonTara McPherson is an American artist based out of New York City. She studied art at Santa Monica Community College and earned her BFA from Art Center in Pasadena, CA in August 2001 with honors in Illustration and a minor in Fine Art, working on Matt Groening's Futurama during college.-Career:Tara...
: Cover artist, Vertigo - Adriana MeloAdriana MeloAdriana Melo is a Brazilian comic book artist and penciller who has worked on various Star Wars titles, mostly in the Star Wars: Empire series. She has also worked on DC Comics' Rose & Thorn and Birds of Prey as well as Top Cow's Witchblade and Marvel Comics's Ms. Marvel.-External links:...
: Artist, Ms. MarvelMs. MarvelMs. Marvel is the name of a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and designed by artist Gene Colan, the non-powered Carol Danvers debuted as a member of the United States Air Force in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 and as Ms. Marvel—a...
(Marvel Comics) - Rachelle Menashe: Writer, VirusVirus (comic book)Virus is a Dark Horse Comics comic book, written by Chuck Pfarrer, drawn by Canadian artist Howard Cobb and first published in 1992. The story is about an alien life form which takes over a Chinese research vessel and reconfigures it—using both the damaged electronics and the dead bodies of the...
(Dark Horse Comics) - Denise MinaDenise MinaDenise Mina is a Scottish crime writer and playwright. She has written the Garnethill trilogy and another three novels featuring the character Patricia "Paddy" Meehan, a Glasgow journalist. Described as an author of Tartan Noir, she has also dabbled in comic book writing, having recently written...
: Writer, Vertigo's HellblazerHellblazerHellblazer is a contemporary horror comic book series, originally published by DC Comics, and subsequently by the Vertigo imprint since March 1993, the month the imprint was introduced, where it remains to this day... - Mary Mitchell: Artist, Batman: Gotham Knights (DC Comics)
- Leah MooreLeah MooreLeah Moore is an English comic book writer. She is the daughter of Alan Moore and Phyllis Moore, and is married to John Reppion. She has worked with both Alan and John on the comic Albion. She has also written for other comics and publications including Tom Strong and The End Is Nigh...
: Writer, WildstormWildstormWildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
's AlbionAlbion (comics)Albion is a six-issue comic book limited series plotted by Alan Moore, written by his daughter Leah Moore and her husband John Reppion, with covers by Dave Gibbons and art by Shane Oakley and George Freeman. As a result of a deal forged by Vice President Bob Wayne of DC Comics and Publishing... - Melanie J. Morgan: Writer, Betty and Veronica, JugheadJughead JonesJughead Jones is a fictional character in Archie Comics who first appeared in the comic in December 1941. He is the son of Forsythe II; although in one of the early Archie newspaper comic strips, he himself is identified as Forsythe Van Jones II...
(Archie Comics) - Mindy NewellMindy NewellMindy Newell is an American comic book writer and editor.-Biography:A longtime fan of comics, particularly of Marvel's Spider-Man, Mindy Newell sent submissions to DC Comics in 1983 at a time when the company was actively looking for new talent...
: Writer/editor, MarvelMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, DCDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, and FirstFirst ComicsFirst Comics was an American comic-book publisher that was active from 1983–1991, known for titles like American Flagg!, Grimjack, Nexus, Badger, Dreadstar, and Jon Sable... - Ann NocentiAnn NocentiAnn "Annie" Nocenti is an American journalist, writer, editor, and filmmaker best known for her work on comic books and magazines. As an editor for Marvel Comics, she edited New Mutants and The Uncanny X-Men...
: Writer, DaredevilDaredevil (Marvel Comics)Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
(Marvel Comics) - Sonia ObackSonia ObackSonia Oback is an American comic book colorist who is best known for her work on the Top Cow Productions series Witchblade.-Career:Oback started on Witchblade with issue #75, in a back-up story assisting Brian Buccellato, after having won a Top Cow Wizard Intern Contest...
: Colorist, "Uncanny X-MenUncanny X-MenUncanny X-Men, first published as The X-Men, is the flagship Marvel Comics comic book series for the X-Men franchise. It is the mainstream continuity featuring the adventures of the eponymous group of mutant superheroes...
", "X-23: Target XX-23X-23 is a fictional comic book superheroine appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular those featuring the X-Men. X-23 is a female clone of Wolverine.-Publication history:...
" (Marvel Comics) - Glynis Oliver: Colorist, X-MenX-MenThe X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
(Marvel Comics) - Lisa Patrick: Marvel Comics editor
- Jodi PicoultJodi PicoultJodi Lynn Picoult is an American author. She was awarded the New England Bookseller Award for fiction in 2003. Picoult currently has some 14 million copies of her books in print worldwide.-Early life and education:...
: Writer, DCDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
's Wonder WomanWonder WomanWonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986.... - Tamora PierceTamora PierceTamora Pierce is an author of fantasy literature for young adults. She is an alumna of the University of Pennsylvania. Best known for writing stories involving young heroines, she made a name for herself with her first quartet The Song of the Lioness, which followed the main character Alanna...
: Writer, Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' White Tiger - Wendy PiniWendy and Richard PiniWendy Pini née Fletcher, and Richard Pini are the husband-and-wife team responsible for creating the well-known Elfquest series of comics, graphic novels and prose works...
: Artist and co-creator, ElfquestElfquestElfquest is a cult hit comic book property created by Wendy and Richard Pini in 1978. It is a fantasy story about a community of elves and other fictional species who struggle to survive and coexist on a primitive Earth-like planet with two moons. Several published volumes of prose fiction also...
(WaRP GraphicsWaRP GraphicsWaRP Graphics, later Warp Graphics, is an alternative comics publisher best known for creating and being the original publisher of the Elfquest comic book series. It was created and incorporated in 1977 by Wendy and Richard Pini. The company title is an acronym formed from the founding couple's...
), and Masque of the Red DeathWendy Pini's Masque of the Red DeathWendy Pini's Masque of the Red Death is a webcomic by the comic creator Wendy Pini.Based on the original short story by Edgar Allan Poe, Wendy Pini's Masque of the Red Death is described as follows on the back of the print edition of Volume One: "In a decadent, perfect future, Anton Prosper uses...
(Go! Comi) - Rachel PollackRachel PollackRachel Pollack is an American science fiction author, comic book writer, and expert on divinatory tarot...
: Writer, Doom PatrolDoom PatrolThe Doom Patrol is a superhero team appearing in publications from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80...
(DC Comics) - Janice RaceJanice Race-Biography:A native of The Bronx, Race was employed by DC Comics in the 1980s and had worked as a textbook editor for Harcourt Brace Jovanovich before entering the comics industry. She served as an Associate Editor for Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway as well as an editor in her own right...
: Editor, DC Comics - Nickiesha Ashanty Ricketts: Writer and Editor
- Susana Romero: Founder, ¡Ka-Boom! Estudio¡Ka-Boom! Estudio¡Ka-Boom! Estudio is a Mexican comic book company and creative team formed by artists, illustrators, designers, animators and writers.Founded in 1994 by Oscar González Loyo, Oscar González Guerrero and Susana Romero.-Publications:...
- Jessica RuffnerJessica RuffnerJessica "Jess" Ruffner is a colorist who has worked in the comics industry.She has also written parts of the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter comic book adaptations, collaborating with artist Ron Lim....
: Writer, Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures (Marvel Comics/Dabel Brothers) - Sara RyanSara RyanSara Ryan is an American writer and librarian living in Oregon.-Biography:Ryan was raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she graduated from Pioneer High School in 1989. Her first novel, Empress of the World, was published in 2001 and is an ALA Best Book for Young Adults...
: Writer, Me and Edith Head - Nicola ScottNicola ScottNicola Scott is a comic book artist from Sydney, Australia whose notable works include Birds of Prey and Secret Six.-Career:Prior to pencilling comics, Scott had acting ambitions with a notable role in the Southern Comfort commercials. Scott's first work was doing painted covers for a book called...
: Artist, Birds of Prey (DC Comics) - Diana SchutzDiana SchutzDiana Schutz is a comic book editor, most notable as editor in chief of Comico during its peak years and for her continuing tenure at Dark Horse Comics, for whom she has worked since 1990...
: Editor, Dark Horse Comics - Barbara Schulz: Inker, Books of Magic (Vertigo), MicronautsMicronautsThe Micronauts comic books feature a group of characters based on the Micronauts toyline. The title was published by Marvel Comics, Image Comics, and Devil's Due Publishing. Their first comic appearance was in Micronauts #1 with characterizations created by Bill Mantlo and Michael Golden...
(Image/Devils) - Jean Simek: Letterer, Marvel Comics and Topps ComicsTopps ComicsTopps Comics is a division of the American trading card publisher and gum/candy distributor the Topps Company, Inc. that published comic books from 1993–1998, beginning its existence during a short comics-industry boom that attracted many investors and new companies...
; daughter of Artie SimekArtie SimekArthur "Artie" Simek, sometimes credited as Art Simek , was an American calligrapher best known as a letterer for Marvel Comics during the period fans and historians call the Silver Age of Comic Books. Along with letterer Sam Rosen, Simek lettered and helped design logos for virtually all Marvel... - Kristen Simon: Editor in Chief, Shadowline Comics (Jim ValentinoJim ValentinoJim Valentino is an American writer, penciler, editor and publisher of comic books.-1970s - 1992:Valentino began his career in the late 1970s creating small press and mostly autobiographical comics. The early-mid 1980s saw normalman which first appeared as a back-up story in Aardvark-Vanaheim's...
's imprint at Image ComicsImage ComicsImage Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
) - Gail SimoneGail SimoneGail Simone is an American writer of comic books. Best known for penning DC's Birds of Prey, her other notable works include Secret Six, Welcome to Tranquility, The All-New Atom, and Deadpool. In 2007, she took over Wonder Woman...
: Writer, Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman (all DC Comics) - Louise SimonsonLouise SimonsonLouise Simonson, born Mary Louise Alexander , is an American comic book writer and editor. She is best known for her work on comic book titles such as Power Pack, X-Factor, New Mutants, Superman: The Man of Steel, and Steel...
a.k.a. Louise Jones: Marvel Comics editor; Writer and co-creator, Power Pack (Marvel Comics); - Mary SkrenesMary SkrenesMary Skrenes is a comic book writer and screenwriter. She may be best known as co-creator of Omega the Unknown for Marvel Comics, although she worked on other Marvel characters such as the Defenders and Guardians of the Galaxy...
: Writer and co-creator, Omega the UnknownOmega The UnknownOmega the Unknown was an American comic book published by Marvel Comics from 1976 to 1977, featuring the eponymous fictional character. The series, written by Steve Gerber and Mary Skrenes and illustrated by Jim Mooney, ran for 10 issues before cancellation for low sales...
(Marvel Comics) - Barbara Slate: Writer, BettyBetty CooperBetty Cooper is a fictional character of Archie Comics, the blonde-haired daughter of Hal and Alice Cooper. Betty likes sports, and is also a cheerleader. Betty was created in December 1941. Her older brother Chic Cooper and older sister Polly Cooper have both moved out of Riverdale, their hometown...
(Archie Comics) - Beth Sotelo: Colorist, Soul Fire: Dying of the Light (Aspen MLTAspen MLTAspen MLT is a California entertainment company founded by artist Michael Turner. It has locations in Santa Monica and Marina Del Rey. Launched in January 2003, the company is best known for producing comic books and figurines.-History:...
), AtomikaAtomikaAtomika is an American comic book series created in 2005 by Andrew Dabb , Sal Abbinanti and Buzz , and published first by Speakeasy Comics and later by Abbinanti's Mercury Comics.-Plot:...
(Mercury Comics) - Christina StrainChristina StrainChristina Strain is an American comic book colorist currently working with Marvel Comics, notable for being the colorist of the award-winning series, Runaways.-Career:Strain got her start in comics working for Crossgen in 2003...
: Colorist, RunawaysRunaways (comics)Runaways is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series features a group of teenagers who discover that their parents are part of an evil crime group called the Pride. Created by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona, the series debuted in April of 2003 as part of Marvel Comics'...
and Spider-Man Loves Mary JaneSpider-Man Loves Mary JaneSpider-Man Loves Mary Jane is an American comic book series focusing on a teenage Mary Jane, the love interest of superhero Spider-Man. The series, published by Marvel Comics, is a teen drama set outside the regular Marvel continuity, and aimed at teenage girls, as opposed to the traditional male...
(all Marvel Comics) - Jill ThompsonJill ThompsonJill Thompson is an American comic book writer and illustrator. Probably better known for her work on Neil Gaiman's The Sandman characters and her own Scary Godmother series, she has also worked on The Invisibles, Swamp Thing, and Wonder Woman.-Career:Jill Thompson illustrated The Sandman story...
: Artist and writer, Wonder Woman, Sandman, and her own Scary Godmother series - Maggie ThompsonMaggie ThompsonMargaret "Maggie" Thompson , is the editor of Comics Buyer's Guide, a monthly comic book industry news magazine...
: Editor, Comics Buyer's GuideComics Buyer's GuideComics Buyer's Guide , established in 1971, is the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry...
magazine - Kathleen WebbKathleen WebbKathleen Webb is an American comic book writer and artist and one of the first female writers for Archie Comics.-Biography:...
: Writer, BettyBetty CooperBetty Cooper is a fictional character of Archie Comics, the blonde-haired daughter of Hal and Alice Cooper. Betty likes sports, and is also a cheerleader. Betty was created in December 1941. Her older brother Chic Cooper and older sister Polly Cooper have both moved out of Riverdale, their hometown...
(Archie Comics) - Christina WeirChristina WeirChristina Weir is a writer of comic books and television. She writes with her husband, Nunzio DeFilippis, whom she met while they were both students at Vassar College....
: Writer, Oni PressOni PressOni Press is an American independent comic book publisher based in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1997 by Bob Schreck and Joe Nozemack with the goal of publishing the kinds of comics and graphic novels they themselves would want to read... - G. Willow WilsonG. Willow WilsonG. Willow Wilson is an American comics writer, prose author, essayist, and journalist.-Biography:After converting to Islam while attending Boston University, Wilson moved to Cairo, where she contributed articles to the Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Magazine and the Canada National Post...
: Writer, Cairo (Vertigo) - Amy Wolfram: Writer, Teen Titans: Year One (DC Comics)
- Kim YaleKim YaleKim Yale was an American writer and editor of comic books for multiple comic book companies, including Marvel Comics, DC Comics, First Comics and Warp Graphics....
: Writer/editor, DC ComicsDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, First ComicsFirst ComicsFirst Comics was an American comic-book publisher that was active from 1983–1991, known for titles like American Flagg!, Grimjack, Nexus, Badger, Dreadstar, and Jon Sable...
, and Warp GraphicsWaRP GraphicsWaRP Graphics, later Warp Graphics, is an alternative comics publisher best known for creating and being the original publisher of the Elfquest comic book series. It was created and incorporated in 1977 by Wendy and Richard Pini. The company title is an acronym formed from the founding couple's... - Christina Z: Writer, WitchbladeWitchbladeWitchblade is an American comic book series published by Top Cow Productions, an imprint of Image Comics, from 1995 until present. The series was created by Top Cow editors Marc Silvestri and David Wohl, writers Brian Haberlin and Christina Z, and artist Michael Turner.The series follows Sara...
(Image ComicsImage ComicsImage Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
/Top Cow ProductionsTop Cow ProductionsTop Cow Productions is an American comics publisher, a partner studio of Image Comics founded by Marc Silvestri in 1992.-History:...
), Shadow Hunter (Virgin Comics)
American manga
- Tina AndersonTina AndersonTina Anderson is an American comic writer. She creates gay comics and women's yaoi, or Boys' Love. Anderson coined the term "GloBL" to encourage fans of yaoi/BL to think about implications of a BL aesthetic outside of Japanese culture...
Writer, Only Words (Iris Print), Games With Me (The Wild Side), Loud Snow (Gynocrat INK) - Queenie ChanQueenie ChanQueenie Chan is a Chinese-Australian Original English-Language comic artist who was born in 1980. She originally lived in Hong Kong, but in 1986, she and her family moved to Australia. Through her childhood, she has interest in reading manga and read Chinese-translated versions of Shonen Jump...
: Artist/Writer, The Dreaming (TokyopopTokyopopTokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...
) - Jo ChenJo ChenJo Chen is a female comic book artist and writer best known for her highly detailed painted comic book covers.-Biography:Chen was born in Taipei, Taiwan and emigrated to the United States in late 1994. Working professionally in the Asian comic book industry since age fourteen, she burst suddenly...
: Artist, WildstormWildstormWildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
's Racer X - Svetlana ChmakovaSvetlana ChmakovaSvetlana Chmakova is a comic creator. She is best known for Dramacon, an original English-language manga spanning three volumes and published in North America by Tokyopop. Her other work includes the 2-page The Adventures of CG for CosmoGIRL! magazine and the webcomic Chasing Rainbows for...
: Artist/Writer, DramaconDramaconDramacon is an original English-language manga written and illustrated by Svetlana Chmakova. It was published in three volumes by Tokyopop from October 11, 2005 to December 11, 2007...
(Tokyopop) - Lindsay Cibos: Artist/Writer, Peach FuzzPeach FuzzPeach Fuzz, is an original English-language manga written and illustrated by Lindsay Cibos and Jared Hodges. It was published in North America and the United Kingdom by Tokyopop in three volumes from January 11, 2005 to December 11, 2007. Peach Fuzz originally started as a short 17-page story in...
(Tokyopop) - Becky CloonanBecky CloonanBecky Cloonan is an American comic book creator, known for work published by Tokyopop and Vertigo Comics.-Career:...
: Artist, AiT/Planet LarAiT/Planet LarAiT/Planet Lar is an American comic book publishing company based in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1999 by Larry Young and Mimi Rosenheim...
's DemoDemo (comics)Demo is a twelve-issue limited series of comic books by writer Brian Wood and artist Becky Cloonan, published from 2003–2004 by AiT/Planet Lar. Each issue is an isolated story, but they all revolve around the lives of young people... - Jinky Coronado a.k.a. Meryl "Jinky" Coronado Calanog Campiti: Artist/Writer, Banzai GirlBanzai GirlBanzai Girl is a full-color comic book series created, written and drawn by Jinky Coronado. The series was originally published by Sirius Comics with the first volume's full-color trade released by Sirius Comics in 2005. A black-and-white manga expanded version of that material was released by...
(Arcana StudioArcana StudioArcana Studio is a Canadian comic book publisher and art studio founded by former Coquitlam, British Columbia school teacher Sean O'Reilly in 2004.-Overview:...
) - Alex de CampiAlex de CampiAlex de Campi is a British-American music video director and comics writer.-Biography:De Campi was educated at Princeton University, majoring in Art History. Prior to her writing career, she worked as an investment banker in Hong Kong...
: Writer, Kat & Mouse (Tokyopop) - Melissa DeJesus: Artist, Sokora RefugeesSokora RefugeesSokora Refugees was an amerimanga webcomic by Segamu and Melissa DeJesus started on 2004-12-31. Sokora Refugees was an ongoing webcomic updating every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, although the webcomic has been on hiatus since 2006-11-10. All comic strips on their website were available free...
(Tokyopop), daily comic strip My CageMy CageMy Cage is an American daily comic strip by Melissa DeJesus and Ed Power and was distributed by King Features Syndicate. The strip debuted on May 6, 2007, and is the first "manga-inspired" comic to be syndicated by King Features.... - Camilla D’Errico: Artist, Make 5 Wishes (Del Rey MangaDel Rey Mangawas the manga-publishing imprint of Del Rey Books, a branch of Ballantine Books, which in turn is part of Random House, the publishing division of Bertelsmann. It was formed as part of a cross-publishing relationship with Japanese publisher Kodansha. Some of the Del Rey titles, such as Tsubasa...
), Nightmares & Fairy TalesNightmares & Fairy TalesNightmares and Fairy Tales is an American comic book, written by Serena Valentino and published by Slave Labor Graphics. It's about a strange little doll called Annabelle. Nightmares and Fairy Tales chronicles the events that happen, good or bad, as she comes into the possession of many people...
(Slave Labour Graphics) - Joanna EstepJoanna EstepJoanna Estep is an illustrator, writer and cartoonist best known for her recent graphic novel Roadsong with writer Allan Gross, published in 2006 by Tokyopop. A recent graduate with degrees in graphic design and Japanese Language, her personal passion for comic books led her to pursue skills and...
: Artist, RoadsongRoadsongRoadsong is an Original English-language manga written by Allan Gross, illustrated by Joanna Estep, and published by Tokyopop.Plot----Characters----Monty McBride:...
(Tokyopop) - Irene Flores: Artist, Mark of the SuccubusMark of the SuccubusMark of the Succubus is an original English-language manga created by Tokyopop's Rising Stars of Manga 3 runner-up winners, Irene Flores and Ashly Raiti...
(Tokyopop) - Amy Kim GanterAmy Kim GanterAmy Kim Ganter , is an American author and illustrator of original English-language manga.-Career:Ganter is a winner in the fourth Rising Stars of Manga competition, winning the third-place prize of $1,000 and a trophy for her story The Hopeless Romantic and the Hapless Girl...
Artist/Writer, Sorcerers & SecretariesSorcerers & SecretariesSorcerers & Secretaries is a manga-influenced comic created by Amy Kim Ganter and was published by Tokyopop.-Further reading: -External links:*...
(Tokyopop) - Holly Golightly a.k.a. Holly G!, Fauve: Artist/Writer, School BitesSchool BitesSchool Bites is a comic series, written, drawn, and colored by Holly Golightly and published by Broadsword Comics since 2004. Although the first 4 issues are published in print, the entire series went online as a webcomic starting in 2009...
(Broadsword ComicsBroadSword ComicsBroadSword Comics is a company formed when in 1999 Jim Balent left mainstream comics to form his own company. BroadSword publishes Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose and reprinted Vampfire, which was created, written and drawn by Balent's wife Holly Golightly who is currently also the colorist on...
) - Amy Reeder HadleyAmy Reeder HadleyAmy Reeder Hadley is an American comic artist, known for her work on books such as Fool's Gold and Madame Xanadu.-Early life:Amy Reeder was born August 25, 1980. She is originally from Denver, Colorado...
: Artist/Writer, Fool's GoldFool's Gold (manga)Fool's Gold is an original English-language manga published by Tokyopop. It is written and illustrated by Amy Reeder Hadley. The first of a planned three volumes was released on July 11, 2006....
(Tokyopop) - Lea HernandezLea HernandezLea Hernandez is an American comic book and webcomic creator who usually draws in a Japanese-influenced style. She is the co-creator of Killer Princesses with Gail Simone , and the creator of Rumble Girls...
: Artist, Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' Marvel Mangaverse: Punisher - Nina MatsumotoNina MatsumotoNina Matsumoto is a Japanese-Canadian comic book artist and writer, also known as "space coyote", and most known for creating the comic book series Yōkaiden for Del Rey Manga...
: Artist/Writer, "YōkaidenYokaidenYōkaiden is an on-going Original English-language manga written and illustrated by Nina Matsumoto and published by Del Rey Manga. The story features Hamachi, a boy fascinated by the Japanese monsters called yokai. When one of these monsters steals his grandmother's soul, he travels into their world...
" (Del Rey Manga)
Alternative comics
- Carmen Aquino : Writer-artist, "Shaya" "HARLEM" "I Love Alien!"
- Jessica AbelJessica AbelJessica Abel is an American comic book writer and artist, known as the creator of such works as Life Sucks, Drawing Words & Writing Pictures, Soundtrack, La Perdida, Mirror, Window, Radio: An Illustrated Guide , and the omnibus series Artbabe.Abel has stated that her major work is not...
: Writer-artist, La Perdida (Fantagraphics) - Jennie Breeden: Writer-artist, The Devil's PantiesThe Devil's PantiesThe Devil's Panties is a webcomic created by Jennie Breeden.-Overview:It is based widely on her own life experiences and interactions with other people...
- Donna BarrDonna BarrDonna Barr is an American comic book author and cartoonist.She was born in Everett, Washington, the second child in a family of six siblings....
- Fallon Star: Writer, "Epic Win"
- Alison BechdelAlison BechdelAlison Bechdel is an American cartoonist. Originally best known for the long-running comic strip Dykes To Watch Out For, in 2006 she became a best-selling and critically acclaimed author with her graphic memoir Fun Home.-Early life:...
: Creator Dykes to Watch Out ForDykes to Watch out ForDykes to Watch Out For was a comic strip by Alison Bechdel. The strip, which ran from 1983 to 2008, was one of the earliest ongoing representations of lesbians in popular culture and has been called "as important to new generations of lesbians as landmark novels like Rita Mae Brown’s Rubyfruit... - Gabrielle BellGabrielle BellGabrielle Bell is an American alternative cartoonist known for her surrealist, melancholy semi-autobiographical stories.-Biography:...
: Writer/artist, Lucky (Drawn and QuarterlyDrawn and QuarterlyDrawn and Quarterly is a Canadian comic book publishing company, headed by Chris Oliveros, and based in Montreal, Quebec. Its focus is on graphic novels and underground or alternative comics. Drawn and Quarterly was also the title of the company's flagship quarterly anthology during the 1990s...
) - Joyce BrabnerJoyce BrabnerJoyce Brabner is a writer of political comics and a sometime collaborator with her late husband Harvey Pekar. Brabner is also a liberal social activist, most recently championing Coventry Village in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, the neighborhood in which she resides, with a series of imaginative...
: Writer, Our Cancer YearOur Cancer YearOur Cancer Year is a graphic novel written by Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner and illustrated by Frank Stack.-Overview:Published in 1994 by the New York Press publisher Four Walls Eight Windows, Our Cancer Year relates the story of Harvey's struggle to overcome cancer, as well as serving as a social... - Paige Braddock: Creator Jane's WorldJane's WorldJane's World is a comic strip by cartoonist Paige Braddock. Debuting on March 25, 1998 it stars Jane Wyatt, a young lesbian woman living in a trailer with her roommate, Ethan, and follows the life of her and her circle of friends...
- Vera BrosgolVera BrosgolVera Brosgol is a cartoonist and a graduate in Classical Animation of Sheridan College in Canada. She lives in Portland, Oregon and works for Laika Entertainment House where she does storyboards and concept art for their animation productions...
- M.K. Brown: Creator Aunt Mary's Kitchen and Dr. N!Godatu
- Jennifer CamperJennifer CamperJennifer Camper is an American comics artist, graphic artist and editor residing in Brooklyn, New York.Camper, who is openly lesbian, has been producing comics since the 1980s. Her work has appeared in many publications including The Village Voice, San Francisco Bay Times, Ms...
- Geneviève CastréeGeneviève CastréeGeneviève Castrée is a Canadian comics artist, illustrator, and musician from Quebec. She once recorded under the name Woelv and has recently switched to Ô PAON. She was born in Loretteville, Quebec and now lives in the Pacific Northwestern United States...
: WOELV - Shannon Chenoweth: Creator/Writer The Line (Misfit Comics)
- Chynna ClugstonChynna ClugstonChynna Clugston is an American comic book creator known for her manga-influenced teen comedy series Blue Monday.-Early life:Clugston grew up in Fresno, California and attended the Roosevelt School of the Arts...
: Creator, Oni PressOni PressOni Press is an American independent comic book publisher based in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1997 by Bob Schreck and Joe Nozemack with the goal of publishing the kinds of comics and graphic novels they themselves would want to read...
's Blue MondayBlue Monday (comic)Blue Monday is a comic book title by Chynna Clugston. It is published by Oni Press in the form of one-shots and several miniseries, which have also been collected into trade paperbacks. The first four-issue mini-series, Blue Monday: The Kids Are Alright was published in 2000.Blue Monday tells the... - Colleen CooverColleen CooverColleen Coover is a comic book artist, based in Portland, Oregon. She is probably best known as creator of the lesbian-themed erotic comic book Small Favors from Eros Comix, illustrator of the comic book limited series Banana Sunday from Oni Press, and for illustrating several short stories in...
: Creator Small Favors - Danielle Corsetto: Creator Girls With Slingshots
- Sophie Crumb: Writer/artist, Belly Button (Fantagraphics)
- Dame DarcyDame DarcyDame Darcy is an alternative cartoonist. Her comic book, Meatcake, has been published by Fantagraphics since 1993. Darcy has also released several graphic novels, Frightful Fairytales, Dame Darcy's Meatcake Compilation, The Illustrated Jane Eyre, Dollerium , Comic Book Tattoo, and Gasoline .-...
: Creator, Fantagraphics' MeatcakeMeatcakeMeatcake, or meatloaf cake, is a cake or other dessert look-alike that is made with meat in a meatloaf style, and not a pastry.The term is used in a sketch by comedian George Carlin, in which he describes finding an unidentifiable item in the refrigerator. "Could be meat, could be cake.... It... - Jennifer Daydreamer: Creator, Jennifer Daydreamer
- Abby DensonAbby Denson-Personal life:Abby Denson was born in Illinois, and grew up in West Hartford, Connecticut. She currently lives in New York, and runs City Sweet Tooth, an exploration of the city's best sweets and treats in unique comic book form.-Comics:...
: Creator Tough Love: High School Confidential - Diane DiMassaDiane DiMassaDiane DiMassa is an American feminist author and cartoonist. Her works include comics, illustrations, and a graphic novel. She is best known for the character Hothead Paisan, Homicidal Lesbian Terrorist.- Hothead Paisan :...
- Colleen DoranColleen DoranColleen Doran is an American writer/artist, film conceptual artist, and cartoonist. She has illustrated hundreds of comics, graphic novels, books and magazines, and dozens of stories and articles, including works written by Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker, Anne Rice, J...
: Creator A Distant SoilA Distant SoilA Distant Soil is a science fiction/fantasy comic book series written and illustrated by Colleen Doran, and is the work for which she is best known.... - Julie DoucetJulie DoucetJulie Doucet is a Canadian former underground cartoonist and artist, best known for her autobiographical works such as Dirty Plotte and My New York Diary...
: Creator Dirty Plotte - Sarah DyerSarah DyerSarah Dyer is a comic book writer and artist with roots in the zine movement of the late eighties and early nineties.-Early life:Dyer was born in Louisiana, went to college in Gainesville, Florida and then moved to New York City.-Career:...
- Mary FleenerMary FleenerMary Fleener is an American alternative comics artist, writer and musician from Los Angeles. Fleener's drawing style, which she calls cubismo, derives from the cubist aesthetic and other artistic traditions...
- Shary FlennikenShary FlennikenShary Flenniken is an American editor-writer-illustrator and underground cartoonist. After joining the burgeoning underground comics movement in the early 1970s, she became a prominent contributor to National Lampoon and was one of the editors of the magazine for two years...
: Creator Trots and Bonnie - Ellen ForneyEllen ForneyEllen Forney is a cartoonist and teacher based in Seattle, Washington, whose work has been published by Fantagraphics Books and The Stranger , among other publications. Her most recent collection is called Lust...
- Shaenon Garrity: Creator, NarbonicNarbonicNarbonic is a webcomic written and drawn by Shaenon K. Garrity. The storylines center on the misadventures of the staff of Narbonic Labs, which is the domain of mad scientist Helen Narbon. The strip started on July 31, 2000 and finished on December 31, 2006. On January 1, 2007, Garrity launched the...
webcomic - Melinda GebbieMelinda GebbieMelinda Gebbie is an American comics artist and writer, probably best known for Lost Girls, the three-volume graphic novel she produced in collaboration with writer Alan Moore, published by Top Shelf.-Biography:...
: Artist, Lost Girls (Top Shelf ProductionsTop Shelf ProductionsTop Shelf Productions is an American publishing company founded in 1997, owned and operated by Chris Staros and Brett Warnock and a small staff. The company is based in Marietta, Georgia, Portland, Oregon, and New York City, New York....
) - Phoebe GloecknerPhoebe GloecknerPhoebe Louise Adams Gloeckner is an American cartoonist, illustrator, painter, and novelist.-Background:Gloeckner was born in 1960 in Philadelphia, and spent most of her later childhood and young adult life in San Francisco, where her family moved in the early 1970s...
: Creator A Child's Life and The Diary of a Teenage Girl - Roberta GregoryRoberta GregoryRoberta Gregory is an American comic book writer and artist best known for her character Bitchy Bitch from her Fantagraphics Books series Naughty Bits.Gregory's father was Disney comics artist Bob Gregory...
: Creator Naughty Bits (Fantagraphics) - G.B. Jones
- Megan KelsoMegan KelsoMegan Kelso is an American comic book artist and writer.Kelso started working in the 1990s, with the minicomic Girlhero, which won her a Xeric Foundation grant in 1993. She has since published several other projects including Queen of the Black Black and The Squirrel Mother...
: Writer/artist, Artichoke Tales (Fantagraphics) - Aline Kominsky-CrumbAline Kominsky-CrumbAline Kominsky-Crumb is an American underground comics artist best known as the wife of cartoonist R. Crumb....
: Creator The Bunch - Carol LayCarol LayCarol Lay is the author of a weekly comic strip, Way Lay, which first appeared in 1992 and which runs in the LA Weekly and Salon. It is also printed in daily and weekly newspapers as far afield as Hong Kong and Norway. Lay has been drawing professionally for over 25 years.-Biography:Lay was born...
- Hope LarsonHope LarsonHope Raue Larson is an American illustrator and cartoonist. Her main field is graphic novels.-Biography:Larson is of German and Swedish descent. She grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, and attendedCarolina Day School...
: Gray Horses and Salamander Dream - Vanesa Littlecrow: Creator, Nine Lives of Catnose
- Carla Speed McNeilCarla Speed McNeilCarla Speed McNeil born in Hammond, Louisiana, is an American sci-fi writer, cartoonist, and illustrator of comics, best known for the science fiction comic book series Finder.-Career:...
: Writer/artist, Finder - Diane NoominDiane NoominDiane Noomin is an American comics artist associated with the underground comics movement, best known for her character Didi Glitz. She is the editor of the anthology series Twisted Sisters, and one of the original contributors to Wimmen's Comix. She has also done theatrical work, creating a stage...
: Creator DiDi Glitz - Christine NorrieChristine NorrieChristine Norrie a comic book artist, known for her work on the graphic novel Cheat. Norrie has also worked extensively as an artist and inker on various comic books, including the comic book adaptation of Disney's Spy Kids, and various Oni Press publications, including art for Hopeless Savages and...
: Artist, Hopeless Savages (Oni PressOni PressOni Press is an American independent comic book publisher based in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1997 by Bob Schreck and Joe Nozemack with the goal of publishing the kinds of comics and graphic novels they themselves would want to read...
) - Liz PrinceLiz PrinceLiz Prince is an American comics creator, noted for her sketchbook-style autobiographical comics. Her first book, Will You Still Love Me If I Wet the Bed? won an Ignatz award for Outstanding Debut in 2005.-Biography:...
: Will You Still Love Me If I Wet the Bed - Trina RobbinsTrina RobbinsTrina Robbins is an American comics artist and writer. She was an early and influential participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the few female artists in underground comix when she started. Both as a cartoonist and historian, Robbins has long been involved in creating outlets for...
: Writer-artist, Ms. TreeMs. TreeMs. Tree was the best-known comic book creation of author Max Allan Collins prior to his graphic novel, Road to Perdition. Terry Beatty was the series' artist.-Character Biography and Synopsis:...
(Eclipse ComicsEclipse ComicsEclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market...
) - Ariel SchragAriel SchragAriel Schrag is an American cartoonist and television writer who achieved critical recognition at an unusually early age for her autobiographical comics.-Biography:...
: Creator, Awkward (Slave Labor GraphicsSlave Labor GraphicsSlave Labor Graphics is an independent American comic book publisher, well-known for publishing darkly humorous, offbeat comics.-Company history:...
) - Dori SedaDori SedaDorthea Antonette "Dori" Seda was an artist best known for her underground comix work of the 1980s. Her comics combined exaggerated fantasy and ribald humor with documentation of her life in the Mission District of San Francisco, California.- Biography :Seda was originally a painter and ceramics...
: 1980s underground satirist - Terrie Smith: Artist, Chester Ringtail
- Tara Tallan: Creator & writer-artist GalaxionGalaxionGalaxion is a science fiction comic book and webcomic series written and drawn by Canadian Tara Tallan .The story follows the crew of an interstellar ship, the Galaxion, as they test a new experimental hyperdrive engine...
(Helikon Comics) - Raina TelgemeierRaina TelgemeierRaina Telgemeier is an American cartoonist whose works include the autobiographic webcomic Smile , which was published by Scholastic Press's Graphix imprint as a full-color graphic novel in February, 2010....
: Writer/artist, Smile (A Dental Drama) - Carol TylerCarol TylerCarol Tyler aka C. Tyler is an award-winning American painter, educator, comedian, and Eisner nominated cartoonist known for her autobiographical stories.-Background:...
: Cartoonist; books include The Job Thing (Fantagraphics, 1993) ISBN 1-56097-111-8 - Serena ValentinoSerena ValentinoSerena Valentino is a comic book writer, based in San Francisco, who is responsible for such comics as Gloomcookie and Nightmares & Fairy Tales....
: Writer, Slave Labor GraphicsSlave Labor GraphicsSlave Labor Graphics is an independent American comic book publisher, well-known for publishing darkly humorous, offbeat comics.-Company history:...
' Gloom Cookie - Penny Van Horn: Cartoonist; book Recipe for Disaster and Other Stories (Fantagraphics, 1999) ISBN 1-56097-330-7
- Sara Varon: Writer/artist, Sweaterweather (Alternative ComicsAlternative Comics (publisher)Alternative Comics is a U.S. independent graphic novel and comic book publisher which operated from 1993–2007. Located in Gainesville, Florida, it is owned and operated by its founder, attorney Jeff Mason...
) - Lauren WeinsteinLauren Weinstein (comic book artist)Lauren R. Weinstein is an American comic book artist. Her surrealist alternative comics detail a complex world where a pall of mystery, sexual intrigue and violent death hangs over the animal kingdom, outer space and suburban America alike...
: Writer/artist The Goddess of War - Kate WorleyKate WorleyKate Worley was an American comic book writer best known for her work on Omaha the Cat Dancer. She was a writer and performer for the science fiction comedy radio program Shockwave Radio Theater.-Early life and career:...
: Creator, Omaha the Cat DancerOmaha the Cat Dancer"Omaha" the Cat Dancer is an erotic comic strip created by artist Reed Waller and writer Kate Worley. Set in the fictional Mipple City, Minnesota in a universe populated by anthropomorphic funny animal characters, the strip is a soap opera which focuses on Omaha, a feline exotic dancer, and her... - catherine yronwodeCatherine yronwodeCatherine "Cat" Yronwode is an American writer, editor, graphic designer, typesetter, publisher, and practitioner of folk magic with an extensive career in the comic book industry....
: Editor-in-chief of Eclipse ComicsEclipse ComicsEclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market... - Jess Fink: Creator Chester 5000
American comic strips
- Lynda BarryLynda BarryLynda Barry is an American cartoonist and author. One of the most successful non-mainstream American cartoonists, Barry is perhaps best known for her weekly comic strip Ernie Pook's Comeek. Barry's cartoons often view family life from the perspective of pre-teen girls from the wrong side of the...
: The New YorkerThe New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast... - Sandra Bell-Lundy: Creator Between Friends
- Marjorie Henderson Buell under pseudonym "Marge": Little LuluLittle Lulu"Little Lulu" is the nickname for Lulu Moppett, a comic strip character created in the mid-1930s by Marjorie Henderson Buell. The character debuted in The Saturday Evening Post on February 23, 1935 in a single panel, appearing as a flower girl at a wedding and strewing the aisle with banana peels...
- Teresa Burritt: Creator Frog Applause
- Mabel Burvick under pseudonym "Odin" aka Odin Burvik: Dickie DareDickie DareDickie Dare was a comic strip syndicated by AP Newsfeatures. Launched July 31, 1933, it was the first comic strip created by Milton Caniff before he began Terry and the Pirates....
(for a time beginning 1944; previously as assistant to husband Coulton WaughCoulton WaughFrederick Coulton Waugh was a cartoonist, painter, teacher and author, best known for his illustration work on the comic strip Dickie Dare and his book The Comics , the first major study of the field.His father was the marine artist Frederick Judd Waugh, and his grandfather was the Philadelphia...
.) - Kate CarewKate CarewMary Williams , who wrote pseudonymously as Kate Carew, was a caricaturist self-styled as "The Only Woman Caricaturist". She worked at the New York World from 1890 to 1901, providing illustrated celebrity interviews....
, pseudonym of Mary Williams: Handy Andy strip in U.K. comic magazine Krazy; The Angel Child - Nellie Caroll: Creator Lady Chatter (Los Angeles Times Syndicate, 1965–66)
- Natalie d'ArbeloffNatalie d'ArbeloffNatalie d'Arbeloff is a British and American artist, cartoonist, humorist, writer and teacher. She was born in Paris of Russian and French parentage and raised in South America, the United States and Europe - settling in London in the mid-sixties....
: Creator Augustine (Blaugustine webcomic) - Grace Dayton: Toodles; Dolly DimplesDolly Dimples (comic strip)Dolly Dimples was a syndicated newspaper comic strip by Grace Drayton....
; The Pussycat Princess - Edwina DummEdwina DummFrances Edwina Dumm was a writer-artist who drew the comic strip Cap Stubbs and Tippie for six decades and is also notable as the nation’s first full-time female editorial cartoonist, She used her middle name for the signature on her comic strip, signed simply Edwina.One of the earliest female...
under pseudonym "Edwina": The Meanderings of Minnie; Cap Stubbs and TippieCap Stubbs and TippieCap Stubbs and Tippie was a syndicated newspaper comic strip created by the cartoonist Edwina Dumm. At times the title changed to Tippie & Cap Stubbs or Tippie.... - Jan EliotJan EliotJan Eliot is an American cartoonist. She writes and illustrates the comic strip "Stone Soup." She created a previous strip known as "Patience and Sarah," which enjoyed a run of five years in 10 publications....
: Creator Stone Soup - Mary Gauerke: The Alumnae
- Cathy GuisewiteCathy GuisewiteCathy Lee Guisewite is the cartoonist who created the comic strip Cathy, about a career woman facing the issues and challenges of eating, work, relationships, and being a mother. As Cathy put it in one of her strips, "The four basic guilt groups."Born in Dayton, Ohio, Guisewite grew up in Midland,...
: Creator CathyCathy (comic strip)Cathy was a comic strip drawn by Cathy Guisewite. It featured a woman who struggled through the "four basic guilt groups" of life — food, love, mom, and work — the strip gently poked fun at the lives and foibles of modern women. Cathy's characteristics and issues both made fun of and... - Alex Hallatt: Creator Arctic Circle
- Bunny HoestBunny HoestBunny Hoest , sometimes labeled The Cartoon Lady, is the writer of several cartoon series, including The Lockhorns, Laugh Parade and Howard Huge, all of which she inherited from her late husband Bill Hoest...
: Writer The LockhornsThe LockhornsThe Lockhorns is a United States single-panel cartoon created in 1968 by Bill Hoest and distributed by King Features Syndicate to 500 newspapers in 23 countries. It is continued today by Bunny Hoest and John Reiner.-Characters and story:...
(1971-) - Nicole HollanderNicole HollanderNicole Hollander is an American cartoonist and writer. Her daily comic strip Sylvia is syndicated to newspapers nationally by Tribune Media Services and also can be seen on her blog, BadGirl Chats....
: Creator SylviaSylvia (comic strip)Sylvia is a long-running comic strip by American cartoonist Nicole Hollander that offers commentary on political, social and cultural topics, and on cats, primarily in the voice of its title character, Sylvia... - Virginia Huget: Campus Capers
- Judith HuntJudith HuntJudith A. Hunt, originally from Washington State, is an illustrator/painter/cartoonist/designer who has produced a diverse array of artwork for books, magazines, television, comics, videos, and toys. She has worked as an art director and staff illustrator/designer for magazine companies...
: Artist, Timbertoes Published by Highlights for ChildrenHighlights for ChildrenHighlights for Children is an American children's magazine. It began publication in June 1946, started by Garry Cleveland Myers and his wife Caroline Clark Myers in Honesdale, Pennsylvania... - Lynn JohnstonLynn JohnstonLynn Johnston, CM, OM is a Canadian cartoonist, well known for her comic strip For Better or For Worse, and was the first woman and first Canadian to win the National Cartoonist Society's Reuben Award.-Early life:...
: Creator For Better or For WorseFor Better or For WorseFor Better or For Worse is a comic strip by Lynn Johnston that ran for 30 years, chronicling the lives of a Canadian family, The Pattersons, and their friends. The story is set in the fictitious Toronto-area suburban town of Milborough, Ontario. Johnston's strip began in September 1979, and ended... - Terri Libenson: Creator The Pajama DiariesThe Pajama DiariesThe Pajama Diaries is a syndicated comic strip created in 2006 by Terri Libenson, an artist who has also done work for American Greetings. It is narrated by Jill Kaplan, a wife of a loving husband and working mom of two young girls in a Jewish family somewhere in Ohio...
- Marty LinksMarty LinksMarty Links was an American cartoonist best known for her syndicated comic strip Emmy Lou.-Biography:Born Martha Arguello in Oakland, California, she moved with her family to San Francisco, where she grew up...
: Creator Emmy Lou - Dale MessickDale MessickDalia Messick was an American comic strip artist who used the pseudonym Dale Messick. She was the creator of Brenda Starr, which at its peak during the 1950s ran in 250 newspapers....
: Creator Brenda StarrBrenda Starr (comic strip)Brenda Starr, Reporter was a comic strip about a glamorous, adventurous female reporter. It was created in 1940 by Dale Messick for the Chicago Tribune Syndicate.... - Gladys ParkerGladys ParkerGladys Parker was an American cartoonist for comic strips and a fashion designer in Hollywood. She is best known as the creator of the comic strip Mopsy which had a long run over three decades....
: Creator MopsyMopsyMopsy was a comic strip created by Gladys Parker in 1939. It had a long run over three decades. Parker modeled the character of Mopsy after herself. In 1946, she recalled, "I got the idea for Mopsy when the cartoonist Rube Goldberg said my hair looked like a mop... - Rina PiccoloRina PiccoloRina Piccolo is a Canadian cartoonist, best known for her comic strip Tina's Groove, distributed by King Features Syndicate since 2002. She has been a professional cartoonist for more than two decades and recently gained recognition as an author of short stories.Born and raised in Toronto, Piccolo...
: Creator Tina's GrooveTina's GrooveTina's Groove is a comic strip by Rina Piccolo which has been distributed by King Features Syndicate since 2002.-Characters and story:Single, attractive and self-aware, Tina works as a waitress at Pepper's Restaurant. Tina's best friend is matchmaker Suzanne... - Mary SchmichMary SchmichMary Theresa Schmich is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune.Born in Savannah, Georgia, the oldest of eight children, Schmich grew up in Georgia, attended high school in Phoenix, Arizona, and earned a B.A...
: Writer Brenda Starr (1985-) - Margaret ShulockMargaret ShulockMargaret Shulock is an American cartoonist who works as a writer-artist on several features.Born in Canastota, New York, she lived in Franklinville, New York and Buffalo, New York. She currently resides in Friendship, New York. She began sending weekly, hand-drawn postcards to her parents, often in...
: Apartment 3-GApartment 3-GApartment 3-G is an American newspaper comic strip about a trio of career women who share Apartment 3-G in Manhattan. Created by Nicholas P...
, Six Chix - Hilda Terry: TeenaTeenaTeena is a cartoon panel series and comic strip about a teenage girl, created by Hilda Terry. It ran from 1944 to 1966, distributed by King Features Syndicate....
Japanese manga
- Akira AmanoAkira Amanois a female Japanese manga artist known for the shōnen manga series Reborn!.Early versions of Reborn! were published in seinen manga magazines. In late 2003, the series, a stand-alone short story at the time, was published in the Weekly Shōnen Jump. After the success of the short story, the series...
- Yuki AmemiyaYuki Amemiyais a Japanese manga artist. She was born in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.She writes 07-Ghost together with Yukino Ichihara, which is published in Monthly Comic Zero Sum.-External links:...
: Creator of 07-Ghost together with Yukino Ichihara - Yasuko AoikeYasuko Aoikeis a Japanese manga artist, born on July 24, 1948 in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi. Most of her works are shōjo manga, predominantly focused on romance, adventure, and light comedy, and many of them contain elements of shōnen-ai. She is included in Year 24 group....
- Kiyoko AraiKiyoko Arai, known by the pen name , is a Japanese manga artist. She made her manga debut in the January 1984 issue of Ciao with her story Chotto dake Biyaku...
: Creator: Angel Lip, Ask Dr. Rin!Ask Dr. Rin!is an eight volume manga series by Kiyoko Arai about a young girl named Meilin Kanzaki who is endowed with Feng shui powers which allow her to read people's fortunes and give advice on how to receive good luck. She does this on a website under the pseudonym of "Dr. Rin." She loves her friend Asuka... - Hiromu ArakawaHiromu Arakawais a Japanese manga artist from Hokkaidō. Her renowned manga, Fullmetal Alchemist, became a hit both domestically and internationally, and was later adapted into two television anime series. She often portrays herself as a bespectacled cow.-Biography:...
: Creator/artist/writer "Fullmetal AlchemistFullmetal Alchemist, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is styled after the European Industrial Revolution...
" - Sakura AsagiSakura Asagiis a Japanese animator, illustrator, and manga artist.She contributed her character design for the series Shōnen Onmyōji and Saint Beast. Apart from illustrating for the novel series Shōnen Onmyōji, she also authors the manga, which acts as a gaiden for the main story which serializes in Kadokawa...
- Hinako AshiharaHinako Ashiharais a female Japanese manga artist. She wrote the manga Sand Chronicles, Forbidden Dance, "SOS," "Ten-nen Bitter Chocolate", Homemade Home, and "Chouchou Kumo "...
: Creator of Sand ChroniclesSand Chroniclesis a manga by Hinako Ashihara. It completed serialization in Japan in Betsucomi during 2005 and was licenced by Viz Media. It began serialization in English in Shojo Beats August 2007 issue, replacing Yume Kira Dream Shoppe... - Izumi AsoIzumi Asois a Japanese manga artist known for her Hikari no Densetsu series.- Biography :Izumi Aso at an early age was a very active young woman who enjoyed drawing. In her late teens she decided that she was going to become a manga artist...
- ClampClamp (manga artists), is an all-female Japanese manga artist group that formed in the mid 1980s. Many of the group's manga series are often adapted into anime after release. It consists of their leader , who provides much of the storyline and screenplay for all their works and adaptations of those works respectively ,...
: Creators RG VedaRG Vedais a manga created by Clamp, consisting of ten volumes in all. It was first published in Japan in 1989 as Clamp's debut manga. The story features elements of Vedic mythology; the title itself imitates Rigveda, the name of one of the four Vedas. The series is known for its extravagant and richly...
, Magic Knight RayearthMagic Knight Rayearthis a Japanese manga series created by Clamp, a manga artist team made up by Satsuki Igarashi, Ageha Ohkawa, Tsubaki Nekoi and Mokona. Rayearth combines elements from the magical girl and mecha anime genres with parallel world fantasy....
, Cardcaptor SakuraCardcaptor Sakura, abbreviated as CCS and also known as Cardcaptors, is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist group Clamp. The manga was originally serialized monthly in Nakayoshi from the May 1996 until the June 2000 issue, and later published in 12 tankōbon volumes by Kodansha...
, Angelic LayerAngelic Layeris a manga series released by Clamp. The manga is published in Japan by Kadokawa Shoten, and in English originally by Tokyopop, but has since been re-licensed by Dark Horse Comics. It is the group's first work to use a quite different art style unseen in any other CLAMP series, which uses a more...
, ChobitsChobitsis a Japanese manga created by the Japanese manga collective Clamp. It was published by Kodansha in Young Magazine from February 2001 to November 2002 and collected in eight bound volumes....
, Tsubasa: Reservoir ChronicleTsubasa: Reservoir Chronicleis a shōnen manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist group Clamp. It takes place in the same fictional universe as many of Clamp's other manga series, most notably xxxHolic. The plot follows how Sakura, the princess of the Kingdom of Clow, loses her soul and how Syaoran, a young...
, xxxHolic - Nariko EnomotoNariko EnomotoNariko Enomoto 榎本ナリコ is a manga author and manga critic who uses this name for children's and women's magazines. She writes under the name for Boys Love and doujinshi, and for critical works. She made her professional debut in 1997 with , published by Shogakukan. She won a special award in the...
- Kazuko FujitaKazuko Fujitais a Japanese shōjo manga artist. She made her professional debut in 1977 in Bessatsu Shōjo Comic and she has written manga mainly for Flower Comics. She is best known for Makoto Call! about a girl who plays volleyball, for which she received the 1992 Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo...
: Creator of Makoto Call!, Four Steps to Romance - Cocoa FujiwaraCocoa Fujiwarais a Japanese manga author and illustrator, born on April 28, 1983 in the Fukuoka Prefecture. She currently resides in Japan. Her debut was with a work called CALLING, which she made when she was only fifteen. She chose not to go to high school so that she could draw manga...
: Creator of dearDear (manga)is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Cocoa Fujiwara. It was first serialized in the shōnen manga magazine Monthly Gangan Wing in June 2002, published by Square Enix. Currently, twelve volumes have been released in Japan...
, Inu x Boku SSInu x Boku SSis a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Cocoa Fujiwara. It will be adapted into an anime television series in 2012.... - Hiro FujiwaraHiro Fujiwarais a Japanese manga artist.The manga artist was once active under her previous pen name, at the end of the 90's but has abandoned the name after she won the Best Rookie award in the LMS for Kaeri Michi, Yuki no Netsu....
- Moto HagioMoto Hagiois a manga artist born on May 12, 1949 in Ōmuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, though she currently lives in Saitama Prefecture. She is considered a "founding mother" of modern shōjo manga, especially shōnen-ai. She is also a member of the Year 24 Group...
- Nanae HarunoNanae Harunois a josei manga artist. She made her professional debut in 1979 with Kyupiido Beibi in Seventeen. She was a steady writer for Young You magazine, until the magazine stopped publication...
- Bisco HatoriBisco Hatoriis a Japanese manga artist. She is well known for her series Ouran High School Host Club.-Personal:Born in Saitama, Japan, this successful manga artist uses the pseudonym Bisco Hatori. She has worked for such magazines as LaLa. Her manga debut was A Moment of Romance in LaLa DX...
- Akiko HigashimuraAkiko Higashimurais a Japanese manga artist from Miyazaki, Japan. Higashimura debuted in the Japanese seinen manga magazine Weekly Morning. Higashimura later became more notable for her work on Kisekae Yuka-chan which debuted in YOU magazine...
: Creator Kisekae Yuka-chan, Himawari - Kenichi Legend, Mama ha Temparish - Asa HiguchiAsa Higuchiis a female Japanese manga artist, born in Urawa, Saitama Prefecture . She graduated from Saitama Prefecture's prestigious Urawanishi High School and Hosei University's department of psychology, with a major in sports psychology...
: Creator of Big Windup! - Matsuri HinoMatsuri Hinois a Japanese manga artist born in Sapporo, Hokkaidō. She made her professional debut in the September 10, 1995 issue of LaLa DX with the one-shot title .Hino Matsuri is also well known for her anime/manga series 'Vampire Knight.'-Bibliography:...
: Creator: Vampire KnightVampire Knightis a shōjo manga and anime series written by Matsuri Hino. The series premiered in the January 2005 issue of LaLa magazine and is still on-going. Chapters are collected and published in collected volumes by Hakusensha, with eleven volumes currently released in Japan. The manga series is licensed in... - Yumi HottaYumi Hottais a Japanese manga artist, born in Aichi Prefecture, Japan in 1957.Hotta is best known as the author of the best-selling manga and anime series Hikaru no Go, about the game of go that is widely credited for the recent boom of the game in Japan. The idea behind Hikaru no Go began when Yumi Hotta...
: Writer of Hikaru no GoHikaru no Gois a manga series, a coming of age story based on the board game Go written by Yumi Hotta and illustrated by Takeshi Obata with an anime adaptation. The production of the series' Go games was supervised by Go professional Yukari Umezawa... - Yukari IchijoYukari Ichijois a Japanese shōjo and josei manga artist. She debuted in 1968 with Yuki no Serenade. In 1986 she received the Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo for Yūkan Club, and in 2007, she received an Excellence Prize in manga at the Japan Media Arts Festival for Pride...
- Yumiko IgarashiYumiko Igarashiis a female Japanese manga artist and artist. She is a resident of Sapporo, Hokkaido. She is also the cousin of fellow manga artist Satsuki Igarashi; a member of Clamp....
- Riyoko IkedaRiyoko Ikedais a Japanese manga artist and singer. She is included in the Year 24 Group. She was one of the most popular Japanese comic artists in the 1970s, being best known for The Rose of Versailles.- Biography :...
: Creator The Rose of VersaillesThe Rose of Versailles, also known as Lady Oscar or La Rose de Versailles, is one of the best-known titles in shōjo manga and a media franchise created by Riyoko Ikeda. It has been adapted into several Takarazuka Revue musicals, as well an anime television series, produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha and broadcast by the... - Ryo IkuemiRyo Ikuemiis a Japanese shōjo manga artist. She writes mainly for Margaret, where she debuted in 1979 at age 15 with Maggie. She received the 2000 Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo for Bara-Iro no Ashita , and the 2009 Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo for Kiyoku Yawaku...
: Creator of Bara-Iro no Ashita, Kiyoku YawakuKiyoku Yawakuis a Japanese shōjo manga series by Ryo Ikuemi. It won the 2009 Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo.... - Risa ItōRisa Ito, also romanized as Risa Itou, is a Japanese manga artist. She won the 2005 Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo for Oi Pītan!! and the 2006 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Short Story Award for One Woman, Two Cats, Oi Piitan!!, and Onna no Mado. Her manga Oruchuban Ebichu was adapted by Gainax as an anime...
: Creator of Oi Pītan!!, Oruchuban EbichuOruchuban Ebichuis a manga series by Risa Itō that was published by Futabasha Publishers. It later became an anime produced by Gainax, but animated by Group TAC. It first aired as six eight-minute episodes in 1999 as one third of the show Modern Love's Silliness. Ebichu is very adult in nature, and its explicit... - Natsumi ItsukiNatsumi Itsukiis a Japanese shōjo manga artist best known for writing science fiction manga. She debuted in 1979 with Megumi-chan ni Sasageru Comedy in LaLa. She won the 1993 Seiun Award for best science fiction manga for Oz and the 1997 Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo manga for Eight Clouds Rising...
- Mariko IwadateMariko Iwadateis a Japanese shōjo manga artist who writes primarily for Margaret and Young You. She won the 1992 Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo for Uchi no Mama ga iu Koto ni wa, and her manga Ichigatsu ni wa Christmas was adapted as an anime OVA in 1991.- External links :* at The Ultimate Manga Page*...
- Kaneyoshi IzumiKaneyoshi Izumiis a Japanese shōjo manga artist. She made her professional debut in 1995 with Tenshi in Betsucomi and she has since published mainly with Betsucomi. Her manga Doubt!! was published in North America by Viz Media. In 2006, she received the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo for Sonnan ja...
: Creator: Sonnanja neyoSonnanja neyois a Japanese romantic comedy manga series written and illustrated by Kaneyoshi Izumi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's Betsucomi between 2003 and 2006. In May 2006, Sonna n'ja nee yo reached a circulation of one million and two thousand copies with 6 volumes... - Yuna KagesakiYuna Kagesakiis a manga artist, born on March 3, 1973, best known for being the author of the manga Chibi Vampire. Her work has been published under four different names: , , when drawing...
: Creator of Chibi Vampire - Junko KarubeJunko Karubeis a Japanese shōjo manga artist. She is best known for Kimi no te ga Sasayaite iru , about a romance between a deaf woman and a hearing man, for which she won the 1994 Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo.- External links :...
- Yumiko KawaharaYumiko Kawaharais a Japanese shōjo manga artist. She made her professional debut in 1978 with Kotchi muite Marie!! in the weekly Shōjo Comic, for which she won a Shogakukan New Artist Award. In 1986, she received the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo for...
- Mizuki KawashitaMizuki Kawashitais a female Japanese manga artist, best known for her work Strawberry 100%. During the early part of her career, she wrote and illustrated under the pen name . Her first public work was a doujinshi called Innocent in 1993...
: Creator of Strawberry 100%, First Love Limited, AnedokiAnedokiis a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mizuki Kawashita, creator of Ichigo 100% and Hatsukoi Limited. The manga began serialization in Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump on July 8, 2009, and ended on January 18, 2010, with 26 chapters and two extra omake... - Toshie KiharaToshie Kiharais a Japanese shōjo manga artist and member of the Year 24 Group. She made her professional debut in 1969 with Kotchi muite Mama! in Bessatsu Margaret, and has since written mainly historical manga...
- Miyuki Kobayashi
- Yun Kōga
- Erika KurahashiErika Kurahashiis a Japanese shōjo manga artist. She debuted with the one-shot manga Kitto konna yuki ni, published in the 1988 autumn issue of Ribon Original...
: Creator Seikimatsu no AngelSeikimatsu no Angelis a shōjo manga series created by Erika Kurahashi. The title can be translated in English as End of the Century Angel.-Story:Suzuka is a high school student. Between the lessons her best friend Miyabi, who is a big fan of tarot, lays the cards for her. She tells her that she will meet her big love...
, Max Lovely!Max Lovely!is a shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Erika Kurahashi.-Plot:Best friends Tokieda Airi and Sahara Taki have had a happy junior high school life, but the mysterious group "F" begins to target them because they attract too much attention! "F" has already hurt many attention-grabbing... - Fusako KuramochiFusako Kuramochiis a Japanese shōjo manga artist. She debuted with Megane-chan no hitorigoto, published in the 1972 Autumn issue of Bessatsu Margaret. She left Musashino Art University before graduation....
- Yuki KureYuki Kureis a Japanese manga artist and illustrator born in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. She is the character designer for Koei's third Neoromance series, Kin'iro no Corda....
- Miyako MakiMiyako Makiis a Japanese manga artist. She made her professional debut in 1957 with . She received the 1989 Shogakukan Manga Award for General for Genji Monogatari, a Japanese manga version of Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji. She is the creator of Licca-chan, a popular Japanese doll. Her husband is...
- Temari MatsumotoTemari Matsumotois a Japanese manga artist and illustrator from Nagano Prefecture.She illustrates yaoi light novels and manga. She chose Temari as her pen name since the town she is from, Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, is known for making temari....
: Art, Kyo Kara Maoh!Kyo Kara Maoh!, is a series of Japanese light novels written by Tomo Takabayashi and illustrated by Temari Matsumoto. The first light novel was published in 2000 by Kadokawa Shoten and to date 22 novels have been released...
Creator of Just My LuckJust My Luck (manga)is a yaoi manga by Temari Matsumoto. It is one volume with three different one-shot stories and couples. The first is about a teacher and student relationship, the second a toymaker and an android, and the third a school nurse and a student...
, The Loudest Whisper: Uwasa No FutariThe Loudest Whisper: Uwasa No FutariThe Loudest Whisper: Uwasa No Futari is the title of a yaoi manga by Temari Matsumoto. The manga is licensed in the United States by BLU, the Boys Love branch of Tokyopop, and was released in Germany by Egmont Manga in 2007.-Plot:...
, Shinobu Kokoro: Hidden HeartShinobu Kokoro: Hidden Heartis a ninja yaoi manga by Temari Matsumoto. The manga was licensed in the United States by BLU, the Boys Love branch of TokyoPop, in November 2005.-Plot:Another work by Temari Matsumoto, called Cause of My Teacher also includes a story about Hiiragi and Asagi....
, Cause of My TeacherCause of My Teacheris a Japanese manga anthology written and illustrated by Temari Matsumoto. The manga is licensed in English by Blu Manga, the boys love division of Tokyopop, and was released in September 2009.-Plot:... - Akemi MatsunaeAkemi Matsunaeis a Japanese shōjo manga artist. She made her debut in 1977 with Yakusoku in Lyrica. In 1988 she won the Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo for Junjō Crazy Fruits.- External links :* at The Ultimate Manga Page...
- Suzue MiuchiSuzue Miuchiis a Japanese manga artist and author of long running shōjo manga Glass Mask. She was born in Nishinomiya, Japan and grew up in Osaka. She won the Kodansha Manga Award for Youkihi-den and the Japan Cartoonists Association Award ....
- Kyoko MizukiKyoko Mizukiis one of the pen names of . She is a Japanese writer who is best known for being the author of the manga and anime series Candy Candy.Kyoko Mizuki won the Kodansha Manga Award for Best Shōjo Manga for Candy Candy in 1977 with Yumiko Igarashi....
: Writer: Candy CandyCandy Candyis a Japanese novel, manga, and anime series. The main character, Candice "Candy" White Ardlay is a blonde American girl with freckles, large emerald green eyes and long, curly hair, worn in pigtails with bows. Candy Candy first appeared in a prose novel by famed Japanese writer Kyoko Mizuki in... - Hideko MizunoHideko Mizunois one of the first successful female Japanese shōjo manga artists. She was an assistant of Osamu Tezuka staying in Tokiwa-sō. She made her professional debut in 1956 with Akakke Pony...
: Creator of Fire!, Honey Honey no Suteki na BoukenHoney Honey no Suteki na Boukenis a shōjo manga by Hideko Mizuno first published in 1966 and made into a 29-episode anime TV series in 1981 by Kokusai Eiga... - Junko MizunoJunko Mizunois a Japanese manga artist.Mizuno's drawing style, which mixes childish sweetness and cuteness with blood and terror has been termed a Gothic kawaii or kawaii noir style. In addition to her comics, she designs T-shirts, calendars, postcards, and other collectibles...
: Creator/artist/writer "Pure TrancePure Tranceis a manga by the Japanese artist Junko Mizuno published in 1998. Her first full-length manga story, it was created for the Pure Trance techno compilation CD series...
" among many other notable works - Milk MorinagaMilk Morinagais a female Japanese yuri and pornographic manga artist born in Tokyo, Japan. Her works have been published in Yuri Shimai, Comic Yuri Hime, Comic Hot Milk, and other yuri and adult manga magazines. She made her professional debut as an illustrator for Cobalt Bunko, a shōjo novel imprint from...
: Creator of Kuchibiru Tameiki SakurairoKuchibiru Tameiki Sakurairois a Japanese yuri manga anthology collection of seven one-shots by the manga author Milk Morinaga. The first five chapters were originally serialized in the now-defunct yuri manga magazine Yuri Shimai between June 28, 2003 and November 17, 2004, published by Sun Magazine...
, Girl FriendsGirl Friends (manga)is a yuri manga series by Milk Morinaga. It was serialized by Futabasha in the seinen manga magazine Comic High! between October 2006 and August 2010, and subsequently published as five bound volumes. The manga has been licensed in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment... - Milk MorizonoMilk Morizonois a Japanese manga artist. She mainly draws erotic manga for adult women. She made her debut in 1981 with Crazy Love Hisshouhou, published in Shōjo Comic. She is associated with the josei magazine, Feel Young...
- Maki MurakamiMaki Murakamiis a Japanese manga artist most famous for the boys love manga Gravitation, which, in addition to the Gravitation novel, is published by in the U.S. by Tokyopop. Gravitation was the first BL to have broken into mainstream leading way for the overwhelming popularity of yaoi/shounen-ai today...
- Mayumi MuroyamaMayumi Muroyamais the joint penname of Japanese manga artists and her younger sister . They made their professional debut in 1976 with Ganbare Aneko in Shōjo Comic....
- Aya NakaharaAya Nakaharais a Japanese manga artist. She won the 49th Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo manga for Love Com.-External links:*...
: Creator of Love Com - Kiriko NanananKiriko Nanananis a female Japanese manga artist. She is famous for her realistic josei work featuring understated artwork with a sense of detachment. In addition she has affiliated herself with the "La nouvelle manga" movement. Her first work was published in Garo in 1993. Two of her works have been made into...
: Creator of blueBlue (manga)is a manga by Kiriko Nananan that was serialized in the alternative manga magazine COMIC Are!; the tankōbon was released on April 24, 1997. The English version, published by Fanfare/Ponent Mon, was released on March 15, 2006...
, strawberry shortcakes - Tomoko NinomiyaTomoko Ninomiyais a Japanese manga artist, based in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. In 1989, she made her debut with London Doubt Boys.She is best known for her series Nodame Cantabile, which received the 2004 Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo manga...
- Keiko Nishi: Creator of Sanban-chō Hagiwara-ya no Bijin, Love Song
- Miho ObanaMiho Obanais a shōjo manga artist born in Tokyo, Japan.She began her manga career as an assistant to Momoko Sakura, creator of Chibi Maruko-chan. She debuted in 1990 with the Mado no Mukō, which was published in the autumn 1990 issue of Ribon Bikkuri...
: Creator Kodomo no Omocha - Akane OguraAkane Ogurais a Japanese manga artist from Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. She is currently residing in Tokyo.Her current work is Zettai Heiwa Daisakusen, serializing in Hakusensha's bi-monthly shōjo manga magazine LaLa DX.-Career:...
: Creator Zettai Heiwa DaisakusenZettai Heiwa Daisakusenis a Japanese shōjo manga written and illustrated by Akane Ogura.The series premiered in the September 2007 issue of Hakusensha's bi-monthly shōjo manga magazine, LaLa DX. Chapters are collected and published in collected volumes by Hakusensha under the Hana to Yume Comics label. The series... - Saori OguriSaori Oguriis a Japanese manga artist born in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. She is a graduate of Tama Art University, where she studied graphic design. Her first work was Sora ni makka na mono relu in the Shōjo comic magazine, Chorus ....
: Creator of Is He Turning Japanese? - Reiko OkanoReiko Okanois a Japanese manga artist. In 1989, she won the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo for Fancy Dance. She is married to director Makoto Tezuka.- References :...
: Creator of Fancy DanceFancy Dance (manga)is a Japanese shōjo manga series by Reiko Okano. It won the 34th Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo. It was adapted into a 1989 live action film directed by Masayuki Suo.... - Hiromu OnoHiromu Onois a Japanese manga artist. In 1984, she won the Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo for Lady Love.- External links :* at The Ultimate Manga Guide...
: Creator Lady Love - Minami OzakiMinami Ozakiis a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist and illustrator of novels born on February 27, 1968 in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. She is famous for her best-selling manga series Zetsuai 1989, which is considered to have redefined the Shōnen-ai/Yaoi genres in the late 80s/early 90s. Her old penname is ,...
- Mari OzawaMari Ozawais a Japanese josei manga artist who writes primarily for Kiss and Young You. She won the 1995 Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo for Sekai de Ichiban Yasashii Ongaku.-Works:*Sekai de Ichiban Yasashii Ongaku...
- Peach-PitPEACH-PITis a female manga artist duo in Japan, made up of and . Their group name derives from the diner hangout Peach-Pit from the TV show Beverly Hills, 90210. Although both have similar styles, with some artwork it is possible to identify which artist drew it. Both are known for their bishōjo styled works...
- Marimo RagawaMarimo Ragawawas born on September 21 in Hachinohe, Aomori, but her age is not disclosed.Marimo Ragawa first started submitting manga to comic magazines when she was only 12 years old, which is when she was in 6th grade of elementary school. She continued to send her manga to the same magazine for four years,...
: Creator Baby and MeBaby and Meis a shōjo manga by Marimo Ragawa. It was originally published in Japan by Hakusensha, and was published in English by VIZ Media, serialized in the magazine Shojo Beat. It received the 40th Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo in 1995. The series was adapted as an anime television series in 1996... - Akizuki RisuAkizuki Risuis the pen name of a Japanese four-panel manga artist. She made professional manga debut with Okusama Shinkaron in 1988. Her most famous work is OL Shinkaron. She won the 8th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2004.-References:...
- Fumi SaimonFumi Saimonis a female Japanese manga artist and novelist. She is best known for the series Tokyo Love Story, which was adapted as a live-action television series. She won the 1983 Kodansha Manga Award for general manga for P.S. Genki Desu, Shunpei and the 1992 Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga for...
- Momoko SakuraMomoko Sakura, pen name , is a Japanese manga artist from Shimizu, Shizuoka Prefecture. She is the creator of the long-running manga Chibi Maruko-chan , based on her own childhood, and the more surreal fantasy anime series Coji-Coji, which ran from 1997 to 1999...
: Creator Chibi Maruko-chanChibi Maruko-chanis a shōjo manga series by Momoko Sakura, later adapted into an anime TV series by Nippon Animation, which originally aired on Fuji Television from January 7, 1990 to September 27, 1992. The series depicts the simple, everyday life of a little girl nicknamed Maruko and her family in suburban... - Kanoko SakurakojiKanoko Sakurakojiis a Japanese manga artist. She writes primarily for Shogakukan in the shōjo manga magazine Betsucomi. She is best known as the author of Backstage Prince and Black Bird. Black Bird received the 2009 Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo manga...
: Creator of Backstage PrinceBackstage Princeis a manga by Kanoko Sakurakoji. Was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine Betsucomi in 2004 and 2005 and collected in two bound volumes. It is licensed in North America by Viz Media, which serialized it in Shojo Beat magazine from October 2006 to March 2007.- Story :Akari is an average high...
, Black BirdBlack Bird (manga)is a Japanese supernatural shōjo manga written and illustrated by Kanoko Sakurakoji. It has been serialized by Shogakukan in their Betsucomi magazine since 2007. It depicts the life of a high school girl who can see supernatural beings... - Erica SakurazawaErica Sakurazawais a Japanese manga author whose works are mostly published in josei magazines. She has some works published in the adult manga magazine Manga Burikko.-Works:*Ai shiau Koto shika dekinai*Angel Breath*Boku no Angel Dust*Cherry ni Omakase...
- Machiko SatonakaMachiko Satonakais a Japanese shōjo manga artist. She debuted in 1964 with Pia no Shouzou in Shōjo Friend, for which she received Kodansha New Faces award. She has received multiple awards, including the 1982 Kodansha Manga Award for general manga for Karyūdo no Seiza and a Lifetime Works and Cultural Activities...
- Reiko ShimizuReiko Shimizuis a Japanese shōjo manga writer and illustrator. She made her professional debut in 1983 with Sansaro Monogatari in LaLa, and has written primarily for the publisher Hakusensha...
- Takako ShimuraTakako Shimurais a female manga artist primarily known for her manga works published in Japan which feature LGBT topics. Originally from Kanagawa, she now resides in Tokyo. Her series Aoi Hana was adapted as an anime television series broadcast in 2009...
: Creator of Aoi HanaAoi Hana, also known as Sweet Blue Flowers, is a Japanese yuri manga series written and illustrated by Takako Shimura. It began serialization in November 2004 in Ohta Publishing's Manga Erotics F manga magazine. The first bound volume was released in December 2005 in Japan; as of May 2011, six volumes have...
, Wandering Son - Fuyumi SoryoFuyumi Soryois a Japanese manga artist from Beppu, Oita, Japan. She is a graduate of the Oita prefectural Geijutsu Midorigaoka High School.She was born into the home of a master of the Kanze school of Noh. In her childhood she liked to draw pictures of horses and things but had no special interest in manga...
- Hinako SugiuraHinako Sugiurawas a manga artist and researcher in the lifestyles and customs of Japan's Edo period. Born Junko Suzuki in Minato, Tokyo, into a tradition-steeped family of kimono merchants, she studied design and took an increasing interest in old Japan. She attended Nihon University, but gave up her formal...
- Julietta SuzukiJulietta Suzukiis a Japanese manga artist born in Fukuoka Prefecture.Her first series, Akuma to Dolce is on hiatus, but ran in Hakusensha's Hana to Yume, while her third and current series, Kamisama Kiss is currently serialed in the same magazine.-Personal:...
- Haruko TachiiriHaruko Tachiiriis a Japanese manga artist who writes mostly manga for children. In 1979, she received an Excellence Prize from the Japanese Cartoonists' Association for Picola-picola, and in 1984 she received the Shogakukan Manga Award for children's manga for Panku Ponk.-References:...
- Megumi TachikawaMegumi Tachikawais a Japanese shōjo manga artist, best known for the manga Saint Tail, which was also adapted into an anime series. She made her manga debut in 1992 with 16-sai no Tiara, which was nominated for the 'New Face' manga award.-Works:...
- Kaoru TadaKaoru Tada, was a Japanese manga artist.-Biography:Tada made her debut in 1977, when still a high school student, on Shueisha's "Deluxe Margaret" magazine. Tada's stories belong to the shōjo genre of manga and feature love stories centred around young female characters and their love interests...
- Rumiko TakahashiRumiko Takahashiis a Japanese manga artist.Takahashi is one of the wealthiest individuals, and the most affluent manga artists in Japan. The manga she creates are popular worldwide, where they have been translated into a variety of languages...
: Creator Urusei YatsuraUrusei Yatsurais a comedic manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi that premiered in Weekly Shōnen Sunday in 1978 and ran until its conclusion in 1987. Its 374 individual chapters were collected and published in 34 tankōbon volumes. The series tells the story of Ataru Moroboshi, and the alien...
, Ranma ½Ranma ½is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi with an anime adaptation. The story revolves around a 16-year old boy named Ranma Saotome who was trained from early childhood in martial arts...
, Inu Yasha - Natsuki TakayaNatsuki Takayais the penname of a Japanese manga artist best known for creating the series Fruits Basket, which at one time was the best selling manga in the world. She was born on July 7, 1973. Takaya is left-handed and once revealed that she wanted to be a manga artist since first grade, when her sister...
- Naoko TakeuchiNaoko Takeuchiis a Japanese manga artist who lives in Tokyo, Japan. Takeuchi's works have a wide following among anime and manga fans worldwide. Her most popular work, Sailor Moon, rose to become one of the most recognized manga and anime products to date.-Early life:...
: Creator Sailor MoonSailor MoonSailor Moon, known as , is a media franchise created by manga artist Naoko Takeuchi. Fred Patten credits Takeuchi with popularizing the concept of a team of magical girls, and Paul Gravett credits the series with "revitalizing" the magical-girl genre itself... - Yumi TamuraYumi Tamurais a Japanese manga artist. Her debut short story, Ore-tachi no Zettai Jikan , was published in 1983 in Bessatsu Shōjo Comic and received the 1983 Shogakukan Grand Prize for new artists. Since then, she has completed more than 50 compiled volumes of short stories and continuing series...
: Creator of BasaraBasara (manga)is a shōjo manga written by Yumi Tamura. The manga, which consists of 27 tankōbon volumes, won the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo in 1992. It was adapted as an anime that follows only part of the manga story, cutting off after 13 episodes...
, ChicagoChicago (manga)is a near-future action manga written by Yumi Tamura. It was published by Shogakukan in Betsucomi from November 2000 to May 2001 and collected in two bound volumes under the Flower Comics imprint...
, 7 Seeds7 Seedsis a Japanese science fiction manga series written and illustrated Yumi Tamura. It has been published by Shogakukan since 2001, first in Betsucomi then in Flowers... - Yellow TanabeYellow Tanabeis a Japanese manga artist. She was an assistant for Mitsuru Adachi and Makoto Raiku and made her debut in 2002 with the short story Lost Princess. She is best known for the manga series Kekkaishi, which has been adapted as an anime television series and translated into many languages...
: Creator of KekkaishiKekkaishiis a supernatural manga series written and illustrated by Yellow Tanabe. It was serialized in Japan by Shogakukan in the manga magazine Shōnen Sunday from 2003 to 2011 , and licensed for an English-language release in North America by Viz Media. It was adapted as a fifty-two episode anime series by... - Ema TōyamaEma Toyamais a female Japanese manga artist. She made her debut in September 2003 in the monthly manga magazine Nakayoshi with her story, Tenshi no Tamago . Tokyopop has licenced it under the title Pixie Pop...
: Creator Pixie PopPixie Popis a shōjo manga created by Ema Toyama. The series was first published in 2004 by Kodansha. Pixie Pop was then later translated and publicized on February 13, 2007 by Tokyopop ....
, Koko ni iru yo!Koko ni iru yo!is a Japanese shōjo manga series by Ema Tōyama. The series was serialized in the shōjo manga magazine, Nakayoshi. The series ended with 5 volumes released by Kodansha under the imprint, Kodansha Comics.... - Miwa UedaMiwa Uedais a Japanese manga artist known for her works like Peach Girl and Angel Wars. In 1999, she received the Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo for Peach Girl....
: Creator Peach GirlPeach Girlis a Japanese shōjo manga series by Miwa Ueda. It was published in Japan by Kodansha in Bessatsu Friend from 1998 to 2003 and collected in 18 volumes... - Kimiko UeharaKimiko Ueharais a prominent Japanese shōjo and josei manga artist. She is best known for shōjo series such as Maiko no Uta , Lovely Mari-chan, Marybell, Honoo no Romance, Lolly no Seishun, and Yumedokei . She received the 1990 Shogakukan Manga Award for children's manga for Lovely Mari-chan...
- Chica UminoChica Uminois the pen name of an anonymous Japanese female manga artist, designer and illustrator.Umino is noted for being the author and creator of the Honey and Clover series, for which she received the Kodansha Manga Award in 2003, and which has been adapted into an anime series, produced by...
: Creator Honey and CloverHoney and Cloveris a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Chika Umino. It is also known as and H&C. It is published by Shueisha, initially serialized from June 2000 to July 2006 in the magazines CUTiEcomic, Young YOU, and Chorus, and collected in ten bound volumes...
, March Comes in Like a LionMarch Comes in Like a Lionis an ongoing manga series by Chica Umino, best known for Honey and Clover. It began serialization in Hakusensha's seinen manga magazine Young Animal from its fourteenth issue in 2007 . A television commercial announcing the series was also aired by Hakusensha on numerous Japanese television... - Yuki UrushibaraYuki Urushibarais a Japanese manga artist. She is best known for the series Mushishi, for which she received an Excellence Prize for manga at the 2003 Japan Media Arts Festival and the 2006 Kodansha Manga Award for general manga...
: Creator of MushishiMushishiis a manga series written and illustrated by Yuki Urushibara, published in Kodansha's Afternoon magazine from 1999 to August 2008.The manga was adapted into an anime television series in 2005. The Artland production was directed by Hiroshi Nagahama... - Masako WatanabeMasako Watanabeborn 16 May 1929, in Tokyo, Japan is a Japanese manga artist. She began her professional career as an illustrator of books in 1949. She switched to creating manga after reading Osamu Tezuka's works, debuting in 1952 with Namida no Sanbika...
- Yuu WataseYuu Wataseis a female Japanese shōjo manga artist. She received the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo for Ceres, Celestial Legend in 1997. Since writing her debut short story "Pajama de Ojama" , Watase has created more than 80 compiled volumes of short stories and continuing series...
: Creator of Fushigi YūgiFushigi Yūgi, also known as Curious Play, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yu Watase. Shogakukan published Fushigi Yûgi in Shōjo Comic in its original serialized form from May 1992 through June 1996. Viz Media released the manga series in English in North America starting in 1999...
, Ceres, Celestial LegendCeres, Celestial Legendis a fantasy shōjo manga series written by Yuu Watase. It was originally serialized in Shōjo Comic from May 1996 through March 2000. The chapters were also published by Shogakukan in fourteen collected volumes...
, Absolute BoyfriendAbsolute Boyfriendis a six volume manga series by Yuu Watase, first serialized in Shōjo Comic. Chuang Yi licensed it for an English language release in Singapore, with the first volume released in March 2005... - Murasaki YamadaMurasaki Yamada, born as Mitsuko Shiratori, was a Japanese feminist essayist, manga artist, and poet. She was associated with Garo. Frederik L. Schodt regarded her work as particularly important because, although there is a culture of girl's manga, Yamada's work has a feminist message, which is rare in girls' manga...
- Ryoko YamagishiRyoko Yamagishiis a female Japanese manga artist. She is considered to be one of the Year 24 Group. She studied ballet as a child, which plays a part in many of her works. When she read the manga of Machiko Satonaka in 1964, she decided to pursue becoming a manga artist. Although her parents did not agree with...
- Ebine YamajiEbine Yamajiis a Japanese manga artist who has created several works with a lesbian theme. These include Indigo Blue, the story of a young author discovering her sexuality, Free Soul, and Love My Life. Several of her works were serialized in the josei magazines Feel Young and the now defunct Young You...
- Sumika YamamotoSumika Yamamotois a Japanese manga artist known for her manga series Ace o Nerae!.-Biography:Sumika Yamamoto is a shōjo manga artist born on June 17, 1949. She debuted as a manga artist in 1971 with "Sono Hitokoto ga ienakute" in Shuukan Margaret before achieving success with "Ace o Nerae"...
- Kazumi YamashitaKazumi Yamashita (manga artist)is a Japanese manga artist. Although she writes primarily older shōjo manga, she is best known for The Life of Genius Professor Yanagizawa, which was published in the seinen magazine Morning, and for which she received the 2003 Kodansha Manga Award for general manga.- External links :* * at The...
: Creator of The Life of Genius Professor Yanagizawa - Waki YamatoWaki Yamatois a Japanese manga artist. She debuted in 1966 with the short story Dorobou Tenshi.Since this debut, Yamato steadily created and published a variety of works in the genre of shōjo manga...
- Ai YazawaAi Yazawais a Japanese manga author. Her pen name comes from Japanese singer Eikichi Yazawa, of whom she is a fan.-Biography:Yazawa started her manga publishing life in 1985. She studied in a fashion school but later dropped out. Throughout her 15 years of publishing, she wrote over 10 series in Ribon...
- Akimi YoshidaAkimi Yoshidais a Japanese manga artist.Yoshida is best known for the series Banana Fish. She twice won the Shogakukan Manga Awards for shōjo, for Kisshō Tennyo in 1984 and for Yasha in 2002...
- Fumi YoshinagaFumi Yoshinagais a Japanese manga artist known for her shōjo and shōnen-ai works.-Personal:Fumi Yoshinaga was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1971. She attended the prestigious Keio University in Tokyo....
: Creator Antique BakeryAntique Bakeryis a manga by Fumi Yoshinaga depicting the lives of four men who work in a small bakery. It was published in Japan by Shinshokan and in English by Digital Manga Publishing. The series won the 2002 Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo manga...
, Ōoku: The Inner ChambersŌoku: The Inner Chambersis an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fumi Yoshinaga. The plot follows an alternate history of medieval Japan in which an unknown disease kills most of the male population, leading to a matriarchal society in which the Ōoku becomes a harem of men serving the now female... - Wataru YoshizumiWataru Yoshizumiis a Japanese manga artist. She was born as on June 18, 1963 in Tokyo, Japan. She graduated with a degree in economics from Hitotsubashi University....
: Creator of Handsome na KanojoHandsome na Kanojois a 9-volume manga created by Wataru Yoshizumi. It originally ran in the magazine Ribon from 1988–1992, and was adapted into an OVA in 1991. The story is a romantic-comedy...
, Marmalade BoyMarmalade Boyis a shōjo manga by Wataru Yoshizumi. It was published by Shueisha in the magazine Ribon from May 1992 to October 1995 and collected in eight tankōbon volumes. The series was adapted by Toei Animation as a 76-episode anime television series which aired on TV Asahi and Fuji TV in 1994 to 1995. This...
, Ultra ManiacUltra Maniacis a manga series written by Wataru Yoshizumi. The romantic comedy series features 8th grader Ayu Tateishi, a tennis club member, and her transfer student friend, Nina Sakura, who is actually a trainee witch from the magical kingdom. It premiered in Shueisha's Ribon manga magazine in February 2001... - Kaori YukiKaori Yukiis a female Japanese manga artist best known for her gothic manga such as Earl Cain, its sequel Godchild, and Angel Sanctuary. Yuki debuted in 1987 with which ran in the manga anthology Bessatsu Hana to Yume published by Hakusensha. Her work is typically serialized in one of Hakusensha's two shōjo...
: Creator of Earl CainEarl Cain, also known as Count Cain, is a gothic shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Kaori Yuki. Earl Cain consists of five parts or "Series": , , , , and the sequel series ....
, Angel SanctuaryAngel Sanctuaryis a shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Kaori Yuki. Originally serialized in Hana to Yume from February 1995 to February 2001, the chapters were collected and published in twenty tankōbon volumes by Hakusensha; the first volume was released in 1997 and the final volume was published in...
Others
- Maitena BurundarenaMaitena BurundarenaMaitena Burundarena , better known as Maitena, is an Argentine cartoonist.-Early works:Maitena drew erotic strips for several European publications such as Makoki, in Barcelona...
: Superadas (ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
) - Titane LaurentTitane LaurentTitane Laurent is a New Zealand painter and cartoonist, notable for her comic strip God's Stuff.Born in Morocco, Laurent grew up in Belgium, lived in Luxembourg and is a New Zealand citizen and a permanent resident of Australia...
: God's StuffGod's StuffGod's Stuff is a comic strip created by Titane Laurent, in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1997.-Characters and story:The strip offers a light-hearted yet poignant look at the Bible through the eyes of an imaginative and plucky little girl...
(New Zealand)
See also
- Friends of LuluFriends of LuluFriends of Lulu was a non-profit, national charitable organization in the United States, founded in 1994 to promote readership of comic books by women and the participation of women in the comic book industry...
- List of 20th century women artists
- Women artistsWomen artistsWomen artists have been involved in making art in most times and places. Often certain certain media are associated with women, particularly textile arts; however, these gender roles in art change in different cultures and communities...
- Portrayal of women in comicsPortrayal of women in comicsWomen have been portrayed in comic books since the medium's beginning, with their portrayals often the subject of controversy. Sociologists with an interest in gender roles and stereotyping have outlined the role of women as both supporting characters and as potential leaders struggling to be...