Women in Comics

A beautifully illustrated and in-depth look at the important roles women have played in comics history, from the late nineteenth century to today.

Comics in the form of editorial cartoons, comic strips, digital comics, comic books, and graphic novels have combined words and images to tell stories of hundreds of years. Though often overlooked, women have played a vital role in shaping this genre, both as creators and characters within the stories themselves.

Through six archetypes frequently found in comics—the patriot, the working woman, the socialite, the fashionista, the reporter, and the spy—Susan E. Kirtley and Nhora Lucía Serrano trace some of comics’ most influential women. This insightful exploration of international characters celebrates the feminist role model Wonder Woman, the warrior-maiden Oscar François de Jarjayes in the gender-defying manga tale Berusiyu no Bara (The Rose of Versailles), the real-life groundbreaking journalist Nellie Bly, and many others. Profiles throughout the book highlight the important work of female creators, heralding the bravery of political cartoonists such as Corinne “Coco” Rey and Rayma Suprani, the power of biography as reportage with Marjane Satrapi and Sophia Glock, and the value of visibility with Alison Bechdel and Mariko Tamaki.

Women in Comics is a richly illustrated, essential guide to the importance of women in the comics space from across time and around the globe.

• “This beautifully designed book offers a history of women in comics that is both erudite and accessible, bringing a variety of critical frameworks and an impressive international perspective. The women portrayed have redefined and subverted the symbolism of nation, defied male condescension in the workplace, achieved agency and glamour on their own terms, rewritten history and changed the scripts available to women characters in fiction and in real life. Timely, essential reading.”  
  Ann Miller, co-editor of European Comic Art