Women in Comics: Iconic Characters and Influential Creators from the 1890s to Today

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.

Susan E. Kirtley is the Professor of English and Director of Comics Studies at Portland State University. She is the author of the Eisner-winning Lynda Barry: Girlhood Through the Looking Glass  and coeditor of With Great Power Comes Great Pedagogy: Teaching, Learning, and Comics. Her book Typical Girls: The Rhetoric of Womanhood in Comic Strips was the 2022 Charles Hatfield Prizewinner for the best book in Comics Studies. She is currently the editor of Inks: The Journal of the Comics Studies Society. She lives in Portland, OR.

Nhora Lucía Serrano is the Director of Academic Technology, Teaching, and Research Services at Hamilton College. She is the editor of Immigrants and Comics: Graphic Spaces of Remembrance, Transaction, and Mimesis, coeditor of the Wilfrid Laurier University Press book series Crossing Lines: Transcultural/Transnational Comics Studies. In 2018 she was an Eisner Industry Awards judge. She lives in Clinton, NY.