Today in Comics History, July 13: Happy birthday, Fran Hopper!

Born on this day in 1922: Golden Age comic book artist Fran Hopper (Jungle Comics, Movie Comics, Planet Comics, Rangers Comics, and Wings Comics at Fiction House), and possibly some uncredited issues of Patsy Walker comics over at Marvel/Timely!! There, that settles the minimum daily requirements of a post to mention the word "comics" for SEO purposes! Fran's in tan below, along with vital Golden Age artists Ruth Atkinson (creator of Millie the Model, co-creator of Patsy Walker) and Pauline Loth (Miss America, Blackstone, Captain Marvel and more, and animator and voice artist). (And, in the bottom panel at extreme left, Violet Barclay (Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal, Nellie the Nurse, more) in...um, violet!)



from "Golden Girls" in Fearless (2019 series) #4 (Marvel, December 2019); script by Trina Robbins; pencils, inks, and colors by Marguerite Sauvage; letters by Cardinal Rae
Happy birthday, Ms. Hopper!

Today in Comics History, February 25: Happy birthday, June Tarpé Mills!

Born on this day in 1912: comics writer and illustrator June Tarpé Mills, one of the first major female comics artists (Reg'lar Fellers Heroic Comics, Amazing Man Comics, Our Love Story, Amazing Mystery Funnies, Funny Pages, Prize Comics, more) and the creator of the first woman action hero, Miss Fury, for Marvel/Timely.


from "Golden Girls" in Fearless (2019 series) #4 (Marvel, December 2019); script by Trina Robbins; pencils, inks, and colors by Marguerite Sauvage; letters by Cardinal Rae
A very happy birthday to you, Miss Mills!


from Girl Comics (2010 series) #2 (Marvel, July 2010), text by Trina Robbins (?), Mills illustration by Colleen Coover

Today in Comics History, June 2: Happy birthday, Ruth Atkinson!

Born today in 1918: pioneering female cartoonist and comic writer/artist Ruth Atkinson: Lovers' Lane, Heroic Comics, Boy Meets Girl, Jungle Comics ("Tabu"), Wings Comics ("Wing Tips"), Club 16, and more. She created and first drew Marvel's Millie "The Model" Collins and co-created Patsy Walker in the pages of Miss America Magazine.


"Spotlight: Ruth Atkinson" in Girl Comics (2010 series) #2 (Marvel, July 2010)
If you think comics in the Golden Age were the sole work of white men, oh boy, wow, you got anothere think coming, brother. There's an entire pantheon of women cartoonists across comics strips and books, and Marvel had their own big names among 'em. Here's a short comic story that spotlights them, including Atkinson.




from "Golden Girls" in Fearless #4 (Marvel, December 2019); script by Trina Robbins; pencils, inks, and colors by Marguerite Sauvage; letters by Cardinal Rae
So who says that women don't belong in comics as either heroes or creators? Jerks. Jerks say that.

Happy birthday, Ruth!