Synopses & Reviews
Boys aren't the only ones who read comics—girls do too! From Betty and Veronica to Slutburger and Art Babe, Girls to Grrrlz explores the amazing but true history of girl comics. Pop culture fans will delight in author Trina Robbinss chronological commentary (with attitude) on the authors, artists, trends, and sassy, brassy characters featured in comic books for the last half-century. Meet the bubble-headed bombshells of the '40s, the lovelorn ladies of the '50s, the wimmin libbers of the '70s, and the grrrowling grrrlz of today. Her commentary is paired with a ton of rare comic book art pulled from the best girl comics published since World War II. Bridging the gap between Ms. and Sassy, between Miss America and Naomi Wolf, From Girls to Grrrlz reminds us how comic book characters humorously—and critically—reflect our changing culture.
Review
"Hopefully, From Girls to Grrrlz will inspire some folks to trot on down to their local comic store and plop down some cash and support this dying breed of great art!" BUST Magazine
Review
"Robbins is a uniquely qualified tour guide through the tangled history of women's comics....With 150 color and 30 b&w reproductions of panels that are by turns kitschy, acidly funny and confrontational, this lavishly illustrated volume reveals the forces that have shaped contemporary comics and the pleasures they offer, be they aimed at girls or grrrlz." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Robbins' knowledge of comics history is formidable, but then, as a '60s underground comics pioneer, she is a player in that history. From an equally formidable comics collection come the colorful reproductions that accompany her amusing, informative text." Gordon Flagg, Booklist
Review
"[V]eteran cartoonist Trina Robbins scans a half-century of comics for female readers with zest and aplomb in...a lively history whose decidedly feminist sensibility does not preclude sardonic affection for the kitschy romance comic books so popular in the 1950s." Elle
Review
"Whether your teens are looking for research and information or just like to browse and chuckle at the changing ways comic book characters reflect twentieth century culture, this book will satisfy....Interesting on its own, From Girls to Grrrlz is a good companion piece to Scott McCloud's seminal Understanding Comics..." VOYA
Synopsis
In this study of women's comics, Trina Robbins, an editor of the feminist comic It Ain't Me, Babe and a 1990s' Barbie comic series, covers historical publications that have been aimed at girls, discussing significant characters and genres.
Synopsis
Author Trina Robbins's art-packed compendium chronicles more than fifty years of authors, artists, trends, and characters of girl comics. From Girls to Grrrlz is a terrific tribute to the great two-dimensional women of this century from the bubble-headed bombshells of the forties to the lovelorn ladies of the fifties to the wimmin's libbers of the seventies to the grrrowling grrrlz of today. Illustrated with a ton of rare comic-book art pulled from the best of the best, From Girls to Grrrlz bridges the gap between Ms. and Sassy, between Miss America and Naomi Wolf, reminding us how comic-book characters humorously and critically reflect our changing culture.
About the Author
Trina Robbins has been writing and drawing comics since 1966. She edited the first all-woman comic book, It Ain't Me, Babe, and is the author of The Great Women Superheroes, A Century of Women Cartoonists, and Women and the Comics. Robbins lives in San Francisco.
Table of Contents
Introduction 4
Ch. 1 Girls' Comics: 1941-1957 5
Ch. 2 Women's Comics: 1947-1977 47
Ch. 3 Womyn's Comix: 1970-1989 79
Ch. 4 Grrrlz' Comix: The 1990s 111
Afterword 142
Index 143