From Girls to Grrrlz by Trina Robbins

by Trina Robbins

Trina Robbins (1938 – 2024) was an American cartoonist. She was an early participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the first women in the movement. She co-produced the 1970 underground comic It Ain't Me, Babe, which was the first comic book entirely created by women. She co-founded the Wimmen's Comix collective, wrote for Wonder Woman, and produced adaptations of Dope and The Silver Metal Lover. She was inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame in 2013 and received Eisner Awards in 2017 and 2021. FROM GIRLS TO GRRRLZ is a history of female comics from the teens to the zines. It is a colorful and hilarious tribute to the artists, authors, and characters who have been entertaining women of all ages for years. Since 1941, they have all come to life in the pages of girl comics. Covering Katy Keen and her fabulous fashions, the musical mischief of Josie and the Pussycats, the hatchet-wielding Hothead Paisan, and much more! This art-packed compendium chronicles more than fifty years of authors, artists, trends, and characters of girl comics and is illustrated with a ton of rare comic-book art pulled from the best of the best.

144 pages, Paperback

About the author

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. Her first comics were printed in the East Village Other. She later joined the staff of a feminist underground newspaper It Ain't Me, Babe, with whom she produced the first all-woman comic book titled It Ain't Me Babe. She became increasingly involved in creating outlets for and promoting female comics artists, through projects such as the comics anthology Wimmen's Comix. She was also the penciller on Wonder Woman for a time in the '80s.

Trina has worked on an adaptation of Sax Rohmer's Dope for Eclipse Comics and GoGirl with artist Anne Timmons for Image Comics.

Trina designed Vampirella's costume for Forrest Ackerman and Jim Warren.

In addition to her comics work, Robbins is an author of non-fiction books, including several with an emphasis on the history of women in cartooning.

She is the first of the three "Ladies of the Canyon" in Joni Mitchell's classic song from the album of the same name.

Trina Robbins won a Special Achievement Award from the San Diego Comic Con in 1989 for her work on Strip AIDS U.S.A., a benefit book that she co-edited with Bill Sienkiewicz and Robert Triptow.

Reviews

[Henny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good frocking book/magazine. The layout of it all and the use of words are amazing. I love how the author has expressed the sudden change from the 80s through the 90s using the word girl as a key word!