FROM GIRLS TO GRRRLZ ING: A History of Women's Comics from Teens to Zines - Softcover

Trina Robbins's chronicle of women in comics gives present and future women cartoonists powerful ammunition to keep creating girls, grrrlz, Girls! Guerrilla Girls Reviews from: ELLE SF BAY GUARDIAN LOS ANGELES TIMES Female Funnies It's a long way from Betty and Veronica to Slutberger, but veteran cartoonist Trina Robbins scans a half-century of comics for female readers with zest and aplomb in from Girls to Grrrlz, a lively history whose decidedly feminist sensibility does not preclude sardonic affection for the kitschy romance comic books so popular in the 1950s. By the '60s even Marvel's spunky Patsy Walker had become a soap-opera heroine, who "spent much of that decade in tears." Literary Supplement by J. Tarin Towers Once upon a time, every third periodical bought in this country was a comic book. Even if that doesn't surprise you, you may not know that at comics' mid-century heyday, girls bought most of them, or that more comics about you girls were produced than about superheroes or monsters. From Girls to Grrrlz: A History of Female Comics from Teens to Zines, Trina Robbins' meticulously researched history of comic books written for girls and women, is filled with such lore not just about who was buying comics but also about who was starring in them. What's delightful about Robbins' opinioned history aside from the gorgeous design and tasty art is that it begins in 1941 with Archie, the now 58-year old teenager. Using examples from '40s to the present day, Robbins applauds little-girl heroines, such as Little Lulu, and smirks at strange role models like Tessi the Typist. Robbins's smart and zingy narrative guides us through the ups and downs of girl-centered comics from fashion model and paper doll comics to "true romance" tales. It's fascinating stuff, and if you're not already a comic-book hound, you may be tempted to become one. Before comix got all high falutin' and renamed themselves "graphic novels," there was a posse of to-be-reckoned-with women rattling around the scene, giving the Marvel superheroes a run for their money. To be sure they've spanned the gamut from pro-to-punk Nancy with the porcupine hair to the ever-conspiring Veronica with their Bettie page 'do, so dense and deep blue-black that it looked like the India ink had leaked from pen to page. From movie-star-cum-paper-doll Katy Keene to the hyper-real ennui of Love and Rockets, Trina Robbins' From Girls to Grrrlz is a savvy survey of comic book history, many for girls by girls, or nowadays by wimmin for wimmin. Robbins has 30 years in the trenches as writer/cartoonist. She penned the first all-women comic book, "It Ain't Me Babe," and traveled through both the mainstream and underground art worlds. That up-close knowledge informs the book. "With all the wonderful girl comics out there, one would think that women and girls of all ages have all the comics they could want...This could not be further from the truth," writes Robbins. "Women make up 52% of the population, and they like to read comics, if publishers would only produce [them]."

Boys aren''t the only ones to 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.'