Wimmen's Comix

''Wimmen's Comix'', later titled ''Wimmin's Comix'', is an influential all-female underground comics anthology published from 1972 to 1992. Though it covered a wide range of genres and subject matters, ''Wimmen's Comix'' focused more than other anthologies of the time on feminist concerns, homosexuality, sex and politics in general, and autobiographical comics. ''Wimmen's Comix'' was a launching pad for many cartoonists' careers, and it inspired other small-press and self-published titles like '' Twisted Sisters'', ''Dyke Shorts'', and ''Dynamite Damsels''.

Each issue of ''Wimmen's Comix'' was edited by a different editor or two editors who shared the job. Last Gasp published the first ten issues; later issues were put out by Renegade Press and then Rip Off Press.

Publication history

Antecedents

''Wimmen's Comix'' debuted a few years after the publication of the 1970 one-shot ''It Ain't Me, Babe'', the first American comic book entirely produced by women, which was put together by Trina Robbins,Johnson, Kjerstin
"Adventures in Feministory: Women's Comics of the '70s and '80s"
''Bitch'' magazine (April 6, 2009). the most prolific and influential of the women cartoonists in the underground scene. ''It Ain't Me Babe'' was a feminist newspaper in Berkeley, California.Robbins, Trina
"Wimmen's Studies"
Comix Grrrlz (May 25, 2010). Accessed Sept. 28, 2010. Many of the creators from the ''It Ain't Me Babe'' comic went on to contribute to ''Wimmen's Comix''. Last Gasp, the publisher of ''It Ain't Me Babe'', was the first publisher of ''Wimmen's Comix''.

The collective comes together

Originally, the group behind ''Wimmen's Comix'' was not an official collective, but rather a few women artists who came together with a common interest to create at least one comic that women could get paid to be in, in a male-dominated comix culture.

Issue #1

With Last Gasp agreeing to publish the comic, the first issue appeared in November 1972, edited by musician and artist Patricia Moodian. Contributors to issue #1 included Moodian, Michele Brand, Lora Fountain, Aline Kominsky, Lee Marrs, Diane Noomin, Sharon Rudahl, Trina Robbins, Shelby Sampson, and Janet Wolfe Stanley. Trina Robbins' story "Sandy Comes Out" was the first comic strip featuring an "out" lesbian.Kaplan, Arie. ''Masters of the Comic Book Universe Revealed!''. Chicago Review Press, 2006 (), p.86. Marrs' story, "All in a Day's Work," epitomizes how a woman's only leverage in a male-dominated society is to utilize her body to negotiate politics.

''Twisted Sisters'' breakaway

In 1975, after four issues of ''Wimmen's Comix'', regular contributors Aline Kominsky-Crumb and Diane Noomin left the collective over internal conflicts which were both aesthetic and political;Williams, Paul. ''The Rise of the American Comics Artist: Creators and Contexts'' (Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2010), p
139
Kominsky-Crumb later claimed that a large part of the break was related to her own romantic relationship with Robert Crumb, whose comics and personality Robbins particularly objected to.Kominsky-Crumb, Aline. (2007). ''Need More Love''. New York: MQ Publications. .

Noomin and Kominksy subsequently put together '' Twisted Sisters'', a one-shot published in June 1976 by Last Gasp which featured their own humorous and "self-deprecating" stories and art.Noomin, Diane.
Wimmen's and Comix"
a transcript of Noomin's presentation at the 2003 UF Comics Conference. Accessed July 26, 2016. (Many years later, many ''Wimmen's Comix contributors, including Kominsky-Crumb, Noomin, Penny Van Horn, Carol Tyler, M. K. Brown, Phoebe Gloeckner, Carol Lay, Caryn Leschen, Leslie Sternbergh, Dori Seda, Mary Fleener, and Krystine Kryttre, were published in ''Twisted Sisters: A Collection of Bad Girl Art'' /nowiki>Viking_Penguin.html" ;"title="Viking_Penguin.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Viking Penguin">/nowiki>Viking Penguin">Viking_Penguin.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Viking Penguin">/nowiki>Viking Penguin/nowiki> and ''Twisted Sisters: Drawing the Line'' [Kitchen Sink Press], both edited by Noomin.)

Publishing hiatus and new publishers

After ''Wimmen's Comix'' issue #7 (Dec. 1976) there was a six-year publishing hiatus before the appearance of issue #8 (Mar. 1983). Last Gasp's final issue was #10 (Oct. 1985), with Renegade Press taking over the title with issue #11 (Apr. 1987). Renegade went out of business in 1988-1989,"Renegade Shuts Down", ''The Comics Journal'' #130 (July 1989), p. 23. but ''Wimmen's Comix'' was saved by Rip Off Press, which published the final four issues, beginning with issue #14 (1989).

''Wimmin's Comix''/cancellation

In 1992, for issue #17, the title of the comic was changed to ''Wimmin's Comix'' following a discussion over the gender politics of words containing "man" or "men" (see womyn). This, and other political conflicts, along with financial difficulties and the increasing availability of other venues for independent female cartoonists, led to the end of the series after that issue. In explaining the reason for the title's cancellation, then-editor Caryn Leschen said:

Issues

Many issues of ''Wimmen's Comix'' were themed issues with their own subtitles.

# (Nov. 1972, Patricia Moodian, ed.)
# (1973, Lee Marrs, ed.)
# (Oct. 1973, Sharon Rudahl, ed.) — "Fun & Games Issue"
# (1974, Shelby Sampson, ed.)
# (June 1975, Trina Robbins and Terry Richards, eds.) — "International"
# (Dec. 1975, Becky Wilson and Barb Brown, eds.) — "Special Bicentennial Issue"
# (Dec. 1976, Melinda Gebbie and Dot Bucher, eds.) — "Outlaws"
# (Mar. 1983, Kathryn LeMieux and Lee Binswanger, eds.) — "The 21st Century Woman"
# (May 1984, Caryn Leschen and Rosemary Dinegar, eds.)
# (Oct. 1985, Joyce Farmer, ed.) — "International Politically Incorrect Fetish Issue"
# (Apr. 1987, Krystine Kryttre and Dori Seda, eds.) — "Fashion Confidential"
# (Nov. 1987, Angela Bocage, ed.) — "Disastrous Relationships"
# (1989, Phoebe Gloeckner and Angela Bocage