This Day in Comic Book History: July 8
This Day in Comic Book History: July 8
July 8 is an opportunity to celebrate the women who have shaped comic book history — the writers, artists, colorists, letterers, and editors whose contributions to the medium have been historically underrecognized and are increasingly being given their rightful place in the story of comics.
Women in Comics: A History of Breaking Barriers
Women Who Made Comics History
Dale Messick · Tarpé Mills · Marie Severin · Louise Simonson · Ann Nocenti · The women who built the medium
The history of women in comics is a history of persistent creativity in the face of institutional resistance. Dale Messick created Brenda Starr (1940) while hiding her gender from skeptical male editors. Tarpé Mills created Miss Fury in 1941 — the first female superhero drawn by a woman. Marie Severin became one of Marvel's most versatile and beloved artists and editors in the 1960s and 1970s. Louise Simonson and Ann Nocenti built defining runs on Marvel's flagship titles in the 1980s. The story of comics cannot be told without the women who wrote, drew, colored, and edited its most important pages.
The Modern Renaissance of Women in Comics
Today's Women Comics Creators
Kelly Sue DeConnick · G. Willow Wilson · Marjorie Liu · Noelle Stevenson · The generation remaking mainstream comics
The 2010s brought an unprecedented wave of women creators to the forefront of mainstream comics. Kelly Sue DeConnick's Captain Marvel and Pretty Deadly demonstrated that female-led stories could anchor major franchises. G. Willow Wilson's Ms. Marvel created Kamala Khan and proved that new diverse characters could become genuine fan favorites. Noelle Stevenson's Nimona bridged the gap between webcomics and graphic novels. Marjorie Liu's Monstress won multiple Eisner Awards. The modern era of women in comics is a renaissance.
Wonder Woman: The First and Greatest Female Superhero
Wonder Woman's Legacy
Created by William Moulton Marston and H.G. Peter · Debuted December 1941 · DC's most important female character · Feminist icon
Wonder Woman, created by psychologist William Moulton Marston with significant input from his wife Elizabeth Holloway Marston and partner Olive Byrne, debuted in December 1941 and immediately became DC's most important female character. Marston explicitly intended Diana to model a new kind of power — strength through love and compassion rather than violence and domination — and the character has been interpreted and reinterpreted by generations of creative teams ever since. She remains the most enduring female superhero in comics history.
🏆 Top 10 Essential Comics by Women or Featuring Women Heroes
- Ms. Marvel #1 (Vol. 3) (April 2014) — G. Willow Wilson's landmark Kamala Khan series; the first Muslim character to headline a Marvel title, co-created by Sana Amanat.
- Wonder Woman #1 (Summer 1942) — Diana Prince's first solo series; created by William Moulton Marston as an explicit feminist icon.
- Monstress #1 (November 2015) — Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda's stunning dark fantasy; multiple Eisner Award winner and one of the most beautiful comics of its era.
- Saga #1 (March 2012) — Fiona Staples' art is half of what makes this the best ongoing series of its decade; one of comics' great artistic partnerships.
- Pretty Deadly #1 (October 2013) — Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Rios' mythic Western; one of the most visually distinctive creator-owned comics of the 2010s.
- Nimona (2015, HarperCollins) — Noelle Stevenson's graphic novel about a shapeshifting sidekick; began as a webcomic and became a critical sensation and animated film.
- Birds of Prey #1 (January 1999) — Chuck Dixon's launch of the Oracle and Black Canary team; later written memorably by Gail Simone, who made it the definitive female superhero team book.
- Brenda Starr, Reporter (1940 debut) — Dale Messick's barrier-breaking strip; the first major female-created comic strip heroine in American newspapers.
- Miss Fury #1 (Spring 1942) — Tarpé Mills' landmark; the first female superhero created and drawn by a woman in American comics history.
- Batgirl #1 (2011) — Gail Simone's New 52 Batgirl; her compassionate, thoughtful take on Barbara Gordon set the template for character-driven DC superhero comics.
Find women-created and women-led comics at Epic Panels Comics!