Trina Robbins – författare

The art and commentary of Nell Brinkley (1886-1944) ran in American newspapers from 1907 through the 1930s. At the height of her popularity, "The Brinkley Girl" appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies and inspired poems and popular songs. Brinkley's name even sold hair curlers, and her delicate pen work influenced later women cartoonists. As early as 1913, Brinkley was drawing working women, from farm and factory workers to those pursuing careers, using her art to encourage decent pay, pensions, and housing for thousands of young women working for the war effort. This work covers her life and her work, which might upon first glance show pretty girls but on a closer inspection reveals a post-Victorian feminism. It also looks at her rise to popularity, the innocent sexuality of her Brinkley girls, the sugary and sentimental Betty and Billy series, and the beauty of her line drawings.

During the Golden Age of comics, publishers offered titles supporting thewar effort — presenting fighting men and their feminine counterparts— babes in arms! Comic books during this period featured US service-womenfighting all of the axis bad guys and gave several of the most noteworthy womenartists of the era opportunities to create action-packed, adventure-filled,four-color stories. Now for the first time renowned pop-culture historian Trina Robbinsassembles comic book stories by artists Barbara Hall, Jill Elgin, Lilly Renee,and Fran Hopper together with insightful commentary and loads of documentaryextras to create the definitive book chronicling the work of these importantGolden Age artists. This magnificent art book offers page-after-page of goodgirl action!

Hermes Press is coming to slay the fashion industry- with some HERstory! Gladys Parker: A Life in Comics, A Passion for Fashion explores the history behind Mopsy and her creator Gladys Parker! This beautiful book will also provide a rarely seen collection of Mopsy stories and many of Parker’s earlier strips. Cartoonist Gladys Parker was unique in comics. As with Frida Kahlo, it was impossible to tell where her art left off and its creator began. Parker mixed fashion and comics and created classic characters that mimicked her sense of fashion. In fact, Parker was an exact double for her ink-and-paper creation, Mopsy. Tarpe Mills and Dale Messick both dressed to kill and included paper dolls featuring their heroines’ chic 1940s wardrobes. Tarpe Mills and Lily Renee were fashion models before they drew comics. But only Gladys Parker (and one other)* was a fashion designer with a successful line of clothing while at the same time drawing an equally successful comic strip. Parker’s dresses bearing the Gladys Parker label were sold at her own New York shop and at high-end department stores across the country – and she also found the time to costume Hollywood movies and the beauties that starred in them! Who better to chronicle the story of Gladys Parker than comics herstorian Trina Robbins, who in the 1960s designed clothes for hippies and rock stars out of her East Village boutique, while drawing underground comix?