Ladies Making Comics

The Ladies of Paul Gravett’s 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die

Today marks the US release of 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die, edited  by Paul Gravett.  On his website, he lists all the creators represented; discounting those listed only as “Various” or “Others”, I counted 1065 creators.  109 of them, or 10.2% are women.

Now, on the one hand, that is kind of a disappointing percentage.  It is about the same percentage that Tim Hanley’s Gendercrunching usually turns up at Marvel and DC per month.  On the other hand, it is higher than the usual representation of women in lists and events such as the “Masters of American Comics”, which has 0% women.

Also, this is a very good list.  Gravett’s research team reached all over the world, and there are representations from every inhabited continent; the women alone come from the US, Japan, India, the UK, Cote d’Ivoire, France, Canada, South Korea, Iran, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Australia, Spain, Hungary, and Finland (and I may have missed a few)

I am pleased to see such personal favorites as Trots and Bonnie by Shary Flenniken, Kari by Amruta Patil, and Skim by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki.  Unfortunately, the works of Lily Renee are nowhere to be found, but I will chalk that up to the lack of a discrete collection of her work, an omission soon to be rectified by Trina Robbins ;) And on the male side, Craig Thompson’s Habibi made it just under the wire!

I did manage to sweet-talk a review copy from the publisher, and while I haven’t gotten a chance to do much more than skim it, overall I am very pleased with what I see.  It is a solid list, and I plan on analyzing not just what is said about the work by women creators, but also evaluating the overall artistic ethos that qualified any book to be included.  To see the list of works and their female creators (male collaborators were omitted because I’m lazy) they’re below the cut, along with Amazon (US) links where available.  I tried to be sure they’re all in English, but I’m sure some voix originale got through.

1. La Perdida by Jessica Abel 
2. Aya of Yopougon by Marguerite Abouet
3. Madman by Laura Allred
4. Yorahop by Ancco (Choi Gyeong-jin)
5. Happy Mania by Moyoko Anno
6. From Eroica with Love by Yasuko Aoike
7. Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa
8. Swan by Kyoko Ariyoshi
9. One! Hundred! Demons! and What It Is by Lynda Barry
10. Dykes to Watch Out For and Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
11. Lucky by Gabrielle Bell
12. Britten & Brülightly by Hannah Berry
13. Our Cancer Year by Joyce Brabner
14. Agrippine and Frustration by Claire Bretécher
15. Brinkley Girls by Nell Brinkley
16. Tiffany Jones by Jenny Butterworth
17. Sky Doll by Barbara Canepa
18. Patty’s World by Purita Campos
19. Kiki de Montparnasse by Catel
20. Theories of Everything by Roz Chast
21. Chobits and xxxHolic by CLAMP (4-woman studio)
22. My New York Diary by Julie Doucet
23. Miss Remarkable & Her Career by Joanna Rubin Dranger
24. Daddy’s Girl by Debbie Dreschler
25. The Bellybuttons by Dubuc (Maryse)
26. Ally Sloper by Marie Duval
27. Special Exits by Joyce Farmer
28. W the Whore by Anke Feuchtenberger
29. Trots and Bonnie by Shary Flenniken
30. Lost Girls by Melinda Gebbie
31. Pastil by Francesca Ghermandi
32. Interiorae by Gabriella Giandelli
33. Diabolik by Angela Giussani
34. Diabolik by Luciana Giussani
35. A Child’s Life and Other Stories by Phoebe Gloeckner
36. Faire Semblant C’est Mentir by Dominique Goblet
37. Y: The Last Man by Pia Guerra
38. Thomas’s Heart by Moto Hagio
39. The Wonderful World Of Sazae-san by Machiko Hasegawa
40. Frances by Joanna Hellgren
41. Candy Candy by Yumiko Igarashi
42. Rose of Versailles by Riyoko Ikeda
43. Moomin by Tove Jansson
44. For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston
45. We Are On Our Own by Miriam Katin
46. Miss Don’t Touch Me by Kerascoët (husband-and-wife team; Marie Pommepuy)
47. Love That Bunch by Aline Kominsky-Crumb
48. Town Of Evening Calm, Country Of Cherry Blossoms by Fumiyo Kōno
49. Stalin’s Spy In Tokyo by Isabel Kreitz
50. Now, Endsville by Carol Lay (also for Kindle)
51. Starstruck by Elaine Lee
52. Fluffy by Simone Lia
53. Today Is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life by Ulli Lust
54. Temperance by Cathy Malkasian
55. Dobeki Bride by Marley
56. Louis by Sandra Marrs
57. Necron by Mirka Martini
58. Finder by Carla Speed McNeil
59. Castle Waiting by Linda Medley
60. Brenda Starr, Reporter by Dale Messick
61. Miss Fury by Tarpe Mills
62. Mask of Glass by Suzue Miuchi
63. Candy Candy by Kyoko Mizuki
64. Pure Trance by Junko Mizuno
65. Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan
66. Odile & The Crocodiles by Chantal Monteiller
67. Blue by Kiriko Nananan
68. Nodame Cantabile by Tomoko Ninomiya
69. Didi Glitz by Diane Noomin
70. Onmyoji by Reiko Okano
71. Citizen 13660 by Miné Okubo
72. Ristorante Paradiso by Natsume Ono
73. Torchy In Heartbeats by Jackie Ormes
74. The Star of Cottonland by Yumiko Ōshima
75. Hotel Africa by Hee Jung Park
76. Mopsy by Gladys Parker
77. Kari by Amruta Patil
78. Elfquest by Wendy Pini
79. Life? Or Theater? by Charlotte Salomon
80. The Impostor’s Daughter by Laurie Sandell
81. Persepolis and Chicken with Plums by Marjane Satrapi
82. Likewise by Ariel Schrag
83. Dori Stories by Dori Seda
84. Gemma Bovery, Mrs Weber’s Diary, and Tamara Drewe by Posy Simmonds
85. A Hundred Tales by Hinako Sugiura
86. Giraffes In My Hair by Carol Swain
87. Lum and Maison Ikkoku by Rumiko Takahashi
88. Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya
89. Song Of The Wind & Trees by Keiko Takemiya
90. Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi
91. Skim by Jillian Tamaki
92. Skim by Mariko Tamaki
93. Tiffany Jones by Pat Tourret
94. Rupert The Bear by Mary Tourtel (UK link)
95. You’ll Never Know: A Good & Decent Man by Carol Tyler
96. We Are Reproducing by Shungicu Uchida
97. Honey & Clover by Chica Umino
98. Mushishi by Yuki Urushibara
99. Aitienpäivä by Amanda Vähämäki
100. Dance By The Light Of The Moon by Judith Vanistendael
101. The Building Opposite by Vanyda
102. 300 and Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again by Lynn Varley
103. Homo Metropolis by Nikoline Werdelin
104. Omaha The Cat Dancer by Kate Worley
105. Emperor Of The Land Of The Rising Sun by Ryoko Yamagishi
106. Forget Sorrow: An Ancestral Tale by Belle Yang
107. Nana by Ai Yazawa
108. Banana Fish by Akimi Yoshida
109. Ooku: The Inner Chambers by Fumi Yoshinaga