Editor’s Dispatch: Women’s History Month
March is Women’s History Month, and I figured I’d honor that fact with a little nod to all of our women cartoonists here at King Features. To be honest, it feels a little strange to single them out as “women” cartoonists as opposed to simply “cartoonists.” I’ve actually had this conversation with many of the women we represent, and a common thought seems to be that they would rather be considered special because of the quality of their work, not necessarily the novelty of being a woman in a predominantly male profession.
Certainly gender comes into play when you consider the sensibilities a woman might bring to a particular joke or scenario in a comic strip – but no more than any other distinguishing trait a person might have. For example, I think you’ll find that where a person comes from (the city, the country, etc.) can have as much of an impact on the sensibilities of a comic strip. In my book, they’re all cartoonists, regardless of gender, race, origin – and they’re all pretty great at what they do, doing it their own unique way.
With all of that said, I do believe it’s important to have a diverse set of voices on the comics pages, and at King Features, we are very proud to represent so many female cartoonists – the comics are a better medium because of all of them. Well, without further ado, here’s a complete alphabetical list of all of the women cartoonists King Features represents, along with links to their comics. Go check them out!
Isabella Bannerman – SIX CHIX (Mondays)
Sandra Bell-Lundy – BETWEEN FRIENDS
Benita Epstein – SIX CHIX (Fridays)
Anne Gibbons – SIX CHIX (Thursdays)
Alex Hallatt – ARCTIC CIRCLE
Bunny Hoest – LOCKHORNS (writer)
Patty LaBan – EDGE CITY (co-writer)
Terri Libenson – PAJAMA DIARIES
Susie MacNelly – SHOE (co-writer)
Karen Moy – MARY WORTH (writer)
Rina Piccolo – SIX CHIX (Wednesdays), TINA’S GROOVE
Stephanie Piro – SIX CHIX (Saturdays)
Hilary Price – RHYMES WITH ORANGE
Margaret Shulock – APARTMENT 3G (writer), SIX CHIX (Tuesdays)