Trina Robbins (néePerlson; August 17, 1938 – April 10, 2024) was an American cartoonist. She was an early participant in theunderground comix movement, and one of the first women in the movement. She co-produced the 1970 underground comicIt Ain't Me, Babe, which was the first comic book entirely created by women. She co-founded theWimmen's Comix collective, wrote forWonder Woman, and produced adaptations ofDope andThe Silver Metal Lover. She was inducted into theWill Eisner Hall of Fame in 2013 and receivedEisner Awards in 2017 and 2021.
As a scholar and historian, Robbins researched the history ofwomen in cartooning. She wrote several nonfiction books includingWomen and the Comics (1985),A Century of Women Cartoonists (1993),The Great Women Superheroes (1996),From Girls to Grrrlz (1999),Pretty In Ink (2013), andFlapper Queens: Women Cartoonists of the Jazz Age (2020). She co-founded the organizationFriends of Lulu in 1993.
Early life and education
Trina Perlson was born on August 17, 1938, inBrooklyn, New York City,[1] to Jewish immigrants originally fromBelarus.[2] Her mother was an elementary school teacher. Her father Max B. Perlson was a tailor who also wrote for Yiddish-language newspapers; his short stories were collected and published in book form in 1938.[3][4] She grew up inSouth Ozone Park, Queens,[5] and held an early fascination with comic book heroines, especiallySheena, Queen of the Jungle. As a teenager, she attended science fiction fan conventions.[2]
Robbins attendedQueens College in New York, and dropped out. She then attendedCooper Union for a year, where she studied drawing. She moved to California in 1960, settling in Los Angeles. There she attempted to start a career in the movies, including by appearing nude[5][2] in men's magazines such asRogue.[6] She returned to New York in 1966 and lived in Manhattan'sEast Village, where she worked as a stylist and ran a clothing boutique called "Broccoli". In the late 1960s, she designed clothes forMama Cass,Donovan,David Crosby, among others.[7] She was intimately involved in the 1960s rock scene, where she was close friends withJim Morrison and members ofThe Byrds. Robbins was the first of the three "Ladies of the Canyon" inJoni Mitchell's classic song from the album of thesame name.[8]
Robbins left New York forSan Francisco in 1970, and worked at the feministunderground newspaperIt Ain't Me, Babe. The same year, she produced the first all-woman comic book, theone-shotIt Ain't Me, Babe Comix with fellow female artistBarbara "Willy" Mendes. The book is a feminist satire on gender stereotypes in comics.[13][14][15] Robbins became involved in creating outlets for and promoting female comics artists, through projects such as thecomics anthologyWimmen's Comix, with which she was involved for twenty years.Wimmen's Comix #1 featured Robbins' "Sandy Comes Out", the first comic strip featuring an "out"lesbian.[16][17] During this time, Robbins also became a contributor to the San Francisco-based underground paperGood Times, along with art directorHarry Driggs andGuy Colwell.[18]
Robbins spoke out against themisogyny and "boy's club" of comics creators, criticizing underground comix artistRobert Crumb for the perceived misogyny of many of his comics, saying, "It's weird to me how willing people are to overlook the hideous darkness in Crumb's work ... What the hell is funny about rape and murder?"[19]
In 2000 Robbins introducedGoGirl! — stories about a second generation teen superhero with the power to fly, designed to appeal to young girls. Robbins wrote the stories, with Anne Timmons providing the bulk of the art. The series ran for five issues withImage Comics, and then was picked up byDark Horse Comics, with the final issue coming out in 2006.[24]
In 2010, she began writing comic adventures of the woman detective characterHoney West for a series published byMoonstone Books.[25]
Wonder Woman
Robbins' official involvement withWonder Woman began in 1986. At the conclusion of the first volume of the series (in conjunction with the seriesCrisis on Infinite Earths),DC Comics published a four-issuelimited series titledThe Legend of Wonder Woman, written byKurt Busiek and drawn by Robbins. The series paid homage to the character'sGolden Age roots.[26] She also appeared as herself inWonder Woman Annual 2 (1989).[27]
In the mid-1990s, Robbins criticized artistMike Deodato's "bad girl art" portrayal of Wonder Woman, calling Deodato's version of the character a "barely clothed hypersexualpinup."[28]
In the late 1990s, Robbins collaborated withColleen Doran on theDC Comics graphic novelWonder Woman: The Once and Future Story, on the subject ofspousal abuse.[29]
Writing and activism
In addition to her comics work, Robbins was an author ofnonfiction books on the history of women in cartooning. Her first book, co-written withCatherine Yronwode, wasWomen and the Comics, a history of female comic-strip and comic-book creators. Subsequent Robbins volumes on women in the comics industry includeA Century of Women Cartoonists (Kitchen Sink, 1993),The Great Women Superheroes (Kitchen Sink, 1997),From Girls to Grrrlz: A History of Women's Comics from Teens to Zines (Chronicle, 1999), andThe Great Women Cartoonists (Watson-Guptill, 2001). Her later work includedPretty In Ink, published by Fantagraphics in 2013, which covers the history of North American women in comics dating from Rose O'Neill's 1896 stripThe Old Subscriber Calls. Robbins was a co-founder ofFriends of Lulu,[30] a nonprofit formed in 1994 to promote readership of comic books by women and the participation of women in the comic book industry. Robbins is featured in the feminist history filmShe's Beautiful When She's Angry.[31]
Personal life and death
In 1962, she married Paul Jay Robbins in Los Angeles; they divorced four years later. Robbins also had a daughter with cartoonistKim Deitch.[11] She wrote a memoir entitledLast Girl Standing, released in 2017 byFantagraphics.[11]
Robbins died after a stroke in San Francisco, California, on April 10, 2024, at the age of 85.[32][11] Her partner was artistSteve Leialoha from 1977 until her death.[33]
Awards and recognition
Robbins in 2023Robbins discussing her career in 2016
Robbins was a three-time winner of theLulu of the Year award — in 1997, for her bookThe Great Women Superheroes; in 2000 for her bookFrom Girls to Grrrlz; and in 2001 (along with co-author Anne Timmons) forGo-Girl!.From Girls to Grrrlz also won a 2000Firecracker Alternative Book Award.[38] In 2001, Robbins was inaugurated into theFriends of Lulu Women Cartoonists Hall of Fame.[39] In 2002, Robbins was given the SpecialJohn BuscemaHaxtur Award, a recognition for comics published in Spain.[40] In 2011, Robbins' artwork was exhibited as part of theKoffler Gallery showGraphic Details: Confessional Comics by Jewish Women.[41]
In a 2015 poll, Robbins was ranked #25 among the best female comics creators of all-time.[44]ComicsAlliance listed Robbins as one of twelve women cartoonists deserving of lifetime achievement recognition in 2016.[45] In 2017, Robbins was chosen for the Wizard World Hall of Legends.[46] Robbins' art and art from her collection of the work of women cartoonists was featured in the 2020Society of Illustrators exhibit"Women in Comics: Looking Forward, Looking Back". It was later featured in the"Women in Comics" exhibit at the Palazzo Merulana in Rome, Italy.[47]
^Perlson, Max B. (1938).A minyen yidn un andere zakhn [A Minyen of Jews, and other stuff] (in Yiddish). Brooklyn, N.Y.: Shulsinger Bros Linotyping andPublishing Co.
^Perlson, Max B; Robbins, Trina (2017).A Minyen Yidn (un andere zakhn): A Bunch of Jews (and other stuff). Translated by Hartman, Hershl. Winnipeg, Manitoba: Bedside Press.ISBN978-1977744296.
^Nelson, Ray (Spring 1994)."The Arena"(PDF).Habakkuk.3 (3): 44.Archived(PDF) from the original on November 16, 2022. RetrievedApril 13, 2024.
^abRobbins, Trina."Finding Sanctuary at EVO".nyujournalismprojects.org. East Village Other.Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. RetrievedApril 13, 2024.
^Robbins, Trina.Last Girl Standing (Fantagraphics Books, 2017), pp. 139, 142.
^Sabin, Roger (1996). "Going underground".Comics, Comix & Graphic Novels: A History Of Comic Art. London, United Kingdom: Phaidon Press. p. 92.ISBN0-7148-3008-9.
^Urschel, Donna (November 2002)."Not-So-Comic Books". Library of Congress Information Bulletin.Archived from the original on December 5, 2009. RetrievedApril 14, 2024.
.png)
