Her creationPatsy Walker would become the superheroineHellcat in 1976, but Ruth Atkinson was drawing Hellcats long before then. FromWings Comics #45 (Nov. 1944).
Born inToronto, Ontario, Canada, Ruth Atkinson as an infant moved with her family toupstate New York.[4]
One of the first female artists inAmerican comic books, she entered the field doing work for the publisherFiction House beginning either 1942 or 1943, and either on staff[7] or, as noted by theConnecticut Historical Society, through theIger Studio, acomic book packager that produced comics for publishers on an outsource basis.[8] Fellow female artistsFran Hopper,Lily Renée, andMarcia Snyder also worked for Iger, where one of the business partners was a woman,Ruth Roche.[9] Atkinson's first confirmed, signed work is the single-page "Wing Tips" featurette inWings Comics #42 (Feb. 1944).[4]
Atkinson continued topencil andink that airplane-profile featurette, as well such Fiction House features as "Clipper Kirk" and "Suicide Smith" inWings Comics, "Tabu" inJungle Comics, and "Sea Devil" inRangers Comics. At some point, she became the Fiction Houseart director, but left the position to freelance after finding that the managerial position left little time for her art.[1]
With writerOtto Binder, she went on to draw and co-create the feature "Patsy Walker", forMarvel Comics predecessorTimely Comics inMiss America Magazine #2 (Nov. 1944).[10] She would draw that humor/romance feature for two years, as well write and draw the premiere issue of the long-running seriesMillie the Model.[11]
^There is some dispute as to Atkinson's date of death, with theInk Blots column of the Comic Artists Professional Society monthly newsletter[1] andComics Buyer's Guide[2] giving the date as June 1, 1997.Lambiek Comiclopedia[3] andThe Comics Journal,[4] however, both give the date of death as May 31, 1997. Finally, Atkinson'sSocial Security Death Index entry gives a date of June 15, 1997, and states verification came per a family member or someone acting on behalf of a family member, rather than an observed death certificate. Family members sometimes inadvertently submit filing dates or burial dates.[5]
^abMcGeehan, Ed (October 3, 1997)."Ink Blots (column)". Comic Artists Professional Society monthly newsletter. Archived fromthe original on May 9, 2008 – via "Cartoon News and Views" (column; ed.Daryl Cagle),MSNBC.com.
^ab"The Gentleman of Comics: Murphy Anderson".Sequential Tart. Interviewed by Laurie J. Anderson. December 2001. Archived fromthe original on February 9, 2007.Ruth Atkinson was an artist who worked there. Her brother happened to be a very prominent jockey; he was one of the top jockeys in the country at the time.
^Dowsett, Elizabeth, ed. (2008). "Millie the Model debuts".Marvel Chronicle.Dorling Kindersley. p. 31.ISBN978-0756641238.Millie the Model was created by cartoonist Ruth Atkinson, who drew the stories in the first issue.Mike Sekowsky ... took over as principalMillie the Model artist after the first issue)
