Diane Robin Noomin (néeRosenblatt, May 13, 1947 – September 1, 2022) was an Americancomics artist associated with theunderground comics movement. She is best known for her character DiDi Glitz, who addresses transgressive social issues such asfeminism, female masturbation,body image, andmiscarriages.[2][3]
Noomin was the editor of the anthology seriesTwisted Sisters, and published comix stories in many underground titles, includingWimmen's Comix,Young Lust,Arcade, andWeirdo.[4] She also did theatrical work, creating a stage adaptation of DiDi Glitz.
Noomin's first comics work was published in 1973 inWimmen's Comix #2, and soon after had stories inYoung Lust andEl Perfecto. The first DiDi Glitz story, "Restless Reverie", appeared inShort Order Comix #2 (Family Fun, 1974). Noomin's work appeared in all seven issues ofArcade, co-edited byBill Griffith andArt Spiegelman.
In 1975, Noomin andAline Kominsky left theWimmen's Comix collective due to internal conflicts that were both aesthetic and political.[7] Kominsky and Noomin put together a 36-pageone-shot issue ofTwisted Sisters in 1976, published byLast Gasp, which featured their own humorous and "self-deprecating"[8] stories and art.
In 1980, Noomin collaborated withLes Nickelettes, a San Francisco-based women's theater group, to produce amusical comedy based on DiDi Glitz.I'd Rather Be Doing Something Else — The DiDi Glitz Story featured Noomin's costumes and scenery, and sets by Deitch,Paul Mavrides, and Griffith. Acabaret version of the show, titledAnarchy in High Heels, was later performed at New York City'sWestbeth Artists Community.[6]
In 1984, after a ten-year hiatus, Noomin returned to the pages ofWimmen's Comix; her work appeared in almost every issue from that point forward. She was also a regular contributor toWeirdo from 1985–1993 (a period in whichWeirdo was edited by Kominsky-Crumb, whose editorial tenure was informally known as "Twisted Sisters").[9]
In 1991, Noomin edited and put together a 260-page trade paperback anthology which she calledTwisted Sisters: A Collection of Bad Girl Art (Viking Penguin), featuring the work of herself, Kominsky-Crumb, and 13 other female cartoonists, including many formerWimmen's Comix contributors. All the work in the collection had been previously published, most of it in anthologies such asWeirdo andWimmen's Comix.[8] The success of that book led toKitchen Sink Press publishing a four-issueTwisted Sisters Comixlimited series in 1994, also edited by Noomin, with each issue featuring 44 pages of new comics by a number of female contributors. The limited series was subsequently collected in 1995 asTwisted Sisters, vol. 2: Drawing the Line.
Noomin's first, marriage, was to photographer Alan Newman; it lasted four years.[10] Herpen name, "Noomin", was derived from her original married name.[1]
Noomin was long involved with cartoonistBill Griffith, whom she first met at aNew Year's Eve party inSan Francisco in 1972.[11] She and Griffith lived together in San Francisco from 1972 to 1998, first in an apartment on Fair Oaks Street, and then their own house on 25th Street inDiamond Heights.[12] They were married in Las Vegas in 1980.[13] They lived together inHadlyme,Connecticut, where they moved in 1998 after many years in San Francisco.[14]
^Rudick, Nicole."'I Felt Like I Didn’t Have a Baby But At Least I’d Have a Book': A Diane Noomin Interview",The Comics Journal, May 8, 2012. Accessed December 27, 2017. "[Q] How much does her lifestyle resemble that of Canarsie, where you grew up? [A] It wasn't personally similar. I moved to Canarsie when I was twelve, going on thirteen, and I had to learn how to be a teenager in about two weeks because the mores were so different in Brooklyn".
