The societal changes of the 1960s sparked major shifts in art, politics, and culture. Among these issues were comics and comic artists. These artists, such as Robert Crumb, Harvey Kurtzman, and Art Spiegelman, strayed away from mainstream comics and experimented with more controversial and personal subjects. Henceforth, they used the name “Comix” to hint at their X-rated themes (Jacobs, 2016). This new wave of underground comix was largely male-dominated. By the 1970s, women artists started carving out their own space within the movement, starting publications like Wimmen’s Comix which focuses on topics such as sexuality, politics, and women’s liberation. Wimmen’s Comix showed that underground publishing could challenge mainstream media and male-dominated underground comix by allowing women to tell their own stories, draw their own images, and control their own representation.
Before Wimmen’s Comix was established, women were already using alternative publications such as It Ain’t Me Babe by Trina Robbins, the creator of the first lesbian comix. (Jacobs 2016). These publications helped create a space where women could turn their experiences into both political and artistic expression, eventually contributing to the creation of Wimmen’s Comix in 1972. After publishing a few more comix titled Girl Fight and All Girl Thrills, Trina Robbins eventually joined Patricia Moodian, an early contributor to the women’s underground comix scene, in the female-driven Wimmen’s Comix collective. One unique aspect of Wimmen’s Comix was that it wasn't controlled by a single permanent editor. Moodian states, “I explained to the publisher that I wanted to see a different woman be editor (of every subsequent issue) after I moved on to the other things I wanted to do with my life” (Doherty, 2022).
The cover of Wimmen’s Comix #4 utilizes humor and imagery to challenge traditional representation of women. The cover of the issue features a woman with long black hair wearing a pink dress and cone hat, indicating her as a princess in a fairy-tale. The woman is surrounded by frogs and lily pads with a factory in the background named “FROGGIE FOODS.” The bright yellow typography and the saturated colors draw the viewer’s attention as well as setting a playful tone. The use of the fairy-tale setting is particularly significant because it plays with the familiar idea of a woman waiting for a prince. However, the woman in the comic humorously questions the idea of women needing a man in their life or being defined by romantic relationships by stating, “Can’t see turning a perfectly good frog into a prince!” as she holds a stressed frog desperately thinking, “Kiss me!” The combination of illustration, typography, and humor show how Wimmen’s Comix used graphic design to not only entertain readers but also challenge traditional gender stereotypes.
Wimmen’s Comix demonstrated what underground comics could represent by showcasing a wide variety of stereotypes and hardships women had to face on a daily basis. It challenged the male-dominated comix scene as well as serving as a voice for women around the world. Even after running for 20 years and including the work of over 100 women, Wimmen’s Comix remains a powerful example of how art and design can serve as a platform and a tool for activism for people to tell their stories and push back on the expectations placed upon them.
