Encyclopedia of Women in Comics

Abel, Jessica (1969 - )

American Comic book artist and writer

Abel is the creator of such works as Life Sucks, Drawing Words & Writing Pictures, Soundtrack, La Perdida, Mirror, Window, Radio: An Illustrated Guide (with collaborator Ira Glass), and the omnibus series Artbabe.

Abel become a pioneer of the alternative comics genre with her xine Artbabe (1992), a series of individual non-fiction stories that told the story of native Chicagoans like herself, hand-crafted and published by her.

To learn more about all of Abel's career, please follow this link https://jessicaabel.com to her website.

Abouet, Marguerite (1970 - )

Ivorian-French writer of bandes dessinées

Creator of the graphic novel series Aya, which utilized the author's childhood memories of Africa's Ivory coast during the 1970s. The Aya books have sold over 200,000 copies in France and over 10,000 copies in the U.S. and have been translated in over 15 languages.

Aya's character designs feature diversity that helps enhance the world that Abouet is trying to share. The design choices Abouet chooses showcases the the broad breadth African cultures through its diversity through hairstyles, clothing, and facial expressions. The story is not told through a filter that explains the meaning behind every cultural aspect of the story and allows the reader to do their own research

She was influenced to create a graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, the author of Persepolis.

Ahina, Napua

Hawaiian comic book writer, editor and water color artist

Napua Ahina has 15 years of experience in graphic design and web development and is the comic creator of the 20 page full color comic Mysterious Things #1, illustrated by Justin Ayers. It contains 17 story pages and 3 pages of bonus art! The main characters are all strong females, and the content is safe for older children and teens.

The comic is about Tempest Jinn who is a genie and an ancient war hero. Thousands of years ago she had to make the terrible choice between saving the world or saving her family. She decided to save the world... and she's been struggling under the weight of her decision ever since. But now that she's been resurrected into the modern world, will she seek vengeance? Or will she reclaim her destiny?

She is currently coloring Pineapple Man's new graphic novel Old School Lock Up, does collaborative work with the Hawaiian Comic Book Alliance, provides flat colors for an award-winning comic series, and was recently picked up by a small publisher on the mainland.

Albright, Nina Dorothy (1907-1997)

American Comic Book Artist

Nina Dorothy Albright was a comic book artist for nine years during the Golden Age of Comic Books. She was one of the few women illustrating and writing comic books during this period.

Her prolific career includes working for Packager Jerry Iger, Majestic Studios, Funnies Inc., L. B. Cole, Bernard Baily, Novelty Press, Archie Publications, St. John Publications, Ziff-Davis and Fiction House just to name a few. Upon the last publisher, Albright was hired along with other female comic book artists such as Lily Renée and Fran Hopper to replace male artists sent off to fight in World War II in 1940.

She is also the uncredited creator of Commandette, a heroine featured in Star-Studded #1. At Holyoke Publishing, she worked on Miss Victory.

Albritton-Layton, Morgan

American comic book shop owner

Morgan Albritton Lawson is the founder and owner of Morgan's Comics, the first and only female owned comic and collector's shop in Western North Carolina and was established in Asheville, North Carolina in 2015.

In her own words, "What we offer grows and changes with the beating heart that is our clientele. As new nerd folks suggest different items we should carry our variety increases. We started with new and old comics, trade paperback books, vinyl records, t-shirts, hats, board games, video games, and consoles. Seven years later, we also carry a wide array of trading card and role-playing game merchandise, kids' books, manga, action figures (loose and in box), plushies, mystery boxes, jewelry, and statues."

To hear more about Morgan's story and to check out her online store, please head to this link https://www.morganscomics.com.

Amanat, Sana (1982 - )

American comic book editor and executive

Amanat is known for co-creating Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel in 2014, with G. Willow Wison, the first Muslim-American superhero with a solo Marvel Comics series. She has worked on comic titles such as Captain Marvel, Hawkeye, Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man, and Ms. Marvel.

Amanat began her career at Marvel in 2009, becoming an executive of production and development at Marvel Studios since mid-2019 having formerly been the Director of Content and Character Development at Marvel Comics since February 2015.

Since 2014, Amanat has co-hosted the "Women of Marvel" podcast; by 2020, the podcast has released over 200 episodes. Additionally, in 2015, Amanat has been running the annual Women of Marvel panel at Comic-Cons like Comic Con International (formerly San Diego Comic Con) and NYCC. Throughout her career, she has worked to make Marvel characters more diverse.

Amano, Akira 天野明 (1973)

Japanese mangaka

Amano is best known for her shōnen series Katekyō Hitman Reborn! (known as REBORN! for the American release)

Early versions of Reborn! were published in seinen manga magazines. In late 2003, the series, a stand-alone short story at the time, was published in the Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine. After the success of the short story, the series began serialization in the magazine in mid-2004. Since then, the manga has been adapted into an anime, as well as five light novels and several video games. On Nikkei Entertainment's list of most successful manga artists, she ranked 12th.

Anno, Moyoco 安野モヨコ (1971 - )

Japanese mangaka and fashion writer

Her work Sugar Sugar Rune won the Kodansha manga award for children in 2005. Anno is married to director Hideaki Anno of Neon Genesis Evangelion fame. Anno has aspired to being a manga artist since her third year at elementary school.

Anno draws inspiration from the fashion world, and her work is noted for its detail which gives it a broader appeal than just the demographic it is aimed for. She delves into the psychology of her characters. Her manga and books have attained considerable popularity among young women in Japan. Though she primarily writes manga of the josei demographic, her most popular series, Sugar Sugar Rune, (serialized in Nakayoshi) is targeted at primary school-aged girls. In a recent Oricon poll, she was voted the number eight most popular manga artist among females and thirteen in the general category. Her manga Happy Mania was made into a television series in 1998, followed by Hataraki Man in October 2007. Sakuran was made into a movie in 2006. More than 3 million copies were sold of Happy Mania.

Allred, Laura (1962 - )

American comic book colorist

Allred is best known for her work as a colorist with her husband, the writer/artist Mike Allred.

She began working in the comic book industry in 1989, coloring her husband's Graphique Musique title for the publisher Slave Labor Graphics. She has worked primarily on works with her husband Mike Allred since, including X-Statix and Madman.

Arakawa, Hiromu 荒川弘 (1973 - )

Japanese mangaka

Hiromu is best known for the manga series Fullmetal Alchemist (2001–2010), which became a hit both domestically and internationally, and was adapted into two anime television series. She is also known for Silver Spoon (2011–2019) and the manga adaptation of The Heroic Legend of Arslan novels.

Full Metal Alchemist is celebrated for challenging gender stereotypes in the manga industry by creating compelling shonen manga with complex, mature themes, and strong female characters, and has garnered international acclaim through its multiple anime adaptations and a 64 million+ worldwide sales volume.

The manga was a critical and commercial success, earning the prestigious Annual Shogakugan Manga Award in 2003.

Armanini, Ivana (1970 - )

Croatian comic artist, illustrator and editor

Ivana Armanini is the founder and artistic director of Komikaze (2002—), an international platform for authorial and experimental comics. Komikaze publishes a quarterly online zine and an annual print edition, gathering over 400 artists from more than 70 countries. The project has received international recognition, including an award at the Angoulême International Comics Festival, and functions as a free online library/museum of contemporary indie comics. You can find all the information here https://komikaze.hr

Ivana Armanini's work blends punk minimalism, feminist perspective and a highly experimental visual language. Her comics use reduced lines, sharp black–white contrasts, fragmented composition and rhythmic, non-linear storytelling, creating an intuitive and symbolic visual world shaped by 30+ years of professional artistic practice.

Armanini completed the School of Applied Arts & Design and the Academy of Fine Arts, Zagreb (Mag. Art., Rector’s Award). Her status as a senior professional artist has been officially confirmed by the Croatian Ministry of Culture.

She has published 11 solo comic books, art books and zines, including: Adventures of Gloria Scott (2005), Katalog (2016), FMCX; Mangelos / Comic Book (2017), She Must Be Mad; Blue Concertina (2018), Nini Zine (2019), Alice in Waterland (2020; 2025), BOTS (2021), Zero Zine (2022), LOVE, RESIST ETC (2023).

Her comic mangelos: comments was the first comic work exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) Zagreb, within the collection In Motion (2017–2019).

The Croatian Ministry of Culture has acquired three of her books for the national network of public libraries: LOVE, RESIST ETC (2023), Mangelos / Comic Book (2018), Adventures of Gloria Scott (2006).

Armanini also initiated Femicomix, a collaborative project highlighting female authors and feminist approaches in contemporary comics.

Her work has been published, exhibited and awarded internationally. She is a member of the Croatian Freelance Artists Association, Women Who Draw, and EVOKE, a global community of optimists hosted by Melinda French Gates.

To learn more about Armanini's powerful work, please head to the link https://ivanaarmanini.net to her official website.

Asselin, Janelle (1983 - )

former American comic book writer, artist, and editor.

Janelle Siegel is best known for creating the now-defunct publishing company Rosy Press, in which she worked to revive the genre of romance comics. The company's flagship anthology series, Fresh Romance, was funded via a successful Kickstarter campaign and was released digitally on May 2015 before receiving a print release by Oni Press in 2016.

Asselin began working for Newsarama as a pop culture reviewer and eventually moved to Fangoria Graphix, where she performed various tasks such as proofreading and designing layout. After leaving Fangoria Graphix, Asselin worked as a line editor and briefly returned to Newsarama before gaining employment with DC Comics in 2008. While at DC Comics, Asselin worked on titles such as Batman, Batgirl, and Birds of Prey before leaving to work for Disney Publishing in 2011.

Asselin created 12 Women Who Deserve Lifetime Achievement Recognition and Hire This Woman while writing for ComicsAlliance, and was for a time, its Senior Editor. "Hire This Woman" featured a female comic artist or writer in order to help promote talented women in the comic industry and included women that were up-and-coming newcomers, along with more experienced women in the comic industry. It appeared on the site for about a year and half from late 2013 to around April 2015.

To learn more about Janelle Asselin, please follow the link https://janelleasselin.com/ to Janelle's official website.

Atkinson, Ruth (1918-1997)

American cartoonist and comic book writer/artist/inker

One of the pioneering women cartoonists in comics, Atkinson created the Marvel Comics character Millie the Model (1945-1973) and co-created Patsy Walker with Otto Binder.

She is one of the first female artists in American comic books, who entered the field doing work for publisher Fiction House and, at one point, was the publisher's Art Director for a short time.

Ruth Atkinson was one of the many female comic artists who worked for publisher Fiction House. Atkinson penciled and inked such features as Clipper Kirk, Skull Squad, Suicide Smith and the single-page, airplane feature Wing Tips in Wings Comics, Tabu in Jungle Comics, and Sea Devil in Rangers Comics. In Wing Comics, Atkinson also continued Jane Martin, a series created by Nick Cardy and later drawn by Lily Renée.

Atkinson later drew for some of the first romance comics, including Lev Gleason Publications' Boy Meets Girl and Lover's Lane, through the early 1950s. She left the comics field to get married and have children.

Avery, Fiona Kai (1974 - )

American comic book and television writer

Avery was hired as a reference editor for the fifth season of American television show Babylon 5 and later continued in that role for the spin-off show Crusade. Avery contributed several scripts for the series, including "The Well of Forever" and "Patterns of the Soul", as well as the unfilmed "Value Judgements" and "Tried and True".

Following the cancellation of Crusade, Avery turned to comic book writing, working for Marvel on titles The Amazing Spider-Man, where she created the character Araña, and Icons: Rogue (2001).

Avery was also one of the main writers working for Top Cow with her most praised work being No Honor (2002). Other works with the company include Witchblade: Obakemono (2002), Rising Stars: Bright (2003), Rising Stars: Voices of the Dead (2005), and Rising Stars: Untouchable (2006).

Awano, Érica

Japanese-Brazilian comic artist

Awano has been called by many 'the best Brazilian manga artist' and is known for her illustration work on the Complete Alice in Wonderland (2010) and Dragon's Bride (2011) but her most successful and recognized work is Holy Avenger (2012). A spin-off of Tormenta, the comic series lasted for 42 issues and spawned a handful of other projects, including other comics, an audio CD with professional actors playing the characters and an animated series.

Her style is described as being heavily influenced by Japanese manga and is different from traditional manga mainly because of its format.

After graduating from the University of São Paulo in Literature, Awano started her career in 1996 with illustrating Novas Aventuras de Megaman, a digest size comic book based on the Mega Man franchise. She then worked on a limited series based on Street Fighter Zero 3, written by Marcelo Cassaro, and columns on how-to draw for magazines Anime Ex and Animax. She was the co-creator of the mascot of the magazine Anime Do.

She has also illustrated role-playing games books for 3D&T and Tormenta, among others.

the bios were created using public information, if there are any errors, please contact me at leonardbonnano@gmail.com.

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