Encyclopedia of Women in Comics

Kaalberg, Barbara "Barb" (1959 - )

American comic book colorist, inker and cover artist

A veteran colorist of 35 years in the industry, Kaalberg has been the Chief Financial Officer of Silverline Comics since 2018 and has published her own book Divinity (2025) where she is the creator, inker, colorist, and writer of.

Kaalberg broke into the comics industry as a painter. She was hired by WaRP Graphics in the late 1980's to do a painted backdrop for their convention booth. Kaalberg's first comics job was doing grey washes for Eternity Comics before becoming an inker at Adventure Comics.

Kaalberg worked at Marvel Comics, Image Comics, DC Comics, Malibu Comics, and other major comic book companies throughout the 90's and early 2000's. Kaalberg notably worked on DC Comics Impulse and Primal Force.

Kaalberg worked in the art department on the Nickelodeon series Angry Beavers and also appeared in the 2019 documentary Beyond the Comic Panels.

To learn more about Kaalberg and her career, you can visit these links https://www.deviantart.com/barbkaalberg or https://en.everybodywiki.com/Barb_Kaalberg. To learn about Silverline Comics, please visit the link at https://silverlinecomics.com/

Kaufman, Ruth Lyons

American writer

Kaufman brought on to cover gaps in the writer’s bullpen as talent was drafted overseas to World War II, Ruth Lyons Kaufman wrote only a handful of comic scripts over three months: “Riddle of the Rodeo” in Adventure Comics #84, “Somewhere in the Pacific” in More Fun Comics #90, and “The Grade A Crimes” in Batman #16. Respectively, each of these credits made her the first woman to write Shining Knight, Aquaman and Batman.

Kesel, Barbara Randall (1960 - )

American comic book editor and writer.

Kesel's extensive bibliography includes work for Crossgen, Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, IDW Publishing, Image Comics, and Marvel Comics. Kesel has also always been an outspoken opponent of sexism in the comic book industry and is known for her strong female characters such as Grace, the ruler of the Golden City location in Comics' Greatest World (a 1990 imprint of Dark Horse Comics created by Team CGW, whom Kesel was apart of). She is probably best known for her 28-issue run on Hawk and Dove, introducing Dawn Granger.

Kesel initially entered the comics industry as college student after writing a 10-page letter to editor Dick Giordano regarding the portrayal of female comic book characters, when Giordano then offered her a writing job.

Her career includes being an editor of a hundred different DC Comics (1985) and editor of Dark Horse Comics (1991). writing for Image Comics and Marvel Comics in the second half of the 1990s, and working as an editor and writer for CrossGen from its inception to it's close (2000-2004).

Kesel is also the co-creator of Ultragirl (Suzanna Sherman, or Tsu-Zana) an American comic book superheroine, Leonard Kirk, who first appeared in Ultragirl #1 (November 1996). As one critic described, "She was a clever … modern riff on Supergirl, basically 'What would Supergirl be like if she debuted in the mid-1990s in the Marvel Universe?'.

Kahn, Jenette (1947 - )

American comic book publisher, editor, and president

Publisher of DC Comics (1976-1989), President and Editor-in-Chief of DC Comics (1981-2002). Upon taking office, Jenette Kahn was vital in persuading the head of Warner Publishing in having DC Comics stay open as a publisher of new material instead of maintaining licensing, officially renamed the company DC Comics from National Periodical Publications and changed the company logo to the "DC Bullet".

During her time with DC, Kahn introduced a royalty system that paid the staffed talent bonuses based on sale performances of their titles, brought talented artists from Marvel Comics to work under DC, oversaw the launch of the Vertigo imprint and Milestone Media and the death and rebirth of Superman.

Upon her departure in 2002, almost half the employee staff at DC Comics were all women. She was the first woman to head DC Comics as well as the youngest, renowned for her work in transitioning the comic book medium into one designed for a more adult oriented audience.

Kahn received the Library of Congress Living Legends award in the "Writers and Artists" category in April 2000 for her significant contributions to America's cultural heritage.

Kahn also received an Inkpot Award in 2010.

Kimura, Minori 樹村みのり(1949 - )

Japanese mangaka

Critics and scholars often count Minori among the Year 24 Group, a nebulous group of female artists considered to have revolutionized shōjo manga (Japanese comics for girls) in the 1970s.

She made her professional debut in 1964 at the age of 14 with her short story Picnic (ピクニック, Pikunikku), published by Shueisha in the Spring Break Special issue of Ribon. During her school breaks, Kimura continued writing short stories published in magazines such as COM and Ribon Comic. Her stories' settings throughout the 1960s and early 1970s were varied, including places like Auschwitz, Vietnam, and the slums of Rio de Janeiro. She covered topics interesting to young girls, elaborately drawing out the feelings and motivations of her characters.

After graduating from college, Kimura took a short break from creating manga before returning with Okurimono (贈り物, "Gift"), published by Shogakukan in Bessatsu Shōjo Comic in 1974. The short story discussed the struggles of elementary school life. She later published Nanohana Hatake no Kochiragawa (菜の花畑のこちら側, "This Side of the Rapeseed Blossom Field"), a short story about four young college girls living together. Nanohana caused her to gain wider popularity. From that point, Kimura generally published manga in shōjo (aimed at teenage girls), seinen (aimed at young men), and ladies' comics (aimed at adult women) magazines published by Akita Shoten and Kodansha.

Rachel Thorn, an anthropologist noted for her work on shōjo manga, called Kimura "one of the most brilliant and largely forgotten members of the [Year 24 Group]". Thorn praised her for creating manga with "explicitly social and feminist messages" and for addressing "issues of interest to women, including sexuality, work, and health."

Klein, Patty (1946-2019)

Dutch comic scriptwriter and poet

Dubbed "grande dame of Dutch comics" Klein, whose career spanned over fifty years starting off in 1966, was one of the few people in the Netherlands who wrote comics on a full time basis. She was also the first woman with a full time job in the Dutch comic industry.

Klein has worked with many important comic artists, and wrote stories for nearly every Dutch comic magazine. She is mostly associated with the girls' magazine Tina, for which she has written a great many series since 1973.

Her most famous creation is the clumsy girl 'Noortje', which she created with Jan Steeman. Between 1975 and 2016, it was with its 41 years the longest-running comic strip in the Netherlands made continuously by the same team and remained the sole creative forces behind the feature's success.

Kominsky-Crumb, Aline (1948-2022)

American underground comix artist

A pioneer of autobiographical and feminist comics and a groundbreaking, influential artist in her own right, Kominsky influenced such talents as Gabrielle Bell, Roz Chast, Vanessa Davis, Mimi Pond, Julie Doucet, Ellen Forney, Phoebe Gloeckner, Raquelle Jac, Lauren R. Weinstein and her own daughter, Sophie Crumb. Male cartoonists who cited Kominsky as an inspiration were Peter Bagge, Bill Griffith, Matt Groening, the Hernandez Brothers and Art Spiegelman.

Her self-deprecating and raw style, which combined elements of German Expressionism and influences like Joan Rivers, paved the way for more personal and "tell-all" comics.

One of the first women active in the underground comix movement, Kominsky was a regular contributor to Wimmen's Comix, co-founder of Twisted Sisters (1976, by Last Gasp) and chief editor of Weirdo (1986-1993) which was a comic-sized magazine anthology series created by Kominsky's husband, Robert Crumb in 1981. Featuring cartoonists both new and old, Weirdo served as a "low art" counterpoint to its contemporary highbrow Raw, co-edited by Art Spiegelman.

Krausmann, Virginia (1912-1986)

American comic book artist and cartoonist

Together with Dot Cochran, Ethel Hays, Virginia Huget, Fay King, Gladys Parker and Dorothy Urfer, Krausmann is an early pioneer of female cartooning, gracing newspaper pages of the 1920s and 1930s with the comic exploits of 'Annibelle' and 'Marianne', two sophisticated and witty society girls. known for the versatility of her style, and her work on the comic features 'Annibelle' (1936-1939) and 'Marianne' (1938-1939) for the Newspaper Enterprise Association and was one of the ver few artists working in the early comic book industry.

In March 1936, Krausmann succeeded Dorothy Urfer on the weekly comics feature 'Annibelle', which ran in Everyweek's color section. Krausmann continued the gossip and chit chat between the young, blonde Annibelle and her aristocrat flapper girl friends for another three-and-a-half years, until the strip came to an end on October 15, 1939. From July 1938 until somewhere in 1939, Krausmann also revived the all-female jokebook-style gag strip 'Marianne', which was originally created by Ethel Hays between 1936 and 26 December 1937.

Krigstein, Natalie (1919-1997)

American writer

A prolific writer in the romance comics genre, Krigstein contributed features to Girls’ Love Stories, Girls’ Romances, Secret Hearts, Young Love and Young Romance between 1949 and 1952.

Krmpotich, Patricia 'Zoom Cat'

American writer, colorist, editor, letter and proofreader

Krmpotich is probably best known for her work on My Gal, the Zombie, of which she is the primary collaborator with series creaor Danielle Conner. Patricia also serves as Associate Producer on the web series of the same name.

Some of her other works include Disney Manga’s Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas: Zero’s Journey, Cleopatra in Space, and several works for Archie Comics.

Patricia has lent her expertise to comic shops of all sizes throughout the years. Her reputation stems from her attendance in too many comic conventions to count, where she continuously presents in panels, runs tables for herself and other pro artists, and even interviews industry-acclaimed artists.

To learn more about Zoom Cat's awesome work in the industry, please follow this link https://www.the-zoom-cat.com/ to her official website.

Kei Kusunoki 楠桂 (1966- )

Japanese Mangaka

Kei Kusanoki is the pen name of Mayumi Ōhashi 大橋真弓. She is known for her comedy and horror manga. While still in high school, she made her debut with Nanika ga Kanojo tori tsuita? in 1982 in "Ribon Original" magazine. Some of her better-known works are Yagami-kun's Family Affairs, Ogre Slayer, and Girls Saurus. She also collaborated with her twin sister Kaoru Ōhashi who is also a mangaka. As of 2026, most of her works have not been published in English.

To learn more about Kusanoki's work in the industry, please follow this link http://www.ngy1.1st.ne.jp/~k2office/ to her official website.

Kwitney, Alisa (1964 - )

American writer, editor and graphic novelist

Kwitney is a successful comedic-romance novelist. She was also an editor for Vertigo Comics during its early inception and is currently the editor for Liminal Comics at Brain Mill Press.

Kwitney has a BA in English from Wesleyan University, where she received the Horgan Writing Prize for Fiction, and an MFA in fiction from Columbia University, where she received a scholarship of merit. Her master's thesis was published by HarperCollins as her first novel, Till The Fat Lady Sings, in 1991.

Kwitney started in comics as Karen Berger's assistant for DC Comics' Vertigo imprint back in 1994, overseeing The Dreaming and many other projects, in addition to being the Eisner-nominated writer of comics like Vertigo Visions: Phantom Stranger, Destiny: A Chronicle of Deaths Foretold and A Flight of Angels.

She has also written number of other comics, including Token for the short-lived Minx imprint and Mystik U.

Kwitney is also a well known novelist of books including The Dominant Blonde, Sex As a Second Language, and Cadaver & Queen, in addition to being one-half of the people behind the Endless podcast.

In 2022, Kwitney wrote the comic G.I.L.T. with artist Alain Mauricet for Ahoy Comics.

If you would like to know more about Kwitney's literary work and professional career, please follow the link https://alisakwitney.com/ to her official website.

Kye-young, Chon (1970 - )

South Korean manhwa author

Kye-young is one of Korea's most popular graphic novelists since her debut in 1996, winning the Grand Prize of the WINK New Cartoonist Award, her major works include Unplugged Boy (1997), Audition (1998), Girl in Heels (2007–2010) and Beautiful Man. Her recent series Love Alarm (2014–present), considered the biggest hit since her debut, is being adapted into a television series of the same name.

Back when most cartoonists only worked with pen and paper, Chon applied digital methods such as Photoshop and 3D modelling to her work. These days she uses cinema 4D and voice recognition programs to serialize her work.

Chon has been a record-breaking trail-blazer from the beginning of her career. Not only is she a cartoon artist, she participated in making the music video of H.O.T., the first-generation K-pop boy band. She also created TV commercials in cooperation with famous brands, actively contributing to countless industries.

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