When a panel opens with Hermes’ video of 1940s-era art by a quartet of gifted comic book illustrators — backed by Benny Goodman’s In the Mood, no less — it was already a winner. And it just got better from there, with artist Ramona Fradon, historian Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson, and artist-historian Trina Robbins providing their various perspectives on the careers and legacies of female comics pioneers during and after the war.
Trina also previewed her 300-page Babes in Arms, which describes how circumstances at the time led not only to unprecedented numbers of female cartoonists, but to a rise in plots involving heroic, independent women as well. Due out later this year, it will also include complete action-packed adventures, from Barbara Hall’s and Jill Elgin’s Girl Commandos to Lily Renee’s and Fran Hopper’s Jane Martin and beyond. The stories are also studies in jingoistic graphic propaganda, as attractive, virtuous protagonists battle against grotesquely ugly Axis villains.