Women’s History Month: Female Comic Book Creators

In another feature in honor of March being Women’s History Month, the Comic Book section of Entertainment Fuse has collaborated together to pick a female comic book creator that was most inspirational to them.   Nicole’s Pick—Stephanie Hans     Stephanie Hans artwork has been on numerous comic book covers lately for both Marvel and DC. Her covers are easily recognizable for their lovely painted style. Hans is currently doing covers for some female-lead titles including Storm, Angela: Asgard's Assassin and Tomb Raider. She does a great job drawing these female comic characters with authority and power. I put her Tomb Raider #8 cover on my Best Comic Book Covers of 2015 list and included her Storm #8 cover as an honorable mention on my Best Comic Book Covers of February 2015 list (eighth times the charm).   Jim’s Pick—Louise Simonson     When people talk about the golden years of the Uncanny X-Men, they usually talk about Chris Claremont and then sometimes the regular artists such as Dave Cockrum, John Byrne, and John Romita Jr. However, not enough is said about Louise Simonson, who was the editor of the series for four years in the early 1980s. Claremont gives her a lot of credit for making the complex stories he wrote blend well. She was also instrumental in development the first real X-Men crossover with the 1986 event “Mutant Massacre” storyline (and helped subsequent X-crossovers “Fall of the Mutants” and “X-Tinction Agenda,” among others). She was writing comics, too, and while writing X-Factor, she worked with artist Jackson Guice to create the enduring X-Men villain (and future movie adversary) Apocalypse. Simonson has had her hand in DC history, too, as she was a key part of the Superman writers’ summit that ultimately led to the classic “Death of Superman” storyline. Unlike many comic writers, Simonson has written for many age groups and in many genres. Even as she continues to work in the industry, Louise Simonson has a key place in comics history.   Elvis’s Pick—Tula Lotay     Tula Lotay is one of my favorite female creators right now, not because they’ve been active in comics journalism or have done a lot of interviews - but for the quality of her work. Relatively unknown to me, outside of her work on series like Elephantmen. She catapulted in my estimation for her work on the fantastic Supreme: Blue Rose, which was excellent in no small part due to her contribution. Her work completely captured both the majesty and the grittiness called for. Her work speaks for itself, and if everything went as it should, she would be acclaimed every day.   Kat’s Pick—Gail Simone       As a female comic book writer myself, a writer that inspires me is Gail Simone. She is mostly known for her work at DC Comics. The most well-known runs she has worked on are Birds of Prey, Batgirl, Wonder Woman, and Secret Six. Now she has a few titles outside DC Comics like Tomb Raider and Red Sonja. She will also have her own creator-owned Vertigo series on the stands very soon. I love the way Gail writes female characters. They are not the same women doing the same things over and over again. Gail Simone knows how to make three-dimensional characters, which we need more of in creative media.   There are many more women in comics who didn’t make this list. So who are the female comic book creators you find inspirational? Let us know in the comments below.