Time in Overdrive

Gordon Flagg

Just as in other popular arts, women have had a hard time breaking into the male-dominated field of cartooning. This is evidenced by the fact that Robbins is able to document women's achievements in comic strips and books thoroughly in fewer than 200 pages, most of them devoted to black-and-white reproductions. She traces women's accomplishments from turn-of-the-century pioneers Rose O'Neill and Grace Drayton (creators of the Kewpies and the Campbell Kids, respectively) through such contemporary figures as Cathy Guisewite ("Cathy") and Lynn Johnston ("For Better or Worse"); from Dale Messick, creator of Brenda Starr and an inspiration to later generations of female cartoonists, to such unsung figures as pioneering black woman cartoonist Jackie Ormes. Throughout, Robbins, herself prominent in the underground comics movement of the 1970s, views sexism as--to this day--the main barrier to women's success in the field. "Century" does, however, cover much the same ground as Robbins and Catherine Yronwode's "Women and the Comics" (1985), and its lack of an index is much felt. Libraries owning the earlier volume can probably pass on this one; others, however, should consider it a needed supplement to existing comics histories.