Dynamite Damsels

Dynamite Damsels is a 1976 self-published comic by Roberta Gregory. A pioneering work of lesbian and feminist comics, it consists of a series of graphic sketches relating views regarding 70’s feminist activism, the experiences of characters openly living as lesbians, and in general all sorts of anecdotes and funny stories associated with the women’s movement. The author describes the coming of the comic as her first book as follows:

When I got into college (CSU Long Beach) in 1971, the feminist movement was in full swing, and I experimented with many different styles in the college humor paper, Uncle Jam (Published by Phil Yeh) until I created the “Feminist Funnies” strip in 1974. This was the year I sold my first story to the underground comic book, Wimmen’s Comix, Issue #4 (published by Last Gasp of San Francisco). I expanded the comic strip into a comic book of my own, Dynamite Damsels (cover detail in strip at top of page). I think this officially made me the first woman to solo publish a regulation-sized comic book, but I don’t think I knew it at the time. (from Roberta’s website, accessed 5/3/20210.

Information about the publication can be read in Comixjoint as well as a page extract, and Somewhere Books features a review and another extract. A great essay discussing Dynamite Damsels alongside Lee Marr’s comics can be accessed with your UAL login details through JSTOR.