Finding Aid
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Jen Wolfe Collection of Female-Driven Comic Books Access and Restrictions: This collection is open for research. Digital Surrogates: Except where indicated, this document describes but does not reproduce the actual text, images and objects which make up this collection. Materials are available only in the Special Collections Department. Copyright: Please read The University of Iowa Libraries' statement on Property Rights, Copyright Law, and Permissions to Use Unpublished Materials. Use of Collections: The University of Iowa Libraries supports access to the materials, published and unpublished, in its collections. Nonetheless, access to some items may be restricted by their fragile condition or by contractual agreement with donors, and it may not be possible at all times to provide appropriate machinery for reading, viewing or accessing non-paper-based materials. Please read our Use of Manuscripts Statement. Acquisition and Processing Information: This collection was donated by Jen Wolfe in June 2008. Photographs: None |
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Scope and Contents
This collection consists of comic books, written primarily during the 1960s and 1970s. The collection was not officially organized around a single theme; however, the vast majority of the comics in the collection are what might be termed "female-driven." That is, most were written with a female audience, or at least an audience with an interest in female characters or "traditionally female" situations, in mind. (Jen Wolfe points out that her chief collecting strategy was, actually, finding which issues and publications were cheapest.)
A significant proportion of the collection consists of so-called "romance comics", such as For Lovers Only, I Love You, Love Diary, Teen Confessions, and Young Romance. Romance comics flourished from the late 1940s through the mid-1970s, and were marketed to a female audience, especially teenage girls. They were soap opera-like in plot and dialogue, and noted for a large dependence on melodrama. Romance comics first arose in 1947 with the creation of Young Romance #1 by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; they were born out of a postwar weariness with overblown heroics as portrayed in the superhero comics of the time. They reached a pinnacle of popularity in the 1950s.
Much of the collection is comprised of more traditional comic books centered around superheroes. Most of these either star a strong superheroine - i.e. Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Spider-Woman, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer - or are individual issues of other titles that feature a woman as a major character for that particular story. There are many issues of the DC title Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane, which manages to combine superhero and romantic comic themes with storylines centered around Lois Lane's love for Superman and her often outlandish attempts to manuever him into marriage.
There are a number of comics in the collection that are humor-based. Many of these are from the family of titles based around teenager Archie Andrews and his friends. (Jen Wolfe collected many of these because of the importance in the stories of Archie's girl friends Betty and Veronica.) Included are Archie spinoff comics with major female characters such as Josie (and the Pussycats) and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
Most of the comics are from mainstream publishing companies such as DC, Marvel, and Charlton. However, there are a number of titles in the collection from smaller, independent companies. These tend to deal with more realistic and less fantastic plots and characters than do the more mainstream published comics.. A number of them, such as Action Girl Comics, are both written and drawn by women. This is a departure from the more mainstream companies and titles which are more often than not written and drawn by men.
Related Materials
WOLFE, SARAH AND JEN. Sarah and Jen Wolfe Collection of Riot Grrrl and Underground Music Zines, 1991-1998, 2003. 6 ft.
Collection of amateur publications arising primarily from the feminist riot grrrl movement of the 1990s, together with numerous zines documenting various independent/underground music scenes. MsC 878. (Finding Aid)
Box Contents List
Box 1 |
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| Folder | Title |
| 1 | Action Comics [DC Comics] #289 (June 1962) |
| 2 | Action Comics #446 (April 1975) |
| 3 | Action Girl Comics [Slave Labor Graphics] #1 - 2 (October 1994, January 1995) |
| 4 | Action Girl Comics #3 - 4 (April 1995, July 1995) |
| 5 | Action Girl Comics #5 - 6 (October 1995, January 1996) |
| 6 | Action Girl Comics #7 - 8 (April 1996, July 1996) |
| 7 | Action Girl Comics #9 - 10 (October 1996, January 1997) |
| 8 | Action Girl Comics #11, #13 (May 1997, October 1997) |
| 9 | Action Girl Comics #14 - 15 (July 1998, August 1998) |
| 10 | Action Girl Comics #16 - 18 (October 1998, February 1999, June 1999) |
| 11 | Adventure Comics [DC Comics ]#303 (December 1962) |
| 12 | Adventure Comics Starring Supergirl [DC Comics] #383 (August 1969) |
| 13 | Adventure Comics Starring Supergirl #386 (November 1969) |
| 14 | Adventure Comics Starring Supergirl #392 (April 1970) |
| 15 | Adventure Comics Presents Supergirl [DC Comics] #397 - 398, #401 (September 1970, October 1970, January 1971) |
| 16 | Adventure Comics Presents Supergirl #405 - 406 (April 1971, May 1971) |
| 17 | Adventure Comics Presents Supergirl #408 (July 1971) |
| 18 | Adventure Comics Featuring Supergirl [DC Comics] #410 (September 1971) |
| 19 | Adventure Comics Featuring Supergirl #419 (May 1972) |
| 20 | Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld [DC Comics ]#3 (March 1985) |
| 21 | Archie [Archie Comics] #132 (November 1962) |
| 22 | Archie #160 (December 1965) |
| 23 | Archie #168 (November 1966) |
| 24 | Archie #179 (February 1968) |
| 25 | Archie #354 (January 1988) |
| 26 | Archie Annual [Archie Comics] #18 - 19 (1966/1967, 1967/1968) |
| 27 | Archie Annual #22 (1970/1971) |
| 28 | Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica [Archie Comics] #91 (July 1963) |
| 29 | Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica [Archie Comics] #106 (October 1964) |
| 30 | Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica [Archie Comics] #112 (April 1965) |
| 31 | Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica [Archie Comics] #120 (December 1965) |
| 32 | Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica [Archie Comics] #122 (February 1966) |
| 33 | Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica [Archie Comics] #160 (April 1969) |
| 34 | Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica [Archie Comics] #203 (November 1972) |
| 35 | Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica [Archie Comics] #230 (February 1975) |
| 36 | Archie Giant Series Magazine Presents... [Archie Comics] Betty and Veronica Summer Fun #140 (August 1966) |
| 37 | Archie Giant Series Magazine Presents... Betty and Veronica Christmas Spectacular #465 (December 1977) |
| 38 | Archie's Mad House [Archie Comics ]#56 (September 1967) |
| 39 | Archie's Pals 'N Gals [Archie Comics], issue and date unknown |
| 40 | Archie's T.V. Laugh-out Starring Sabrina the Teenage Witch [Archie Comics] #23 (December 1973) |
| 41 | Archie and Me [Archie Comics] #9 (August 1966) |
| 42 | Arm's Length [Third Wind Press] #1(July 2000) |
| 43 | Artbabe [Jessica Abel] Volume 1, #5 (1996) |
| 44 | Artbabe [Fantagraphic Books] Volume 2, #1 - 3 (1997 - 1998) |
| 45 | Bathroom Girls [Modern] #1 (1998) |
| 46 | The Batman Family [DC Comics] #7 (September-October 1976) |
| 47 | The Batman Family #9 (January-February 1977) |
| 48 | The Batman Family #16 (February-March 1978) |
| 49 | Berlin [Black Eye Books] #4 (February 1998) |
| 50 | Betty and Me [Archie Comics] #55 (September 1974) |
| 51 | Betty and Me #72 (February 1976) |
| 52 | Betty and Me #90 (February 1978) |
| 53 | Betty and Veronica Spectacular [Archie Comics] #28 (March 1998) |
| 54 | Big Shot [Columbia Comic Corporation ]#88 (April 1948) |
| 55 | Black Cat [Harvey Comics] #65 (April 1963) |
| 56 | Boy Loves Girl [Lev Gleason Publications] #39 (October 1963) |
| 57 | Breakfast After Noon [Oni Press] #1 - 2 (May 2000, August 2000) |
| 58 | Buffy The Vampire Slayer [Dark Horse Comics] #1 (1998) |
| 59 | Buzzy [DC Comics ] #45 (September/October 1952) |
| 60 | Career Girl Romances [Charlton Comics] #42 - 43 (October 1967, December 1967) |
| 61 | Career Girl Romances #44 (December 1963) |
| 62 | Career Girl Romances #55 (February 1970) |
| 63 | Casual Heroes [Image] #1 (April 1996) |
| 64 | The Cat [Marvel Comics] #1 (November 1972) |
| 65 | Catwoman: Secret Files and Legends [DC Comics] #1 (November 2002) |
| 66 | Chili [Marvel Comics] #4 (August 1969) |
| 67 | The Close Shaves of Pauline Peril [Gold Key Comics] #4 (March 1971) |
| 68 | Confessions of the Lovelorn [American Comics Group] #109 (November 1959) |
| 69 | Cookie [American Comics Group] #23 (February/March 1949) |
| 70 | Cynthia Doyle, Nurse in Love [Charlton Comics] volume 2, #72 (October 1963) |
| 71 | Dark Horse Presents [Dark Horse Comics] #118 (Hectic Planet/Monkeyman O'Brien] (February 1997) |
| 72 | A Date with Millie [Male Publishing] #4 (April 1960) |
| 73 | Dazzler [Marvel Comics] #1 - 2 (March 1981, April 1981) |
| 74 | Dazzler #5 - 6 (July 1981, August 1981) |
| 75 | Dazzler #7 - 8 (September 1981, October 1981) |
| 76 | Dazzler #13 (March 1972) |
| 77 | Dazzler #16 - 17 (June 1982, July 1982) |
78 |
DC 100-Page Super Spectacular: Love Stories Replica Edition [DC Comics] (2000) |
| 79 | DC Super-Stars [DC Comics] #17 (November/December 1977) |
| 80 | Dirty Plotte [Drawn & Quarterly] #11 (September 1997) |
| 81 | A Distant Soil [Aria Press] #1 - 3 (June 1991, February 1992, January 1993) |
| 82 | A Distant Soil #4 - 6 (February 1993, June 1993, 1993) |
| 83 | A Distant Soil #17 - 18 (December 1996, February 1997) |
| 84 | Dork [Slave Labor Graphics] #4 - 6 (March 1997, January 1998, May 1998) |
| 85 | Dork #10 (September 2002) |
| 86 | Dotty Dripple Comics [Harvey Comics] #11 (April 1950) |
| 87 | Eightball [Fantagraphics Books] #19 (May 1998) |
| 88 | Falling In Love [DC Comics] #89 (February 1969) |
| 89 | Falling In Love #121 (February 1971) |
| 90 | First Love [Harvey Publications] #8 (1950) |
| 91 | For Lovers Only [Charlton Comics] #73 (September 1973) |
| 92 | For Lovers Only #76 (November 1974) |
| 93 | For Lovers Only #80 - 81 (August 1975, October 1975) |
| 94 | Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion [DC Comics] #10 (March/April 1973) |
| 95 | Forty Winks [Oddjob, Limited] #1 (November 1997) |
| 96 | Four-Star Spectacular [DC Comics] #1 (March-April 1976) |
Box 2 |
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| 1 | Geisha [Oni Press] #1 - 4 (September 1998, October 1998, November 1998, December 1998) |
| 2 | Generation X Underground [Marvel Comics] #1 (May 1998) |
| 3 | Girl Comics [Cornell Publishing Group] #9 (July 1951) |
| 4 | Girl Talk [Fantagraphics Books] #4 (Summer 1996) |
| 5 | Girl's Love [National Romance Group] #73 (September 1960) |
| 6 | Girl's Love #114 (October 1965) |
| 7 | Girl's Love #127 (May 1967) |
| 8 | Girl's Love #143 (May 1969) |
| 9 | Girls' Romances [DC Comics] #131 (March 1968) |
| 10 | Girls' Romances #137 (December 1968) |
| 11 | Girls' Romances #139 (March 1969) |
| 12 | Girls' Romances #155 (March 1971) |
| 13 | Go-Go And Animal [Tower Comics] #11 (November 1968) |
| 14 | High School Confidential Diary [Charlton Comics] #3 (October 1960) |
| 15 | House of Secrets [DC Comics] #89 (December 1970/January 1971) |
| 16 | How To Draw Comics [Longmeadow Press] (1994) |
| 17 | I Love You [Charlton Comics] #29 (July 1960) |
| 18 | I Love You #84 (March 1970) |
| 19 | I Love You #109 (November 1974) |
| 20 | I Love You #120 - 121 (October 1976, December 1976) |
| 21 | I Love You #123 (June 1979) |
| 22 | I Love You #128 (February 1980) |
| 23 | I Love You Special [Avalon Communications] #1 (1998) |
| 24 | Josie [Archie Comics] #9 (October 1964) |
| 25 | Josie #17 (December 1965) |
| 26 | Josie #23, #25 (October 1966, February 1967) |
| 27 | Josie #38 - 39 (December 1968, February 1969) |
| 28 | Josie and the Pussycats #56 (August 1971) |
| 29 | Just Married [Charlton Comics] #44, #53 (November 1965, July 1967) |
| 30 | Just Married #63, #67 (March 1969, October 1969) |
| 31 | Just Married #70 - 71 (April 1970, June 1970) |
| 32 | Just Married #114 (December 1976) |
| 33 | Kid Blastoff [Amaze Ink/Slave Labor Graphics] #1 (June 1996) |
| 34 | King-Cat Comics and Stories [John A. Porcellino] #56 (December 1999) |
| 35 | Kiss & Tell #3: Artists on Parade [Patricia Breen] (Winter 1997) |
| 36 | Lady Cop [DC Comics] #4 (July 1975) |
| 37 | Laugh [Archie Comics] #62, #96 (April 1954, March 1959) |
| 38 | Laugh #153, #164 (December 1963, November 1964) |
| 39 | Laugh #198, #337 (September 1967, April 1979) |
| 40 | The Legend of Wonder Woman [DC Comics] #1, #4 (May 1986, August 1986) |
| 41 | Legends of the DC Universe: Batgirl [DC Comics] #10 (November 1998) |
| 42 | The Legion of Super-Heroes [DC Comics] #301 (July 1983) |
| 43 | Lenore [Slave Labor Graphics] #1 (February 1998) |
| 44 | Life with Archie [Archie Comics] #80 (December 1968) |
| 45 | Life With Millie [Male Publishing] #14 (December 1961) |
| 46 | Little Audrey and Melvin [Harvey Comics] #28 (January 1967) |
| 47 | Love and Romance [Charlton Comics] #2 (November 1971) |
| 48 | Love Diary [Charlton Comics] #51, #57 (October 1967, December 1968) |
| 49 | Love Diary #58, #62 (February 1969, October 1969) |
| 50 | Love Diary #54, #86 (January 1970, September 1973) |
| 51 | Love Diary #89 (September 1974) |
| 52 | Mad About Millie [Marvel Comics] #5 (November 1969) |
| 53 | Maggie and Hopey Color Special [Fantagraphics Books] #1 (May 1997) |
| 54 | Magic Boy and the Word of God [James Kochalka] (1996) |
| 55 | Marge's Little Lulu [Gold Key Comics] #180 (June 1966) |
| 56 | Marvel Romance Redux [Marvel Comics] #1 (April 2006) |
| 57 | Mazie [Magazine Publishers, Inc.] #13, no issue # (March 1954, n.d.) |
| 58 | Measles [Fantagraphics Books] #1, #4 (Christmas 1998, Summer 1999) |
| 59 | Milk and Cheese [Slave Labor Graphics] #7 (1997) |
| 60 | Millie The Model [Sphere Publications] #63, #95 - 96 (October 1955, March 1960, May 1960) |
| 61 | Millie The Model [Marvel Comics] #178 (January 1970) |
| 62 | Millenium Edition: Showcase [DC Comics] #9 (January 2001, originally published 1957) |
| 63 | Millenium Edition: Wonder Woman [DC Comics] #1 (August 2000, originally published 1942) |
| 64 | Millenium Edition: Young Romance Comics [DC Comics] #1 (April 2000, originally published 1947) |
| 65 | Miss America [Miss America Publishing] #12, #25, #51 (July 1948, August 1949, April 1953) |
| 66 | Ms. Marvel [Marvel Comics] #9 (September 1977) |
| 67 | My Girl Pearl [Atlas Magazines ]#10 (February 1961) |
| 68 | My Only Love [Charlton Comics] #9 (November 1976) |
| 69 | My Own Romance [Zenith Publishing] #75 (May 1960) |
| 70 | Nancy [Dell Publishing] #150 (January 1958) |
| 71 | Naughty Bits [Fantagraphics Books] #15 (February 1995) |
| 72 | Non [Redink] #2, #4 (February 1998, June 1999) |
| 73 | Nowhere [Drawn & Quarterly] #1 - 4 (October 1996, April 1997, October 1997, June 1998) |
| 74 | The Nurses [Gold Key Comics] #3 (October 1963) |
| 75 | Oni Press Summer Vacation Superstar Fun Special [Oni Press] (July 2000) |
| 76 | Optic Nerve [Drawn & Quarterly] #4 - 5, #7 (April 1997, February 1998, June 2000) |
| 77 | Optic Nerve (Mini-Size) [Adrian Tomine] #7 (Summer 1994) |
| 78 | Patsy and Hedy [Gem Publications] #30, #58, #73 (August 1954, June 1958, December 1960) |
| 79 | Peanut Butter and Jeremy [Alternative Comics] #2 (2001) |
| 80 | Penny Century [Fantagraphics Books] #2 (March 1998) |
| 81 | Pep [Archie Comics] #139 (June 1960) |
| 82 | Pep #144, #174 (January 1961, October 1964) |
| 83 | Pep #195, #206 (July 1966, June 1967) |
| 84 | Playful Little Audrey [Harvey Comics] #91 (October 1970) |
| 85 | Ponytail [Charlton Comics] #15 (March 1970) |
| 86 | Private Secretary [Dell Publishing] #1 (December 1962/February 1963) |
| 87 | Reggie [Archie Comics] #15 (September 1963) |
| 88 | The Return of Lum: Urusei Yatsura [Viz Select Comics] #7 (1998) |
| 89 | Rhubarb the Millionaire Cat [Dell Publishing] #563 (1954) |
| 90 | Romantic Secrets [Charlton Comics] #28 (August 1960) |
| 91 | Romantic Story [Charlton Comics] #88, #98, #103 (June 1967, January 1968, November 1969) |
Box 3 |
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| 1 | Sabrina The Teenage Witch [Archie Comics] #14 (September 1973) |
| 2 | Secret Hearts [DC Comics] #131 - 132 (October 1988, December 1988) |
| 3 | Secret Romance [Charlton Comics] #4, #41 (December 1969, November 1976) |
| 4 | Secrets of Sinister House [DC Comics] #14 (October 1973) |
| 5 | The Sensational She-Hulk [Marvel Comics] #37 (November 1989) |
| 6 | Shazam! [DC Comics] #12 (June 1974) |
| 7 | Showcase #98 -- Presents Power Girt! [DC Comics] (March 1978) |
| 8 | Silly Daddy [Joe Chiappetta] #10 (March 1996) |
| 9 | Skeleton Key [Amaze Ink/Slave Labor Graphics] #14 (August 1996) |
| 10 | Skeleton Key [Amaze Ink/Slave Labor Graphics] volume 2 #2 (1999) |
| 11 | Slow News Day [Slave Labor Graphics ]#1 (July 2001) |
| 12 | Sparkle Comics [United Features Syndicate] #28 (April/May 1953) |
| 13 | Spider-Woman [Marvel Comics] #1, #6, #17 (April 1978, September 1978, August 1979) |
| 14 | Spider-Woman #41, #43, #50 (December 1981, April 1982, June 1983) |
| 15 | Starfire [DC Comics] #1 (September 1976) |
| 16 | Steven's Comics [Yell Comics] #3 (1996) |
| 17 | Strangers In Paradise [Abstract Studio] #13 (March 1998) |
| 18 | Stray Bullets [El Capitan Books] #10 (August 1996) |
| 19 | Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes [DC Comics] #232 (October 1977) |
| 20 | Supergirl [DC Comics] #3, #5, #10 (February 1973, June 1973, October 1974) |
| 21 | Superman [DC Comics] #256, #281, #336 (September 1972, November 1974, June 1979) |
| 22 | Superman Adventures [DC Comics] #21, #39 (July 1998, January 2000) |
| 23 | The Superman Family [DC Comics] #167, #174 (November 1974, December 1975/January 1976) |
| 24 | The Superman Family #181, #198 (January 1977, November/December 1979) |
| 25 | Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane [DC Comics] #35, #41, #50 (August 1962, May 1963, July 1964) |
| 26 | Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #76, #78, #81 (August 1967, October 1967, February 1968) |
| 27 | Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #82 - 83, #85 (April 1968, May 1968, August 1968) |
| 28 | Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #87 - 89 (October 1968, November 1968, January 1969) |
| 29 | Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #92, #94, #97 (May 1969, August 1969, November 1969) |
| 30 | Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #101, #103, #107 (May 1970, August 1970, January 1971) |
| 31 | Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #110, #113, #123 (May 1971, October 1971, June 1972) |
| 32 | Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #125, #136 (August 1972, January/February 1974) |
| 33 | Suzie [Archie Comics] #79 (February 1951) |
| 34 | Sweetheart Diary [Charlton Comics] #53, #58 (July 1960, May 1961) |
| 35 | Sweethearts [Charlton Comics] #33, #104 (February 1956, June 1969)] |
| 36 | Sweethearts #111, #129, #136 (July 1970, November 1972, October 1973) |
| 37 | Swing With Scooter [DC Comics] #13 (June/July 1968) |
| 38 | Teen-Age Love [Charlton Comics] #54 - 56 (July 1967, September 1967, November 1967) |
| 39 | Teen-Age Love #68, #71, #80 (January 1970, July 1970, December 1971) |
| 40 | Teen-In Spring Issue [Tower Comics](1969) |
| 41 | Teen Confessions [Charlton Comics] #6 (July 1960) |
| 42 | Teen Confessions #56 - 57 (June 1969, August 1969) |
| 43 | Teen Confessions #58, #60 - 61 (November 1969, February 1970, April 1970) |
| 44 | Teen Confessions #63, #71, #77 (August 1970, December 1971, December 1972) |
| 45 | Teen Confessions #96 - 97 (September 1976, November 1976) |
| 46 | That Wilkin Boy [Archie Comics] #15, #40 (October 1971, June 1977) |
| 47 | Thirteen Going On Eighteen [Dell Publishing] #6, #11, #17 (February-April 1963, May-July 1964, January 1966) |
| 48 | Tippy Teen [Tower Comics ]#21 - 22 (November 1968, March 1969) |
| 49 | Walt Disney Scamp [Western Publishing] #32 (November 1976) |
| 50 | Wonder Woman [DC Comics] #86 (November 1956) |
| 51 | Wonder Woman #132, #178 (August 1962, September/October 1968) |
| 52 | Wonder Woman #185, #191 (December 1969, December 1970) |
| 53 | Wonder Woman #201 - 202 (August 1972, October 1972) |
| 54 | Wonder Woman #203 - 204 (December 1972, February 1973) |
| 55 | Wonder Woman #217 (May 1975) |
| 56 | Wonder Woman #241 - 242 (March 1978, April 1978) |
| 57 | Wonder Woman #244, #262 (June 1978, December 1979) |
| 58 | Yeah! [DC Comics] #2 (November 1999) |
| 59 | Young Love [DC Comics] #109, #119, #123 (May 1974, January 1976, January 1977) |
| 60 | Young Romance [DC Comics] #207 (October 1975) |
| 61 | Young Romance [Feature Publications] #5 (August/September 1960) |
| 62 | Zody, The Mod Rob [Gold Key Comics] #1 (July 1970) |
