Like much of the comic book community, I’m mourning the April 10 passing of the great Trina Robbins.Although she was 85 when she passed after a recent stroke, Trina was so full of life, so warm and energetic—both as a person and as a creator—that she seemed eternal. Whenever we met at a comic con, it instantly became one of my favorites con moments.
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When I started doing Last Kiss, I received so much encouragement and support from her. She was a one-woman cheer squad. And I know she did the same for many other creators—particularly for female creators, but also men.
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It’s hard to imagine anyone with such a unique career. In addition to working on various comic series, her accomplishments included being…
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—The first woman to draw Wonder Woman in a full issue of a Wonder Woman comic.
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—A seminal organizer, supporter and creator of female-created, underground comics in the early ‘70s.
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—(Quoting from her Wikipedia page) Trina was also “intimately involved in the 1960s rock scene, where she was close friends with Jim Morrison and The Byrds. She was the first of the three “Ladies of the Canyon” in Joni Mitchell’s classic song from the album of the same name. In the late 1960s, she ran a…clothing boutique and made clothes for Mama Cass, Donovan, David Crosby, and others.”
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—The designer of the Vampira costume for Warren Publishing’s Vampira. (And, if memory serves me right, Trina also sewed the first Vampira costume. And looked gorgeous in it.)
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—Was a prolific author, contributor and/or editor for a staggering number of books. At least four dozen, but I’m sure more.
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—Many of those books were about early female comics creators and their works. And most of those creators were little known or totally forgotten until Trina wrote about them.
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In her later years, she mostly focused on being a book author. Part of that was because she was writing about subjects she loved. But it was also—and this is based on my memory from one of our discussions—because she wasn’t getting enough work, recognition and opportunities in comics.
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She was always loved and valued by some of us. But by the time she died, she was loved and held in high esteem by a vastly wider audience—both in and out of comics. She earned that through hard work, talent, boundless enthusiasm, kindness and by forging a career that was truly unique and important. God bless her. She truly will be missed.
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More About Trina:
Trina always came to our smaller Con in San Diego called Comic Fest. She was fun, friendly, and like the tribute said, she was full of life.
I’m sad that we won’t see Trina at the next San Diego Comic Fest.
She sounds like one hell of a woman, reminds me of my mother. I absolutely adore Wonder Woman! The Sixties and Seventies were trying times for strong women, but they persevered. We may thank them for the freedoms we gained, but also remember to never stop fighting for more.