Women’s History Month Doesn’t Have To End In March — ‘The Flapper Queens’ Reviewed

Women can draw anything. But in the 1920s, newspapers hired (and even sought out) female cartoonists to draw comic strips about flappers. In The Flapper Queens: Women Cartoonists of the Jazz Age, herstorian Trina Robbins showcases six of those artists in a coffee table book.

Flappers were independent women that had a signature style of short hair and even shorter dresses. Popular during the 20s and into the 30s, Robbins introduces each cartoonist before letting their work speak for itself. The largest section — a third of the book — is devoted to Nell Brinkley, whose serialized stories appeared in Sundays which, unlike dailies, were in color, not black and white. Brinkley’s illustrations didn’t take the standard comic strip form, or what would be considered standard today, of square panels in a row. Instead to navigate her comic tableaus you have to follow the numbered verses, and it really is a toss-up every time which direction they’ll go. Sometimes you’re reading left to right, other times up and down.

Across the book, Robbins doesn’t always organize the strips in chronological order (though most are dated, and Robbins is great at attributing images). It makes you appreciate the plot development in strips like Brinkley’s The Adventures of Prudence Prim, where you can actually tell when a strip is out of order without looking at the date. Carolyn Wells wrote the verses for both this series and Brinkley’s The Fortunes of Flossie. Prudence is a lot like Carole Lombard’s character in My Man Godfrey; privileged and immature, she initially reacts to men by running away but starts to become more brazen as the series goes on.

While a number of Brinkley’s leading ladies resemble each other, Romances of Gloriette‘s title character stands out for being both French and not blonde. Dimples’ Day Dreams has the weakest storylines, but some of Brinkley’s best art as she gets to draw for a wider range of situations. One week, Delphine dreams she’s in the Artic and it makes for a welcome change – getting to see her in a winter coat instead of a dress.

As for boyfriends, they come in all shapes and sizes. Flossie’s boyfriend, Bill, in The Fortunes of Flossie is manipulative and possessive (some of Brinkley’s images look like they could’ve come out of a horror film), while Judy’s boyfriend in Eleanor Schorer’s The Adventures of Judy is afraid of commitment.

For every modern installment (like Brinkley addressing the realities of getting a permanent at the hair salon in Sunny Sue), there’s the basic set-up of Flossie, which involves racial stereotyping. There’s also some fat shaming in Ethel Hays’ strips.

Besides drawing comics, Virginia Huget worked in advertising, creating promotional strips for Lux soaps, while Fay King made herself a character in some of her comics. Edith Stevens‘ strips are hilarious, as she comes up with funny ways to address certain fashion trends.

The Flapper Queens does leave some questions unanswered. At one point Robbins mentions a flapper king, (John Held Jr.), and were there an equal number of male cartoonists drawing flappers?

As a way of bringing more exposure to these artists, though, this book is tops and available now from Fantagraphics.