Kim Yale was an American writer and editor of comic book

Comic book

A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

s for multiple comic book companies, including Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

, DC Comics

DC Comics

DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...

, First Comics

First Comics

First Comics was an American comic-book publisher that was active from 1983–1991, known for titles like American Flagg!, Grimjack, Nexus, Badger, Dreadstar, and Jon Sable...

 and Warp Graphics

WaRP Graphics

WaRP Graphics, later Warp Graphics, is an alternative comics publisher best known for creating and being the original publisher of the Elfquest comic book series. It was created and incorporated in 1977 by Wendy and Richard Pini. The company title is an acronym formed from the founding couple's...

.

Yale was born in Evanston

Evanston, Illinois

Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 to the Reverend Richard A. Yale and Theresa Yale. Her father was a Navy chaplain and for numerous years, she and her family moved from various locations in the United States and also abroad before resettling again in Evanston during her teenage years.

She married fellow comics creator, and frequent collaborator, John Ostrander

John Ostrander

John Ostrander is an American writer of comic books. He is best known for his work on Suicide Squad, Grimjack and Star Wars: Legacy, series he helped create.-Career:...

 in 1987. They moved to Morris County

Morris County

Morris County is the name of several counties in the United States:* Morris County, Kansas* Morris County, New Jersey* Morris County, Texas...

 in 1993. Yale and Ostrander were associated with developing the character of Barbara Gordon

Barbara Gordon

Barbara Gordon is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and in related media, created by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino...

 into Oracle

Oracle (comics)

Oracle, in comics, may refer to:*Oracle, an alias used by DC Comics character Barbara Gordon*Oracle. the original alias of the DC Comics character who would be reimagined as Aurakles...

, and wrote her origin story in the short story Oracle: Year One.

She was also heavily involved with the Friends of Lulu

Friends of Lulu

Friends of Lulu was a non-profit, national charitable organization in the United States, founded in 1994 to promote readership of comic books by women and the participation of women in the comic book industry...

, working as a member of the board, an organization promoting women in comics. Yale also penned an ongoing column in the Comics Buyers Guide, in which she detailed her battle against breast cancer. The award for the Best New Female Comics Creator has been named in her honor.

Yale died of breast cancer

Breast cancer

Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...

in 1997, aged 43.