Melinda Gebbie
Encyclopedia
Melinda Gebbie is an American
comics artist
and writer, probably best known for Lost Girls
, the three-volume graphic novel
she produced in collaboration with writer (and now husband) Alan Moore
, published by Top Shelf
.
at a publishers' fair. Formerly a fine artist, she contributed her first comic strip to Wimmen's Comix
#3, the seminal all-women anthology published by Last Gasp
. She wrote and drew short stories for Wimmen's Comix and many other anthologies, including Tits & Clits Comix
, Wet Satin, and Anarchy Comics
. In 1977 she completed her own solo book, Fresca Zizis.
In 1984 she moved to England to work on the animated film adaptation of Raymond Briggs
' When the Wind Blows. Following this, she worked in a variety of illustration and office jobs and continued making short stories for anthologies such as Strip AIDS and Heartbreak Hotel. During this time she was briefly involved in an obscenity trial when Knockabout Comics
was prosecuted by the UK's customs agency over the importation of 'pornographic' comics, including her Fresca Zizis. The verdict was that all the comics should be confiscated and burned; Fresca Zizis was made illegal to possess in the UK.
In the early 1990s, Moore and Gebbie began collaborating on Lost Girls, a story in which the female protagonists of Peter and Wendy
, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
meet and share sexual stories and experiences. Moore wrote the story, and Gebbie illustrated it. The story was finished in 2006. Meanwhile, she and Moore created Cobweb, a mysterious heroine who appeared in twelve issues of the Moore-written anthology Tomorrow Stories
between 1999 and 2002.
Gebbie married Moore on 12 May 2007.
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
comics artist
Comics artist
A comics artist is an artist working within the comics medium on comic strips, comic books or graphic novels. The term may refer to any number of artists who contribute to produce a work in the comics form, from those who oversee all aspects of the work to those who contribute only a part.-Comic...
and writer, probably best known for Lost Girls
Lost Girls
Lost Girls is a graphic novel depicting the sexually explicit adventures of three important female fictional characters of the late 19th and early 20th century: Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz and Wendy Darling from Peter Pan...
, the three-volume graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
she produced in collaboration with writer (and now husband) Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
, published by Top Shelf
Top Shelf Productions
Top Shelf Productions is an American publishing company founded in 1997, owned and operated by Chris Staros and Brett Warnock and a small staff. The company is based in Marietta, Georgia, Portland, Oregon, and New York City, New York....
.
Biography
Melinda Gebbie was born in San Francisco. She became interested in comics in 1973, when she met writer/artist Lee MarrsLee Marrs
Lee Marrs is an American comic book writer, animator, and one of the first women underground comix creators. She is best known for her comic book series, The Further Fattening Adventures of Pudge, Girl Blimp, which lasted from 1973 to 1978.-Underground comics:Marrs was a frequent contributor to...
at a publishers' fair. Formerly a fine artist, she contributed her first comic strip to Wimmen's Comix
Wimmen's Comix
Wimmen's Comix, later titled Wimmin's Comix, was an influential all-female underground comics anthology published from 1972 to 1992. Though it covered a wide range of genre and subject matter, Wimmen's Comix focused more than other anthologies of the time on feminist concerns, homosexuality, sex...
#3, the seminal all-women anthology published by Last Gasp
Last Gasp
Last Gasp is a book and underground comix publisher and distributor based in San Francisco, California.- History :Founded in 1970 by Ron Turner to publish the ecologically-themed comics magazine Slow Death Funnies, followed by the all-female anthology It Ain't Me Babe, Last Gasp soon became a major...
. She wrote and drew short stories for Wimmen's Comix and many other anthologies, including Tits & Clits Comix
Tits & Clits Comix
Tits & Clits Comix was an all-female underground comics anthology put together by Joyce Farmer and Lyn Chevely, published from 1972 to 1987...
, Wet Satin, and Anarchy Comics
Anarchy Comics
-Anarchism:Overtly anarchist in its bent, all content included was based on anarchist philosophy and history. The humor of each anthology was satirical in nature, mocking both mainstream culture as well as traditional leftist ideas of revolution.-Punk rock:...
. In 1977 she completed her own solo book, Fresca Zizis.
In 1984 she moved to England to work on the animated film adaptation of Raymond Briggs
Raymond Briggs
Raymond Redvers Briggs is an English illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist, and author who has achieved critical and popular success among adults and children...
' When the Wind Blows. Following this, she worked in a variety of illustration and office jobs and continued making short stories for anthologies such as Strip AIDS and Heartbreak Hotel. During this time she was briefly involved in an obscenity trial when Knockabout Comics
Knockabout Comics
Knockabout Comics is a UK publisher and distributor of underground and alternative comic books.-History:It was formed by Tony Bennett and Carol Bennett in the 1980s to distribute Gilbert Shelton's Freak Brothers titles as well as British work from creators such as Hunt Emerson and Bryan...
was prosecuted by the UK's customs agency over the importation of 'pornographic' comics, including her Fresca Zizis. The verdict was that all the comics should be confiscated and burned; Fresca Zizis was made illegal to possess in the UK.
In the early 1990s, Moore and Gebbie began collaborating on Lost Girls, a story in which the female protagonists of Peter and Wendy
Peter and Wendy
Peter and Wendy, published in 1911, is the novelisation by J. M. Barrie of his most famous play Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up...
, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures...
, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
meet and share sexual stories and experiences. Moore wrote the story, and Gebbie illustrated it. The story was finished in 2006. Meanwhile, she and Moore created Cobweb, a mysterious heroine who appeared in twelve issues of the Moore-written anthology Tomorrow Stories
Tomorrow Stories
Tomorrow Stories was an American comic book series created by Alan Moore for his America's Best Comics line, published by Wildstorm .-Overview:...
between 1999 and 2002.
Gebbie married Moore on 12 May 2007.
Anthologies
Work in comics anthologies include:- CobwebCobweb (comics)The Cobweb is a comic book heroine co-created by famed writer Alan Moore and veteran underground artist Melinda Gebbie. Cobweb's only apparent powers were allure and the ability to make an entrance...
(with writer Alan MooreAlan MooreAlan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
, in Tomorrow StoriesTomorrow StoriesTomorrow Stories was an American comic book series created by Alan Moore for his America's Best Comics line, published by Wildstorm .-Overview:...
#1-8, America's Best Comics/WildstormWildstormWildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
, 1999–2002) - Heartbreak Hotel
- Strip AIDS
- "The Cockpit" (in Wet Satin #1, Last Gasp Publishing)
- "My Three Swans", in Young Lust #6 (Last Gasp Publishing)
- Wimmen's ComixWimmen's ComixWimmen's Comix, later titled Wimmin's Comix, was an influential all-female underground comics anthology published from 1972 to 1992. Though it covered a wide range of genre and subject matter, Wimmen's Comix focused more than other anthologies of the time on feminist concerns, homosexuality, sex...
#4-7 (Last Gasp Publishing) - Anarchy ComicsAnarchy Comics-Anarchism:Overtly anarchist in its bent, all content included was based on anarchist philosophy and history. The humor of each anthology was satirical in nature, mocking both mainstream culture as well as traditional leftist ideas of revolution.-Punk rock:...
(Last Gasp Publishing)
Interviews
- Lost Girls artist Melinda Gebbie, SuicideGirls.com, June 6, 2006
- Melinda Gebbie Interview at ReadySteadyBook, September 11, 2006