Panel Divas
As an art form, comics can’t be beat. You’d be hard-pressed to find a higher form of self-expression than in a combination of words and pictures produced from the mind and hand of a sole comic creator. The internet has opened the world’s playing field, giving many artists a forum to express themselves. Among them are a few fine female artisans who are creating some of the best art and story on the web. These women prove that talent, humor, courage, principle, and determination transcend gender. I’m a big fan of their work, and I’ve also found each of them to be wonderfully engaging people as well. So step aside, gentlemen, the ladies have the floor!
Andrea Hatch
Andrea Hatch is the creator of the eerie and enigmatic, Neau Comic, one of the most beautifully-illustrated comics online. Neau is a high fantasy comic about the struggle for good to triumph over evil. It tells the story of the world of Neaunaphar and its residents, which include a crab-clawed girl, horned demon dames, and plenty of dark magic for everyone! Each of Andrea’s panels is an exquisite little gem, crystallized by a combination of striking line and color. It updates twice a week at Neau Comic. Don’t miss an update, Andrea is an artist to watch out for!
Follow Andrea on Twitter: @dreahatch
Sareen Akharjalian
Sareen Akharjalian is fearless. She tackles the object of her cartoon harder than any fullback and has absolutely no reservation about skewering whatever subject she has under her comedy microscope.
Living in Beirut, Lebanon provides her with limitless material to throw into her comic strips, which she does with great gusto! Word for word and line for line, Sareen is a world-class cartooning heavyweight champion! See her work at Ink on the Side and be prepared to laugh out loud.
Follow Sareen on Twitter: @sareen_ak
Dawn Griffin
Dawn Griffin is an artist wunderkind and a real Renaissance lady. She writes and illustrates the misadventures of two aliens disguised as Earth pets, Zorphbert & Fred, one of the funniest and most creative strips available online. She also illustrates the children’s book series, Abby’s Adventures. She’s a co-founder of the Webcomic Alliance, where contributes articles about the practical art and business aspects of webcomics, as well as co-hosting the entertaining and informative Webcomic Alliance podcast. I can’t say enough good things about Dawn, she’s a real treasure!
Follow Dawn on Twitter: @dgriff13
Jande Rowe
Jande Rowe accomplishes something that is truly unique in the world of webcomics. She proves that a strip can pass beyond gag-a-day laughs, high-tech heroics, and snarky observations to a heartfelt place that is a genuine “experience.” Aedre’s Firefly opens the door into the daily life of Aedre, a young girl who seeks escape from the unwelcoming world she knows and runs away to another, perhaps better one. Jande takes us along on her emotional journey each Wednesday at Aedre’s Firefly.
Jande is also a fine artist, her oil and acrylic paintings can be found in homes in Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, the States, and Germany. She also paints digitally, and her works can be seen on her site.
Follow Jande on Twitter: @eO_Jande
Jenn Li
Jenn Li, the powerhouse behind ChinChat Comics, has a magnificent sense of humor, and she’s not afraid to take risks with her strip. She tells the kind of jokes that she wants to tell, and has the art chops to create whatever setting her imagination wants to go.
ChinChat Comics follows the adventures of the darling chinchillas Shakepeare, Rolo, Toby, LingLing and their friends, and updates every Wednesday.
Follow Jenn on Twitter: @chinchatcomics
Michelle Hernandez
Michelle Hernandez is the creator and artist of the whimsical Kat Day Care, a sweet strip about kittens Champion, Pageant, Buttercup, Rhythm, Douglas and J-Law along with Daycare owner, Kat. Michelle also enjoys painting, sewing and working with polymer clay, and is a lead artist at Pen Hits the Pad, a collective whose strips include Alpha Ballistic, and 4th Hanzo. You can see her work here.
Follow Michelle on Twitter: @Starrelish
Robin Dempsey
Robin Dempsey is an amazingly gifted creator, first as a world builder and writer, then as visual director, her intricate work is crafted down to the finest detail and filled with rich color which perfectly sets the tone of each panel.
Robin’s epic fantasy adventure comic, Ley Lines, tells the story of three siblings Tama, Mizha and Zhiro, who search to solve the mystery behind their mother’s death. In their pursuit of the truth, they seek help from the ancient gods, help that is not given without a price. Ley Lines is built from the ground up, with its own language and mythology, it is a world unto itself. Robin began her comic in January 2011, and she updates on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at Ley Lines.
Follow Robin on Twitter: @RobinofLeyLines
Betsy Brock
The life of produce was never more entertaining than in Betsy Brock‘s delightful Fruit Comic. Betsy pencils, inks and colors each of her hilarious strips by hand, and they are a joy to behold!
Follow Betsy on Twitter: @InfiniteBetsy
Alejandra Gámez
Playful and terrifying, whimsical and shocking, the work of Mexico City artist Alejandra Gámez is not easily forgotten. Lovecraftian monsters play with airplanes, magic is a way of life, hearts have their own troubles, Alejandra opens the door to a world where fantasy and reality intermingle, all carefully crafted in her distinctive style. Alejandra is a lover of good stories, regardless of whether they come in the form of comics, books or film. You can see Alejandra’s work at The Mountain with Teeth and on her Facebook page here.
Follow Alejandra on Twitter: @themountainwith
Elia Madrid
Elia Madrid creates a world unlike any other in her webcomic, Elia in a Box. Elia is a Performance major at UTA, and her hand-drawn work is a mix of theatrical, hilarious, thoughtful, dazzling, and just plain fun! Elia stars herself and her friends, Hannah K., her alter-ego Helga, and Lindsey B., and the strip is posted once a week at Elia in a Box.
Follow Elia on Twitter: @ELIAinaBOX
Discussion (21) ¬
Awesome!
They are, aren’t they?
Wow!!! Thank you, so much! You are incredibly kind to include my in this lineup. I am humbled.
More importantly, thank you for showing me all the others!!! There are a few on here that look exquisite which I’ve never heard of!!
Yay for girl comic creators!!
Glad I could help, Hatch. I meant what I said about your work being exquisite. I could just stare at it (and I have) and just get sucked right in. And I second that “Yay for girl comic creators!!” You Go Girls!
Wow! This is a fantastic list, Mark!
I’m ashamed to admit that there are a couple here that I have not encountered, but that changes now. 🙂
Thanks for this post, my friend!
You’re welcome, Carlo, I’m happy to be able to introduce you to new talent. I know each of these tremendous creators personally and I can honestly say they are as wonderful as their work. Each of them combines an incredible talent with an equally impressive personality!
Oh I definitely agree with you there, at least with the ladies I already know over Twitter. 🙂 Hopefully I’ll be able to get to know the ones I just started following! 🙂
Wonderful, Carlo, I’m sure they would love that! And thanks for taking the time to drop a comment or two, I really appreciate that!
Thanks for including me in the lineup, Mark! And thanks for putting together this list! I wasn’t previously familiar with all of their work. There are some wonderful creators in your list, and I’m glad I have the opportunity to see their stuff!
That you hand draw all your strips is so impressive to me, Betsy! I love the hand-crafted look your work has, plus they always put me in a good mood. I never knew fruit could be so… captivating! The others featured are tremendous creators, too, I’m happy to introduce you to them!
AHHH!!! THANK YOU MARK!
POWER TO THE WOMEN!
You’re welcome, Elia!
Dear Mark,
Such high praise has left me rather tongue-tied (in the texting sense of the word). And rather blushy, too. It’s always so nice when someone as talented as yourself takes notice and praises us to the world at large.
And on top of all that praise to group us with others of high talent definitely hornswaggles the tongue and stains the cheeks with Sauerkraut! Wait… What’s that soup made from beets? Gaspachio? No… Borscht!! Beet red, see? Hahah!
As you can see praise makes me squirmy and slightly insane. And this is my way of squirmilly saying a heartfelt thankyou, Mark! And as soon(tm) as I can conjure the Time(tm), I will endeavour to cultivate my awareness of those few of my Sister Devas here with whom I was not formerly acquainted.
That was tremenjusfun, Mark! Thanks again!
Few creators plumb the emotional depth of expression possible in comics like you do, Jande. It is only possible for someone with the range of experience, the passionate for life and the skill set to be able to express that in a very accesible way to an audience. A precious elixir to be sure. I’m happy to share your work with others, I know they will enjoy it as much as I do.
This is an awesome post Mark! Now that I have some new webcomics to checkout. Thanks for mentioning Michelle also!
Glad you found some new comics to check out, Miguel. I couldn’t have made this article without including Michelle! She’s so creative!
What a great list! I love that so many women are involved in making such brilliant comics these days. Lots of new stuff to check out here!
Glad you gave it a look over, Elizabeth! There certainly is a lot of great talent out there! I gotta get you and ComaGirl on that next list!