The medium of expressing ideas through sequential panels of images can be traced back as far as the 1800s. Even after all this time, working in comics is still considered something of a “boys club.” Today, many more women are gaining acclaim for their literary and artistic talents in comics, but back when this was merely a growing medium a small group of women were pushing past this barrier to showcase their talents.
Among them was the “Queen of Comics” herself, Nell Brinkley. Born in 1886, Brinkley was not formally trained in the arts but had a natural, enviable talent with pen and ink. As a child, she drew place setting illustrations for Mary Elitch’s garden parties at Elitch Gardens. By 20 she was already an accomplished illustrator, providing the book cover and 25 additional illustrations for A.U. Mayfield’s children’s book Wally Wish and Maggie Magpie. She was later hired to provide pen and ink drawings for The Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News.
Brinkley’s work eventually caught the attention of media mogul William Randolph Hearst and his editor Arthur Brisbane. She was persuaded by Hearst to move to New York, where she began producing detailed illustrations for the Journal. Brinkley’s artwork was featured in the strip almost daily and during this time the newspaper’s circulation boomed. At the same time, Brinkley’s breezy and entertaining creations skyrocketed her own popularity. Among these was her curly-haired everyday working girl illustration, which became known as the Brinkley Girl. The Brinkley Girl was feminine, fun-loving, and often seen in engaged in activities that were more independent than the general female standard.
This creation became a national sensation, featured in pop songs, poetry, and theater. The second Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway even produced the song “The Nell Brinkley Girl.” Bloomingdale’s department stores also featured a Nell Brinkley Day using her drawings for many of their advertisements. Around this time, women often emulated the hairstyles in cartoons and would purchase Nell Brinkley Hair Curlers. Her drawings were also quite popular among younger girls, with many saving them, coloring them in and pasting them within scrapbooks.
Her assignment to cover the sensational murder trial of Harry K. Thaw elevated Brinkley’s reputation to new heights. She produced numerous courtroom illustrations in the Evening Journal and went on to cover other infamous murder trials in later years. Throughout her career, Brinkley also produced the adventure series, Golden Eyes and Her Hero, Bill, the romantic series Betty and Billy and Their Love Through the Ages, the pulp magazine-inspired Heroines of Today and her flapper comics.
Brinkley is remembered for her artistic style that blended Art Deco and Art Nouveau into elegant illustrations that embodied the ideals of feminine beauty while her writing promoted the working women of the time, along with encouraging the expansion of women's rights. Truly, a queen.
