In the aftermath of the Stonewall riots and amidst widespread societal hostility toward LGBTQ+ individuals, Drummer magazine emerged in 1975 as a bold act of resistance and cultural affirmation. Founded by John Embry and originally launched as a newsletter for the Homophile Effort for Legal Protection (H.E.L.P.), Drummer became a groundbreaking publication for gay men involved in leather and BDSM subcultures. Embry, joined by key figures like Jeanne Barney and later Jack Fritscher, used the magazine to amplify radical queer voices, confront law enforcement harassment, and explore taboo themes in sexuality and identity. Amid police raids, legal battles, and frequent censorship, Drummer served as both a creative outlet and a political statement. Fritscher’s tenure as editor from 1977–1979 marked the magazine’s heyday, transforming it into a hub for homoerotic art, fiction, and cultural commentary while expanding the image of gay masculinity through the lens of leather, kink, and alternative identities. Contributors like Robert Mapplethorpe, Tom of Finland, Judy Tallwing, and A. Jay helped shape the visual and ideological language of a community pushing back against mainstream repression. Despite internal tensions and external crackdowns, Drummer played a pivotal role in redefining gay identity beyond stereotypes, coining terms like “Bear,” documenting leather history, and celebrating gender diversity. Running until 1999, the magazine remains one of the most influential queer publications of the 20th century—an artifact of cultural defiance, artistic expression, and liberation politics that challenged both societal norms and gay assimilationist narratives. Its legacy continues to inspire queer publishing and sexual freedom movements today.

1962 – Cuban Missile Crisis
1963 – JFK assassinated
1986 – MLK assassinated
1969 – Stonewall Riots in NYC protesting police raids against the Stonewall Inn
1970 – Protest marches are held by LGBT people in NYC, SF, Chicago and LA and are considered the first pride parades in America
1972 – Watergate
1973- American Psychiatric Association declared homosexuality was not a mental illness
1974 – Nixon resigns
1978 – Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in CA is assassinated
1978 – Jim Jones shocked the world with the mass suicide of nearly 1,000 people in Jonestown, Guyana
1981 – Start of the AIDS crisis
1987 – First AIDS/HIV prevention drug approved by FDA, AZT (shown to markedly reduce transmission of HIV)
2003 – Lawrence v. Texas; struck down sodomy laws
2012 – Truvada, or PrEP, was approved for use by the FDA; this drug is for the prevention of the spread of HIV.
2015 – Gay marriage legal in USA

Zinn, H. (2003). A People’s History of the United States. Harper Collins. New York.

Allen Shapiro. lambiek.net. (2024, January 1). https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/shapiro_allen.htm

Blair, N., & Farber, J. (2023). Castro to Christopher: Gay streets of America 1979-1986. powerHouse Books.

Broverman, N. (2024, April 11). Gay fetish artist Rex has died-see some of his iconic work. Out Magazine. https://www.out.com/art/gay-fetish-artist-rex-died#rebelltitem1

Flanagan, M. (2017, September 24). BARchive :: When “drummer” came to town. Bay Area Reporter. https://www.ebar.com/story.php?ch=bartab&sc=leather-kink&id=249252

Fritscher, J. J., & Hemry, M. (2008). Gay San Francisco: Eyewitness drummer. Palm Drive Pub.

Fritscher, J. (2020). Gay pioneers: HOW DRUMMER magazine shaped gay popular culture 1965-1999. Palm Drive Publishing.

Fritshcher, J. (1989). Pentimento for Robert Mapplethorpe. Drummer, (133), 8–15. https://jackfritscher.com/PDF/Mapplethorpe/Drummer133_Pentimento-Mapplethorpe.pdf

Gates, A. (2025, January 10). Anita Bryant, whose anti-gay politics undid a singing career, is dead at 84. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/09/arts/music/anita-bryant-dead.html

Jones, C. (2017). When we rise: My life in the Movement. Hachette Books.

Meyer, R. (1990). Imagining Sadomasochism: Robert Mapplethorpe and the Masquerade of Photography. Qui Parle, 4(1), 62–78. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20685907

OKeeffe, K. (2019, February 23). The life, death and legacy of Robert Opel, the bisexual Oscar streaker. Advocate.com. https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/art/2014/03/26/life-death-and-legacy-robert-opel-oscar-streaker

Poole, C. (2020, May 13). Bill Ward (1927-1996). Guy Burch. https://www.guyburch.co.uk/?p=2662

Project, T. L. H. (2023, October 16). Jack Fritscher : Interview. THE LGBTQHP. https://www.lgbtqhp.org/post/jack-fritscher

US DEPT OF JUSTICE. (2019, March 7). Hate crime laws. Civil Rights Division. https://www.justice.gov/crt/hate-crime-laws

Willi Smith (1948–1987) was a trailblazing Black fashion designer celebrated for redefining casual fashion through his visionary "Street Couture." Born in Philadelphia, Smith showed early artistic promise, working as an illustrator and studying at the Philadelphia Museum of College Art. He attended Parsons School of Design on scholarships and apprenticed with Arnold Scaasi before working for brands like Talbott and Digits, where he gained industry recognition. In 1976, Smith co-founded WilliWear Ltd. with Laurie Mallet, establishing a brand that fused affordability, inclusivity, and creativity. WilliWear became synonymous with groundbreaking fashion shows, featuring collaborations with artists like Christo and Jeanne-Claude and performance art elements such as costumes for Trisha Brown Dance Company and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Smith’s designs, known for their vibrant patterns, deconstructed silhouettes, and unisex appeal, challenged the exclusivity of high fashion, earning him a Coty American Fashion Critics’ Winnie Award in 1983. Smith's influence extended beyond fashion, touching theater, dance, and public art. He designed workers’ uniforms for Christo’s large-scale installations and costumes for Spike Lee's School Daze and Marvel’s Spider-Man. Despite his success, Smith faced personal and professional challenges, including health struggles. Tragically, he died in 1987 from AIDS-related complications, leaving an indelible mark on the fashion world. Posthumously honored with exhibitions, memorials, and accolades like Willi Smith Day, his legacy remains a testament to his innovative spirit and commitment to democratizing fashion.

1948 – Willi Smith was born on February 29th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1963 – Smith attends Jules E. Mastbaum Technical High School in Philadelphia and begins his first job as an illustrator for Prudence and Strickler's dress shop.
1964 – Smith takes a class in fashion illustration at the Philadelphia Museum of College Art.
1965 – Designer Arnold Scaasi hired Smith as an apprentice.
1965 – Smith enrolled in the fashion designer program at Parsons School of Design.
1967 – Smith leaves Parsons and meets artist and future collaborations Christo and Jeanne-Claude.
1968 – Smith designs for fashion company Talbott, Bobbie Brooks, Mr. Thompson, and Personal Sportswear before joining Glenora Juniors.
1969 – Fashion executives Franklin Trigg and Irving Yanous create junior sportswear label Digits; Smith resigns from Glenora and becomes lead designer for Digits
1970 – Smith meets future WilliWear business partner Laurie Mallet; Digits forms the new lower price-point division Syllables, making Smith the lead designer.
1971 – Smith hires Mallet as his design assistant at Digits
1972 – Smith was nominated for the Coty American Fashion Critics’ Winnie Award, and Digits presented its first runway show.
1973 – Smith begins designing for Butterick Patterns and designs costumes for dancer-choreographer Dianne McIntyre’s composition The Lost Sun.
1974 – Smith forms Willi Smith Designs, Inc. with his sister Toukie Smith and Rivera-Terreaux.
1976 – Smith and Mallet form WilliWear Ltd.
1978 – The first WilliWear runaway show takes place at Holy Solomon Gallery with a spring collection influenced by nautical uniforms and Southeast Asian dress; WilliWear opens a new showroom at 62 West 39th Street.
1979—Black designers Arthur McGee, Jeffrey Banks, Carl Davis, Jay Jaxon, Kevin Thompson, Robert Miller, and Smith are honored with a fashion show at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
1980 – WilliWear’s fall collection is presented at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre with Ailey dancers as models.
1981 – The Black Fashion Museum organizes the exhibition Bridal Gowns of Black Designers.
1982—Smith participated in a group exhibition at P.S. 1 with fashion designers Cathy Hardwick, Michele Lamy, Corrine Guibert, and Regina Kravitz and presented the installation Art as Damaged Good.
1982—Architecture and environmental arts studio SITE designs the WilliWear showroom at 209 West 38th Street.
1983 – Smith is awarded the Coty American Fashion Critics’ Winnie Award for womenswear,.
1984 – Smith and Mallet establishes a new division of WilliWear called WilliWear Productions, selling mass-produced clothing designed by artist.
1985 – Dean Alexander begins to design WilliWear promotional graphics; Smith designs workers’ uniforms for Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s PontNeauf Wrapped in Paris, France.
1986 – WilliWear grosses more than $25 million
1987 – Working with costume designer Ruth E. Carter, Smith designs homecoming court gowns for Spike Lee’s film School Daze; Smith designs Mary Jane’s wedding dress for Marvel’s Amazing Spider-Man.
1987 – Smith dies at Mount Sinai Hospital on April 17th from AIDS-related complications; Smith’s funeral is held at Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel on April 20; Parsons hold a memorial service in Smith’s honor.
1988—Mayor David Dinkins proclaims Feb. 23 Willi Smith Day;
1989 – Andre Walker Becomes the lead designer for WilliWear.
1990 – WilliWear closes its womenswear operations and files for bankruptcy.
1996 – T.J. Maxx releases a Willi Smith collection manufactured by Nash International under the license given by the Pressman family and Laurie Mallet.

Activism. (2016). Black Fashion Designers - The Museum at FIT. Retrieved August 5, 2025, from https://exhibitions.fitnyc.edu/black-fashion-designers/?url=gallery-activism.

Barry, J. (2025). Judith Barry on Willi Smith and Polydisciplinary Magnetism – Art, Culture, and Technology (ACT). Mit.edu. https://act.mit.edu/2020/08/congratulations-to-the-class-of-2020/

Barry, J., Krishnamurthy, P., & Young, F. (2025). Polydisciplinary Magnetism — Willi Smith Community Archive. Cargo.site. https://willismitharchive.cargo.site/Polydisciplinary-Magnetism/

Bullock, M. (2019). Michael Bullock | WILLI SMITH. Michaelbullock.nyc. https://michaelbullock.nyc/volumes/journalism/space-explorer

Bullock, M. (2020). How SITE and The Late Fashion Designer Willi Smith Brought The Street Into The Showroom. Pinupmagazine.org. https://archive.pinupmagazine.org/articles/article-williwear-site-showroom-michael-bullock#15

Burholt, E. (2020, December 1). 1948-1987 – Willi Smith | Fashion History Timeline. Fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1948-1987-willi-smith/

Cameron, A. C. (2020, January 14). Willi Smith: Street Couture | Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum. https://www.cooperhewitt.org/publications/willi-smith-street-couture/

Comita, J. (2020, January 28). How Will Designer Willi Smith Be Remembered? W Magazine. https://www.wmagazine.com/fashion/willi-smith-street-couture-alexandra-cunningham-cameron

Duncan, F. A. (2020, March 12). Willi Smith Glowing Up History. Cultured Mag. https://www.culturedmag.com/article/2020/03/12/willi-smith-glowing-up-history/

Elan, P. (2020, June 8). Willi Smith remembered: the designer who introduced streetwear to the catwalk. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2020/jun/08/willi-smith-williwear-african-american-streetwear-catwalk

Fashion — Willi Smith Community Archive. (2025). Cargo.site. https://willismitharchive.cargo.site/Fashion

Hill, R. P. (2021, February 1). Fashion Culture | Willi Smith: The Creative Intersection of an American Genius. E D G E. https://edgexpo.com/2021/02/01/fashion-culture-willi-smith-the-creative-intersection-of-an-american-genius/

Introduction. (2016). Black Fashion Designers - The Museum at FIT. Retrieved August 5, 2025, from https://exhibitions.fitnyc.edu/black-fashion-designers/?url=gallery-activism.

Jacobs, L. (2021, Jun 14). Arts in review -- exhibition review: Street-smart and worldly wise. Wall Street Journal 

Lisby, D.-J. (2022, April 6). Willi Smith - The Fashion and Race DatabaseTM. Fashion and Race. https://fashionandrace.org/database/willi-smith/

Mayers, C. (2020, October 29). How designer Willi Smith originated the street and high fashion crossover. I-D.co; i-d.co. https://i-d.co/article/fashion-history-of-willi-smith-the-1980s-fashion-designer-behind-williwear/

Nylander, L. (2020, August 1). Willi Smith Is The Streetwear Genius You Need To Know About. British Vogue. https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/willi-smith

Pastor, J. (2013). WilliWear New Wave Graphics — Willi Smith Community Archive. Cargo.site. https://willismitharchive.cargo.site/WilliWear-New-Wave-Graphics

Pastor, J. (2020, June 15). Radical Retail | Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum. https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2020/06/15/radical-retail/

Perkins, W. (2020). Willi Smith: Swervin’ in the Kingdom of Dreams — Willi Smith Community Archive. Cargo.site. https://willismitharchive.cargo.site/Willi-Smith-Swervin-in-the-Kingdom-of-Dreams

Shupe, D. (2020, July 19). Remembering Willi Smith. Deirdre. https://deirdreccc.com/remembering-willi-smith/

Singh, R. (2017, February 17). Fashion Flashback: Willi Smith. CFDA. https://cfda.com/news/fashion-flashback-willi-smith/

Steele, K. (2020). Willi Smith. Steeleindustry.com. http://www.steeleindustry.com/willi/index.html

Stoppard, L. (2021, February 25). Why the Visionary Designer Willi Smith Is More Relevant Than Ever. Aperture. https://aperture.org/editorial/why-the-visionary-designer-willi-smiths-work-is-more-relevant-than-ever/

Street, M. (2021, February 22). How Game-Changing Fashion Designer Willi Smith Reshaped the Way the World Dresses. Robb Report. https://robbreport.com/style/fashion/willi-smith-streetwear-1234597982/

'Style over status': Culture | as a new exhibition about streetwear pioneer willi smith opens in new york, curator alexandra cunningham cameron explains why his individuality deserves to be remembered [europe region]. (2020, Mar 07). Financial Times.

Tashjian, R. S. (2020, 04). Design Within Reach: Rachel Seville Tashjian on Willi Smith. Artforum International, 58.

Willi Donnell Smith | Encyclopedia.com. (2018). Encyclopedia.com. https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/fashion-biographies/willi-donnell-smith

Willi Smith | Parsons School of Design. (2020). Newschool.edu. https://www.newschool.edu/parsons/profile/willi-smith/

Willi Smith Community Archive. (n.d.). Willismitharchive.cargo.site. https://willismitharchive.cargo.site

This podcast episode delves into the critical role women have played in shaping the magazine industry through design, editorial leadership, and cultural influence. While season one spotlighted individual designers, this episode zooms out to explore the broader impact women have had on magazine evolution—from early European publications to today’s digital formats. It traces how magazines shifted from reinforcing traditional gender roles to becoming empowering platforms, thanks to figures like Sarah Josepha Hale, Cipe Pineles, Bea Feitler, and Ruth Ansel, who revolutionized both visual style and editorial voice. The episode also highlights the contributions of Black women in publishing, who created their own magazines to amplify underrepresented voices and foster community. Today, designers like Jessica Walsh, Gail Bichler, and Gail Anderson continue this legacy, using bold visuals and innovative technology to push boundaries and expand representation. Through storytelling, activism, and artistry, women have transformed magazines into platforms for cultural commentary and social change—proving that their creativity and leadership are essential to the industry’s past, present, and future.

1663-1668 - First magazine-like publication (Erbauliche Monaths-Unterredungen)

1693 - First magazine for women created (Athenian Mercury)

1731 - Term “Magazine” first used in the The Gentleman's Magazine

1770 - The Lady’s Magazine began

1830 - Godey’s Lady’s Book, an American magazine for women, was started by a man named Louis A. Godey

1832-1852 - The Ladies’ Cabinet was created and sold

1855 - Photolithography is invented

1870-1927 - The Woman’s Journal, which would eventually merge with The Woman Citizen,  was 

released in Boston

1885 - Good Housekeeping first published

1891-1894 - Ringwood’s Afro-American Journal of Fashion Magazines were published and distributed

1899 - The Saturday Evening Post printed the first full-page illustrated cover

1916-1925 - Half-Century Magazine was created and distributed

1920 - Women were granted the right to vote

1932-1935 - Cipe Pineless works as assistant art director for Conde Nast

1945 - Ebony Magazine was first published

1954 - Dorothy Dandridge was the first black woman on a mainstream magazine cover

1961 - Bea Feitler is hired at Harper’s Bazaar

1965 - Bea Feitler and Ruth Ansel release famous cover of Jean Shrimpton for Harper's Bazaar

1974 - Ruth Ansel becomes the first female art director and the New York Times Magazine

2008 AIGA medalist: Gail Anderson. (n.d.). AIGA. Retrieved July 20, 2025, from https://www.aiga.org/membership-community/aiga-awards/2008-aiga-medalist-gail-anderson

Burkhalter, N. (1996). Women’s magazines and the suffrage movement: Did they help or hinder the cause? Journal of American Culture, 19(2), 13–24. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1542-734x.1996.1902_13.x

Clair, C. (1969). A chronology of printing. Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

Ed.D., G. M. (2024, March 1). Women’s History Month: The Life of Dorothy Dandridge. Benicia Magazine. https://www.beniciamagazine.com/womens-history-month-the-life-of-dorothy-dandridge/

Ellis, E., Golden, C. P., & Fripp, C. B. (2005). Cipe Pineles: Two remembrances. RIT Cary Graphic Arts Press.

Eye Magazine. (n.d.). Eye Magazine. Retrieved July 20, 2025, from https://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/reputations-gail-bichler

Ferguson, M. (1983). Forever feminine: Women’s magazines and the cult of femininity. Heinemann Educational Books.

Forster, L. (2015). Magazine movements: Women’s culture, feminisms and media form. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.

history of publishing. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved July 20, 2025, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/publishing/additional-info

McCracken, E. (1993). Decoding Women’s Magazines: From mademoiselle to Ms.

Osei-Hwere, E., & Osei-Hwere, P. (n.d.). History of magazine publishing. Media Communication, Convergence and Literacy. Retrieved July 20, 2025, from https://oer.pressbooks.pub/mediacommunication/chapter/history-of-magazine-publishing/

Rooks, N. M. (2004). Ladies’ pages: African American women’s magazines and the culture that made them. Rutgers University Press.

Sperandio, A. T., & Bouadana, S. (2010). Ruth Ansel: art direction. Creative Review (London, England), 30(5), 28–36.

The Luupe. (n.d.). Jessica Walsh on Building Her Own Design Studio and Breaking Clichés. Retrieved July 20, 2025, from https://studio.theluupe.com/blog/jessica-walsh-on-building-her-own-design-studio-and-breaking-cliches

Thomson, E. M. (1994). Early Graphic Design Periodicals in America. Journal of Design History, 7(2), 113–126. https://doi.org/10.1093/jdh/7.2.113

Between 1557 and 1561, a group of women at the convent Santa Maria Maddalena alla Giudecca, known as The Convertite on Giudecca island in Venice ran one of the earliest female operated printing presses in early modern Europe. Unlike other women printers of the time – often widows inheriting their husbands’ shops – these women worked collectively from within an enclosed convent. They were not noblewomen or scholars, but former sex workers, concubines and social outcasts, admitted to the convent precisely because they did not meet society’s ideals of chastity. They lived in poverty and they laboured out of necessity. They printed at least twenty-five titles in Latin and the Venetian dialect, including works authored by medieval visionaries and unknown women. I make a case that these women used typography not just to reproduce words in print, but as a way to remake their subjectivity. Their printing practice was physical, spiritual, and deeply embodied. Their work reveals how books are shaped not only by ideas, but by rituals, and bodies. One of their prints still bears the trace of a single strand of hair – caught between type and paper – a quiet archival witness to their presence.

Almost entirely overlooked in mainstream design history, the Convertite’s press offers a radically different story; one where women laboured under restriction and violence, but still found ways to produce, preserve, and participate. Their story is not one of genius or invention, but of resilience, survival, and the printed works they left behind.

Content warning: this episode contains references to violence, sexual abuse and rape. Please take care while listening.

1542 – Fourteen women enter the newly founded Convertite convent in Giudecca, Venice

1551 – Nuns granted permission to profess vows under the Rule of St Augustine

1557 – Convertite nuns begin operating a printing press; 2 editions printed

1558 – 5 editions printed

1559 – 10 editions printed; some sold at the Alla Speranza bookshop in Campo Santa Maria Formosa

1560 – 7 editions printed 

1561 – 1 edition printed; marks the end of the press’s activity

1561 (6 Nov) – Rector Pietro Leon da Valcamonica sentenced to death by the Council of Ten for rape and abuse of more than 20 nuns

1561 (10 Nov) – Valcamonica executed in Piazza San Marco; printing operations cease

Early 1800s – Monastery suppressed by Napoleon and converted into a military prison

Mid-1800s – Building transformed into a women’s prison

2024 – Con i miei occhi, the Holy See’s pavilion for the 60th Venice Biennale, opens to the public at Casa di Reclusione Femminile, the former site of the Convertite convent

Apostolos-Cappadona, D. (2023). Mary Magdalene: A Visual History. Bloomsbury Publishing. 

Barbieri, E. (2011). Per monialium poenitentium manus”. La tipografia del monastero di Santa Maria Maddalena alla Giudecca, detto delle Convertite (1557-1561). La Bibliofilía, 113(3), 303-354. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26198930

Bartlett, R. (1994). Symbolic Meanings of Hair in the Middle Ages. Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 4, 43-60. https://doi.org/10.2307/3679214

Brown, P. F. (2004). Private Lives in Renaissance Venice: Art, Architecture, and the Family. Yale University Press. 

Bynum, C. W. (1991). Fragmentation and Redemption: Essays on Gender and the Human Body in Medieval Religion. Zone Books. https://www.zonebooks.org/books/53-fragmentation-and-redemption-essays-on-gender-and-the-human-body-in-medieval-religion

Chambers, D. S., Fletcher, J., Pullan, B. S., & America, R. S. (2001). Venice: A Documentary History, 1450-1630. University of Toronto Press. 

Chow, K.-w. (2007). Reinventing Gutenberg

Woodblock and Movable-Type Printing in Europe and China. In S. A. Baron, E. N. Lindquist, & E. F. Shevlin (Eds.), Agent of Change (pp. 169-192). University of Massachusetts Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5vk8sv.14

Elliott, D. (2010). Flesh and Spirit: The Female Body. In (pp. 13-46). https://doi.org/10.1484/M.BCEEC-EB.3.2618

Feher, M., Naddaff, R., & Tazi, N. (1989). Fragments for a History of the Human Body. Zone. 

Littau, K. (2006). Theories of Reading: Books, Bodies, and Bibliomania. Polity Press. 

McGough, L. (2010). Gender, Sexuality, and Syphilis in Early Modern Venice: The Disease that Came to Stay. Palgrave Macmillan UK. 

McGough, L. J. (1997). "Raised from the devil's jaws": A convent for repentant prostitutes in Venice, 1530-1670. Northwestern University. 

McKenzie, D. F. (1999). Bibliography and the sociology of texts. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511483226

McKenzie, D. F., McDonald, P. D., & Suarez, M. F. (2002). Making Meaning: "Printers of the Mind" and Other Essays. University of Massachusetts Press. 

Moreton, M. N. (2013). "Scritto di bellissima lettera": nuns' book production in fifteenth and sixteenth-century Italy. https://doi.org/10.17077/etd.l282y0od

Muir, E. (1997). Ritual in Early Modern Europe. Cambridge University Press. 

Peckham, M. (1971). Reflections on the Foundations of Modern Textual Editing. In J. Katz. (Ed.), Proof: The Yearbook of American Bibliographical and Textual Studies 1 (pp. 122-155). University of South Carolina Press. 

Richardson, K. (2021). Roma in the Medieval Islamic World. Roma in the Medieval Islamic World, 1-256. 

Vervliet, H. D. L. (2008). The Palaeotypography of the French Renaissance: Selected Papers on Sixteenth-century Typefaces. Brill.

Kustom Kulture is the name for a subcultural movement from the 1950s and 60s in America. This movement included souping up cars to create hot rods and customizing cars into unique one-of-a-kind creations. These custom cars were an identity for the, usually, men that drove them. This movement has been called a distinctly masculine movement and is said to have died out when Detroit car manufacturers started appropriating elements from both rods and customs into mainstream-designed cars. Yet this unique phenomenon produced many visual elements that are still popular today, including graphics such as flames, lettering, and demented-looking characters often called weirdos. Perhaps the king of the weirdos was a character known as Rat Fink, who represented the antithesis of Mickey Mouse, created by pinstriper, painter, and custom car maker Ed “Big Daddy” Roth. Other custom car legends include George Barris, Von Dutch, Dean Jefferies, and Robert William. While the phenomenon was indeed short-lived it has left a lasting impression on American culture and graphic design. Crab claw Flames, funky lettering, flying eyeballs, and demented characters are still popular today as are offshoots such as lowbrow art or pop-surrealism.

1925 - George Barris born

1929 - Kenneth Robert Howard, Known as Von Dutch born

1932 - Ed Roth Born

1933 - Dean Jeffries born

1948 - Von Dutch drew his first flying eyeball

1948 - Hot Rod Magazine is published

1950s-1960s - Flake Paint popularized

1953 - Barris Customs designs the Hirohata Merc

1953 - Car Craft Magazine is published

1955 - Dean Jeffries paints “Little Bastard” on James Dean’s Porsche Spyder

1961 - Beatnik Bandit designed by Roth

1963 - "There Goes (Varoom! Varoom!) That Kandy-Kolored (Thphhhhhh!) Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby (Rahghhh!) Around the Bend (Brummmmmmmmmmmmmmm)…" by Tom Wolfe published in Esquire

1964 - Orbitron designed by Roth

1965 - Road Agent designed by Roth

1968 - Beatnik Bandit is cast as a model car (either by Hot Wheels or Revell)

1970s - Odd Rods stickers designed by B.K. Taylor debut

1992 - Kenneth Robert Howard, Known as Von Dutch dies

1994 - Juxtapoz magazine founded (by Robert Williams et al.)

2001 - Ed Roth Dies

2013 - Dean Jeffries Dies

2015 - George Barris dies

Adamson, G. (2021). Craft: an American History.

Bernsau, T. (2022, February 8). The Once-Lost Hirohata Merc built by Barris Kustom heads to auction. MotorTrend. https://www.motortrend.com/features/hirohata-merc-mecum-auctions-kissimmee-2022/

Bernsau, T. (2021, August 3). Traditional Hot Rod Flames: Details + Photo Gallery from Back to the ’50s. MotorTrend. https://www.hotrod.com/features/hot-rod-flames-back-to-the-50s/

DeWitt, J. (2002). Cool cars, high art: the rise of kustom kulture. 

Ganahl, P. (2003). Ed “Big Daddy” Roth: His Life, Time, Cars, and Art. Cartech.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/

Kuersteiner, K. (2012). Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, The Architect of Odd Rods. The Wrapper. https://thewrapper.tripod.com/RatFink.html

Kustomrama.com

Lowey, I., & Prince, S. (2014). The graphic art of the underground.

Martinez, R. (2015, December 5). From Pop Surrealism to Lowbrow - Something Got Lost in Translation. Widewalls. https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/pop-surrealism-lowbrow

Parliament, I. C. (2008). Kustom Graphics: Hot Rods, Burlesque and Rock “n” Roll. Korero Books.

Parliament, I. C. (2010). Kustom Graphics 2: Hot Rods, Burlesque and Rock “n” Roll. Korero Books.

Roth, E., & Kusten, H. (1992). Confessions of a rat Fink: The Life and Times of Ed “Big Daddy” Roth.

Surrealism Today. (2023, April 26). The Lowbrow Art Movement: Ultimate Guide to pop Surrealism - Surrealism Today. https://surrealismtoday.com/lowbrow-art-movement-pop-surrealism/#:~:text=Lowbrow%2C%20also%20known%20as%20pop,evocative%2C%20and%20often%20controversial%20works.

Jackie Ormes, an African-American cartoonist from Pennsylvania, was born on August 1st, 1911. Her father, William Winfield Jackson, owned and operated a printing business, and her mother, Mary Brown Jackson, was a homemaker.  As a teenager, Jackie published her first comics in her school’s yearbook as Monongahela High School’s Yearbook arts editor.  After graduating, she worked as a proofreader for the Pittsburgh Courier, an African American newspaper. This is also where she starts her first comic strip with “Torchy Brown in Dixie to Harlem.” After being with the Pittsburgh Courier, she moved to Chicago and became a journalist and special assignment reporter. She would later return to the Courier and make her most well-known comic strip, “Patty Jo `n’ Ginger. The strip was about a stylish and sarcastic little girl who offered commentary to political and sociological commentary to her older sister, Ginger. The comic strip was so popular that Ormes created and produced the Patty Jo dolls. The dolls were the first African American girl dolls to include an extensive wardrobe and break the norms of African American girl dolls being depicted from racist stereotypes. Jackie Ormes would also create her last comic strip, Torchy Brown, Heartbeats, for the Pittsburgh Courier. Toward the end of her career, she dedicated her time to giving back to the Chicago community and painting murals and portraits. Jackie Ormes's career is a trailblazer in vocalizing social and political injustices through the lens of being an African American woman.

1911 – Born Zelda Jackie Jackson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1929-1930 – Arts Editor for the Monogahela High School Yearbook
1930 – Graduated from Monongahela High School
1930-1937 – Worked for the Pittsburgh Courier
1937-1938 – Torchy Brown in Dixie to Harlem comic strip
1942-1945 – Worked for the Chicago Defender
1945-1945 – Candy comic strip
1945-1956 – Went back to work for the Pittsburgh Courier
1945-1956 – Patty Jo ‘n” Ginger comic strip
1947-1949 – Patty Jo doll series
1948-1958 – Investigated by the FBI
1950-1954 – Torchy Brown, Heartbeats comic strip
1956 – Retired from cartooning
1985 – Died in Chicago
2014 – Inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists
2018 – Inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Industry Hall of Fame

Ashawnta_Jackson. (2022). The groundbreaking work of Jackie Ormes. JSTOR Daily. https://daily.jstor.org/the-groundbreaking-work-of-jackie-ormes/

Blackartstory.org Editors. (2020, September 1). Profile: Jackie Ormes (1911-1985). Black Art Story. https://blackartstory.org/2020/09/01/profile-jackie-ormes-1911-1985/

Jackie Ormes: The First African American Woman Cartoonist - biography from University of Michigan Press. (n.d.). https://www.jackieormes.com/

Jenkins, E. (2009). [Review of JACKIE ORMES: The First African American Woman Cartoonist, by N. Goldstein]. American Studies, 50(1/2), 218–219. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41057260

McGurk, C. (2013, February 22). Found in the collection: Jackie Ormes! (1911-1985) | Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Blog. https://library.osu.edu/site/cartoons/2013/02/22/found-in-the-collection-jackie-ormes-1911-1985/

Norris, K. (2008, July 29). Comics Crusader: Remembering Jackie Ormes. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2008/07/29/93029000/comics-crusader-remembering-jackie-ormes

Onion, R. (2013, August 13). Fifty Years Before Boondocks There Was Patty-Jo ‘n’ Ginger. Slate Magazine. https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/08/patty-jo-n-ginger-the-ground-breaking-african-american-cartoon-of-the-1940s.html

Seaman, D. (2008, February 1). Jackie Ormes: The First African American Woman Cartoonist. Booklist, 104(11), 22. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A174747902/LitRC?u=edmo56673&sid=summon&xid=fe888f06

Teutsch, M. (2018, January 8). Cartoonist Jackie Ormes’ commentary on Black life. AAIHS - African American Intellectual History Society. https://www.aaihs.org/cartoonist-jackie-ormes-commentary-on-black-life/

Woodford, J. (2208) Review of Jackie Ormes: A Great Cartoonist Finally Gets Her Due, by Nancy Goldstein. The Black Scholar 38, no. 2/3 , 54–60. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41069980.

Tove Jansson (1914–2001) was a pioneering Finnish artist whose multifaceted career spanned painting, illustration, cartooning, and literature. Best known internationally for her creation of the Moomins, whimsical troll-like characters who first appeared in books and later in globally syndicated comic strips, Jansson’s legacy bridges the divide between “high” fine art and “low” commercial illustration. Born into an artistic family, Jansson was deeply influenced by her mother, a prolific illustrator and graphic designer. Her early work, particularly for the satirical magazine Garm, sharpened her skills in political commentary and visual storytelling.

Despite Finland’s progressive stance on women’s rights, Jansson navigated a male-dominated art world and struggled with societal constraints around gender, sexuality, and artistic legitimacy. Her Moomin stories subtly coded themes of queer identity, feminist resistance, and nonconformity, often drawing from her own relationships and experiences. Characters like Thingumy and Bob, Too-ticky, and Sorry-oo represent fluid identities and hidden desires, reflecting Jansson’s own coded expressions of love and selfhood during a time when homosexuality was criminalized.

1914 – Born August 9th, in Helsinki Finland
1928 – Wrote and illustrated her first book
1929 to 1953 – Tove Jansson worked as an illustrator and cartoonist for the Swedish-language satirical magazine Garm
1930–1933 – studied at the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm (Tekniska Konsthantverksskolan)
1933–1937 – studied at the Graphic School of the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts
1935 – starts making Moomintroll paintings
1938 – studied at L'École d'Adrien Holy and L'École des Beaux-Arts in Paris
1943 – first solo exhibit; first Moomin-like character featured in Garm Magazine
1945 – Her first story, The Moomins and the Great Flood, is published
1952 – Awarded Svenska Dagbladet’s Literary Prize
1954 – The world’s largest newspaper – London’s The Evening News – starts to publish the Moomin comic strip.
1958 – Awarded Prize by the Swedish Literature Society in Finland
1959 – The first Moomin theatre play, Moomins on Stage, premieres; The first Moomin television series, a puppet animation, is aired in Germany
1966 – She received the Hans Christen Andersen Award
1969 – The Swedish TV produces a series called Mumintrollet; Fuji TV Zuiyo Enterprises produces an animated Moomin series in Japan
1969-1973 – Serves on the board of Finnish Authors’ Society
1970 – the last Moomin novel, Moominvalley in November, is published
1974 – The Moomin Opera premieres in Helsinki
1976 – Awarded Polish Order of the Smile
1980 – Awarded “Dunce’s Hat” by the Finnish Comic Strip Society (together with her brother Lars)
1993 – The theme park Moominworld opens its doors in Naantali, Finland.
2001 – Died June 27th
2017 – The world’s only purpose-built Moomin Museum with original artwork opens at Tampere Hall
2019 – The new animated Moominvalley TV series premieres worldwide, blending animation techniques

Classon Frangos, M. (2021). Feminist and queer aesthetics in Tove Jansson’s Moomin comics. In K. Beers Fägersten, A. Nordenstam, L. Romu, & M. Wallin Wictorin (Eds.), Comic Art and Feminism in the Baltic Sea Region: Transnational Perspectives (1st ed., Vol. 1) (pp. 151-166). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003039402

Bergroth, Bardy, Aleksi, Reuter, Andrea, & Helsinki filmi , production company. (2020). Tove.

Forth, J. (2023, June 27). The secret message in Mymble’s name – queer themes in Tove Jansson’s life and work part 2. Moomin. https://www.moomin.com/en/blog/the-secret-message-in-mymbles-name-queer-themes-in-tove-janssons-life-and-work-part-2/#b9a205d3

Gravett, P. (2022). Tove Jansson: The Illustrators. Thames & Hudson.

Hahn, D. (Ed.). (2015). Moomin family. In The Oxford Companion to Children’s Literature (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press, Inc. https://search.credoreference.com/articles/Qm9va0FydGljbGU6NDgwNDMxNQ==?aid=103048

James, E. (2020). Tove Jansson’s Genius: The radical imagination that built the visionary world of the Moomins. The Yale Review, 108(2), 192–201. https://doi.org/10.1111/yrev.13648

Jones, W. G. (1984). Tove Jansson. Boston : Twayne Publishers.

Karjalainen, T. (2014). Tove Jansson: Work and Love. Particular Books.

Kira. (2025, June 24). Tove Jansson’s gay legacy – queer content on Moomin.com. Moomin. https://www.moomin.com/en/blog/tove-janssons-gay-legacy/#3433721a

Nikolajeva, M. (2015). jansson, tove (1914–2001). In J. Zipes (Ed.), The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press, Inc. https://search.credoreference.com/articles/Qm9va0FydGljbGU6NDgxMDQ2Mw==?aid=103048

Salisbury, M. (2017). The illustrated dust jacket, 1920-1970. Thames & Hudson.

Sicardi, A. (2019). Queer Heroes: Meet 53 LGBTQ Heroes From Past and Present! Wide Eyed Editions.

Stonewall. (2024, September 25). A short history of the word ‘bisexuality.’ https://stonewall.org.uk/about-us/news/short-history-word-bisexuality#:~:text=In%201859%2C%20anatomist%20Robert%20Bentley,sometimes%20in%20the%20same%20texts.

Tove Jansson. (2024, April 12). Tove Jansson • Author and artist who created the Moomins. https://tovejansson.com/

REFERENCES

Tucker, I. (Ed.)(2018). FF DOT: The pixel art of final fantasy. Dark Horse Books. 

Hendrix, G. (2017). Paperbacks from hell: The twisted history of ‘70s and ‘80s horror fiction. Quirk Books.

Chatziioannou, A. (2023). From ants to zombies: Six decades of video game horror. Bitmap Books.

Gianni, G. (2017). Gary gianni’s monstermen and other scary stories. Dark Horse Books.

Kochman, C. (Ed.)(2012). Mars attacks. Abrams ComicArts.

Vallejo, D. (2000). The art of rowena. Paper Tiger.

Voger, M. (2015). Monster mash: The creepy, kooky monster craze in America 1957-1972. TwoMorrows Publishing.

Jones, Stephen (2015). The art of horror: An illustrated history. Applause.

Allie, S. (Ed.)(2004). B.p.r.d.: The soul of venice and other stories. Dark Horse Comics.

Saunders, D. (2009). Rudolph belarski (1900-1983). Illustration, 7(27), 8–61.

McVittie, A. (2014). The art of alien:isolation. Titan Books.

Sadowski,G. (Ed.)(2017). Four color fear: Forgotten horror comics of the 1950s. Fantagraphics Books

Nourmand, T. & Marsh, G. (Eds.) (2006). Film posters: Horror. Evergreen.

Hodge, T. (2015). Vhs video cover art. Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.

Weist, J. (2002). Bradbury: An illustrated life. William Morrow

Boyreau, J. (2002). Trash: The graphic genius of exploitation movie posters. Chronicle Books.

Salisbury, M. (2014). Alien the archive: The ultimate guide to the classic movies. TitanBooks.

Ferris, E. (2016). My favorite thing is monsters: Book one. Fantagraphics Books.

Morton, R. (2005). King kong, the history of a movie icon: from fay wray to peter jackson. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books.

Landis, J. (2011). Monsters in the movies: 100 years of cinematic nightmares. Dorling Kindersley Limited.

Ortiz, L. (2011). Jack Gaughan. Illustration, 9(33), 2–27.

(2009). Deco devolution: The art of the bioshock 2. 2k publishing.

Humphreys, G. (2019). Hung, drawn and executed: The horror art of graham humphreys. Korero Press Ltd.

Gammil, K. & Spurlock, J.D. (2005). Famous monster movie art of basil gogos. Vanguard

Tucker, I. (Ed.) (2021). The art of arkham horror. Dark Horse Books.

D’Agostino, N. (2020). Sex and horror volume four. Korero Press.

Hulse, E. (2021). The art of pulp fiction: An illustrated history of vintage paperbacks. Elephant Book Company

Rodriguez, S. (2021). The art of goosebumps. Dynamite.

Nolen-Weathington, E. (2010). Modern masters volume twenty-four: Guy davis. TwoMorrows Publishing

Brummett Echohawk was a war hero, an artist, a writer, and a public speaker, and he was also a member of the Pawnee tribe, born in Oklahoma in 1922. Though he is well known for his contributions to the art world, he is less known for his contributions to the history of illustration and commercial art, he turned to these outlets throughout his life to successfully augment his income. Brummett Echohawk considered himself a historical or classical artist, rather than an “Indian” artist, though his work often centered on his indigenatity. His first notoriety as an artist was for his war sketches from his time in Italy in World War II. Though these sketches were initially confiscated, they were later (mostly) returned and published in newspapers across the U.S. The success of his sketches cemented his interest in becoming an artist, and he made it his goal to attend the Chicago Institute of Art for formal instruction at what he believed to be the best art school in the nation. Though he lived in Chicago, New York, Detroit, and Dallas, he ultimately returned to Oklahoma. He refused to compromise his values and, therefore, painted only what he wanted to paint; he also spent a lot of time researching the historical themes for his paintings, which slowed down his production. These factors likely made it more necessary for him to supplement his income through the development of his comic strip “Little Chief,” which ran in the Tulsa World Newspaper beginning in 1954, as well as numerous illustrations for magazine and book publications as well as working as a commercial artist throughout his career.

TIMELINE

1829 - Te-ah-ke-kah-wah Who-re-ke-coo (He Makes His Enemies Ashamed), Brummett Echohawk’s Great-Grandfather is born in Nebraska, the traditional homeland of the Pawnee

1855 - Kutawakutsu Tuwaku-ah (Echo Hawk), Brummett Echohawk’s Grandfather is born in Nebraska 

1864 - Te-ah-ke-kah-wah Who-re-ke-coo, serves with the first company of Pawnee Scouts

1876 - Kutawakutsu Tuwaku-ah, then known as Tawihisi (Leader of the Group) signs on with the Pawnee Scouts, he earns the name Kutawakutsu Tuwaku-ah (Echo Hawk) as part of his efforts as a warrior during this time

1892 - Elmer Echohawk, Brummett Echohawk’s father, is born in Indian Territory

1907 - Elmer Echohawk, is sent by his parents to the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania 

1922 - Brummett Echohawk Born,  March 3, Pawnee Oklahoma

1939 - Brummett Echohawk joins the National Guard

1943-1944 - Serves in WWII, 45th Infantry Division (known as the Thunderbirds) 

1945-1948 - Attends Chicago Institute of Art, (education not funded by the GI Bill!)

1954 - Creates Comic strip “Little Chief”, for the Tulsa World 

1955 - Juror of the Tenth Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Indian Painting at the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa

1969 -  Battlefield sketches included in the Faces of War exhibition at London’s Imperial War Museum

1977 - Brummett Echohawk began services as a member of the board at the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa

1983 - Brummett Echohawk awarded the “Unknown Indian Award” by the Committee for the Preservation of the Unknown Indian, North Platte, Nebraska

1994 - actor featured in one episode of the television series Walker Texas Ranger

2001 - Cartoons from Little Chief were featured in “Little Chief the Comic Art of Brummett Echohawk,” an exhibition at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle, Washington 

2006  -  Brummett Echohawk Dies, February 13, buried in Pawnee, Oklahoma

2008 - - Cartoons from Little Chief were featured in “Out Of: Sequence: Underrepresented Voice in American Comics,”  an exhibition at the University of Illinois Krannert Art Museum

REFERENCES

Brummett Echohawk - Gilcrease Museum. (n.d.). https://collections.gilcrease.org/creator/brummett-echohawk

Brummett Echohawk: An Artist’s Journey - Oklahoma State University. (2023, April 14). https://museum.okstate.edu/art/brummett-echohawk.html

Echohawk, B., & Ellenbarger, M. R. (2018). Drawing fire: A Pawnee, Artist, and Thunderbird in World War II. University Press of Kansas.

Culture - Pawnee Nation flag and seal. (n.d.). Pawnee Nation. https://pawneenation.org/pawnee-nation-flag-and-seal/

Gilcrease Museum. (2023, March 2). Joel Echohawk Reminisces about Brummett Echohawk [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u1HgSCHI2Q

Jones, R. (n.d.). OSU students present exhibition on Brummett Echohawk. Stillwater News Press. https://www.stwnewspress.com/news/osu-students-present-exhibition-on-brummett-echohawk/article_3b940cb6-ef84-11ed-b2fd-2796481b6b6b.html

OSU Museum of Art. (2023, May 18). Student Curator Talk - “Brummett Echohawk: An Artist’s Journey” [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6mWGFQEzm4

Wydeven, J., & Klaphake, C. (1984). Art and Eloquence. Nebraskaland, 62(1), 104–111.

Youngbull, K. M. (2015). Brummett Echohawk: Pawnee Thunderbird and Artist. University of Oklahoma Press.

REFERENCES

White, R. (2003). Prehistoric Art: The Symbolic Journey of Humankind. Harry N. Abrams Inc. 

Clottes, J. (2008). Cave Art. Phaidon Press Limited. 9780714845920

Neumayer, E. (1983). Prehistoric Indian Rock Paintings. Oxford University Press. 9780195613872

Ruspoli, M. (1987). The Cave of Lascaux: The Final Photographs. Harry N. Abrams Inc. 0810912678

Myron, R. (1964). Prehistoric Art. Pitman Publishing Corporation. 0273438611

Stokstad, M., & Cothren M. W. (2011). Art History: Ancient Art (4th ed.). Pearson Education. 0205744222