One of a Kind, Trina Robbins, 1938-2024

 

One of a Kind, Trina Robbins, 1938-2024

 John A. Lent

  

The first time I met Trina was in the 1990s, at a comics event of some sort, if I recall. It was then that I first experienced her feisty nature. She had just lambasted male cartoonists who portray women violently in their drawings; she, no doubt, blasted R. Crumb as one of the worst offenders. No argument from me so far; I agreed with what she said. But, when she excluded women cartoonists from mistreating men in their works, I countered that the castration of men seemed just a bit cruel, and I had seen a few such depictions by at least one woman artist. I don’t believe that rejoinder stopped her tirade, but I certainly admired her combativeness.

Trina and I became friends not too long after that and worked together on a few projects. When I started the International Journal of Comic Art, she readily accepted my invitation to join the advisory board. And, she contributed her “herstorian” writings to the journal on five occasions (mainly in the 2000s), always meeting deadlines with well-researched and interestingly-written articles. Trina congratulated IJOCA as it progressed over the years, once saying facetiously, “it’s never heavy enough!” She was happy to be published in IJOCA, and said so occasionally, even asking if it was all right for her to write up certain events she attended.

In a 2007 email, she wrote, “I am thrilled to write something for IJOCA…. The May 2008 deadline, like the baby bear’s porridge, is ju-u-u-ust right! Thank you for inviting me.” Ten years later, Trina wrote, “John, as the one contributor to IJOCA who is a college dropout, I love being part of the journal,” and I replied that I wished many of my university, senior-level, communications majors could write as well.

 

Fig. 1. John A. Lent introducing Trina Robbins.

Asian Popular Culture section, Popular Culture Association.

San Francisco, CA. 2008. Photo by Xu Ying.

 

Trina was eager to be in touch with academia. When she found out that the Popular Culture Association was holding its 2007 annual conference in San Francisco, she joined the association to be able to present a paper on a Chinese-American dance troupe with which she was in contact. After checking the PCA website, and finding that I headed the Asian Popular Culture section, Trina wrote, “and to my surprise, you are the person to whom I wish to submit a proposal.”

 

Fig. 2. Trina Robbins presenting her paper.

Asian Popular Culture section, Popular Culture Association.

San Francisco, CA. 2008. Photo by Xu Ying.

Out of that exchange, grew a few other projects. Together, we were able to secure a special space on the PCA schedule, featuring Trina’s presentation, followed by several dances by the Grant Avenue Follies. These dancers performed in Chinese nightclubs in the late 1950s and 1960s, and in their later years, danced free of charge in hospitals, senior centers, and veteran groups. Trina described them, “they have talent, style, and great legs, and they are proof that you’re never too old to rock them in the aisles.” Trina’s PowerPoint talk and the dances went over well and were somewhat precedent-setting in PCA’s long history.

 

Fig. 3. Trina Robbins and some Grant Avenue Follies’ dancers with manager.

Asian Popular Culture section, Popular Culture Association.

San Francisco, CA. 2008. Photo by Xu Ying.

 

Knowing Trina was writing a book on the Grant Avenue Follies, I invited her to submit a proposal to have it published in a book series I edited for Hampton Press, which she did. The proposal was accepted, sparking Trina to write, “I’m thrilled to be working with you…. Happy and excited, Trina,” and “Thank you so much for believing in this book…. Happy as a clam. Trina.” She threw in a bit of humor when she related that the guys at the copy center read the proposal and “were entranced, and told me they’d buy the book if it came out. (That’s 5 sales!)” Trina was satisfied with the illustration-filled, nicely-designed Forbidden City. The Golden Age of Chinese Nightclubs when it appeared in 2010, and was eager to have the book promoted and sold. I had warned her earlier that Hampton usually needed a shove to get it moving, which she discovered on her own, saying, at one point, that it seemed that the press had no interest in selling its books, and, later, that she did not want to deal with Hampton ever again.

 

Fig. 4. Trina Robbins and Steve Leialoha.

Jilin Animation Festival. Changchun, China. 2011.

Photo by John A. Lent.

 

I met Trina a few times during the following decade, twice in Changchun, China, where we both were invited to speak at the International Animation, Comics and Games Forum Jilin, China 2009. Trina said she loved China and always wanted to return; however, I believe she enjoyed more the experiences of different cultures, accepting invitations when they were received‒to Brazil, Russia, Japan, etc. Her eagerness to travel was borne out when I saw her in China in 2011; it was obvious she was recovering from cancer, which she acknowledged in an e-mail:  “Since I was almost bald as a cueball in China, it was pretty obvious that I was getting over something! (I wasn’t gonna turn down an invitation to China because of a little thing like having no hair.”) Trina was very curious, at the same time, a bit suspicious, while abroad. During one of our meetings in China, she complained that the student translator/guide assigned to her never left her side and she was not free to do what she wanted to do. I asked her what she wanted to do. “Go to Walmart,” Trina replied. Not one excited about anything to do with Walmart, I shot back, “Why in the hell would you come all the way to China to go to Walmart?” I told her to ask the guide to take her, which she did, and Trina was satisfied. However, she later asked if I was angry with her for making that request; I wasn’t; I just thought it was strange. I was also humbled that she cared about what I thought.

To call Trina “a character” is a major understatement. Who else do you know who crammed into 85 years a few lifetimes of precedent-setting achievements in underground comix, women’s comic books, and what she termed comics “herstory”? Who shut herself in a room with a sewing machine, learned how to make clothes, and decked out the likes of popular musicians Mama Cass, David Crosby, and Donovan? Who partied (heartily) with Jim Morrison, the rest of The Doors, and The Byrds? Who was the first woman to produce a “Wonder Woman” mini-series? The variety of Trina’s activities was wide, from supporting Pro Choice and Strip AIDS USA through her drawings to producing a woman’s erotic comics anthology for Denis Kitchen. She was known and admired worldwide; in life, being the subject of popular singer Joni Mitchell’s song, “Ladies of the Canyon,” and, after her death, on April 17, the subject of many reminiscing and laudatory articles, websites, blogs, and even a cartoon on the Daily Kos news and opinion site.

Fig. 5. Daily Kos cartoon posted by Keith Knight recalling

Trina’s insistence that work cannot be wordy.

There were many characteristics about Trina Robbins that I find extremely admirable. She was frank and honest, attested to in her memoirs, Last Girl Standing, where she did not shy from revealing her sexual activities, her getting a sexually-transmitted disease from a husband, or other experiences that a large part of society would consider repugnant. Trina did not beat around the bush; if something or someone offended her, she vociferously said so.

Trina recognized her shortcomings; one that she mentioned was her lack of a thorough knowledge of the use of a computer, once writing me that she was “so embarrassed to be so technologically inept”; a woman of my own heart since I have been labeled “technologically challenged.” She was adept at researching, evidenced by her “herstories,” and had the makings of an excellent journalist, with her investigative skills, concise writing, ability to meet deadlines, and keen editing.

Her cheerful disposition, reflected in her personality and creative work, was infectious; she accepted compliments gracefully and gave them freely. I always enjoyed her e-mail signoffs:  “Tired by happy,” “Happy and excited,” “Sigh!,” “Whew!,” “Recovering from Turkey” (after Thanksgiving), and “Thanks so much, you too are a trooper, Trina.”

The fields of comics creativity, fandom, and scholarship have lost one of a kind in Trina Robbins. I will miss her!

A version of this post will appear in IJOCA 26:1.

________________________

John A. Lent is the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Comic Art and professor emeritus of communications, having taught in universities in Canada, China, Malaysia, Philippines, and the U.S., from 1960-2011.