Tarpe Mills

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Tarpé Mills
Birth name June Tarpé Mills
Born 1915
Died 1988
Nationality American
Area(s) artist, writer
Notable works Miss Fury

Tarpé Mills (1915 - 1988) was the pen name of comic book creator June Mills. Mills is considered one of the first major female comics artists, best known for her action comics series Miss Fury, the first female action hero created by a woman.[1]

[edit] Biography

Born June Tarpé Mills, she chose to sign her work by her middle name "Tarpé" intent to conceal her gender. She received her education at the Pratt Institute in New York. Mills created several action comics characters: Devil's Dust, The Cat Man, The Purple Zombie, and Daredevil Barry Finn, before creating her most remembered character, Miss Fury, in 1941.[2] A character based loosely on Mills' own appearance, the artwork was created in a glamorous style, with considerable attention placed on the heroine's outfits.[2] As the strip became more popular, it eventually became public knowledge its creator was a woman. During World War II, Mills had her cat Perri-Purr, who had also been introduced into the strip, become the unofficial mascot for the allied troops.[2]

Miss Fury ran until 1952, at which point Tarpé Mills mostly retired from the comics industry.[1] She briefly returned in 1971, with Our Love Story for Marvel Comics. Miss Mills died in 1988.

[edit] Sources

  1. ^ a b Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Miss Fury.
  2. ^ a b c Lambiek Comiclopedia. Tarpe Mills.

[edit] External links