June Tarpé Mills

Tarpé Mills (1915–88) was the pseudonym of comic book creator June Mills, one of the first major female comics artists. She is best known for her action comic strip, Miss Fury, the first female action hero created by a woman.^[1]

Born June Tarpé Mills, she signed her work by her middle name "Tarpé" 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]

Comic strip

The Miss Fury comic strip began April 6, 1941. 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. As the strip became more popular, it eventually became public knowledge its creator was a woman. During World War II, Mills' cat Perri-Purr was introduced in the strip, and during World War II Perri-Purr became the unofficial mascot for the Allied troops.^[2]

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

She died in 1988.

Sources