Comics: Say Hello to Hurricane Nancy! Some Samples to Start

Terrible Toys Totem Pole

Hello, dear friends, it is a great pleasure to have Hurricane Nancy (Nancy Burton), a true comics legend, join us here at Comics Grinder with occasional comics art. Now, some say Hurricane Nancy was the very first female underground comix artist and that may very well be true. Burton’s work goes back to the East Village Other, circa 1966. Trailblazer Trina Robbins names Burton as an inspiration to move forward with her wimmen’s comix movement. In fact, Burton was a founding member of Robbins’s all-women comic book series, It Ain’t Me, Babe, which began in 1970.

In order to secure her life’s work is enjoyed by fewer generations, Burton recently donated 65 pieces of her original underground comix art to The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. The donated originals include early unpublished work; her art from the Gentles Tripout strip, which began in the East Village Other in 1966; and 1969’s Busy Boxes from Gothic Blimpworks. Writer Alex Dueben is editing a monograph about Burton set to be published by Fantagraphics, which collects work from throughout her career and includes an expansive interview detailing her life and artistic output. Dueben connected Burton and Associate Curator Caitlin McGurk, at Ohio State, after Burton expressed a desire for the material to be preserved.

“The Big Mermaid Wakes Up”

In more recent years, Nancy Burton has returned to creating artwork. It is an honor that Comics Grinder has been chosen as a venue to feature Hurricane Nancy! We begin with the artwork at the very top, Terrible Toys Totem Pole. We also have the first installment to an on-going comic strip, Making Changes, this one is entitled, “The Big Mermaid Wakes Up.”