Last Girl Standing - Trina Robbins

Robbins grew up a voracious reader of books, comics and eventually science fiction, which led her to older social groups (that included the likes of musician Dave Van Ronk) who actually hung out with the popular sci-fi writers of the day (and she even dated Harlan Ellison at one point!). This led to anarchistic leanings which led to folk music, writing for the school paper, meeting and hanging out with gay men, and generally opening up to new experiences.

From the love of folk music came the fascination and friendship with the Byrds (who basically combined the new British Invasion sounds with Dylan), as well as many other musicians and friends, for which she starts making clothes. Through various encounters she travels back and forth between NYC and LA and lives in both cities at different times. Her clothing store in NYC becomes a hang out (where she meets numerous interests, including Jim Morrison), a winter trip to LA and Laurel Canyon and she becomes immortalized in Joni Mitchell's "Ladies of the Canyon", back in NYC she becomes entrenched in the new underground comic scene (where she also meets mainstream artists and writers like Wally Wood, Roy Thomas and Steve Ditko, among others) and partially because of the misogyny found in that scene, she becomes a feminist and not long afterwards, moves back west, this time to San Francisco, where she continues her work with comics and Women's Lib, which continues, in one form or another, to this day.

Sadly, due to gossip that others have levied against her, she feels the need to defend herself in print against their allegations. Of course, I have no idea who is in the right, but it's a shame that people write books simply to spread vicious rumors about others.

She puts the most detail into the 60's and 70's, logically, as those were the most exciting times, but she becomes more successful throughout the 80's and beyond with her own projects as well as working "above ground" for the likes of National Lampoon, Eclipse and even Marvel. Briefly, she talks of her more personal times, such as finally finding the right person to settle down with and a successful fight with cancer.

Overall, though, this is a fairly light-hearted romp (despite plenty of discrimination and some back-stabbing) through a pretty unique life of an artist living through some amazing times in exciting cities.

(Check out Vulcher #4 for an interview with Robbins by Kelsey Simpson (Jack Wild / Gizmos), which is actually what led me to buy this book.)