Barbara Fiske
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Barbara Fiske Calhoun (born Isabelle Daniel Hall; September 9, 1919 – April 28, 2014) was an American cartoonist and painter, one of the few female creators from the
Golden Age of Comic Books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era in the history of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and ma ...
. She co-founded Quarry Hill Creative Center, one of Vermont's oldest alternative communities, on the Fiske family property, in
Rochester, Vermont Rochester is a New England town, town in Windsor County, Vermont, Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,099 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The central village is delineated as the Rochester (CDP), Vermont, ...
.


Early life and education

Isabelle Daniel Hall was born in
Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
, on September 9, 1919, to Isabelle Daniel Jones and John Hall Jr., both newspaper reporters. Both were scions of upper-class Southern families who uprooted after the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
and traveled West. Barbara's mother Isabelle, called "Belle," came from
Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...
, where she had modeled for the papers with her sisters Mary and Polly. Around 1912, she and her brother A. V., who had
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
, came to Tucson seeking the warmth of the desert and hoping it would cure or remit his illness. John Hall Jr., was from Alabama, though he had been born in
Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
. His mother, Lucy Herter Hall—a Yankee from Boston who also had tuberculosis. After her husband, John Hall Sr., died, Lucy came to
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
with her three sons, John, Richard and Harry. John Hall and Belle met in Arizona during this time. A.V. died in 1915, and no longer needing to care for her brother, Belle finally felt able to marry John, a few years younger than herself. Belle and John married on March 20, 1918, and "Babs," from the Scots word for "baby," was born in September the following year. Her father was caught up in a late wave of
Spanish Influenza The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest docum ...
and died in February 1920, when Babs was only six months old. Babs attended art school in Los Angeles, moving to New York in 1940.


Harvey Comics

During World War II, after showing her portfolio to
Harvey Comics Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alf ...
in 1941, Babs was hired to draw the comic feature ''
Black Cat A black cat is a Cat, domestic cat with black fur. They may be a specific Purebred, breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular or mixed breed. Most black cats have golden iris (anatomy), irises due to their high melanin pigment content. Bl ...
''. She was one of the few female comic book artists in the United States during the World War II era. Living in the
West Village The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. The West Village is bounded by the Hudson River to the west and 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to ...
, she met her husband-to-be, writer and playwright
Irving Fiske Irving L. Fiske (born Irving Louis Fishman; March 5, 1908 – April 25, 1990) was an American playwright, writer, and public speaker. He worked for the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the 1930s, where he was a ...
, who suggested that she change her name to "Barbara Hall," which she did. She signed her work "B. Hall" because female
cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...
s were not held in high esteem. Her next strip was ''Girl Commandos'', about an international team of
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
-fighting women. This feature focused on Pat Parker, war nurse, a "freelance fighter for freedom." While stationed in India, Parker recruits a British nurse, an American radio operator, a Soviet photographer, and a Chinese patriot. Hall continued ''Girl Commandos'' until 1943, when it was taken over by Jill Elgin. Hall also created the Blonde Bomber (aka Honey Blake), a
newsreel A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news, news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a Movie theater, cinema, newsreels were a source of cu ...
camerawoman, chemist, and crime-fighter with a
sidekick A sidekick is a close companion or colleague who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to those whom they accompany. Origins The first recorded use of the term dates from 1896. It is believed to have originated in pickpocket slang of ...
named Jimmy Slapso. The Blonde Bomber was a regular feature of Harvey's
Green Hornet The Green Hornet is a superhero created in 1936 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell. Since his 1930s radio debut, the character has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of me ...
comics.Williams, Maren
"She Changed Comics: Pre-Code & Golden Age: Barbara Hall,"
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund website (March 4, 2016).


Quarry Hill Creative Center

On January 8, 1946, she married
Irving Fiske Irving L. Fiske (born Irving Louis Fishman; March 5, 1908 – April 25, 1990) was an American playwright, writer, and public speaker. He worked for the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the 1930s, where he was a ...
and began to use the name Barbara Hall Fiske. On April 10, 1946, she and her husband, both extremely unconventional
bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...
intellectuals, used wedding money to buy the farm in Rochester that later became the artist's retreat and "hippie commune" called Quarry Hill Creative Center. (The Fiske family do not consider Quarry Hill to be a commune. Homeowners sign an agreement with Lyman Hall Inc., the current owner of the land, that it belongs to the Fiske family and the corporation, And they pay a site fee. The corporation provides plowing, water and Trash removal, among other things. Barbara and Irving had two children: Isabella "Ladybelle" Joachim Fiske (born 1950) and William John Fiske (1954–2008). Though she had given up drawing comics, to the loss of the world of cartooning, she continued and developed the sophistication of her artwork in the mediums of
egg tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. ''Tempera'' also refers to the paintings done in ...
and pastel. In the mid-1960s, Barbara opened a storefront, The Gallery Gwen, in New York's East Village. There Barbara showed her paintings, along with those of others, and Irving began to give public talks on
Tantra Tantra (; ) is an esoteric yogic tradition that developed on the India, Indian subcontinent beginning in the middle of the 1st millennium CE, first within Shaivism and later in Buddhism. The term ''tantra'', in the Greater India, Indian tr ...
,
Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...
,
Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
,
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
,
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
,
Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...
, and
atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...
, among many other things. Hundreds of young people, including many who became well-known, such as
Art Spiegelman Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman ( ; born February 15, 1948), professionally known as Art Spiegelman, is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel ''Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazin ...
(who dated the Fiskes’ daughter Isabella) and
Stephen Huneck Stephen Huneck ( ; October 8, 1948 – January 7, 2010) was an American wood carver and folk artist. He also authored a series of children's books featuring Sally, the first of which, ''Sally Goes to the Beach'', was a ''New York Times'' best sel ...
, began to visit Quarry Hill Creative Center. Many stayed to build houses; Quarry Hill is now the oldest and largest alternative lifestyle group in
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
, and one of the largest in
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
. She attended
Vermont College Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) is a private graduate-level college affiliated with California Institute of the Arts. It offers Master's degrees in a low-residency format. Its faculty includes Pulitzer Prize finalists, National Book Award wi ...
and got an MFA in Art History during the 60s, and returned to Quarry Hill after a time of living in
Randolph, Vermont Randolph is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 4,774 at the 2020 census, making Randolph the largest town in Orange County. The town is a commercial center for many of the smaller, rural farming communities that ...
. She divorced Fiske in 1976. After a period of some tension, they reached a state of friendliness and mutual support, with the shared desire to see Quarry Hill continue. With the assistance of her son, William, and others, Barbara created a corporation to own the land, Lyman Hall, Inc. In 1989, she married Dr. Donald Calhoun, a Quaker writer and sociology professor who had been her mentor at
Vermont College Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) is a private graduate-level college affiliated with California Institute of the Arts. It offers Master's degrees in a low-residency format. Its faculty includes Pulitzer Prize finalists, National Book Award wi ...
. Barbara also became a member of the Society of Friends (Quakers) in Middlebury, VT during the 1980s. They both lived at Quarry Hill into their 90s. Donald Calhoun died on May 5, 2009."Obituaries: Dr. Donald Calhoun,"
''The Herald of Randolph'' (May 14, 2009).
Barbara lived at Quarry Hill Creative Center till she was 93, teaching art and encouraging the young.


Illness and death

Ill health and disability led her to enter Brookside Nursing Home in
White River Junction, Vermont White River Junction is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Hartford in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,528 at the 2020 census, up from 2,286 in 2010, making it the largest co ...
, where she died April 28, 2014. Her daughter and son-in-law, Brion T. McFarlin, were with her in the last days before her death. Following the custom of Quarry Hill, they read to her from favorite poets and philosophers, including passages from The Tibetan Book of the Dead, and played her favorite music. Barbara Hall Fiske Calhoun's centenary will be celebrated in summer 2019 at Quarry Hill.


Further reading

* "Pat Parker, War Nurse" in ''Divas, Dames & Daredevils: Lost Heroines of Golden Age Comics'' by Mike Madrid, Exterminating Angel Press (2013)


References


Notes


Sources

* Braunstein, Peter and Michael W. Doyle, eds. ''Imagine Nation: The American Counterculture of the 1960s and 70s''. New York: Routledge, 2002, p. 330 * Miller, Timothy. ''The 60s Communes: Hippies and Beyond''. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, 1999, p. 8 * Trausch, V. "Where Have All the Flower Children Gone?" ''Boston Globe'' Sunday Magazine (August 2, 1987)
Archived at the University of Vermont

"Fiske Family Women Honored,"
''The Herald of Randolph'' (Feb. 21, 2002). {{DEFAULTSORT:Calhoun, Barbara Fiske 1919 births 2014 deaths Activists from Arizona American female comics writers American female comics artists Artists from Tucson, Arizona Golden Age comics creators American Quakers Converts to Quakerism People from Rochester, Vermont Founders of utopian communities Artists from Manhattan People from Greenwich Village American women founders American founders