Barbara "Willy" Mendes (; born January 30, 1948) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

cartoonist, fine artist, and member of the

underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

movement. She is best known for her work alongside

Trina Robbins Trina Robbins ( Perlson; August 17, 1938 – April 10, 2024) was an American cartoonist. She was an early participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the first women in the movement. She co-produced the 1970 underground comic '' I ...

on ''

It Ain't Me Babe "It Ain't Me Babe" is a song by Bob Dylan that originally appeared on his fourth album '' Another Side of Bob Dylan'', which was released in 1964 by Columbia Records. According to music critic Oliver Trager, this song, along with others on the al ...

'' and ''All Girl Thrills''. Although Mendes first created art under the name ''Willy'', she later transitioned to the name ''Barbara''.

Career

Mendes worked in

while also producing other work for exhibitions in art galleries around the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Her art is inspired by

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

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

themes. She attended New York City's High School of Music and Art, followed by further education at the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Riverside, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of Cali ...

. Mendes began her career in underground comix in the late 1960s. She collaborated with

and Nancy Kalish on ''

Gothic Blimp Works ''Gothic Blimp Works'', an all-comics tabloid published in 1969 by Peter Leggieri and the '' East Village Other'', was billed as "the first Sunday underground comic paper". During its eight-issue run, the publication displayed comics in both col ...

'', the comix supplement of the ''

East Village Other ''The East Village Other'' (often abbreviated as ''EVO'') was an American underground press, underground newspaper in New York City, issued biweekly during the 1960s. It was described by ''The New York Times'' as "a New York newspaper so counterc ...

'', an

underground newspaper The terms underground press or clandestine press refer to periodicals and publications that are produced without official approval, illegally or against the wishes of a dominant (governmental, religious, or institutional) group. In specific rece ...

. Mendes and Robbins continued working together, publishing ''

,'' an all-women comic book, in 1970. In 1971, Mendes published ''Illuminations'', which portrays more

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...

work. She then stepped away from the comix scene and transitioned, adopting the name Barbara Mendes. Mendes claims that her "stuff was never raw and sexual... It was about hippies saving the world through spirituality."

2017-present

After completing a mural in a Sephardic Synagogue in Los Angeles, Mendes began to study

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

and actively practice Judaism. Mendes later opened her own art gallery in downtown Los Angeles, where she paints brightly colored biblical narratives based on Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus, the first three books of the Torah. Mendes created her own style of "Epic Paintings", consisting of brightly colored, narrative imagery displaying biblical stories and messages. In 2017, a scene from Bruno Kohfield-Galeano's short film ''The Blinking Game'' was filmed in Mende's studio and features many of her paintings. Mendes returned to comix in 2020 with the release of ''Queen of Cosmos Comix'' from

Red 5 Comics Red 5 is an independent comic book publisher, known for producing a combination of creator-owned and internally developed titles, including their best known title, ''Atomic Robo''. Red 5 was one of the first comics publishers to jump into digital ...

Bibliography

Comics

* "Make Money, Sell American Seeds," in ''

Slow Death Funnies ''Slow Death'' is an underground comix anthology published by Last Gasp, the first title published by the San Francisco Bay Area-based press. Conceived as an ecologically themed comics magazine (in conjunction with the first Earth Day), the title ...

'' #1 (Last Gasp, April 1970) * "Oma," in ''

It Ain't Me, Babe "It Ain't Me Babe" is a song by Bob Dylan that originally appeared on his fourth album '' Another Side of Bob Dylan'', which was released in 1964 by Columbia Records. According to music critic Oliver Trager, this song, along with others on the al ...

'' (

Last Gasp (The) Last Gasp may refer to * Last Gasp (publisher) Last Gasp is a San Francisco–based book publisher with a lowbrow art and counterculture focus. Owned and operated by Ron Turner, for most of its existence Last Gasp was a publisher, dis ...

, July 1970) * "Ada," in ''Insect Fear'' #2 (Print Mint, Mar. 1971) * "Take This Woman Comix" in ''

San Francisco Comic Book ''San Francisco Comic Book'' was an underground comix anthology published between 1970 and 1983. Conceived of and edited by Gary Arlington, the anthology highlighted the work of many of San Francisco's top underground talents, including Bill Grif ...

'' #3 (Print Mint, Aug. 1971) * Multiple stories in ''All Girl Thrills'' #1 (Print Mint, 1971) * "Easy Come Easy Go," in '' Yellow Dog'' #23 (Print Mint, Oct. 1972) * "The Hippy Wedding," in ''The Someday Funnies'' (Abrams, 2011) — reprint of a story from the 1970s * ''Queen of Cosmos Comix'' (Red 5 Comics, 2020)

Editor

* ''

'' (

, July 1970) * ''Illuminations'' (1971)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendes, Barbara Living people 1948 births 20th-century American writers 21st-century American artists 21st-century American writers American women illustrators American female comics artists Underground cartoonists 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women artists Jewish American comics writers Jewish American comics artists Jewish American painters Jewish American illustrators 20th-century American illustrators Jewish women painters University of California, Riverside alumni Jewish American feminists American feminist artists Pseudonymous comics artists